WIN IT FOR BONDO!

It's the last day of April and still, Jeremy Bonderman has not had a decision in any of his starts. With a unblemished 0-0 record, Bondo takes the mound against the slumping Baltimore Orioles tonight, looking to take advantage of their recent slide.

The O's dropped two of three in Cleveland at the weekend and have lost 6 of their last 7 overall. This might be the perfect opportunity to get the spirits raised up by beating up on a bad ball club.

However, the Orioles send Daniel Cabrera to the mound tonight, who I took lightly earlier this season and systematically handed the Tigs their asses at Camden Yards, going 7 and 2/3 and allowing just two runs and three hits. Having seen him once already this year, it would be nice to rough him up a bit to get him back for the game he had against the Tigs earlier in the year.

One of the big things for the Tigs today will be getting Bonderman some run support. Over his first four starts, the Tigers averaged just 2.25 runs in support of him, which is bloody awful. In his last start, they came up with eight, but still lost to the Angels by one run.

Keys to the game-

• Rough start against the Angels for Bondo his last time out. Against a considerably weaker line-up, the kid should get ahead of guys early and dominate in the way that we saw him do last season in the playoffs. He needs to look like an ace out there if he's going to be The Man in the near-future.
• Brandon Inge needs to continue the roll he got on yesterday with his 3-3 and a walk-off performance. He's had a shit April, but going into May on a little bit of a roll would be a very nice change of pace.
• The Tigers hitters need to get ahead in the count against Cabrera. They failed to do that last time and it cost them a game in Baltimore. Make him throw a ton of pitches, wear him down, and then knock him out of the game in the fifth or the sixth inning. Do that, and we've got ourselves a win.

April's Report Card- 13-11 (13-11 overall)

Well, it's the final day of the month of April and it's high time I handed out some grades to see how the Tigs are doing through the first month of the year.

Hitting- It's been an up and down sort of month for the Tiger bats. Some games they're putting up 9 or 10 runs, others they're struggling to get hits against mediocre pitchers. There have been a ton of games already this season where great games by the pitching staff have been wasted by the hitters' inability to put the bat on the ball and get some hits. That being said, Placido Polanco, Magglio Ordonez, Pudge Rodriguez, and Curtis Granderson have really gotten off to good starts. They've each had nights where they've been pretty much carrying the team, and so far it's worked, to a certain extent. The AL Central has some of the best pitching the majors, so the line-up's roller coaster ride so far can be excused to a certain extent, but there are enough guys struggling (Brandon Inge, Sean Casey, Craig Monroe, Gary Sheffield) that are in the order every day that drag this grade down. Grade: C.

Starting Pitching- At this point in the season, we're getting exactly what we can expect from these guys on a day-to-day basis: good opportunities to win. There have been very few games where the starters have gotten totally shelled to the point that the game is lost in the 2nd or 3rd inning. Saturday against the Twins would be a good example of one of these times. However, this is really the only example that jumps to the forefront of my mind. Even in Bondo's bad start against the Angels last week resulted in the Tigs almost coming back to win the game. So far, the starters have given the Tigs a chance to win in pretty much every game and that's what they're meant to do. Justin Verlander, with the exception of Saturday's start, has been very impressive so far this year, as has Nate Robertson. Bondo has also been very solid, while Mike Maroth looks okay and Chad Durbin bought himself another few weeks in the bigs with his game in Chicago on Wednesday. Looking good so far. Grade- A-.

Fielding- The Tigers started off the season pretty much unable to make an error, it just didn't happen for a few weeks. And then it seemed all in the last week or so, the defense took a nose dive on the left side of the infield. Brandon Inge and Carlos Guillen combine for a total of nine errors, with Carlos comitting six of them. Not exactly the type of numbers that you look for from a guy who just signed an extension in the off-season, but it's almost what we've come to expect from him over the past few years. Inge is the same way- for all the spectacular plays he makes in the field, he's guarenteed to fuck up some that he should have had. With an overall team fielding percentage of .980, and a total of 15 errors, there's room for improvement, but it's not all that bad. Grade- B.

Bullpen- Of course, here has been the real big problem over the past month. Everyone coming out of the bullpen has experienced their problems, even the originally solid Joel Zumaya and Todd Jones, who until the last week had zero blown saves in eight chances and then blew two in a week. The main trouble makers have mostly been Fernando Rodney, Jose Mesa, and Jason Grilli, all of whom you've read enough in this space over the last month. Mesa is currently on the DL, but allowed his ERA to bloom up to a rousing 20.25 in just four appearances earlier this month. Rodney and Grilli are sitting pretty with 6.55 and 5.56 ERAs respectively, not great by any means, but definitely down from astronomical levels they were at a couple weeks ago. There have been too many blown games by this pen already this year, with Rodney racking up four losses already and blowing all three games that he has come into in extra innings. One of the big bright spots however, is the emergence of Wilfredo Ledezma. He's 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA and is becoming a very solid lefty specialist. However, the lack of confidence in these guys is what is really scary so far, hurting them immensely in this grade. Grade- D (and that's being generous).

Bench- With players like Omar Infante on the Tigers bench, guys who can be plugged in anywhere and look like they belong, the team is in good shape. Marcus Thames has been getting some looks at first base, and he looks okay there- nothing great, nothing awful, just okay. Which is perfect, it's going to be his spot on this team in the future. He's hit some big flys already this year, sending last Sunday's game against the White Sox into extra innings and putting the TIgs up for a few innings yesterday. Neifi Fucking Perez makes me hate, and Mike Rabelo has been absolutely atrocious at the bat, and teams have definitely taken advantage of him in Pudge's absence by running on him when he's behind the plate. I, for one, can't wait to get Vance Wilson back in the line-up so Rabelo can go tune up in Triple A or something. Grade- B.

Manager- Jimmy Leyland's golden touch of last year is gone, that much is for sure. Some moves he's made over and over again this year, like putting Rodney on the mound in the 10th inning, and each time they backfire the same way that they did earlier. However, he's making the right move getting Thames reps at first and made a great move by giving Sheffield the night off last Sunday against Chicago, as it seems that any day now Gary will climb over the Mendoza line. He may not be perfect so far this season, but he put on a helluva show Saturday when he got kicked out of that game. Fantastic. All he needs now is to fire these guys up with the same type of talk he gave them last year early in the season, because these guys might need a little fire under their ass to get them going. Grade- B.

Overall, this team hasn't been playing great baseball, but they're only two games back in the division with plenty of time to make up. There haven't been any serious injuries that are going to cripple this team down the road and, even though it seems like they're playing shitty baseball on a regular basis, they're still about .500. Right now, they're looking pretty average. Overall Grade For April- C+.

Brandon Inge, What?

The original plan was for no posts today, since the mood yesterday's game put me in made me question a couple things. First off, why was I really upset about a game in April? And second, do I care too much? Of course, the answers were "Because they got their asses beat" and "Hell no", respectively.

Basically, what I'm having here is an Al Pacino in The Godfather III (which never happened) type of moment- once I think I'm out, they pulllllll me back in. It's hard to not say anything when your team, once again, fights off a sweep (at home, no less) on some big hits late in ball games.

Brandon Inge came through today like he hasn't since Game Two of the ALCS last year. Granted, that's only like 30 games, but either way, it's definitely his biggest game of the season so far. Absolutely one of the weakest home runs ever, but thank God for the bullpen fences. Maybe this will give him a spark so he can get up above the Mendoza line some time in the month of May, which be a great shock and surprise to all of us who have watched him over the first part of the season so far.

Mike Maroth pitched a pretty good game today, especially countering Johan Santana. He went run for run with him and got the quality start and no-decision. After my (maybe unwarranted) worries the other night about the bullpen virus getting to Joel Zumaya, he comes out and gets out of the jam Maroth left with in the sixth, leaving after allowing a triple. Sure, Zoomer walked the first guy but after that it was four straight outs to hand the game over to Todd Jones, who pitched a spotless ninth.

For those of you still on the Magglio watch, another big game for him. Homering the opposite way to drive in Gary Sheffield in the third (who is really starting to come around, he's already up to .193!) and going 2-3 on the day. Marcus Thames also had a big day, playing most of the game at first base and homering to make it 3-2 in the fourth.

The View From The Light Tower would also like to send its condolences to the family of Josh Hancock, the St. Louis Cardinals reliever who was killed today in a car crash. It's sad to see anyone from the baseball family go, let alone someone who was just entering the prime of their career and had so much ahead of them. My thoughts are with the Hancock family.

Justin Verlander To Right The Ship

It's a new day which means there's a new game, and this time the Tigers send out Justin Verlander to the mound against the Minnesota Twins. Last year, Justin pretty much owned this team, winning all three of his starts against them and allowing just two runs in 22 innings for a .80 ERA. Pretty good.

Verlander has been the victim of some shoddy bullpen work, just like pretty much every other Tigers starter (God, if I had a nickel for every time I've said that this year). In his last start against Chicago he allowed just three runs over seven innings, but still took the no decision as the Tigs lost in 12 innings. It's going to be key for him tonight to baffle Minny like he did last year and dominate them for six or seven solid innings.

Opposing Justin is Carlos Silva, who I know nothing about. His last start against the Tigers was almost exactly a year ago today (it was on April 29th of 2006), when he allowed nine runs in just 2 and 2/3 innings before getting the yank. Final score of that game? 18-1 Tigers. If the Tigs can score half as many today, then my confidence in this team will go right back to where it was.

Today seems like it would be a great day for everything to click simultaneously. If Verlander has a great game, and the bats pound Silva off the mound in the early innings, then we won't have to worry about giving the bullpen any chance to blow the game in the late stages.

On a scary side note, here's a little excerpt on Pudge from the Detroit Tigers' Official Website from a story about Kenny Rogers' recovery

Mike Rabelo made his third start in Pudge's place. If Rabelo were injured, the emergency catcher is utility infielder Neifi Perez, not former catcher-turned-third baseman Brandon Inge. Perez has one career appearance behind the plate, way back on June 7, 1998, in his third season for the Colorado Rockies.

That's right folks. Your back up catcher until Pudge returns? Neifi Fucking Perez. Jesus Christ, Pudge, get back in the line up soon. Not only is Mike Rabello the biggest liability in the line up since Brandon Inge joined the team, but Neifi Fucking Perez?

Keys To The Game-

• Runs early. Lots of runs early. Put this game away before it even starts. Big confidence booster of a game.
• Okay, since last night was supposed to be Fernando Rodney's night, but Zumaya came in instead, then Rodney will almost definitely get put in today. He needs to pitch well, or else I am going to murder him.
• DON'T LET NEIFI FUCKING PEREZ CATCH.

Pfft.

There's no such thing as a good loss. There are only different levels of bad losses. As far as regular season games in April go, this was probably the worst one of the season so far. On every level- the Tigs were leading and then let a lead slip away, after putting the game in the hands of someone who's supposed to be the team's most reliable reliever. And there was absolutely no chance for a comeback with Juan Rincon and Joe Nathan jumping out of the Twins pen to slam the door shut.

First off, the positives from the first seven innings of this game. Aside from one pitch, Nate Robertson threw another great game. Sean Casey and Craig Monroe broke out of their respective slumps, with Craig going 3-4 with two doubles and a single, and Casey going 2-4 with a double and a single. Oh and Bobby Seay looked decent.

And now the negatives. Actually, there's really only one negative, but it's a big one and it really scares me- Joel Zumaya looked visibly shaken after being pulled from the game in the eighth. Zoom Zoom had a rough game on Wednesday in Chicago, and, according to Rod and Mario to "show confidence in him", Leyland put him on the mound during crunch time after Robertson allowed two base runners. But instead of rising to the challenge, Zumaya buckled. He didn't top out above 99 mph, which is rare for him, and allowed four runs to score.

The worst is his reaction afterwards though. He returned to the bench and looked absolutely defeated. He wasn't angry, he wasn't pissed off- he was sad and depressed. Being a set-up man that's going to come in more important situations than this one, Zoom needs to have the demeanor of a stone cold killer. Killers get angry, they don't get sad. The Tigers NEED Zoom Zoom to go out there and believe he can get it done, and after the last two nights, he seems shaken. That's a scary thought.

I'm also going to question the moves by Jim Leyland to put Zoomer in, both Wednesday and tonight. In Chicago, there was no reason for him to put the number one bullpen guy out in a decided game that was cold and rainy. And after that crappy performance, it was an even bigger mistake to go right back to Zumaya today. Give him a night off, let him recover, push it to the back of his mind. Now he's got two failures sitting heavily on his brain. Questionable moves, Jimmy.

Maybe the bullpen virus is getting to Zumaya now. This bullpen thing has me straight scared of becoming the Cleveland Indians of last year. Seriously, we need at least one guy to rely on to get a hold every time he comes out of that pen. I guess it's better to have these problems in April than it is to have them in July, August, and September.

Quick turnaround with the day game tomorrow. The Tigs need to stomp these guys out tomorrow, get the taste of this game out of everyone's mouth.

Twinkies Or Mag-Li-Os?

After a rousing (one game) SWEEP of the White Sox, the Tigs return home today for the first series in a brand new home stand against the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins have been sliding of late, as their win on Thursday in the 11th inning broke a four game losing streak that they had been on. The Tigs, meanwhile, look to come back home and build on the great game they got out of Chad Durbin (DURBS) on Wednesday in Chicago.

Pitching tonight for the Tigers will be Nate Robertson. Nate was the victim of some shit defense and shit bullpen work his last time out when the Tigers lost to Chicago in extra innings at home. He's been one of the most dominant pitchers on this staff, right up there with Verlander, and is making himself known as one of the toughest lefties to hit in the American League.

Going against Nate-o tonight will be the I'm-surprised-he's-still-alive-let-alone-still-pitching Ramon Ortiz. After being pretty much a car crash for the last few years in the bigs, Ortiz has put together some decent numbers for the Twinkies this year, going 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA. It's been three years since the last time Ortiz faced the Tigers and it's probably only right for the Tigs to blow his shit out in his first visit to Comerica Park in a few years, don't you think?

I'll tell you one person who definitely thinks so- Magglio Ordonez. Mags has been tearing things up recently, on a eight-game hitting streak and coming off of a 3-4 performance in his old stomping grounds of Chicago on Wednesday. The hair supplies his power, it seems, and as it grows longer, Ordonez keeps on producing. He should stay hot tonight against Ortiz.

Keys to the game-

• After going with sort of make-shift line ups the past couple games, I imagine Jimmy Leyland will be putting the normal starters out there. Which means people like Sean Casey need to produce at the plate.
• Craig Monroe is in a huge slump right now- something like 0 for his last 19. He neeeeeds to break out of that tonight and have a big game.
• After using Zoom Zoom on Wednesday, it seems like tonight would be a day to bring Fernando Rodney in. He needs to build on his good performance from Tuesday when he allowed no runs over two innings in Anaheim. Please show me you're for real Fernando.

April Showers Bring Doubleheaders Some Where Down The Line

As rain covers the Midwest, it seems as if the Tigers-Chisox game ain't happening. CAN YOU SAY SWEEP?!

See you back here tomorrow.

Durbin? Durbin?? Durbin. Durbin Durbin Durbin. DURBIN!

Tonight's review of the game will instead just be an open letter to Chad Durbin.

Dear Chad,

You pitched amazing tonight. This may have saved your season from ending up in Toledo by next month. Eight shut out innings, nine strikeouts, and allowing just three hits on the night. Yes, I still prefer Andrew Miller to you, but you know what? For tonight you have me. I am ready to sing your praises from the mountaintops.

Do me a favor though, Chad- go slap Joel Zumaya across the face. Tell him that you starters and us fans need him to be the stand out in the bullpen; the constant that we can always rely on. Walking four and allowing two runs and forcing the game into Todd Jones' hands does not make us Tiger fans feel safe trusting any one coming out of the bullpen at any point. It's scary.

But do go up to Pudge and Mags and shake their hands. Hell, buy them dinner. They showed up for you tonight, especially in that first inning where Pudge scored the opening run and Mags drove in Polly and Sheff. I'm sure you know that having three runs to start off with makes your job a lot easier, right Chad?

And how about the jobs Marcus Thames and Omar Infante did in replacement of their normal position guys? Marcus had a rough day at the plate (go check on that hand, give it a kiss make it feel all better), but you can tell he's really coming along at first, ain't that right Durbs? Can I call you Durbs? Okay, good. Omar looked good as always and even scored the last run for you guys in the eighth. Good work on his part, give him a pat on the back.

Durbs, do one more thing for me and then I'll let you go. Tell Craig Monroe to stop pressing. He's 0 for his last 17 and just looking uncomfortable out there. I know you're just a pitcher, but go up to him and give him a hug and tell him everything will be okay. We need him. I mean, if Brandon Inge and Gary Sheffield can start producing (2-4, run scored and 2-5, 2 runs scored respectively) then he will too right? Tell him that for me Durbs.

Looks like you'll probably be sticking around here for a few more weeks, Durbs. Keep the momentum from tonight going.

Go Tigers,
Kyle Feldscher

Chicago Is So Two Years Ago

Now the Tigers head back to the Midwest for the second part of this schedule-fuck of a road trip. They take on the Chicago White Sox, who nearly swept the Tigs this weekend at Comerica. The Tigs are looking to return the favor, this time at U.S. Cellular Field or whatever the hell it's called now.

However, there's a nail in the path of the Tigs- Chad Durbin is still pitching. Durbin looked awful against the ChiSox last Friday and there's a good chance he's going to look the same, this time in front of a hostile away crowd. I really, really do not like watching this guy pitch- he's just bad. Straight up bad.

John Danks takes the mound for the White Sox, Durbin's opponent on Friday in Detroit. Danks also sucks, so it'll be interesting to see this match-up of the two worst pitchers on elite pitching staffs go at each other again.

The Tigs need a good showing in Chicago to prepare for this weekend's home series against the Twins. The Tigers have lost four of their last six and are seemingly sliding back into the form that we saw them go into at the beginning of the season, where the bullpen can't pitch again. At least it seems that the bats are heating up, with Magglio Ordonez on a huge tear as of late.

Something that definitely needs to improve tonight is the defense of Carlos Guillen. Two erros yesterday and another one the day before, really hurt this team in the Angels' series. Ground balls need to be fielded and turned into put-outs. Especially with Durbin on the mound, the Tigers can't afford to have too many extra guys on base.

Keys to the game-

• Mags needs to keep it up in his old ground. Another big game to show Ozzie Guillen exactly what he allowed to go and insulted on the way out a few years ago.
• Durbin needs to not lose the game. He doesn't have to go out and pitch a no-hitter, he just needs to keep the Chicago bats quiet long enough so that the Tigs can put a few on the board against Danks.
• Don't go to extra innings. I hate extra innings.

Jesus Christ.

So I'm not really sure if I should be encouraged by the Tigs coming back from a giant deficit to take the lead in the ninth, or be disillusioned by Todd Jones' inability to once again hold a ninth inning lead. Let's start at the beginning.

Jeremy Bonderman got shelled today. Seven runs, five earned in six innings of work, allowing 11 hits? Yeah not great. He did not pitch well at all and the Angels took advantage of that. Fernando Rodney came in, however, and pitched excellent for the first time this year. Two innings of completely shut down ball: no hits, no runs, three strikeouts and giving the Tigers a chance to get back in the game.

It wasn't until the fourth inning when the Tiger bats made it back from the hotel to rejoin their respective players. Magglio Ordonez is running things right now, going 3-3, with a home run and 3 RBI to go along with two walks. His homer in the eighth gave the Tigs the lead, scoring Gary Sheffield who went 1-4, to start what the kids call a "hitting streak" for the first time this year.

And then, in typical Todd Jones fashion, Jones blew the game in the ninth. He found a new way this time, allowing the tying run to score on a wild pitch. Fantastic. Even better was his performance in the 10th, fielding a bunt and throwing it wildly, to allow the runner to advance to second. Intentional walk, sacrifice bunt, fielder's choice GAME OVER. Hardly even a fight.

It's heart-breaking to see the Tigs battle back only to let the closer who shouldn't even be the closer any more (make the Zumaya move, Leyland) blow the game with two consecutive innings of shitty pitching. Of course, this sounds about right for the Roller Coaster at this point, right?

Kelvim Escobar What?

Today's game is a day game that will finish off this series against the Angels. The Tigs will be facing off against Kelvim Escobar, who absolutely owns the Tigs. Jeremy Bonderman takes the mound for Detroit.

At first mention, the name Kelvim Escobar means nothing. But then you can look at his stats against the Tigers in his nineteen appearances, and eight starts, against the Tigs- 8-0 with a 2.10 ERA. Those are totally dominant numbers from a guy who is anything but against the rest of the Majors. Solving the riddle that is Escobar will be a big task for the Tigs today, but one that is definitely necessary in order to walk away with a sweep.

On the hill for the Tigs is Bondo. Still looking for his first win, Bonderman has looked good in pretty much every start this year, racking up just a 2.25 ERA. The fact that Jeremy doesn't have a win yet is in no way his fault, he's pitched very well, allowing just one run in each of his last two starts. He's been the main victim of bullpen collapses so far this season, so it'd be nice to get Bondo a win to head back to the Midwest with.

Yesterday's win came because the bats got hot and Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen continued their current hot streaks. Curtis Granderson has been a huge spark at the top of the line up so far this year, and had a real big game yesterday with three hits, landing a triple short of the cycle. It's also going to be interesting to see if Gary Sheffield can keep the momentum going from yesterday's two-hit performance.

Keys to the game-

• Bonderman needs to stay hot and shut down the dangerous middle of the Angels order. Garret Anderson had a two hit game yesterday, as did Gary Matthews Jr., so keeping them quiet will be key.
• Don't leave it up to the pen to decide the game. After using three pitchers yesterday, Jason Grilli, Bobby Seay, and Joel Zumaya probably won't be available today, leaving the prospect of seeing Fernando Rodney open. Please don't let that happen.
• Offensive momentum keeps on rolling. Chasing Weaver in the 2nd inning yesterday was huge, and getting to Escobar might lead to the first blemish on his sparkling record against the Tigs.

Listening To Me Is A Good Idea

This is the type of Tigers game that is fun to watch. The boys jumped out early on Jared Weaver, putting up two runs in the first inning and then exploding for five in the second to put the Anaheim Angels of the Universe away early.

The bats were hot today, as everyone got into the mix a little bit. Gary Sheffield had a good game, going 2-4 with two singles and a walk. He also drove in his sixth run of the year and raised his batting average to a cool .143. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for Sheff. Curtis Granderson got the game going on the right foot with a leadoff homer in the first, and finished just a triple shy of the cycle, hitting a single in the second and a double in the eighth. Magglio Ordonez is definitely hitting his stride early in the season, as he followed a strong homestand with a great game today going 3-4 with a double and an RBI.

Mike Maroth pitched well in 4 and 2/3, but was pulled just an out shy of the required five innings to get a win. He allowed just three runs, two earned, but throwing 105 pitches in those 4 and 2/3 innings. Jason Grilli (!) and Bobby Seay both pitched well in relief, with Grilli getting his second win on the year for his 2 and 1/3 innings of relief. Joel Zumaya looked a little bit shaky in the ninth, but it wasn't really a big deal as the Tigs entered the inning with a five-run lead.

This was good baseball on every front tonight, although I could have done without the two errors (that would be you Brandon Inge and Carlos Guillen). Knocking out Weaver in the 2nd inning was a great sign; getting to the opposing bullpen early usually guarantees a win. Let's see the Tigs get their first sweep of the year by winning tomorrow night's game.

Criss-Cross

Tonight's game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, of California, of America, of North of America, of Planet Earth starts a hectic week for our Detroit Tigers. Today and tomorrow they're in Anaheim playing the Angels, and then Wednesday and Thursday they're in Chicago to play the White Sox, and then there's a weekend series back home in Detroit against the Minnesota Twins.

The Tigs go up against Jared Weaver tonight (brother of former Tiger pitcher Jeff Weaver who beat the shit out of us in the World Series) in his second start of the season. He started on the DL with elbow tendinitis and then made his first start on Tuesday. He allowed four runs in just four innings of work, taking the loss against the Oakland A's. Weaver was one of the more dominant young pitchers of last season, still ranking behind Justin Verlander and Fransisco Liriano in my book, going 11-2 with a sub 3.00 ERA.

Mike Maroth is taking the mound for the Tigs, hoping that the bullpen won't once again blow one of his late leads. Mikey has looked decent so far this season, not great, not bad, just his normal self. Even though his ERA is at a bloated 5.40, he's attempting to become the first Tiger pitcher to get three wins on the season.

What's going to be interesting tonight is the return of Gary Sheffield after yesterday's hiatus. He's batting a paltry .119 right now and is just looking allll out of sync and out of whack, so hopefully the day off yesterday will get him right. If not, then expect me to be here after the game, ranting and raving as always. Placido Polanco is not exactly the big bat that pitchers will be fearing, and he's going to need protection behind him in the batting order if he's to continue this tear he's on.

Keys to the game-

• Sheffield needs to get on track. Big game tonight
• Get to Weaver early and often, get him off his game and don't let him get settled in.
• Maroth needs to keep the Angels quiet and leave the game on a good note, so the bullpen doesn't have to deal with those pesky problems of momentum and close games. You know, those things the bullpen is known for stopping.

"We're Better Off On Our Own"- Tigers' Starting Pitching

I couldn't update after yesterday's game, I'm very sorry. It was far too painful for me to put my anger into coherent words and something tells me that the world is already too full of angry grunting and mad gesticulating to convey unexplainable anger. Which is basically what Fernando Rodney filled me with. That rat bastard.

Even today's win doesn't feel like everything it should, after a great comeback led by Marcus Thames and Placido Polanco. Polly really has been stealing the show at the plate this year, and he damn well should be since he nearly went 0-the World Series last October. Thames' home run in the ninth was a giant boost to get the game into extras, and all the Tigers need to do is get a guy in scoring position and there's a good chance that Polanco will drive the run in.

But the win doesn't feel like a win, because for the fourth time in the last four games, the bullpen was exposed as this team's biggest weakness. The Bullpen Bengals were supposed to be the backbone of this team- have the game over in the seventh inning. Outside of Joel Zumaya, Wilfredo Ledezma, and Todd Jones (save for Wednesday), there is no one worth relying on in that bullpen. Aguilno Lopez relieved Verlander today after Justin pitched very well, and promptly gave up a lead-off single and a home run after that to make the game 5-3 and put the Tigers in dire straits. The pen simply can't come in and blow games wide open like that, it puts too much pressure on the rest of the team: the batting order has to produce more runs, the starters have to pitch more and allow less runs, and the fielders playing behind them have to step up and make plays that wouldn't be required of them if they had more quality pitchers on the mound.

One of the keys to this team is the early lead. Once again, the Tigers jumped out to a quick lead on the Sox, but they need to be able to keep striking. John Garland absolutely dominated the line up after his shaky first inning, coming on the heels of yesterday's game where Jose Contreras put 16 Tigers down in a row after allowing a grand slam in the first to Carlos Guillen. Contreras and Garland are both solid pitchers, but allowing anyone to own a line up for seven plus innings is not going to equal wins.

Even though this team hasn't been playing its best baseball on a consistent basis, the Tigs are still in second in the AL Central, racking up their 10th win today. If this team hits one of the streaks that it got on last year, winning 10 straight or 15 straight, then there's going to be some trouble for the other teams in the division. However, right now, the game that they're playing (hot one day, cold the next), is as getting as old as the Michigan spring weather- they're teasing us with signs of warmth and growth, and then clobbering us with setbacks and going cold.

Just win boys. My heart can't take this over a full season.

Yesterday Hurt

Sorry for the total lack of posts yesterday- it was my birthday and I was out doing what college kids do on their birthdays. Read into that however you want.

I did watch the game though, and goddamn if I didn't scream like I got shot on the last pitch of the game. Not really sure what Sheffield was thinking (Oh, here's a fastball knee high over the plate, I should let it go), but it was clearly a strike. It was probably the first legitimate "This is so painful, I can't look at the TV any more" moment of the season. No excuses. None.

Chad Durbin looked awful. Again. Hate him, get rid of him, any where but here.

Jason Grilli looked disgusting. Again. Hate him, get rid of him, any where but here.

Ought to be a pretty good game with Nate Robertson going against Jose Contreras in roughly 10 minutes. Nate has looked nearly shut down this year, and I haven't watched Contreras pitch yet, but he was superb last year. Even if he is a Cuban commie.

See you back here tomorrow.

RUUUUN, IT'S ROD ALLEN!

Check out this basebrawl from the 1980s in Japan. The crazed man with about 50 people chasing him to calm him down? None other than our favorite Tigers' color guy Rod Allen. I love this and it explains so much about his announcing style. It's like he's Godfuckingzilla or something.

Calling Outs

Well, today is a day off for the Tigs, so I'm going to use this space to talk about some players who have really, really been pissing me off lately. Heeeeeeere we go.

- The .100 Club- Sean Casey, Gary Sheffield, and Brandon Inge. These three are the only three every day players with their batting averages still below .200. Sheffield is the one I'm not worried about, if only because he's Gary Sheffield and he's going to turn it around no matter what. However, for the time being, this is NOT what Illitch is paying dearly for. Casey and Inge however, have simply looked like shit the entire year. Ever since Casey became a Tiger, he hasn't been hitting at all, save for the playoffs. Inge had a few games where he looked like he was coming out of his slump, but instead he has regressed and is dropping 0fers on a regular basis yet again. You know what's funny about all three of these guys? They all got extensions/new contracts at the beginning of this season. Earn your fucking cash boys, the front-office isn't charging us fans more money for tickets to see you play like shit.

- Jose Mesa- Another new signee who has come in and done literally nothing. How about these numbers- 2 and 2/3 innings, 6 earned runs for a 20.25 ERA (!), and he's injured now. Fantastic. Indians fans every where will watch him blow games all year long and just be thinking "Yep, I remember that fucker". If he's still here in October, may God save all of our souls.

- Jason Grilli- His ERA is at a minuscule 9.53 and he's only giving me heart attacks once an inning when he's throwing. I seriously can't stand watching this guy. Ever since last year, especially in the ALCS (when he walked three straight guys with 12 straight balls), I've hated my existence when he's in games. And the trend is continuing this year.

- Fernando Rodney- A sterling record of 1-3 (half the Tigers' losses!) and an ERA above 7.00 is showing how far he's regressed since this time last year, when he was holding down the closer's spot for Todd Jones. Every time he comes in now, there is a pit in my stomach and a voice in my head that screams "Oh shit, we're fucked".

-Chad Durbin- Not really that worried about him, since he's obviously in way over his head. He'll be gone by May, so don't get too worked up over his failings.

-Neifi Fucking Perez- I hate you. I hate you so much.

Todd Jones and Fernando Rodney... Bleh

Literally one day after I compliment Jonesy on his work so far this season, he goes out and blows his first one of the year. Yet another sterling performance from Jeremy Bonderman was wasted today, as the bullpen simply couldn't slam the door shut in the 9th and 10th innings. This is typical Todd Jones: just when you think he's gotten consistent, he goes out and blows a game that would have guaranteed a sweep of a crappy team. The Roller Coaster strikes again.

The real sinking feeling came in the 10th though, when Fernando Rodney was called into the game. My immidiate thought was "oh fuck". Leyland, I have to question you on this one, especially after we all saw the shit show Rodney put on Friday in the 10th in Toronto. He gave up a leadoff home run to John Buck. JOHN FUCKING BUCK. Who the hell is that?! Honestly, between Rodney, Mesa, and Grilli, there is a veritable trio of heart attacks just waiting to enter every game and give it away. Fernando has come into the 10th inning of four games now. Three of those games have been lost in the 10th. I'm so sick of this shit. And it's only April.

This was an old fashioned pitcher's duel tonight, with both Bondo and Gil Meche bringing their good stuff. All of the Tiger runs came during an interesting sixth, in which an error by third baseman Alex Gordon that should have been turned into a double play, resulted in all three runs for the home team. Bondo pitched well, even if KC did work him for a run in the seventh, and Zoom Zoom came in and pitched shut down as usual in the eighth.

Interesting little side note from after the game- Carlos Guillen received a letter from Bud Selig telling him that if he plays with his pockets inside-out one more time, he will be fined $1,000. Bud, do you really not have anything better to do? I guess if Carlos' pockets are the biggest of MLB's worries, then the league's in great shape, right?! In a related story, I wrote Guillen a letter that said if he ever strikes out looking in an extra innings game with the tying run on base, I'm going to fine him $1,000. And if it ends the game, like it did today, that's an extra 500 bucks, buddy.

Pocket Aces

It's a duel of aces today as Jeremy Bonderman and Gil Meche take the mound for the final game of this three game set.

Bondo has looked great so far this season, though he hasn't factored in any decision with a 0-0 record. His ERA is holding at just 2.57, which is outstanding. His last outing, on Friday against the Blue Jays, was an absolutely spectacular performance, going nine innings and allowing just one run in a match up between him and Roy Halladay. If he comes out with something similar today against the Royals, the Tigers should sweep these guys right out of the ballpark.

On the other hand is Gil Meche, 1-1 on the year with an ERA at 3.10. Meche has looked pretty much like Gil Meche this year, doing a decent job but nothing necessarily outstanding or incredible. One might expect something more along the outstanding or incredible lines though, with the money KC is throwing at the guy ($55 million over five years). Meche left his last start against Baltimore early with a slight hamstring strain, so it'll be interesting to see if that plays into today's game at all. In his last outing against the Tigs, Meche suffered his only loss of the season thus far.

Something that's going to be important today will be if Bondo and the rest of the pitching staff can quiet David Dejesus. He had four hits (including a homer), and scored three runs yesterday and was the biggest part of the Kansas City comeback from being down 5-2. His bat needs to fall silent, or at least be quieted, in order for a Tigers' win today.

Keys to the game-

• The bottom of the line up really needs to pick up the slack. It'd be nice to see some solid at-bats out of those guys today.
• If Bondo gets another quality start, then he'll get his first win of the year.
• If Meche is on his game, the Tigs have to make him work in order to get to that weak KC bullpen early. Get the big fish out of the game so they can prey on the smaller ones.

Placido Polanco=The Man

Tonight's game was an emotional roller coaster. From the elation that followed Magglio Ordonez's double to right that scored two and Marcus Thames' homer to make it 5-2, to the frustration that came with Kansas City clawing their way to a 6-5 game, to the feeling of watching Placido Polanco's single rip up the middle to score Omar Infante in the eight, it was up and down all night.

A few major pluses to talk about- first, how about Mags huh? 3-4, 3 RBI, and he's driving the ball to rightfield like he hasn't done since his Chicago White Sox days. For all of his defensive weaknesses in rightfield, this is why he's a weapon and going to be in the line-up every single day- a ferocious cut that can drive the ball all over the park. And that hair. I never conveyed exactly how happy I was on Opening Day to not see a short-haired Mags again. Marcus Thames did a helluva job in a sub role, as did Infante. These types of players, guys that would start on any other team but are back ups here in Detroit, need to impress when they can and they both did; Thames with his power and Infante with his pure instincts out in centerfield. Not Neifi Fucking Perez, though. 0-3 earns you no honors, sir.

Once again, in the end, it was Placido Polanco showing exactly how much he means to this team. 3-5, a homer, and a big RBI to push the winning run across is pretty much what we Tiger fans can expect from this guy at this point. If Guillen is the leader and Pudge is the spark plug (as I said yesterday), Polanco is the foundation of this team- he holds them steady and he comes through whenever he's needed.

One more big shout out from The Light Tower- Gary Sheffield. Huge double to tie the game in the seventh. A lot of people have different opinions on this guy- he doesn't enjoy his job, he's a malcontent or a cancer, he's not a good person. All that is meaningless for me- if he starts coming through like he did tonight on a regular basis, then he can say whatever he wants to the press and feel however he wants. Big hits in late innings are what matters.

Mike Maroth pitched a very Mike Maroth type of game today- he pitched well at points, he didn't pitch well at points, and then, at the end, he put himself in a bad position when he left. Wilfredo Ledezma gets absolutely no blame for letting in the two runs he did in the 6th inning, since Maroth allowed KC to get all the momentum on their side and get back into the game. After that tumultuous (a word I've always enjoyed) sixth, he pitched very well and is now the Tigers' winningest pitcher at 3-0. I've never been a big Todd Jones fan (mostly because he gives me a heart attack whenever he pitches) but he's doing a great job so far this season. He already has seven saves in seven chances and we're not even close to being done with April yet.

It was great to see more resiliency out of these Tigers. They're going to need a ton of that this season. Here's hoping that they can come out tomorrow and finish off the sweep of the lowly Royals.

Leyland's Games

It's rare that I interrupt my game watching experience to post on here, but I wanted to make a comment on Jim Leyland's interesting usage of Omar Infante, Marcus Thames, and Neifi Fucking Perez.

Omar is starting in center, Thames is at first, and Perez is taking Brandon Inge's spot at third. With a left-hander starting, it's an all right-handed line-up. Mario and Rod talked about Granderson needing a day off because he, like so many Tigers right now, is suffering from the flu that has been going around the team, and he does look a little worse for wear on the bench, all bundled up and everything. It's the third inning now and he seems to be holding his own just fine.

Marcus is getting some more looks at first, since Craig Monroe has pretty much locked down left field and Sheffield is the permanent occupier of the DH spot. Marcus looks a little shaky there right now, but giving him more opportunities and more at-bats is only going to help this team.

However, having Neifi Fucking Perez backing up Inge is like having a blind and deaf guy backing up a blind guy. I'd like to see, um, anyone else on the field, mostly because Neifi Fucking Perez is guaranteed out every time he comes up to the plate. Inge packs a little more punch than Neifi Fucking Perez, but they're both decent fielders. Jimmy better have some sort of spell over this guy, otherwise Neifi Fucking Perez is going to be called to the plate in crunch time and I'm going to cry.

It's the bottom of the third now and the Tigs have just taken a 3-1 lead, so hopefully the good times continue. See you here afterwards.

Return Of The Bats?

Tonight the "resurgent" Tigers' line-up takes on a foe that pretty much bitch slapped them earlier this year in Jorge De La Rosa. De La Rosa went 7 innings in his first start of the season, against Detroit, and allowed just one run and four hits in a Royal win. Of The Rose is a lefty, meaning the Tigers are going to struggle against him because for some reason this primarily right-handed line up has not been able to hit left-handed pitching this season.

But there is hope. After last night's game, the Tigs seem to be regaining last season's magic in the bats and doing what good teams do- absolutely pounding inferior competition. With Mike Maroth going again tonight, he's 2-0 on the season by the way, the pitching should keep the Tigs in the game at least. If the boys come out and jump on Jorge early though, it's going to be another long night in Royalville and a happy one in Tigertown.

Maroth, while not as completely shut-down as the top three starters have looked this year, is having a very solid season on every front. There were some questions as to whether the Maroth we saw before the surgery last season, or after the surgery was the one we'd be seeing this year. It seems as if pre-surgery Mike has shown up thus far, which is good news to everyone. Maroth has never really been a dominant pitcher- he goes out and keeps the team in games and lets the players behind him do a lot of the work by letting hitters put balls in play, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't (see: 2003, 20 losses). However, as we saw with Sean Casey's stellar play in the field yesterday, the Tigers' team defense has improved this year, and so Maroth is just the kind of pitcher that is looking to be rather strong in that 4 spot in the rotation.

Something that's getting troublesome in the Tigers' order is the amount of strike-outs coming from Craig Monroe, Brandon Inge, and Curtis Granderson. With four more strike-outs coming from those guys yesterday, they have 47 between them already for this season. Granderson is still having a productive season regardless, showcasing his power and hitting ability when he's not striking out, and Monroe is the best clutch hitter the Tigers have and can absolutely rip the ball when he gets going, but I'm still not high on Inge. The guy is a solid third basemen and all, but seriously, hit the fucking ball, dude. Less strike outs, more base hits. For the love of God.

Keys to the game- Jump on De La Rosa early, play good defense behind Maroth, and beat Jose Mesa to death before he gets to come into the game and let his required two runs in. God I hate that guy.

Kicking Ass And Taking Names

THERE, THAT'S MORE FUCKING LIKE IT.

After giving Justin Verlander just one run of support in his first two starts of the year, the Tigs exploded for 12 on the Royals, giving Verlander his first win of the year. In six innings of work, he allowed just three runs on five hits and left with a 9-3 lead. Between Bonderman, Robertson and Verlander, the starting rotation is looking very consistent thus far on the top end. Maroth has also impressed and Chad Durbin is shit, but Bondo, Nate-o, and Justin have separated themselves so far.

Tonight's win was good on every level. The Tigs got off to a fast start with Pudge hitting a monster grand slam in the first inning, and then just kept the ball rolling from there with three in the second, and one a piece in the third and fourth. They showed some resiliency in the second after KC bounced back to get two runs, essentially sealing the game, making it 7-2. It's great to see the guys playing a nice mixture of small ball and just hitting giant homers.

Carlos Guillen had a fantastic game today with a double and a homer, 4 RBI, and two walks. Carlos is the glue that holds this team together; he's unquestionably the captain of the infield and was the most consistent player last season, even in the down periods. The fear of Gary Sheffield is also starting to show, with his gathering of three walks and three runs scored going along with a single. Just having him in that third spot creates a presence that pitchers are forced to respect and fear.

But seriously, how about Pudge? A grand slam and a double, with six RBI, not to mention his usual stellar play behind the plate. Pudge looks determined to have one of the best seasons of his career this year, having come so close to the World Series title again and walking away empty-handed. If Guillen is the glue, Pudge is the spark plug that gets this team going. He can be a dick when he's unhappy, but when he gets going, the team really gets excited and follows him.

Here's what's still not cool though- Jose Mesa. The one negative I'm taking out of this game is his line- 1/3 of an inning, two hits, two runs, both earned, one walk, and one home run. You suck. Seriously. If he comes to the mound in September with a playoff spot on the line, or in October with a playoff game in the balance, I'm going to have a coronary.

But, taking a deep breath and looking at the bright side, the Tigers absolutely blew the figurative roof off of Comerica Park tonight. Pudge's slam was the Tigs' third of the season, which is pretty nice for the start of the third week of the season. The 12 runs were also their highest total of the year, and us fans didn't have to sweat out the end of the game wondering if they would throw the lead away, which was pleasant. The way the Tigs played tonight, it would be great to get a sweep of the Royals going into the Chicago series this weekend, which is going to be rough as always.

Coming Home

First off, I'd like to start today with The View From The Light Tower's deepest sympathies to the families of the students who were victims of the shooting at Virginia Tech today that claimed at least 25 lives. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with our country that people keep doing this to each other in schools, but I'm pretty sure it's about time Congress wakes the hell up and gets rid of guns altogether. As a college student myself, this shit is scary as hell and the last thing I want is me or one of my friends to be shot dead in our dorm rooms by some crazy guy who should never have been able to buy a gun in the first place. It's just really fucked up, and I'm so sorry for those people that have to go through this tragedy.

There is a baseball game being played today, however, at Comerica Park when the Kansas City Royals make their first trip to Detroit this season. This is the first of about 3,000 trips they'll make to the CoPa this year, since the MLB schedule makers still insist on overloading the schedules with divisional teams, even if the fans really don't want to come out to see a team with a winning percentage that's below .400. Either way, they're here, they're queer, and I'll have to get used to it.

Justin Verlander is taking the mound tonight for his third start of the year. So far he's still at 0-0, but with a sparkling 0.00 ERA. The only thing is he is getting absolutely no run support from the Tiger bats. Since he started his career last season, Verlander has basically owned the Royals, so it would be nice to see him get his first win of the year tonight in front of the home fans. In the 27 innings he's spent on the mound against the Royals, he's only allowed two earned runs, which is just fantastic. He doesn't seem to be suffering from the sophomore jinx that I predicted he would, but I would like him to keep proving me wrong. It makes me happy.

Here's what needs to happen for the Tigers to win tonight- HIT THE BALL. The Tigs might have a great pitching staff, but they have to know that even if they only give up three runs, scoring zero will still not win them the game. It's been so frustrating to see middle-of-the-road pitchers take advantage of what is supposedly a stacked line up. At this point, I wouldn't be shocked if the Royals starter tonight, Zack Greinke (who, continuing a recent trend, I've never heard of) went out and threw a no-hitter against the Tigers. Alls I know is that giving Justin Verlander, Rookie of the Year winner and Cy Young candidate, just one run in two starts is simply an insult. If you can't go out and hit for your best guys, then something is wrong.

Tonight seems to be a beautiful night to get Verlander his first win. He should be mowing the Royals down, since it's going to be yet another cold night and he can just go inside on some guys and break some bats with that fastball. Prepare for a pissed off blogger if anything but a win happens tonight.

What I Neglected To Tell You

Sorry for the weekend break everyone- a friend was in from another school and I was pretty much over at my buddies' place with them the whole weekend. But this doesn't mean I didn't watch the last three games of the Blue Jays series. Thoughts from three games:

Friday

• Jeremy Bonderman vs. Roy Halladay was an absolutely fantastic pitching match up, with both starters going the full nine innings and leaving the game 1-1 going into the 10th. Bondo looked absolutely shut down the entire game and Halladay was his normal spectacular self.
• Fernando Rodney is thisclose to being dead to me. After his misadventures in the World Series, one would think that Rodney would have worked on his defensive abilities in the off-season. Apparently not. Two bunt singles, a walk, and boom- great game by Bonderman wasted in quite literally four batters. Check yourself Fernando, check yourself.
• Not the best performance by Tigers hitting, again, but at least they have an excuse with Halladay being on the mound.

Saturday

• Chad Durbin- still not impressive. He looked overwhelmed the entire time he was in and let his pitch count escalate early. I am still not going to be surprised when Andrew Miller gets the call up in a few weeks to take his spot in the rotation. Durbin might've fit in with the old Tigers pitching staffs of Nate Cornejo and Mark Redman, but he's a mediocre at best pitcher in a elite pitching staff. He is the winkest link, good-bye.
• The Tigs worked AJ Burnett pretty well, even on a day when he brought his A game. They got his pitch count to rise and then eventually started chipping away into the Toronto 4-0 lead and drove him out of the game.
• Clutch hitting is the hallmark of this team, yet again. A few days after Monroe goes deep to win the game against Baltimore, Marcus Thames drives in two runs to take the lead in the ninth 8-7. Monroe drives in another big run and then Brandon Inge reaches on an error to give us the final score of 10-7. I just laughed through the whole ninth. A fantastic win.
• The win guarenteed a winning road trip, which is a good sign for the best road team in the majors last year. Being a good road team is a huge factor in a winning season, hopefully this is a first step in that direction again.

Sunday

• Nate Robertson pitched yet another great game today with absolutely no run support again. It just isn't fair to this guy that he doesn't win more games because the bats just don't show up behind him some nights. He's really emerged as the most consitent pitcher on the staff now after three completely insane shut-down starts.
• The real blame from today's game comes down on the Tigers' bats- again. They simply couldn't hit an okay pitcher having a decent day. Towers wasn't doing anything special, the Tigs just couldn't make good contact consistently. This kind of production is not what Mr. Illitch is paying for guys.

The Tigs head home for the start of another homestand tomorrow against KC with a 6-4 record of their first trip of the year. Not a bad start, all things considered. It'll be good to see the Chicago White sox roll in for the weekend, if only because it'll announce the start of the race for the division, which is going to be a good one this year. See you all tomorrow.

Zoom-by-ya

In a pretty solid game all around from Detroit, the Tigers held on against the Blue Jays tonight for a 5-4 victory. Brandon Inge (MY GOD) provided a 2-3 night throwing in three RBI and Gary Sheffield snapped an 0-16 streak with a single in the first inning. The most impressive Tiger performance though, came from Joel Zumaya, who got his first save of the season by going two innings in relief of Jose Mesa. Joel allowed just one hit in his two innings and gave up a grand total of zero runs, and made Matt Stairs look damned foolish on a curveball that froze Stairs for a strike out for the first out in the ninth.

Mike Maroth again had a solid night, getting his second win of the year and making essentially one bad pitch to Aaron Hill, which resulted in a two-run homer. Maroth seems to be picking up where he left off when he injured his elbow lat May, when he was 5-2. It's good to see Mikey throwing the ball well again, especially striking out $100 million man Vernon Wells with four nasty high fastballs.

The bats came alive tonight, with only Curtis Granderson. Craig Monroe, and Mike Rabello, who did an excellent job filling in for Pudge defensively, being held hitless. It was good to see Sheff get a solid hit and hopefully, this is the start of a good roll for him. Inge might actually becoming around now, with hits in his last two games and already raising his average to a whopping .107, which is just staggering. Something that needs to change, however, is that the team left a total of 18 men on base collectively, with Magglio Ordonez accounting for four of those guys. Those are potential runs that simply can't be left on base like that.

Let's talk about Jose Mesa for a second. He's been in roughly three games, and I'm pretty sure I start shaking whenever I see him trotting in from the bullpen. He let in two runs in the eighth inning without being able to get an out before being pulled for Zoom Zoom. While Jason Grilli is the front runner for The Jaime Walker Memorial Award, Mesa is right up there behind him. If Grilli is this year's Walker, then Mesa is this year's Grilli, even though Mesa has made a career out of being a Jaime Walker-type pitcher.

Another banner day for Frank Thomas, who simply can't wait to not see the Old English D ever again. After being held hitless against Tiger pitching in last year's ALCS, he has gotten one hit off a Tigers' pitcher this year after being held to an 0-4 performance in tonight's contest. Seeing Big Hurt against Zoom Zoom was extremely fun, because there were two possibilities- Joel was going to make Thomas look stupid or Big Frank was taking a 100 mph fastball 400 feet away, and there was no in between. I'm just glad that Zoom Zoom won that battle.

The Tigs ensured themselves of at least a .500 road trip tonight. Check back tomorrow to see if they can finish this first 10 game swing on a winning note.

Canadia Eh?

The Tigers head to Toronto today to start a four game series that closes out a 10 game road trip at the Rogers Centre (formerly the Sky Dome). The Tigs are 4-2 on this trip so far and are looking to get some revenge on the Jays for ruining their home opener last week when they won in Comerica Park in extra innings.

Mike Maroth is taking the mound for the Tigers tonight, making his second start of the year. He was impressive in Kansas City the last time around, going five innings and allowing four runs, all earned. Toronto sends out Tomo Ohka, who I've never heard of, making his second stat of the year after getting a no-decision pitching 4 and 1/3 and letting in five runs against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on April 7th.

The Tigers are going to need a few hits out of the bat of Gary Sheffield, who has not had a hit in his last 16 plate appearances. However, Sheff has good career numbers at the Sky Dome, hittin .348 with five homers and 17 RBIs lifetime. If numbers hold true, Sheff will have a grand ol' time in Toronto and he'll get his shit together before returning to Detroit on Monday.

It was Jim Leyland's plan to get Ivan Rodriguez an off day tonight, so expect him to be out of the line up. Vance Wilson is still on the 15 day DL, so he won't be playing, and I'm not really sure who his back up is. Ought to be a fun time, right?

The Tigs were a good road team last year and they're going to need to continue that success to be in contention again this time around. It would be nice to see them end this trip with a bang in Toronto.

C-Mo Is Back

Sorry for the delay in the post, I realize that the game has been over for about 8 hours now, but whatever, here it is.

When Craig Monroe belted the winning grand slam over the center field fence in the 12th inning yesterday, I had my first "shout out loud in joy" moment of the season. Clutch hitting is a huge part of any team, and Monroe is easily the Tigers' best bet to come through in clutch situations, as we saw repeatedly last year and now hopefully, that trend is starting again.

Another beautiful performance from Justin Verlander yesterday, holding the O's scoreless over 7 innings of work. He allowed just three hits and struck out five and has still not allowed an earned run so far this season in 13 innings of work, but still doesn't have a victory to show for it. This isn't his fault of course, on a night when the Orioles couldn't touch Verlander, the Tigs just didn't produce until Monroe's blast in the 12th.

It was good to see the bullpen not fuck the game up for once. Fernando Rodney pitched two shaky, but ultimately scoreless, innings and didn't let Leyland get the opportunity to put Jason Grilli in, even if he was warming up in the pen. Wilfredo Ledezma pitched the 10th and 11th and ended up getting the win. Bobby Seay was the only sore spot, balking in the Orioles' only run in the bottom half of the 12th before Todd Jones came on to get the save.

What was disappointing to me about this game was Detroit's inability to put 14 runs up in the 10th off of Jamie Walker. He said some douche bag things in the paper the other day about how he wouldn't treat any of his ex-teammates kindly and would knock them down if he had to, so it would have been nice to see the loss come at his expense. Plus he sucks.

I would like all of us to take a moment out to remember Placido Polanco's eight game hit streak to start the season, which ended yesterday with an 0-6 performance. I guess that was building after his start of the year. I would also like to thank Brandon Inge for getting a hit and making it so I don't have to murder him on the next home stand.

Check back later today for the preview of tonight's game.

On Location

Coming to you live from my friend Jeff's laptop on the opposite end of campus, it's time for the preview! Pretty shitty day in East Lansing, hope it's warm where you're at.

A very winnable game for the Tigers today as they send out Justin Verlander to face the O's. Verlander looked good in his first start of the year against KC on Friday, but came away with no decision as the bullpen threw the game away in the final innings. Still trying to get a read on Justin to see if there's any sign of the ol' Sophomore Slump, which straight up frightens me. The Mark Fydrich scenario also scares me. Just pray that Verlander holds it all together and keeps the same form he had in the first three-quarters of last season.

Baltimore sends Adam Loewen to the mound against the Tigs today. I've never heard of Loewen, never seen him pitched, didn't even know he existed. This is going to be his first start of his career against Detroit. He's 1-0 so far on the season, shutting down the New York Yankees in his first start, allowing just two runs in five innings of work in a 5-2 Oriole victory. This'll be a chance for some of the Tigers' right-handed bats to get on track against a lefty, seeing that, as a team, they're only batting .185 on the season.

Last night's game featured a few plays by the Orioles that cost them the game, like a missed double play and a single turned double that never was. The Tigs capitalized on those plays and they need to have that same approach over and over again, if they're going to keep playing the way they are. The only game this season that the Tigs have truly deserved to win the whole way was the 10-9 defeat of the Blue Jays, and even then they almost gave the game away. But if Verlander comes out throwing fire like he usually does, their chances for today look pretty good.

Oh and if Brandon Inge doesn't get his first hit tonight, providing he plays of course, I'm going to fucking explode.

Why Does No One Talk About This?

Roger Clemens does steroids. Take a look at this from Deadspin.com. Clemens serves a 50 game suspension at the beginning of the season every year so the league office won't tarnish his career? Sounds feasible.

Vance Wilson Won't Need Surgery

In news-that-happened-before-the-game-but-I'm-getting-to-now, Vance Wilson won't need surgery, meaning Tiger fans should expect to see him in the line up in about a month or so, as he still needs time to rebuild his arm strength, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Keeping with the theme of the catching position, Rod and Mario talked a little bit after the game about the foul tip that Pudge took off his toe in the fourth inning, which may play a factor in moving his off-day up. It was reported by FSN Detroit that Leyland was planning on resting him Thursday in Toronto, but tomorrow might be preferable, especially if Rodriguez wakes up still smarting from it tomorrow morning.

Gum Time Runs The World

Well, well, well, look at the big arm on Nate. Steadily emerging as the most dominant pitcher on the Tigers' staff so far this year, Nate Robertson had a terrific start today. He shut out the Orioles through 7 and 1/3, and completely owned the Baltimore line up. He pushes his record to 2-0 so far, and is looking like the pitching machine that he could have been last year had he got some run support.

The game really turned on a throwing error by Brian Roberts in the sixth inning that allowed the Tigers to score what would become the winning run when the ball hopped past first baseman Kevin Millar and into the stands. It was going to be an inning-ending double play, and it ended up costing the Orioles the game. Big kudos to Magglio Ordonez who was hustling down the line the entire way and was going to make it a tough call for the first base umpire, regardless of the throw. Mags gets a lot of shit for not showing enough effort, but he definitely did there and it turned the game for good. The Tigs turned two double plays to get Nate-o out of some troubles, just showing what a good DP combination can do for a team.

The Tigers' defense was also impressive today, with several sparkling plays being made by the seven men behind Robertson and the other Tiger pitchers. Curtis Granderson made a real great play, getting over to cut off a drive to left-center off the bat of Miguel Tejada and firing a great throw that nailed Tejada at second by a solid ten feet. The play that ended the game, Placido Polanco's dive to his right and throw to first to get Jason Markakis, was also of highlight reel caliber. Not only did it end the game, but it didn't allow Tejada to come back up to the plate as the tying run. Neifi Fucking Perez also made a great play in the first, bare handing a ball and gunning Melvin Mora at first base.

The bats also showed up a bit for the Tigers today, with Granderson, Polanco, and Carlos Guillen all going 2-3. These three had six of the Tigers' eight hits, and Polanco getting an RBI off of a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning that pretty much sealed the win. Hell, even Neifi Fucking Perez got a hit in his first game of the year, which is one more than the man he replaced (the carcass formerly known as Brandon Inge). Maybe if Inge shaved the shit stain beneath his chin he'd be able to hit again.

After the game, Todd Jones was being interviewed and, after being told that his team has followed every loss with a win, said "Well, that's .500 and that's not good enough." Truer words have not been spoken, Jonesy. It's already becoming an emotional roller coaster of a season, just look a few posts down at last night's post. It'd be nice to see the luck start changing and seeing these guys get on a long roll of wins and get their confidence nice and solidified.

Jaret Wright Looks For Redemption

Who doesn't remember Game 4 of the ALDS last year? A dazzling display of Tiger offense, Jeremy Bonderman's complete bitch slap of "The Greatest Line Up Ever Assembled", and the raucous post-game celebration. But guess who started that game for the Yanks? One Jaret Wright, who faces the Tigs again today, this time in a Baltimore Orioles uniform.

Wright had a bunch of shoulder problem two years ago, but had a decent season last year, and he was supposedly healthy in the playoffs when the Tigers straight up tattooed the guy and ran him out after just 3 innings. It was beautiful. He's described as a "pressure pitcher" by Baltimore's manager Sam Perlozzo (who I'm pretty sure ran a rival family in The Godfather). I'd agree, except on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. Wright had a few good starts in the playoffs in 1997 when he was a ROOKIE leading the Cleveland Indians to a soul-crushing defeat in the World Series, which was beautiful. It's ten years later now, and Wright hasn't followed that success up with anything resembling a solid major league career.

The Cats send Nate Robertson to the mound today, making his second start of the year. Hopefully he doesn't have to sweat out the win, like he did last Wednesday when the bullpen nearly gave away the 9-2 lead he left the game with. It'd be nice to see Nate-o hold the Birds to a similar run total in today's game, seeing as the Tiger bats only strike once every few games.

It's getting to the point where the lack of production from some of last year's stalwarts is getting disturbing. Looking at the players who got extensions in the off-season, two of them (Brandon Inge and Carlos Guillen) are batting a combined .217. And Guillen is the one batting .217. Looking around the line up, Craig Monroe is at a blistering .176, Gary Sheffield is blazing along at .143, Sean Casey is straight up on fire at .200, even Curtis Granderson, who started out hotter than hell, is at .292. Something really, really needs to change in these guys if this month is going to be successful. Getting out of April with a record above .500 has always been a chore for the Tigs, but this year it's going to be a close call.

A win today would be nice. A convincing win would be even better. It's the Orioles man. The Orioles.