Comments on: Looking back at the HBT writer predictions http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/ Baseball. Baseball. And then a bit more baseball. Tue, 21 May 2013 06:54:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: cur68 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372435 Sat, 29 Sep 2012 17:58:58 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372435 Check rotoworld. He owns that site. I bet he has his picks there.

]]> By: protius http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372385 Sat, 29 Sep 2012 14:36:55 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372385 By what, disbanding?

]]> By: lazlosother http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372306 Sat, 29 Sep 2012 00:25:51 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372306 I would love to just rip on you guys (nothing personal), but the picks were very similar to mine.

]]> By: natslady http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372237 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:54:56 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372237 Yep. Everyone but Davey figured 2013 would be our year. Amazing, isn’t it? And fun.

]]> By: natstowngreg http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372232 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:46:27 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372232 Last off-season, the talk on this here blog right here was, the Phillies had one more run left, the Nats would become a real contender in 2013. I was one of those saying that. How far the Nats have come in one season.

]]> By: natslady http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372229 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:43:32 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372229 Sorry, EDIT FUNCTION. My post got a little garbled because I found the video of Bo Porter dancing. In between that I was saying we had Pat Listach on 3B before Bo and that guy never waved his arm, he was ultra-conservative about sending runners home. That didn’t mesh well with Davey’s style.

]]> By: natslady http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372225 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:35:10 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372225 Wow! Pretty good.

]]> By: natslady http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372224 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:33:24 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372224 Have to agree with cur. Early in the season there were some “non-fundamentals” going on. I remember in particular a routine fly ball dropped between three players. That stuff stopped pretty fast, and I credit Bo. Bo also had to deal with not only teaching Harper to play center but also a couple of infielders Davey wanted to throw out there (Lombardozzi and Tyler Moore). Moore didn’t get good (noodle arm, mostly from not knowing how to set himself for throws as his natural position is 1B) but Lombo acquitted himself quite well. Davey likes offense and he almost doesn’t care what a player’s “natural” position is, he’ll throw anyone out there in LF–except Adam LaRoche who put his foot down about that early on. The Nats play good fundamentals most of the time–and when we meet a team that doesn’t the difference is very noticeable.

Bo was aggressive at 3B, but that was under Davey’s orders and also with Harper, you just about can’t stop the kid. We had Pat Listach aif you can find it, the video of Porter dancint 3B before and I mean that man would never wave his arm. He’s got a temper (see Cubs, The) and is immensely loyal to “his” guys. Also, this is really cool:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=22468581&topic_id=9780550&c_id=mlb

]]> By: cur68 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372202 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:44:38 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372202 Ad that’s what Bo Porter can do for your boys, Stex. He’ll fix the fundamentals first. He’s squeeze every bit of talent out of them second. Third? Well third he’s gotta talk a high calibre DH-type into joining up for very little money. I’m thinking David Ortiz. Your boys need an Ortiz type guy to DH. Because actual hitting aside, he can teach the 2 kinds of hitting Ortiz can produce: pull hitting and short hack slap hitting.

]]> By: dondada10 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372184 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:28:44 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372184 Pouliot didn’t pick?

]]> By: mazblast http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372175 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:12:04 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372175 Did anyone notice that all these experts picked the same five AL teams? Also, that they all picked the Phils and Cards to win their divisions in the NL?

]]> By: natsattack http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372172 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:06:23 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372172 I had on April 25th in a competion with some friends:
AL:
Texas Rangers
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees
WC:
Tampa Bay Rays
Los Angeles Angles or whatever they would be called at the end of the season

NL:
Washington Nationals ( very biased)
Cincinnati Reds
San Francisco Giants
WC:
Atlanta Braves
St. Louis Cardinals.

]]> By: stex52 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372162 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:51:20 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372162 And that is what made the Astros so agonizing. We knew they would be less talented. But what they even did was so flawed fundamentally it was terrible.

]]> By: stex52 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372160 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:49:25 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372160 Y’know, Kiwi, a word that doesn’t get used as much with all of the statistics. “Fundamental.” We all know what it looks like. Give them the OPS for the batters, the WAR cumulative for the team, the WHIP for the pitcher. Even throw in BABIP. But if they don’t hit the cutoff man, they run the base paths stupidly, they miss the double play on a break-up, the extra hit drops in because the fielder was daydreaming; it all adds up. The tools are neat. But they still don’t add up to what a team is. And that is still much easier to capture in retrospect in statistics than it is to predict.

]]> By: stex52 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372153 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:41:38 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372153 Since the Astros started the season with a 106 loss team from the year before and announced their intention at the start of season to trade anyone who had ever been in the MLB; I’m not giving you many points for that predication.

From my own perspective, I will say that it was more disgusting to watch that team this year than I expected. When there are kids out there really trying you can put up with a lot. But it was mostly just very badly played baseball.

]]> By: 18thstreet http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372151 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:39:59 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372151 And yet, none of them predicted the Red Sox would go to the playoffs (nor did I, but I never thought Baltimore would be this good or Toronto this bad).

The collapse was last year. 2012 confirmed it was not a fluke.

]]> By: natslady http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372131 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:19:22 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372131 With 6 games left to play in 2011, the Fillies were 98-58. (.628) Today, 78-78. (.500) -20

With 6 games left to play in 2011, the Nats were 76-79. (.490) Today, 95-61. (.609) +19

Which is more predicable? Hard to fault the writers.

]]> By: 4cornersfan http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372128 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:16:04 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372128 Don’t beat yourself up guys, nobody else saw the O’s and A’s and some of the other teams coming either. Hey, wouldn’t it be neat if the O’s and the A’s were in different leagues? We would have the possibility of a Vowel World Series. Naw. The Jays would probably win the pennant and screw it up. Tells you where my head is.

]]> By: bigharold http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372120 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:07:55 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372120 So nobody saw the O’s coming?

In all honesty I thought they’d be competitive but not this much so, .. at least not this season.

]]> By: legacybroken http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372109 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:57:09 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372109 This just reminds me of how big Philly’s collapse was. Though it hasn’t be discussed alot due to Bobby V and the Red Sox and Ozzie and the Feesh having collapses that resemble an episode of Dallas.

]]> By: kiwicricket http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372108 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:56:56 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372108 One big take away is how crappy the Angels have been this year. I thought they would really push the Rangers for the AL West.
If Trout didn’t play out of his mind since being brought up, the Angels would of been awful. Pretty incredible considering the amount of talent they have on their squad.
The half dozen games I saw them play, they played bad fundamental baseball. Sloppy. Gave runs away.

]]> By: number42is1 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372107 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:56:31 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372107 one of my favs from the Apr 4th post

yankeesgameday – Apr 4, 2012 at 9:51 AM
Thisiss truly the most boring year for the American League. The top five teams are exactly as you listed them and even though some other teams may go on runs after 162 games it will look exactly like you have it. For the first time I can remember every division is locked up at the 1 and 2 spots.the only drama will come from trying to avoid that play in game, but really that isn’t much drama at all.

Go Yanks (but really it’s the Tiger’s year).

]]> By: El Bravo http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372104 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:52:06 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372104 Man, my 3/27 selections are awesome….or not…wow the Marlins let me down. D’bags? Where did you go?

AL
Yankees
Rays (WC)
Tigers
Angels
Rangers (WC)

NL
Phillies
Marlins (WC)
Braves (WC)
Cardinals
Diamondbacks

AL Pennant:
Angels

NL Pennant:
Marlins

W.S. Angels in 5

]]> By: number42is1 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372102 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:50:28 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372102 I REALLY wanted to see the Astros win the WS this year and then again next year so that they would forever be the undefeated NL champs who won the WS as an AL team.

]]> By: natslady http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372099 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:48:30 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372099 It sure is lucky they actually play the games! :)

]]> By: antlerclaws http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372088 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:41:28 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372088 I had: NL–Phillies, Reds, D-Backs; AL–Yankees, Tigers, Rangers. For Wild Cards, I had Brewers, Braves, Angels, Rays. Failed, like everyone else, with Phillies. D-Backs were disappointing but I did have Giants in 2nd.

My biggest fail was that I had Orioles and A’s in dead last. Predicted A’s last in AL.

Also predicted Astros as worst in MLB, finishing with a .401 average. A bit optimistic.

]]> By: sdelmonte http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372085 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:39:06 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372085 I think there was not a single place that I saw anyone predict the Tigers not winning the Central. Part of me wanted to see the Chisox winning just to be a thumb in the eye of pundits everywhere.

]]> By: cur68 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372071 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:30:58 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372071 None of you scribblers picked the Beaver Men. There, you can pat yourselves on the backs for that bit of prescience.

]]> By: raysfan1 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372057 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:26:30 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372057 The Rays will try to improve y’all’s percentage.

]]> By: pw38 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/looking-back-at-the-hbt-writer-predictions/comment-page-1/#comment-372048 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:20:32 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=226718#comment-372048 lol @ Phillies.

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