Scott Miller of cbssportline also picks Sox 4th

[RockRaines]

How does Cleveland consistently get ranked high every year, yet every year they fall flat on their faces?

 

Maybe they should put it together for an entire season before anyone runs for the hills.

Their bullpen just keep rotating in dogs*** players, yet everyone overlooks that fact every season. Hafner and Sizemore on their own could carry a team, but in this division, you need everyone to click.

[caulfield12]

+ Neshek + Rincon + Guerrier the rest is pure dogs*** or unproven young talent.

 

Reyes came out of nowhere last year (like Jamie Walker), but they also had a plus arm in Crain and Glen Perkins helped late in the season as well.

 

 

In fact, Guerrier and Willie Eyre were their last men out of the pen.

 

Their 4-6 was much better than ours last year, and the emergence of Neshek really made a difference down the stretch.

[Balta1701]

How does Cleveland consistently get ranked high every year, yet every year they fall flat on their faces?

 

Maybe they should put it together for an entire season before anyone runs for the hills.

Nearly taking the Division from the Sox in 05 and barely missing the playoffs is hardly falling flat on their faces. In 06, the Tribe had the best run differential of any team to lose that # of games in MLB history. The odds of them performing that poorly while being that good again are so incredible it's hard to calculate. The Tribe got awfully unlucky last year, in no small part thanks to the way their pitching was set up. With another year under their belts and some major defensive upgrades...that team could really pull off a huge improvement this year, depending on injuries.

[nitetrain8601]

Nearly taking the Division from the Sox in 05 and barely missing the playoffs is hardly falling flat on their faces. In 06, the Tribe had the best run differential of any team to lose that # of games in MLB history. The odds of them performing that poorly while being that good again are so incredible it's hard to calculate. The Tribe got awfully unlucky last year, in no small part thanks to the way their pitching was set up. With another year under their belts and some major defensive upgrades...that team could really pull off a huge improvement this year, depending on injuries.

 

Bingo. At the beginning of ST, I had them finishing 2nd behind us. Now, I have them finishing 1st ahead of Detroit and us.

[witesoxfan]

I just want to say that anyone that says this team was pressured by the media last year is full of s***. The Sox were the 2nd best team in the AL at the All-Star break last year. How in the bluef*** was the media hounding them?

 

They flat out choked because the pitching died, as well as the offense. Case closed.

[DBAHO]

I'm happy with this.

 

It's good to be the underdog again. It's good to have that chip on our shoulders. No-one really expects that we'll win this division and that was the case in 2005, and look what happened.

 

This team plays the best when they've got something to prove IMHO, and hopefully that can spur them on to at least get off to a good start.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Everybody and their momma picked us last year. I have no problem with everybody picking against us this year.

[beck72]

They flat out choked because the pitching died, as well as the offense. Case closed.

I think that's where the majority of experts are getting the 4th place type finishes for the 2007 sox. If you believe the sox pitching and lineup will be more like the 2nd half, the one that played under .500, then you go with the other, younger teams like the Twins and Indians. Not to mention the Tigers.

 

IMO, the sox are being vastly underrated. And the rotation isn't being given the credit it deserves. It's like people around the league are writing off Garland, Javy, Buehrle and Contreras as washed up has beens. And the bullpen additions are being overlooked. The offense should be decent enough. It's the pitching

[StrangeSox]

I'm happy with this.

 

It's good to be the underdog again. It's good to have that chip on our shoulders. No-one really expects that we'll win this division and that was the case in 2005, and look what happened.

 

This team plays the best when they've got something to prove IMHO, and hopefully that can spur them on to at least get off to a good start.

 

No one thought that the Bears could win the Superbowl and that they'd get walked all over by Indy. Look what happened.

 

Sometimes you're the underdog because you're just not as good.

 

IMO, the sox are being vastly underrated. And the rotation isn't being given the credit it deserves. It's like people around the league are writing off Garland, Javy, Buehrle and Contreras as washed up has beens. And the bullpen additions are being overlooked. The offense should be decent enough. It's the pitching

 

Garland is good and will get us some wins.

 

But when has Javy ever proven himself?

When has Buehrle shown that he's rebounded from his 2nd half performance?

No one is quite sure how old Contreras is and how long his arm can hold up.

 

Our bullpen should be good, but there's a lot of inexperience there.

Edited March 31, 2007 by StrangeSox

[beck72]

No one thought that the Bears could win the Superbowl and that they'd get walked all over by Indy. Look what happened.

 

Sometimes you're the underdog because you're just not as good.

Garland is good and will get us some wins.

 

But when has Javy ever proven himself?

When has Buehrle shown that he's rebounded from his 2nd half performance?

No one is quite sure how old Contreras is and how long his arm can hold up.

 

Our bullpen should be good, but there's a lot of inexperience there.

It sounds like you believe the sox are lacking the talent to win. I disagree. If a world series was won or lost on paper, the yanks or red sox would win every year. Or the Twins would never make the playoffs if we only looked at the opening day roster.

 

I don't think the football analogy holds for baseball. Teams can add pieces during the year that can help a team win a world series. If by the deadline the sox are missing a player or two, they can add them. And the sox will know what they need at the time in order for them to make the playoffs. Because once a baseball team gets to the playoffs, they have as good a chance to win the WS as the "better and more talented" teams on paper like the Red Sox, Yanks, etc. It's a matter of what team is playing the best ball come the playoffs.

 

I agree the sox have questions about their pitching. Yet they have less than other AL contenders. Mark has had one off 1/2 yr in his career. Jose works as hard as any SP out there and should be very good for the next two years. He hasn't had any injury concerns this spring and few in his career. Javy has always been durable and is being looked at as the #4 starter [though he has the potential to be a 1, 2 or 3]. The 5th spot is a tossup though Danks or someone else should get the some some wins from that spot.

 

And the bullpen is inexperienced in spots 4-6, not the most important back half with Jenks, Thornton and MacDougal.

[TheBlackSox8]

They have the best pitcher in baseball, the mvp, and a great closer, so they have to be the best in their division!

That sort of logic may work in basketball with 5 starters logging most of the minutes, but I just don't see how sports people are applying it to baseball where you have to be solid and deep in so many other positions...

The Cardinals had a Cy young, an MVP, and a great closer....then the next year went to the World Series and won...granted they played in the NL and a weak division...but they won when it mattered.

Twins are kind of similar to an extent this season, but they play in probably the hardest division.

[Soxfest]

That's rather ironic considering that Kenny Willliams was telling him in that recent interview that the national guys are getting the White Sox plan, and the locals aren't.

 

 

Good catch!

[Baines3]

I look for the Sox to be in a dead heat with Detroit for 3rd place. I look for the Tigers to take tumble this season. Hopefully we will be able to contend for the divison title but I don't see it happening.

[ScottyDo]

The Cardinals had a Cy young, an MVP, and a great closer....then the next year went to the World Series and won...granted they played in the NL and a weak division...but they won when it mattered.

Twins are kind of similar to an extent this season, but they play in probably the hardest division.

Nah, the Tigers blew it. Their pitchers are gonna have a loooot of fielding practice, I'm sure.

 

Speaking of the Tigers, without Kenny Rogers the first half I see them stumbling hard. He's the veteran leadership for the pitching staff, and nobody can conceal pinetar like him. Bonderman will be out there with pinetar everywhere and get himself suspended without Rogers' guidance.

 

But for serious, I honestly think the Sox will finish ahead of the Tigers and Twins. Tigers overachieved last year (Craig Monroe will never again hit 30ish HR's, nor will Brandon Inge), Twins minus Liriano and Radke and plus Ponson mean a non-scary rotation to me. They have a dominant closer but things don't translate like that. For instance, both the Jays and Orioles have had B.J. Ryan and how many division titles has that brought them? Incidentally, I don't believe Morneau is gonna put up MVP numbers again. He's simply not that type of player.

 

I supposed I could be underselling the Twins a little, they do somehow manage to get impossible numbers out of their limited talent every year. Particularly their pitching staff.

 

The Indians are a dark horse to me, but without a bullpen their perceived value is overinflated. Funny how no "analysts" EVER write extensively about the bullpen yet it usually parlays into victories. Possibly because it's too hard to predict a bullpen year-to-year but more likely because bullpens don't sell.