A.L. Central Smack 2015

[Howie115]

cleves forgets when Fisher took over the team and won a championship..of course BO hung around to inspire them.. Izzo.motto..just getting to the final 4 is the sparty way..

Yep, the Remedial Robinson team won it all for UoM. But man, you gotta give Izzo his due. This 2015 Spartan team probably doesn't have one single NBA-bound player on it, yet here they are back in the Sweet 16. I liked Izzo's brutal honesty on his team, saying yesterday that his team would have won 4 more regular season games if they had just shot at least 60% from the foul line.

 

[Howie115]

He's also been losing velocity on his fastball - even before his core issues in 2014 - and he's not getting any younger. I do think he'll improve significantly from last year (either that or he'll be bullpen bound), but he's going to have to learn to pitch while treating his FB as more of an average pitch than he has in the past, particularly if he wants to be one of the best in the game.

This is actually a good analysis. The thing is, Verlander DOES have good secondary pitches...outstanding 12-6 curveball, good slider, good change. But when he got in trouble, he frequently went back to the 97-98 MPH heater to get himself out of it. And let's face it, your margin of error at that speed is significantly wider than when you are throwing 92-93. A well-located 92-93 MPH fastball is still a very good pitch, but JV is going to have to set up the fastball more with his secondary pitches, rather than the other way around. So yes, he will have to be a different pitcher. Whether he can again be one of the best in the game, even for a season or two, is very open to speculation.

 

[gandydancer]

...as opposed to Tigers fans, who disappear after the first round of the playoffs.

That one left a mark.

 

[dougplayer]

The Tigers have never made the playoffs in five straight years, much less made the ALCS five straight years.

You are now officially a talking meatball.

sorry I was counting this year already.
4 straight years in play off. 3 of 4 in the ALCS. 1 of them was a WS.
how did that play OFF work out for the Indians that year?????

 

[dougplayer]

tell us again how Tiger fan jumps off the bandwagon when the platy off starts.
BAWWWHHHHHAAWWWWWWWW.

if I remember right...Indians cant get there fans to come for even the regular season games.Indian front office thought Ryan Raburn would pull them in lol.

by the way... new est. on every teams worth..puts the Tigers worth well over a billion dollars..the 3 million plus fans that pack Comerica park might have some thing to do with it

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

sorry I was counting this year already.
4 straight years in play off. 3 of 4 in the ALCS. 1 of them was a WS.
how did that play OFF work out for the Indians that year?????

 

[Erie Warrior]

tell us again how Tiger fan jumps off the bandwagon when the platy off starts.
BAWWWHHHHHAAWWWWWWWW.

if I remember right...Indians cant get there fans to come for even the regular season games.Indian front office thought Ryan Raburn would pull them in lol.

by the way... new est. on every teams worth..puts the Tigers worth well over a billion dollars..the 3 million plus fans that pack Comerica park might have some thing to do with it

The Indians ownership group has really alienated fans. I go to a couple of games a year, that's it. I use to go to 15-20. Fuck the Dolans. I try to not to give them much of my money.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

The Indians ownership group has really alienated fans. I go to a couple of games a year, that's it. I use to go to 15-20. Fuck the Dolans. I try to not to give them much of my money.

That's true, the Dolans have done and said some remarkably stupid shit, but don't kid yourself, Cleveland is not a baseball town. I remember being at the playoff clinching game in 2007 and on the way out of The Jake, I was shocked that everyone was discussing the upcoming Browns season. The fucking Browns. They have sucked ass forever and continually prove that they're too inept to improve regardless of who owns, manages, coaches or plays for them.

I wish the Cleveland area would support the Indians even 50-75% as much as they do the Browns.

 

[Howie115]

That's true, the Dolans have done and said some remarkably stupid shit, but don't kid yourself, Cleveland is not a baseball town.

Heh, that seems to be true. Detroit loves its Mike Ilitch teams (Wings and Tigers). We are a baseball town more or less by default, because our football team has sucked for decades.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Heh, that seems to be true. Detroit loves its Mike Ilitch teams (Wings and Tigers). We are a baseball town more or less by default, because our football team has sucked for decades.

That default somehow doesn't work in Cleveland. The Browns have sucked for decades and folks are still all over their nuts.

 

[Howie115]

if I remember right...Indians cant get there fans to come for even the regular season games.

Nope, not even for the meaningful games. I remember that Tigers-Indians series in August 2013, when the teams were neck-and-neck. The series was in Cleveland, but if you were just listening on the radio to when the fans cheered, you'd swear it was a Tigers home game.

 

[dougplayer]

Nope, not even for the meaningful games. I remember that Tigers-Indians series in August 2013, when the teams were neck-and-neck. The series was in Cleveland, but if you were just listening on the radio to when the fans cheered, you'd swear it was a Tigers home game.

yes. that was funny. but. Tiger fans even travel to road games. like the red wings fans do.

Cleveland fans....got to give johnny football a chance. he can play. at least in college. at least give him a shot .

 

[dougplayer]

SI cover this week.
picks the Cleveland to win the word series....and they wonder why no body reads SI any more. (my script was a present for xmas).... I just don't see it. I
really dont

 

[dougplayer]

oh no oh no.
Verlander left the game today with a cramp in his tricep. pitching arm... oh no. he was all set to have another CY YOUNG / MVP year.

say it aint so!!!!!

 

[Erie Warrior]

That's true, the Dolans have done and said some remarkably stupid shit, but don't kid yourself, Cleveland is not a baseball town. I remember being at the playoff clinching game in 2007 and on the way out of The Jake, I was shocked that everyone was discussing the upcoming Browns season. The fucking Browns. They have sucked ass forever and continually prove that they're too inept to improve regardless of who owns, manages, coaches or plays for them.

I wish the Cleveland area would support the Indians even 50-75% as much as they do the Browns.

The Browns are a clown show. Sadly, they are my crack. Part of me wishes they never came back, another part questions why I gave up season tickets.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

The Browns are a clown show. Sadly, they are my crack. Part of me wishes they never came back, another part questions why I gave up season tickets.

Yeah, the Browns just make me shake my head... my team hasn't won a playoff game in over 20 years, but wow, the Browns have it rough as of late. The Indians at least seem to have a competent FO put together. At least in my opinion.

 

[Erie Warrior]

Yeah, the Browns just make me shake my head... my team hasn't won a playoff game in over 20 years, but wow, the Browns have it rough as of late. The Indians at least seem to have a competent FO put together. At least in my opinion.

You are right. The Browns are a disaster. Just the Indians ownership has bungled a lot of things since '99 or '00, when they took over. Mostly, trading away proven players for prospects (some panned out, most did not). Claiming "When the time comes, we'll spend money." The Indians get one game away from the WS in '07, '07 offseason, team spends jack shit. Then trades away the current Cy Young pitcher for prospects. Shit like that, really pissed fans off.

 

[da55bums]

ahhhh, spring training going quite well, lets get ready to rumble

 

[Fountain City Blues]

ahhhh, spring training going quite well, lets get ready to rumble

Should be an intriguing year. It's ALL on the core + FA signings to play well.

 

[Howie115]

January...February...Izzo...April...May.....