Teams we should have known would be bad

[TB28]

How about the Tigers? We should have known that, despite how good their hitting is, their pitching just simply wasn't good enough for them to contend. Even if Verlander had done as well as everyone expected, the bottom half of their pitching struggles to just put a quality start together. Also, Verlander's tough start is balanced out somewhat by Bondy performing better than most people expected. While Renteria and MiggyCab are great players and should have been productive in the AL, a dropoff is to be expected seeing as their going to a significantly tougher league and no one should try to tell me they expected much from Dontrelle. They shouldn't be THIS bad, but we should have known they wouldn't be a great team either.

They won 88 games last year with relatively the same pitching staff. Not sure how you should have known they were going to bad. If you knew that you should tell us the lottery numbers every night.

[Kingctb27]

That's why Tex will be in a Mets uni next year.

[moochman]

I think the Tigers are too easy a target right now. The pitching is getting more stable, though they still have huge issues with their left handers. Willis can't find the plate, Rogers and Robertson can't get past the 5th inning without imploding, and Seay (stay in the pen) is a spot RP who is often asked to pitch to righties. What is most disappointing is the fielding. I can live with Miggies struggles to learn 1B, but Polanco and Rentoria have little range....unless you compare them to suddenly statuesque Carlos Guillen. That guy cannot move well enough to field a position.
I am very disappointed in the Tiges, but I think that we need to wait and see them hit their stride before we bury them.

[ab]

[quote="moochman"]I think the Tigers are too easy a target right now. The pitching is getting more stable, though they still have huge issues with their left handers. Willis can't find the plate, Rogers and Robertson can't get past the 5th inning without imploding, and Seay (stay in the pen) is a spot RP who is often asked to pitch to righties. What is most disappointing is the fielding. I can live with Miggies struggles to learn 1B, but Polanco and Rentoria have little range....unless you compare them to suddenly statuesque Carlos Guillen. That guy cannot move well enough to field a position.
I am very disappointed in the Tiges, but I think that we need to wait and see them hit their stride before we bury them.[/quote]

I would be surprised if the Tigers didn't still win the central, but before the season I was talking to a friend of mine and mentioned that everyone says the Mets are an old team w/out enough depth to sustain the injuries, but no one was talking about the age and fragility of Detroit's impact bats. There was way too much faith put in Sheff being as productive as last year, people overrated Renteria, and people forget about Magg's injuries. Also, it was possible that last year was a bit of a peak for Granderson (I hope not). Fortunately, they DO have the depth (and the budget) to sustain the injuries, but I didn't think they were the lock most people were saying they were.

[A Fleshner Fantasy]

How about the Tigers? We should have known that, despite how good their hitting is, their pitching just simply wasn't good enough for them to contend. Even if Verlander had done as well as everyone expected, the bottom half of their pitching struggles to just put a quality start together. Also, Verlander's tough start is balanced out somewhat by Bondy performing better than most people expected. While Renteria and MiggyCab are great players and should have been productive in the AL, a dropoff is to be expected seeing as their going to a significantly tougher league and no one should try to tell me they expected much from Dontrelle. They shouldn't be THIS bad, but we should have known they wouldn't be a great team either.

They won 88 games last year with relatively the same pitching staff. Not sure how you should have known they were going to bad. If you knew that you should tell us the lottery numbers every night.

I'm not even saying they shouldn't have won 88 games, I'm just saying we should have known they wouldn't be the 105 game winners that a lot of people were projecting.

[dweenmachine]

And not just because I'm a Red Sox fan, but I have to mention the Yankees in this thread. ARod being on the DL for a while didn't help matters, but combine that with the loss of Posada and the ineptitude (I've always wanted to use that word in a sentence) of their starting pitchers... they're looking pretty sorry. I feel they belong in the "we should have known" category because their starting pitching was a question mark to begin the season, and I feel it's even worse than they expected...
Plus, they're in last place

Surely you know the season isn't over at the end of May? Chances are the Yanks won't win the division, but the AL is pretty weak this year. We still have a great shot at the WC. Rasner has stepped up big, A-Rod is back, Posada is back soon. Girardi's tirade fired up the team, and they pounded Bedard last night. Kennedy had a good start last time out,... he just needs run support, as do all (young) pitchers right? Didn't you see what happened last year? At this point last year they were like 14 games out and they managed to cut it down to 1 at one point. THe Sox always hit their stride early in the year, but then don't play as good down the stretch. With the Yanks, it's the opposite. Beckett is surely looking like an ace this year huh?

Hmmm, I didn't notice that the title of this thread was "which teams are done for the season."
All I was saying is that this is a team that we should have known that would be bad. I mentioned a couple of unforseen things that contributed to their early demise (ARod, Posada), but didn't say they were out of it for good. I thought that my post was pretty clear in stating that the Yankees' main problem is their starting pitching (or lack there of).
Maybe your so defensive because you too know that the Yankees aren't so good this year and your insecurities about the team are coming through, even though you're a fan

[Big Pimpin]

Also I don't think the M's are this bad, but god they are run horribly as a team.

I agree with this. While I don't think they're quite as bad as they've played, some of us knew that they weren't anywhere near as good as they thought they were coming into the year. There was a lot of downside risk on that team. You should be able to construct a much better team for $117M. Now I'm just hoping for spectacular failure that leads them to clean house and hopefully the #1 pick in the draft.

[Mugrila]

You should be able to construct a much better team for $117M.

No kidding. I thought we'd be bad, but not worst record in baseball bad.

[Lordrevolution]

And not just because I'm a Red Sox fan, but I have to mention the Yankees in this thread. ARod being on the DL for a while didn't help matters, but combine that with the loss of Posada and the ineptitude (I've always wanted to use that word in a sentence) of their starting pitchers... they're looking pretty sorry. I feel they belong in the "we should have known" category because their starting pitching was a question mark to begin the season, and I feel it's even worse than they expected...
Plus, they're in last place

I seem to recall the Sox having near as many question marks about their pitching at the start of the season.

[MTUCache]

I think the Tigers are too easy a target right now. The pitching is getting more stable, though they still have huge issues with their left handers. Willis can't find the plate, Rogers and Robertson can't get past the 5th inning without imploding, and Seay (stay in the pen) is a spot RP who is often asked to pitch to righties. What is most disappointing is the fielding. I can live with Miggies struggles to learn 1B, but Polanco and Rentoria have little range....unless you compare them to suddenly statuesque Carlos Guillen. That guy cannot move well enough to field a position.
I am very disappointed in the Tiges, but I think that we need to wait and see them hit their stride before we bury them.

Agreed... I think the pitching will stabilize. Towards the bottom third of the AL, but stabilize none-the-less. As the starters' ERA comes back down into the sub-five range, and the bullpen roles for the younger guys become more clearly defined, the pitching staff will end up a tad under "average", or about where they need to be for the offense to carry the ship (which it should be doing).

The offense has been streaky and unpredictable. That will change as decisions get made. Sheff will either turn it around or find himself on the extended DL. That will clear up room to cycle Guillen/Thames as the DH and get Inge in as the regular 3B and Joyce as LF, and have just one day per week where Inge is the C and they mix-up the 3B/LF slots. If Sheff does turn it around, I'd expect to continue seeing Leyland trying to get him LF time and get Inge in at 3B (DHing Guillen).

Defense is definitely a weak-point, but I think getting Inge in there is a HUGE upgrade, and MCab will continue to improve at 1B. Other than that, we have what we have... it's not great by any means, but ti's certainly adequate to contend.

Only time (and streaks) will tell whether their slow start has put them in too much of a hole to chase down the rest of the Central.