Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

[Psyblast]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

Sorry, but I really hope you guys slip. It may be the only way the Jays make the playoffs considering the way the Sox are playing right now.

Gosh, you really have it in for Detroit sports, don't ya?

[Vince]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

Gosh, you really have it in for Detroit sports, don't ya?

Nope. Just the Pistons.

[SPTO]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

In a perfect world i'd like to see the Tigers make it to the playoffs as well as the Jays and they face each other. It would really rekindle that great 80's rivalry IMO.

I do think the Tigers are for real but they're going to have a rough stretch at some point.

Who knows? Maybe they're the Indians of '06. They play great and then run out of gas in the end.

[Dice]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

Yes, I know. Collapses happen.

I wouldn't consider blowing a 2 game lead with more than half a season left a collapse. NOW what the White Sox ALMOST did last year(9 game lead at the end of July) would have been considered a collapse. What the 1969 Cubs(10 game lead in August) did is a collapse. The Yankees blowing a 3-0 lead in the 2004 ALCS was a collapse.

Yes, I know. The Sox are a good team.

You got that right, buddy!

Yes, I know. Something has to give.

Yes. Unfortunately, only one team will win the division but good news is that I strongly feel that the wild card will go to the 2nd place team.

But, collapses don't always happen.

Explained above. This will hardly be considered a collapse

The Tigers are a good team too.

You don't have to tell me twice. Unfortunately, I know all to well.

And something doesn't always have to give.

Like I stated, the second place team will win the Wild Card.

I truly defy anyone to watch a few Tigers game and (a) enjoy this team and (b) tell me that they aren't good enough to hold this division.

(a) They are a joy to watch, except when they play the White Sox. Fortunaely, it's been a joy so far considering we're 5-1 against them.
(b) As a White Sox fan I'm sad to say, YES. They are good enough to hold the lead.

[Shaver]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

Verlander with a gem today.

Back to Back shutouts for the Tigers (#'s 10 and 11 to lead the majors).

Mags got hurt though.....

[Psyblast]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

Verlander with a gem today.

Back to Back shutouts for the Tigers (#'s 10 and 11 to lead the majors).

Mags got hurt though.....

Doesn't look too bad, the official Tigers site says it's a left shin contusion and he's day to day.

[Husker_OS]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

Still holding out hope for my Indians to wake up. But yeah, Tigers, White Sox, Yankees, and A's.

[OneBadMutha]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

I'm not nearly as knowledgable of baseball as I am the other major sports but here is some general observations on why this is real and why they won't drop off much:

- They are winning with defense. People keep talking about the weak OBA which is true. Thing is defensive dominance is usually easier to maintain and continue to keep consistent than offensive dominance.

- Depth at pitching. There really isn't a weakness with their pitching. It's not like they rely on an ace or a couple guys to carry them. They have the best starters and best set-up guys in the league. Their closer (Jones) is probably the weakest link but he's pitched much better since fully recovering from that injury. Even if he does go back to sucking, either Rodney or Zumaya would be well above average closers.

- Defense backing up the pitchers. The Tigers are a pretty good defensive team outside of just their pitching. They have one of the best defensive catchers in the league leading a pretty solid defensive group.

- Leyland. His attitude as a manager is perfect for keeping a team consistent. He doesn't get too high or low and doesn't allow anyone to sulk after bad games or get too full of themself after good games. He'll rant and bring down the house if they don't give the effort though. His attitude has rubbed off on the team and they take everything in stride while rarely giving games away due to effort or lack of focus.

- The bats really can't get much worse. Other than Thames getting hot lately or Shelton early in the season, the Tigers haven't relied on hot bats to carry them. If anything, they've shown timely hitting. Timely hitting is a good sign since it shows these guys don't choke under pressure situations. The overall percentage really can't get much worse for a lot of guys though. Detroit has been winning with Shelton, Monroe, and Inge not hitting great percentages and without Polanco really hitting as well as he's done in the past.

- Guys are getting rest. Leyland has been pretty good at getting a lot of guys rest in the first half of the season. If they stay healthy, the veterans shouldn't hit the wall.

- They bounce back. So far this season, Detroit has suffered two 3-game losing streaks and two 4-game losing streaks. Other than the first 4-game losing streak of the season when Leyland went on his rant, this team has never seemed to lose control while in the midst of a losing streak and has bounced back great after getting through them. Losses that would normally deflate a team haven't deflated these Tigers. I don't see any super-tumbles from these guys.


With all that said, there are a few concerns.

- Health. Of Detroit's best players, three are injury prone veterans (Pudge, Mags, and Guillen). So far none have had any prolonged injuries this season. It would be a small miracle if all three maintained their health for the rest of the season.

- Youth. Three other of Detroit's best players (Verlander, Zumaya, and Granderson) are young guys who've never played a full major league season. You wonder if they'll hit a wall.

- No left handed batting threat. When Detroit starts facing some of the same teams later in the year when games are even more critical, you wonder if they'll spend more time strategizing to take advantage of Detroit's glaring weakness. It's really the only weakness that stands out but so far teams haven't really seemed to make Detroit pay for it. If Detroit doesn't address this need, this could be especially a problem in the playoffs.


With all that said, I do believe that Chicago will likely take over 1st in the division but I think it would take a bit of a collapse for Detroit to lose the Wild Card spot. If Detroit can stay healthy, rest some of the young guys before they hit a wall, and aquire a left handed bat -- I do think they can not only make the playoffs but threaten to get to the World Series. Then again -- like I said before, I know little about baseball.

[maidenvoyage]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

Just an interesting stat I heard this morning:

Since June 11, the Tigers, White Sox, and Twins have gone a combined 49-6. That's gettin' r done.

[Shaver]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

Yeah, the AL "Comedy" Central has come a long way, Baby!

[snepp]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

Just an interesting stat I heard this morning:

Since June 11, the Tigers, White Sox, and Twins have gone a combined 49-6. That's gettin' r done.

On a more rediculous note, the Twins have won 16 of 18, and picked up...wait for it....a whole 1/2 game on the Tigers. DOH!

[vinny]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

On a more rediculous note, the Twins have won 16 of 18, and picked up...wait for it....a whole 1/2 game on the Tigers. DOH!

Yeah, its great to see our team finally playing ball, but depressing to look at the games back column.

[snepp]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

Yeah, its great to see our team finally playing ball, but depressing to look at the games back column.

Gotta give the Tigers and Sox props though, they've been playing excellent ball all year.

[vinny]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

Indeed

[OneBadMutha]

Re: Now that we're almost at the halfway point...

I did a little schedule breakdown for the Tigers and this should give some other Wild Card hopefuls some hope.

If the Tigers only go .500 the rest of the way, they would win 96 games.

It's not going to be an easy second half schedule though. I was checking out their remaining games and this is how it shapes up.

- 13 games against the White Sox
- 10 games against the Twins
- 3 games against the Yankees
- 3 games against the Red Sox
- 6 games against the Athletics
- 6 games against the Rangers
- 3 games against the Blu Jays
- 6 games against the Mariners

That's 50 games against some really good teams. Then factor in another 10 against the Royals who despite their record have been playing really well lately.

Here's Detroit's easy competition.

- 9 games against the Indians
- 3 games against the Angels
- 4 games against the Devil Rays
- 3 games against the Orioles

That's only 19 games against bad competition after this series against the Royals.

If Detroit does manage to go .500 the rest of the way, they'll have certainly earned it. The scary thing for Detroit fans has to be that it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Twins, Yankees, White Sox, and Red Sox all finish with 95 wins or more with the way everyone is playing. That means anything less than .500 the rest of the way and the Tigers probably don't make the playoffs.