Hideaway Lights Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Why? Because the hitting HAS to come around, whereas the pitching does not. There are just TOO MANY at bats per team for anything THIS statistically abnormal to continue all season. We are batting .221 right now. The worst team batting averages in the last 7 years are the 2003 Detroit Tigers with a .240 team average, and the 2002 Pittsburgh Pirates with a .244 team batting average. Neither lineup was major league caliber. Even if I ceded that only 5 of the 9 batters were major league caliber hitters (Thome, Konerko, Dye, Pierzynski, Crede), I would think those 5 would come around to bat .265 collectively. The other 4 slots, we are looking for .240-.250 from. In any case, I feel the absolute worst this team could bat collectively, over the course of an entire season is .250. Which means we are probably going to hit a collective .260 the rest of the way. With the pitching performances we have been getting, a 40 point boost in batting average day to day turns at least 5 of those losses into wins. Simply put, I'm much more comfortable with our team this season than I was last season. Call me crazy, but our pitching has been really really good and to me, that's all that really matters. You can argue that this team doesn't have heart, and maybe a shake-up needs to happen, but it's absolutely insane that people are already jumping ship, especially when our pitching has been so damned good. We are 1 game under .500. Yes, this will be a very tough division to win, but the WC is probably coming out of the central this year with the west being mediocre and the yanks appearing to finally be finished as a team. Which means we don't have to leapfrog three teams, just two, and those two have as many holes as we do in my opinion. I feel great about our starting pitching and our bullpen, and once the hitters come around (THEY WILL), this will be at least an 86 win team, probably even more than that, which puts us right in the thick of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 1) Thome has to stay healthy 2) The Sox need to find a bat that kills lefties 3) Thome has to stay healthy 4) The pitching needs to remain where it is 5) Thome If one of those 5 does not come true, the Sox have no shot at winning the division. If they all do, there's a chance, and perhaps a good chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 QUOTE(witesoxfan @ May 4, 2007 -> 10:52 AM) 1) Thome has to stay healthy 2) The Sox need to find a bat that kills lefties 3) Thome has to stay healthy 4) The pitching needs to remain where it is 5) Thome If one of those 5 does not come true, the Sox have no shot at winning the division. If they all do, there's a chance, and perhaps a good chance. I agree with #1 and #5, but #3 is total bulls***. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 QUOTE(Hideaway Lights @ May 4, 2007 -> 03:48 PM) I feel great about our starting pitching and our bullpen, and once the hitters come around (THEY WILL), this will be at least an 86 win team, probably even more than that, which puts us right in the thick of things. Our hitting will definitely improve, but our pitching is likely going to start to decline as well. We've faced basically all of the worst hitting teams in the AL so far this season. For our sake, we better hope our offense improves more than our pitching declines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soxfan3530 Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 4, 2007 -> 11:44 AM) I agree with #1 and #5, but #3 is total bulls***. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 5 games back already...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 4, 2007 -> 06:18 PM) 5 games back already...... Danks has already gotten you excited....it would be great if someone like Sweeney can look like he'll be a part of our future for the next 5 years as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 QUOTE(fathom @ May 4, 2007 -> 01:20 PM) Danks has already gotten you excited....it would be great if someone like Sweeney can look like he'll be a part of our future for the next 5 years as well. mmm hmmm. Though it wont happen. Gio Russell and Danks have me excited.....for 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elrockinMT Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 4, 2007 -> 04:44 PM) I agree with #1 and #5, but #3 is total bulls***. Something doesn't seem right about that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLAK Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 QUOTE(Hideaway Lights @ May 4, 2007 -> 10:48 AM) Why? Because the hitting HAS to come around, whereas the pitching does not. There are just TOO MANY at ... I'm also pretty upbeat about the team. Despite not hitting they have stayed pretty aggressive, and I feel that is a key for this type of team. They keep playing hard whether they are up or down. The hitters just need to see some bad pitchers a couple of times and they will come around. A bloop and a bomb (or two) will change everyone's perspective. Maybe Paul Konerko can hit one hard before it gets dark out in LA tonight and the disease will spread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 (edited) QUOTE(TLAK @ May 4, 2007 -> 05:51 PM) I'm also pretty upbeat about the team. Despite not hitting they have stayed pretty aggressive, and I feel that is a key for this type of team. They keep playing hard whether they are up or down. The hitters just need to see some bad pitchers a couple of times and they will come around. A bloop and a bomb (or two) will change everyone's perspective. Maybe Paul Konerko can hit one hard before it gets dark out in LA tonight and the disease will spread. Last time they faced a really bad pitcher who was throwing meatballs all night, they got 3-hit shutout through 8 innings. They often faired similarly against poor pitchers during the second half of last season. There is no reason that the hitting "has" to come around. That's not to say that it can't or won't, just that it isn't a foregone conclusion. Edited May 5, 2007 by StrangeSox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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