Shouldn't we be losing?

Last month, I examined the records of AL Central teams in games they "should lose." That is, games in which they score three or fewer runs. Below is an update. The first column lists each team's record in "should lose" games through the date of my previous post, the second column lists the updated records of each team through July 25th, the third column lists the updated winning percentage of each team in these games, and the final column is just tossed in for the hell of it.


AL CentralTeamThru 6/22Thru 7/25Win Pct. Overall Record vs. DivisionWhite Sox9-1111-19.36732-7Twins3-21*6-24.20023-20Indians9-2210-27.27017-27Tigers7-258-33.19521-22Royals4-305-37.11912-29
[* -- you might notice the discrepancy between this record and the one listed in last month's post. I didn't take the Twins game of 6/22 into account in my original post since it was in progress at the time.]

The White Sox have fallen back to the pack a little bit, but that was inevitable. It's still amazing to me that they were able to win at a .450 clip in those "should lose" games for a good portion of the season. The Twins have managed a 3-3 record since June 22nd, giving them a +3 game advantage over the White Sox over that span. But that has made absolutely zero difference in the Central standings; in fact, Minnesota has only lost more ground since late June.

And whereas the White Sox continue to roll against the Central, the others continue to struggle against their division rivals.

One last note: the Twins were shut out in New York tonight, so you can add another "L" to their record. The other four Central teams still have games in progress. The ChiSox and Royals are tied 1-1 in the 6th (this is not the Lima Time I know and love), and it's likely we're seeing another "should lose" game for one of them--if not both.