Frank Coztansa wrote:
OldSchoolScoreFan wrote:
Granted, they have probably been in baseball's worst division for at least half of those seasons, but still. Will they get to 90 loses?!?!?!
how can you say that? the indians were one of baseballs best teams in the mid to late 90s, and the twins are seeimingly always in the playoff hunt. and now we have the tigers to add to that mix as well
True, the mid to late edition of the tribe were good. But, last year was the first year since the Wild Card format began that two playoff teams came from the Central. And other than the 05 Tribe and the 96 White Sox, no Central team even made significant Wild Card noise. And other than the last two seasons, the the winner of the division was pretty much decided by Labor Day. From 95-04 the AL Central usually had one solid team and a bunch of also-rans. The division also went seven seasons without a World Series representative. The old AL West was strong from 87-93 (pennants in 87,88,90,and 91). But, from the end of the A's dynasty in the 70s until the Twinkies beat the Cardinals the AL West boasted TWO pennant winners in a 10 year period (both by the Royals). In some years, the 3rd or even 4th place team in the east would have won the west (and they played a pretty balanced schedule back then. In fact, that is where "WINNING UGLY" came from--Doug Rader commented that the Sox would have been a 4th place team in the AL East. Today the Central is probably the best division in baseball. But, from about 1998-2004 the division was God awful. You cant tell me that those Twins teams would have won either other division consistently. The other two divisions had at least 2 or even 3 quality teams year in and year out (like the Central does today). Even in the year the Sox won in 2000, that team was KOd by a wild card Seattle team. The Sox finished second a few times and barely had a winning record. My point was that this is the first time in forever that the Sox are completly out of it in early August. You are welcome for the history lesson. But, for the last 30 years, the Sox have USUALLY played in the worst division in the American League. The fact that they have only won a handfull of division titles should be upsetting.
But, we all know what Ditka says about the past..lets focus on the present. I like what I see out of Richar and Owens could contribute, but as a 4th outfielder/pr option on a good team. Denks seems to be coming along nicely. Say what you want about Jenks, but show me a closer that has been better other than Papelbon in the last 2 1/3 seasons. So going into 08, you do have some spots that are not obvious wholes. To compete in this division, you need probably 2 major upgrades in your every day lineup, a starting pitcher, and several relief pitchers. Difficult, not impossible. I am interested to see what Kenny does. This will be his most difficult offseason yet. I have faith.