Quote:
Originally Posted by valo403
That's pretty much the definition of choke, I don't care where they were picked to finish 6 months ago. They had a 3 game lead with 4 to play, and blew it. They had a seemingly insurmountable lead in the division all of september and they choked it away, there's no other word for it than choke.
BTW, I'm not sure where you're getting this 'they played out of their skins' from, this is a team in the top 5 payrolls in baseball. They were supposed to win this division.
Add: I just heard on the radio that no team since 1902 had blown a 3 game lead with 4 to play.
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Choking would be what the Mets did a few years ago, losing game after game. Tigers played .500 or thereabouts all year, didn't really have any slumps. Twins went on a wild streak at the end winning 80% in September/October.
Effective payroll doesn't always equal actual payroll. When 25 percent (roughly) of that payroll is tied up in guys who didn't even play for the Tigers this season (or barely played) the argument is pretty moot. Sheffield, Bonderman and Willis were about 25 percent of the Tigers payroll this year, give or take. Most thought this year would be a write-off for the Tigers. They did well to get that far.