Tiger Watch - Official Thread

[rhoneyman]

the season is filled with streaks. for all teams.

 

it looks like defensive foobars also come in streaks. bad karma on my part to have brought it up, eh? fortunately, the tigers only lost one of the two "gems" with the pirates. the key question is how does leyland address the problem. he's only had to lose it once this season to get the team focused and on track. how many more games of butt ugly baseball before he goes nonlinear?

 

i agree that this is going to be a very difficult week for detroit. west coast trips are always perilous and this trip is against two teams that have been playing confident ball. 3-3 for the trip would make me happy. the sox ought to handle baltimore fairly easily. boston will be a more interesting story. although they'll switch places during the week, i wouldn't be surprised to see the two teams tied going into the break. this is fun. :7)

 

for whomever was asking about where folks have come from: i got this site off of mlive.com. i live in miami beach (if that's the real question).

[tigerfan]

For the record I came from there as well.

[Wedge]

For the record I came from there as well.

 

Well, we're glad you guys came. Adds a nice little "fiestiness" to the board. Hopefully everyone enjoys the give and take that this season has provided us the opportunity for.

[chitownsportsfan]

MLIVE forums are a joke, as bad as ESPN. Here is much better. Welcome aboard.

[MSHAWKS]

In Pittsburgh, 4-0 Detroit in the 2nd

[Chisoxfn]

Teams that have won over 54 games by the All-Star break aren't due for anything except more winning.

Both the Sox and Tigers are gonna be doing plenty of that in the 2nd half or at least I expect that to happen. I still say the Sox win by 5 games or so though in the end and thats cause i've long said (since the pre-season when I said the Tigers would be the 2nd best team in the division) that there pitching staff would wear down (Minor and Verlander specifically).

 

Well, we're glad you guys came. Adds a nice little "fiestiness" to the board. Hopefully everyone enjoys the give and take that this season has provided us the opportunity for.

Completely agree. I know we both feel our teams are going to win the division but its great having all the discussion.

[loltrain]

So, the Tigers just played our worst series of the year while the Whitesox were playing the Cubs....and came out of it 2.5 up.

 

As for the talk of the Tigers rotation collapsing...uhh you might want to look at your own rotations current stats, just a thought.

 

I would bet that the Chisox rotation will improve, and the Tigers will not be as good over the rest of the year, but it's a fairly massive difference right now, so I don't see why that would automatically mean the Tigers will end up having a horrible 2nd half like some people here think.

[rhoneyman]

weird day on the diamond. the sox gift a game to the tigs by imploding against the cubbies. the wind must have been blowing out. meanwhile, the twins keep winning.

 

tg the tigers are done with the pirates. rodney clearly doesn't like entering the game earlier than the eight. as for colon, he scares me more that tjones.

 

this was a series they could have blown completely. hurray for interleague games! tg they're over!

[Wolverine31]

I agree loltrain. Our starting rotation has been the best in baseball all year long and in no way played part in the collapses the past 2 days. That was all on the defense and the bullpen. Jones and several other pitchers in the bullpen scare me.

 

On the other hand, the Sox found out today that you can't outslug your way to wins every game. The White Sox rotation has been horrible lately. Their offense has been picking them up, but what happens when the offense goes into a slump? It could mean an extended losing streak for the Sox if their starters don't start pitching a whole lot better.

 

In the long run, if both teams keep winning how they have been all year, the Tigers with starting pitching and the White Sox with offense, I have to think we'll end up on top of the standings at the end of the year. It's just hard to cover up starters who have been pitching as badly as the Sox's starters have for a full year.

Edited July 2, 2006 by Wolverine31

[tigerfan]

I only saw the 9th today, but I am so glad to be done with Pittsburgh. How we took the series I'll never know. We easily could have lost all 3 games.

[GoRowand33]

Lol I love how this thread has all tigers fans in it

 

here are some points you guys should consider

 

1. sox rotation has pitched like crap, but I don't think it can get any worse, but only better

 

2. 2.5 is not a large margin at all, and coming out ahead 2.5 games against the Tigers doesn't mean much because you came in 2.5 games up

 

3. your missing the point about our offense, we don't try and outslug opponents, we have just shown that we are resilient at coming back

 

4. the tigers are a very young team (much like the Indians last year). It's unlikely that a young team can play consistent .650 baseball for an entire season

 

all in all I expect the Tigers to slip a little bit, not a lot, but I would expect more around 90-100 wins instead of their pace of like 110

 

The sox haven't hit a complete stride yet because of our pitching, but were working on it and it SHOULD get better

[Heads22]

Justin Verlander's arm and goatee will fall off July/August.

 

 

Or at least deadarm/goatee.

[rhoneyman]

Lol I love how this thread has all tigers fans in it

 

here are some points you guys should consider

 

1. sox rotation has pitched like crap, but I don't think it can get any worse, but only better

 

2. 2.5 is not a large margin at all, and coming out ahead 2.5 games against the Tigers doesn't mean much because you came in 2.5 games up

 

3. your missing the point about our offense, we don't try and outslug opponents, we have just shown that we are resilient at coming back

 

4. the tigers are a very young team (much like the Indians last year). It's unlikely that a young team can play consistent .650 baseball for an entire season

 

all in all I expect the Tigers to slip a little bit, not a lot, but I would expect more around 90-100 wins instead of their pace of like 110

 

The sox haven't hit a complete stride yet because of our pitching, but were working on it and it SHOULD get better

heh. you invite strangers into your house and look what happens. :7) at least none of us seem to be pissing all over your home.

 

i think i speak for a lot of tigers fans who expect this to now be more the norm for the next few years but don't really, deep down, believe it will last this year. it could last, though, because leyland is really good for this group of guys and because it turns out that rogers may be the most important coach in the organization.

 

the tigers will go through a couple of bad stretches but i don't think it will be because of the starters. i think the defense will settle back to middle of the pack and the bullpen will blow a couple of easy games to finish up second behind chicago but tops in the wc.

 

however, i'm almost always wrong when it comes to my teams. :7) just wait for the new look lions!

[GoRowand33]

heh. you invite strangers into your house and look what happens. :7) at least none of us seem to be pissing all over your home.

 

i think i speak for a lot of tigers fans who expect this to now be more the norm for the next few years but don't really, deep down, believe it will last this year. it could last, though, because leyland is really good for this group of guys and because it turns out that rogers may be the most important coach in the organization.

 

the tigers will go through a couple of bad stretches but i don't think it will be because of the starters. i think the defense will settle back to middle of the pack and the bullpen will blow a couple of easy games to finish up second behind chicago but tops in the wc.

 

however, i'm almost always wrong when it comes to my teams. :7) just wait for the new look lions!

 

I mostly agree with you, except that I think some of your young starting pitchers (Verlander) and maybe some others (Bonderman/Maroth) who have no competitive MLB experience whatsoever might have a tough time down the stretch

[Heads22]

It's just hard to imagine the entire team of the Tigers sustains career years.

 

Could be looking at the 2000-2001 Sox.

[Chisoxfn]

I mostly agree with you, except that I think some of your young starting pitchers (Verlander) and maybe some others (Bonderman/Maroth) who have no competitive MLB experience whatsoever might have a tough time down the stretch

On the flipside, this may be so new that if they have the right attitude they won't realize they should feel the pressure. Its usually one or the other (not so much in between) but I do think the Tigers are going to be a major player in the central for the next few years and technically speaking you could definately make a case for them being built for long term success (ie the next 3-5 years). Of course a ton can happen during that time and the Sox (while we are a bit older) still are a relatively young team aside from a few players with most of our core guys locked up.

 

Minny should join the fray and if Cleveland makes the right changes they will be around too. Its gonna be a dogfight year in year out for the best division in baseball (currently home to the 2 best teams in baseball).

[Rowand44]

On the flipside, this may be so new that if they have the right attitude they won't realize they should feel the pressure. Its usually one or the other (not so much in between) but I do think the Tigers are going to be a major player in the central for the next few years and technically speaking you could definately make a case for them being built for long term success (ie the next 3-5 years). Of course a ton can happen during that time and the Sox (while we are a bit older) still are a relatively young team aside from a few players with most of our core guys locked up.

 

Minny should join the fray and if Cleveland makes the right changes they will be around too. Its gonna be a dogfight year in year out for the best division in baseball (currently home to the 2 best teams in baseball).

You forgot the Royals . Detroit is going to be in this thing for a while but I just don't think this year they have enough to win it. Next year though, them and Minny are going to be two of the better teams in all of baseball(they are this year too). This division is just getting better and better and it's pretty scary.

[rhoneyman]

On the flipside, this may be so new that if they have the right attitude they won't realize they should feel the pressure. Its usually one or the other (not so much in between) but I do think the Tigers are going to be a major player in the central for the next few years and technically speaking you could definately make a case for them being built for long term success (ie the next 3-5 years). Of course a ton can happen during that time and the Sox (while we are a bit older) still are a relatively young team aside from a few players with most of our core guys locked up.

 

Minny should join the fray and if Cleveland makes the right changes they will be around too. Its gonna be a dogfight year in year out for the best division in baseball (currently home to the 2 best teams in baseball).

the first time around against noted good teams, the tigers showed they're still raw. one of the tests of leyland will be how the tigers respond in subsequent rounds against the good teams. certainly, sweeping the cards and the astros gave some indication of leyland's mastery of the job. this week's games on the west coast will be another interesting test. finally, the matchups with your sox and with the twins will be the final test.

 

they seemed geeked and awed against you guys early on and against nyy and boston. i think leyland is likely to have these guys settled down so that they'll be playing y'all pretty even going forward, assuming the defense returns and the starting pitching holds.

 

i think the wc team is going to have 100+ wins this year and a couple of 90+ win teams are going to be scratching their heads. but then, the interleague play dumped 80-100 extra wins into the al this year.

[Heads22]

Sweeping the Cards isn't meaning as much as KC took 2 of 3 from them.

[Greg The Bull Luzinski]

If Sox fans think Detroit hates us now over the all-star fiasco, I can't imagine how much they would hate us if Ben Wallace signs with the Bulls.

[Rowand44]

By the way, Detroit will have their first losing week in a while. You heard it here first.

[Brian]

By the way, Detroit will have their first losing week in a while. You heard it here first.

 

I predict Rowand44 will make a prediction, say we heard it here first, and than when it doesn't happen, nobody will remember so he will not be called on it.

[Greg The Bull Luzinski]

Ben Wallace is coming to Chicago. Chicago 7 all stars, Detroit 2. I think we will let you keep first place warm for us til September. Then, it will all be good.

[Zoogz]

If Sox fans think Detroit hates us now over the all-star fiasco, I can't imagine how much they would hate us if Ben Wallace signs with the Bulls.

 

Ehh, the All-Star game is all fine for me... the Sox went to the World Series last year, and if Ozzie wants to reward his players for playing so well, I really can't complain. I'll just let everyone else complain.

 

As far as Ben goes, I can't blame him. The man fired his previous agent because he thought the Pistons were going to reward him and Ben didn't even want to fork the percentage over. But while the Pistons made him a fair offer, the Bulls made him a more-fair offer. Ç'est la vie. It does disappoint me that the Pistons and Ben couldn't come to an agreement, but I also am happy that the Pistons did win it once with him and I have faith that Joe Dumars can come up with another master plan... the Pistons definitely kept the best of the two backcourt executives.

 

Sorry for dragging this off-topic. All I hope is that Ozzie can manage the AL to another All-Star victory. Heck, if he can do that then he can have all twenty-five of his Sox players on the team. Because I hope that either the Sox or Tigers (or even the Twins) can take advantage of home-field this fall... if any of us really need it, that is.

[rhoneyman]

By the way, Detroit will have their first losing week in a while. You heard it here first.

of course, the sox have started the week 0-2 (i start weeks on sunday, even if mlb starts them on mondays. how convenient!) :7)

 

If Sox fans think Detroit hates us now over the all-star fiasco, I can't imagine how much they would hate us if Ben Wallace signs with the Bulls.

1. your manager has the right to go with whomever he is most comfortable. i personally have no problem with his picks. if leyland were managing (wait'll next year! ) ...

 

2. ben wallace is good for two more years. he is a fierce leader and he will make the bulls a much better team. a *much* better team. mazel tov. if it in fact happens. i'm fairly indifferent. wallace at 32 is not wallace at 28. wallace at 34 is not likely to be wallace at 32. i don't expect shaq to bring it on much longer either. 'round about 34/35, the quickness starts going. after that, you need native skills, skills like jordan had or like even a guy like zo has. wallace's success is based on quickness and strength. take away the quickness and he's really a journeyman kind of guy. still i wouldn't be upset if joe d signed him. i'm not overly upset if he doesn't. but he'll be really tough to replace. hate the bulls? don't need wallace's defection to do that. :7)

 

3. btw, is there a classier guy in all of hockey than stevie yzerman? the captain epitomizes everything good about sports. thrilled to have watched him; sorry to see it end.

Edited July 4, 2006 by flbob