2023 AL Central Division Thread

[Harry Chappas]

12 hours ago, flavum said:

5 AL teams under .500, and four of them are in the Central. Wait a month…there will be five under .500 Central teams. 

Nothing will help the White Sox more then the new schedule. 

[Timmy U]

Just took a peak at Tigers Indians game. Out of 18 players, there is one good offensive player, Jose Ramirez. Everyone else is struggling. Naylor is off to a terrible start as are Rosario and Gimenez. They cannot wait to face the Sox, I guess.

[caulfield12]

5 hours ago, Timmy U said:

Just took a peak at Tigers Indians game. Out of 18 players, there is one good offensive player, Jose Ramirez. Everyone else is struggling. Naylor is off to a terrible start as are Rosario and Gimenez. They cannot wait to face the Sox, I guess.

Gimenez and Kwan had surprisingly strong seasons last year, pretty sure Gimenez ended up in the 5's or even as high as 6.5ish fWAR.

The biggest change is Oscar Gonzalez being absolute garbage after being at least a very solid/above average hitter as a rookie last year.

Of course, they've already cycled through three of their expected starting pitchers already.   Their bullpen has also sprung a number of leaks compared to 2022.

[caulfield12]

Yikes, Naylor Gimenez and Rosario all at the bottom statistically... although Josh with some clutch RBIs recently. 

Former Sox targets Michael Conforto and Jean Segura near the bottom as well... Jose Abreu next to worst qualified OPS in the game.  Amazing in a bad way.  Segura occupying the current bottom. 

 

Guardians should have traded Amed Rosario for a haul heading into his walk year...in retrospect, that's easy to say now, ofc. 

Edited May 9, 2023 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

https://sports.yahoo.com/slumping-carlos-correa-sympathizes-with-jeering-twins-fans-id-boo-myself-too-184133744.HTML

Correa getting booed pretty strongly despite being on first place team... that contract might have saved the Sox if they eventually decide to spend FA $$$ again in 3-4 years. 

 

"One mechanical change they've made has already helped Correa feel like he's driving the ball farther, and they're working on undoing the effects of the stretching and yoga he did in the offseason. While staying limber is good, he believes the increased flexibility made his swing longer, and it's now taking him too long to get the bat to the ball."

PTAC?   All in his head?   Fast twitch muscles issue?  Yogi Berra quotes..."80% of the game is 50% mental."

Edited May 10, 2023 by caulfield12

[Autumn Dreamin]

[Balta1701]

 

[SoxAce]

14 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

 

It was 422 feet. That was discredited. 

[Timmy U]

Baylor heating up. 8th inning homers in 3 consecutive games. Just in time to kill us as usual.

[Balta1701]

8 hours ago, Timmy U said:

Baylor heating up. 8th inning homers in 3 consecutive games. Just in time to kill us as usual.

The White Sox joined the Big 12?

[caulfield12]

https://www.mlb.com/news/gerrit-cole-zac-gallen-lead-1st-cy-young-award-poll-2023

Gray and Ryan both Top 5 for AL Cy Young... Lopez honorable mention. 

[maxjusttyped]

[Timmy U]

Of all the lefty hitters the Sox could have signed, Conforto, Bellinger, Gallo, Yoshida, Benintendi is doing by far the worst. Par for the course.

[Autumn Dreamin]

Gordon and Gallo both left the game after fouling balls off themselves.

[caulfield12]

1 hour ago, Autumn Dreamin said:

Gordon and Gallo both left the game after fouling balls off themselves.

Royce Lewis and Gordon two cursed former first rounders...

[Autumn Dreamin]

[Timmy U]

Guardians get swept. Verlander was not vintage, but that line up is pretty bad. Ramirez hit an absolute moonshot, otherwise it was a lot of 68 exit velo. Sox are two games behind them now.

[Autumn Dreamin]

[caulfield12]

Chicago's very own NIcky Lopez, back from his appendectomy, triple/walk/run so far against DET.

[Autumn Dreamin]

[caulfield12]

https://www.mlb.com/news/eduardo-rodriguez-tigers-trade-candidate
 

 

[caulfield12]

Everything about the Central sucks...especially this jackass HR ball thief in KC dressed for some reason in scuba gear

had the gall to take Soto HR right out of a kid's glove and still today only regrets not making the catch or having a better glove

https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-stole-baseball-teen-royals-154900101.html

That idiot even had an Athletic article written about the play... not even like the ball itself had a massive amount of value, either. 

[caulfield12]

Guardians starting Twins series with everyone but Ramirez under 700 ops

Batters - CLE	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OPS
KwanLF	1	0	0	0	0	0	.261	.688
Rosario, ASS	1	0	0	0	0	0	.232	.604
Ramírez, Jo3B	1	0	0	0	0	0	.276	.809
Gimenez2B	0	0	0	0	0	0	.242	.649
BellDH	0	0	0	0	0	0	.224	.680
Arias, G1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	.198	.683
BrennanRF	0	0	0	0	0	0	.231	.597
ZuninoC	0	0	0	0	0	0	.194	.641
StrawCF	0	0	0	0	0	0	.231	.608

[Autumn Dreamin]

He took a HBP earlier in the game. Max Kepler and Correa also got pulled early, in the 7th down 6-3 (you'd assuming Rocco wasn't just conceding the game with a 3 run deficit, but who knows).

[caulfield12]

3 minutes ago, Autumn Dreamin said:

He took a HBP earlier in the game. Max Kepler and Correa also got pulled early, in the 7th down 6-3 (you'd assuming Rocco wasn't just conceding the game with a 3 run deficit, but who knows).

6-4.

Guardians would just be 2 1/2 games back versus 4 1/2.

Huge swing game to start off the series on the road.

 

Lewis just tied it with his second homer in a week.  Trevor Stephan lit up this time.  Guardians' pen nothing like 2022.

Nice to have quality depth (for both teams), with the numerous injury issues they seem to be constantly dealing with in Correa, Buxton, Kepler, etc.

 

Find myself cheering more for Minnesota to run away with it and force Reinsdorf to make some tough decisions of cutting out the core pieces of the rebuild in the next 10 months.