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In the New York Post, Joel Sherman writes that Cubs Manager Lou Pinella is thankful to be in the National League, because ‘the American League has become a beast.’
…i guess…i suppose it depends on how you define better…i 
mean, yes, the American League has the four best teams in the game…no doubt…but, in my opinion, the National League isn’t weak, it’s more balanced…
Last season, four teams from the American League won 90 games, while only two did so in the National League.
At the same time, while only three teams in the American League won between 80 and 90 games, seven teams did so in the National League.
…so, to me, the National League is stronger overall, i.e., thick in the middle, while the American League is simply top-heavy…in other words, while the Yankees, Tigers, Red Sox, Indians and Angels are beating up on the other nine teams, the entire National League will equally be beating up on one another…
…plus, we all know, real baseball players hit…they don’t send up their friends to bat for them…silly, designated hitter…
Thank you for that insight…I don’t like how everyone ridicules the NL, bc they don’t have powerhouse teams like the Yanks or Sox…last time I checked, there aren’t any scrub teams like KC, Texas, Tampa Bay, or Baltimore. Of course, we have the Marlins, but thats a different story.
Yeah, the NL only has the Marlins and Nats to take advantage of and beat up on…
oh, wait…
::sigh::
I’m so bitter.
cant put the marlins in the same convo as kc, tb, or tx. Marlins have two ws titles and the have played by the same rules and payroll restrictions of kc and tb. Marlins deserve props for being a quality organization.
They also deserve props for throwing one heck of a Liquidation Sale.
nice shot at the DH!
The NL has become like the NFL. With few exceptions, anyone can win on any given day.
I agree with the point that Cerrone made. If you look at the, what id call “basement” teams, i beleive the NL is a better league:
NL: Marlins, Nationals, Reds, Pirates (whom I beleive will have a good 2008)
AL: Rays, Orioles, Royals, Rangers
Johan wants to hit ! No DH ! Lets go Mets!
More stats from last year…
Total Games Back in AL: 191
Total Games back in NL: 120
Total Teams more than 20 Games back in AL: 4 (Bal, TB, Chicago, KC)
Total Teams more than 20 Games back in NL: 0
I can also do a standard deviation if you like….
Yours is an unfair comparison. You almost have to remove Baltimore and Tampa from your discussion because they both play in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox. None of the other teams in this discussion had that to contend with.
Mets played the Yankees as much as Cleveland did.
The Yankees sucked for a half a year.
Those same teams that got ’stuck’ wit hthe Yankees and Red Sox, got to play the Royals and the Orioles etc.. It works both ways.
I don’t see how the records prove anything about the overall quality of the teams.
Regardless of the records, it’s still theoretically possible that the worst teams in the AL are better than the best teams in the NL.
I agree…this is none-sense and you guys are comparing oranges to apples as opposed to oranges to oranges. Just because you have more teams with “balanced” records, i.e. at or around .500 it doesn’t mean that the league is better. Does it mean that scores are closer and games are more interesting to watch? Probably. Does it mean that there are less sweeps in 3 or 4 game sets? Yes. But it doesn’t stand to show that the whole league is better than the other or it has better teams overall. Think to every year of interleague series’ since the start of interleague play. Is it an accident that the AL has a much better record EVERY YEAR? How about the fact that the NL hasn’t won an All-Star game in like what, 10 years?
Come on guys, don’t lie to yourselves. Matt: I know you like to think positively, but please don’t kid yourself and don’t convince yourself of facts that are b.s. The AL as a whole is a much more powerful league than the NL. Taking the number of teams “in the middle” doesn’t make sense – dont’ forget that the NL teams play other teams in the NL and AL teams play other teams in the AL. Obviously records will be better when you’re playing in the NL because of the lack of the powerhouses. You put those 80-90 win teams into the AL and their records will probably be 5-10 games worse, i.e. a team finishing at 82-80 would probably finish with 70-75 wins. It’s obvious that the AL is stronger overall.
That said, once you put 2 teams into the world series, it really doesn’t matter which league is what – showcased by the results of the past 10 or so world series. No matter what, the 2 teams playing for the title have an equally good chance at winning, even if they’re coming from a “weaker” league.
Eh….as Matt said, the DH abomination makes the AL a joke, no matter the “powerhouses”.
For the record, you should NEVER boo your own team. I can’t understand why people do it. You can boo “not trying” but you can’t boo and bad performance.
I would be fine with Livan and Dotel. If we gave Aaron a shot at the rotation and Pelfrey pitches the way he can (ground balls), then their is no reason we can’t be a great team with Duaner and Dotel in the pen and Pedro,Maine,and Oliver tearin up the mound.
I do however think we CAN NOT go into the season with Ryan Church as our “everyday” right fielder. He’s a good bat, but c’mon, if Ryan Church starts for you, you arent a contender.
I would only boo if they…
10) Restored the blue and orange panels to the outside of Shea for one last go around.
9) Resigned Bobby Bo for one more go around.
8) Took a ride to MA to see Mo Vaugn in a batting cage.
7) Roll back th clocks to LIMA TIME!
6) Move DWright to 1st to accommodate a resurgent Fonzie.
5) Introduce a mauve alternative uniform.
4) Have Barry Bonds throw out the first pitch.
3) Raise the price of beer to $100.
2) Aim for “meaningful games” in September,
……………………………………….and
1) Traded our heart & soul, Jose Reyes.
We were a contender with Green starting for us in right. Church>Green
Did you see us go into the playoffs??
Clearly, we weren’t…
The fact that we missed the playoffs has hardly anything to do with Shawn Green. He was one of the few Mets who actually looked like he was conscious down the stretch.
I still like the idea of bringing back the XMan to platoon with Church.
I concur, that would be a great move or we just wing it and have Gomez platoon that is if we don’t trade him.
if you can get snell in that deal would be even better
Guys if Omar makes one more trade and it won’t be for a pitcher you’ll have his balls…you people ask for one thing then ask for another then whatever happens you’re not happy….jeez…
unless we get johan it dont look good for the nl at the allstar game
It’s a vicious cycle. The more the Yankees spend, the more the Red Sox and other AL teams feel the need to spend in order to keep up and better their chances to get to the postseason and the World Series.
Result: A big talent drain to the AL.
Meanwhile, some teams in smaller to mid-sized markets feel it’s almost impossible to compete.
That’s why the Yankees are bad for baseball.
I used to have a vicious cycle. It had sweet pegs and I rode it everywhere.
this has been an issue for year. that being said: last 7 world series: 3 nl vs 4al
it’s hard to be sympathetic for the al teams the yanks and red sox get to beat up on the orioles/rays 38 times a year. that does wonders for your winning %
Sweet Lou is ‘thick in the middle’
Great Post! You ever notice how you never hear of a manager out-managing another manager in the AL
There would never be as distinct of a difference in managing a series like, for instance, the way Bobby V. manhandled Dusty Baker in the 2000 NLDS
that is why i loved bobby v. no matter what we do under randolph no one will ever say he out managed anybody. i cant wait for the dodgers mets games next year.
I see a whole slew of new Subway commercials in our future.
Please bring back Bobby V!
Bobby V used to outmanage Bobby V all the time, if you fail to remember. I loved the guy, but it’s not like he was John McGraw.
I’d be curious to see if someone had the Total AL payroll vs. the NL Payroll
That should be a quick one to get
The DH is total BS. It changes the dynamic of the game so drastically that it is comical that teams in both leagues compete for the same prize at the end of the season.
Imagine if in football the NFC played its games with a 80 yard field, while the AFC used a 100 yard field…and then they both met for the Super Bowl. Or what if the Eastern Conference in the NBA did away with the 3 point line, and the Western Conference kept it?
i agree its a stupid rule, its incredibly unfair in the WS if you ask me. look at some DHs on good teams…hafner, sheffield, ortiz…who would be our DH damion easily? marlon anderson? who would be the phillies dh? shane victorino? the rockies had their 4th OF as their DH. its like they get an extra slugging cleanup type hitter and the NL team gets an extra 8th hitter.
We’d have been set in the ‘07 playoffs at DH, we had Jeff Conine on the roster.
Sounds like Lou is afraid of the AL. I would be pretty mad if Willie said something stupid like that.
Yea I’m sorry Matt is incorrect on this one. That there is more parity in the NL doesn’t mean that those average teams are better than the lesser AL teams. Here is a list of all the interleague records.
YEAR AL NL
1997 97 117
1998 114 110
1999 116 135
2000 136 115
2001 132 120
2002 123 129
2003 115 137
2004 126 125
2005 136 116
2006 154 98
2007 137 115
Yeah, and you’d think that we would have the advantage since our pitchers are forced to hit all of the time.
good point – parity does not equal ‘balance’. Matt’s wrong, the AL is better.
If any NL team played in the AL they probably would not make the playoffs.
Does this kind of post even have to be started??
Are you seriously telling me the NL is overall stronger??
Jeebus Christmas…..put down the KoolAid.
The American League is better than the NL in every facet of the game. They have better starting pitchers, better closers, better hitters, better defense.
Its not even a debate right now. The NL isnt “fat in the middle”…its just loaded up with a bunch of slop that goes back and forth with other slop.
The cream of the crop in the NL…would get destroyed by the cream of the crop in the AL.
Please see: Colorado Rockies 2007…..aka the J. V team.
That’s true. The 2006 TIgers were an awesome team too that just destroyed the JV
Oh wait, that was the Cards…
Haha your so predictable hanging your hat on that. ONE YEAR…where a bad team won it with a fluke.
Thats all you got? What about the last 3 seasons of interleague dominance by the AL or the statistics they are leading in every category…or how bout the last 10 All Star games where the NL couldnt BUY A W.
Honestly….why do you try to convince yourself otherwise?
Im an NL fan…but just step up and admit the NL isnt on the same planet as the AL right now.
Oh and for you arguing the AL basement teams are worse than the NL basement teams….
Then why is it during interleague the NL gets stomped.
I believe the Royals have a very good record vs many NL teams.
If anyone thinks the National League is even on the same planet as the AL….your living in a dillusion I can’t even imagine.
this reminds me of matt’s insistence on not calling last year a collapse, or putting “collapse” in silly “quotes”.
Baseball Prospectus et al have done the research, batters in the AL are about 25 OPS points better, and pitchers… something else, i forget.
point remains, this rationalizing is dumb. better to accept it or at least try and refute it with decent analysis. besides, we should be happy, we have an easier bath to the series. thats good.
Hey Matt, how about an update on tax cheat Derek Jeter. Haven’t heard much about that story lately.
LOL CERRONE, SERIOUSLY? “SILLY” ? L O L YOU GOTTA GET YOUR GROWN MAN ON HOMIE WTF ARE YOU THINKIN WITH “SILLY”, SON?
its guys like you that make have ruined the comments section of matt’s site. like, seriously, if you don’t have anything nice to say then just leave the site. matt works really hard and always maintains a non-biased opinion………
NOT!!!
LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!
I MAY NOT LIKE YOU DARKSTAR, BUT I DAMN SURE RESPECT YOU. I SAY WE TELL CERRONE WHATS REALLY UP, AND IF YOU’RE NOT DOWN WITH THAT, I GOT TWO WORDS FOR YOU……..
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.SUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKK IIIIITTTTT!!!!!!!
those who know and play baseball appreciate the nl; casual fans flock around the al (read yankees and redsox)
I have respect for Cerrone, but after reading “the NL isnt weaker…its more balanced” I just lost a great deal of that respect.
Gimme a break Matt. The National League stinks and is mocked throughout all of baseball land by analysts and experts alike. I really don’t get why you have to try and rationalize things…sugarcoating them so we feel good about our league….IT STINKS. Thats the truth, lets man up and accept it. Hopefully it will be good again one year.
The proof is in the pudding. Don’t tell me about the Cards fluke WS. Look at the numbers as a whole the last few years….or just look to this years W.S. The best team in the N.L wouldn’t have beaten the Sox in 20 tries.
Aside from the fact that the Mets didn’t seem like they wanted to win in the last two weeks the Nats walked all over them. And remember 06 when the Mets dropped three in a row in Pitt Town needing just one victory to clinch the NL East?
The NL has some bad teams, but they’re not quite as pathetic as the terrible teams in the AL.
someone mentioned the marlins as being a bad team, but i think the 06 marlins would absolutely destroy the 06 royals, orioles, or devils rays.
IDK, the Orioles and D-Rays could hit in ‘06.
DH = Defence Horribile
The American League, or ‘Junior Circuit’ is nothing more than a diversion from the original game of baseball.
National League baseball poses exponentially more variables in game play than does the American League. It is all those nuances that make baseball a challenge, both as a player and as a manager implementing strategy.
So while the AL may pummel the NL, just remember that they changed the rules. Our version of baseball in my mind is the only version of baseball and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Wow…I’m surprised you get “any” at all after that comment…
thats the most annoying cycle ever. the only good thing is its timed with the phases of the moon so at least you know when to avoid the ‘cycling’ ones.
this is complete crap. No way would they just throw in Joe Nathan for the deal they were looking to get for just Johan. Plus the winter meetings are all wrapped up, so the timing just doesn’t work. The twins GM is probably on a plane…
The reason the NL doesn’t have the DH is because, when the vote was taken, one of the voters was on a fishing trip and the guy he sent in his place waffled and voted against it. The whole thing was described in an interview that was televised about a year ago. Unfortunately I don’t remember the names of the guys involved. I wish I did so I could have some success googling it. Anyway, hard as it is to believe, that’s what happened.
Republican!
Boy did you just show your age.