Convince me to pick a team: MLB edition

[mycarman]

Ok, so I was a lifetime Cubs fan until this last season when their propaganda, and bandwagon got too big for me. I NEED A NEW TEAM

But not just any team, I want a fresh team that I can't bandwagon on.

Here are my criteria:

*Can't have a top 5 following- no Cubs, Sox(either one), Yankers or Met
*Can't be the TB Rays
*Can't be in the AL East or NL Central
*Can't have won the World Series in the last 5 years

I also want the team to be one that actually goes after free agents, whether they get them all or not.

Outdoor Stadium is a plus, but not a necessity

Good Luck...

[DaPacman]

*Can't have a top 5 following- no Cubs, Sox(either one), Yankers or Met
*Can't be the TB Rays
*Can't be in the AL East or NL Central
*Can't have won the World Series in the last 5 years

Go Rangers!!!


I also want the team to be one that actually goes after free agents, whether they get them all or not.

oh... nvm.

[azchargersfan21]

AZ Diamondbacks seriously, they have an ace pitching staff just need a few more hitters. Championship in 2001 FTW

[bulldog0123]

Rangers or Pirates

[Eagles4Life]

Eagles.

[Vbsiena]

Oakland A's

Moneyball

[PuppyPuncher]

Jays are the new Rays

[McWatt]

Braves? We're kinda cheap though. =\

[Bluto]

Sure you can't be talked into being a Mets Fan?

[mycarman]

Sure you can't be talked into being a Mets Fan?

You can definitely try. I wasn't as iffy about the Mets as I was the R/W Sox or the Yanks. I do like that the Mets have had decent teams, but have underachieved..

[studbucket]

Well, I'm just thrilled you're no longer a Cubs fan, that's fantastic news!

I suggest choosing the Mariners or Dodgers. West coast teams need more love.

[Bluto]

You can definitely try. I wasn't as iffy about the Mets as I was the R/W Sox or the Yanks. I do like that the Mets have had decent teams, but have underachieved..

Then here is my sales pitch. For starters, we will always be the "other" team in New York. We can't even get respect in our own town. For example, we're opening up a lovely new stadium this April, and the Yankees felt the need to build their own that's twice as expensive. We sit by and watch The Yankees sign Sabathia, Burnett, and then Texeira, while we secured the services of K-Rod and JJ Putz, but only because there wasn't much of a market for closers so we got them on the cheap. In fact, Manny Ramirez was practically begging his longtime pal, GM Omar Minaya, to sign him, but since the team owners, The Wilpon Family, lost their life savings to Bernie Madoff, free agent spending immediately dried up. That said, nobody will ever convince any Mets Fan of being a Bandwagon Jumper.

Now the positives. We only missed the playoffs last year because of a bullpen that blew 29 saves, which is a ridiculous number. With the bullpen rebuilt from the ground up, that issue has hopefully been resolved. We have Johan Santana, the best pitcher in baseball, who with that new bullpen, has a realistic shot at 20 wins, assuming his elbow is OK. On Offense, we have two of the best young players in baseball in David Wright & Jose Reyes. Wright is cut from the Derek Jeter mold, in that he seems to do and say all the right things, with way less deuchyness than Jeter. Reyes is hands down the most exciting player in the game, and you haven't lived until you've seen a Jose Reyes Triple live in person. Beyond that, we have a solid core of Veterans and Youngsters, led by The Carloses, Beltran & Delgado, and promising young players like Daniel Murphy, Jon Niese and Nick Evans.

Finally, the best part about being a Mets Fan is that they keep you interested. They may come from behind to win in the 9th one night, then rip your heart out and blow a 5 run lead in the 7th the next. Despite this, year in and year out, they are always in the playoff hunt, and after the last two years, will be extra motivated going into this season.

Hopefully I've presented a decent argument. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

[studbucket]

That's a heck of a pitch to be a Mets fan, bravo, but you are still the team that threw boatloads of money at Beltran, Santana, Martinez, Vaughn, Piazza, etc, etc and all those players.

To me, they seem just like the Yankees or Red Sox. (I'm a Brewers fan).

[Bluto]

That's a heck of a pitch to be a Mets fan, bravo, but you are still the team that threw boatloads of money at Beltran, Santana, Martinez, Vaughn, Piazza, etc, etc and all those players.

To me, they seem just like the Yankees or Red Sox. (I'm a Brewers fan).

True, but in our defense, whenever we do sign a big money contract, it usually comes back to bite us in the ass.

Oh, and thanks for bringing up Mo Vaughn. I had almost forgotten about him. :(

[studbucket]

True, but in our defense, whenever we do sign a big money contract, it usually comes back to bite us in the ass.

Oh, and thanks for bringing up Mo Vaughn. I had almost forgotten about him. :(

Don't worry, you did trade us Glendon Rusch so he could go 1-16 for us. That was much appreciated :)

[mycarman]

I should hold a college football signing day type thing where I pick my new team...

With all of that though, my top 5 are:

Mets
Mariners
DBacks
Twins
Rockies

[Bluto]

WooHoo! Top 5 FTW!!!

[azchargersfan21]

DBacks FTW!!!!!

[JHG722]

Definitely go with the DBacks

[studbucket]

My votes go in this order:


Mariners
Rockies
DBacks
Twins
Mets

[mycarman]

Final 3 are the mets, Dbacks, and twins...

I will decide soon if anyone cares...

[McWatt]

Twins or Dbacks. Mets = semi-evil.

[Dr.Dre]

Its all about the Angels bro.

[azchargersfan21]

DBacks!Dbacks!!!!!!

[PuppyPuncher]

Spur my Blow Jays will you? I hope you pick the Mets, you deserve them.

[DaPacman]

Rangers In 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dr.Dre]

Angels in 2009.

[Sasquatch]

Well, first off I'm a Mariners homer, but I should warn you if you want to be a fan, they continually throw money at FA's but they're usually perennial disappointments.

I'd really suggest the A's, there's always pretty successful with a small market team and really building their projects. But this year, they spent some money on Matt Holiday this year, have some young studs on the mound with something to prove, and play in a relatively weak division. (Angels are probably still the favorite to take it, but they're slightly less of a favorite imo) The Rangers always have a chance at turning heads, and my Mariners will be lucky to win 75 games (And I'll probably throw a party if they do). Anyway, I'd put my money on them to be this year's Rays.

[JC_22]

PAAAADREESS!

We have the outdoor stadium you want. And the weather to go with it! You can watch Adrian Gonzales smack deep fly balls which should be home runs anywhere else.

[EL Guapo]

Mets. Pure entertainment

[Hunter]

Good teams to root for...
1-Diamond Backs, first of all they have Dan Harren and Brandon Webb, both pitchers are excellent and fun to watch. Also Justin Upton is one of the most talented players in the league (though he hasn't done a thing yet). IMO they have one of, if not the, best front offices in baseball.
2-Royals, sweet uniforms, ummm.... Alex Gordon was awesome in the minors?
3-Even though you said no NL Central I'll throw in my favorite NL team (I'm a Yankee fan), the Brewers. They don't have all that much in the pitching department but if you like home runs they're the team to watch. Braun and Fielder are two of the games best up and coming players, and the former has a long term deal already. They also scout/draft very well.

[azchargersfan21]

Good teams to root for...
1-Diamond Backs, first of all they have Dan Harren and Brandon Webb, both pitchers are excellent and fun to watch. Also Justin Upton is one of the most talented players in the league (though he hasn't done a thing yet). IMO they have one of, if not the, best front offices in baseball.
2-Royals, sweet uniforms, ummm.... Alex Gordon was awesome in the minors?
3-Even though you said no NL Central I'll throw in my favorite NL team (I'm a Yankee fan), the Brewers. They don't have all that much in the pitching department but if you like home runs they're the team to watch. Braun and Fielder are two of the games best up and coming players, and the former has a long term deal already. They also scout/draft very well.

Meh idk how good they will be this year. As of now it doesn't look like they will be playoff bound

[Simonds]

Diggin the Twins love on this thread. Not used to seeing that anywhere.

But seriously, the Twins are a joy to root for. Post-season contenders every year, with an exciting, young team that plays the game the way it's meant to be played. Even Ozzie Guillen, the manager of the White Sox (our biggest rival as of late), says that the Twins are a team to be admired. A very smart F.O. that doesn't make crappy decisions and treats the players like human beings, not million dollar toys. They don't play in an outdoor stadium right now, but they will in a year.

Biggest detractor for you is that we almost never sign free agents that aren't veteran trash, but we do make a lot of trades and we also have a lot of homegrown players that break through into the majors every year. Maybe I'm brainwashed, but that's so much more satisfying to me than signing free agents. At the least, it keeps things interesting.

[Eagles4Life]

lol this is an awful, awful spambot.

[Ckane138]

I also want the team to be one that actually goes after free agents, whether they get them all or not.


The A's fit every criteria perfectly except this^^ one is debatable. Most of the time they're very passive in picking up players and financially conservative playing "Moneyball" but this past offseason they saw that the Angels left the door open a bit in the AL West and went out and got a handful of veterans on one/two year deals like Giambi, Garciaparra, Cabrera plus they traded for Matt Holliday. So I don't know how you wanna interpret that but I'd highly recommend the A's.

[Vbsiena]

The A's fit every criteria perfectly except this^^ one is debatable. Most of the time they're very passive in picking up players and financially conservative playing "Moneyball" but this past offseason they saw that the Angels left the door open a bit in the AL West and went out and got a handful of veterans on one/two year deals like Giambi, Garciaparra, Cabrera plus they traded for Matt Holliday. So I don't know how you wanna interpret that but I'd highly recommend the A's.

50/50 chance Holiday won't be an A come the trade deadline.

[tbod10]

The Twins NEVER go after free agents, so they should be out.

DBacks are probably the best choice, only cause they do seem to make some splashes, just not a lot.

If you want a team you can follow the closest, I'd say the Mets cause NY teams always get more media coverage.

[arhymemaster]

Twins if you like really good farm systems, and seeing the game the way its meant to be played, and not choking or underachieving. Tigers if you like seeing underachieving and spending money, A's if you like losing, DBacks if you like scoring 2 or less runs a game, Mariners if you like decent play and spending money.

[Ckane138]

50/50 chance Holiday won't be an A come the trade deadline.

Very true. Depends how the standings look at the deadline. We came out really slow but we've caught some fire as of late so I think if we're within 4/5 games of the division come trade deadline we might take our chances and go all in and keep him for the year. It'll suck if he leaves because he's a big fan favorite even though most people know he's gone next year and possibly sooner.

[chicagojay]

D'Backs FTW

[klunker18]

I know you said no AL East (I'm assuming this is because it is so difficult to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox buying everyone) but the O's might be a pretty good choice.

First off, you definitely want a "bad" team with good prospects that you think might be good in a year or two so you can say you were a fan before they were good. That way if the prospects don't pan out you could just do this whole thing over again. Well the O's definitely have that down. We haven't had a winning season since 1997, but have a lot of good pitching prospects - we score plenty of runs, that isn't a problem - that are going to come up pretty soon.

Second, Angelos (don't like him, but he gets hated a lot more than he deserves) does actually go after free agents, and we used to get some before this current bad streak combined with the Yankees and Red Sox paying out the ass for everyone. So I wouldn't be surprised to see us sign someone if we can put together a half decent season, which as I said might not be too far off because of the prospects we have.

And lastly, you said you would prefer an outdoor stadium, well, we have one of the best stadiums in all of baseball. Camden Yards is the stadium that started the craze of making traditional looking new ballparks, and is the best of them too. It won't ever compete with Wrigley for the "baseball experience" (now that Yankee Stadium is gone I don't think any ballpark can), but you aren't a Cubs fan anymore anyway.

[Ckane138]

Just throwing this out there, the A's have won six in a row and are looking like a decent bandwagon to get on. Just saying...

[mycarman]

I think that the DB's are a good choice, but I have a hard time with location. I have no want or need to ever go to Arizona(sorry if you like it or are from it). I also don't like stadiums that play inside(I also know that Chase field is convertable, but I hear it stays open rarely). I just don't get the excitement to go on a vacation to see a series in AZ.

I have created a poll of 10 choices, and will either decide or limit it down to 3 choices in a weekish. I know I already limited it to a few teams, but people have thrown out good opinions...How the season is going will NOT decide it for me though, since I am trying to get off a major bandwagon

[mycarman]

Poll is up. Kinda had to BS a few of the teams to get 10

[tbod10]

You can try to hop on the Nats now that they drafted Stephen Stradsburg, haha.

In all seriousness, I'm voting for the O's. I'm a Yanks fan, but am terrified of what the O's might become in a year or 2. Adam Jones is the real deal and Markakis is still young, and Brian Roberts still has a decent amount of time left in him. We'll see what Wieters becomes, but if they do have a good amount of arms in their minors, than they'll be contenders in a year or 2. Also, since you kind of mentioned it, Camden Yards is a GREAT place to go see a game. Amazing ball park, great attractions around it and even close to DC. Just stay out of the bad parts of Baltimore.

[giantsfan6017]

Mets

[InjuredReserve]

Diamondbacks. Highly underappreciated and have an awesome pitching staff.

[azchargersfan21]

Diamondbacks. Highly underappreciated and have an awesome pitching staff.

<3