Where's the Good Baseball?

[Guest Edgy DC]

While the Mets are just now rounding into some semblance of shape, it's worth noting that we've seen the Cards, Cubs, and Braves consecutively here, and none have looked like a well-oiled machine. And we're talking about teams managed by Tony LaRussa, Lou Pinella, and Bobby Cox. Whatever your thoughts of their strategy and gamesmanship, you don't expect any to be showing up with a team that looks unprepared or fundamentally unsound. The Marlins you expect to be talented but as cabable of beating themselves as they are of beating their opponents. These others have surprised me a bit.

Are the Dodgers looking any good? They're below .500, and it took them 13 innings to beat the freaking Nats. Maybe the good teams are all in the American League. Again.

[ashie62]

Well, there are the Padres...

Twinkies & Rays for the time being

[bmfc1]

Following up on the original comment, Jerry said this ([u:dz812t53]New York Post[/u:dz812t53], today, Joel Sherman's column):

"It's funny I was talking about just that in the coaches' room with the staff today," manager Jerry Manuel said. "Sometimes we focus so much on our team that we forget that just about every team has problems."

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/mets_no_jokers_in_wild_wild_card_5AMLOHUYYA2pqma1q6GRxI#ixzz0mDEtL89p

[Ceetar]

Well, I believe the Mets are very talented anyway, so I'm not going to say Jerry's prepared his guys any better than those great managers, but I did like hearing that the Mets did a "rule a day" type thing in Spring Training, although I don't know who's idea it was.

Even really good teams play very sloppy, and I think the pressure of situations and the 'clutchiness' plays in too. The Rays, from what I understand, look pretty solid in this regard, and that's kinda where the Red Sox tried to go. Solid consistant play. (I have not watched either to really know if this is true)

Watching the playoffs last year, I saw a ton of the supposedly best teams make a bunch of boneheaded moves. One of those Twins-Yankees games seemed like AA, which is unfortunate because had the Twins played sound fundamentals, they could've won.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Some solid AA umping in that series also.