Tigers are gonna be tough to catch

[greasywheels121]

Lets talk now.

 

Im tired of people telling me the Tigers are not for real because they have played few games against teams with winning records. Consider this:

 

Clevelands overall record: 24-25

Against Detroit: 3-7

vs. the rest of baseball: 21-18

 

Twins overall record: 23-26

Against Detroit: 2-7

vs the rest of baseball: 21-19

 

The only reason Minnesota and the Tribe are not over .500 this season is because Detroit has kicked thier asses. This overloaded divisonal schedule has skewed everyones SOS numbers. Its utter nonsense to even attempt to explain away Detroit using this logic.

 

The Tigers are legit thus far. But I won't fully believe them until the ASB. Starting today and through at least half of June, the Tigers are playing a stretch against several teams over .500. Look at what happened to the Orioles and Rangers' hot starts last year. It's a LONG season; we certainly learned that first hand last year.

[G&T]

The Tigers are legit thus far. But I won't fully believe them until the ASB. Starting today and through at least half of June, the Tigers are playing a stretch against several teams over .500. Look at what happened to the Orioles and Rangers' hot starts last year. It's a LONG season; we certainly learned that first hand last year.

 

I'll echo these sentiments by saying that I won't care about the Tigers until after the ASB. It's rare that a total fluke team makes it to 20 games over. However, the White Sox have enough issues to work out before they can care about the Tigers, so that's where my attention will be.

 

I will say this, the Tigers will have a cold month or so just as the Sox did, and when it happens I doubt they will have a 15 game cushion to keep them afloat.

[Dawgs]

I'll echo these sentiments by saying that I won't care about the Tigers until after the ASB. It's rare that a total fluke team makes it to 20 games over. However, the White Sox have enough issues to work out before they can care about the Tigers, so that's where my attention will be.

 

I will say this, the Tigers will have a cold month or so just as the Sox did, and when it happens I doubt they will have a 15 game cushion to keep them afloat.

 

 

How is this a total fluke team?

 

In 2003 the Tigers started a AAA team that consisted of alot of the core guys on the team this year. Few of them were ready to play in the majors and thier record proved it. In 2004 they added Pudge and Guillen and improved by 20+ games. The youngsters had made some strides and they were getting better at the basics.

 

At the start of the 2005 season most prognosticators had the Tigers pegged at or near .500 with the addition of Magglio and Guillens sudden rise during the 2004 season. Guillen and Magglio were both injured for mosat of the season. Even when they played they were hurt. Magglios hernia had him swinging with his arms only and Guillens knee was a mess. The Tigers struggled without thier two best hitters but were near .500 until the last month of the season. At that time they collapsed. The losing took its toll on the veterans, most notably Pudge, and coupled with his divorce turned the clubhouse to s***. Still without the injuries this team would have been close to .500.

 

This season everyone underestimated the Tigers preseason because of the awful finish last year. But Magglio and Guillen arent hurt this year. The two kids brought up in midseason last year, Shelton and Granderson, are legitimate big league position players. And they brought in a crafty pitcher whos work ethic and knowledge of how to pitch has rubbed off on a couple young pitchers who have finally figured out how to get big league hitters out in thier 3rd and 4th years. Add this years rookie of the year Verlander and Zumaya who has hit 103 mph and you have the makings of a title contender.

 

You guys can keep deluding yourself all you want that Detroit is a flash in the pan. They arent. They are absolutely for real. If your team is as delusional as some of you seem to be, comparing this Tigers team to an Orioles team that couldnt pitch, your in for a rude awakening come October.

[greasywheels121]

You guys can keep deluding yourself all you want that Detroit is a flash in the pan. They arent. They are absolutely for real. If your team is as delusional as some of you seem to be, comparing this Tigers team to an Orioles team that couldnt pitch, your in for a rude awakening come October.

 

Good teams don't concern themselves with others. If they take care of business like they should, they'll be right where they need to be come October.

[tigerfan]

RBI Single for Damon 1-0 Yanks.

 

Make that 2-0.

[mmmmmbeeer]

How is this a total fluke team?

 

In 2003 the Tigers started a AAA team that consisted of alot of the core guys on the team this year. Few of them were ready to play in the majors and thier record proved it. In 2004 they added Pudge and Guillen and improved by 20+ games. The youngsters had made some strides and they were getting better at the basics.

 

At the start of the 2005 season most prognosticators had the Tigers pegged at or near .500 with the addition of Magglio and Guillens sudden rise during the 2004 season. Guillen and Magglio were both injured for mosat of the season. Even when they played they were hurt. Magglios hernia had him swinging with his arms only and Guillens knee was a mess. The Tigers struggled without thier two best hitters but were near .500 until the last month of the season. At that time they collapsed. The losing took its toll on the veterans, most notably Pudge, and coupled with his divorce turned the clubhouse to s***. Still without the injuries this team would have been close to .500.

 

This season everyone underestimated the Tigers preseason because of the awful finish last year. But Magglio and Guillen arent hurt this year. The two kids brought up in midseason last year, Shelton and Granderson, are legitimate big league position players. And they brought in a crafty pitcher whos work ethic and knowledge of how to pitch has rubbed off on a couple young pitchers who have finally figured out how to get big league hitters out in thier 3rd and 4th years. Add this years rookie of the year Verlander and Zumaya who has hit 103 mph and you have the makings of a title contender.

 

You guys can keep deluding yourself all you want that Detroit is a flash in the pan. They arent. They are absolutely for real. If your team is as delusional as some of you seem to be, comparing this Tigers team to an Orioles team that couldnt pitch, your in for a rude awakening come October.

 

 

I think his implication was that, due to the fact you're 20 games over .500, you probably aren't a fluke being "flukes" rarely get their record looking that impressive.

 

I love your bullpen, you've got some good hitters in the lineup, great veteran leadership in Pudge, and one helluva manager in Leyland. The big weakness I see with the Tigers is the starting pitching. Maroth, who was pitching WAY over his head, is now hurt and you've got Jason Grilli filling in (we're all too familiar with Grilli's pitching abilities). KR is starting to come back down to his mean numbers. Bonderman, despite his ridiculous talent, never has put it all together to find the consistency to be an ace. Verlander, who I REALLY wish we had, is an absolute stud in the making, but he just won't have the strength to throw that 100mph heat effectively for the entire season as a rookie, unless he's just an absolute freak of nature. Robertson has never had dominating stuff but can be a solid back-of-the-rotation kinda guy. He's obviously got some confidence working for him now, and perhaps KR has tutored him a bit, but a 1.5pt drop in ERA seems a bit extreme.

 

If we learned anything last year, it's that starting pitching will take you a long way. We didn't even have a single hitter hit over .300 last season yet led the AL in the standings the entire season. It IS all about the starting pitching unless you've just got a MONSTROUS lineup, something that DET does not have.

 

I think you'll win the wildcard or fall just short. Next season is the season that I'll really be worried about the Tigers, as that staff matures another season and gets the taste of a playoff race.

[DonkeyKongerko]

Tigers are nothing a little Johnson & Johnson couldn't solve.

[kapkomet]

Detroit has set themselves for the future, but I don't think the future is this year. Not quite yet.

[Gregory Pratt]

Aren't the Tigers facing Mussina tomorrow?

 

Well s***, they're facing "Small."

 

The Yankees rotation should be, "Small Wang Johnson."

 

Still, the Yankees have some big bats that hopefully will carry them, even if their pitcher's Small.

[BigSqwert]

Aren't the Tigers facing Mussina tomorrow?

 

Well s***, they're facing "Small."

 

The Yankees rotation should be, "Small Wang Johnson."

 

Still, the Yankees have some big bats that hopefully will carry them, even if their pitcher's Small.

Mussina vs Robertson on Wednesday

[Dam8610]

The Yankees rotation should be, "Small Wang Johnson."

 

[YASNY]

The Tigers are going to be in it till the end. They are no fluke.

[G&T]

How is this a total fluke team?

 

My cause was taken up by mmmmmbeer, thankfully, but my statement was to the point that the Tigers are not a fluke, but I don't care about them until after the ASB. I thought that was clear enough.

[RME JICO]

How is this a total fluke team?

 

They have been shutout 4 times this year, and now in back to back games. It is hard to win when you don't score. 25% of their losses are by shutout. That is a bad sign. They have had a great run, and yet they are still only 1.5 games up.

 

These next couple weeks are critical for them.

 

They are not flukes right now, but in a couple of weeks they might be.

Edited May 29, 2006 by RME JICO

[Gregory Pratt]

They are not flukes right now, but in a couple of weeks they might be.

 

What a limb!

[WCSox]

Lets talk now.

 

No, how about we wait until the Tigers have beaten some teams that are actually playing well. The Indians and Twins don't fall into that category.

[Balta1701]

No, how about we wait until the Tigers have beaten some teams that are actually playing well. The Indians and Twins don't fall into that category.

We really haven't beaten teams that are playing well either.

[GoRowand33]

I'll be worried if they beat us

 

the division comes to head to head battles between sox-tigers-indians

 

whoever wins the majority will win the division

[WCSox]

We really haven't beaten teams that are playing well either.

 

Yes, and we're also not going over to the Tigers message boards and beating our chests because we have one of the best records in baseball a whole two months into the season.

[hammerhead johnson]

"Small Wang Johnson."

 

God damn it, why didn't I think of that username.

[Rex Kickass]

And Madonna!

 

 

And Uncle Kracker.

[RockRaines]

You know one of the local sports stations here in Detroit was talking about this, and they mentioned something that really makes sense when you think about it. They said that maybe the reason some of these teams are under .500 or close to it right now is in part because of the Tigers beating them as often as they have. We're 21-7 against Central teams right now so that notion probably isn't too far off from the truth.

Does it piss you off that you just ran off one of the hottest streaks in baseball and are still only 1.5 games up on us? When we did that last year we were running 6+ games up.

[GoSox05]

The Tigers pitching will fall apart. Kenny Rodgers has always been bad in second half, Maroth is already hurt, Bonderman has been so so, Jason Verlander has never thrown more than 130 innings, not even in the minors. And last time i check Nate Robertson isnt Cy Young.

[southsideirish]

QUOTE(tigerfan @ May 27, 2006 -> 07:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You know one of the local sports stations here in Detroit was talking about this, and they mentioned something that really makes sense when you think about it. They said that maybe the reason some of these teams are under .500 or close to it right now is in part because of the Tigers beating them as often as they have. We're 21-7 against Central teams right now so that notion probably isn't too far off from the truth.

 

21-7 vs Central teams

 

0-3 vs the World Champion Chicago White Sox

 

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ May 28, 2006 -> 03:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They did not play at this current Tigers pace all season. They played parts of it well and slumped toward the end. Cleveland was poor at the start.

 

Detroit will eventually slump like we did. But we're not starting slow like Cleveland, and we should be able to retain the Divison by the end.

 

We slumped at the end? Where? For how long?

[southsideirish]

QUOTE(Dawgs @ May 29, 2006 -> 03:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Lets talk now.

 

Im tired of people telling me the Tigers are not for real because they have played few games against teams with winning records. Consider this:

 

Clevelands overall record: 24-25

Against Detroit: 3-7

vs. the rest of baseball: 21-18

 

Twins overall record: 23-26

Against Detroit: 2-7

vs the rest of baseball: 21-19

 

The only reason Minnesota and the Tribe are not over .500 this season is because Detroit has kicked thier asses. This overloaded divisonal schedule has skewed everyones SOS numbers. Its utter nonsense to even attempt to explain away Detroit using this logic.

 

Let me expand on this a bit. If Detroit was the usual horrible team that everyone in baseball had become accustomed to and the numbers were reversed the Twinsand Clevelands records would both be 28-21.

 

Cleveland's overall record: 24-26

Against the World Champion Chicago White Sox: 3-3

vs. the rest of baseball: 21-23

 

Twins' overall record: 23-27

Against the World Champion Chicago White Sox: 2-5

vs. the rest of baseball: 21-22

 

Tigers' overall record: 35-16

Against the World Champion Chicago White Sox: 0-3

vs. the rest of baseball: 35-13

 

The World Champion Chicago White Sox have not had the same opportunity to play the Central as often as the Tigers. They have only played the Twins and Indians a total of 13 times. The Tigers have played those two teams 19 times. If the World Champion Chicago White Sox were given the same opportunity you may see their records be even worse than they already are. I'm just spewing out the same ridiculous nonsence you are so you can see how ridiculous your comments are to everyone here. Ifs, ands, and buts get you nothing. Lets play the entire season and not make these crazy assumptions.