The Off-day boredom thread

[jeffro2525]

I said it in another thread but 21 of 29 against the central starting Tuesday. So far they've shown themselves to be useful this season against the division. But if they can't do anything this month and inferior competition like Kansas City and Minnesota starts giving them fits then it's all over. That is a hole they will not be able to dig out of and itll be a long boring summer.

 

16, 17 of 21 is a must

 

Jesus dude...16-5 or 17-4 this month vs. the division? A must? This is what your expectations are? No wonder you're so negative lol...this team must be a complete failure to you so far.

 

You have to assume that they'll lose at least 3 vs. Detroit. So we're looking at 15-1 vs. the Royals, Twins and Indians? Hell...lets just make it 16-0.

 

I would be ecstatic with 12-9 or 13-8 vs. the division this month.

[Cali]

They are disappointing and yes my standards are high dammit! Haha

 

But they're gonna go 10-11 or 9-12 more than likely. As negative as I seem there's a part of me that is always hopeful. Which makes the disappointments hurt 100x more. That's my fault really haha

[TaylorStSox]

I said it in another thread but 21 of 29 against the central starting Tuesday. So far they've shown themselves to be useful this season against the division. But if they can't do anything this month and inferior competition like Kansas City and Minnesota starts giving them fits then it's all over. That is a hole they will not be able to dig out of and itll be a long boring summer.

 

16, 17 of 21 is a must

I love parody.

[flavum]

Realistic goal this month:

 

Cle 2-1

Det 2-1

Cle 2-2

KC 2-1

Det 1-1

LAA 1-1

Chi 2-1

Min 2-1

Cle 2-1

TB 1-2

 

17-12, 13-8 in the division.

[ILMOU]

If they won the two games they blew, even with a s***ty offense, the Sox would be 13-9, and I would have taken that.

 

I kind of look at this way as well. We've BLOWN two games and STOLEN zero games thus far, so we're 0-2 in that category. If this evens out, we're 13-9 as Flav said. Of course, it's been my observation that STEALING more games than you BLOW is a frequent trait of winning teams, and the opposite is a frequent trait of losers.

 

Time, and the choice/performance of closers & late inning setup men, will tell.

[Steve9347]

(Insert homophobic/misogynist rant).

ha

[greg775]

You asked what we felt about the team.

I feel terrible about the team because with SO many individual positives, the team is .500 and more importantly the team is s*** at home.

 

I mean we should be able to easily overcome a bad hitting second baseman.

Our starting pitching has been outstanding.

DeAza, Rios, Dunn all fine.

And yet the team has a blah .500 record.

I'm discouraged cause there's always something that causes our team to be mediocre at best and very s***ty at times (in the blowout losses and we've had a bunch of those).

[balfanman]

11-11, not bad, probably where I thought we would be. I wish we could have capitalized on some of the games we lost because Detroit isn't going to be playing .500 ball forever.

 

Why? It seems a lot of teams, most notably us, have a bad season when expectations are big. Who's to say that Detroit doesn't have much better than a 500 season? Sure they could take off, but how many years have we been saying that about a White Sox team that was supposed to do better than they did?

[Dick Allen]

Hopefully we won't have a gameday boredom thread this year.

[caulfield12]

I kind of look at this way as well. We've BLOWN two games and STOLEN zero games thus far, so we're 0-2 in that category. If this evens out, we're 13-9 as Flav said. Of course, it's been my observation that STEALING more games than you BLOW is a frequent trait of winning teams, and the opposite is a frequent trait of losers.

 

Time, and the choice/performance of closers & late inning setup men, will tell.

 

 

I kind of think that the random homer by Alex Rios (especially with the way he was hitting then) off Nathan definitely qualifies as a "stolen" victory.

 

Then again, we had three winnable games against BALT that we left numerous runners in scoring position, as well as the Peavy start.

 

And the game we won against the Tiggers with Viciedo and the defense making highlight reel plays, for example. That would have been a game we lost in 2011 for sure.

 

 

Edited April 30, 2012 by caulfield12

[The Ginger Kid]

You asked what we felt about the team.

I feel terrible about the team because with SO many individual positives, the team is .500 and more importantly the team is s*** at home.

 

I mean we should be able to easily overcome a bad hitting second baseman.

I would argue that they have overcome a bad hitting 2nd baseman, and a hot/cold offense overall. To be .500 and 1 game out of the division lead after a month? That's some pretty serious pitching right there. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't a collective "Oh s***" going on in Detroit when they look at what Peavy and the rest of the staff is doing.

[witesoxfan]

Realistic goal this month:

 

Cle 2-1

Det 2-1

Cle 2-2

KC 2-1

Det 1-1

LAA 1-1

Chi 2-1

Min 2-1

Cle 2-1

TB 1-2

 

17-12, 13-8 in the division.

 

That certainly looks doable. Figure a sweep here or there and a lost series or getting swept here or there, and that looks very possible. I think 15-14 is more likely because this has the feel of a .500 team without a big addition offensively (whoever and however it may be), but it's going to be worth watching.

 

Why? It seems a lot of teams, most notably us, have a bad season when expectations are big. Who's to say that Detroit doesn't have much better than a 500 season? Sure they could take off, but how many years have we been saying that about a White Sox team that was supposed to do better than they did?

 

Because Scherzer and Porcello aren't going to combine for an ERA of 7 this year. It's possible that they have a down season, but they'll be better than .500, barring any sort of crazy injuries.

[caulfield12]

They could simply emulate our 2006 team with 90 wins and sneak into the playoffs when the AL East beats each other into submission and only two teams can emerge....and you have to consider how down the Twins and Royals are.

 

For the Angels, they have to feel the same way, being able to make up some ground against the Mariners and A's.

 

I'd still be pretty shocked if the Tigers weren't the AL Central champions when all is said and done, if for no other reason than Illitch will open up his pocketbooks and okay any reasonable trade/acquisition in June/July.

 

Whereas the White Sox and Indians (thanks to their big trade last summer with COL) aren't in a good position at all to be adding, especially with the Indians averaging only 15,000 per game, they might need to subtract again.

Edited May 1, 2012 by caulfield12

[balfanman]

Because Scherzer and Porcello aren't going to combine for an ERA of 7 this year. It's possible that they have a down season, but they'll be better than .500, barring any sort of crazy injuries.

 

Again, I ask why? How do you know this?

 

I'm not knocking you individually, but it seems to be a consenses that Detroit is just going to take off one of these days and the best we can hope for is to stay within 10 games and maybe a shot at the 2nd wildcard. It may happen, but I think that it is at least evenly possible that they are stuck around 500 most of the year. Their pitching overall doesn't look that good to me. Their offense, for that matter, doesn't look like the powerhouse it was supposed to be either.

 

JMHO

Edited May 1, 2012 by balfanman

[southsider2k5]

That certainly looks doable. Figure a sweep here or there and a lost series or getting swept here or there, and that looks very possible. I think 15-14 is more likely because this has the feel of a .500 team without a big addition offensively (whoever and however it may be), but it's going to be worth watching.

 

 

 

Because Scherzer and Porcello aren't going to combine for an ERA of 7 this year. It's possible that they have a down season, but they'll be better than .500, barring any sort of crazy injuries.

 

On the other side of the coin Smyly isn't going to be pitching like Bob Gibson either.

[caulfield12]

Of course, that's what we said all last year.

 

Detroit's not that good...it's just Verlander and Cabrera and Victor Martinez and Valverde doing the damage, etc.

 

Then they just crushed everyone the last two months. 1/8th of a season without Fister and Victor Martinez isn't going to tell a whole lot, either. They're still making adjustments. Austin Jackson is an offensive force like in his rookie year, and when/if Peralta/Avila/Boesch all get going, that's a hard line-up to face.

 

I think we underestimate how much Martinez meant and assume Fielder's covering up for that bat and then some...but Martinez was absolutely the definition of a clutch hitter last year in pressure situations.

 

Sure, Delmon Young's a mess and a headcase, Dirks/Eldred/Worth isn't much of a DH for now and they're never going to get much offense out of 2B this season, but they're still formidable.

 

And they have LOTS of money to throw at any problems and the willingness to spend it, so even if we play even with them, they will have the ability to pull away from us in the 2nd half while we're dealing with Humber and particularly Sale possibly wearing down.

 

 

[LittleHurt05]

On the other side of the coin Smyly isn't going to be pitching like Bob Gibson either.

 

When your ERA & WHIP are nearly identical, it usually means you are due for some regression.

[CanOfCorn]

If the Tigers don't improve their defense, they are going to be in trouble. Already given up 10 unearned runs. That defense is just horrible.

[justBLAZE]

If the Tigers don't improve their defense, they are going to be in trouble. Already given up 10 unearned runs. That defense is just horrible.

 

I think Tigers are the favorites to winning the division but they overachieved last year.

[witesoxfan]

Because Scherzer and Porcello aren't going to combine for an ERA of 7 this year. It's possible that they have a down season, but they'll be better than .500, barring any sort of crazy injuries.

 

Again, I ask why? How do you know this?

 

I'm not knocking you individually, but it seems to be a consenses that Detroit is just going to take off one of these days and the best we can hope for is to stay within 10 games and maybe a shot at the 2nd wildcard. It may happen, but I think that it is at least evenly possible that they are stuck around 500 most of the year. Their pitching overall doesn't look that good to me. Their offense, for that matter, doesn't look like the powerhouse it was supposed to be either.

 

JMHO

 

There was a lot of smoke and mirrors with their team last year...the fact that Valverde didn't blow a save is reason enough...but there are just too many good players on that roster right now for them to not be a better than .500 team, again, barring crazy injuries. They've been predictably bad defensively (UZR is right around -12, which means their poor defense by itself has cost them a full game in the standings, roughly speaking) but, according they have produced negative value offensively thus far, meaning in this young season, they have lost more games than won because of their offense. This is essentially the same team, minus Victor Martinez, plus Prince Fielder, that finished 5th in the entire MLB last year in offensive value at 90.8 batting runs above value meaning, when not taken out of context for positional adjustments, their offense alone won them 9 games. The offense is good and has plenty of talent. They're going to hit. There may be a few guys who regress a bit - Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta come to mind immediately, plus Betemit was really good down the stretch for them last year too and he's in Baltimore now - but they're going to hit. The main thing at this point is getting Scherzer and Porcello straightened out.

 

I half tongue-in-cheek stated they'd win 100 games after signing Fielder, but I really can't see any scenario where they win fewer 85 unless it involves someone getting injured. That is a very, very top heavy organization (no offense intended to Cabrera and Fielder, who are going to eclipse 600 combined pounds before they do home runs), and one significant injury to Verlander, Cabrera, or Fielder puts their season in very serious jeopardy very quickly, and if two get injured, they may as well pack it in.

[caulfield12]

There was a lot of smoke and mirrors with their team last year...the fact that Valverde didn't blow a save is reason enough...but there are just too many good players on that roster right now for them to not be a better than .500 team, again, barring crazy injuries. They've been predictably bad defensively (UZR is right around -12, which means their poor defense by itself has cost them a full game in the standings, roughly speaking) but, according they have produced negative value offensively thus far, meaning in this young season, they have lost more games than won because of their offense. This is essentially the same team, minus Victor Martinez, plus Prince Fielder, that finished 5th in the entire MLB last year in offensive value at 90.8 batting runs above value meaning, when not taken out of context for positional adjustments, their offense alone won them 9 games. The offense is good and has plenty of talent. They're going to hit. There may be a few guys who regress a bit - Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta come to mind immediately, plus Betemit was really good down the stretch for them last year too and he's in Baltimore now - but they're going to hit. The main thing at this point is getting Scherzer and Porcello straightened out.

 

I half tongue-in-cheek stated they'd win 100 games after signing Fielder, but I really can't see any scenario where they win fewer 85 unless it involves someone getting injured. That is a very, very top heavy organization (no offense intended to Cabrera and Fielder, who are going to eclipse 600 combined pounds before they do home runs), and one significant injury to Verlander, Cabrera, or Fielder puts their season in very serious jeopardy very quickly, and if two get injured, they may as well pack it in.

 

Papa Grande says "Don't forget me, I'll full-figured, too!!"

 

Agree, what determines their season is the contributions of Jackson, Boesch, Raburn, Peralta, Kelly, Santiago, Eldred, Worth, etc. If their "complementary" players rake, then they're a 95+ win team.

 

And I'm already putting Avila at that assumed All-Star level at catcher, although it's perhaps a bit early (see Soto, Geovanny).

 

Jackson definitely gives them an added dimension in being able to manufacture runs, and Boesch can carry a team when he's hot, like 2 seasons ago.

 

Delmon Young is a pretty big wildcard, especially now after the suspension. Hard to expect the 2010 version with the Twins to return, but stranger things have happened.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2012 by caulfield12

[balfanman]

There was a lot of smoke and mirrors with their team last year...the fact that Valverde didn't blow a save is reason enough...but there are just too many good players on that roster right now for them to not be a better than .500 team, again, barring crazy injuries. They've been predictably bad defensively (UZR is right around -12, which means their poor defense by itself has cost them a full game in the standings, roughly speaking) but, according they have produced negative value offensively thus far, meaning in this young season, they have lost more games than won because of their offense. This is essentially the same team, minus Victor Martinez, plus Prince Fielder, that finished 5th in the entire MLB last year in offensive value at 90.8 batting runs above value meaning, when not taken out of context for positional adjustments, their offense alone won them 9 games. The offense is good and has plenty of talent. They're going to hit. There may be a few guys who regress a bit - Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta come to mind immediately, plus Betemit was really good down the stretch for them last year too and he's in Baltimore now - but they're going to hit. The main thing at this point is getting Scherzer and Porcello straightened out.

 

I half tongue-in-cheek stated they'd win 100 games after signing Fielder, but I really can't see any scenario where they win fewer 85 unless it involves someone getting injured. That is a very, very top heavy organization (no offense intended to Cabrera and Fielder, who are going to eclipse 600 combined pounds before they do home runs), and one significant injury to Verlander, Cabrera, or Fielder puts their season in very serious jeopardy very quickly, and if two get injured, they may as well pack it in.

 

Again, not against you personally, but how do you know this? How many seasons have people been saying this about the White Sox lineup? They may well take off and start hitting, but you're stating this as fact when it is at least somewhat possible that it won't happen.

 

This is one thing that really bothers me about message boards, again, not you personally. People take something that could, and probably should, happen and state it as fact. I think that there is a decent chance that the Tigers have a poor overall year offensively, which combined with a poor defense and average pitching would mean they might not finish much better than a 500 team.

 

JMHO

Edited May 2, 2012 by balfanman

[southsider2k5]

Again, not against you personally, but how do you know this? How many seasons have people been saying this about the White Sox lineup? They may well take off and start hitting, but you're stating this as fact when it is at least somewhat possible that it won't happen.

 

This is one thing that really bothers me about message boards, again, not you personally. People take something that could, and probably should, happen and state it as fact. I think that there is a decent chance that the Tigers have a poor overall year offensively, which combined with a poor defense and average pitching would mean they might not finish much better than a 500 team.

 

JMHO

 

Last year was such an incredible statistical outlier in terms of baseball history. We are talking about multiple guys having multi-generationally bad seasons. Sure you can always throw out the "you never know"'s for anything. A meteor could smash into the earth tomorrow and destroy the entire planet, but the reality is the odds of that are pretty damned small. When people post stuff like that it isn't to say that it is a 100% guarantee.

[Balta1701]

Last year was such an incredible statistical outlier in terms of baseball history. We are talking about multiple guys having multi-generationally bad seasons. Sure you can always throw out the "you never know"'s for anything. A meteor could smash into the earth tomorrow and destroy the entire planet, but the reality is the odds of that are pretty damned small. When people post stuff like that it isn't to say that it is a 100% guarantee.

(Of course, if NASA wasn't having its budget gutted, the odds of an unexpected meteor large enough to destroy a whole lot of stuff hitting the Earth would become vanishingly small in the next few years).

[caulfield12]

Stop the Mr. Handsome pro wrestling persona, B.

 

We know you're actually a paid Romney speechwriter, you want to gut the EPA and Dept. of Education, Dept. of Interior, go back to the Gold Standard, the Commerce Department, gone, all financial regulators done away with, and, oh yeah...The Department of Energy, too.

 

You only come here to practice your debating skills and you actually are a Cubs' fan and registered member of the NRA and a subscriber to Reader's and Baseball Digest.