Contender or Pretender

[Chris C2]

I'm going to list some teams, and you tell me whether they are contenders or pretenders, also explain why you put them as a contender or pretender.

1. Boston Red Sox
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Chicago White Sox (Favor to Sam :tongue:)
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Oakland A's
6. Anaheim Angels
7. Texas Rangers
8. Philadelphia Phillies
9. Florida Marlins
10. New York Mets (I'm going to get roasted for this, but the Mets are only 2 games worse that the Phillies and Marlins, and if they are on the list, the Mets should be soon. They are only 6.5 out of the WC, and have a good 2 week stretch coming up against teams at the top of the WC)
11. Chicago
12. Houston
13. San Diego
14. San Francisco

[Chris C2]

My choices

1. Boston Red Sox - pretender. They aren't taking the AL East (10 games back). The Wild Card is coming from the west (all 3 teams fighting it out for first in the west are just as good if not better than the Red Sox).
2. Minnesota Twins - contender. No matter how close the Indians get to the Twins, they aren't winning this division. The Indians are on an incredible hot streak, and are 2.5 GB, while the Twins have been like this all year.
3. Cleveland Indians - pretender. They are scorching hot. They won't stay this good long enough to leap frog the Twins.
4. Oakland A's - contender. The Minnesota T-Wolves of baseball... they'll make the playoffs, but will the finally get past the first round?!
5. Anaheim Angels - contender. Everything is starting to come together for Anaheim. Colon is finally looking better. They'll out-slug the Red Sox for the WC.
6. Texas Rangers - pretender. I love this Ranger team, but they don't match up with the A's and Angels. They had a great year and with a key acquisition in the off-season, they can be huge next year.
7. Philadelphia Phillies - pretender. The city of overrated love. The Phillies are under immense pressure to perform, but they can't do it. They have a hole in CF wider than Jenna Jameson's - well, we'll just leave it at that, and a manager who nobody seems to like. Philadelphia fans, get ready for football season. ;)
8. Florida Marlins - pretender. Beckett can't stay healthy long enough to help his team get above .500.
9. New York Mets - contender. You read that right, I said CONTENDER. Go ahead, bookmark this post. We'll so who is shocked when October rolls around. The Mets are 6 1/5 games back of the WC. The WC right now is a 3 team slugfest between the Cubs, Giants, and Padres. After those 3 is Philorida (2 games ahead) and then Houston (.5 games ahead). The Mets can easily pass Philadelphia-Florida and Houston with a good series against Colorado (who they swept once this year) and after that they are the 4th team in the 3 team race, a 4th team who is playing San Francisco, San Diego, and Chicago in the coming week(s). They have a pitching staff (Glavine / Leiter / Trachsel / Benson / Zambrano) built to take them far in the post season. I'll end this Met biased paragraph with a quote from Mets' GM Jim Duquette, "we will be playing meaningful games in September."
11. Chicago - pretender. You gotta close the game before you win it, and the Cubs can not close games, period. Instead of going after Nomar, they should have got themselves a good closer. Hey... maybe Rod Beck will unretired, isn't he the last closer the Cubs have had who was effective?
12. Houston - pretender. The Astros can get as many good players with a last name starting with "B" and make an entire team of Killer B's and overhyped unretired 40-year-old + pitchers, they still suck.
13. San Diego - pretender. All-gold away uniforms? They should sign Jeff Garcia!
14. San Francisco - pretender. How far can Jason Schmidt, Barry Bonds and the BALCO sales department carry one team?

[Peabody]

1. Boston Red Sox - Pretender, The loss of NOMAH is killing them OCab isn't hitting or fielding the only thing keeping them on top of the wildcard is their rotation.

2. Minnesota Twins - Contender, The Twins are playing great.....?

3. Chicago White Sox - PRETENDER, Favor or no favor to Sam they are terrible. Big Hurt and Mags out for the year and they traded Loaiza.

4. Cleveland Indians - Contender, this team is full of young stars and Hafner is leading the way.

5. Oakland A's - Contender, the Rotation is STACKED and the aquisitions from last year are really starting to produce hits for them.

6. Anaheim Angels - Pretender, Vlad is the best hitter on this team but he cant do it all, the rotation lacks.

7. Texas Rangers - Contender, The Rangers are playing with heart and are playing agressive. They will win the AL Wildcard

8. Philadelphia Phillies- Contender, The Padres and Giants will slack off in the final 5 weeks and the team is really starting to come together.

9. Florida Marlins - Pretender, there will be no repeat of a WS for this team unless the rotation starts coming around.

10. New York Mets - Pretender, SORRY CHRIS! The rotation is really starting to fill out and look nice. Add 1 or 2 more big bats in there and you have a playoff team. Next year.

11. Chicago - CONTENDER, I'm a cubbies fan so what can i say. Wood and Prior are starting to REALLY heat up. Jim Hendry is god for getting Nomar and adding a huge boost to this team. Look for a late aquisition from the cubs adding to their bullpen.

12. Houston - Pretender, the team is probably one of the most disappointing teams this year. They have the rotation and the offense but for some reason they cant produce or stay healthy

13. San Diego - PRETENDER, The padres will drop off to 3rd in the NL wildcard before it is all over. The rotation lacks some veteran leadership.

14. San Francisco - PRETENDER, Bonds will get Walked 20+ more times before the season is over but Jason Schmidt will win the Cy Young award. They will finish 2nd in the NL Wildcard to the Cubs by 3 games.

[SharksandAsFan]

1. Boston Red Sawx - Pretender, their usual September choke will strike back.

2. Minnesota Twins - Contender, A huge homefield advantage SHOULD push them into the playoffs

3. Chicago White Sox - Pretender, It's an insult to even put them in this thread. :biggrin:

4. Cleveland Indians - Contender, A good ten games against the Twins will put them in the playoffs, but only if they are good.

5. Oakland A's - Contender, Their second half surge will start soon enough.

6. Anaheim Angels - Contender, With Colon pitching as Colon should, they'll sneak in as the wild card.

7. Texas Rangers - Pretender, Their starting pitching is finally starting to catch up to them.

8. Philadelphia Phillies - Pretender, The Braves are surging, and the Phillies are falling

9. Florida Marlins - Pretender, Injuries and games back are working against them

10. New York Mets - Pretender ^See White Sox^

11. Chicago Cubs - Contender, The curse will live on, but their pitching is too good not to at least make the playoffs

12. Houston Astros - Pretender, Any team that fires their manager mid-season is not looking forward to good times.

13. San Diego Padres - Contender, They'll hang on for a while, but how they finish off against the division will determine if they win the wild card or not.

14. San Francisco Giants - Pretender, A two-man team cannot make the playoffs.

[Penning10]

I like the Mets and all..but..
Reyes - DL
Matsui - DL
Piazza - DL
Stanton - Should be on the DL
:(

The defense is solid now; hopefully Brazell can spark this team.

[Chris C2]

Honestly, Reyes, Matsui, Piazza weren't helping the team all that much when they where playing. Reyes I think had 1 walk in 2 months... 1 walk! His OBP is almost exact with his .250ish BA. Matsui has a decent bat, .270ish BA, but he can't make up for his horrendous fiedling ability. His is by far one of the worst shortstops I've ever seen. And Piazza... Piazza gave up years ago. All he cares about are his stupid little catcher records. He hit 1 HR last month and I'm pretty sure none this month. He can't contribute anymore, plain and simple. Well, maybe he can, but we all know he isn't trying. Stanton needs to break his arm, YESTERDAY!

[Penning10]

He's been hurt, I wouldn't say that he hasn't been trying.

[Chris C2]

He's always hurt/hurting/nursing and injury. Thank God next year is his last year here, get Mike Jacobs up here next year and put him at C.

Reyes
Matsui
Ordonez (crosses fingers Purse Strings Wilpon will get him)
Floyd
Wright
Cameron
Phillips
Jacobs

with a staff of - Glavine/Benson/Leiter/Trachsel/Zambrano

Next year is the Mets' year.

[Penning10]

I'm a little wary of Ordonez. He wants 15 mill and 5 years, with his knees and his dropoff last year, I dunno if I'd want to go for that risk. 'Sides, I like Hidalgo :D

[Chris C2]

Then stick 'Dalgo in LF and slide Mags in right. Drop Floyd off somewhere in the AL.

[allsportidiot]

1. Boston Red Sox- Pretender. Defense is just awful, plus how big of a step up is Orlando Cabrera from Nomar. Its a down grade with the way Cabrera has performed. Plus this team is out of their division and they are going to have to fight for a wild card against teams from possibly the toughest division, the AL West.

2. Minnesota Twins-Contender, Indians have given them a little scare but their pen will keep them away from a title. Why do the Twins win? Really no competition in that division

3. Chicago White Sox-Pretender, the biggest pretender on the list. The season went down with Maggs and Big Hurt the only goal for this team is to finish the season over .500

4. Cleveland Indians- Pretender, god awful pen. It has to be improved before a run at the division.

5. Oakland A's- Pretender, this is a good team, that is known for late season injuries. Much tougher competition than previous years it will get tough.

6. Anaheim Angels- Contender, I think pitching will come together, many players are off the DL they can make a serious run, will probably end up with a wild card.

7. Texas Rangers- Contender, Buck Showalter has done a job with this pitching staff. This offense just flat out amazing. Playoff team.

8. Philadelphia Phillies- Pretender, Wagner was a tough tough loss, from there its the Houston Astros show.

9. Florida Marlins- Pretender, this team just had bad luck this year with injuries. They cant catch up this season, they learn to stay healthy, they could be a playoff team.

10. New York Mets- Pretender, its pitiful to even give them a vote. This team is done.

11. Chicago- Contender, this team is putting it all back together and are on a hot streak, dont look for them to slow down until they are holding the World Series trophy high in the air.

12. Houston- Pretender, its all there now get it working.

13. San Diego- Pretender, if they do go out, they will go out tough though. This team has got some hidden stars.

14. San Francisco- Pretender, Bonds and Schmidt have carried this team for years, I dont think we should say that a two man team cant make the playoffs... but LA and San Diego are much improved and tough to keep up with.

[X-Factor]

Red sox pretenders my fat white ass

the d has improved, which was a great problem. they don't have to be a freaking run producing juggernaut, theyv gotten hot lately

[Peabody]

Red sox pretenders my fat white ass

the d has improved, which was a great problem. they don't have to be a freaking run producing juggernaut, theyv gotten hot lately OCab is not a defensive upgrade and putting Mientkiewicz at 2nd base just simply shows desperation.

P R E T E N D E R

[X-Factor]

ok, who needed a bat? who didn't? nuf ced

[Peabody]

ok, who needed a bat? who didn't? nuf ced Cubs Needed a bat, Red Sox needed to replace a bat. They didnt do a very good job of doing that. OCab is batting .246 as a Red Sock, Nomar is batting .316

Enough said....

[AO street ballin]

1. Boston Red Sox- Contender, stong offense and better defense then before.
2. Minnesota Twins- Contender, they always pull it out somehow.
3. Chicago White Sox- Pretender, lost two big offensive weapons.
4. Cleveland Indians- Contender, they believe in themselves. When a young team believes in themselves, they can get stuff done. Plus Omar can help since he's been there.
5. Oakland A's- Contender, Pitching and defense is what it is. Nothing to it for them.
6. Anaheim Angels- Contender, Vlad has brought that team around and Colon is doing better.
7. Texas Rangers- Pretender, for the pure fact they depend to much on offense and there pitching is inconsistant.
8. Philadelphia Phillies- Pretender, they always fall apart around the end and Larry Bowa isn't helpin any.
9. Florida Marlins- Pretender, I thought they might make it but Beckett makes and breaks that team now. He hasn't done great.
10. New York Mets- Pretender, do I need to explain. Everyone is inconsistant.
11. Chicago- Contender, Nomar helps them too much and the pitchin, when healthy, is amazin.
12. Houston- Pretender, no just no. They fell apart to early and can't get it together.
13. San Diego- Contender, if the pitchin stays good and the Dogers die along the way.
14. San Francisco- Contender, as much as I hate it, but Barry Bonds is on the team so they always have a chance.

[cubsfan]

Mets Contender? :lol: hahaha

[Secret Asian Man]

1. Boston Red Sox- pretend...trading Nomar and not getting RJ killed them
2. Minnesota Twins-pretend, if anything Cleveland should win :)
3. Chicago White Sox - We're supposed to be contenders..but with Frank and Mags out, it's over. Konerko and Lee can't do it all. Loaiza is gone. Our catchers suck since they traded Olivo, but I do like the acquisition of Garcia. Contreras has potential and is starting to do good. Maybe next year
4. Cleveland Indians - Good young team. Hafner is having an awesome year. Westbrook and Lee have been some nice surprises for them
5. Oakland A's - Pretend. Good rotation, no hitting
6. Anaheim Angels - tenders. Sometimes their rotation does good, they have a good bullpen, and a good offense. They need to pick it up if they want to win the wild card or division. if not, they are done
7. Texas Rangers - contenders. It's either them or the Angels for AL West or Wildcard
8. Philadelphia Phillies - Braves aren't supposed to be better than them :X
9. Florida Marlins - The reigning World Series champs aren't flukes..it's just that Pudge was the best thing that could happen to them; besides Josh Beckett.
10. New York Mets - I like the Mets but this isn't there year
11. Chicago - I'm a Southsider..but they are a contender, they have a pretty good team
12. Houston - What happened!?
13. San Diego - tenders. If the Cubs don't win the wildcard, it's going to be them
14. San Francisco - Boo

[X-Factor]

1. RJ wasn't coming anyway

2. Cubs are pretenders

[cubsfan]

OCab is not a defensive upgrade and putting Mientkiewicz at 2nd base just simply shows desperation.

P R E T E N D E R
Orlando Cabrera is not a defensive Upgrade? He would an upgrade over almost every SS in the Major Leagues. Doug is a GG 1b who also improves the D. They went out and got 2 GG fielders, that helps their sorry defense out alot.

[twins15]

OCab is not a defensive upgrade and putting Mientkiewicz at 2nd base just simply shows desperation.

P R E T E N D E R

Actually, all it shows is that they had injury problems.

[X-Factor]

the red sox have won 11 of 14, i think that that shows that they aren't a pretender

[Magus Relmyn]

Nomar makes us a Contender... if we weren't one already.

[Sam-ES]

I will get my list up soon. One thing though ---- Why are the White Sox on here? :lol: I mean they are my team, but they suck. Chris, thanks for being nice but they do not belong.

[X-Factor]

you enjoying the sox-sox series ;)

[Sam-ES]

you enjoying the sox-sox series ;)

I definitely enjoyed the sweep. :lol:

[Magus Relmyn]

I definitely enjoyed the sweep. :lol:

That's the only sweep the White Sux will ever get to enjoy. :smile:

;)

[EVEN11131]

I liked the series too, we now have 8 games on you guys, and your now below .500 :lol:

[X-Factor]

now if we could just SCORE!