Why I am optimistic on September 24

[claydude14]

If it comes down to @Cleveland, I might just have to make the drive.

[southsider2k5]

If it comes down to @Cleveland, I might just have to make the drive.

 

One thing I know for sure, there will be PLENTY of tickets available. There are tickets for all three games at $1.50, or less.

 

http://www.stubhub.com/cleveland-indians-tickets/

[Greg Hibbard]

What about the entire last month or so?

 

What good teams have we played well against?

 

I thought winning 5 divisional games in a row, including a 3 game sweep @ min, where we struggle, the last game of the year vs. Detroit, and one @KC, where we struggle, was a positive stretch.

 

During the last 10 game homestand (I'm including the makeup) we won exactly 1 less game than you would have wanted going in. If we had won 2/3 vs min, 2/3 vs KC and 2/4 vs. detroit you would have taken that in a heartbeat.

 

During the recent 9 game road trip, I think winning 2/3 in min, 2/3 in KC and 1/3 in LAA would have been acceptable to almost everyone. Again, we lost one more game than you would have wanted.

 

So what we're all really pissed off about here is that we've won 2 less games out of the last 19 we've played than we would have liked. Instead of winning 11 of 19, we've won 9 of 19.

 

Is that really THAT disappointing? No, it's a bit disappointing, and we're still in first.

 

If we win 4 out of the last 10 detroit still has to win 6 to win outright. Do people realize how unlikely both of those things happening is?

Edited September 24, 2012 by Greg Hibbard

[SI1020]

I've been a fan since 1957. Stuck with them from 68-70 when it was to say the least a lonely proposition. Stuck with them through more lean years and heartbraking years than I care to count. As long as I'm alive and they're in Chicago, I'll be a Sox fan. That being said this is an average to a little above average team with more than a few holes and weaknesses. If they weren't in the ALC they would already be making arrangements for their October tee times. I'll keep watching, hoping and rooting because that's what a fan does. In my heart of hearts I expect very little of this team. I would like nothing better than to have this post thrust back at me a little bit more than a month from now, but I really don't expect it. Lastly, I never find realism hilarious. Even as the littlest of kids I was attracted to the harsh but knowledgeable realism of Sox fans.

[Greg Hibbard]

Lastly, I never find realism hilarious.

 

Nor do I. What I find hilarious is not realism.

[SI1020]

Nor do I. What I find hilarious is not realism.

Well reality is they just lost 5 in a row and can't put a horses*** Tigers team away.

 

[IlliniKrush]

If we win 4 out of the last 10 detroit still has to win 6 to win outright. Do people realize how unlikely both of those things happening is?

We're a game up. It's really simple to follow this race. It's every day, you can't even look at 10 games at this point. All this "if we go x-x, they have to go x-x" stuff is out the window. Play, wake up the next day and figure out where it's at. Repeat.

[Kyyle23]

Well reality is they just lost 5 in a row and can't put a horses*** Tigers team away.

 

Or the reality is that the horses*** Tigers team just lost 2 of 3 at home to a team the Sox swept on the road. There are a lot of strange "reality" statements this season.

[greg775]

Nor do I. What I find hilarious is not realism.

 

 

Or the reality is that the horses*** Tigers team just lost 2 of 3 at home to a team the Sox swept on the road. There are a lot of strange "reality" statements this season.

 

None of us doom and gloomers are failing to realize Detroit also sucks. Those of us who are negative are simply pissed that the Sox have had a zillion opportunities to be 4-6 games up right now. Yes, we realize Detroit has been equally s***ty. Yes we realize it's not over by any means.

[SI1020]

None of us doom and gloomers are failing to realize Detroit also sucks. Those of us who are negative are simply pissed that the Sox have had a zillion opportunities to be 4-6 games up right now. Yes, we realize Detroit has been equally s***ty. Yes we realize it's not over by any means.

Thanks greg. You put in the qualifiers that I should have. I'll add that once the NFL style playoffs begin anything can happen. Your team could be like the 87 Twins or 06 Cardinals.

 

[southsider2k5]

Or the reality is that the horses*** Tigers team just lost 2 of 3 at home to a team the Sox swept on the road. There are a lot of strange "reality" statements this season.

 

Honestly this stretch probably reflects closer on the type of personality you have, because you can pick data from either the positive or negative side and be "right".

[MurcieOne]

I've been a fan since 1957. Stuck with them from 68-70 when it was to say the least a lonely proposition. Stuck with them through more lean years and heartbraking years than I care to count. As long as I'm alive and they're in Chicago, I'll be a Sox fan. That being said this is an average to a little above average team with more than a few holes and weaknesses. If they weren't in the ALC they would already be making arrangements for their October tee times. I'll keep watching, hoping and rooting because that's what a fan does. In my heart of hearts I expect very little of this team. I would like nothing better than to have this post thrust back at me a little bit more than a month from now, but I really don't expect it. Lastly, I never find realism hilarious. Even as the littlest of kids I was attracted to the harsh but knowledgeable realism of Sox fans.

 

You've provided me with some perspective today. Thank you.

[chetkincaid]

Because really, the gloom is hilarious.

 

Some of you people are posting wild, disproportionately pessimistic bulls*** with no basis in reality. Yes, the Sox got swept over the weekend. As long as they came home still in first place I was fine with whatever this weekend's result was - and they did, without even having to share it.

 

There's no reason to act as though the sky is falling. If Detroit had swept the Twins and we had won 2/3 in LAA, it would have been exactly the same result, and people would've been saying "Detroit GONNA GET HAWT" instead of "SOX SUCK AND EVERYTHING ELSE SUX TOO"

 

I'll take my chances with 7 of the last 10 at home against these two teams. If they don't win the division in this position with 10 games left - yes they choked. Yes, it would be a tremendously disappointing end to an otherwise very exciting, awesome season. Yes, they will miss out on some much needed playoff revenue, national visibility and an attendance bump.

 

However, what's amazing to me is that the first 145 games of this season bought this team exactly ZERO equity with its fanbase in terms of believing in it for ONE MORE WEEK - and you're the poster child for exactly what I mean by that.

 

 

[Greg Hibbard]

Well reality is they just lost 5 in a row and can't put a horses*** Tigers team away.

 

Given the way the race has gone ALL YEAR, why would you expect them to put the Tigers away?

[iamshack]

I thought winning 5 divisional games in a row, including a 3 game sweep @ min, where we struggle, the last game of the year vs. Detroit, and one @KC, where we struggle, was a positive stretch.

 

During the last 10 game homestand (I'm including the makeup) we won exactly 1 less game than you would have wanted going in. If we had won 2/3 vs min, 2/3 vs KC and 2/4 vs. detroit you would have taken that in a heartbeat.

 

During the recent 9 game road trip, I think winning 2/3 in min, 2/3 in KC and 1/3 in LAA would have been acceptable to almost everyone. Again, we lost one more game than you would have wanted.

 

So what we're all really pissed off about here is that we've won 2 less games out of the last 19 we've played than we would have liked. Instead of winning 11 of 19, we've won 9 of 19.

 

Is that really THAT disappointing? No, it's a bit disappointing, and we're still in first.

 

If we win 4 out of the last 10 detroit still has to win 6 to win outright. Do people realize how unlikely both of those things happening is?

Perhaps you have lesser expectations of these guys than me.

 

Of the last 16 games, we've swept the Twins. That is the only series we've played well in, and it was against one of the worst teams in all of baseball. Yipee! You're approaching this like Clark W. Griswold in Vegas Vacation at the blackjack table. 'We didn't LOSE!!!!'

 

That's nonsense. We've lost series' to KC twice when we desperately needed wins. We had everything to play for and they had the role of playing spoiler. We split with Detroit but have now been helped out by mother nature twice. Once in order to avoid facing Verlander (and instead being able to face Fister) and again to force Detroit to play a DH with Minnesota. We s*** the field in Anaheim and got swept.

 

So in the last 16 games, we've won one of five series, and split one, helped tremendously by weather. We've been swept once by a team that should be tighter than us. We've won 7 games despite compiling a 5 game winning streak in those 16 games. In the other 11, we managed to win two.

 

So yes, it is THAT disappointing to me. Yes, we are still in first, but by ONE game. That lead could vanish any day. We could and should very easily have a 4 or 5 game cushion, and reach the playoffs after a 162 game, 6-month grind in which I've sat in front of the tv and invested 500 hours of my life, but we're 2 games from going home.

 

I am definitely on the positive side of the spectrum as far as White Sox outlooks go, but make no mistake about it, this team is incredibly dangerous peril of crapping an incredible opportunity away, and that has been frustrating to me in a way I cannot form sentences to describe.

 

The only positive is that today, we still remain in first place.

[35thstreetswarm]

Perhaps you have lesser expectations of these guys than me. Of the last 16 games, we've swept the Twins. That is the only series we've played well in, and it was against one of the worst teams in all of baseball. Yipee! You're approaching this like Clark W. Griswold in Vegas Vacation at the blackjack table. 'We didn't LOSE!!!!'

 

That's nonsense. We've lost series' to KC twice when we desperately needed wins. We had everything to play for and they had the role of playing spoiler. We split with Detroit but have now been helped out by mother nature twice. Once in order to avoid facing Verlander (and instead being able to face Fister) and again to force Detroit to play a DH with Minnesota. We s*** the field in Anaheim and got swept.

 

So in the last 16 games, we've won one of five series, and split one, helped tremendously by weather. We've been swept once by a team that should be tighter than us. We've won 7 games despite compiling a 5 game winning streak in those 16 games. In the other 11, we managed to win two.

 

So yes, it is THAT disappointing to me. Yes, we are still in first, but by ONE game. That lead could vanish any day. We could and should very easily have a 4 or 5 game cushion, and reach the playoffs after a 162 game, 6-month grind in which I've sat in front of the tv and invested 500 hours of my life, but we're 2 games from going home.

 

I am definitely on the positive side of the spectrum as far as White Sox outlooks go, but make no mistake about it, this team is incredibly dangerous peril of crapping an incredible opportunity away, and that has been frustrating to me in a way I cannot form sentences to describe.

 

The only positive is that today, we still remain in first place.

 

I think your first sentence hits the nail on the head, at least for me. I do have lower expectations, as I do not feel this team is so good as to give me the right to demand not only that they be in FIRST place in late September, but to flyspeck the circumstances by which they got there. It would be prettier if they had obtained a division lead by beating all the bad teams they played and losing only hard-fought, well-played games to quality opponents. But these guys are not painting a masterpiece, they're a flawed and injured team trying to gut out a division victory in a season the whole baseball world predicted would be a catastrophe.

 

If we're talking "shoulds," they "should" be in second place, quite honestly. But they are in first. Let's play well the next ten games and keep it that way.

[iamshack]

I think your first sentence hits the nail on the head, at least for me. I do have lower expectations, as I do not feel this team is so good as to give me the right to demand not only that they be in FIRST place in late September, but to flyspeck the circumstances by which they got there. It would be prettier if they had obtained a division lead by beating all the bad teams they played and losing only hard-fought, well-played games to quality opponents. But these guys are not painting a masterpiece, they're a flawed and injured team trying to gut out a division victory in a season the whole baseball world predicted would be a catastrophe.

 

If we're talking "shoulds," they "should" be in second place, quite honestly. But they are in first. Let's play well the next ten games and keep it that way.

That's fair...I can understand that....I'm not one of those people that thought the season would be a catastrophe, however. I expected Dunn and Rios to have big bounceback years. I expected us to compete. Did I expect us to do it with so many rookies? No. But I did expect that we would somewhere near this position at this time of the season.

 

In baseball, at least if you're not the Braves of the 90's or the Yankees or the Red Sox, reaching the Postseason is a dicey proposition. To reach them now would not be "gravy" to me as a fan. We're in a position we have only been in five other times in my 35 years on this earth. I do expect them to play well down the stretch. I do expect them to win this division. s***ting the bed is not an option I relish in the final month of the season. Do I "demand" they win the division? Of course not. I am in no position to do so. Do I desperately desire them to win the division? Absof***inglutely.

[Greg Hibbard]

That's fair...I can understand that....I'm not one of those people that thought the season would be a catastrophe, however. I expected Dunn and Rios to have big bounceback years. I expected us to compete. Did I expect us to do it with so many rookies? No. But I did expect that we would somewhere near this position at this time of the season.

 

In baseball, at least if you're not the Braves of the 90's or the Yankees or the Red Sox, reaching the Postseason is a dicey proposition. To reach them now would not be "gravy" to me as a fan. We're in a position we have only been in five other times in my 35 years on this earth. I do expect them to play well down the stretch. I do expect them to win this division. s***ting the bed is not an option I relish in the final month of the season. Do I "demand" they win the division? Of course not. I am in no position to do so. Do I desperately desire them to win the division? Absof***inglutely.

 

"This position" meaning having won 81 games, being in first, or both?

 

What did you expect the Tigers to do?

 

Would you be as angry if the Tigers were 10 games ahead and the Sox had exactly the same season otherwise?

[VAfan]

Hey, the Sox are STILL in first place! That's reason enough to be optimistic. Especially after you knew going into Sunday we were going to lose to the Angels and the Tigers had a double-header at home against the TWINS!! But, lo and behold, the TWINS TOOK TWO AGAINST THE TIGERS!!!

 

Now we come home to face some Cleveland pitching! That's three games that should instantly heal the Sox' pathetic bats. I'm looking for a sweep against the Tribe. And maybe a game gained against the Tigers.

 

Then we've got 4 against the Rays, who we play pretty tough. If we split, we'll almost certainly remain in first.

 

Then it's 3 on the road against the Tribe again. We may need to win only one of those games to do no worse than tie. Two and we're almost certainly in.

 

This isn't the 2005 team that won 16 of its last 17 games on the way to the World Series title. (The only loss was 3-2 to the Angels where if Contreras throws home instead of trying for the DP might not have turned into a loss.)

 

But, like 2005, it's a team no one gave a chance before the season started. We're playing on house money. Why not enjoy it!!

 

 

[stretchstretch]

they lost 83.3% of their last 6 games, I'm not optimistic of making or winning in the playoffs, this would be the saddest entrance to post season in a long time., for either team

[GreatScott82]

On this very date in 2005 the Sox were only up 1.5 games over the Indians.

 

The Indians lost 3 straight vs the very bad Royals and Devil Rays at the the time to help put us over.

 

 

Today we are only up 1 game and in similar fashion, the team chasing us is playing two very bad teams with nothing to lose.

 

I know we have slumped over the past week, but lets enjoy this ride to the finish. Nobody would have predicted this to start the year and I am super excited to be in this position. These next 7 home games are crucial and I have a feeling, our friends from KC will do some damage for us

 

LETS GO WHITE SOX! WAKE UP!

[iamshack]

"This position" meaning having won 81 games, being in first, or both?

 

What did you expect the Tigers to do?

 

Would you be as angry if the Tigers were 10 games ahead and the Sox had exactly the same season otherwise?

I expected us to be within striking distance of winning the division with 10 games remaining.

 

 

[rowand's rowdies]

We are basically in a 7 game series with the Cleveland indians. But we have to win 5 games instead of 4. And if we don't win 5, Detroit goes to the playoffs.

 

Is anyone here really confident we will win more than 1 game against Tampa? If we win 5 of 7 vs the indians, we go 6-4 and make detroit go 7-3 to tie us. Then we are in the playoffs technically, and if we can't beat Detroit in a one game playoff, well they earned it.

 

I don't think Detroit wins 7 of 10. I give them 6-4 at best.

 

What I really think will happen is we will go 5-5, so will Detroit, and we will get in with the 1 game lead. It wouldn't be pretty, but history doesn't care about pretty. Ask the St. Louis Cardinals. Twice.

[justBLAZE]

We are basically in a 7 game series with the Cleveland indians. But we have to win 5 games instead of 4. And if we don't win 5, Detroit goes to the playoffs.

 

Is anyone here really confident we will win more than 1 game against Tampa? If we win 5 of 7 vs the indians, we go 6-4 and make detroit go 7-3 to tie us. Then we are in the playoffs technically, and if we can't beat Detroit in a one game playoff, well they earned it.

 

I don't think Detroit wins 7 of 10. I give them 6-4 at best.

 

What I really think will happen is we will go 5-5, so will Detroit, and we will get in with the 1 game lead. It wouldn't be pretty, but history doesn't care about pretty. Ask the St. Louis Cardinals. Twice.

 

Geez, speculation galore. Just win as any games as the freaking Tigers.

[nitetrain8601]

We are basically in a 7 game series with the Cleveland indians. But we have to win 5 games instead of 4. And if we don't win 5, Detroit goes to the playoffs.

 

Is anyone here really confident we will win more than 1 game against Tampa? If we win 5 of 7 vs the indians, we go 6-4 and make detroit go 7-3 to tie us. Then we are in the playoffs technically, and if we can't beat Detroit in a one game playoff, well they earned it.

 

I don't think Detroit wins 7 of 10. I give them 6-4 at best.

 

What I really think will happen is we will go 5-5, so will Detroit, and we will get in with the 1 game lead. It wouldn't be pretty, but history doesn't care about pretty. Ask the St. Louis Cardinals. Twice.

 

Honestly, I can see us taking 3 of 4 from TB(I think we play them 4 times), simply because we seem to play up to our level of competition. I'd be more concerned if we had to play the Royals the rest of the year.