Schedule favors the Tribe's playoff chances

[Prosecutor]

With two wild cards this year the Tribe has a decent chance of making the playoffs even if Detroit takes the division. With the other four A.L. Central teams under .500 and two of them having the worst W-L percentage in the A.L., the Indians have a very easy schedule compared to the A.L. East. The Tribe plays 72 games against the Tigers, White Sox, Twins and Royals versus only 36 against the East. Those 36 games the Indians play against the Twins and Royals look especially winnable.

In the East, the O's and Rays (22-14), Yankees (20-15), Jays (19-17) and Red Sox (16-19 but winners of four straight) will be playing 72 games against each other. The Indians play the Yankees and Jays six games each and the O's, Red Sox, and Rays eight times each.

The last five weeks of the season the Indians play all but three games against Central division opponents, so if they're still in it come late July they have a great shot at one of those WC spots (assuming the Tigers eventually get their act together).

It's going to take a little doing. Choo needs to get his groove back. Masterson and Ubaldo need to get back on track to some extent. Kotchman needs to get back to being a .265 hitter (his career average), and it would be nice if Grady (or somebody) shows up to fill the black hole in left field for the second half. But with such an exaggerated imbalance of talent between the East and the other divisions, the Tribe could realistically sneak in even with a flawed team.

What really helps is having above average starters in the 3-6 spots. I haven't checked but how many teams in the A.L. have a better group than Lowe, Tomlin, Gomez, and McAlister once you get past the top two? Those guys give the Tribe a decent chance to win every series, especially against the weaker teams that are really hurting at the back end of their rotations.

The Indians will have no chance in a short series the way Masterson and Ubaldo are pitching, but with a deep rotation and a ton of games against bad teams, they just might squeeze out enough wins to get in, especially if Masterson picks up his game.

The key will be a stretch from June 25 to July 23 where they play 22 of 25 games against the East. If they come out of that gauntlet still alive there should be a reason to watch the last two months.

[Jumbo]

[FUDU]

Too bad their roster doesn't.

[skatingtripods]

So, I'll just go ahead and state the obvious. It's May 15.

[leadpipe]

The definition of "par for the course."

Classic.

[peeker643]

Times like this make me wonder if Prosecutor is the comedic genius behind 'The Onion' or @DadBoner on twitter.

Although, with Ubaldo having turned things around (regardless of what 80% of his starts would indicate) this makes all the sense in the world.

I honestly should lock this down now and let it stand on its own merit.

[motherscratcher]

Bust balls if yous guys want, but Pros' main point is a good one.

The central is worse than the east. The schedule is kinder to the Indians than a team like Baltimore that is also hot out of the gate.

If teh bed shitting of the Red Sox and the Angels is for real, and the Yankees and Rays took 2 playoff spots, that might mean a race between Toronto, Baltimore, and the Indians. if it comes down to that, the Indians absolutely would benefit from the division heavy schedule.

[peeker643]

Bust balls if yous guys want, but Pros' main point is a good one.

The central is worse than the east. The schedule is kinder to the Indians than a team like Baltimore that is also hot out of the gate.

If teh bed shitting of the Red Sox and the Angels is for real, and the Yankees and Rays took 2 playoff spots, that might mean a race between Toronto, Baltimore, and the Indians. if it comes down to that, the Indians absolutely would benefit from the division heavy schedule.

You look at the schedule. I'll focus on the top two starters blowing, the 3rd on the DL and the fact this team's four corner players fucking stink and the CF needs to hit .320 to make up for his mediocre defense and the fact he has no power and doesn't run.

But yeah, aside from those little things they look like a great bet to play in October.

[peeker643]

Bust balls if yous guys want, but Pros' main point is a good one.

The central is worse than the east. The schedule is kinder to the Indians than a team like Baltimore that is also hot out of the gate.

If teh bed shitting of the Red Sox and the Angels is for real, and the Yankees and Rays took 2 playoff spots, that might mean a race between Toronto, Baltimore, and the Indians. if it comes down to that, the Indians absolutely would benefit from the division heavy schedule.

Hey- Know who else the schedule favors? The Twins. Same thory.

Exactly.

[FUDU]

Bust balls if yous guys want, but Pros' main point is a good one.

The central is worse than the east. The schedule is kinder to the Indians than a team like Baltimore that is also hot out of the gate.

If teh bed shitting of the Red Sox and the Angels is for real, and the Yankees and Rays took 2 playoff spots, that might mean a race between Toronto, Baltimore, and the Indians. if it comes down to that, the Indians absolutely would benefit from the division heavy schedule.

[motherscratcher]

Bust balls if yous guys want, but Pros' main point is a good one.

The central is worse than the east. The schedule is kinder to the Indians than a team like Baltimore that is also hot out of the gate.

If teh bed shitting of the Red Sox and the Angels is for real, and the Yankees and Rays took 2 playoff spots, that might mean a race between Toronto, Baltimore, and the Indians. if it comes down to that, the Indians absolutely would benefit from the division heavy schedule.

You look at the schedule. I'll focus on the top two starters blowing, the 3rd on the DL and the fact this team's four corner players fucking stink and the CF needs to hit .320 to make up for his mediocre defense and the fact he has no power and doesn't run.

But yeah, aside from those little things they look like a great bet to play in October.

Well, yeah, no doubt about all of those things. And when someone starts to sing the praises of the back end of the Tribe's rotation (the wrong end of the rotation to be excited about) and how all we need is for Choo, Masterson, Ubaldo, and Sizemore to be really good ballplayers,...well, I'm sure I tend to zone out as well.

But I was trying to look at it from a "what is Pros really trying to say here" type of approach. I thought is main point of the whole mess was hwo the unbalanced schedule is a check in the "advantage" column for the Indians compared to some teams in the east.

And that's a fair point.

Truthfully, I don't know why he clutters up a decent point like that with all of the other shit.

[motherscratcher]

Bust balls if yous guys want, but Pros' main point is a good one.

The central is worse than the east. The schedule is kinder to the Indians than a team like Baltimore that is also hot out of the gate.

If teh bed shitting of the Red Sox and the Angels is for real, and the Yankees and Rays took 2 playoff spots, that might mean a race between Toronto, Baltimore, and the Indians. if it comes down to that, the Indians absolutely would benefit from the division heavy schedule.

Hey- Know who else the schedule favors? The Twins. Same thory.

Exactly.

Well, now you're just being silly.

[Jumbo]

If teh bed shitting of the Red Sox and the Angels is for real, and the Yankees and Rays took 2 playoff spots, that might mean a race between Toronto, Baltimore, and the Indians. if it comes down to that, the Indians absolutely would benefit from the division heavy schedule.

Not necessarily.

Think about what has to happen in that scenario: the Indians have to be good enough against the rest of the AL Central to finish in second, yet no so good as to finish in first. In other words, the Indians aren't substantially better than the rest of the AL Central. So, their intradivision record will probably be within a few wins of the third place AL East team. In that case, the edge will go the AL East team, because (since it's simply better) it will have a much better out-of-division record than the Indians.

Then again, with every team in the AL East with a positive run differential and every team in the Central negative...it's hard to know.

[motherscratcher]

Ifs and butts and nuts and cocks or whatever that saying is.

I understand that. All of that. I get it.

Here: If in the middle of August Texas, Detroit, TB, and NY are all pretty solid playoff teams. AND, Baltimore, Toronto, and Cleveland are all 68-54 and in the driver's seat to make the last WC slot, well, The Indians would arguably have a slightly easier schedule through the rest of the season due to the inbalance.

That's all I'm saying. It's a thing. Probably not a very important thing, but a thing none-the-less.

Dammit Pros...See what happens when a guy tries to back you up a bit? Try not to post so much stupid shit.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

IF they hit, they can make the postseason.

[scrambler]

Bust balls if yous guys want, but Pros' main point is a good one.

The central is worse than the east. The schedule is kinder to the Indians than a team like Baltimore that is also hot out of the gate.

If teh bed shitting of the Red Sox and the Angels is for real, and the Yankees and Rays took 2 playoff spots, that might mean a race between Toronto, Baltimore, and the Indians. if it comes down to that, the Indians absolutely would benefit from the division heavy schedule.

Hey- Know who else the schedule favors? The Twins. Same thory.

Exactly.

well, no, the Twins have to play us 18 times not themselves 18 times. I'm guessing the theory is we can go 14-4 or something against the Twins to have this make sense. Now that we're 2-0, we only have to go 12-4 the rest of the way against them!

[peeker643]

Nice to see the people jumping off bridges Sunday evening landed on the fucking Twins mattress. Well done, all.

Manic-depressive phuckwads.

[motherscratcher]

IF they hit, they can make the postseason.

That's profound.

[GodHatesClevelandSport]

The last time the second wild card would have come from the AL Central was 2007, and then it would have been a one-game playoff between Detroit and Seattle,.

The schedule does not suddenly make the AL Central's second-best team the favorite to make the playoffs.

[bookelly]

A positive future outlook on a Cleveland sports board!?! What the Fuck is Pros thinking! How dare he look on the bright side!

[RickNashEquilibrium]

So let me get this straight. If we start to hit and win most of our games we'll likely make the playoffs? Surely, you jest! But in all seriousness, I actually enjoy the optimism and other than the sox series, this team has been fun to follow albeit the hitting has been frustrating. Beat the teams in the central, that's all I want to see.

[Prosecutor]

OK, Mother, I'll try to not post so much stupid shit. Thanks for getting my point, though.

Well, no point waiting for an intelligent response. I guess I'll have to do it myself...

Damn, Pros, there you go again with your stupid shit. Look, I get the unbalanced schedule means it will be easier for the Tribe to win games than those teams in the East. But for one thing, the Tribe is 8-1 in one-run games - best in the A.L. Even with a good bullpen, that can't continue. They won't finish the season winning 88% of their close games. They're going to come back to the pack. Did you think about that?

Also, Derek Lowe? 2.05 ERA? 6 wins in 8 starts? Seriously? You expect him to keep that up? Not even Verlander gets through a 162 game schedule with a 2.05 ERA. Even if Masterson gets his 2011 groove back it will be neutralized by Lowe's performance falling off. You don't expect him to win 28 games this year, do you, you dumb shit? Hell, five of his eight starts have come against teams ranked 10 through 14 in runs scored. He's been feasting on weak offenses.

Finally, the Tribe has only played 7 game so far against the East. They're going to get their clock cleaned in those other 29 games. Look at how the Red Sox just reamed their asses, and they're the WORST team in the East.

Yeah, the Central blows, but the Tigers haven't gotten their act together yet and we still have 18 games against them.

Oh, and did you forget the Tribe had a hell of lot better record at this point last year and didn't even threaten to make the playoffs?

OK, I'm done. I hate to have to rebut my own argument but if nobody else is either competent or motivated enough to go beyond pointing out a couple of obvious problems like Ubaldo and Damon then I guess I'll just have to take both sides of the issue.

[Prosecutor]

And now I'm going to rebut my rebuttal since nobody else is going to do it.

First off, I agree Lowe has been feasting on bad teams. Exhibit A was yesterday's shutout of the Twins. But he has started three games against offenses ranked 1, 2, and 6 in the league, and given up only 4 ER's in 19 innings. He's pitched very well against the good teams, so there's no reason to think he can't continue to put up quality starts most of the time no matter who the opponent.

Ubaldo has been a tale of two pitchers. At home he's got a 2.70 ERA and a .134 BAA in 20 innings. On the road his ERA is 7.65 with a BAA of .356, also in 20 innings. So in half his starts he gives the Tribe an excellent chance to win. Not what we wanted for Pom and White, but it's not like the Tribe will never win when he pitches, even if he stays exactly the same the rest of the year.

Offensively, the Indians have been playing with eight hitters all year. Kotchman hit .149 in April. So far in May his average is .286. However, Johnny Damon showed up on May 2 and his average is .149. So the Tribe has been playing the entire season with a .149 hitter in the lineup every day at either 1st base or left field.

If we assume Kotchman hits his career average of .265 the rest of the year, that improves the offense. I think we can also assume that Damon won't play left field the rest of the year while hitting .149. Either he starts to hit soon or they're put somebody else out there, like Sizemore or LaPorta or somebody they trade for. I'm thinking they'll try LaPorta in June, and if that doesn't work, then Sizemore in July, and if that doesn't work they'll make a deal for a bat at the trade deadline.

Based on the way Choo has been swinging the bat the last few days, I expect his production to improve as the weather heats up. Between Choo and Kotchman hitting better and some improvement over Damon, the offense will be better.

Every team has flaws. The Indians are in first place despite some huge, glaring issues, which Peeker pointed out. Whether these flaws are fixed will tell the story. They don't ALL have to be fixed for the Tribe to sneak into the playoffs, thanks to the huge difference in the quality of teams between the East, West, and Central, and the unbalanced schedule.

[scrambler]

There really was nothing wrong with any of your posts at all. Most of it's true. The Tigers have serious issues with their pitching staff. Verlander and Fister are superb quality...their other 3 starters?? No, not superb quality. Valverde has been atrocious. I think their offense and top 2 starters still make them the favorites. I do think the Royals are as good as us...a lot of actual good young talent unlike the Twins. They are 12-6 since their mammoth losing streak and just swept the Rangers. I don't think playing them 12 more times is the cakewalk we all may think. I don't however think the Tigers issues with their starting pitching is any greater than our issues. Their two guys who are supposed to pitch well actually are. Ours aren't. Their offense is just better too. and yes, even if the Royals may not be the cakewalk that many think, it is better playing them 18 times than the Rays, Yankees, or Red Sox 18 times.

[e0y2e3]

And you're still the trolliest piece of shit to ever grace these boards Pros. I'm glad condescension has worked its way into your troll tool-belt though.

[GodHatesClevelandSport]

There really was nothing wrong with any of your posts at all. Most of it's true. The Tigers have serious issues with their pitching staff. Verlander and Fister are superb quality...their other 3 starters?? No, not superb quality. Valverde has been atrocious. I think their offense and top 2 starters still make them the favorites. I do think the Royals are as good as us...a lot of actual good young talent unlike the Twins. They are 12-6 since their mammoth losing streak and just swept the Rangers. I don't think playing them 12 more times is the cakewalk we all may think. I don't however think the Tigers issues with their starting pitching is any greater than our issues. Their two guys who are supposed to pitch well actually are. Ours aren't. Their offense is just better too. and yes, even if the Royals may not be the cakewalk that many think, it is better playing them 18 times than the Rays, Yankees, or Red Sox 18 times.

Drew Smyly is pretty good for Detroit. They have three starters with ERAs under 3.00., Granted, Fister has only pitched two games, but he pitched well last year. They might be in first if Valverde hadn't imploded this season.

The Indians and Tigers have scored the same amount of runs while the Tigers have given up four fewer than the Tribe. Which team would you bet on to have a better offense the rest of the way? And as noted, don't sleep on KC. They are now playing like many thought they would.

[Prosecutor]

Well, we've already played six games against the Royals with 12 to go, so at least we played one-third of the games when they were bad. We play six of the last nine games of the season against the Royals. Hopefully there will be something on the line. But there's a long way to go.

By the way, I think Zach McAlister has a chance to be a significant player this year. He gave up 4 earned runs in 7 innings against the Red Sox, the second highest scoring team in the league. Ortiz and Pedroia hit RBI doubles - no shame there especially since they're both hitting in the .350 neighborhood. Against a weaker team (White Sox), McAlister gave up 2 runs in 6 innings.

This guy is our 6th starter. I haven't checked but I'll bet he could be the #3 or #4 for quite a few teams. Over the course of the season most if not all teams will lose starters for some period of time, like Tomlin now for example. I think the Tribe is better positioned than most teams to deal with injuries to starting pitchers.

Now that I've put that out there McAlister will probably get lit up his next start.

[motherscratcher]

Some might say that the McAlister is an example of the Indian's formidable pitching staff and he depth of the system.

Others might say that McAlister is an example of how completely replaceable the back end of the Indian's staff truly is.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

IF they hit, they can make the postseason.

That's profound.

The if is big.

[e0y2e3]

Some might say that the McAlister is an example of the Indian's formidable pitching staff and he depth of the system.

Others might say that McAlister is an example of how completely replaceable the back end of the Indian's staff truly is.

Pros would say that a two game sample size is meaningful.

[leadpipe]

My God, keep this thread alive.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out.

Now the guy is going to jettison the Tribe playoff run from the 6 hole of the starting rotation.

Priceless.

Hope you aren't projecting his stats in the same machine you used for Duncan. As a matter of fact, let's just call it the Duncinator from now on. You know, cause in case you keep offering ridiculous projections, if people knew they were run through the Duncinator, at least that would explain something.

[skatingtripods]

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out.

This is incredible.

[motherscratcher]

Hope you aren't projecting his stats in the same machine you used for Duncan. As a matter of fact, let's just call it the Duncinator from now on. You know, cause in case you keep offering ridiculous projections, if people knew they were run through the Duncinator, at least that would explain something.

"Hold on, I'm going to run some numbers through the duncanator..."


Yes...Yes, I believe that'll work. I like that a lot.

I can't effing wait to use that, actually.

[gotribe31]

Well, we've already played six games against the Royals with 12 to go, so at least we played one-third of the games when they were bad. We play six of the last nine games of the season against the Royals. Hopefully there will be something on the line. But there's a long way to go.

By the way, I think Zach McAlister has a chance to be a significant player this year. He gave up 4 earned runs in 7 innings against the Red Sox, the second highest scoring team in the league. Ortiz and Pedroia hit RBI doubles - no shame there especially since they're both hitting in the .350 neighborhood. Against a weaker team (White Sox), McAlister gave up 2 runs in 6 innings.

This guy is our 6th starter. I haven't checked but I'll bet he could be the #3 or #4 for quite a few teams. Over the course of the season most if not all teams will lose starters for some period of time, like Tomlin now for example. I think the Tribe is better positioned than most teams to deal with injuries to starting pitchers.

Now that I've put that out there McAlister will probably get lit up his next start.

Wow

[Prosecutor]

Let's see, Zach McAlister, 13 innings, 6 earned runs, 13 strikeouts, one walk. Nice to know there are any number of pitchers in Columbus and Akron that we could bring up in the event of an injury and throw them in there against the Red Sox and White Sox and get that 13-to-1 K/W ratio.

But yeah, it was only two games. Must have been a fluke because we couldn't possibly have any decent pitchers in this system. Bet he gets lit up from here on out.

And how can we forget that Billy Traber threw a 2-hit shutout against the Yankees and promptly disappeared forever? Or that Jeremy Sowers was great for a half-season. So - no projections on McAlister just yet. Sorry to disappoint. Besides, he'll be back in Columbus after one more start and stay there unless somebody gets hurt.

But as for my contention that McAlister is a decent 6th starter and better than what a lot of teams have at the back of their rotation, I based it on more than two starts. In 2011 and 2012 McAlister pitched 190 innings at Columbus and went 15-4 with a 3.22 ERA. For comparison, in Josh Tomlin's last season at Columbus he was 8-4, 2.68. From the numbers it appears that McAlister is not as good as Tomlin, but he's in the ballpark.

[motherscratcher]

^^ Well, you're on your own now, Pros.

Decent point about the schedule, though.

[gotribe31]

Let's see, Zach McAlister, 13 innings, 6 earned runs, 13 strikeouts, one walk. Nice to know there are any number of pitchers in Columbus and Akron that we could bring up in the event of an injury and throw them in there against the Red Sox and White Sox and get that 13-to-1 K/W ratio.

But yeah, it was only two games. Must have been a fluke because we couldn't possibly have any decent pitchers in this system. Bet he gets lit up from here on out.

And how can we forget that Billy Traber threw a 2-hit shutout against the Yankees and promptly disappeared forever? Or that Jeremy Sowers was great for a half-season. So - no projections on McAlister just yet. Sorry to disappoint. Besides, he'll be back in Columbus after one more start and stay there unless somebody gets hurt.

But as for my contention that McAlister is a decent 6th starter and better than what a lot of teams have at the back of their rotation, I based it on more than two starts. In 2011 and 2012 McAlister pitched 190 innings at Columbus and went 15-4 with a 3.22 ERA. For comparison, in Josh Tomlin's last season at Columbus he was 8-4, 2.68. From the numbers it appears that McAlister is not as good as Tomlin, but he's in the ballpark.

But that's not what you said. You said he'd be a 3 or 4 on a lot of teams. That's just not true. I know you're into this whole argue with yourself thing, but it's getting ridiculous.

[skatingtripods]

Had it not been for David Huff's injury late in Spring, he'd have gotten the spot start call before McAllister would have.

[scrambler]

Is anyone else excited about the return of Austin Urns to the stadium this weekend?? The Duncan/Urns who should be the big slow right handed white guy 4th outfielder controversy was spell binding last year.

[leadpipe]

Is anyone else excited about the return of Austin Urns to the stadium this weekend?? The Duncan/Urns who should be the big slow right handed white guy 4th outfielder controversy was spell binding last year.

Well, I just ran Austin Kearns' number through "The Duncanator" and discovered that if given the 600 at bats he deserves, he's on pace for 54 doubles and 42 dongs.

Man, the Tribe blew it on that one.

[scrambler]

Is anyone else excited about the return of Austin Urns to the stadium this weekend?? The Duncan/Urns who should be the big slow right handed white guy 4th outfielder controversy was spell binding last year.

Well, I just ran Austin Kearns' number through "The Duncanator" and discovered that if given the 600 at bats he deserves, he's on pace for 54 doubles and 42 dongs.

Man, the Tribe blew it on that one.

It seems almost blashpemous to run Kearns stats through the "Duncnator". Is it possible to run Brady Quinn stats through a "Duncanator"?

[motherscratcher]

Is anyone else excited about the return of Austin Urns to the stadium this weekend?? The Duncan/Urns who should be the big slow right handed white guy 4th outfielder controversy was spell binding last year.

Well, I just ran Austin Kearns' number through "The Duncanator" and discovered that if given the 600 at bats he deserves, he's on pace for 54 doubles and 42 dongs.

Man, the Tribe blew it on that one.

I don't think that will even stop being funny

[Prosecutor]

But that's not what you said. You said he'd be a 3 or 4 on a lot of teams. That's just not true. I know you're into this whole argue with yourself thing, but it's getting ridiculous.

Yes, I'm going to have to take that back. I checked around and he wouldn't be the 3 or 4 on a lot of teams. I was thinking specifically about the Twins and Royals.

Twins starters:

Pavano: 8 starts, 5.14 ERA
Marquis: 6 starts, 6.68 ERA
Blackburn: 7 starts, 8.37
Liriano: 6 starts, 8.79
Hendriks: 3 starts, 9.00

Royals BOR starters:

Hochevar: 7 starts, 7.20 ERA
Sanchez: 6 starts, 6.75 ERA

Now that Duffy is out these guys are 3 and 4 in the rotation.

So you're right, Al, McAlister would be a 3 or 4 for a couple of teams, but not many. He'd be an upgrade as the 5th starter for probably half the teams in the A.L. right now, IMO.

As for arguing with myself, no, that's not my thing. I was just trying to demonstrate the kind of responses to my posts I was looking for - disagreement if necessary, but disagreement backed up by facts and reasoning. Instead I get just an emoticon or one word responses like "Wow" or "Incredible". Scratch was the only poster willing to even think about it. I guess I'm on the wrong board.

[peeker643]

Scratch was the only poster willing to even think about it. I guess I'm on the wrong board.

If it's ultimately mscratcher's defense of this thread that precludes you from following your heart and your head to another board, I swear to God I will kill him and that I'll do it, ironically, with all dental tools, Marathon Man-style.

[scrambler]

I stated there was a lot of truth to your original post Prosecuter. I certainly acknowledged it was better playing the Twins and Royals 18 times rather than Rays, Yanks etc. I also beileve the Tigers have issues despite everyone handing them the division with the signing of Fielder and I pointed those out. I am just of the opinion that the Tribe's issues played out over 162 games are more substantial than Tampa, Detroit, New York, and even Boston. I hope I'm wrong and I do think the INdians have a better shot at the playoffs than the upcoming Browns season without question. I think we need to win 90 games for either a wildcard or a division...and I'm not sure that's possible. Once the calendar turned to August in 2011, the Tigers beat the snot out of us despite all the good things that occurred through May last year.

[Prosecutor]

I stated there was a lot of truth to your original post Prosecuter. I certainly acknowledged it was better playing the Twins and Royals 18 times rather than Rays, Yanks etc. I also beileve the Tigers have issues despite everyone handing them the division with the signing of Fielder and I pointed those out. I am just of the opinion that the Tribe's issues played out over 162 games are more substantial than Tampa, Detroit, New York, and even Boston. I hope I'm wrong and I do think the INdians have a better shot at the playoffs than the upcoming Browns season without question. I think we need to win 90 games for either a wildcard or a division...and I'm not sure that's possible. Once the calendar turned to August in 2011, the Tigers beat the snot out of us despite all the good things that occurred through May last year.

I'm sure you're right. I think the unbalanced schedule and the weakness of the Central versus the East gives the Tribe a significant edge if all else is equal, but in the final analysis they still have to win the games. So far they've shown the ability to beat the weaker teams, with today's come-from-behind win over Seattle being a good example. With Detroit getting Fister back from injury and pitching well I expect them start making their move.

I don't know the status of Hafner and it sounds like Tomlin might be out for a while since they're doing a third MRI, so that could play into it.

[peeker643]

Just so thankful Ubaldo's turned it all around.

Hopefully he can keep giving six shitty innings every 5th time out and keep that momentum and this thread going.

[Am I Here Again?]

We might get lucky...one of his teammates might push him out of the plane/bus on the trip back home.