20 games through...and look where we are

Kid Vicious · Post #1 » by **Kid Vicious** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:54 pm

.500. Again.

I don't know about you guys, but I really had high hopes for this season. There was a buzz around this team, and a general sense of optimism about this season.

I went to opening night against the Red Sox, and frankly, it was electric. When we swept the Sox, my expectations shot up even higher.

But now 20 games through the season, here we sit, in 3rd, and at .500. Sound familiar?

Sadly, with each mediocre showing, my hopes and expectations take a hit. I suspect that another 20 games from now, I'll have settled into that old '3rd place' frame of mind.

Anyone else losing their early season excitement? Or were you smart enough to not raise your hopes?

joeyt618 · Post #2 » by **joeyt618** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:26 pm

For me, that excitement comes at the beginning of every year. With such a long season, it's only natural that it goes away. But I think there's still a sense of optimism from this ballclub. After all, we have the same record as the Yankees at this moment.

I really think that the departure of Frank can end up being a blessing in disguise. It's obvious that our hitting is a our major weakness. Looking at the lineup superficially, it really seems like our lineup has weaken dramatically with Thomas leaving, mostly because there's no big name in the lineup. But replacing his .167 average with a .250-.300 average that Lind is going to bring, and the addition of Rolen in 2-3 weeks, I don't see why there shouldn't be a sense of optimism.

Post #3 » by **SmallTownJournalist303** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 12:02 am

My optimisn isn't gone, but when you watch a game and have Scutaro or Inglett playing an outfield corner it's a little painful.

asif9t9 · Post #4 » by **asif9t9** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 1:33 am

Bah, you could see this coming after a week. But everyone kept saying, 161 more games, 160 more games, 159 more games....

No one worse than Mike Wilner.

oomalay · Post #5 » by **oomalay** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:52 am

I'm disappointed too but 20 games still isn't a lot compared to the whole season. We have 142 games and 3.5 games out of first place. Maybe I'm the lone optimist here. I'd probably start panicking around game ~80.

ETA: Our offense leaves a lot to be desired though. :nonono:

. Even with Rolen coming back it's not that scary.

raps4life~ · Post #6 » by **raps4life~** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:05 pm

this team still feels the same as last year. simply unable to drive in runer s in scoring position. that was our problem last season. its our problem this season. our pitching has been good, its the offense thats just come up dry.

The_Hater · Post #7 » by **The_Hater** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:38 pm

I'd say that thorough 20 games we've neither gained nor lost anything. On a positive note, we're either tied or ahead of the Tigers, Indians and Yankees. 3 teams that we're supposedly chasing in the wild card race. And at least 3 of the teams we do trail, the ChiSox, Orioles and A's, I wouldn't expect any of them to finish above .500.

Both our pitching and offense are well above the league average but unfortunately our clutch pitching and clutch hitting have both been awful so we've ended up losing a couple of games that we probably shouldn't have. Personally, I'm of the mind that 'clutchness' is more about luck than anything specific that some players do differently and these issues will even out over the full season. So I'm probably not as worried as most.

More positive news is that BJ is already back and Rolen should return this week. That said, we now have to find another bat to replace the expected production from the DH spot. I'm hopeful that Lind can step up and be that guy. I wouldn't be suprised to see 20 HR's and a .290 average from him over the final 5 months.

I still see a team that can get hot and win 90+ games but we do have very little margain for error so they better start making some ground soon.