Tigers at the Tribe

• confucius99

  I think the Tigers have a serious problem. The team is slow and the defense is weak. Good pitching always shuts down good hitting, so when they get up against good competitive pitching, and are playing a game where the little things matter such as base running and defense, they are going to have trouble. They'll still have a decent record because they will bludgeon the weak pitchihng staffs. They might even be good enough to win the AL Central. But they are going to have to pick up some players who can run in July.
• wes_mantooth

  

  The tribe has given me a three day boner
• Footwedge

  Machete_French2;1180360 wrote:IMO there is a big difference between the Tribe team of last year and the Tribe team this year. At this time last year it seemed like they were getting all the breaks, winning in walk-off fashion every night, and they were kinda playing off their emotional high and letting it carry them to victories. Once the injury bug hit and they started slumping, they came back down to reality. But this year, they know they are capable of contending and winning in their division and it seems like their confidence level is comparable to that of a winning team. Younger players like Kipnis, Brantley, Pestano, etc. are finding their roles and fitting into them quite well. They aren't playing "unbelievable" ball like last year, but they are doing the small things right that win games. Even Acta said they haven't even played their best ball yet, but they're still winning. They aren't a team that will score 10 runs a game, so they know they have to play smart baseball and find ways to get on base and get runs home.
  
  This Tribe team is the real deal. Putting Choo at leadoff and sliding Brantley down has proven to be a great move so far. Lowe is having a magical season. Ubaldo is sucking it up and he still has five wins. They just find ways to get it done without that feeling of "luck" which accompanied most of the games early last year. I don't think this team will fizzle out mid-year like the previous year, but they will keep on winning. Of course they will have some slumps, like even the greatest of teams have, but this team is built to win right now.
  
  I am a little worried about the return of Sizemore though. It will be nice to be able to get Damon/Duncan out of the lineup and finally have a pretty solid outfield, but I just hope Grady doesn't screw up anything offensively. Personally I would keep the top of the lineup how it currently is and put Grady down in the 6 or 7 spot until/if he proves he can hit better than the guys at the top now. We don't need him striking out in the top of the order.
  
  Roll Tribe! Let's get Verlander for the sweep and come out of this series 6 ahead of the Tigers!

  Pretty darn good original post there Frenchy.. It's pretty obvious to me who the tribe 5 starters should be. And Ubaldo ain't one of them.
• like_that

  

  wes_mantooth;1181092 wrote:The tribe has given me a three day boner

  
  That would be horrible.
• Footwedge

  Laley23;1180462 wrote:1. Most Tigers fans I know in Toledo hate Leylands approach and think he shouldve been fired after 2009. They really want him gone after this start.
  
  2. The Tigers offense is as good as it gets, 1-4. But they have more holes in that line-up after the top 4 than the Tribe. You got career years from Peralta, Boesch and Avila. Those guys are gonna regress. Then Santiago?? Delmon Young?? The line-up isnt that much more impressive than the Tribes. If Kipnis can hit at a .275 clip and Choo has an OPB around .380, I would argue the Tribes lineup 1-9 is better than Detroits and the top 5 would be close as well.
  
  3. Pitching for Detroit is Verlander and Fister. Those 2 are very good. Porcello sucks. Stop thinking he will magically turn it on. Its been like 5 fucking years, the kid sucks. Scherzer is the same. He is what he is. Unhittable, or 7 runs in 3 innings. Cant count on him, and he has historically been worse that better. You dont even have a 5th starter, do you? Indians starters arent anything to write home about, but 1-5 they are pretty solid. No true 1 or 2 like Detroit, but a lot of depth. I think 3-5 we are better than most teams, despite lacking in the 1-2 spot.
  
  4. Bullpen goes to the Tribe. ERAs may be the same, but look at the guys that matter. Pestano, Smith and Perez for the Indians, with a solid combo of leftys in Hagadone and Sipp. All better than both of Detroits set-up men in Coke and Benoit (what happened to him, used to be lights out?). Valverde always had issues in Houston and Arizona, not this bad, so I think he will right the ship. But 49/49 was a complete fluke. He always seemed to be top 10 closers, but around double digits in BS each year.

  As usual...Laley nails it.
• Footwedge

  BR1986FB;1180780 wrote:So you're saying their manager doesn't use that pussy Sabermetrics/statistics bullcrap?

  
  Boooowahahahahaha!
• royal_k

  

  It's only late May. But a sweep is a sweep, especially over the team picked to win the Central. It sends a message and builds confidence. We out pitched them, out hit them (hits that mattered), and played better defense. Roll Tribe!!
• BRF

  

  BR1986FB;1180876 wrote:Businessman's Special AND beating Verlander....VERY special day.

  Will wonders never cease?
  
  What if.......?
• Laley23

  

  Wes, you are up for the Sox thread!
• hoops23

  

  TBone14;1180873 wrote:I have to agree with you. A sweep definitely seems possible.

  Awesome. Reps.
• hoops23

  

  Tribe went 6-2 on the home trip that saw them face Felix Hernandez, Carlos Zambrano, Anibal Sanzhez, Josh Johnson, Doug Fister, and Justin Verlander.
  
  
  
• Crimson streak

  

  How awesome has Jose Lopez been. I didn't realize he has a 10 game hit streak. He is hitting 375 1 hr and 7 rbis in those 10 games. Also playing solid d.
• hoops23

  

  Crimson streak;1181188 wrote:How awesome has Jose Lopez been. I didn't realize he has a 10 game hit streak. He is hitting 375 1 hr and 7 rbis in those 10 games. Also playing solid d.

  I'd almost think about keeping him at 3rd until he tapers off. Gotta ride the hot bats. He's done damage against pretty damn good pitchers as well.
• hoops23

  

  Choo since being put in leadoff
  
  14 for 37 (.378), 4 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI and a (.540) OBP.
  
  .540 OBP... Fucking ridiculous.
• BR1986FB

  like_that;1181103 wrote:That would be horrible.

  
  LOL....funny story....
• BR1986FB

  ESPN Stats & Info‏@ESPNStatsInfoIndians are now 10-2 in one-run games, the best record in the majors.
• HitsRus

  

  ESPNStatsInfoIndians are now 10-2 in one-run games, the best record in the majors.

  Old baseball adage...in one third of the games you are going to get flat out beat....in one third of the game you are going to flat out beat somebody...the other thrid are 1 and 2 run games that turn on good fundamentals and are often decided by things that don't show up in a box score. How you play those games makes the difference between first and last.
• grodt

  

  Got to see the sweep in person. Pretty good atmosphere for a noon start time. Verlander didn't seem like his usual no-hit self, except for that 8th inning. Even the Tribe fans were wowing at his stuff. We got to him just enough and Masterson did a great job of working out of trouble. Pestano and Rage shut the door. Great win and a great series. Going to be a fun summer for sure.
  
  Go Tribe!