loltrain

"You are now 2-for-2 in elections -- in fine Chicago tradition." Was this an intentional joke?

Chisox vs Divisional Foes/Good Teams: Lost 2 of 3 from Cleveland Lost 2 of 3 from Kansas City Won 3 of 3 from Detroit Won 2 of 3 from Toronto Won 3 of 3 from Kansas City Won 3 of 3 from Minnesota Lost 2 of 3 from Seattle Split 1 of 2 from Cleveland Won 2 of 2 from Seattle Won 2 of 3 from Kansas City Lost 2 of 3 from Minnesota Won 3 of 3 from Oakland Lost 2 of 3 from Toronto Lost 3 of 4 from Cleveland Lost 2 of 3 from Texas Won 2 of 3 from Detroit Won 2 of 3 from Cleveland Won 3 of 4 from Texas Now the problem with this list is I had to include alot of medicore teams, because you haven't played Boston or New York even once. It's true that Detroits inability to beat good teams is a concern (actually it's not, our inability to beat chicago is a concern, but heh we did win our last meeting ) but you guys haven't even played these same good teams you're always talking about Detroit failing against. If you guys hammer Boston (which may happen considering the DRays are owning them) then sure you have an argument, but until you actually beat these same good teams I don't see how you can say Detroit will fail because we didn't.

Apparently the home plate umpire was a White Sox fan tonight. Tigers hitters should have done better, but Robertson got no help from the men in blue. As for the Ben Wallace stuff, I think it's a terrible deal for both teams, obviously losing a hard working great player like Ben is going to hurt the Pistons, but 15 million per year is waaaaaayyyy too much for a guy who is almost useless on offense and looked old and slow in the playoffs this year.

The article clearly says a mediocre performing pitcher IN THE MINORS, which is true. He doesn't say he's been mediocre in the majors at all. Regardless of that fact, their were tons of stories when Torre took a ton of Yankees, the BBTN guys (who I'll admit are usually morons) were even talking about it last night during the selection show.

Liriano - Verlander - Hafner - Hernandez/Pierzynski Hernandez is putting up great numbers for a catcher. Although I'm a Tigers fan I have to go with Liriano though, 9-1 with a sub 2.00 era how in the name of god was he not on the team in the first place? AJ: .327 .371 .453 .824 Ramon: .278 .341 .507 .848 I'd consider either a good choice for a third catcher.

So, the Tigers just played our worst series of the year while the Whitesox were playing the Cubs....and came out of it 2.5 up. As for the talk of the Tigers rotation collapsing...uhh you might want to look at your own rotations current stats, just a thought. I would bet that the Chisox rotation will improve, and the Tigers will not be as good over the rest of the year, but it's a fairly massive difference right now, so I don't see why that would automatically mean the Tigers will end up having a horrible 2nd half like some people here think.

Baseball has some really stupid rules Bottom of the 6th: Pirates batter grounds into easy double play....bounces off the umpire and he is somehow awarded a single. Top of the 7th: Guillen with a double down the line where Rodriguez would have been safe at home without a throw...bounces into the stands he has to hold at third. Ugh. That has pretty much summed up this game for the Tigers, I wouldnt' be suprised if the Pirates pull it out.

The "ozzie will bring a bunch of white sox" thing is posted on basically every message board for every team, and it just doesn't make sense. Last year Francona got to select a grand total of ONE player, that's right one. How is Ozzie going to bring 3 or 4 whitesox if he only gets one or two selections? Besides, there is no way (I hope) that a guy like Dye or Thome will not be on the team. If any teams are going to have guys ridiculously snubbed it will be the Tigers, Twins, and every AL East team that's not the Red Sox/Yankees. I think you guys are pretty safe.

I guess Kenny Rogers just doesn't want Jose Contreras to be the only pitcher in the AL Central who's having a 2nd half swoon. It's two bad starts, and he's actually been better in July than June throughout his career.

Figgins is hitting .253 with a .669 OPS so far this year :/

Inge was good at third base last year, too many errors but I believe he was in the top 5 in mlb in range factor and zone rating among qualified third basemen. Edit: He's currently first in RF (Crede is 3rd) and 4th in ZR (Lowell is first)

Why would we get rid of Guillen? He can play 1B, or DH. The same thing with Abreu, he would be in left field or DH. Believe me, we're not going to lose sleep about trading away or losing playing time for Craig Monroe, he isn't young, and he isn't very good. Shelton has also been struggling for the last two months (although he's looked better the last couple of weeks) and I would certainly rather have Tejada or Abreu in the lineup than him.

I don't worry too much about Jones, merely because the "closer" role is ridiculously overrated. I'd much rather have Jones come into the 9th up a run or two, and have Zumaya in the 7th in a tie game or one run lead with a couple of guys on base than vice-versa. Edit: Of course it shouldn't matter, since Rodney and Zumaya are great, Walker is good, Ledezma is adequate, and even Grilli hasn't been to bad. Not only that but we still have our 4th best reliever in the minor leagues for inexplicable reasons.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Jun 29, 2006 -> 07:46 AM) To the Tigers fans in Soxtalk: What are your major concerns about your team heading into the 2nd half? Injuries.

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ Jun 28, 2006 -> 05:04 PM) I'd probably take ViC Martinez over Pudge but you made a good list. Pudge might be the choice over Martinez warranted or not Martinez is in quite a slump and isn't 1/10th the defensive catcher Pudge is. Although even as a Tigers fan I agree Pudge probably doesn't deserve it, he certainly does moreso than Varitek in my opinion, and really their aren't that many strong hitting catchers, so I'm willing to give him a pass due to his defense.

West Michigan Whitecaps (Oakland A's, and now Detroit Tigers A ball team) Last game I saw was back in 2000 or 1999. Sadly the best players I've seen are Francisco Cordero, Robert Fick, and Ben Grieve. Not exactly a list of hall of famers.

Lidge still has great stuff, he just can't throw strikes. And when you can't throw strikes you end up leaving meatballs over the plate. A .238 baa and 4 homers given up isn't good for a closer, but it's not horrendous. Pettite should have been pulled before the last inning though, he definitely seemed to be out of gas. Verlander with a 5 pitch inning in the 8th.

The original story has been recanted by the Post.

Although the insane rambling on that pitch was stupid, it is true that noone throws a 97 mph slider.

Good pitching duel so far today, Tigers lead 1-0 due to an Astros error, but both Verlander and Pettite have been strong. Magglio left the game, but it was just a bruised shin after a foul ball. Edit: nice post by the other guy, I don't really come here to pick fights, merely to correct ridiculous lies and talk baseball This is a very nice board with some knowledgable posters, no offense to people who post at both boards but this place is heaven compared to Whitesoxinteractive, which seems to be full of trolls who insist that Granderson isn't good because he can't get steals, and Verlanders arm will fall off any day etc etc etc. Hopefully I don't come across as too bad of a troll or something, because as I've said many times I definitely feel the White Sox are a great team and they certainly have to be the favorites to win the division even though we're ahead of them currently.

C: Maurer 1B: Hafner 2B: Lopez 3B: Glaus SS: Tejada OF: Wells OF: Dye OF: Rios In other words I pretty much agree with him. The problem is all the Red Sox and Yankees stiffs getting voted in will limit how many deserving players (you know, guys on the Tigers and Whitesox, aka the two best teams in the AL) get in.

Rod Allen is fine, I'd much rather have him than Hawk and DJ. Heh.

I'm sure a player would rather sit at home in a city that hates him, and isn't exactly a great place itself, than go to the playoffs in a place that would embrace him while sitting in his multi-million dollar mansion in the ridiculously wealthy suburbs of Detroit. I guess Barry Sanders, the Detroit Pistons, Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings, and the like don't get any sponsorship deals... Meanwhile Chicago stars like Michael Jordan and....um.....well...Michael Jordan are raking in the dough. I'm not saying Detroit is a great place, I just don't understand the argument here, if a player is good enough he'll get tons of chances to rake in the cash whether he plays in New York or Tampa Bay.

And you guys did a great job wearing out the Astros bullpen for the Tigers ;-) Seriously what a game, the White Sox seem more impressive every time I see them.

I don't think it's obvious the White Sox are better position by position at all. We're better in LF, CF, and SS. You're better in RF, 1B, DH, and 3B. 2B and C is about even. Yes, you have a big advantage at 1B/Dh right now, but I'd say we have an equally big advantage in CF and SS. Pitching wise it's about equal, although I'lll give you the edge due to the experience and traditional success. Bullpen goes to us. I do think the White Sox are a more talented team right now, but it's not like you're 30 games better than us or something. It's certainly possible the Tigers will fade yes, but it's possible that ANY team will fade, it sure seems like your starters throw an awful lot of pitches and innings, who knows if they'll wear down? I'll admit the Tigers have a higher chance of fading out than the White Sox do, but it's not even close to a 'sure thing' like alot of the posters here seem to think, as I said earlier in the thread I can't comprehend why you guys want us to fail so much, if anyone should be jealous and paranoid it's us, after all you're the defending champs.