Barrybran

Yes actually. I made it before spring training. I suppose this is the first time I've officially said it to anyone outside of my personal family/friends. Why, who do you got? That's an interesting prognostication. I still see the A's and Rangers as being better than the Mariners and the Angels shouly be better than them too. Off the top of my head I'd say Detroit v St Louis in the WS but there are a lot of good teams in the mix this year. Boston rode the chemistry train last year and won't get there again. The Rays are due for another appearance. The Dodgers should get there but it's a tough league to get out of. The Nationals should be better than last year too. I'll go one step further and give you my division winners/wildcards" AL East: Rays AL Central: Tigers AL West: Rangers AL Wildcards: A's & Royals (with no confidence about either) NL East: Nationals NL Central: St Louis NL West: Dodgers NL Wildcards: Atlanta & Cincinnati

It's three games in. Nothing means anything and won't for a while yet.

Is the Mariners thing a serious prediction?

Sucked in I'm looking forward to seeing Dup's Capture work and heists, as Otiz said, before June 21!

HBW, Big Al is on a 3-year deal. Bones, the Pistons were doomed from the beginning with that Josh Smith contract but I didn't think they'd be as bad as they are.

ZOMG! Mariners 162-0!

More mature than most in a public room.

Given the week Con's had I think he's going to do the raping.

Baseball doesn't care. I like it.

I think any contract longer than five years is a bad contract with the exception of maybe Trout and Kershaw.

I want to see a running race with melee items now.

What are "lives"?

Absolutely, smart teams will let someone else pay the big bucks. Problem is, you have the Tigers, Yankees, Red Sox (though they learned), Dodgers, Angels, Blue Jays and Seattle who have overpaid players by big margins, the Giants who could arguably be included in that group and the Rangers who have tried to overpay players and have now traded for one. That's 33% of the league who aren't playing Moneyball. Aside from Seattle and Toronto, they're also among the top 12-15 teams in the game. What the Rays and A's do is the exception to the rule, not the rule itself. As for Cano, even if he signed with the Yankees, that would have been paying upwards of $23m for an aging everyday second baseman-come-part-time-DH. I'd still take Miggy's $30m over that deal.

You're both right and wrong in the one statement. Moneyball is the future and teams like the Rays and A's have shown that winning teams can be put together with shrewd management. However, the best players are going to seek the biggest pay day and agents for these players are very clever at initiating a bidding war between major-market teams who are in win-now mode. Yes, the Yankees are working on reducing their budget but they were still prepared to offer Cano 7 years/$160m+. I think it was Bones who mentioned Trout being in line for a 10-year/$350m contract at the completion of this one. Unfortunately, given inflation and natural market forces, I think he's in line for at least $400-450m at the end of this current contract... and even that's being conservative.

we play in the AL, what's wrong with having him play DH in a few years?? This is why there will be a DH in the NL within 20 years.

At the end of the day, whilst 10-year contracts are terrible, Cabrera's contract is the most valuable of those that have been doled out recently. These contracts aren't being offered for 10 years, they're being offered for 4-5 years. Owners know they're not going to get $33m worth of production from a 40-year-old. They want the best player in the game for the current championship window (well, except Seattle) and they're prepared to pay dead money for it. Regardless of whether Detroit should or shouldn't have paid it, someone else was going to.

Or you're about to get horribly murdered...

I see him getting traded to the Rangers in two years. Oh wait, that's the other guy

I've never been found out by a vegan before. Looks like the meat suit is working like a charm.

*Goes to bar, looks for Jager drinkers*

I don't think Pujols did too bad last season, it was just a down year by his standards. I expect Pujols and Hamilton to both bounce back. It'll be scary if they do.

I must admit, I don't mind Kershaw's contract. The big bogey is that he's a pitcher and one elbow away from $30m in wasted money. I don't mind Detroit throwing $30m per year at Cabrera, he's worth it in my opinion, but only for five years. MLB needs to cap contract lengths to protect teams from themselves.

Especially Detroit. They seem to forget about the guy they signed for 9 years two years ago and traded this offseason.

Decapitation by rotor?

Jock Cranley masks.