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CanOfCorn

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I don't think it matters either way.

Detroit punished the Cubs and is rolling along.

We're doing well also, including taking 2 of 3 from Det last time

we played.

If Detroit keeps getting good pitching, the Tigers will be in it all the way.

It'd be nice to see Kenny Rogers run out of gas or something.

His performance is really big for that team.

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Verlander is due to hit a wall after about 5-6 more starts unless his arm adjusts really well. He's never thrown more than 130 innings in a season. He's on pace to go 203 IP. He's not gonna go much past the All-Star game before starting to go thru dead arm, IMO.

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The Tigers are playing with a ton of confidence right now and everything is going their way. They are due to hit some rough spots soon and then we will see just how much solid character they have on the team. The Sox need to only keep close, no double digit game lead, and we will see who can handle the pressure in Aug and Sep. Remember the Sox had about as much pressure as you can get last year down the stretch, and how did that work out?

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QUOTE(brijames @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 11:34 PM)
The Tigers are playing with a ton of confidence right now and everything is going their way. They are due to hit some rough spots soon and then we will see just how much solid character they have on the team. The Sox need to only keep close, no double digit game lead, and we will see who can handle the pressure in Aug and Sep. Remember the Sox had about as much pressure as you can get last year down the stretch, and how did that work out?

 

Like this:

 

56758560_80f423d0f7.jpg

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My sense is that the White Sox haven't really hit their stride yet, and the Tigers are just helping us get focused.

 

We are feeling out our new offense -- with tonight's 20-run explosion we have scored more runs than any team in baseball 402 (the Yanks are second at 399) -- but we haven't really gotten our pitching together yet, and we haven't played defense as well as we are capable of.

 

I expect that our pitching will start to improve over the next couple of months with no drop off in offense. Garland, Vazquez, and Garcia will all end the season with much better ERAs than they have now, while Buehrle and Contreras aren't likely to slip much from their stellar numbers.

 

But an even bigger improvement is likely to come from our bullpen. For most of the year, our bullpen has been a patchwork job. Politte went from lights out to being lit up. Cotts has already been taken deep more than last year. Boone Logan wasn't major league ready. And we've been forced to add additional rookies Augustin Montero and Sean Tracey. Plus, McCarthy was inconsistent.

 

It's not 100% yet, but the bullpen is getting better and should continue to improve. Cotts is showing signs of pitching more like he did last year. Thornton is starting to harness his awesome stuff. Jenks still continues to close out wins. Riske is a tremendous addition that should allow Ozzie to use McCarthy more effectively to start innings. And Politte has a chance to come back and pitch well, even if he can't match his career year of 2005. (If he doesn't come back, we may see Tracey again or more likely someone in trade.)

 

And to keep it all together and focused, we've got Ozzie Guillen. He doesn't care what the Tigers are doing unless we are playing them that day. All he cares about is how our ballclub is playing. He knows that if we play to our abilities, we will beat anyone.

 

I think Leyland has the Tigers focused in the same kind of way. Play every day to win and see where you are in October. But he doesn't have the talent we have, so, unlike us, his team can't really play any better. Their pitching is going to start to slide when we get to the dog days and the innings start to pile up. It may not slide much, but even one bump in the road and we'll be past them.

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QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jun 21, 2006 -> 07:24 AM)
Can you imagine what it feels like to be beating a team 10-1 and look up to see the team chasing you winning 20-2? Its gotta make you just shake your head.

 

That's the kind of thing I was talking about. The Tigers are playing great, but against sub-par competition. The Sox have taken the Indians, Tigers, Rangers, Reds and now game 1 of the Cards series and stayed right with them, and the only way the Tigers gained ground was on an off-day.

 

I mean, the Brewers are improved, but they aren't the Cardinals...and the Sox dropped a 20-spot on them.

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QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Jun 21, 2006 -> 09:54 AM)
That's the kind of thing I was talking about. The Tigers are playing great, but against sub-par competition. The Sox have taken the Indians, Tigers, Rangers, Reds and now game 1 of the Cards series and stayed right with them, and the only way the Tigers gained ground was on an off-day.

 

I mean, the Brewers are improved, but they aren't the Cardinals...and the Sox dropped a 20-spot on them.

At least up until a couple of weeks ago, the White Sox played a weaker schedule than Detroit. I find this talk that the White Sox continuing to win is bothering Detroit, pretty funny. They continue to win as well. There were several on here that said the Tigers would fade in June and wouldn't be .500. They would have to lose the next 8 for that to happen. Dye, Konerko, Thome, Crede, and AJP are performing much higher offensively than what could be expected. I doubt they will continue with their torrid pace. Detroit is a good team and they're most likely for real. There haven't been many frauds that got to 24 over .500. Let's not talk about the Cardinals without Puhjols as one of the better teams in baseball. The Cubs kicked them all over the place. These are both good teams, and it probably will come down to who can remain healthier, and what kind of adjustments are made before the trade deadline.

Edited by Dick Allen
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QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jun 21, 2006 -> 10:06 AM)
At least up until a couple of weeks ago, the White Sox played a weaker schedule than Detroit. I find this talk that the White Sox continuing to win is bothering Detroit, pretty funny. They continue to win as well. There were several on here that said the Tigers would fade in June and wouldn't be .500. They would have to lose the next 8 for that to happen. Dye, Konerko, Thome, Crede, and AJP are performing much higher offensively than what could be expected. I doubt they will continue with their torrid pace. Detroit is a good team and they're most likely for real. There haven't been many frauds that got to 24 over .500. Let's not talk about the Cardinals without Puhjols as one of the better teams in baseball. The Cubs kicked them all over the place. These are both good teams, and it probably will come down to who can remain healthier, and what kind of adjustments are made before the trade deadline.

 

I would agree that it is silly to write off the Tigers. But they will come off a .667 pace. They aren't going to win 108 games.

 

I think the White Sox, however, could win between 100 and 110 games. I also don't think our offense will cool that much. The reason is that even if Dye, Konerko, Thome, Crede, and AJ are slightly above expectations (Crede is just carrying on where he was late last year), we have a bunch of other guys who are going to hit better from here to the end of the season -- Uribe, Anderson, and Pods. Add in improved pitching -- a tighter bullpen will help club confidence immensely -- and I just think we're going to end up ahead of the Tigers when the dust settles.

 

The Sox psyche is fine right now, and its getting better as the new guys are being integrated. David Riske endeared himself to the club last night by showing how to plunk a batter -- even at the risk of a fine and suspension. Cintron and Mack have both won games dramatically with their bats. Thome needed no initiation. Doubts about Brian Anderson are beginning to fade.

 

I would much rather be in our position, with our team, than be in the Tigers position with their team. And I think the Tigers know it.

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QUOTE(VAfan @ Jun 21, 2006 -> 11:18 AM)
They aren't going to win 108 games.

That's probably true but everytime I look up at the scoreboard I see their pitching staff giving up 1, 2 or 3 runs per game. With a pitching staff like that they will be hanging around till the end. And lets face it, no one in our division is beating them except us.

Edited by BigSqwert
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QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jun 21, 2006 -> 10:06 AM)
At least up until a couple of weeks ago, the White Sox played a weaker schedule than Detroit. I find this talk that the White Sox continuing to win is bothering Detroit, pretty funny. They continue to win as well. There were several on here that said the Tigers would fade in June and wouldn't be .500. They would have to lose the next 8 for that to happen. Dye, Konerko, Thome, Crede, and AJP are performing much higher offensively than what could be expected. I doubt they will continue with their torrid pace. Detroit is a good team and they're most likely for real. There haven't been many frauds that got to 24 over .500. Let's not talk about the Cardinals without Puhjols as one of the better teams in baseball. The Cubs kicked them all over the place. These are both good teams, and it probably will come down to who can remain healthier, and what kind of adjustments are made before the trade deadline.

 

If you look a the original question, I was actually asking about both teams. Detroit won't go away, but with the Sox nipping at their heels, does that make them antsy? Does the fact that the Sox have played fantastic ball lately and have actually lost a half a game make the Sox antsy? I was just wondering what people thought.

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