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05 Sox left off 'Top 25 Teams In Expansion Era' list


Jose Abreu

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Yet, of course, the 2016 Cubs made it. The 05 Sox, who were at least referenced in the show, "just missed it".

 

The full list isn't out yet because the show is still going on, but here is an article discussing it.

 

Edit: Those Cubs were ranked 6th

Edited by Jose Abreu
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If domination was their baseline for top25, I kind of get it. The 05 Sox weren't exactly a thing of beauty....there's no denying the results but that roster, subpar by most measures, seemed to always have just enough to win games. Their record in one-run games was insane, not only by winning% but also the number of times they were in games finishing that close. I don't have the energy to look up the odds in the spring of 2005, but I would guess Sox were probably a middle of the pack team in Vegas. It's very rare to have a team where everyone seems to click during the same season. Hell, based on talent, I thought the 03 team was a better team than the 05 Sox.

 

Cubs in '16 were nothing like our 05 Sox. That was a team built and ready to win with a very impressive roster. Their ceiling, in terms of dominating opponents, was heads and shoulders above the us.

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I think you have the biggest factor being the fact that the White Sox didn't have an extended run of excellence.

 

They couldn't even make the playoffs two years in a row with that roster. You can blame it on the 2006 Tigers and Twins, but a really dominant team would have had a longer window.

 

The bullpen results were a bit fluky, and the starting pitching regressed in the following year. There were no Hall of Famers on that roster. Pods regressed from being one of the most impactful players the first half that year. Buehrle, Konerko, Dye...were probably the three best players from a historical perspective. In addition, AJ Pierzynski has never been well-liked, although I'm pretty sure that's not one of the Top 10 reasons, lol. Jose Contreras came out of nowhere to become the best pitcher in baseball at the end of 2005 and beginning of 2006, but that wasn't lasting (injuries/age).

 

They also didn't have a great amount of competition from the Astros in the WS, and it was also kind of a wonder how the Astros were at one point 15 games under .500 and still made it that year to the post-season.

 

 

 

 

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I understand how annoying it is when the Sox are overlooked in national media but, to me at least, screw these lists they make. Any real baseball mind understands how special and rare that 05 White Sox team was. We will probably never see that performance again.

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We played some great baseball but I never thought of '05 as a dominant team. Regular season run differential was only +96 (6th best in the AL that year).

 

I know the playoffs are always a crap shoot, but I didn't see us as an overwhelming favorite in any of those matchups. Even losing to BOS in the ALDS wouldn't have been a huge upset. Maybe a lot of that was a result of the late season swoon though.

Edited by bighurt574
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QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 29, 2018 -> 02:54 PM)
I think the problem is that the majority of the roster had career years in 2005. If that exact same 25-man roster came together in any other season, they would be lucky to win 90 games.

Is that really something you can hold against them, though?

 

11-1 alone is enough for me to think they should be top-25 on this list. That dominance alone is so hard to replicate. I would've liked to see them in the 15-25 range.

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QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 29, 2018 -> 06:39 PM)
Is that really something you can hold against them, though?

 

11-1 alone is enough for me to think they should be top-25 on this list. That dominance alone is so hard to replicate. I would've liked to see them in the 15-25 range.

 

No, you shouldn't but I think it affects the perception of them. People see the roster, are underwhelmed, and it makes it easy to forget how good they were from start to finish.

 

That and nobody knows there are two teams in Chicago.

 

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QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 29, 2018 -> 06:39 PM)
Is that really something you can hold against them, though?

 

11-1 alone is enough for me to think they should be top-25 on this list. That dominance alone is so hard to replicate. I would've liked to see them in the 15-25 range.

 

What Buehrle, Contreras, Garland, and Garcia pulled off in the ALCS alone should have got them into consideration. That will never happen in today's game with the way bullpens are utilized.

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