As I was standing and applauding for the majority of the fifth inning yesterday at Comerica Park, the magnitude of what was happening really hit me. This Detroit Tiger team had always played, for the past year or so, like a happy ball club that was ready to go out and enjoy the game. The Tiger team we saw yesterday was an angry team- they were looking to kick some ass. And that they did.
Before I get to the performances at the plate, I'm going to take a look at the giant kid on the mound. Andrew Miller truly impressed with his first major league start yesterday, going six strong innings, allowing four hits, no runs, and striking out two. Miller was rolling through everyone in the St. Louis line up except for the Pujols, Encarnacion, and Rolen trio. Other than those three, it was one-two-three. Between his stuff and his intimidating presence on the mound (the dude looks like he's standing on stilts! He's huge!), Miller is going to be a force in this league.
The moment that turned the tide of the entire game was Gary Sheffield's eighth home run of the year in the bottom of the first. He hit that ball like a man possessed- it would still be going if the left-field seats didn't get in the way. Fast forward to the fifth inning and it became a waterfall of hits and runs.
Sean Casey had one helluva game yesterday, going 4-5 with two RBIs. Placido Polanco had one helluva game yesterday going 3-4 with three RBIs. Magglio Ordonez had one helluva game going 3-4 with an RBI (and a great shot the other way for a homer. The man is on.) These three sparked the line up to totally beat the Cardinals into submission. Sure, it looks like beating up on a bad team, but you know what? These guys deserve it after the way they played in the World Series.
Just a fun game to watch. Except for Jason Grilli coming in and promptly giving up two runs. Way to work. But then again, what do we expect from this guy at this point?
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
One Loss and One More
Obviously, last night's game got rained out leading to a day-night doubleheader today, which the Tigs dropped the first leg of 2-1. The next game is roughly in an hour as Curt Schilling takes on Chad Durbin (talk about a mismatch).
Julian Tavarez was completely on today, allowing just one run over seven innings. The Tiger bats were silenced as Tavarez won his first game in his last four tries. Tavarez's ERA dropped a full run in the game from 6.60 to 5.59.
Zach Miner was the surprise starter for the Tigs, since Mike Maroth was apparently sick. Miner got up at 4:15 for a flight into Boston and was told he was starting as he got to the ballpark. All things considered, he pitched well, only allowing two runs and six hits.
Kevin Youkilis stayed hot for the BoSox, as he drove in the winning run to continue a 10 game hitting streak. Manny Ramirez singled to make it 1-0 in the first.
The story of the game for the Tigs would be missed opportunities. After Placido Polanco drove in the only run for the Tigers in the fifth, Tavarez walked Gary Sheffield to load the bases for Magglio Ordonez. Mags promptly flied out to end the inning and the Tigers' chances for victory. Between Tavarez and the Boston bullpen, no more Tigers were allowed to reach base after that missed chance.
Julian Tavarez was completely on today, allowing just one run over seven innings. The Tiger bats were silenced as Tavarez won his first game in his last four tries. Tavarez's ERA dropped a full run in the game from 6.60 to 5.59.
Zach Miner was the surprise starter for the Tigs, since Mike Maroth was apparently sick. Miner got up at 4:15 for a flight into Boston and was told he was starting as he got to the ballpark. All things considered, he pitched well, only allowing two runs and six hits.
Kevin Youkilis stayed hot for the BoSox, as he drove in the winning run to continue a 10 game hitting streak. Manny Ramirez singled to make it 1-0 in the first.
The story of the game for the Tigs would be missed opportunities. After Placido Polanco drove in the only run for the Tigers in the fifth, Tavarez walked Gary Sheffield to load the bases for Magglio Ordonez. Mags promptly flied out to end the inning and the Tigers' chances for victory. Between Tavarez and the Boston bullpen, no more Tigers were allowed to reach base after that missed chance.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The Kid's A Stopper
Justin Verlander stole the show in today's 7-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox to even the series at a game a piece and stop the Tigers two game losing skid. Verlander improved to 4-1, going 7 and 2/3 allowing just two runs and allowed just six hits on his way to the victory.
The best part about the game for me was Verlander's exit. On his 120th pitch (a little much for this early in the year, don't you think Leyland?), Kevin Youkilis took Justin deep over the center field wall. Leyland went out and made the change immediately afterwards, and as Justin strode off the field, he was given a standing ovation from the Red Sox faithful. This is why Boston is a great sports town- though their team was just shut down for the better part of eight innings, they still appreciated the job he did and congratulated him on it. Classy move by the spectators at Fenway.
Magglio Ordonez and Brandon Inge went deep for the Tigs today. Magglio extended his dominance over Tim Wakefield, now batting 15-33 against him for his career. When Mags and Gary Sheffield (1-4 with two runs scored tonight) started to get hot, this batting line up really seemed to turn around. Pudge Rodriguez also had another strong game, going 3-4 and scoring from second on a Craig Monroe single and being genuinely fired up after sliding in safe. So fired up that he let loose a giant scream and a fist pump that got him boos from the Fenway faithful. Gotta love it.
Big big game from Verlander tonight though, and it shows a lot about him. He went into one of the best hitter's parks in the majors and completely shut down one of hte league's best hitting teams for nearly eight full innings. It's the type of thing that a true ace does. From the looks of things, Jeremy Bonderman has been marked as the ace of the future. But if Verlander stays on the same learning curve that he's on now-- and stays healthy, knock on wood-- then does he become the ace of the present? Certainly performed like one today.
The Tigs seem to be doing okay on this big test in the schedule. Goal- 8-8. Currently- 3-2.
The best part about the game for me was Verlander's exit. On his 120th pitch (a little much for this early in the year, don't you think Leyland?), Kevin Youkilis took Justin deep over the center field wall. Leyland went out and made the change immediately afterwards, and as Justin strode off the field, he was given a standing ovation from the Red Sox faithful. This is why Boston is a great sports town- though their team was just shut down for the better part of eight innings, they still appreciated the job he did and congratulated him on it. Classy move by the spectators at Fenway.
Magglio Ordonez and Brandon Inge went deep for the Tigs today. Magglio extended his dominance over Tim Wakefield, now batting 15-33 against him for his career. When Mags and Gary Sheffield (1-4 with two runs scored tonight) started to get hot, this batting line up really seemed to turn around. Pudge Rodriguez also had another strong game, going 3-4 and scoring from second on a Craig Monroe single and being genuinely fired up after sliding in safe. So fired up that he let loose a giant scream and a fist pump that got him boos from the Fenway faithful. Gotta love it.
Big big game from Verlander tonight though, and it shows a lot about him. He went into one of the best hitter's parks in the majors and completely shut down one of hte league's best hitting teams for nearly eight full innings. It's the type of thing that a true ace does. From the looks of things, Jeremy Bonderman has been marked as the ace of the future. But if Verlander stays on the same learning curve that he's on now-- and stays healthy, knock on wood-- then does he become the ace of the present? Certainly performed like one today.
The Tigs seem to be doing okay on this big test in the schedule. Goal- 8-8. Currently- 3-2.
(The picture is the view from my dad's seats in the lower deck of Fenway, since he attended tonight's game and not last night's, as I incorrectly stated yesterday.)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Two Days, Two Lopsided Losses
After keeping the game close for the better part of 7 innings tonight, the Tigers let the Red Sox line up explode for four runs in the eighth inning, sealing a 7-1 loss. Daisuke Matsuzaka went the distance for his first complete game in a Boston uniform, looking like he was worth all of $103 million dollars.
Nate Robertson was once again beaten up as he allowed 11 hits for his highest total so far this year. The loss drops him to 3-3. With a run in the third, fourth, and fifth, the Sawx got all they needed from their offense to win the game since Dice-K managed to baffle the batting order enough so that, other than Curtis Granderson's solo homer in the 3rd, there were no runs to be had in support of Nate.
Bobby Seay had his first real bad appearance of the year, allowing four runs in the eighth. There was always a chance for the Tigers to get into this game until that point, but that sealed the game.
The real story of the game is Matsuzaka though. He allowed just six hits and made really only one bad pitch on the Granderson homer. He induced 16 ground balls, which is really just a formula for victory in and of itself and had five strike outs.
Something that may be of concern is how many hits the rotation and bullpen have been giving up in the past few games. In three of the last six games now, there have been over 15 hits for the opposition, with Boston putting up 16 tonight. There's no hope for victory getting that kind of production out of your starters and relievers.
Big ups to newcomer Tim Byrdak, a lefty who seems to be coming up to take Joel Zumaya's spot in the bullpen for this series due to Boston's reliance on left-handed hitting. Byrdy had two innings of scoreless relief and kept the Tigs in the game until Bobby Seay crapped the bed in the eighth.
Thankfully, the Tigers have Justin Verlander taking the mound tomorrow, so maybe there won't be as much of a problem with hits as there was tonight. Tim Wakefield gets the start for the Sox.
Nate Robertson was once again beaten up as he allowed 11 hits for his highest total so far this year. The loss drops him to 3-3. With a run in the third, fourth, and fifth, the Sawx got all they needed from their offense to win the game since Dice-K managed to baffle the batting order enough so that, other than Curtis Granderson's solo homer in the 3rd, there were no runs to be had in support of Nate.
Bobby Seay had his first real bad appearance of the year, allowing four runs in the eighth. There was always a chance for the Tigers to get into this game until that point, but that sealed the game.
The real story of the game is Matsuzaka though. He allowed just six hits and made really only one bad pitch on the Granderson homer. He induced 16 ground balls, which is really just a formula for victory in and of itself and had five strike outs.
Something that may be of concern is how many hits the rotation and bullpen have been giving up in the past few games. In three of the last six games now, there have been over 15 hits for the opposition, with Boston putting up 16 tonight. There's no hope for victory getting that kind of production out of your starters and relievers.
Big ups to newcomer Tim Byrdak, a lefty who seems to be coming up to take Joel Zumaya's spot in the bullpen for this series due to Boston's reliance on left-handed hitting. Byrdy had two innings of scoreless relief and kept the Tigs in the game until Bobby Seay crapped the bed in the eighth.
Thankfully, the Tigers have Justin Verlander taking the mound tomorrow, so maybe there won't be as much of a problem with hits as there was tonight. Tim Wakefield gets the start for the Sox.
Monday, May 14, 2007
No Dice-K
Tonight marks the first time the Tigers will get a look at the incredibly expensive Daisuke Matsuzaka in the opening game of a four game set at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.
The Sawx are eight games up in their division over the New York Yankees, after coming from five runs down yesterday to beat Baltimore 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth. The Tigs meanwhile, look to recover from the shellacking they received yesterday at the hands of the Minnesota Twins, 16-4.
The Tigers send Nate Robertson to the mound, hoping to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since April 27th and 28th against the Twins. Nate had a rough start last time out against Seattle, losing to drop his record to 3-2.
Matsuzaka is 4-2 this season with a 4.80 ERA and has shown flashes of the pitcher the Red Sox are paying him to be. However, he's running into a buzzsaw of a line up that's looking for redemption after yesterday's dismal performance. In the past nine games, Gary Sheffield has led the charge batting .361 with four homers and nine RBIs. At Fenway Park, he's batting .325 for his career and has six homers and 26 RBIs.
Keys to the Game-
The Sawx are eight games up in their division over the New York Yankees, after coming from five runs down yesterday to beat Baltimore 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth. The Tigs meanwhile, look to recover from the shellacking they received yesterday at the hands of the Minnesota Twins, 16-4.
The Tigers send Nate Robertson to the mound, hoping to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since April 27th and 28th against the Twins. Nate had a rough start last time out against Seattle, losing to drop his record to 3-2.
Matsuzaka is 4-2 this season with a 4.80 ERA and has shown flashes of the pitcher the Red Sox are paying him to be. However, he's running into a buzzsaw of a line up that's looking for redemption after yesterday's dismal performance. In the past nine games, Gary Sheffield has led the charge batting .361 with four homers and nine RBIs. At Fenway Park, he's batting .325 for his career and has six homers and 26 RBIs.
Keys to the Game-
- Figure out Dice K and make him work. This is the first time any of these guys will have faced Matsuzaka, so knocking him around a bit would be nice.
- Keep the Sox off the board early. Manny Ramirez has been going insane recently, so it's important to keep him quiet and the rest of the Red Sox so the Fenway faithful don't get behind their boys too quickly.
- My dad makes it out alive. My dad is going to be at the game tonight in all his Tigers gear, so if he makes it out without getting a beer poured on him or anything then things should be all right.
A Series Win Tempered
Even though the Tigs took 2 of 3 from the Twins over the weekend, yesterday's game was an absolute embarrassment. In front of a national TV audience, the Tigers got totally shelled by Minnesota and Torii Hunter in particular, who went for a homer and 7 RBIs.
The first two games of this series were just fantastic, as the Tigs took it to the Twins early and often. Mike Maroth and Chad Durbin both pitched outstanding in their respective appearances, which means more good things for the rotation. If the last two starters can keep winning ball games, then there really won't be too many games where the boys have no chance to win because of a crappy starter on the mound.
Virgil Vasquez looked like he was pitching scared yesterday, which is understandable. He left the ball up too much and got rocked all the way back to Toledo. This was just a spot start for him, which gives a little bit of hope that it won't be quite as bad if he gets called up in September or something.
This series was the start of the first real nitty gritty part of the season. In the next few series they are away at Boston (starting a four game set tonight), home for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of the United States, etc, and then home for a set with Cleveland. Including this weekend's series, that's 16 games against the top caliber talent in the American League. My Cleveland Friend and I discussed this stretch and we both agreed that if the Tigs come out of these 16 games with an 8-8 record or above, then only good things can happen for them.
Taking two of three at the HHHomerdome is never a bad thing, especially taking a game against Johan Santana, which rarely happens. It's a good start to this stretch of games, but there are other tests still looming.
The first two games of this series were just fantastic, as the Tigs took it to the Twins early and often. Mike Maroth and Chad Durbin both pitched outstanding in their respective appearances, which means more good things for the rotation. If the last two starters can keep winning ball games, then there really won't be too many games where the boys have no chance to win because of a crappy starter on the mound.
Virgil Vasquez looked like he was pitching scared yesterday, which is understandable. He left the ball up too much and got rocked all the way back to Toledo. This was just a spot start for him, which gives a little bit of hope that it won't be quite as bad if he gets called up in September or something.
This series was the start of the first real nitty gritty part of the season. In the next few series they are away at Boston (starting a four game set tonight), home for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of the United States, etc, and then home for a set with Cleveland. Including this weekend's series, that's 16 games against the top caliber talent in the American League. My Cleveland Friend and I discussed this stretch and we both agreed that if the Tigs come out of these 16 games with an 8-8 record or above, then only good things can happen for them.
Taking two of three at the HHHomerdome is never a bad thing, especially taking a game against Johan Santana, which rarely happens. It's a good start to this stretch of games, but there are other tests still looming.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Homerdome Hop
The Tigers travel to Minnesota tonight to take on the slumping Twins, who have lost 3 of their last 5. The Twins lost last year's AL batting champion Joe Mauer to the DL, and have been slipping ever since.
However, if someone is going to stop that type of slid, it's Johan Santana, who the Twinkies send to the mound against Mike Maroth tonight. He won 2-1 over Boston on Saturday, and has won four of his last six starts. However, one of those two non-wins were against the Tigers, when the Tigs used a combination of long balls and tough at-bats to get the win over the Twins on a Brandon Inge walk-off.
Mike Maroth, the Tigers' good luck charm apparently, takes the mound tonight looking for his first victory in a month. He's 2-0 right now, but has not figured in a decision since winning April 12. But, the Tigs are still 6-0 when Maroth takes the mound this season.
Yesterday's win was a good one to show some testicular fortitude for this team, after being handled totally the night before, 9-2. To bounce back the way they did showed a lot of heart and drive, and they're going to need all of those qualities to win at the Metrodome, consistently one of the loudest and toughest parks to play in in the bigs.
Keys to the Game-
However, if someone is going to stop that type of slid, it's Johan Santana, who the Twinkies send to the mound against Mike Maroth tonight. He won 2-1 over Boston on Saturday, and has won four of his last six starts. However, one of those two non-wins were against the Tigers, when the Tigs used a combination of long balls and tough at-bats to get the win over the Twins on a Brandon Inge walk-off.
Mike Maroth, the Tigers' good luck charm apparently, takes the mound tonight looking for his first victory in a month. He's 2-0 right now, but has not figured in a decision since winning April 12. But, the Tigs are still 6-0 when Maroth takes the mound this season.
Yesterday's win was a good one to show some testicular fortitude for this team, after being handled totally the night before, 9-2. To bounce back the way they did showed a lot of heart and drive, and they're going to need all of those qualities to win at the Metrodome, consistently one of the loudest and toughest parks to play in in the bigs.
Keys to the Game-
- Contain Torrii Hunter. Although he went 0-4 yesterday, Hunter just finished a 23 game hit streak, which is the longest in the majors this year. With Mauer out of the line up, the Twins need a big bat to come and fill that spot, and Hunter looks ready to do just that.
- Get out in front early. When the Twins are winning, the Metrodome can become a loud and rowdy place. Silencing that crowd and taking them out of the game early will be a huge boost.
- Make Santana work. Gotta make Johan throw a bunch of pitches, or else he's going to just eat the Tigers alive. He's 10-2 lifetime against our boys with a sub 3.00 ERA. Making him work, getting him tired, and getting to the bullpen early is going to be completely key to getting out of this game with the W.
A Break In The Delay
Sorry for the break in posts, just a couple of days of busyness and exhaustion.
Wednesday's game was shit. Nothing went right, the pitching was bad, the hitting went away, the defense sucked. About everything that could go wrong did go wrong. All good things come to an end, but you know what? Winning eight straight games is pretty damn good still. Baek just came out and shut the Tigers down for his first win of the year, so a belated congratulations to him.
Now yesterday's game- that was a ball game. A day game with 37,000 people in attendance and a former Tiger on the mound. And the best part? The Tigs beat the living hell out of Jeff Weaver. Wasn't even close, the guy didn't stand a chance. Magglio's home run in the first was a straight moon shot, gone from the second he hit it. Mike Rabelo, after I got on his ass during introductions talking about how much he sucked, had a great game going 3-4 with a triple. Kid had the best day of his career and now can go back down to Toledo with some hope for the future when Vance Wilson comes back up.
Not such great news after the game when word came out that Jeremy Bonderman will miss his next start with a cut on his right index finger. Like I said on Tuesday, the impression I got from the one look at the TV when I was buying food was that his finger was definitely bothering him. According to Mack Avenue Tigers, Virgil Vasquez will be getting the call up to take Bondo's spot in the rotation on Sunday night in Minnesota. It really sucks for Virgil that his first major league start comes in the Homerdome in front of a national TV audience.
Vasquez has been very good in Toledo this year, going 4-2 with a 2.88 ERA and 40 strike outs in 50 innings. So at the very least he'll be entertaining to watch.
Joel Zumaya's surgery went, reportedly, very well yesterday.
And that gets us to today's game against the Twins, which gets its post.
Wednesday's game was shit. Nothing went right, the pitching was bad, the hitting went away, the defense sucked. About everything that could go wrong did go wrong. All good things come to an end, but you know what? Winning eight straight games is pretty damn good still. Baek just came out and shut the Tigers down for his first win of the year, so a belated congratulations to him.
Now yesterday's game- that was a ball game. A day game with 37,000 people in attendance and a former Tiger on the mound. And the best part? The Tigs beat the living hell out of Jeff Weaver. Wasn't even close, the guy didn't stand a chance. Magglio's home run in the first was a straight moon shot, gone from the second he hit it. Mike Rabelo, after I got on his ass during introductions talking about how much he sucked, had a great game going 3-4 with a triple. Kid had the best day of his career and now can go back down to Toledo with some hope for the future when Vance Wilson comes back up.
Not such great news after the game when word came out that Jeremy Bonderman will miss his next start with a cut on his right index finger. Like I said on Tuesday, the impression I got from the one look at the TV when I was buying food was that his finger was definitely bothering him. According to Mack Avenue Tigers, Virgil Vasquez will be getting the call up to take Bondo's spot in the rotation on Sunday night in Minnesota. It really sucks for Virgil that his first major league start comes in the Homerdome in front of a national TV audience.
Vasquez has been very good in Toledo this year, going 4-2 with a 2.88 ERA and 40 strike outs in 50 innings. So at the very least he'll be entertaining to watch.
Joel Zumaya's surgery went, reportedly, very well yesterday.
And that gets us to today's game against the Twins, which gets its post.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Nine Sounds Fine
Through the rain and the gray skies, the Tigers will try for nine straight wins tonight against the Seattle Mariners. This one has a good chance of suffering some delays or even being postponed, but at the time being it is still on.
The biggest key during this run of eight wins for the Tigs has been the increased offense coming from the bats. 14 hits yesterday added to the 17 from Sunday's game give the Tigs 31 hits in two games. It seemed like an entire week was needed to get the Tigs to get 31 hits earlier this year, but here we are- back on top of the division with the longest winning streak in the majors.
It's worth noting that the last time the Tigers won nine in a row, they ended up winning the World Series. They did it twice in 1984.
Looking to pick up the W today will be Nate Robertson, bringing in his 3-1 record on the season. Nate pitched well last week against Baltimore, allowing just two runs over seven innings when the Tigs won 3-2 on Craig Monroe's late home run.
For the Mariners, relative unknown Cha Seung Baek will take the mound. No Tiger has ever faced Baek, but hopefully they can keep his recent struggles going after he lasted just 3 and 2/3 against the Yankees on Friday. Baek comes in with an astronomical ERA of 7.53, and judging by the results of last night's game when Horacio Ramirez's 6+ ERA went up a full run during the game.
Felix Hernandez, the young Seattle phenom, was originally scheduled to pitch tonight's game but he has since been put on the 15 day DL with a strained muscle in his elbow.
Keys to the Game-
The biggest key during this run of eight wins for the Tigs has been the increased offense coming from the bats. 14 hits yesterday added to the 17 from Sunday's game give the Tigs 31 hits in two games. It seemed like an entire week was needed to get the Tigs to get 31 hits earlier this year, but here we are- back on top of the division with the longest winning streak in the majors.
It's worth noting that the last time the Tigers won nine in a row, they ended up winning the World Series. They did it twice in 1984.
Looking to pick up the W today will be Nate Robertson, bringing in his 3-1 record on the season. Nate pitched well last week against Baltimore, allowing just two runs over seven innings when the Tigs won 3-2 on Craig Monroe's late home run.
For the Mariners, relative unknown Cha Seung Baek will take the mound. No Tiger has ever faced Baek, but hopefully they can keep his recent struggles going after he lasted just 3 and 2/3 against the Yankees on Friday. Baek comes in with an astronomical ERA of 7.53, and judging by the results of last night's game when Horacio Ramirez's 6+ ERA went up a full run during the game.
Felix Hernandez, the young Seattle phenom, was originally scheduled to pitch tonight's game but he has since been put on the 15 day DL with a strained muscle in his elbow.
Keys to the Game-
- Rocking Baek early and often will almost certainly translate into a win for the Tigs today. The Tigs got three runs to even the score yesterday and that just opened the floodgates for the later innings.
- No first inning runs. Usually it only happens during Bondo's starts and not Nate-o's, but even still playing from behind is much more difficult than playing with a lead.
- Rough game for Placido Polanco yesterday, going 0-5 for the game. It's a good sign when your best hitter can have an 0-5 day and the team still wins, but I'd rather get a multi-hit game out of Polly than nothing at all.
Web Gems and Long Balls
Eight in a row! The Tigs equaled the longest winning streak from last year's successful season and matched longest streak in the bigs this year by beating Seattle tonight.
Sitting up in the nosebleeds, it was a very entertaining game, even if we Tiger fans had to suffer through yet another bumpy first inning from Jeremy Bonderman. Bondo gave up a three run homer that semi-stifiled the 30,000+ fans who came out to the park. However, the second inning allowed us to breathe a bit easier when Magglio Ordonez, Omar Infante, and Brandon Inge all had doubles to bring the Tigs even.
For as well as Bonderman pitched early in the season, after his start against the Angels, when he allowed six runs to cross the plate, he has pitched the exact opposite. While waiting in line for some hot fries, I caught him wincing on TV, so I'm assuming the blister was bothering him yet again. That needs to get healed up real fast for him to be effective. But, since that Angels start, Bondo has two wins while letting in a combined nine runs, which seems more than he allowed all year to that point. Regardless, he's winning and that's what matters.
Infante straight lit the place up tonight. He started in centerfield, as he does when a lefty starts, and went 3-4, falling a homer shy of the cycle and driving in four runs, which was a career high for him. Gary Sheffield picked up that homer for him though, hitting a bomb in the seventh which was just gone from the start. He doesn't really hit majestic homers- they are just line drives that are out in a hurry.
The best part of the game, though, was the ninth inning with two amazing catches by Craig Monroe and Magglio Ordonez. Both balls looked liked base hits all the way, but some how these lumbering corner outfielders got to them and took our breath away with some great effort. The second out, a long drive to center that Curtis Granderson tracked down, was one of those balls that make me glad to be a Tiger fan, because in any other park that's the game tying home run. I wish I was keeping score so I could right down 7-8-9 in those last three spots on the card.
Great atmosphere in the upper deck tonight, with what seemed like a lot of college kids going to their first games of the year. It says something about what winning can do for a ball club when 30,000 fans show up on a Tuesday night to watch a team that would have been lucky to draw 18,000 on the same night two years ago. As well as the Wings and the Pistons are doing, Detroit is still, and always will be, a baseball town above all, and it's just great to see the fans coming out like they are.
Sitting up in the nosebleeds, it was a very entertaining game, even if we Tiger fans had to suffer through yet another bumpy first inning from Jeremy Bonderman. Bondo gave up a three run homer that semi-stifiled the 30,000+ fans who came out to the park. However, the second inning allowed us to breathe a bit easier when Magglio Ordonez, Omar Infante, and Brandon Inge all had doubles to bring the Tigs even.
For as well as Bonderman pitched early in the season, after his start against the Angels, when he allowed six runs to cross the plate, he has pitched the exact opposite. While waiting in line for some hot fries, I caught him wincing on TV, so I'm assuming the blister was bothering him yet again. That needs to get healed up real fast for him to be effective. But, since that Angels start, Bondo has two wins while letting in a combined nine runs, which seems more than he allowed all year to that point. Regardless, he's winning and that's what matters.
Infante straight lit the place up tonight. He started in centerfield, as he does when a lefty starts, and went 3-4, falling a homer shy of the cycle and driving in four runs, which was a career high for him. Gary Sheffield picked up that homer for him though, hitting a bomb in the seventh which was just gone from the start. He doesn't really hit majestic homers- they are just line drives that are out in a hurry.
The best part of the game, though, was the ninth inning with two amazing catches by Craig Monroe and Magglio Ordonez. Both balls looked liked base hits all the way, but some how these lumbering corner outfielders got to them and took our breath away with some great effort. The second out, a long drive to center that Curtis Granderson tracked down, was one of those balls that make me glad to be a Tiger fan, because in any other park that's the game tying home run. I wish I was keeping score so I could right down 7-8-9 in those last three spots on the card.
Great atmosphere in the upper deck tonight, with what seemed like a lot of college kids going to their first games of the year. It says something about what winning can do for a ball club when 30,000 fans show up on a Tuesday night to watch a team that would have been lucky to draw 18,000 on the same night two years ago. As well as the Wings and the Pistons are doing, Detroit is still, and always will be, a baseball town above all, and it's just great to see the fans coming out like they are.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
What A Day
A beautiful day for baseball! 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky makes me almost wonder why I'm in here writing about the Tigers. Then I realize it's the Tigers and I'm okay about it.
Regardless, Seattle comes to town today for the start of a three game series at Comerica Park against the Tigs. Jeremy Bonderman takes the mound tonight for the Tigers, looking for his second win on the year.
Bondo has been recovering from a blister on his right index finger, the reason why his start was pushed back a day from Sunday, giving him a chance to heal. He didn't look great in his last start against Baltimore, allowing nine hits and four runs, but he still managed to get his first win of the year.
Going against him will be Horacio Ramirez and his 6.64 ERA. It'd be nice to blow this guy up for seven or eight tonight. Hopefully, the Tigers didn't leave all their runs in Kansas City during Sunday's 13-4 victory.
I'm attempting to go to every game of this series, and tonight will be the first stop in that journey. Check back here after the game for the sights and sounds from Comerica Park.
Keys to the Game-
Regardless, Seattle comes to town today for the start of a three game series at Comerica Park against the Tigs. Jeremy Bonderman takes the mound tonight for the Tigers, looking for his second win on the year.
Bondo has been recovering from a blister on his right index finger, the reason why his start was pushed back a day from Sunday, giving him a chance to heal. He didn't look great in his last start against Baltimore, allowing nine hits and four runs, but he still managed to get his first win of the year.
Going against him will be Horacio Ramirez and his 6.64 ERA. It'd be nice to blow this guy up for seven or eight tonight. Hopefully, the Tigers didn't leave all their runs in Kansas City during Sunday's 13-4 victory.
I'm attempting to go to every game of this series, and tonight will be the first stop in that journey. Check back here after the game for the sights and sounds from Comerica Park.
Keys to the Game-
- Magglio had a rough game on Sunday, going 0-4, while the rest of the team pretty much all had more than one hit. It'd be nice to see him get hot again tonight and have a multi-hit game.
- Bondo shakes off the blister and gets at least a quality start. If the bats show up and he gets deep into the seventh or eighth, that should translate into a win.
- Don't put Jose Mesa into the game. Miss you Zoomer.
Monday, May 7, 2007
RUPTURED TENDON?! 12 WEEKS?!
Hot off the press from ESPN.com, news on Joel Zumaya:
12 weeks of being Zumaya-less? Given that everything goes according to plan, that puts him back at the end of July. Awful, awful news for the bullpen, but the important thing now is that Joel gets healthy as fully as possible. It would be absolutely awful to see this be a turning point in his career (knock on wood).
Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya is expected to be out for 12 weeks because of a ruptured tendon in his middle right finger.
"I thought maybe my knuckle cracked," he said Saturday. "I went to a curveball and I couldn't even grip the ball. I threw another fastball and it popped again, and a sharp pain ran through my finger. I called down and said, 'I need a trainer quick.'"
12 weeks of being Zumaya-less? Given that everything goes according to plan, that puts him back at the end of July. Awful, awful news for the bullpen, but the important thing now is that Joel gets healthy as fully as possible. It would be absolutely awful to see this be a turning point in his career (knock on wood).
The Off Day Report: The Weekend
Fantastic series win in KC, even if it meant a little bit too much drama on Friday and Saturday and too much rain on Sunday.
- Got everything I asked for from Justin Verlander on Friday. He looks just amazing this year, and he baffled Kansas City yet again, tossing shut out ball over seven innings. The confidence that he's taking to the mound every day is just staggering, and he's following up on it with some great performances.
- However, something that strikes a chord is Joel Zumaya going down with a finger strain. This is important enough that I should have interrupted the weekend hiatus to do a post just about this one incident, but I still didn't, if only because Sunday proved that the Tigs are a strong enough team that they'll probably be able to get by.
- Still, the thought of Jose Mesa having to come in and be the hold guy or the set-up guy is just frightening. If Fernando Rodney continues this little roll he's been on as of late, then he should do just fine. Mesa though, is another story.
- Saturday's game was a great gut-check game for the Tigs, being behind late and still rallying in the eighth inning for the win. Another big hit from Craig Monroe, who is definitely turning on the jets after going through an 0-19 slump at one point.
- May seems to definitely be the Tigers' month. After going 19-9 last May, they've won every game this month. After the rocky start to the season for some hitters (Sheffield, Monroe, Inge, Casey), the bats definitely seem to be hitting on all cylinders, as evidenced by the 17 hits yesterday.
- Speaking of yesterday's game, what an absolutely dominating performance. Monroe, Granderson, and Sheffield all went deep in the same inning and even Neifi Fucking Perez got in on the action, going deep in the eighth. Curtis ended up a double shy of the cycle, and Craig was a triple short. Just a great game to close out a sweep.
- Chad Durbin (DURBIN!) pitched very well also, allowing just two runs in his 7 and 2/3 innings of work. Just might have bought himself some more time up in the bigs. He might even be here to stay, although consistency would be appreciated.
- Saturday and Sunday's wins pulled the Tigers even with Cleveland for the lead in the AL Central for the first time since early April. It's good to be back up where the Tigers belong.
Seven games in a row, huh? Getting a third sweep at home during the next series against Seattle that starts tomorrow would be a huge step for this team. Either way, the baseball that the Tigers are playing right now is simply dominant. It's hard to see anyone getting in the way of this line-up and starting pitching, although losing Zumaya definitely hurts the bullpen. It's a big test to see if some of the guys back there can step up and fill his role, most likely Rodney.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Back To The Stomping Grounds
The Tigers head to Kansas City today, where they will start and finish a three game road trip before heading back home on Monday. After sweeping the Baltimore Orioles during the week, the Tigs look continue their recent hot streak, winners of five in a row, by beating up on the Royals who are sliding back into the perennial whipping boys that they usually are, nine games under five hundred at 10-19.
Justin Verlander heads to the mound today, looking to get his second win on the year. Justin got knocked around against Minny last week, so it'll be a big confidence booster for all of us to see him go out and bitch slap KC like he usually does. Life time, he is 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA against the Royals.
As hot as the Tiger bats have been recently, they should only get hotter coming into Kauffman Stadium for this three game set. Pudge Rodriguez is batting .348 against them so far this year, and launched a huge home run last time the Tigs played in this stadium to win a game for the Tigers in the top of the ninth. Gary Sheffield also should look to continue his recent trend of success, especially after going 4-4 against Baltimore on Wednesday.
Watching Sheffield in person is quite an experience. His swing is just that much more vicious, every ball he hits looks like it's either going to kill someone or go into the seats. Leyland earned his money giving Sheff a day off two weeks ago, since he has raised his batting average 10o points since then and has a hit in 7 of the 9 games since that game against Chicago.
Carlos Guillen is rumored to be coming back to the line-up today after sitting the last two games of the Baltimore series. Guillen is having shoulder problems right now, brought on by attempting to learn to throw the ball over-hand in spring training, instead of the three-quarter arm-slot that he almost always uses. Even though the Tigs won both games that he sat, I would rather have Carlos out there than Neifi Fucking Perez every day of the week. Here's hoping that Guillen is feeling better, at least well enough to play.
Keys to the Game-
Justin Verlander heads to the mound today, looking to get his second win on the year. Justin got knocked around against Minny last week, so it'll be a big confidence booster for all of us to see him go out and bitch slap KC like he usually does. Life time, he is 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA against the Royals.
As hot as the Tiger bats have been recently, they should only get hotter coming into Kauffman Stadium for this three game set. Pudge Rodriguez is batting .348 against them so far this year, and launched a huge home run last time the Tigs played in this stadium to win a game for the Tigers in the top of the ninth. Gary Sheffield also should look to continue his recent trend of success, especially after going 4-4 against Baltimore on Wednesday.
Watching Sheffield in person is quite an experience. His swing is just that much more vicious, every ball he hits looks like it's either going to kill someone or go into the seats. Leyland earned his money giving Sheff a day off two weeks ago, since he has raised his batting average 10o points since then and has a hit in 7 of the 9 games since that game against Chicago.
Carlos Guillen is rumored to be coming back to the line-up today after sitting the last two games of the Baltimore series. Guillen is having shoulder problems right now, brought on by attempting to learn to throw the ball over-hand in spring training, instead of the three-quarter arm-slot that he almost always uses. Even though the Tigs won both games that he sat, I would rather have Carlos out there than Neifi Fucking Perez every day of the week. Here's hoping that Guillen is feeling better, at least well enough to play.
Keys to the Game-
- Keep knocking pitchers around. Wins are wins, this is true, but one run games are a little close for comfort with all the confidence that I have in the Bullpen Bengals right now. Brian Bannister is the starter for KC tonight (who?), so he should be a prime target for some hard hit balls.
- Verlander quiets the KC line-up. It would be nice to see seven or eight innings of shut-out ball tonight, something that Justin didn't have last week at home. It's a big game from the stand point of Justin's mental state- if he gets shelled two straight times out, he might start to worry. But a big game tonight should silence those thoughts.
- Craig Monroe needs to keep hitting those clutch home runs like the big dog that he is. I love that man.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
What 2 Million Fans Paying For Admission Will Buy You
So yesterday's night game was the first game I've attended at Comerica Park this season, and it's interesting to see some of the changes that have taken place at the park.
Thumbs Up- Video board that goes along the area along the baselines between the 1st and 2nd levels. It definitely jazzes the park up a little bit, without making it too cheesy. This is becoming a staple around sports arenas now, and it's nice to have something that screams "NOISE!" now in nice blue and orange letters instead of black and yellow of the old board.
Thumbs Down- The price of my feast of an Italian Sausage and a Mountain Dew. A solid $8.75, which actually more than I paid to get into the park. 5 bucks for the sausage and $3.75 for the pop is just outrageous, mostly because the Mountain Dew is $1.25 at your local party store. However, as far as I know the rules about bringing unopened containers into the stadium hasn't changed, which means I'm never buying another Dew there. Ever.
Thumbs Up- My Italian Sausage. Fan-fucking-tastic. Not quite the level of the Yankee Stadium Italian Sausage, probably the greatest thing I've ever tasted, but it's still great. And the people working the sausage station were very friendly, which is always a plus.
Thumbs Down- The seats along the baselines still face the outfield and not home plate. If there was one absolute thing I could change about Comerica, it's that. It's hard to sit an entire game bending your body to face the game. Kind of sucks.
Thumbs Up- The new out-of-town scoreboard and new radar thing underneath the left field scoreboard. All digitalized and crap out-of-town board makes it possible to see both leagues scores at once, which is going to be nice when it gets down to the nitty gritty part of the season in the latter stages. The new radar gun scoreboard in left field not only gives the speed of the pitch, but gives the pitcher's pitch count too, which is handy.
All in all, Comerica Park improved, but the increased prices are going to be hell on the wallet over the course of a season, but if the Tigs keep winning, I think I'll be okay.
Thumbs Up- Video board that goes along the area along the baselines between the 1st and 2nd levels. It definitely jazzes the park up a little bit, without making it too cheesy. This is becoming a staple around sports arenas now, and it's nice to have something that screams "NOISE!" now in nice blue and orange letters instead of black and yellow of the old board.
Thumbs Down- The price of my feast of an Italian Sausage and a Mountain Dew. A solid $8.75, which actually more than I paid to get into the park. 5 bucks for the sausage and $3.75 for the pop is just outrageous, mostly because the Mountain Dew is $1.25 at your local party store. However, as far as I know the rules about bringing unopened containers into the stadium hasn't changed, which means I'm never buying another Dew there. Ever.
Thumbs Up- My Italian Sausage. Fan-fucking-tastic. Not quite the level of the Yankee Stadium Italian Sausage, probably the greatest thing I've ever tasted, but it's still great. And the people working the sausage station were very friendly, which is always a plus.
Thumbs Down- The seats along the baselines still face the outfield and not home plate. If there was one absolute thing I could change about Comerica, it's that. It's hard to sit an entire game bending your body to face the game. Kind of sucks.
Thumbs Up- The new out-of-town scoreboard and new radar thing underneath the left field scoreboard. All digitalized and crap out-of-town board makes it possible to see both leagues scores at once, which is going to be nice when it gets down to the nitty gritty part of the season in the latter stages. The new radar gun scoreboard in left field not only gives the speed of the pitch, but gives the pitcher's pitch count too, which is handy.
All in all, Comerica Park improved, but the increased prices are going to be hell on the wallet over the course of a season, but if the Tigs keep winning, I think I'll be okay.
Craig Monroe Is Cold Blooded
For the second night in a row, Craig Monroe provided the go-ahead home run that led to another Tigers victory, this time ensuring a sweep of the Orioles. Gary Sheffield also played a huge role in today's win, hitting a homer to put the Tigs up 1-0 and ending the day 4-4.
Nate Robertson took the win for the Tigers, pitching extremely well even while battling control issues. It's very rare to see Nate walk three, like he did today, however he still battled and left the game with the lead. Robertson leads all Tigers starters now with a record at 3-1.
In yet another confidence booster for the Tigs, the bullpen woes seem to be easing a little bit. After Bobby Seay and Joel Zumaya held down the game last night for Todd Jones to come in and nearly screw it up, but magically avoiding trouble, Jason Grilli and Fernando Rodney iced the game in the seventh and eighth. Though Grilli faced just one batter, he got Jay Payton to go down on strikes with the tying run at second. Rodney has looked great in his last four appearances, walking one and getting out of the eighth with no real trouble at all.
The turnaround Gary Sheffield is undergoing is incredible, and downright scary for the rest of the American League. He had a monster series against the Orioles, knocking two out of the park and having something like six hits in the three games, which is outstanding. In just about a week, his batting average has gone from the .120s to around .220 now, which is just great.
Sorry for the lack of a preview post for this game, I overslept and woke up just about 20 minutes before game time. Last night's experience at Comerica deserves its own post, since there have been some obvious changes at the ballpark that I'll talk about.
Nate Robertson took the win for the Tigers, pitching extremely well even while battling control issues. It's very rare to see Nate walk three, like he did today, however he still battled and left the game with the lead. Robertson leads all Tigers starters now with a record at 3-1.
In yet another confidence booster for the Tigs, the bullpen woes seem to be easing a little bit. After Bobby Seay and Joel Zumaya held down the game last night for Todd Jones to come in and nearly screw it up, but magically avoiding trouble, Jason Grilli and Fernando Rodney iced the game in the seventh and eighth. Though Grilli faced just one batter, he got Jay Payton to go down on strikes with the tying run at second. Rodney has looked great in his last four appearances, walking one and getting out of the eighth with no real trouble at all.
The turnaround Gary Sheffield is undergoing is incredible, and downright scary for the rest of the American League. He had a monster series against the Orioles, knocking two out of the park and having something like six hits in the three games, which is outstanding. In just about a week, his batting average has gone from the .120s to around .220 now, which is just great.
Sorry for the lack of a preview post for this game, I overslept and woke up just about 20 minutes before game time. Last night's experience at Comerica deserves its own post, since there have been some obvious changes at the ballpark that I'll talk about.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
When You Walk Through The Storm...
It's about 15 minutes until my buddy Alex and I head down to Comerica Park for tonight's game against the Orioles. Southeastern Detroit is staring down a thunderstorm right now, so there's a solid chance that the game is going to begin under delay.
Whenever the game does begin, the Tigs hope to get a repeat performance from Chad Durbin after his last start against the White Sox. Durbs went eight innings and struck out nine, showing some of the skill that made him the guy who was promoted from Triple A Toledo when Kenny Rogers went down.
The Tigs are looking to win their third straight game tonight, and tryign to stop that will be Adam Loewen. The last time Loewen faced the Tigers was a 4-1 victory for the Tigs when Craig Monroe launched a grand slam to win it in the 12th. Loewen didn't factor in the decision, but he and Justin Verlander pitched great games, allowing zero runs combined.
Keys to the Game-
Whenever the game does begin, the Tigs hope to get a repeat performance from Chad Durbin after his last start against the White Sox. Durbs went eight innings and struck out nine, showing some of the skill that made him the guy who was promoted from Triple A Toledo when Kenny Rogers went down.
The Tigs are looking to win their third straight game tonight, and tryign to stop that will be Adam Loewen. The last time Loewen faced the Tigers was a 4-1 victory for the Tigs when Craig Monroe launched a grand slam to win it in the 12th. Loewen didn't factor in the decision, but he and Justin Verlander pitched great games, allowing zero runs combined.
Keys to the Game-
- The rain really needs to hold off. Not so the Tigers can win, mostly because I don't want to drive downtown and have a game get canceled. That always pisses me off.
- Sheff needs to stay hot after getting psyched up from last game and the intensity that went along with it. Gary Sheffield when he's angry is a scary sight, I'm just glad he's on our side.
- Durbs needs to pitch well enough to keep the Tigs in the game and not give us one of his shitty starts that preceded last week's gem. He doesn't need to win the game by himself again, all we need is to be kept in the game late.
Oh-We-Oh Maaaag-lio
After going 12-21 last week with two homers and five doubles, Magglio Ordonez got voted American League Player of the Week on Monday. It's the seventh time he's won the award and his first with the Tigers.
Say what you will about Magglio- he doesn't play hard enough, his hair is too long, he's overpaid, etc. But right now, he is showing exactly why he can be a force in this league, even if he only has one knee left. If Gary Sheffield continues his turnaround and starts hitting to the level that Mags is right now, the 2-3-4-5 spots in the order are going to be absolute hell for pitchers to get through.
Say what you will about Magglio- he doesn't play hard enough, his hair is too long, he's overpaid, etc. But right now, he is showing exactly why he can be a force in this league, even if he only has one knee left. If Gary Sheffield continues his turnaround and starts hitting to the level that Mags is right now, the 2-3-4-5 spots in the order are going to be absolute hell for pitchers to get through.
Gary Sheffield- The Man
There has to be a certain amount of respect for a guy who has been struggling all year, yet once someone says a word to his manager just completely fucks a pitcher up. That's essentially what Gary Sheffield did tonight, taking Daniel Cabrera deep after he chirped at manager JIm Leyland a bit in the fifth inning.
It was a beautiful sight in the fifth inning as the benches cleared and it seemed like something was about t o go down,. There is nothing greater, in my mind, than a bench-clearing brawl in baseball. Unfortunately, the benches cleared but the brawl didn't come. Either way, it was enough motivation for Sheff to take Cabrera all the way in the bottom of the fifth to give the Tigs the lead for good.
It was an all-around good game for the Tigs as Jeremy Bonderman got his first win of the year after giving one of his lesser performances. Nine hits and a walk in five-plus is not exactly what we expect from Bondo, although the two runs in the first inning definitely are. But, it was his first decision of the year, making him a solid 1-0 heading into May.
Magglio Ordonez had another great game today, going a solid 2-2, with a double and a single and driving in a run. Sheffield also seems to be definitely picking it up, showing off his bat and his legs, scoring on a wild pitch in the seventh to start an inning that pretty much sealed the deal for the Tigs, making it 8-4. It's amazing that this guy is in his upper-30s and is still stealing bases and taking home plate on wild pitches. Things like this cause people like me to feel confidence in him, even when he's just beginning to touch the .200 BA mark.
Great performance from Fernando Rodney tonight, by the way. 2 and 1/3 shut out baseball, getting his first save of the year and preserving Bondo's win? Maybe he'll be all right after all. Another stellar performance by Wil Ledezma, going an inning and a third, walking two and striking out one to keep the game going for Fernando to take over in the seventh.
Tomorrow marks the first game that I will be attending. Stay tuned for "reports" from Comerica Park after the game tomorrow night.
It was a beautiful sight in the fifth inning as the benches cleared and it seemed like something was about t o go down,. There is nothing greater, in my mind, than a bench-clearing brawl in baseball. Unfortunately, the benches cleared but the brawl didn't come. Either way, it was enough motivation for Sheff to take Cabrera all the way in the bottom of the fifth to give the Tigs the lead for good.
It was an all-around good game for the Tigs as Jeremy Bonderman got his first win of the year after giving one of his lesser performances. Nine hits and a walk in five-plus is not exactly what we expect from Bondo, although the two runs in the first inning definitely are. But, it was his first decision of the year, making him a solid 1-0 heading into May.
Magglio Ordonez had another great game today, going a solid 2-2, with a double and a single and driving in a run. Sheffield also seems to be definitely picking it up, showing off his bat and his legs, scoring on a wild pitch in the seventh to start an inning that pretty much sealed the deal for the Tigs, making it 8-4. It's amazing that this guy is in his upper-30s and is still stealing bases and taking home plate on wild pitches. Things like this cause people like me to feel confidence in him, even when he's just beginning to touch the .200 BA mark.
Great performance from Fernando Rodney tonight, by the way. 2 and 1/3 shut out baseball, getting his first save of the year and preserving Bondo's win? Maybe he'll be all right after all. Another stellar performance by Wil Ledezma, going an inning and a third, walking two and striking out one to keep the game going for Fernando to take over in the seventh.
Tomorrow marks the first game that I will be attending. Stay tuned for "reports" from Comerica Park after the game tomorrow night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
