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ESPN ranks Sox #2 in Offseason Rankings


Greg Hibbard

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The Indians did probably play the best ball in the 2nd half excluding the month of October...and seriously come on, until we sign Konerko and decide who's DHing for us it's hard to put us higher than them, given that they know who their lineup is.

 

If the Indians lost all their free agents - Wickman, Millwood, Howry, etc., they would no where near suffer as much as the White Sox would if they lost Konerko, Thomas, Everett.

 

If our team comes back in tact with a fairly healthy Frank Thomas or some adequate replacement and a 5th starter named Brandon next year...then you better believe me, Cleveland ought to be f***ing frightened. But until then...we

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I haven't read everyones replies but what i have to say to this is WE ARE USED TO BEING THE UNDERDOGS AND ALWAYS NEVER PICKED TO FINISH FIRST. so this isn't any news to me. i am actually surprised they didn 't put us lower saying something like "well most of the pitching staff had carear years and will never perform at that level" or "they were lucky other team didn't play up to potential"

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The fact is, I believe that a lot of "experts" still feel that the Sox caught lightning in a bottle and got hot at the perfect time. Despite having the lead wire-to-wire, and having the best record in the American League, this Sox team was not the type of team that dazzles anyone, unless you are dazzled by pitching ( which I am ). They just got the job done. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, not one bit, but it can still lead someone to think "fluke" or "show me something next year, and then maybe I'll believe". Frankly, I'm surprised that they picked the Sox 2nd, given the option decline of Carl and the chance of losing PK.

 

But when you boil it all down, the "experts" are just there to provide something to talk about. Whether you agree with them or think they're full of s***, they don't KNOW anything more than any of us ( well, maybe they know more than SOME of us.... :D ). Show me results, that means more to me than speculation.

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QUOTE(Spiff @ Nov 2, 2005 -> 08:37 PM)
A world series title still apparently wasn't enough for some people to stop carrying their "ESPN hates us" cross.  Not talking about you Hibbard, but some of the respondees.

 

You do have to admit...it's a little funny when a team goes wire-to-wire, absolutely dominates in the playoffs, and is agreed upon by several experts in the baseball world that this was one of the best teams in the past 25 years that they are said to be the second best team in the majors exactly one week to the day, with that 1 team being better the team in their same division. You'd think if anyone, they'd put the Yanks.

 

You also have to admit it's not only a little funny, but it's flat out dumb to be doing this rankings 1 week after the World Series is over. The entire offseason sits in front of you, and who knows what any team is going to do at this point.

Edited by witesoxfan
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QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Nov 2, 2005 -> 10:37 PM)
You do have to admit...it's a little funny when a team goes wire-to-wire, absolutely dominates in the playoffs, and is agreed upon by several experts in the baseball world that this was one of the best teams in the past 25 years that they are said to be the second best team in the majors exactly one week to the day, with that 1 team being better the team in their same division.  You'd think if anyone, they'd put the Yanks. 

 

You also have to admit it's not only a little funny, but it's flat out dumb to be doing this rankings 1 week after the World Series is over.  The entire offseason sits in front of you, and who knows what any team is going to do at this point.

 

 

Funny yes, but not distressing or aggrivating. Their April predictions are way off, we all know that, so why would anyone put stock in November rankings?

 

I know the whole concept is so stupid, but I'm not going to go creating some conspiracy theory about how ESPN ranks teams because of how close they are to Bristol.

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QUOTE(Greg Hibbard @ Nov 2, 2005 -> 02:41 PM)
Man, they couldn't' wait to take us down a peg. Wait till you see who's number 1.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?p...rrank2006_early

 

 

Didn't we just finish smoking their bags all season long?

 

 

Thats what I thought.

 

 

:puke

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QUOTE(Reddy @ Nov 3, 2005 -> 01:58 AM)
i agree with ESPN on this one... i've been saying all along, WS or no the Indians should be the team to beat next year.

 

 

Dude. WE are the champions. That makes US the team to beat next season.

 

 

This is just another little slap in the face from the Eastern Seaboard Propoganda Network.

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People still overrate the Indians. They played incredibly well for about 2 (maybe 2 1/2 months), playing mostly against below .500 teams while we were playing largely good teams (relative to the rest of the league at least) like the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels, and to a lesser extent the Twins. Their offense is good but not stellar. A slump from Martinez or Hafner seriously slows them down, as you can see from this year. They need another fairly good bat, because the bottom of their order is not very threatening. If they can replace Boone, Blake, or Broussard with a more serious bat, that's another story, but those guys can't hit, except for the occasional homer. If Paulie comes back and we get a decent DH, their offensive advantage won't be THAT severe, although I'd still probably give them a slight edge.

 

Pitching is another story though. Their rotation needs an ace. In my opinion Sabathia is the most overrated pitcher in the league not named Kerry Wood. Yes, he has great stuff, so he can be dominant at times. But he's never been able to put it together for long stretches. Lee is only Decent. He has the potential to dominate at times but he's never on his game for more than a couple of months. He's a passable #2 when on, a #3 when he's average or worse. I don't think I have to go into much detail on Westbrook or Elarton, they just aren't very good. They need at least 1 starter to contend (maybe two), and I'm not sure Millwood can reproduce this fantastic year. The other issue is their pen, which is losing a lot of key guys. They have some young guys with good arms, but they need at least one established veteran in there, maybe two. That was one of their strengths last year, and right now it's a question mark.

 

I really think that if the Sox can get a slight upgrade on offense they'll be in very good shape. Their pitching looks like it will be among the strongest in the league, both starting and in the bullpen. That goes a long way towards setting us up for next year, especially since that seems to be the one thing most of the contenders in the AL are lacking in some degree.

Edited by ZoomSlowik
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Shoot, let em pick the Sox #2. As has been said, no one picked the Sox to win the WS in April...or even in October, for that matter. And who did?

 

This team thrives on being the underdog. Which is what's different with this Sox team from the previous 5 or 6 Sox teams. They WANT to earn it. And they did. So, again, let em pick against the Sox...it'll just give them more fuel to repeat...or three-peat...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or eight-peat. :ph34r:

 

*knocks on wood*

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