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dudeman is gone. said 08/03, 07:39 PM
my differences:

tampa bay rays over the red sox

d-backs over the dodgers

dudeman is gone. said 08/04, 05:37 PM
Rays vs. Red Sox

The departure of Manny helps them? Although he was a distraction, bottom line is that Manny Ramirez was a force in the middle of the lineup. In one full regular season he averages 40 HRs, 132 RBIs, a .313 BA, a .409 OBP and a .691 SLG%. Along with being a distraction Manny is a TOP hitter in the league.

Beckett may be a great playoff pitcher, but first they need to GET to the playoffs for him to shine. This year he's 9-8 with a 4.15 ERA. Not very good.

The Rays may be young, but they still have a lead in the AL East today. Everyone expected them to fall off by now, but they are still there and are NOT going away.

Although the Sox may have a great offense, the Rays are not far behind in many categories. In pitching categories the Rays have a better ERA, less walks while the Sox have more Ks and a lower opponents BA.

These teams are very close in all statistical categories, but the Rays are still leading the AL East by 3 games, and don't seem to be perturbed by the Sox.

More to come.

dudeman is gone. said 08/04, 09:35 PM
Rays vs. Red Sox

You said it yourself, the Rays are the better pitching team. Isn't pitching what wins championships? Yes.

Bay has NOT been Manny Ramirez. He never will be either. Bay is a great player, but he's definitely not up to Manny calibur, and although he may make up for Manny's spot in the lineup somewhat, the Red Sox lineup will NEVER be the same without Manny.

Manny vs. Bay:

AVG: .310 vs. .285 (Manny)
HR: 22 vs. 23 (Bay)
RBI: 73 vs. 67 (Manny)
R: 70 vs. 78 (Bay)

Tied at 2 apiece.

You wanna talk about success with their new teams?

AVG: .615 vs. 364 (Manny)
HR: 2 vs. 1 (Manny)
RBI: 5 vs. 3 (Manny)
OBP: .615 vs. .533 (Manny)
SLG%: 1.154 vs. .818 (Manny)
OPS: 1.769 vs. 1.352 (Manny)
R: 4 vs. 6 (Bay)

Manny is KILLING IT with his new team. Bay is doing pretty good, but Manny is going NUTS in LA, THAT'S what the Red Sox will miss. WHAT A LOSS!

The Rays have the better pitching, and the offense really aren't that far apart. The Rays are only 21 back in BB, only 5 points back in OBP and 5 HRs back.

Athough the Sox have a flashy lineup, the Rays are the better all-around team. I don't see the Rays faltering under the pressure against the Red Sox, and I see them winning the AL East in the end. The have the right mix of players, and they don't have media pressure like the Red Sox have in Boston.

D-Backs vs. Dodgers

You posted them yourself, and although Manny will provide a huge boost to their offense, the D-Backs still have the better all around offense, and the Dodgers now have a dilemma in the outfield between Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Manny and Juan Pierre. Big problem for Torre. Also, Nomar went down, and although he's definitely not the Nomar of old, he was doing pretty well in his recent comeback. When he returned his average was at .226 but he managed to pull it up to .279 by the time he went down.

You hype up Torre, but the bottom line is he hasn't won the WS in 7 years. He was having success in New York because of the huge payroll and talent. I'm not taking credit from him but he had A LOT of help with A-Rod, Jeter, Posada, etc.

The D-Backs have the pitching to win, and although the Dodgers have a better ERA (Dodgers have a 3.63 while D-Backs have a 3.89) they have given up less hits, they have less walks and more Ks. The opponent's batting averages are pretty close with the D-Backs having a .249 and the Dodgers having a .250.

All in all, the D-Backs are the more well built team, and I don't see them losing to the Dodgers. Throw in the fact that the D-Backs are better at home (30-22 to the Dodgers' 32-27) and they have more home games remaining, the D-Backs WILL pull out the NL West.