well, the tribe handed that game to the sox on a silver platter. 4 freaking errors, poor pitching and a failure to execute cost them yet again

What was with the fans booing Thome harder than the Red Sox fans got on Johnny Damon? I doubt the Tribe organization really even wanted him all that badly when he left, seeing as how they were rebuilding the team and I bet didnt really want his huge salary on their payroll. (I don't know this for a fact, just my guess considering it *was* a rebuilding franchise and they got rid of all of the old Indians players who were there during the playoff streak they had)

it was the fact that thome said he wanted to stay here, would take a hometown discount, etc, etc them jumped at the phillies offer when they offered him more money. the same reason they boo manny ramirez.

Um, so how about the Reds? I didn't figure they'd be doing so good. 1st in their division, 2nd in their league, and 4th overall.

How about them White Sox?! Ohhh yeeeaaaah. Just imagine if they hadnt lost 5 of their 9 losses to teams who are last place in their division.

The Reds are really surprising, I wonder if they can keep it up.

well, the tribe seems to be back on the right track. they've won 4 in a row and have climbed back to .500. they have gotten 2 straight complete games. i'll take it even though it was against KC and Pitt.

Many probably don't concentrate too much on the Minnesota Twins because they are struggling in the AL Central. They have a shining star right now though in 23-year-old catcher Joe Mauer, the number draft pick in 2001. He's leading the majors with a .386 batting average and is batting an insane .650 in the last month. He should definitely be a starter in the All Star Game and has a legitimate chance to win the League Batting Title. Analysts say he has the best pure swing in the league. He is having a truly great season and I only hope the team goes on a tear so he gets the attention he rightly deserves.

Your thoughts?

My thoughts is that even if Minnesota goes on a tear he still wouldn't get the attention he deserves. That's the problem of being on a small market team.

I've dealt with it throughout all my years as a White Sox fan until this year where they actually get attention because they're the world champs.

Minnesota got some attention a few years ago when they won the Central a few years in a row. Other than that, 1991 and 1987 were really the last time they were in the limelight because they won the World Series in those years.

Blue Jays are doing great, though I expect they'll still miss the playoffs. The Yankees and Bo Sox are always too strong, they always go 1 2 with the division and wild-card every year. There's also the Tigers and White Sox competing as well now, so it'll be even tougher.

And if we can't beat Baltimore, we deserve to lose!

The Mariners have actually been doing okay this year. Unless they self-destruct, it looks like they will miss my 95 loss prediction I made in April.

(I'm a Seattle fan, by the way, in case you couldn't tell.)

********************************

so with the current standings as follows, looks like only Detroit instead of Cleveland.

[table][row color=#333300]American League[col][col][col][col][col][col][col][row color=#C0C0C0] East[col color=#C0C0C0]W[col color=#C0C0C0]L[col color=#C0C0C0]Pct[col color=#C0C0C0]GB[col color=#C0C0C0]Home[col color=#C0C0C0]Road[col color=#C0C0C0]Streak[row] Boston[col]36[col]25[col]0.59[col]--[col]18-10[col]18-15[col]Lost 1[row] NY Yankees[col]35[col]26[col]0.574[col]1[col]18-13[col]17-13[col]Lost 4[row] Toronto[col]34[col]28[col]0.548[col]2.5[col]20-13[col]14-15[col]Lost 2[row] Baltimore[col]29[col]35[col]0.453[col]8.5[col]19-17[col]18-Oct[col]Lost 1[row] Tampa Bay[col]26[col]37[col]0.413[col]11[col]14-15[col]22-Dec[col]Won 2[row color=#C0C0C0] Central[col color=#C0C0C0]W[col color=#C0C0C0]L[col color=#C0C0C0]Pct[col color=#C0C0C0]GB[col color=#C0C0C0]Home[col color=#C0C0C0]Road[col color=#C0C0C0]Streak[row] Detroit[col]40[col]23[col]0.635[col]--[col]17-13[col]23-10[col]Won 2[row] Chi White Sox[col]38[col]23[col]0.623[col]1[col]24-9[col]14-14[col]Won 2[row] Cleveland[col]29[col]32[col]0.475[col]10[col]18-15[col]17-Nov[col]Lost 3[row] Minnesota[col]28[col]34[col]0.452[col]11.5[col]18-10[col]24-Oct[col]Won 1[row] Kansas City[col]16[col]45[col]0.262[col]23[col]19-Oct[col]26-Jun[col]Lost 2[row color=#C0C0C0] West[col color=#C0C0C0]W[col color=#C0C0C0]L[col color=#C0C0C0]Pct[col color=#C0C0C0]GB[col color=#C0C0C0]Home[col color=#C0C0C0]Road[col color=#C0C0C0]Streak[row] Texas[col]34[col]29[col]0.54[col]--[col]15-16[col]19-13[col]Won 1[row] Oakland[col]32[col]31[col]0.508[col]2[col]15-15[col]17-16[col]Won 4[row] Seattle[col]31[col]34[col]0.477[col]4[col]19-17[col]17-Dec[col]Won 3[row] LA Angels[col]27[col]35[col]0.435[col]6.5[col]17-Dec[col]15-18[col]Lost 3[row][col][col][col][col][col][col][col][row color=#333300] National League[col][col][col][col][col][col][col][row color=#C0C0C0] East[col color=#C0C0C0]W[col color=#C0C0C0]L[col color=#C0C0C0]Pct[col color=#C0C0C0]GB[col color=#C0C0C0]Home[col color=#C0C0C0]Road[col color=#C0C0C0]Streak[row] NY Mets[col]39[col]23[col]0.629[col]--[col]19-11[col]20-12[col]Won 5[row] Philadelphia[col]33[col]30[col]0.524[col]6.5[col]16-16[col]17-14[col]Lost 1[row] Atlanta[col]30[col]34[col]0.469[col]10[col]14-14[col]16-20[col]Lost 1[row] Washington[col]30[col]34[col]0.469[col]10[col]13-14[col]17-20[col]Won 1[row] Florida[col]23[col]37[col]0.383[col]15[col]17-Sep[col]14-20[col]Won 2[row color=#C0C0C0] Central[col color=#C0C0C0]W[col color=#C0C0C0]L[col color=#C0C0C0]Pct[col color=#C0C0C0]GB[col color=#C0C0C0]Home[col color=#C0C0C0]Road[col color=#C0C0C0]Streak[row] St. Louis[col]37[col]25[col]0.597[col]--[col]21-13[col]16-12[col]Won 1[row] Cincinnati[col]36[col]27[col]0.571[col]1.5[col]16-14[col]20-13[col]Lost 3[row] Houston[col]32[col]32[col]0.5[col]6[col]23-14[col]18-Sep[col]Won 1[row] Milwaukee[col]30[col]34[col]0.469[col]8[col]21-15[col]19-Sep[col]Lost 1[row] Chi Cubs[col]26[col]36[col]0.419[col]11[col]14-Dec[col]14-22[col]Won 3[row] Pittsburgh[col]25[col]39[col]0.391[col]13[col]17-14[col]25-Aug[col]Won 3[row color=#C0C0C0] West[col color=#C0C0C0]W[col color=#C0C0C0]L[col color=#C0C0C0]Pct[col color=#C0C0C0]GB[col color=#C0C0C0]Home[col color=#C0C0C0]Road[col color=#C0C0C0]Streak[row] LA Dodgers[col]35[col]28[col]0.556[col]--[col]19-14[col]16-14[col]Won 1[row] Arizona[col]34[col]29[col]0.54[col]1[col]17-16[col]17-13[col]Lost 7[row] San Diego[col]32[col]31[col]0.508[col]3[col]16-18[col]16-13[col]Lost 2[row] San Francisco[col]32[col]31[col]0.508[col]3[col]17-17[col]15-14[col]Lost 3[row] Colorado[col]30[col]32[col]0.484[col]4.5[col]16-16[col]14-16[col]Lost 1[/table]

This table brought to you by Excel2BB Converter. Created by Krem for World of KJ

I still worry more about Cleveland then Detroit. Cleveland has actually managed to beat the White Sox this year, unlike the Tigers. (Sox are 5-7 against them, I believe. We could sweep the rest of the season and still end up with a worse record against Cleveland than last year)

saw alot of the Mets over this past week - againist the Dodgers and Arizona > they are sure playing pretty well.

The AL West sucks this year. It reminds me of last year's NL West. I'm guessing that the division winner will just barely have a winning record.

wow the indians desperately tried to give yet another game away tonight. geez, they are playing like ass right now. luckily they scored just enough runs to cancel out any choke job tonight.

bump, if anyone wants to make new picks as we are about 1/3 of the way through the season?

if you all are voting for the all-star game, please make your votes for jason bay. the guy is a great outfielder and hes one of the best, if not the best, hitting outfielder in the NL this year. he deserves to start in his home field.

huge huge red sox fan here. they are not playing to potential n nither are yanks. n blue jays have our number this year. but if sox can get starting pitching going like in april they are insane frankly. lowell loretta crisp have all had huge poffensive impacts and manny n papi keep sluggin em out. if pitching gets together they will win first though yanks will as always have a huge fall run.

The Minnesota Twins have indeed gone on a tear, winning 10 games in a row so far and 19 of the last 21, going from under .500 to 10 games over. They also were just given Player, Pitcher, and Rookie of the Month in Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, and Francisco Liriano.They're unbeatable.

Heh, so are the 2 teams in front of them.

It's very annoying having the team you're trying to catch go on a tear the same time you go on a tear.

Im still not even worried about the Tigers, yet, just annoyed with them. Once they prove they can beat the Sox, then I'll worry. Im more worried about the Twins, really, at this juncture.

Why are you worried about the Twins? All they can do is keep winning. The White Sox are going to lose again today (losing 13-7 to the Cubs in the 8th). First they have to catch up to the Sox, then worry about the Tigers.

Because the Twins have Santana, who will beat us like every time, and Liriano, who'll probably kick the White Sox ass too.

Santana and Liriano are unbelievable young pitchers. They're like clones of each other (Both lefties with the same pitches and overpowering fastballs). I really wouldn't hesitate to call them the two best 1-2 punch in the league right now as they follow each other in the rotation.

And that's what worries me!

The Tigers may have the best ERA in the bigs, but I havent gotten that almost hopeless feeling from ANY of their pitchers yet.