The worst second-half records in MLB history:
I really, really hope that the Sox final home series against the Angels involves a game for the all-time loss record. As a local I canāt miss that potential history in good conscience and call myself a baseball fan.
The AL Central is 32 games below 500. The AL Central has 4 teams with winning records.
The White Sox are 80 games under .500.
Speaking of which, today watching the Guardians White Sox game, I saw something I have never seen or heard of before. In the first inning, with 2 outs, Kwan is on 3rd and Ramirez on second. Lane Thomas hits a slow roller towards third, as the 3B picks up the ball you can see Ramirez hitting third with a full head of steam. Thomas beat the throw at 1B. Ramirez scored from second without a throw. So Thomas got two RBIās on an infield single.
In the third inning, Thomas comes up again with 2 outs and Kwan on third, this time Giminez on second. Thomas hits a grounder that the 2B dives and grabs and and throws to first, but Thomas beat it out and Giminez beat the play at the plate so Thomas got two more RBIās on another IF single. So 4 RBIās on 2 IF singles by the same guy in his first two ABāsā¦ Important too as the Guardians are up just 5-4 after 4 and a half.
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Somehow, the Tigers are 0.5 games out of a wildcard.
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Guardians clinched a playoff spot today. Magic number for the division is 3. Tigers and Twins now tied for the final playoff spot (Minnesota holds the tie-breaker).
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And the Guardians are a half game behind the Yankees for the #1 seed.
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This Tigers run has been amazing. Back in early August when they were 7 or 8 under .500, I donāt think anyone saw this coming. Except for maybe AJ Hinch and the players. The prez/gm certainly didnāt, as they traded away Flaherty and Canha for minor league prospects. Yet here they are, fighting for the wild card.
And they get the White Sox for the final 3 games.
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Tigers in a playoff spot. Crazy.
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As a life long Tiger fan who has experienced some great and some awful years, this turnaround has been amazing. And their minor league teams are loaded with high ranking prospects. And Hinch is a hell of a manager. Future looks bright.
Watching Tigers and Rays right now, 0-0 in the 5th.
The Guardians have had by far the best bullpen ERA in baseball all season, but looking at the Box Score tonight it was hard to believe. This was game 158. It was a very rare ( for this team) bullpen game. In order , here are the ERAās of the 7 pitchers tonight. The first two guys are minor leaguers who were brought up for the last two weeks, both have pitched around 7 or 8 scoreless innings. 0.00, 0.00,1.94, 1.52, 1.95, 1.59 and Clase at 0.61. 4 of the last 5 guys are over 70 games pitched and in the top 10 in the league in appearances.
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Tigers win again tonightā7-1 vs Rays. Now 10 games over .500. Considering where they were, an amazing turnaround. 32,000+ in attendance.
The Twins were 17 games over .500 at one point. They had a 5.5 game playoff cushion as late as September 5. Theyāve now lost 15 of 22 and just lost tonight in 13 innings to the 100 loss Marlins to lose the series to them. On the final out, the throw pulled the first basemen way off the bag, but he was able to get back in time because $200 million man Carlos Correa couldnāt be bothered to sprint down the baseline in extra innings in the final days of a playoff chase.
Tigers clinch, first playoffs in 10 years.
So, both Cleveland and Detroit will be in the playoffs, and they never really were in a race against each other all year. Weird.
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The AL Central is clearly a two team race. We have been waiting for this scenario in the demilitarized zone of NW Ohio for an eternity, so we might as well enjoy this from April on. With that being said, I probably just jinxed the Tigers and started a 10 game slide.
You called your shot on April 6th and were spot on. Enjoy the ride.
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Well, here it is: Detroit vs. Cleveland in the playoffs for the first time ever.
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Kansas City sweeps Baltimore, so 3 of the 4 remaining AL teams are from the AL Central.
I think Johnny Mac deserves some kudos for starting this thread back in early April. Both teams have hugely over achieved from preseason expectations. I think most people were laughing or rolling their eyes at that title, but Johnny nailed it.
Guardians are the #2 seed and Tigers the #6 seed, but I actually think I would favor the
Tigers in this series. Here is why. The Guardians were 25 games over .500 in June. They finished 23 games over, so over the second half of the season the Guards were below .500. Counting the playoff wins the Tigers are 20 games over .500 over the last 8 or 9 weeks. The Tigers have all the momentum and they look like the better team to me. Of course, I will be rooting hard for Cleveland.
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