AL Central Smack Talk

[mr.hockey4242]

Ron Gardenhire is just a straight up idiot. Easily the worst manager around. Actually makes Doug look partially intelligent...partially.

 

[Shanemansj13]

The 'fightin' Franconas' got some cajones, that's for sure. The Cleveland Indians have fought with superb courage throughout the season. FACT. However, the league champion is headed your way next week with the sole purpose of putting the ice-blow on the division, which is invariably what will happen should they take 3. If that happens, there will be nearly a 0% probability of catching them since they also have a favorable remaining schedule. They have set up their rotation for you to catch everyone minus Porcello. Whether that's achieved or not, the Indians would be looking good for a WC since other contestants are beating up each other in the East.. aside from that Texas would be the only other concern for you. That said, before the Tigers series you draw Miami in the 'fishbowl' as Detroit remains home to field the White Sox.. so, both teams will have 'primer' series beforehand.

Yeah, it is basically going to come down to division play and head-to-head. But a sweep to one side or the other could be costly, but doesn't necessarily mean the losing team has no chance it will just be more difficult, especially if the Tigs were to sweep the Tribe.

But both teams are streaking!

Tigs are dominating and the Indians are winning the close one and coming back. Do you think that could help in long run?? Winning close games is important especially in playoffs, don't see blowout as often.

 

[dougplayer]

wow Indians sneak out a win over the white sox.

didn't notice any one talking about how the Tigers beat Strasburg and Gio... 2 good pitchers and Tigers chewed them up.

to bad Indians cant play white sox more often.... Tigers get to play them a lot in the next 2 months.

 

[dougplayer]

Tigers play white sox 13 more times.
Tigers play KC 9 more times.
Tigers play Minn 6 more times.

and the tribe only 7 more times.
that's not many head to head meetings.maybe that's a good thing for the Indians????

Tigers have 4 more road trips. a 10 gamer coming up with 4 games in Cleveland

2 trips into NY. mets and Yankees.
the farthest west they have to travel is Minnesota. No longer air plane rides..aint that sweet???
the real kicker..Tigers finish up with 3 in Miami against the mighty marlins..sweeeeet

 

[bigkurty]

Crazy...

After getting to 9 games over .500 on May 20th and in 1st in the Central...Tribe slides to 34-35 on June 17th to 3rd place in the Central.... only to move back to 7 games over and in 1st on July 2nd... and now 11 games over, in 2nd in the Central but holding one of the WC spots as of July 31st.

Rollercoaster season for sure. 8 game skid, two 5 game skids, and a 4 game skid. Flip side, several win streaks of 4 and 5 games, a 6 game streak, and current 7 game streak.

 

[tygerphan4ever]

Yeah, it is basically going to come down to division play and head-to-head. But a sweep to one side or the other could be costly, but doesn't necessarily mean the losing team has no chance it will just be more difficult, especially if the Tigs were to sweep the Tribe.

But both teams are streaking!

Tigs are dominating and the Indians are winning the close one and coming back. Do you think that could help in long run?? Winning close games is important especially in playoffs, don't see blowout as often.

Well, at the end of the day a win is a win, it's just that the 2 teams have differnt styles, and are also built differently. The Indians style reminds me alot of how the A's were pieced together at the turn of the century, and kind of like the Twins of several years ago with the way they're constructed and that element of grittiness and how scrappy they are. The Tigers, on the other hand seem to have the top heavy builds of the way the Yankees and Red Sox were set up about a decade ago with the dominant front of the rotation guys and big lineup that's really heavy in the middle.. the Yankees had ARod/Sheffield, the Red Sox Manny/Ortiz, and Detroit with Miggy/Prince. Both your team and mine were constructed to win being built differently, but both teams are playoff calibre.. I see a good chance of BOTH teams making the ps the way they're presently set up.

 

[RollingHills]

I have to say I am impressed with the Royals after two games. They hustle, dive for balls, move runners, steal bases, and pitch well. It would be easy to cheer for them. They may regret trading Myers, but I understand why they did it.. they have enough quality there to think playoffs.

 

[Tonedef75]

What schedule are you looking at Doug? Tigs have 12 games left against the Sox and 11 against the royals. At least you got the number of Twin and Indians games right. 50% factual correction isn't that bad unless you were taking a test or testifying in front of Congress.

By the way, if you we're curious, the Tiggers record thus far against the AL Central teams are 4-3 against the White Sox, 3-5 against the Royals, 8-5 verses the Twins, and 9-3 against the Tribe. So basically Detroit has their most divisional games against the opponent that they've faired the worst against in the Royals, who also happen to be playing some good baseball right now.

So yes, with the way the Indians have been dominated by the Tigers, it's definitely a good thing that they only play 7 more times. It also means, as I've said earlier, whomever wins the division will have earned it.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

What schedule are you looking at Doug? Tigs have 12 games left against the Sox and 11 against the royals. At least you got the number of Twin and Indians games right. 50% factual correction isn't that bad unless you were taking a test or testifying in front of Congress.

By the way, if you we're curious, the Tiggers record thus far against the AL Central teams are 4-3 against the White Sox, 3-5 against the Royals, 8-5 verses the Twins, and 9-3 against the Tribe. So basically Detroit has their most divisional games against the opponent that they've faired the worst against in the Royals, who also happen to be playing some good baseball right now.

So yes, with the way the Indians have been dominated by the Tigers, it's definitely a good thing that they only play 7 more times. It also means, as I've said earlier, whomever wins the division will have earned it.

I'm not too worried about who the Tigers have left on their schedule. They have owned the AL Central the last few years, so I'm pretty confident in them performing well in the 2nd half this year.

I love that the Central has been performing really well. I just don't see how Cleveland and KC will keep up the pace needed to stay in the race. With Cleveland, they are just too inconsistent with their pitching staff. With KC, they are just too inconsistent with the offense.

If you took Cleveland's lineup and KC's pitching staff onto one team -- I think they had a legit shot to overtake the Tigers. That isn't happening though.

 

[Shanemansj13]

I didn't even know Cleveland played early today until the score popped up on my phone.

8 in a row!!

 

[Shanemansj13]

I didn't even know Cleveland played early today until the score popped up on my phone.

8 in a row!!

 

[Shanemansj13]

I'm not too worried about who the Tigers have left on their schedule. They have owned the AL Central the last few years, so I'm pretty confident in them performing well in the 2nd half this year.

I love that the Central has been performing really well. I just don't see how Cleveland and KC will keep up the pace needed to stay in the race. With Cleveland, they are just too inconsistent with their pitching staff. With KC, they are just too inconsistent with the offense.

If you took Cleveland's lineup and KC's pitching staff onto one team -- I think they had a legit shot to overtake the Tigers. That isn't happening though.

Yeah but since early July the Indians have had the best starting ERA in baseball at under 2. And the litching is really coming on now. Just at the right time!

 

[Iffster]

Tiger fans.....do not worry. You have dougies' assurances that the Tribe will fold. I know that dougies' well researched and thought out pronouncements always re-assure me.

And Shano....I saw that 'poke' on the Tiger board. It will be interesting to see if they respond. Raburn is a touchy subject there. Some stupid fan (he isn't a 'real fan' according to cleaves) keeps pointing out Raburn's successful games there. Don't know what low-down poster would do that?

 

[Shanemansj13]

Tiger fans.....do not worry. You have dougies' assurances that the Tribe will fold. I know that dougies' well researched and thought out pronouncements always re-assure me.

And Shano....I saw that 'poke' on the Tiger board. It will be interesting to see if they respond. Raburn is a touchy subject there. Some stupid fan (he isn't a 'real fan' according to cleaves) keeps pointing out Raburn's successful games there. Don't know what low-down poster would do that?

He's been nothing but good, either starting or coming off bench.

Had a clutch game-tieing hit the other night, now he had a 2-HR game.

He is the new Ryan Raburn!

 

[jdwills126]

The Tigers are certainly a different team with Victor Martinez hitting!

Cabrera, Fielder, and Martinez are IMO the best 3-5 hitters in MLB.

I think the Tribe should have gone all in to get Norris or Garza. Not that it would have assured them the Central but it would have gone along way for the wildcard if they can't catch the Tigers.

The wildcard is the one game play in so you really burn through your pitching if you end up as the wild card.

 

[Tonedef75]

I love that the Central has been performing really well. I just don't see how Cleveland and KC will keep up the pace needed to stay in the race. With Cleveland, they are just too inconsistent with their pitching staff. With KC, they are just too inconsistent with the offense.

For the Indians, who are currently 2 games back of the Tigers, they have 22 games against teams with winning records and 30 games against teams with losing records.

The Royals Are going to have a much tougher time being 7 games back and having 25 games against teams with winning records and 31 against sub .500 teams and only 3 off days until the end of the season.

The Tigers, for arguments same, have 28 games against teams with winning records and only 28 with losing teams.

 

[CaptO]

I think the Tribe should have gone all in to get Norris or Garza. Not that it would have assured them the Central but it would have gone along way for the wildcard if they can't catch the Tigers.

The wildcard is the one game play in so you really burn through your pitching if you end up as the wild card.

Thanks for the explanation, but Im pretty sure most of us know what the WC is & what it involves

& dont look now but.....if playoffs started today the Tribe would have a WC spot

But saying that now is as stupid as saying the Tigs will win the ALC. Dont know what injuries are around the corner, dont know whos going to start sucking, dont know whos going to beat you. Nothings guaranteed. I dont understand why thats such a hard concept for Tigs fans to grasp...

 

[Tonedef75]

The Tigers are certainly a different team with Victor Martinez hitting!

Cabrera, Fielder, and Martinez are IMO the best 3-5 hitters in MLB.

I think the Tribe should have gone all in to get Norris or Garza. Not that it would have assured them the Central but it would have gone along way for the wildcard if they can't catch the Tigers.

The wildcard is the one game play in so you really burn through your pitching if you end up as the wild card.

I disagree. Neither Norris nor Garza offer anything better than what we already have in the rotation. Masterson has been an ace all year. Kazmir has pitched lights out the last month or so. Kluger and McCallister have continued to pitch well coming back from injuries. Ubaldo has pitched suprisingly well considering his high pitch count in games. A low 2 team ERA for a month is more than a fluke. If someone goes down, then it may be a different story. It's not worth what we would have had to give up. Besides the Tribe is currently sitting in the WC spot without either of those guys.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

The Tigers, for arguments same, have 28 games against teams with winning records and only 28 with losing teams.

and if you would have posted this 3 or 4 days ago -- Detroit would have had 17 games left against teams with a winning record, as they face KC 11 more times.

 

[CaptO]

and if you would have posted this 3 or 4 days ago -- Detroit would have had 17 games left against teams with a winning record, as they face KC 11 more times.

Tigs are 3-5 against KC. Dont except them to lay down for ya