Comments on: Tigers are still the team Twins should fear most

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' + title + ' - ' + basename(imgurl) + '(' + w + 'x' + h +') — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:25:41 +0000

[…] run away from the pack” — just before the Twins swept them in early May. I predicted a post-break surge, and they’ve dropped two of three in […]

By: Nora

Nora — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:32:02 +0000

Well, Tigers lost yesterday. I am n ot that afraid of the Tigers. They are looking like the Yankees as in getting too old.

By: Me Too

Me Too — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:34:59 +0000

Zumaya is probably their best pitcher, hands down on the team. I honestly wonder why he hasn’t been given the closer role, considering how poorly Jones has done this year. In the games when Jones is in there, I actually expected the Twins to put together a rally, he just seems hittable.
Zumaya, well, that guy just plain brings it. I am sure if it wasn’t for his injury, he would probably be closing now.
Heck, everyone seems to forget that the Tigers were streaking at the same time as the Twins, it is just that the Twins were maintaining their lead, that nobody seemed to notice, or even care, that the Tigers were on one heck of streak themselves. That team is dangerous, much more so, at least in my eyes, than the PaleHose. The Whities have some SUPERB pitching right now, but one thing we all know about pitching, it has a tendency to break down due to injuries, and so far, the Whities have been incredibly lucky in that regard. I doubt that will be maintained all season.
The Twins have been hit by injuries on the pitching staff and the middle infield and in right field. Not nearly to the degree as the Indians, or the Tigers, but the Twins have had alot of injury problems this year. The same can’t be said for the Whities, and I think that that will even out as the year progresses.

By: The New and Improved Craig

The New and Improved Craig — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:29:15 +0000

The Tiger remind me of the Twins from the early 1960’s. Loaded with hitters and sluggers plus good pitching. Add to that, awful fielding and poor on fundamentals and situational hitting.
It’s hard to win that way.

One big difference - The early 1960’s Twins were a young club, whereas the 2008 Tigers are old and creaky.

By: cmathewson

cmathewson — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:22:55 +0000

Joe,

I reread your post and it seems this scout hasn’t been paying attention the last two years. The Tigers are below .500 the last two years after the break.

July 20 to the end 2006: 32-36
July 20 to the end of 2007: 31-38

How can they be a second-half team?

For every one of his claims on players, there’s another player who counter balances: Verlander is coming on and Bonderman is out for the year. Cabrera is getting more comfortable and Sheffield is melting down. Zumaya is back but Jones is having his worst year in the last four.

The only thing that can help this team is depth. They have to cut bait on Sheff and put Cabrera in the DH spot. They have to make room for Matt Joyce, which might mean less time for Marcus Thames. They have to put Zumaya in the closer role and make Jones an extra set-up guy. But Leyland is a veteran’s manager. So I don’t like their chances overall.

By: Jack

Jack — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:33:57 +0000

The Twins need to dump off Cuddyer as soon as possible before the trade deadline. Players like Cuddyer, Bonser, Bass, and Punto are nothing more than slag players who occupy a position on the roster and prevent better players from helping the team win.