Detroit For Real

[Gregory Pratt]

I think Detroit's for real, but we're better, IMO, by far.

 

I can see the Wild Card coming from the Central this year. Chicago and Detroit?

 

I always did think that Cleveland was considerably weaker this year.

[Sox It To Em]

I think Detroit's for real, but we're better, IMO, by far.

 

I can see the Wild Card coming from the Central this year. Chicago and Detroit?

 

I always did think that Cleveland was considerably weaker this year.

 

This echoes my thoughts exactly. Cleveland has lost Coco Crisp, and their starting pitching took a huge hit.

[southsideirish71]

We are not playing all that good. So lets stop acting like we are playing our brains out and we cant shake those pesky tigers. Its just the opposite. They are playing at a silly pace, and we are playing blah.

 

Our pitchers need to be aggresive in the strikezone. Keep the ball down and put the hitter away.

 

Our hitters need to keep hitting to all fields, and putting pressure on the opposition.

 

 

Ozzie needs to stop running just to say we are running. This is not the 2005 WhiteSox where we need to scratch, claw, and fight for every single run. Our offense can bang with the best of them. He also needs to figure out the pitching matchups. Needs to know when to pull a pitcher, and when to leave a pitcher in.

 

Boone Logan also needs to depart this team. The thing that scares me is that as long as he is int a uni, Ozzie may use him. Send him down, bring Tracey up.

[Greg Hibbard]

I made a bet today that we finish more than 3 games better than Detroit.

 

Easiest money I ever made.

 

Detroit's an 85 win team, at best. They are playing OUT OF THEIR MINDS right now, and getting every single break.

 

Meanwhile, the Sox are playing way below their capabilities and are still 12 over .500

[BigSqwert]

Just because we have the best team on paper doesn't guarantee us anything. A lot of people on this site think that because our lineup is awesome that we are a lock for this division. Every year there are 2 or 3 teams that have an amazing lineup on paper but fail to get the job done. Lets not get too over-confident with our team.

 

I really like our team and hope they do well but there is a possibility that the bullpen doesn't get much better this year or that some of our starting pitchers' ERAs don't come down.

Edited May 19, 2006 by BigSqwert

[Kyyle23]

Where are all these guys with serious playoff experience? They have one guy who has actually won anything in I-Rod, and Maggs took part in a sweep in the ALDS. I must have missed a lot of playoff appearances by Dimitri Young, Carlos Guillen, Chris Shelton, Placido Polanco, and Brandon Inge.

 

Carlos Guillen drove in the series clinching run vs the White Sox in 2000 when he was with the Mariners, and ended up with playoff experience in both 2000 and 2001

http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/guillca01.shtml

 

Placido Polanco had plenty of playoff experience when he was the super utility man for the Cardinals, again in 2000 and 2001, and batted .280 overall in the playoffs

http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/polanpl01.shtml

 

Dmitri Young even had 7 at-bats in 1996 with the Cardinals. Granted, it was a long time ago, but he did play in the playoffs.

 

It isnt alot of playoff experience, but those guys have been there.

Edited May 19, 2006 by kyyle23

[WCSox]

There's no way that we're going to catch Detroit. We'd be best off dealing Buehrle, Garland, and Jenks to the Giants for prospects. Edited May 19, 2006 by WCSox

[ZoomSlowik]

He is now pitching in a hitter's park and won't have to deal with 120 degree Texas heat. Might do a little better in the 2nd half this year.

 

Kenny Rogers' home/road splits for the last 2 years when he was in Texas:

 

2004

Home ERA- 4.24

Road ERA- 5.31

 

2005

Home ERA- 2.98

Road ERA- 3.78

 

So apparently he pitched better in the hitter's park with the heat. I guess the park wasn't really a factor then. I wouldn't expect a 41 year old to have much stamina anyways.

[Kalapse]

Kenny Rogers' home/road splits for the last 2 years when he was in Texas:

 

2004

Home ERA- 4.24

Road ERA- 5.31

 

2005

Home ERA- 2.98

Road ERA- 3.78

 

So apparently he pitched better in the hitter's park with the heat. I guess the park wasn't really a factor then. I wouldn't expect a 41 year old to have much stamina anyways.

2004

Pre All-Star Break- 4.21 ERA/ 1.32 WHIP

Post All-Star Break- 5.46 ERA/ 1.69 WHIP

 

2005

Pre All-Star Break- 2.54 ERA/ 1.24 WHIP

Post All-Star Break- 4.72 ERA/ 1.43 WHIP

 

Perhaps his age comes into play more with the long haul of the season.

[JackTalkThai]

I made a bet today that we finish more than 3 games better than Detroit.

 

Easiest money I ever made.

 

Detroit's an 85 win team, at best.

 

So you honestly think that Detroit will go 58-64 from here on out?

 

How exactly did you reason that?

 

It sounds like semi-wishful thinking if you ask me....which you didn't, but I offered nonetheless.

Edited May 19, 2006 by JackTalkThai

[Greg Hibbard]

So you honestly think that Detroit will go 58-64 from here on out?

 

How exactly did you reason that? It sounds like uber-wishful thinking if you ask me.

 

 

Yes. Yes, I do. Flat out, they are not a good enough team. And they will also not be able to fatten up against bad teams all year.

 

Detroit's record:

Against KC (10-28) - 4-0

Against Min (17-24) - 7-2

Against LAA (17-24) - 2-3

Against Sea (17-25) - 3-0

Against Bal (19-22) - 1-1

Against Cle (20-21) - 5-2

Against Tex (21-19) - 3-1

Against Oak (21-19) - 2-1

------------------------------

Against Sox (26-14) - 0-3

 

So they've played exactly one team with a record of better than 2 games over .500 this year, and they went 0-3 against them.

 

Combined record of opponents: 168-182 (.480)

 

Yes, I know we've played similar bad teams. But the difference is:

 

1) Our best pitcher has missed his last two starts on the DL, and we are 0-2 with his subs.

2) Our record against teams more than 5 games over .500 - 5-1, three of them on the road.

 

Lemme know when Detroit is capable of even WINNING A GAME against a real team.

[Queen Prawn]

I am not about to count out the Tigers yet. As mentioned, I think it will depend on how their starting pitching holds up, more than anything.

 

I think I am more surprised at how Cleveland has been faring.

[hammerhead johnson]

Lemme know when Detroit is capable of even WINNING A GAME against a real team.

 

There are no real teams in the AL West? Cleveland and Minnesota are not good teams?

 

Who looks at a club's record and takes a definitive stance as to how good they are in freaking May?

[Sox It To Em]

The Tigers are for real, but there's no way there going to continue playing at the clip they're at now. I look for them contending for the wildcard while we have a somewhat comfortable divisional lead by the All-Star break.

Edited May 19, 2006 by Sox It To Em

[G&T]

I am not about to count out the Tigers yet. As mentioned, I think it will depend on how their starting pitching holds up, more than anything.

 

I think I am more surprised at how Cleveland has been faring.

 

I agree with you about the Tigers, but I think by the All-Star break we will know if they are for real. Their schedule gets tough as the Sox does.

 

Cleveland is not surprising me at all. Teams built around offense have a tendency to lose for long periods. They'll get hot later in the year, I'll reckon.

[Jimbo's Drinker]

FOR NOW GO REDS

[JackTalkThai]

Yes. Yes, I do. Flat out, they are not a good enough team.

 

So since they lost 3 games to the reigning World Champs in the 2nd week of the season, they aren't a good enough team to play measley .500 ball from here on out even though they've gone 27-10 against everyone else they've played (23 of which were played on the road)?

 

I'm just not following that logic?

[ZoomSlowik]

There are no real teams in the AL West? Cleveland and Minnesota are not good teams?

 

Who looks at a club's record and takes a definitive stance as to how good they are in freaking May?

 

Well, regardless of how good those teams are supposed to be, they aren't playing very well right now. Even without the games against the Tigers, none of them would be more than a few games over .500. At this point I'd say their records are just a little more valuable than the pre-season predictions, although neither tells you how they will end up.

[BigSqwert]

Detroit's record:

Against KC (10-28) - 4-0

 

 

Lemme know when Detroit is capable of even WINNING A GAME against a real team.

We have trouble beating Tampa and KC. They are 4-0 vs KC so far. Things like that might be the difference between a wildcard and a division title.

[Greg Hibbard]

Tell you what. Let's revisit this thread in August after Kenny Rogers has a 1-5 July and see where we're at at that point.

[BigSqwert]

Tell you what. Let's revisit this thread in August after Kenny Rogers has a 1-5 July and see where we're at at that point.

I hope you're right but I just don't understand why it is impossible to think they can actually be a good team this year. Did we not all learn something last year when we were dismissed by most of the country?

[RibbieRubarb]

We have trouble beating Tampa and KC. They are 4-0 vs KC so far. Things like that might be the difference between a wildcard and a division title.

 

They are 0-3 against us...

That can hurt them too if that keeps up

[ZoomSlowik]

So since they lost 3 games to the reigning World Champs in the 2nd week of the season, they aren't a good enough team to play measley .500 ball from here on out even though they've gone 27-10 against everyone else they've played (23 of which were played on the road)?

 

I'm just not following that logic?

 

There's no statistical logic that says they will play .500 ball from here on out because of their hot start. There have been plenty of teams that start out on fire just to fizzle out. A few examples are the Orioles and Dodgers last year, and the Royals from a few years ago. For every team that keeps it up like the 2005 Sox, there are 2 other teams that don't. All you need is one prolonged losing streak to kill that pace, and there's a chance that one is coming with their schedule between now and the break.

 

They still have to play a lot of good teams. Between now and the All-star break, they play 22 games against teams that were expected to be contenders, and the "dogs" include a couple of dangerous teams like a hot Cincinnati club and the Brewers. Plus, they still have 13 more with us in the second half, and Minnesota and Cleveland, who won't be playing like this forever.

[BigSqwert]

There's no statistical logic that says they will play .500 ball from here on out because of their hot start. There have been plenty of teams that start out on fire just to fizzle out.

It is also possible that we fizzle out.

[ZoomSlowik]

It is also possible that we fizzle out.

 

That's a lot less likely. We're not even playing all that well and we're only one game behind the Tigers. I think I'll side with the team that won 99 game and a title last year and was almost universally picked to win at least the division over a team that won 71 and was widely picked to finish 4th. 19 game improvements don't happen too often, and it'll probably take even more than that to win this division.

 

We proved that we can play at a high level for a prolonged period last year. They haven't.

Edited May 19, 2006 by ZoomSlowik