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  • May 13, 2008 12:47 PM ET

Final standings in the Central division in the AL

GaretJax is Richard Rahl (45-59-5) vs Dookie: Here We Go Steelers (118-19-8)
4
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15
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4
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15
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Pick 1st, argue 2nd and 3rd

My picks

1.) Twins
2.) Indians
3.) Sox
4.) Tigers
5.) Royals


1. Indians
2. Tigers
3. Twins
4. White Sox
5. Royals


The Twins have the best record in central division play at 13-8. They also have a great home record, and are currently the only team in the division over .500. The Indians are a good team, but C.C. is struggling. Yes, the have Lee, but after him and Carmona, what other pitcher is playing well?

The Twins have multiple pitchers that can pitch well, they have easily the best bullpen in the division, and perhaps the best closer in the league in Nathan. Of all of the closers in the league, Nathan is one who has the most saves without blowing a save.

The Twins offense has been hot over the past couple of weeks, and a lot of that has to do with the play of Monroe. As this is how he normally plays over the course of his career, the Twins offense should be better this year that last year. The Indians are still better than every other team in the division

the Tigers pitching staff is horrible. The amount of innings their bullpen has pitched is horrendous, and that will wear them out, making it even worse later in the season. The offense is great, yes, but they can't field. Sox can hit homers, they have better pitchers, and they can field better than Tigers.


Last time I checked the calendar, it was still May. The season ends in september and there is a lot of baseball left to be played. (let's remember the Florida Marlins have the best record in baseball).

For those that are quick to jump the gun based on a month of baseball, let's remember what usually wins games: Pitching.

The Indians Rotation:
CC Sabathia (last years Cy Young winner) - 2-5 6.55 ERA
Fausto Carmona 4-1 2.40 ERA
Jake Westbrook 1-2 2.73 ERA
Cliff Lee 6-0 .67ERA
Aaron Laffey 1-2 1.83 ERA


CC Sabathia struggling? Yea, he was to start the season, but look a little closer:
His last four starts? 27.1 IP, 6ER, 32K, 6BB, for a 1.99ERA
If you ask me it's looking like he's righting the ship.

The Indians are 12-7 in their last 19 since starting the season 4-10. This is another reason why you have to do a little work to see who's going to keep up their April ways.

"The Twins offense has been hot over the past couple of weeks"
--Too bad you win a division by playing well over 6 months, not a few weeks

As for the Tigers...They are struggling right now, yes, but they are only 4.5 games out of first place and playin .500 ball since starting 0-7


Yes, a few weeks is not a whole season. So why bring up that the Indians are 12-7 in their last 19? The Twins are that same 12-7 over the last 19 games.

The Indians are dead last in the AL in batting average. Twins are 4th The Indians have a worse slugging percentage than the Twins by around 15 points. The Twins lead the Majors in hitting with RISP, while the Indians are 7th in the AL. The Twins have a better bullpen then the Indians, with a better closer. The Indians have blown hlf of their save opportunities. And speaking of not just looking at April, do you seriously think that Lee will have an ERA under 2.00, much less 3.00 at the end of the season. He will drop off.

The Tigers have horrendous pitching, much worse than the Sox. They also have much worse fielding. The advantage they have is in hitting, but with how terrible their pitching is, their bullpen will be exhaused, not to mention the injuries their bullpen always seems to have. The Sox, however have a better than decent pitching staff, at 4th in the AL. They have an above average bullpen, and they will not tire out over the season. That is why they will do better than the Tigers.


The Indians got off to a poor start, thats the only reason they aren't in first place today. (if they were in first place today I'm sure your list would be different)

Looking at the Twins rotation compared to the Indians, there isn't a chance they keep this up for the entire year. Livan Hernandez is the ace of the Twins staff. Lirano is lookin like he'll never be back in '06 form.

"do you seriously think that Lee will have an ERA under 2.00, much less 3.00 at the end of the season. He will drop off. "
--Based on what start? Dude's given up 4 runs ALL YEAR!!! wait until he has a bad outing before you can be so sure he'll drop off to a 3.00 ERA. PSH

"The Tigers have horrendous pitching, much worse than the Sox. "
--Simply an erroneous statement. The Tigers have MUCH MUCH more talent, but they arent playing up to it right now...give it time.

Mark Buehrle vs. Verlander?
Javier Vazquez vs. Kenny Rogers?
John Danks vs. Jeremy Bonderman?
and so on...you get the point...Detroit has the better rotation than Chicago, they'll show it by the end of the year.

You were probably riding the Detroit bandwagon in March....give it more than 5 weeks before hopping off

Comments (58) Add A Comment

May 13, 2008  12:59 PM ET
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Vote left, simply because of the placement of the 16-22 last place Tigers on the right.

May 13, 2008  01:01 PM ET
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You do realize that the baseball season is 162 games right Below Me...

May 13, 2008  01:03 PM ET
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And I do realize that the Tigers absolutely suck this season.

May 13, 2008  01:07 PM ET
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haha i will point it out philly....no worries

May 13, 2008  01:07 PM ET
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absolutly suck? and yet only 4.5 back.....hmmm so if they improve to just sucking....where will they end up?

May 13, 2008  01:08 PM ET
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You should also point out that they suck, and that they couldn't find a win with a magnifying glass.

May 13, 2008  01:09 PM ET
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If they improve to just sucking, they'll finish where Garet said they would. One spot higher than they are now.

May 13, 2008  01:13 PM ET
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Anybody who thinks the final standings are even REMOTELY decided should be aware that the season is 6 months long. Look at Detroit's offense, and look at Minnesota's offense. Which do you think is going to be good for the long haul?

Why the hell are people so swayed by hot starts and slumps?

I wish all you guys played in my fantasy league. Vote right.

May 13, 2008  01:16 PM ET
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16-22 IS NOT a slump. 0-7 might have been, but 38 games is not a simple slump. Its a quarter of the frigging season. I don't care about Detroits offense, because they can't stop the other team from scoring. Meaning they'll win the games they score a lot, but lose the others. This is a team that will struggle all season to play .500 ball. Which they've shown no ability to do so far.

May 13, 2008  01:16 PM ET
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Why the hell are people so swayed by hot starts and slumps?

Porkins *BS/CB | 05/13/08, 01:13 PM

The age old question. Such magnificently short memories fans have. Anyone remember where the Yankees where this time last year? Where they finished?

May 13, 2008  01:17 PM ET
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The age old question. Such magnificently short memories fans have. Anyone remember where the Yankees where this time last year? Where they finished?

The Ram | 05/13/08, 01:16 PM


Cubs too.

May 13, 2008  01:21 PM ET
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16-22 IS NOT a slump. 0-7 might have been, but 38 games is not a simple slump. Its a quarter of the frigging season.

Below Me | 05/13/08, 01:16 PM

So naive. The 2007 Rockies were 16-22 on May 13, 2007. I guess they were done too. No hope for them. Season over. Just like ever NFL team that starts 0-2. They're done. The Giants should have just gone home. Why bother playing the rest of the season.

May 13, 2008  01:24 PM ET
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Why bother playing the rest of the season.

The Ram | 05/13/08, 01:21 PM


I was just to say those exact words Ram. Clearly the As will win 95 games, the Marlins will win 98, and the Rays will improve their single-season win record by 23.

May 13, 2008  01:24 PM ET
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The Rockies needed an almost impossible 23-0 run though. You tell me when the last time that happened was. It isn't naive. Its just dumb to think they'll be successful.

Here's a simple question. The Reds are 16-23, Washington is 16-23, Seattle is 16-25. Now where is your argument that they are going to jump back and compete in their divisions. You don't argue it, because you KNOW they won't. But for some reason you want to believe that the Tigers are this great franchise.

As for Porkins, he thinks fantasy stats for individual players equates to team success. That shows where his brain falters just by itself.

May 13, 2008  01:26 PM ET
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I agree with the Marlins winning 98 part

May 13, 2008  01:29 PM ET
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As for Porkins, he thinks fantasy stats for individual players equates to team success. That shows where his brain falters just by itself.

Below Me | 05/13/08, 01:24 PM

Actually, what I meant was that anybody who is stupid enough to assume long-term success based on short-term performance would be the type of person I would dearly love to compete against and completely destroy.

May 13, 2008  01:31 PM ET
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Yeah, but who was talking about individual stats? We're talking about a team that cannot figure out how to play as a team and win. Not a lifetime .300 hitter starting off at .220 after 40 games. The Tigers have no history of winning, because these bunch of overpaid wimps haven't played together before. They suck. Simple as that. I certainly hope your roster is full of Tiger pitchers when we meet up in a fantasy league. But I GUARANTEE you do not have ONE Tiger pitcher on your roster. Because you can't possibly be that stupid.

May 13, 2008  01:32 PM ET
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It isn't naive. Its just dumb to think they'll be successful.

Below Me | 05/13/08, 01:24 PM

It is naive. Horribly, horribly naive to think that because a team, any team, starts slow they are done.

May 13, 2008  01:34 PM ET
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Gruden, you may change your name but you can't mask your idiocy.

 
May 13, 2008  01:37 PM ET
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Yeah, but who was talking about individual stats? We're talking about a team that cannot figure out how to play as a team and win. Not a lifetime .300 hitter starting off at .220 after 40 games. The Tigers have no history of winning, because these bunch of overpaid wimps haven't played together before. They suck. Simple as that. I certainly hope your roster is full of Tiger pitchers when we meet up in a fantasy league. But I GUARANTEE you do not have ONE Tiger pitcher on your roster. Because you can't possibly be that stupid.

Below Me | 05/13/08, 01:31 PM

I'm not talking about stats or team play. I'm talking absolutley ignoring the mound of evidence proving that just because a team has a losing record early doesn't mean said team will finish badly.

Some teams streak because they really are that good or that bad. And some teams streak because they're lucky or unlucky.

If a guy thinks the standings will finish as they are now, then he is a sap. And competing against saps is fun because you can exploit their idiocy to your own advantage. Hence my fantasy comment. Was it too complicated for you?

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