Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Twenty Questions on the AL East

And you may ask yourself
Am I right? ...am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
My god!...what have I done?

I'm leaving for Honolulu a few days before this goes live, so if I tried to publish any real content, it would already be horribly out of date. The Hawai'i thing is a work gig, so it's only 7/9ths as exciting as it sounds.

Instead of publishing out-of-date content, I thought I'd ask a bunch of questions instead, in an attempt to foster discussion. Don't feel the need to try to answer them all - feel free to focus on the few that you find most interesting.

Twenty Questions on the AL East

If the season ended today, who should win the following awards - and why?

1. AL East MVP
2. AL East LVP (least valuable player)
3. AL East Cy Young
4. AL East Rookie of the Year
5. AL East Manager of the Year
6. AL East Comeback Player of the Year
7. AL East Crash 'N Burn of the Year
8. AL East Most Improved Player

9. What was the most interesting game of the season involving an AL East team? What happened in that game to make it interesting?

10. What AL East player is most likely to be traded?

11. What non AL East player is most likely to be traded into the division?

12. Will the Devil Rays lose 100 games?

13. What Shea Hillenbrand related bet should I make with Named For Hank?

14. Will anyone pass the Red Sox and win the division? Who?

15. What are the odds the Wild Card winner will come out of the AL East? If it happens, which team will it be?

16. Which AL East player who had a good/great first half is likely to crash after the All-Star Break?

17. Which AL East player who had a terrible first half is likely to turn it on after the All-Star Break?

18. Out of the 5 managers in the AL East, which one will be the first to be fired/resign?

18. Out of the 5 managers in the AL East, which one will be the last to be fired/resign?

19. When will the Jays next make the playoffs?

20. When will the Devil Rays ever make the playoffs?

Enjoy!

Posted by Pepper Moffatt on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 09:54 AM EDT.

Twenty Questions on the AL East | 31 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

groove - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 10:35 AM EDT (#122214) #

1,3,8 Halladay
2 Foulke?!
4 Chacin
14 No
16 Take your pick from any Bluejays player with first four letters in their last name "Hill"
20 They will be moved/contracted before that ever happens.

Jim - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 10:41 AM EDT (#122215) #

1. Alex Rodriguez
2. Tony Womack
3. Roy Halladay
4. Robinson Cano
5. Lee Mazelli
6. Jason Giambi
7. Carl Pavano
8. Brian Roberts
9. No Answer
10. Julio Lugo
11. Billy Wagner
12. Certainly Seems that way
13. Enough ink has been spilled over Hillenbrand
14. No
15. 40/60 � New York
16. Shea Hillenbrand
17. Aubrey Huff
18. Last Francona, First Pinella
19. 2015?
20. 2011?

Jobu - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 11:08 AM EDT (#122216) #

1. Halladay
2. Womack
3. Halladay
4. (If it only judging first half) Hill
5. Francona
6. Chen
7. Womack
8. Toughie
9. The most interesting game of the season was Halladay Vs Wasdin because it drained my will to live

10. BJ Ryan

11. AJ Burnett

12. I think they already have. Oh you mean this season? No.

13. Will Shea have a 2 or more BB game after the break (no HBP)

14. Yes, Yankees.

15. 7-1. Yankees.

16. Bruce Chen

17. Ted Lilly

18. Sweet Lou

18. Gibby

19. 2006

20. Ask Again Later.

Brett - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 11:17 AM EDT (#122217) #

1. Tejada
2. Womack
3. Doc
4. Chacin
5. ????
6. The Doctor
7. Jaret Wright
8. Brian Roberts
9. The Mets-Yankees game in which Dae-Sung Koo doubled off of Randy Johnson and then scored from second on a bunt.
10. Kevin Youkilis
11. Jason Schmidt
12. Yes
13. Will Hillenbrand have more RBI than Russ Adams?
14. No
15. I give the Yankees a 35% chance of winning the wild card.
16. Bruce Chen
17. Aubrey Huff
18. Madman Lou
18. Gibbons. I should say Francona but I'm wary about the whole Darrell Johnson/ Johnny Mac/ Joe Morgan/ Kevin Kennedy/ Grady Little legacy
19. 2007
20. 2011, but they'll be playing in Reno.

Rob - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 11:26 AM EDT (#122218) #

1. Brian Roberts
2. Tony Womack or Keith Foulke
3. Roy Halladay
4. Gustavo Chacin
5. Joe Torre
6. Roy Halladay
7. Keith Foulke or Jaret Wright
8. Brian Roberts

9. June 21: Tampa 11, New York 20. A 13-run inning, including Lou's mad decision to leave Harper in for a pounding.

10. Kevin Millar or Frank Catalanotto

11. Chris Capuano

12. Yeah, they'll get there next week at this rate.

13. Shea Hillenbrand will/will not finish the season with an OBP greater than or equal to .360. Or bet on his HBP total, though that isn't as fun.

14. No

15. The odds are 1000-1, but if it happens, it will be the Yankees

16. Shea Hillenbrand

17. Vernon Wells

18. First Piniella, Last Francona

19. Before the contracts of Wells and Halladay run out

20. Never

AWeb - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 12:20 PM EDT (#122221) #

1. Brian Roberts
2. Womack
3. Halladay
4. Aaron Hill
5. Pinella (entertainment value)
6. Halladay
7. Pinella, Jaret Wright
8. Roberts
9. -
10. Catalanotto
11. Burnett
12. Yes, especially after Pinella starts conceding games in August. Team management still won't notice.
13. Same bet, second half? Or don't you believe in his ability to lean into pitches 14 more times?
14. Yes, someone will pass them, maybe the Orioles just after the break. The Sox still win the division though.
15. About 40%, it'll be the Yankees.
16. Roberts
17. Aubrey Huff
18. Pinella first, Gibbons last
19. 2007
20. In 2045, 6 years after baseball goes to the 16 team playoffs.

Thomas - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 12:25 PM EDT (#122222) #

1. Tejada
2. Womack
3. Halladay
4. Chacin
5. Gibbons
6. Bruce Chen
7. Foulke
8. Brian Roberts

9. Toronto's madcap 4-3 win in Fenway, but I'm biased. The Koo choice is quite good.

10. Kevin Millar

11. AJ Burnett

12. Yes

13. Season-ending HBP total.

14. No.

15. 3-1 on Baltimore.

16. Bruce Chen

17. Aubrey Huff

18. Sweet Lou

18. Mazzili

19. 2007

20. 2016

Ducey - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 01:01 PM EDT (#122225) #

1. Tejada
2. Sammy Sosa or Mark Hendrickson
3. Probably Clement now that Doc is hurt
4. Chachin
5. Mazilli
6. Doc. Roberts and Chen have not come back from anything- just having career years
7. Bernie Williams - not a surprise but still...
8. I'm not convinced that Roberts is not just having one of those years rather than undergoing real improvement - How about Miggy Batisita.
9. Doc vs. Unit 1-0 game
10. Cat
11. Zito
12. Yes
13. .350 OBP for season - or over under on 36 BB for season
14. No
15. 10% - Yankees
16. Chen. Will show why a dozen teams gave up on him
17. Shilling. If he doesn't count, then David Wells
18 a. Lou
18 b. Mazilli
19. 2007
20. When major league baseball brings in a meaningful salary cap - so never - unless they move

Alex0888 - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 01:41 PM EDT (#122234) #

1. Manny Ramirez
2. Dewon Brazelton
3. Roy Halladay
4. Aaron Hill if he's eligible
5. Joe Torre
6. Jason Giambi
7. Randy Johnson
8. Brian Roberts

9. Ducey - the Doc/Unit game was 2-0 on the Hinske homer... I'd say that was it too, tense game.

10. Frank Catalanotto (to Dodgers?)

11. A.J. Burnett

12. Most definitely.

13. Most HBPs in the season in all of MLB.

14. Sadly, no.

15. 33% obviously :p If it's the AL east team in the wildcard it would be Baltimore. The Yankees suck too much.

16. Well, it's inevitable that Aaron Hill's numbers will drop, but Carl Crawford will notice how crappy his team is and it will discourage him.

17. Tony Womack

18. First Piniella, Last Gibbons

19. Give 'em 2 years, so 2007.

20. I have a feeling the Devil Rays will move before they ever make the playoffs due to 8500 attendance. Just think: The Las Vegas Devil Rays might make the playoffs someday....

Ducey - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 02:13 PM EDT (#122241) #

Thanks Alex, the game just felt like it was 1-0, it was indeed 2-0:

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/wrapup.jsp?ymd=20050429&content_id=1032797&vkey=wrapup2004&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor#box

Mylegacy - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 02:37 PM EDT (#122244) #

Pepper I went to the site about your trip. I got a brain cramp, indigestion and hemorroids just thinking about it.

You poor, but aloha lucky, bas*ard!!

Magpie - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 02:39 PM EDT (#122245) #

Oooh, this is fun. Maybe I should do the same thing for the NL West. Does anybody actually care about the NL West? You know, the worst division in baseball? It would be horrible if no one filled it out...

1. AL East MVP - Roy Halladay, apologies to Miguel Tejada.

2. AL East LVP (least valuable player) - How do we define least valuable? Could anyone possibly have less value than Ken Huckaby? Or do we mean someone like Tony Womack, who plays both badly and often? It's hard to be worse than Jaret Wright, but at least he hurt himself, requiring the happy (for Yankees fans) addition of Chien-Ming Wang. Kevin Millar and Keith Foulke have made Boston fans scream most of the year. And pretty much anyone on the Tampa roster qualifies. Ah - I'll vote for Tony Womack.

3. AL East Cy Young - Roy Halladay. Duh.

4. AL East Rookie of the Year - Gustavo Chacin, by a nose over Russ Adams, Robinson Cano, and Aaron Hill. If Hill had come up sooner, this would be no contest.

5. AL East Manager of the Year - I think Terry Francona deserves a little respect. His ace starter has been missing, his closer has imploded, it took Manny Ramirez a couple of months to heat up. They held it together and look at them now.

6. AL East Comeback Player of the Year - Roy Halladay, but Jason Giambi might make it interesting.

7. AL East Crash 'N Burn of the Year - Eric Hinske

8. AL East Most Improved Player - Brian Roberts

9. What was the most interesting game of the season involving an AL East team? What happened in that game to make it interesting? - Friday April 29, Roy Halladay vs Randy Johnson. I don't know if it was the most interesting, but it was certainly gripping. Great ball game.

10. What AL East player is most likely to be traded? - Aubrey Huff

11. What non AL East player is most likely to be traded into the division? - Jason Schmidt

12. Will the Devil Rays lose 100 games? - Yes. Maybe this month.

13. What Shea Hillenbrand related bet should I make with Named For Hank? - He will not hit 16 HRs this season? He will be hit by more pitches than he hits over the wall?

14. Will anyone pass the Red Sox and win the division? Who? - No

15. What are the odds the Wild Card winner will come out of the AL East? If it happens, which team will it be? - Even money, New York from the East or Minnesota from the Central.

16. Which AL East player who had a good/great first half is likely to crash after the All-Star Break? - Bruce Chen.

17. Which AL East player who had a terrible first half is likely to turn it on after the All-Star Break? - Mark Bellhorn, mainly because I don't think Vernon Wells and Jason Giambi actually had terrible first halves.

18. Out of the 5 managers in the AL East, which one will be the first to be fired/resign? - Lou Piniella.

18. Out of the 5 managers in the AL East, which one will be the last to be fired/resign? - Terry Francona

19. When will the Jays next make the playoffs? - 2007

20. When will the Devil Rays ever make the playoffs? - In the year 2525, if man is still alive.

Great fun, Pepper. Now to see what everyone said...

King Ryan - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 04:25 PM EDT (#122264) #

1. AL East MVP --- ROY HALLADAY
2. AL East LVP --- TONY WOMACK
3. AL East Cy Young --- ROY HALLADAY
4. AL East Rookie of the Year --- GUSTAVO CHACIN
5. AL East Manager of the Year --- who cares
6. AL East Comeback Player of the Year --- ROY HALLADAY
7. AL East Crash 'N Burn of the Year --- KEITH FOULKE
8. AL East Most Improved Player --- BRIAN ROBERTS

9. What was the most interesting game of the season involving an AL East team? What happened in that game to make it interesting? --- JUNE 21, 2005: NYY vs. TB. Halfway through the game, Tampa was leading 10-2. The Yankees score 13 runs in the 8th and end up winning 20-11. I laughed and laughed and laughed until I was sore.

10. What AL East player is most likely to be traded? --- KEVIN MILLAR

11. What non AL East player is most likely to be traded into the division? --- SHIGETOSHI HASAGAWA

12. Will the Devil Rays lose 100 games? -- YES

13. What Shea Hillenbrand related bet should I make with Named For Hank? --- "HILLENBRAND WILL WIN THE GOLD GLOVE FOR DH"

14. Will anyone pass the Red Sox and win the division? Who? --- NO

15. What are the odds the Wild Card winner will come out of the AL East? If it happens, which team will it be? --- 98.72% ODDS. THE YANKEES.

16. Which AL East player who had a good/great first half is likely to crash after the All-Star Break? --- GUSTAVO CHACIN

17. Which AL East player who had a terrible first half is likely to turn it on after the All-Star Break? --- AUBREY HUFF

18. Out of the 5 managers in the AL East, which one will be the first to be fired/resign? --- LOU PINIELLA. I don't think any of them will be gone this year though.

18. Out of the 5 managers in the AL East, which one will be the last to be fired/resign? --- TERRY FRANCONA

19. When will the Jays next make the playoffs? --- 2007

20. When will the Devil Rays ever make the playoffs? --- 2016, after they've been moved.

Pistol - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 04:33 PM EDT (#122266) #

7. AL East Crash 'N Burn of the Year - Eric Hinske

Actually, Hinske's numbers are a little higher this year than last year.

Perhaps Bernie Williams is a better choice.

VBF - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 04:34 PM EDT (#122267) #

1. Tejeda
2. Based one what? Kevin Cash?
3. Doc
4. Hill
5. Francona I guess
6. Roy Halladay
7. DevilRays
8. Brian Roberts

9. The game we beat Boston in the bottom of the ninth. Johnson hit a walk off homer.

10. The entire Devilray staff minus Kazmir. I'd say Huff for one.

11. A.J. Burnett

12. Yes

13. Will Shea Hillenbrand hit 16 homers beating his total from last year?

14. No, if I had to pick one, Toronto.

15. None. Central for sure.

16. What the hell, Brian Roberts.

17. Jason Giambi

18. You all say Piniella. I'm gonna say Torre.

18. Gibbons

19. 2006

20. If they're around, I'd say 2008ish is a possibility.

VBF - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 04:39 PM EDT (#122268) #

And I will re-iterate, The first manager in the A.L. East to be fired or resign will be JOE TORRE.

Mark this one down.

Magpie - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 04:46 PM EDT (#122269) #

Actually, Hinske's numbers are a little higher this year than last year.

Yeah, I wasn't really thinking of 2005 compared to 2004. I was thinking of a guy who just drove off a cliff after a decent start.

Mick Doherty - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 05:29 PM EDT (#122277) #

13. What Shea Hillenbrand related bet should I make with Named For Hank? --- "HILLENBRAND WILL WIN THE GOLD GLOVE FOR DH"

Rafael Palmeiro did this once already.

Pepper Moffatt - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 06:15 PM EDT (#122280) #

Pepper I went to the site about your trip. I got a brain cramp, indigestion and hemorroids just thinking about it.

You poor, but aloha lucky, bas*ard!!

Heh. Thanks. This place is great! I highly recommend everyone come here, particularly if you can do it on your employer's dime. :)

Honolulu is a strange city: It's this weird mix of California and Japan, with a little native culture thrown in. Not sure if I could live here, though: Blue Jay home night games start at one in the afternoon.

Jobu - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 06:40 PM EDT (#122284) #

20. When will the Devil Rays ever make the playoffs? - In the year 2525, if man is still alive.

NOOOO!!!!!! He's done it again!!! Damnit Magpie stop catching me off guard!! How much is Zager paying you... or is this the work of Evans?

Here's a bet for you all, how many more times will Magpie catch me off guard and get this damn song stuck in my head for a week?

Jim - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 07:00 PM EDT (#122286) #

I just spent 4 days in Maui, totally on the company. That was 4 sweet nights. I watched Tigers/Angels that started at 7AM on a Saturday morning.

Jefftown - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 07:49 PM EDT (#122288) #

I'm surprised no one's said this yet:

20. At least not until Chuck LaMar stops being their GM.

CeeBee - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 07:56 PM EDT (#122289) #

1. Jeter
2. Womack
3. Halladay
4. Chacin
5. Mazzilli
6. Halladay
7. Foulke
8. Roberts
9.
10. Hillenbrand
11. Burnett
12. yes
13.
14.no
15. slim/Baltimore
16. Hinske.... whoa... he crashed too early
17. Hinske.... see above ;)
18. Torre
18(b) Gibbons
19. 2006... nah thats wishful thinking. 2007 I hope :)
20. not in my lifetime

ds - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 08:42 PM EDT (#122293) #

I don't think bragging about my "work gig" in the Congo would garner much envy would it?

Honolulu, Maui....why the *&^*% can't I be so lucky?

My last three trips: Kuwait, Congo, Colombia.....I think they've started a pool at work for which country I'll be shot in

So if the system admin ever sees any weird IP's from remote parts of the world....it's probably me. I need my Jays fix.

Ok, enough of my rant....answering some questions

1. Halladay
2. Womack
3. Halladay
4. Hill
5. Mazelli
6. Halladay
7. Sosa
8. Roberts

James W - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 08:48 PM EDT (#122294) #

Another example of Tampa's bad decisions:

Chris Berman just pointed out that Philadelphia traded Kevin Stocker to the Devil Rays during the expansion draft in exchange for Bobby Abreu.

Alexander - Monday, July 11 2005 @ 11:48 PM EDT (#122305) #

Hey guys, LONG time reader, third time poster here. God bless the batters box for keeping me informed whilst I was in Ireland. A lovely place, but one where they prefer playing 3rd division soccer on the tele as opposed to the world series.

Only because I have limited time,, I choose to answer question number 2.

#2: ERIC HINSKE ALL DAY: Agreed, Womack is pure rubbish. But watching Eric makes me ill. As does watching him have a little success at onepoint in the season. As per usual, the pitchers figure him out and he fails to adjust. ERIC HINSKE ERIC HINSKE ERIC HINKSE FOR LVP. He defines mediocrity. Perhaps he'll come down with some sort of season ending injury or illness soon. I can only hope. Cheers!

TamRa - Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 04:57 PM EDT (#122370) #

1. AL East MVP - Tejada

2. AL East LVP (least valuable player) - Hinske (Biased, okay?)

3. AL East Cy Young - Halladay

4. AL East Rookie of the Year - Hill

5. AL East Manager of the Year - Gibbons

6. AL East Comeback Player of the Year - None. Maybe Giambi or Miller by the end of the year (Chen never had a good year to come back to)

7. AL East Crash 'N Burn of the Year - Jaret Wright

8. AL East Most Improved Player - Batista?

9. What was the most interesting game of the season involving an AL East team? What happened in that game to make it interesting? Dunno.

10. What AL East player is most likely to be traded? Baez

11. What non AL East player is most likely to be traded into the division? Preston Wilson to Ynakees

12. Will the Devil Rays lose 100 games? Yup.

13. What Shea Hillenbrand related bet should I make with Named For Hank? finishing with a .300+ BA?

14. Will anyone pass the Red Sox and win the division? Who?
No.

15. What are the odds the Wild Card winner will come out of the AL East? If it happens, which team will it be? 50/50, NY

16. Which AL East player who had a good/great first half is likely to crash after the All-Star Break?
Brian Roberts

17. Which AL East player who had a terrible first half is likely to turn it on after the All-Star Break?
David Bush, Randy Johnson ("terrible" only by his standards)

18. Out of the 5 managers in the AL East, which one will be the first to be fired/resign?
Lou Pinella (thatwas easy)

18. Out of the 5 managers in the AL East, which one will be the last to be fired/resign? On a hunch, John Gibbons

19. When will the Jays next make the playoffs?
2006

20. When will the Devil Rays ever make the playoffs?
Not in there present identiy...different town or stadium or at least ownership is necessary.

Isn't that 21?

Mike Green - Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 05:11 PM EDT (#122372) #

You expect an econ or math guy to be able to count. Ha!

1. First-half MVP- Brian Roberts
2. First-half LVP- Jose Lima
3. First-half Cy- Roy Halladay
...
19.Blue Jays' next post-season appearance:2006
20.Devil Rays' next post-season appearance:2010 (their first winning year 2008)

Mike Green - Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 05:12 PM EDT (#122373) #

Of course, the correct answer to the Devil Rays question is that they will win once in a lifetime.

Gitz - Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 05:16 PM EDT (#122374) #

You expect an econ or math guy to be able to count.

Well, the world is full of un-married marriage counselors, isn't it?

AWeb - Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 06:29 PM EDT (#122380) #

By my count:

1. Looks like Halladay and Tejada win the MVP voting, with 5 each, Roberts trailing with 3.
2. Womack in a landslide as LVP
3. Halladay, obviously, as CY
4. Chacin (8) over Hill (6) for ROY
5. Mazelli (4) over the rest, everyone with one vote or more (I voted Pinella in jest).
6. Halladay again.
7. Foulke (4) over Wright (3), with 6 other players, a manager, and a team getting votes. Good thing the Yankees are crashing and burning (5 mentions, none of them Kevin Brown), or it'd be over already. Very frustrating that they are good enough to get this many bad contributions and still contend.
8. Brian Roberts, most improved. Given that not a single Toronto hitter could even be considered for this, .500 ball isn't so bad. Going into the year, I would have hoped at least one of Rios, Wells, Hinske, and Hudson might merit mentioning. Oh well...the second half begins soon.

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