flavum

QUOTE (SouthSidePride05 @ Sep 22, 2012 -> 07:03 PM) This is easily the most nervous I've been before a game all season. Tonight's game is huge! Hopefully it's one of those rare nights where the offense comes alive and we get a comfortable lead early. Wish I had more faith. To each their own, but this team isn't good enough to get nervous for.

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Sep 22, 2012 -> 05:18 PM) Tigers only have games against Minn and KC, so good luck with that. You're right. 8-4 is more like it. That's the way it's supposed to be down the stretch.

Orioles on their way to another extra inning win. Unreal. Thome with big double.

Ok, so give this one to the Tigers. 12 left. Hope the Sox go 7-5, and the Tigers don't do any better than that.

Gio Gonzalez with 20 wins.

We're at that time of year where you just want to wake up in first place. It's bend but don't break time. But to be realistic, considering the Tigers are playing 7 vs KC and 6 vs Minnesota, I think the best we should hope for is 8-5 for the Tigers, and that would leave the Sox having to go 7-5 to win the division. But again, the Sox will wake up in first on Sunday, and they'll try to make it to Monday still in first. And so on until October 4th or 5th.

Scherzer cleared to start Game 1 Sunday.

Hawk sounds like he knows the Sox are going to blow this division.

QUOTE (chisoxt @ Sep 21, 2012 -> 10:55 PM) I hate to say it but Paul Konerko is starting to remind me of Jermain Dye's last season in 2009 when he started out hot and completely collapsed in the second half. It may just be the wrist. But at 37 next season, they can't rely on him being a 4-hitter on a championship team anymore. I think 2013 will be Konerko's last season.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Sep 21, 2012 -> 10:51 PM) Please shut up Hawk. I was just thinking that.

Not only do I want the Sox to win for their own cause of winning the AL Central. I want them to win to not contribute to some miraculous comeback for the Angels or Rays. Keep the O's, A's, and Yankees in it.

If rotations hold, this is what we're looking at: 9-21 Peavy vs Santana 9-22 Quintana vs Haren 9-23 Floyd vs Weaver 9-24 Sale vs McAllister 9-25 Liriano vs Kluber 9-26 Peavy vs Masterson 9-27 Quintana vs Shields 9-28 Floyd vs Moore 9-29 Sale vs Cobb 9-30 Liriano vs Hellickson 10-1 Peavy vs Kluber 10-2 Quintana vs Masterson 10-3 Floyd vs Jimenez

Tigers/Twins in a rain delay. They may not play tonight.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Sep 21, 2012 -> 02:18 PM) I think my main point is that the Sox have been fairly consistent and so are the Tigers, and the teams are who they are. I don't really expect either team to do anything differently than they've done it for the first 149 games of the season I really dont get why anyone thinks the tigers are going to go on some unrealistic tear AND the sox are gonna swoon Is it unrealistic to think that against the competition both teams are playing over these last four series, that the Tigers could go 8-5 and the Sox could go 5-8, and the Tigers take it with 87 wins? Could happen. Might not. Nothing will surprise me these next two weeks, but by no means do I think the Sox have this even close to locked up.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Sep 21, 2012 -> 01:47 PM) Because the preceding 16-7 stretch before the final 45 didn't overvalue this team at all, right? The final 45 games of the Sox' schedule also features 21 games against teams that are as of today 10 or more games over .500. Of the other 24 games, 12 of them are on the road. Of the 12 home games against teams that are not 10 or more games over .500, 9 of them are against divisional opponents. They also have 3 days off in the last 48 days of the season - one of which was a rainout where they were at the ballpark waiting all night. How many easy games do you think this team has really had, recently? Are we also gonna blame De Aza, Dunn and Konerko for being injured while we're at it A team that wins its division, unless they had a huge lead to work with, should be able to go 25-20 in its last 45 games, largely weighted by division games. And not just division games--games against teams from a weak division. Good teams win. Bad teams lose. Slightly better than mediocre teams like the White Sox should be able to 25-20 down the stretch. Hell, 24-21 should have been good enough, and they may not even do that. What are we arguing here again? How it's not the Sox fault if they don't win the division?

If the Sox come up short, I'm going to look at the collective choke of not being able to go 25-20 the final 45 games for 90 wins. So, go 9-4 and we're all good.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Sep 21, 2012 -> 11:59 AM) No, it doesn't. Changing those results changes every other result in the season as well. They completely control their own destiny and the only teams standing in their way are not named the Royals or the Tigers. Maybe you can say, the Sox went 14-4 against the Twins and 6-12 against the Royals, and that's baseball. Stuff happens. When it comes to a division where high-80's wins it, and you go 6-12 against that team, you pretty much blew it by losing to them. When I set up the Division thread (Road to 91 wins), I had the Tigers winning two more games than the Sox in the final 13 games. So right now I have them both going 88-74. Hopefully the Twins and Royals help us out, and the Sox win tonight. But I don't think the entire season is all about how they play these final two weeks. It's a collective thing, but how you play against teams in your division, particularly the one chasing you or ahead of you does matter because they're twice as important as the rest of the games.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Sep 21, 2012 -> 11:28 AM) I'm sick of people saying "not beating KC will be the reason we lost this division" if we end up second. We're 5-13 against KC and done with them (and Detroit), and we're 2 games up in the division. If you want to cherry pick the 18 KC games out of the schedule, you'd have to change every other result as well, because after certain losing streaks/games the team got up/down for the next one. It's akin to saying "if we had that hit he would have scored". You can't cherry pick like that. Maybe if we won 2/3 in the trip to KC we have a let down somewhere else. This season will be won/lost @Anaheim, vs. TB/Cle and @Cle. Sox went 6-12 against the Tigers and Royals. If they lose the division, of course it has a lot to do with losing to these teams. They shouldn't HAVE to go to Anaheim in late September and win 2 of 3. They shouldn't HAVE to beat the Rays 3 of 4 if the Tigers sweep the Twins and/or Royals.

Sox vs KC 1-1 (0-2) -1 vs Oak 2-1 (2-1) -1 at Tor 2-2 (3-1) E at KC 2-1 (0-3) -2 vs NY 2-1 (3-0) -1 vs Sea 2-1 (3-0) E at Bal 2-2 (1-3) -1 at Det 1-2 (0-3) -2 vs Min 2-1 (2-1) -2 vs KC 2-1 (1-2) -3 vs Det 1-2 (1-2) -3 at Min 2-1 (3-0) -2 vs Det 1-0 (1-0) -2 at KC 2-1 (1-2) -3 at LAA 1-2 Peavy, Quintana, Floyd vs Cle 2-1 Sale, Liriano, Peavy vs TB 2-2 Quintana, Floyd, Sale, Liriano at Cle 2-1 Peavy, Quintana, Floyd Tigers vs NY 2-2 (2-2) E at Tex 1-2 (1-2) E at Min 2-1 (2-1) E vs Bal 2-1 (1-2) -1 vs Tor 2-1 (3-0) E vs LAA 2-1 (2-1) E at KC 2-1 (0-3) -2 vs Chi 2-1 (3-0) -1 vs Cle 2-1 (1-2) -2 at LAA 1-2 (0-3) -3 at Chi 2-1 (2-1) -3 at Cle 2-1 (2-1) -3 at Chi 0-1 (0-1) -3 vs Oak 2-1 (2-1) -3 vs Min 2-1 Porcello, Fister, Scherzer vs KC 3-1 Verlander, Sanchez, Porcello, Fister at Min 2-1 Scherzer, Verlander, Sanchez at KC 2-1 Porcello, Fister, Scherzer All I can say is Go Sox/Go Royals.

It always seems like when you intentionally walk the bases loaded, bad things happen.

Smyly coming in.

Bases loaded, one out.

And another single. Get them over.

Lead off single.

Oak up 6-4 going to the top of the 9th. Cabrera would be up 4th in the bottom. Insurance please.