I'm calling bullshit on that one. It's getting pretty bad if the Twins are about to catch you...the very same Twins who, aside from Morneau, Mauer and Hunter, lack just about everything needed to win a baseball game. Bullpen is sliding, Santana doesn't have his post-allstar break magic, and both Boof Bonser and Carlos Silva are having terrible years. and the Padres seem to only be in it due to Chris Young and Jake Peavy...and Hoffman I suppose.
Exactly, and Maddux on a small basis. And Santana struck out like 17 in one game, I think he's getting his pop back. And the doubt for Detroit should've started when they were going 3-8 every 10 games and feel from the central. Cleveland will hold.
Can Zumaya play in the big games? Oh please, that's the statement people always make when they don't know what they're talking about. Zumaya is a hard throwing closer. Very rarely are big-time pitchers not able to "play in big games." This isn't the NBA. You either have the stuff or you don't. Zumaya does. Furthermore, what does that even have to do with the topic at hand? And I already explained to you that Detroit has pitching. Rodgers, Verlander, Bonderman, Miller, Jones, Zumaya... how many good pitchers does a team need to be deemed a solid pitching team by you? The Padres may be doing well, but wait until the playoffs. I have never seen a team that can't manufacture runs go to the world series, let alone win one. The closest thing I've seen to that was Arizona a while back, and they had a pretty solid lineup, just nothing star-studded. As I've already stated, Cleveland's problem is not pitching. Santana may have struck out 17, but how often do you expect a performance like that? Do you even remember the score of that game? Santana didn't exactly get a ton of run support, if you remember (I'll give you a hint: the final score was 1-0). The Indians are behind every team except for the Twins in the AL Central in runs scored since the all-star break. That's not a good sign when you're relying almost exclusively on pitching. I'll repeat again: the Indians haven't been much better than the Tigers since the all-star break, and they're not dealing with the injuries the Tigers are. That's the whole reason why they traded for Kenny Lofton (again). Their batting has been pathetic, whereas Detroit has had to find pitchers to fill in for Rodgers and Miller, and they traded Mike Maroth to the Cardinals for almost nothing thinking they were set at pitching. Cleveland's been at the bottom of the AL in batting since the all-star break: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats...n=2007&seasonType=2&statType=batting&type=reg Detroit and Cleveland have been going back-and-forth in the AL Central since almost the beginning of the season, with one team or another holding on to it for a little bit. You guys are acting like Detroit's been in sole possession since the season began. People were saying Detroit wouldn't make it in the post-season the same time last year, and they went to the World Series. Wait and see. (And Sex Raptor: "Haven't been much better than Detroit. We'll see in tonights game."? So, did we see? Detroit and Cleveland have been splitting games pretty evenly since the all-star break.)
there's some irony in the AL East. Everybody in Canada has been saying the Jays have been having a disappointing year because of injuries and nobody except Rios hitting over .300. but they're...4 games out of the WildCard??
Both wildcard slots really aren't all that impressive this year. I expect they'll heat up later, though, when the post-season gets closer. Happens every year, pretty much. Indians batting got a lot better recently, as did their record. Detroit's finally starting to get some better pitching, too, and they still have a few guys on the DL. Should be an awesome finish there.
if the indians would've played more consistent baseball since the all-star break no one would be talking about them going back and forth with detroit in the central i think they're doing alright now. they finally got the offense going. they're 9-1 in their last 10 games.