Tag Archives: AL Central

Should Tigers’ fans be concerned?

Posted on by
Reply

Missed the playoffs in 2009 by that much.

It was Labor Day 2009 and the Detroit Tigers held a commanding lead in the AL Central, 7 games over the Minnesota Twins. All things were looking perfect for the Tigers as they had just won six-in-a-row over the Indians and the Rays, and then they traveled to Kansas City and the bottom fell out. Over the last 25 games they would go 11 – 14 while the Twins played an incredible 18-7 over the same stretch and put the dagger in the Tigers in the 163rd game of the season winning 6-5.

What might be even crazier is that a week later, on September 14, the Tigers still held a 5-1/2 game lead over the Twins meaning the Twins played 14-4 the final 18 games of the season with the Tigers going 9-9 in the same stretch. You can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen in the AL Central, since a lot of the players and coaches are still on the Tigers. Let’s be honest though, a lot of talent would have to go South in a hurry. The Tigers made key acquisitions throughout the season to fortify their team, and when you look at a line-up that just scored 26 runs over the last 14 innings against the Sox it’s hard to picture the offense shutting down.

Part of what makes the AL Central great is the parody and  chances are this division race is far from over, especially when you look at the Tigers’ just two seasons ago. It could be an entertaining finish, stay tuned.

The Tigers square off against the Indians at 1:05pm today, while the demoralized White Sox take on the Twins in a day/night doubleheader beginning at 1:10pm.

What a difference, 12-5 against AL Central

Posted on by
1

It's coming down to this.

The White Sox could not beat a team within their division to save their lives in the first half of the season, unless the team mascot was an offensive representation of a Native American. Times are changing as that very team, the Cleveland Indians, rides into town tomorrow drinking their fire water and searching for a way to beat the White Sox.

The Sox swept a rain shorten series in Cleveland in July and have posted a 12-5 record against the AL Central since the All-Star break, including a winning record against the Detroit Tigers, a team they had lost nine in a row too dating back to September of 2010 before they won on June 1, 2011. Since that win the Sox have gone 5-4 against the Tigers, and are 4-2 in the second half with six games remaining against them. I know I’ve mentioned this before but I consider the Tigers the real test, not the Cleveland Indians. If the Sox continue to win series they will be knocking at the door by the time they play the Tigers on September 2 in Detroit.

The hardest part for the White Sox will be to survive the .500 bug that infects the team every time they reach the break even point. Will they get over the hump and keep winning, it would seem yes with Indians rolling into town. A series win against the Indians could seemly have the Sox in second and sitting at three games or less back. This is speculation obviously, but Detroit is overdue for a rough patch. Like I said in my preseason predictions that Albert Pujols was overdue for an injury and look what happened. I just feel a Detroit mini-slump coming on. Tonight may have been the start of that as the Tigers lost to the Twins, 9-6; the Twins were helped out by a Wilson Betemit throwing error and Jim Thome hitting home run number 600. Congrats Jim!

If the Sox should not gain or lose ground by the time they play Detroit in September a sweep will be necessary to truly make a run at the AL Central. I think the Sox are coming on at the right time ,and I also believe we’re going to see Adam Dunn make an impact in the final seven weeks of the season. Heck, I’m so convinced that I just picked him up for a dollar in my Fantasy Baseball league, well worth the investment for a bounce back season next year. I digress.

I feel fairly confident that the Sox will be in first place before the year is over, lets just hope it’s on October 1, 2011. GO SOX!!!

AL Central Trade Winners, losers

Posted on by
1

Well, the trading deadline has past and I’d thought I’d weigh in on who were the winners and losers in the AL Central, outside of one clear-cut winner, I think everyone faired well, except for the team that traded away their entire future for an average pitcher this season.

1 – Detroit Tigers
By far made the smartest most efficient moves to better their squad in the necessary areas without giving away the farm like another AL Central club. Doug Fister has been a hard luck loser on a bad ball club, the Seattle Mariners. Fister only has three wins this season despite posting a 3.33 ERA, while only allowing 139 hits over 146 innings pitched. Reliever, David Pauley is also an improvement of Charlie Furbush, who pitched well out of the pen for the Tigers, but Pauley has an ERA over a run lower. Enough said.

It pains me to say this, but even the signing of Wilson Betemit makes sense from the fact that he’s been a White Sox killer his entire career, which prompted the Sox to trade for him back in 2007 after the Nick Swisher debacle. Betemit committed three errors in the first four innings of a game and was not heard from much after that. It again cost very little and is an improvement over the struggling Brandon Inge.

2 – Sox/Twins/Royals
There might be people laughing at this right now, but by none of these teams making wholesale changes to their teams they’ve made a commitment to this season and next season by no real movement. Since the Sox had six starters and three players that can play third base they shed some salary and brought over a solid arm to improve the bullpen. With Edwin Jackson and somehow Kenny Williams getting a team to take Mark Teahan, the Sox cleared out some payroll without creating any holes.

The Twins did absolutely nothing which means they feel like making it a four team race, while the Royals only traded away Mike Aviles and his .222 batting average to Boston for two prospects. Again, a bold move for the Royals, but they have a solid nucleus and with the extra revenue next season from the All-Star game they might make some big offseason moves.

3 – The Cleveland Indians
Can’t figure the Indians out? Colorado refuses to release the medical records of Ubaldo Jimenez, so the Indians pay to fly him to their Spring Training facility to work out. He passed the physical so they sent the farm to the Rockies which included top prospects, Alex White and Drew Pomeranz. Both White and Pomeranz were considered the cornerstones of the future Indians’ starting rotation. Even more puzzling they sent Orlando Cabrera to the Giants for minor league outfielder, Thomas Neal, who is currently on the DL. Cabrera was only batting .244, but seemed to be pretty clutch for the Indians this season. Last I checked Jimenez won’t be batting and the Indians really needed some offensive help, but nothing there. Smart.

Kosuke Fukudome was putting together a solid season with the Cubs, but rumors are that the Indians thought they needed to trade for a Japanese player by MLB rule, since they had Shin Soo-Choo on the DL. Well, not really but it’s kind of funny.

Deflated

Posted on by
2

After Sunday’s loss to the Tigers I felt exhausted, part of that feeling could have been only three hours of sleep, but the Sox just have taken their toll on me this season. A game that started out with so much promise, should have never ended the way it did. Jake Peavy retired the first nine batters he faced, then in the fourth while running to cover first he injured his groin. Instead of coming out he tried to pitch through it; not smart. Not smart because he admitted to reporters he was pitching on one leg basically, which makes it pretty impossible to be effective. A call to the pen should have happen, not the shot to the pen by Ryan Rayburn that blew the game open.

The Tigers got the best of the Sox to take two of three and start another winning streak against the Sox at two games. No doubt about it for me that the Tigers are the better team. Do I still feel the Sox have more talent then the Tigers, yes, does that matter? No, if you do not know how to use it. Bottom line, no matter what stats say historically about players, they do account for what’s happening on the field, and the Tigers are winning and that makes them better than the White Sox.

Smitty was gracious enough on Sunday to reply back to a congratulatory text I sent him, “you know it’s still going to go down to the wire.” I guess I do, or is it just I think it will because it’s too early to give up. Kind of like, I know the Sox are a better than the Tigers, or I tell myself that because it makes me feel better. I guess we’ll know come September.

Starting to heat up

Posted on by
Reply

Nice game Jake!

The Sox quietly won three series during a West Coast road trip that has notoriously buried them in the past, then they came home, split a series with Texas Rangers, and took game one from the first place, Cleveland Indians, last night at US Cellular Field. Jake Peavy turned in the type of performance Sox fan’s have been longing for since his signing two years ago. Injuries have sidelined Peavy most of his White Sox career thus far, but last night may have been the start of something special.

Peavy pitched a complete game shut out, where he allowed only three hits while walking none and striking out eight. The Sox lone run came from Juan Pierre getting a lead-off double off Justin Masterson that lead to a sacrifice fly from Adam Dunn. Jake took care of things from there keeping the Indians’ hitters off-balance the entire evening. This feels like the start of a run for the Sox and I see them back in the hunt by June 1, as their schedule gets easier as the year progresses.

In fact, they have the best August and September  schedule for home games of any of the AL Central teams which is one of the reasons that ESPN and I picked them to win the AL Central. Playing a majority of the games at home during the last two months of season while getting the two longest road trips out-of-the-way in April and May set things up nicely for the White Sox.

Let’s talk best case scenario regarding offensive numbers for Adam Dunn, the fact that he’s only hit four home runs could lead to a post mid-May explosion where he hits 30-plus home runs between now and September. That would make winning a lot easier for the Sox. At this point last season for the Nationals, Dunn had nine homers, 10 doubles and 18 RBI’s. His stats at this point for the White Sox are almost identical except for his home run productions being down by five, but he’s also played in three fewer games for the White Sox at this point. He’s driven in 17 with 10 doubles and four homers. Not too shabby.

Still, the biggest news is Jake Peavy performing well after this second outing from “Jake Peavy” surgery. GO SOX!!!

“On paper” argument is paper thin

Posted on by
Reply

"RRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!"

Nice try, Pete.  You thought you could slip one past me, but there’s no way I’m letting you get away with such a backhanded compliment.  “In no way am I taking anything away from the Detroit Tigers sweep of the White Sox, but on paper the Sox are a better team” is tantamount to saying “no offense, but… [insert highly offensive statement here]” or “[insert compliment here], having said that… [insert completely contradictory comment here].”

Your “on paper” argument is paper thin.  I might have overlooked it if the Tigers hadn’t completely dismantled the Sox over the weekend in every facet of the game, outscoring them by a total of 21-3, including not one, but two shutouts.  Scoring 9 runs in not one, but two games is an accomplishment in an of itself, but to do it without the services of Victor Martinez is even more impressive.

Most national writers had the Tigers, Sox and Twins separated by as few as two games by the end of the season, so I’m not sure what “paper” you’re reading.  All three teams have obvious strengths and glaring weaknesses that should make the AL Central an interesting race throughout the season.  But it seems the Tigers are the only ones living up to even modest expectations.

On paper, I’ll give you that the Sox have a solid rotation, but it lacks a true ace, while the Tigers have not one, but two aces in Verlander and Scherzer.  On paper, the Sox have a lineup with power and some speed, but it is clearly inconsistent.  Major off-season addition, Adam Dunn has been forced into the difficult role of DH which he originally had expressed reservations about and has clearly struggled with hitting a paltry .145 with only 2 home runs thus far.  Meanwhile, the Tigers have a perennial MVP candidate in Cabrera anchoring a productive young lineup. On paper, the Sox have an inexperienced bullpen with no closer, while the Tigers have a proven lights-out 8th/9th inning combo of Benoit and Valverde. On paper, the Sox have what should be a decent defense, but paper can’t solve the almost comical performance we’ve seen so far.

So “thanks” for the backhanded compliment, but you can keep it.  As this past weekend has shown, these are no “paper” Tigers you’re dealing with—these are the real thing.

Seven in a row…

Posted on by
Reply

The Sox are 7-0 with Manny.

The White Sox have won seven games in a row and haven’t even gained a full game on the Twins. They’ve gained only a half game over the last seven games. The Sox and Twins are both 8-2 over their last ten games and it seems like both teams find a way to win, of course if this keeps up something will have to give next week when the Twins arrive at the Cell.

Both teams won 5-4 on Monday, but the Sox game had a little more drama as a ball that was clearly foul was called a home run. Brandon Inge hit the ball well foul, but the third base ump called it fair. The play went to review after the White Sox protested. The call was reversed and it set-up an extra inning win for the White Sox. Rookie phenom, Chris Sale, retired all eight batters that he faced to earn his first win. Sale’s stats continued to become more impressive with an ERA of  0.66, a WHIP of 1.10, and 19 strike outs in 13-2/3 innings pitched.

Edwin Jackson had his first so-so game with the Sox as he let up four runs over 7-1/3 innings while striking out six. He continued to eat up innings for the White Sox, and his control remained excellent as he only walked one. The Tigers hit Jackson early before he settled in and pitched a decent game.

Paul Konerko sat out with back spasms, but should return on Wednesday or at Thursday the latest. Ozzie Guillen may sit Konerko an extra day to be safe, especially if the Sox continue to win. Manny Ramirez continued to swing a hot bat as he had three hits and scored a run. He has seven hits in four starts with the White Sox, and while he hasn’t hit for power he is getting on base of keeps the line moving. It’s reminiscent of Bobby Abreu, and if that’s the case the Sox will continue to have opportunities to score a lot of runs.

BOOM! Thanks Tigers!

Posted on by
1

So I shut the Tigers/Twins game off when the Twins stretched their lead to 6-3 last night. I went to bed thinking the Sox would be 4-1/2 games back going into the Red Sox series beginning this evening at Fenway Park. Instead the Tigers represented the grit and toughness of their manager, Jim Leyland, and won 10-9 in extra innings.

What’s even better the Twins were forced to use their starter for tonight’s game against the Texas Rangers, Nick Blackburn, so the Twins have no scheduled starter for this evening.

Thanks Tigers for helping out the Sox last night, now White Sox… carpe diem!

Oh no, Manny’s on deck!!!

Posted on by
Reply

courtesy of AP

The mere sight of Manny Ramirez strikes fear into the hearts of pitchers throughout the league, well at least the bullpen of the Cleveland Indians. Last night Manny came out to pinch-hit in the ninth inning with AJ Pierzynski at the plate. As Hawk Harrelson would say, “AJ got a cookie and he did not miss it.” No he did not, as AJ launched a three-run bomb that helped the Sox win behind another stellar pitching performance from Edwin Jackson.

The Sox have struggled all year against the Indians, so when they had the opportunity to go for the sweep this afternoon I had my doubts, but something crazy happened again with the Sox down 4-2 with two runners on. Paul Konerko stepped into the batters box and Manny stepped into the on-deck circle and BOOM!!! For the second straight game a three-run homer occurred with Ramirez on deck. Bill Melton spoke last night during the White Sox post game on how Manny’s presence will help add to Konerko’s already gaudy totals, 33 home runs, 98 RBI’s, and a .319 batting average. If that’s the case then the White Sox should not have any problems over taking the Twins, because in Yankee fashion they should be able to out slug an opponent.

So a sweep of the Indians is how this ten game road trip starts out for the White Sox, now if we could get a little help from the Tigers tonight and tomorrow things will get even more interesting in the AL Central.

That sick feeling is back

Posted on by
4

What you talkin' about Orlando?

The only good news for how I feel about the Sox right now is it’s exactly how I felt on June 6, after they lost another series to the Cleveland Indians and were 9-1/2 games back. However, I will now add some facts that will not make myself or you feel better if you’re a White Sox fan, but smile if you’re a Twins or Cubs fan.

The Sox are not about to play NL Central bottom feeders as they did back in June, which helped jump-start them on a historic run. Instead they are about to play an AL East bottom feeder, the Orioles, followed by the AL East leading, New York Yankees, not as easy. You would think the Sox would feast on the Orioles, but if their play against them a week-and-a-half ago is indicative of their performance this week they will not fair well.

The bullpen has been terrible giving up late inning leads in about every game this past week. To make matters even worse Matt Thornton may be heading to the DL with a sore forearm. The Sox also have seven games left with the Boston Red Sox, which could be trouble, also.

The Twins have extended their lead to five games after the Sox lost again to the AL Central bottom feeders, KC Royals, for the second time in three games that were played in a less than 24-hour period. Can the White Sox rebound from this? I really don’t know at this point, time’s a wasting and if the starting pitchers do not start going nine innings we might not have a chance. Another sad Monday in Chicago baseball.