2024 Guardians Post Season Thread

[bushwick_bill]

 

[Soar]

Tigers up 3-0 with Skubal on the mound….

Only the third but wow. Skubal only needed 15 pitches to get through 2 innings.

 

[tristan+kyrie=$]

Tigers up 3-0 with Skubal on the mound….

Only the third but wow. Skubal only needed 15 pitches to get through 2 innings.

Skubal is legit but Guardians did have 10 hits off of him earlier so maybe they could put together a sound game plan if we play them

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Imagine if the Tigers had not traded Jack Flaherty.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

On Aug. 4, the Tigers were closer to the A’s than the Royals. I know these factlets can bleed together, but read that one again. That was a few weeks ago. They weren’t in a race, and they weren’t supposed to be. They went 33-15 after that, which was the best record in baseball. That’s impressive enough, but they were also obliterating their opponents, scoring 207 runs and allowing 139, which is the kind of run differential that might translate to a 104-win season over a full season. - The Athletic

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Can Tarik Skubal steal a series — or two?

Don’t laugh. If Skubal beats Framber Valdez in Game 1, the pressure on the Astros will mount. And if the Tigers somehow pull off the upset, the two off-days in the AL Division Series schedule will allow Skubal to start Game 2 on an extra day’s rest and then Game 5 on normal rest, if necessary.

The Tigers in Skubal’s starts are 21-10, the equivalent of a 110-win team. Their plan for the Astros after Skubal, manager AJ Hinch told reporters on Monday, is “pitching chaos the rest of the way, which is kind of how it’s been the last two months.”

After being 10 games out in the wild-card race on Aug. 11, the Tigers’ incredible 31-11 run secured their first postseason berth in 10 years. - The Athletic

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Will the Guardians hit enough?

The overriding concern with the Guardians is their starting pitching, which isn’t much deeper than the Tigers’. But remember the praise many of us heaped on the team early in the season for its offensive transformation? The fun didn’t last.

The Guardians, after ranking ninth in runs per game before the All-Star break, dropped to 27th after it. Right field is unsettled. Second baseman Andrés Giménez’s 2022 breakout looks like an aberration. Catcher Bo Naylor and shortstop Bryan Rocchio are essentially outs, each finishing the season with a .614 OPS.

It seems crazy, based on the way the Guardians started, but their offensive production, according to OPS+, is essentially the same it has been the past three seasons. The league average for that metric is set to 100. The Guardians were at 102 in 2022 and 91 in 2023, and finished at 99 this season.

Ramírez is wondrous. The Guardians’ bullpen is the best in the sport. And Tanner Bibee and Matthew Boyd should provide decent starts in Games 1 and 2. But after making outfielder Lane Thomas their only offensive addition at the deadline, the Guardians’ run production is again in question. And it could bite them in the DS. - The Athletic

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The Athletic has a column listing each playoff team's "fatal flaw".

2. Cleveland Guardians

Record: 92-69

Pythagorean record: 90-71

Fatal flaw: Imagine what Luis Severino would say about this lineup.

No division winner scored fewer runs this season than the Guardians, who also produced less offense in 2024 than also-rans like the Cubs, Red Sox and Twins. The elite Cleveland bullpen can only hold a lead if the offense puts runs on the board. That places a significant burden on the hitters at the top of the lineup. Rookie manager Stephen Vogt recently shifted another rookie, Kyle Manzardo, into the No. 2 spot. There will be a ton of pressure on the veterans surrounding Manzardo — Steven Kwan, José Ramírez and Josh Naylor — because the lineup drops off after that quartet.

 

[sportscoach]

All of them inherited decent teams though...

 

[macbdog]

Tom Verducci mentioned today that playoff
teams that hit more than 1 HR in a game win
75% of the time .

The Gs are screwed.

 

[macbdog]

The Athletic has a column listing each playoff team's "fatal flaw".

2. Cleveland Guardians

Record: 92-69

Pythagorean record: 90-71

Fatal flaw: Imagine what Luis Severino would say about this lineup.

No division winner scored fewer runs this season than the Guardians, who also produced less offense in 2024 than also-rans like the Cubs, Red Sox and Twins. The elite Cleveland bullpen can only hold a lead if the offense puts runs on the board. That places a significant burden on the hitters at the top of the lineup. Rookie manager Stephen Vogt recently shifted another rookie, Kyle Manzardo, into the No. 2 spot. There will be a ton of pressure on the veterans surrounding Manzardo — Steven Kwan, José Ramírez and Josh Naylor — because the lineup drops off after that quartet.

Uh oh, the Athletic is gonna draw the ire of this board, saying the lineup drops off at Lane Thomas.

 

[kidduck]

Tigers 3 run second inning

FO
Single
BB
FC, out at second, 2 down
Single
Single
Single
K- end inning.

Not even an extra base hit.

Death by a thousand cuts wins too.

With good pitching.

 

[Scrote Squad]

He should be a four-time winner on December 11. No one better, especially the last five years when he stopped giving a shit about pissing people off. Some of the stuff he says in the booth makes me belly laugh at the inappropriateness of it.

 

[Mr. Orange]

Detroit takes game 1

 

[redruM]

LMAO. Three different threads talkin bout playoff baseball