Wolverine31

QUOTE(Bonderman38 @ Jul 15, 2006 -> 08:40 PM) The Tigers don't go .500 against CHicago, IMO. I think they end up going like 7-12 or something. I think he meant the rest of the way. If the Tigs can go at least 7-6 or 6-7 against the Sox the rest of the way and prevent the Sox from picking up games against them in head to head competition, I think they can hold on to the division lead with the White Sox starting pitching.

What do all the Sox fans who were crying about the fact that you percieved that the Tigers couldn't beat good teams have to say now that you have put in 2 pretty bad efforts against the Red Sox? Maybe your starting pitching will really hurt you against good teams? About the last post, I think you just concentrate on making the playoffs any way possible whether it may be by winning the Wild Card or the division. But I think that poster pointed out the September 1st date because if I remember correctly we have a pretty tough schedule in August and a much easier September. If we can hold on to the division lead through August, I think we have a great shot at holding on the rest of the year because of how we've beaten up on the bad teams all season.

LOL @ the Sox fan who said the Tigers would have no starting pitching w/o Verlander. Do you even look at stats? Our "worst" starter has been Kenny Rogers and his whopping 3.72 ERA. I haven't checked the stats lately but that might be leading your starters. BTW I think Ozzie is even more awesome for taking all of his players to the game instead of the most deserving players. There's no way guys like Liriano who lead the AL in ERA or Verlander who is third in ERA and has 10 wins did not deserve to go before Ozzie's home team picks.

The Twins are starting to scare me. I know they are still 10 games back, but they refuse to lose and Santana/Liriano are probably the best 2 starters in baseball, almost automatic W's those games if the offense can score a few runs and the bullpen doesn't collapse.

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.

I turned this one on in the 9th :puke The Sox have to be the luckiest team in the major leagues. Grand Slam in the 9th with 2 outs to tie. Granny yestderday in the late innings to tie.

Late inning rallies don't automatically go away because it's the playoffs. If you believe that, you haven't watched the games. Even good relievers can blow up on any given day. That said, I think you're overestimating the number of late inning comebacks we have, especially when you seem to win just as many late. I doubt the number of games we've come back to win is drastically different than the number of games Todd Jones and co. have blown late when we had a lead. I don't know if this team can win a playoff series. You'd like to see them add pieces at the deadline. Mike Ilitch (owner) said in the paper that they are looking for a lefthanded bat and that salary is not a prohibiting factor from acquiring one. I think these people saying we're just going to fade away are silly. We can very likely make the playoffs playing a little over .500 ball the rest of the way. It would be some kind of collapse to start the year 51-25 and then not even be able to play .500 ball the rest of the way. I was a non-believer to start the season too but their play has changed my opinion even if you'd still like to see some of the holes patched up.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Jun 25, 2006 -> 07:45 PM) Schedule is only going to get harder. Can't keep playing Tampa and KC all year. Good luck! Well if that's true than your team should watch out because according to ESPN we've had a tougher SOS than your team so far.

How long are Sox fans going to go on saying we are a fluke team? 51-25 people in what is likely the hardest division in baseball. It's not like we're winning a bunch of 1-run games like the Nats were last year and statistically were likely to fall off. We've given up the least runs in MLB.

Yeah, that was a fun game to watch. Although I'm getting a little sick of checking the scoreboard after we win games and seeing the White Sox won too. We have the best record in baseball and I can't even feel safe in that because there your team is 1.5 games behind and they won't go away. Oh well, if we can just play a few games above .500 ball the rest of the season we should have a very good shot at our first playoff appearance since 1987 (sad, I know). I still think there are a few too many holes on the team (hopefully some of the holes in the lineup are patched up at the ASB) to win it all but it would at least be nice to play post season baseball for once.

QUOTE(El Barto @ Jun 15, 2006 -> 02:23 AM) Bottom of the 12th, 5-1 rays. That makes this game slightly better to swallow I guess. Todd Jones strikes again. 1-5 with an ERA around 7.30. When is this clown going to stop pitching in important innings? He and this pitiful offense spoiled a great performance by Bonderman tonight.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 14, 2006 -> 12:39 AM) Tigers are going to win their game. 7-0 in the 5th with a chance for more

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jun 11, 2006 -> 09:23 PM) Zumaya threw a couple of innings today to get his first save, but at the end of the game, with like 2 outs in the ninth, he threw a pitch too low, called Pudge out to the mound with some pain in his side. He finished the game, but that's got to be your real concern with a guy like Zumaya...overworking a guy that young could destroy his arm. I don't see how Leyland could overwork him. He pitched 151 innings in the minors last year (not easy innings with the walks and strikeouts either). He won't come close to that this year as a reliever. I hope Leyland uses him as a multi-inning reliever to get the team out of jams. He's wasted just going one inning IMO. I think having him go 3 innings today was the right move because we didn't blow anymore of the bullpen for tomorrow's game. Anyway, good to take 2 of 3 from the Blue Jays in their home park but I'm dissapointed that the bullpen had to totally collapse in the first game because it could have easily been a sweep.

QUOTE(tigerfan @ Jun 10, 2006 -> 07:39 PM) True, but he's had a hand in blowing leads the last two times out. That's not good. Apparently Chuck Hernandez has found a mechanical flaw that was causing Fernando to throw so many balls of late. Hopefully this is corrected and he is back to throwing strikes. And Leyland says he's sticking with Jones and Rodney in the late innings through their struggles. He's such a stubborn old fool on this issue. How many games does Jones have to cost us and how high does Jones' ERA have to balloon to for him to make a switch. The current count is 4 and over 7.00. Even a blind man can see Jones is done but Dombrowski must have too much of an ego to admit he made a mistake signing this garbage pitcher and make a change, even if it costs the team the season. He came in and got a save today but it wasn't pretty as he had the tying runs on base before he managed to get 3 outs.

Well the Tigers were leading the Jays 5-2 with 1 out in the 8th and then Fernando Rodney and Todd Jones allowed 8 consecutive batters to reach for a final score of Jays 10, Tigers 5. This had to be the worst loss of the season; a complete bullpen implosion. I wonder if Leyland will finally take Todd Jones out of the closers role now. I don't know how much more it will take; he's cost us 4 games this season, his ERA is 7.29, batters are hitting almost .400 off of him, he can't strike anyone out. He's not even a major league pitcher let alone a closer. What a joke.