As the Tigers battled for their 3rd come from behind victory in the last 4 games, I couldn’t help but think about how much lamenting there was about the Tigers lack of clutch hitting over the last few weeks. Also, as they pulled out another one run win and they moved to 16-15 in games decided by two runs or less, I couldn’t help but think way back to last month when the Tigers couldn’t win close games because Trammell was an idiot. As Ugueth Urbina pitched a scoreless tenth inning to earn the win and extend a stretch in which he’s allowed 2 runs in his last 18 apperances, I had a flashback to the second week of the season when people determined that Urbina: needed to be benched/should have been traded/doesn’t care.
The point is that baseball has a long season where things will go well for a stretch, and things will go bad for a stretch. Now I’m not trying to diminish excitement about the Tiger’s recent stretch where they have won 5 of 6, and they’ve done it in dramatic fashion. Heck, I was walking around with a grin the rest of the day after they came back and won that game and even yet out a yelp in my office as I listened. But while the Tigers are 5-1 in their last 6 games, they are also 5-5 in their last ten.
So enjoy the current performance and get excited about the Tigers because this is the best baseball team to take the field in Detroit in a long time. At the same time remember that just because one night the Tigers don’t mount a comeback it isn’t because they aren’t clutch hitters. And if one night Urbina blows a save it isn’t because he sucks. And, at some point in the near future the Tigers will manage to blow somebody out again.
I know my readers are smarter than the typical fan and I’m not telling you anything new, but after all the sports talk and message board overreacting I’ve heard/read this year, I felt I needed to get that off my chest.
Well put bilfer. I knew urbina would be fine. I don’t mean to sound high and mighty here, but when everyone was calling for his head i had faith in him because he is a good pitcher. He won’t be this lights out good forever, but he will pitch well and people need to give players a chance to do something.
All very true. This is a very streaky team so far, but we have to keep in mind that they haven’t had anything close to their opening day lineup on the field for most of the season. To think that they’ve been able to hover around .500 despite the injuries is impressive. I’d love to see them compete for the division (and they might still if people heal in time), but I’ll take 85 wins this season.
As for Urbina, I’m still not convinced that he can check his ego long enough to be an effective setup man, but if nothing else, he’s putting on a wonderful audition for the trade deadline. Considering that Farnsworth, Walker, and German have all been pitching at least as well as expected, I’d probably trade Urbina (for the right price, of course) even if we’re in contention.
You mean Bubba from (fill in name of suburb), long-time listener but first-time caller, who just had to call in because he just can’t take any more of Tram’s mis-handling of the pitching staff, might have been overreacting?
Great post, Bill.