Greg Hibbard Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 12-11 in July... treading water? Isn't this exactly what happened in the second half of 2000? If we lose this Baltimore series we could be just .500 for July...or worse, if we get swept we'd be under .500 And July wasn't even a tough month.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 QUOTE(Greg Hibbard @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 08:41 AM) 12-11 in July... treading water? Isn't this exactly what happened in the second half of 2000? If we lose this Baltimore series we could be just .500 for July...or worse, if we get swept we'd be under .500 And July wasn't even a tough month.... It's July, not September. We're playing like crap right now and we've still managed an above .500 month thus far. Unfortunately every team goes through a tough stretch and right now this is ours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Hibbard Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 I think these last three weeks have proven that this team CANNOT stand pat. We need to address several things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Hibbard Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 08:53 AM) It's July, not September. We're playing like crap right now and we've still managed an above .500 month thus far. Unfortunately every team goes through a tough stretch and right now this is ours. I hear you, but next month is BRUTAL schedule-wise, and I'm afraid we'll be under .500 and people will say "well, that was just a tough month on the schedule" October is a pretty tough month on the schedule too, and one that we can't afford to be under .500 in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 QUOTE(Greg Hibbard @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 02:54 PM) I hear you, but next month is BRUTAL schedule-wise, and I'm afraid we'll be under .500 and people will say "well, that was just a tough month on the schedule" October is a pretty tough month on the schedule too, and one that we can't afford to be under .500 in... Here's a good way to look at it: If the Sox can't hold on to make the playoffs, they didn't deserve to make it then. With the Twins also having a very tough schedule, the Twins would deserve it over the Sox if they can make up that many games. I still think the Indians are just as much of a threat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldRetiredGuy Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 ebbs and flows. Playing at 100% for a season is impossible. I'm believing this is more of a collective deep breath and waiting to exhale for the playoffs. It must be difficult to stay in the here and now with a big lead. I think a strong couple week leading into the playoffs are more important than even August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 QUOTE(Greg Hibbard @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 08:54 AM) I hear you, but next month is BRUTAL schedule-wise, and I'm afraid we'll be under .500 and people will say "well, that was just a tough month on the schedule" October is a pretty tough month on the schedule too, and one that we can't afford to be under .500 in... Here's the thing, we played like total s*** in 2 games against Boston, basically gave them away and yet we were still able to split the series. This team doesn't have to play fantastic to beat Boston or the Yankees cause we're better then them(I'm sure someone's going to disagree with me just because they're the yanks and the bosox) once we start catching the baseball again we'll be fine. I'm truely not worried, this is just a real s***ty stretch of baseball at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 03:00 PM) Here's the thing, we played like total s*** in 2 games against Boston, basically gave them away and yet we were still able to split the series. This team doesn't have to play fantastic to beat Boston or the Yankees cause we're better then them(I'm sure someone's going to disagree with me just because they're the yanks and the bosox) once we start catching the baseball again we'll be fine. I'm truely not worried, this is just a real s***ty stretch of baseball at this point. I agree, the latest stretch of games have been lost because of execution, and not talent. It's not like we went out and couldn't compete with the Red Sox, etc. My biggest concern is still our overall offensive lineup. We need another weapon that can make a difference. Until PK gets it going, our offense is usually only good if Pods can make things happen, or Dye drives in runs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 09:03 AM) I agree, the latest stretch of games have been lost because of execution, and not talent. It's not like we went out and couldn't compete with the Red Sox, etc. My biggest concern is still our overall offensive lineup. We need another weapon that can make a difference. Until PK gets it going, our offense is usually only good if Pods can make things happen, or Dye drives in runs. We've bantered back and forth a million times about the offense so I'm just going to say this, where we disagree is that you think we need another offensive weapon, I don't necessarily think we need to. I think our offense is the weak link on the team and I'd love another middle of the order bat ala Huff or Overbay. I don't think we need one however to win the whole damn thing just because everyone has weaknesses and I think we have the best playoff rotation in baseball if of course we get there. So basically to sum this up I want another bat but I don't think we NEED one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 03:07 PM) We've bantered back and forth a million times about the offense so I'm just going to say this, where we disagree is that you think we need another offensive weapon, I don't necessarily think we need to. I think our offense is the weak link on the team and I'd love another middle of the order bat ala Huff or Overbay. I don't think we need one however to win the whole damn thing just because everyone has weaknesses and I think we have the best playoff rotation in baseball if of course we get there. So basically to sum this up I want another bat but I don't think we NEED one. I just worry about the stress we're putting our pitchers under to perform at such a high level every game, just to win. Also, I think we're seeing some guys try to hard right now to make up for other hitters not doing their jobs (PK, Everett). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceffa2000 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 After thinking it over last night, I'm not worried. If this continues for another couple of weeks, then yes, I would think something is truly wrong with this team. But I remember earlier in the season when we were tearing things up, many of the players reminded us (and many of us said) that the team is going to go through a rough patch during the season and they are going to have to respond with authority and pull themselves out of it. I thought some of our ealier spells were those times but this may be it. There isn't a way to tell until November. But I expect this team to snap out of it. Offensive slumps are a little more excusable than defensive slumps. While at times the offense has been lacking, take a couple of those games lost by errors and we are a respectable 14-9 so far after the break. I am not big on "what ifs" but I am just using it to reason that we are going to pull out of this. We may struggle a little longer but this isn't the worst time in the world to go through this. I would much rather have it now than in September going into the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 09:08 AM) I just worry about the stress we're putting our pitchers under to perform at such a high level every game, just to win. Also, I think we're seeing some guys try to hard right now to make up for other hitters not doing their jobs (PK, Everett). I'm just hoping over the next few games we can get the pen some rest, it seems Cliff and Neal get up to throw every game, might not come in everytime but they're always working. I love the backend of our pen and just hope they get some rest. Like I said in the Jenks thread he proved something to me last night and I'd be willing to bet soon he gets thrown into a more crucial game more and more often. At this point I almost want Damaso to be a righty specialist, hopefully he can start throwing strikes to lefties again and Viz is just bad. I'm very excited about El Duque if he can stay healthy he's going to be huge for this team, his stuff the past few games has been so much better then what it was and of course he's throwing strikes again. Overall, I think the pitching will be fine, I'm just hoping Neal and Cliff get some more rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Hibbard Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 Thomas might be done for this season. If he is, we need another slugger/obp guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wedge Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 The good news is that we're scuffling. The reason the team finished poorly down the stretch in 2000 was that there were a lot of injuries, especially to the pitching staff. For the most part, the team is still healthy. Having a healthy team in September (especially the rotation) is the top priority, and the team should do fine if that is the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanOfCorn Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Wasn't there a thread in here somewhere where people were saying that even if we go .500 in the second half we should get to the playoffs? I mean, come on. If a bad month mean we go 12-14, I'll take it. Even if we win one game against the Orioles...that's 13-13, and I'll take that too. We are still double digits ahead of the Twins and Ozzie won't let this team let up. He told me, Steff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish71 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 (edited) The team needs to regroup a bit and get more focus. These big leads make for sloppy play and inconsistancy. We are not treading water. We are losing a lot of series lately. We have lost 4 out of the last 7 series. Our offense scores 40% on the home run. We need to get back to what got us going in the beginning of the year. Our offense was dynamic because it had to be at the beginning of the year. Now with some guys hitting for power we have become stagnant. This is not something you just glide for a few months and play 500 ball and then turn it on in the playoffs. If we do that we will win the division and lose in the playoffs. Edited July 28, 2005 by southsideirish71 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 This team also hasn't had an off day since the AS break until today. All of our pitchers have been on 4 days rest for quite some time...some less (buehrle) with the AS Game. I think the extra day of rest will do these guys, especially on the mound, some good. At least I hope so. There have been a couple times this season where I've been worried that we were going into a slump, that we were just treading water, that we'd been stuck at x games over .500 for what seemed like forever, and every time I have started thinking that, this team fired off another 8 game winning streak. I think they know they looked bad in their last few series, and hopefully some of them will start to pick it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Hibbard Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 (edited) QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 09:57 AM) This team also hasn't had an off day since the AS break until today. All of our pitchers have been on 4 days rest for quite some time...some less (buehrle) with the AS Game. I think the extra day of rest will do these guys, especially on the mound, some good. At least I hope so. There have been a couple times this season where I've been worried that we were going into a slump, that we were just treading water, that we'd been stuck at x games over .500 for what seemed like forever, and every time I have started thinking that, this team fired off another 8 game winning streak. I think they know they looked bad in their last few series, and hopefully some of them will start to pick it up. There was really only one other comparable poor stretch this season, and it's when we went 6-8 from May 14th-May 29th. The difference is that that stretch was maybe one of the toughest all season. It was the last two games against Baltimore when they were still in first, Texas at home when they were at or near first, at the Cubs, at the first place Angels, and then at Texas when they AGAIN took the division lead (and NOBODY was beating them). The stretch now? We lost 2/3 against 4th place detroit? Lose 2/3 at 5th place KC? It's not comparable, sorry. Those two in particular are inexcusable, as is giving away a game vs. Boston who is playing poorly right now. It's one thing to run up against teams that are buzzsawing through the entire league, but it's quite another to be playing poorly and losing to teams that have no business being competitive against the Sox. I hope you're right about them rattling off another big winning streak, but honestly, with the way this team is playing right now, with the injury to big Frank and the dog days and brutal August schedule approaching, I don't see it happening. Edited July 28, 2005 by Greg Hibbard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Zelig Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 QUOTE(Greg Hibbard @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 09:54 AM) I hear you, but next month is BRUTAL schedule-wise, and I'm afraid we'll be under .500 and people will say "well, that was just a tough month on the schedule" October is a pretty tough month on the schedule too, and one that we can't afford to be under .500 in... Two games against Cleveland are all I see scheduled in Octoer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 (edited) QUOTE(Leonard Zelig @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 12:10 PM) Two games against Cleveland are all I see scheduled in Octoer. Just how we finished with 2 against KD last season but I'm sure he is referring to the playoffs... Edited July 28, 2005 by SoxFan1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Hibbard Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 QUOTE(Leonard Zelig @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 10:10 AM) Two games against Cleveland are all I see scheduled in Octoer. I'm talking about the playoffs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUGGERNAUT Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Well if you look at the numbers despite Thomas going down we are starting to swing the bats MUCH better. Compare to CWS: CWS Jul 05 .270/.758 vs Opponents .276/.782 CWS Jul 04 .226/.669 vs Opponents .264/.764 but nothing like 2000: CWS Jul 00 .308/.871 vs Opponents .287/.827 We better get the pitching under control or we'll likely suffer the same fate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sircaffey Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 (edited) I don't think this is anything like 2000, at least to me. Injuries and guy's coming way back down to earth fast, was the reason for their mediocre 2nd half... Side note: I just watched Game 1 vs. Seattle again yesterday for the first time since 2000 and saw Jim "Butter" Parque take the mound in Game 1. Jim Parque...on the mound...in the first game...of a playoff series. I saw Ray Durham move to his right after the first batter of the ballgame, Rickey Henderson, hit a groundball 3 feet to Ray's left. Zero pitching and Zero defense...How we slugged our way to 95 wins was amazing. Edited July 29, 2005 by sircaffey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Sox Fan Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Is Kenny gonna make a deal or what? Time is running out...He needs to make something happen. It's quiet all over the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatScott82 Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 2 days left.... I wonder what the hell KW will do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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