PREGAME: The Tigers enter the 2nd third of the season still looking for their first win against the Indians. Given the crappiness of the last week, it is still pretty surprising that the Tigers are on pace to win 90 games which is about what I expected. Plus they are still the wild card team. And they’ve done it with a number of injuries. As dark as the last week has been, the season is far from over.
As for tonight’s game, it will be Chad Durbin taking on Cliff Lee. Lee has been quite hittable this year, and has only lasted past the 6th inning one time this year.
Craig Monroe is out tonight with Marcus Thames playing left. Pudge Rodriguez returns to the lineup and Brandon Inge and Carlos Guillen are still out.
Game Time 7:05
I wanted to correct something i said earlier in the week. After further thought, I think Wil Nieves is the worst AL player. Happy Birthday Neifi!
The 3rd Inning is over.
Each 18 games represents 1 inning of a baseball season. The Tigers record so far in each Inning:
1: 10-8
2: 13-5
3: 7-11
The just completed 3rd inning represents only the 2nd losing inning since the beginning of 2006 (5-13 inning #8 – 2006). We did outscore our opponents 110-96, but had wins of 14-4, 12-0, and 14-2. Take away those 3 laughers, and we were 4-11 being outscored by 20 runs. The Pitching had a 5.07 era. The starters had a 3.98 era, but the bullpen had a 7.74 ERA!!!
Bonderman and Verlander were a combined 4-1 with a 3.07 era. Durbin was 1-0 with a 2.76 era. Nate and Maroth were a combined 1-5 with a 6.21 era. Miner and Miller each did great in 1 start. Out of the bullpen, Byrdak has a 2.53 era but Mesa, Grilli, Jones, and Seay all had eras over 9!
The team hit .306 as a team. The best batting average belonged to Mike Rabelo (8-19, .421). Our other catcher was 2nd at .375 2-11. Casey and Ordonez were each .370, though Maggs hit 5 dingers and drove in 16.
The only guys below .300 were Inge (.220 3-6), Monroe (.207 4-9), and the Neifi (1-17 with 1 rbi).
We still have a 2 game lead in the mwild car, but the next inning is critical. I would say we need at least a 10-8 to bounce back.
-Sam
Here’s to hope that the Tigers make me forget yesterday with a big win today!!
Hard to be objective, but I’m gonna have to go with Pudge on that call. Seemed to cross the plate several inches outside.
Great post Sam, thanks for putting in the work.
Another dogfight!
I’d like to kill that umpire.
Boy, it’d be nice to keep a lead for just a bit for once.
Boy, it’d be nice to keep a lead for just a bit for once in this series.
Calm down, Chad.
How many strikes did Chad have to throw there? looked like 5 to me.
And then the seeing eye single. God I hate playing this team.
So much for that.
Yeah, another dogfight between a doberman and a one-eyed puppy.
Ah Perez, never fails to disappoint. This team is 55-56 in regular season games since last Aug. 1. Except for those magical two weeks in October, they’ve been mind-numbingly mediocre.
But they’re not mediocre. The pitching has gone downhill, but our hitting is good. The pitching and hitting is just not in sync with each other.
Honest to God, I keep wondering if Sheff is going to go off again. He keeps getting pissed off.
I don’t believe what I just saw! Verlander tossed from the dugout.
i take it verlander was chirpin’ those pricks all game long…..mags is simply amazing…AMAZING!!!!!
8-5. Durbin’s out, Byrdak’s in.
here we go again…this recent slide has turned me into a pre-2004 red sox fan…
Nice post Sam. Good to see some of that info.
The old school uniforms are classic tonight. Come on boys let’s pull this one off!
I’ll say it. Greg Gibson is from eastern Ohio. It wouldn’t surprise me if he grew up an Indians fan and actually has it for the Tigers.
Perhaps unrelated to the Tigs, but the Dead Rabbit is suffering from torrential diarrhea.
HAHAHA! Damn Rabbit! I hope you make it through okay.
The throwbacks are genius.
might have to keep the old uni’s a lil longer!
The bright spot about our team’s recent woes is that however bad we’ve been, the Yankees are worse. I am so loving that drubbing the Red Sox laid on them today.
Could we maybe, just maybe, hold onto a game our offense has done their best to win? Please?
The uniforms really DO look GREAT. Heck, they went to the trouble to make them, put them in the boys’ wardrobe rotation!
Base hit Hafner. And we’re off….
The throwbacks are great. Do those hats really go with the 80s uniforms? I don’t remember them. Or are they just trying to sell a few hats with a different design?
The Tiger throwbacks are cool, but the Indians one looks silly imo
WIN! WIN! WIIIIIIIIIN! How about that bullpen tonight! 😛
Thank God!
Oh man, for a minute there it felt like deja vu all over again, but Miner came through.
Seriously, with no sarcasm or irony, this win feels terrific.
Pretty good!
I’ll be honest with you, the ole MASH theme song “suicide is painless” was running thru my mind. thank god is right joey!
It all came together tonight. Pitching and hitting insync.
Yippee!!!!
In case anyone’s interested, Maggs raised his BA to .362, plus added two more ribbies. Very sweet. Also gotta love Verlander mouthing off from the dugout.
Ok as bad as the past two nights have been, tonight makes you remember they were just another game and we’ve made up for one of them tonight, lets make up for the other tomorrow behind Bondo.
And we CAN beat the Indins, they are not invincible.
ooo boy. on the postgame Leyland laid down the law about talking about umps and such…he was pissed.
“And we CAN beat the Indins, they are not invincible.” They sure aren’t. About a third of our team is injured and the Indians are still having to fight like hell
Well great…A Detroit team CAN beat a Cleveland team in something…
I’m very glad the bullpen came through tonight, I’m still pissed about last night so I can’t give them that much praise. Durbin delivers his usual, not great but not bad, the umps effed him over a few times and that could of been a run or two difference for the Indians.
Maggs…what is there to say, he is playing amazing, is he still 7th in All-Star voting? What a joke.
“the umps effed him over a few times”
The umpires in this series have been the least professional I’ve ever seen in my life.
I didn’t get to watch the game Sheff blew up in but the games since it seems like the crew had a vendetta against every member of the Tigers. I’m not saying this effected the outcome in yesterdays game but still…
it looked like every Cleveland out caused the umpires physical pain
Teams that constantly complain about the officials are hard to root for. They come across as spoiled brats who feel the walls closing in and lash out at the first authority figure they see. Look at the Pistons: Rasheed’s antics makes me almost glad they got eliminated. I couldn’t take much more of the petulant millionare thing…
Sam has a lot of time on his hands. How about a second job.
Unrelated question: I see Pinella got ejected today, anyone know if Tram took over in his absence?
Tram did take over in his absence and that ejection was patented Lou Piniella. It was great. His presser afterwards was funny, as well. Some reporter asked him about what his message is from this ejection and he basically told the reporter that he should write what the message is and he (lou) will read it tomorrow. And he was asked if he saw the replay of the play he argued and he goes “Yeah, he was out. Good call. Looked like he was safe from the dugout. But I was going to argue whether he was safe or out.”
Since Billfer hasn’t done it, the Minor League Wrap if anyone’s interested:
Toledo 2 Buffalo 3
Ryan Raburn went 3 for 4 and Chris Shelton was 2 for 4 including a double and the lone Mud Hens RBI (other run was unearned). Corey Hamman made just his 2nd start of the season and went 4.2 IP in which he gave up 5 hits, 3 runs, 2 BB’s, and 1 K while surrendering a HR. Roman Colon threw 2 innings, giving up 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 BB and striking out 2.
Erie 3 Binghamton 1
Mike Holliman hit a 2-run HR, and Jeff Larish was 3-4 with 2 doubles. Dallas Trahern continued dealing this season with a 8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K performance that dropped his ERA to 2.45 in Double-A. 14 of his outs were ground balls, 3 fly balls, and 6 K’s. Very dominating performance.
St. Lucie 8 Lakeland 0
Not much to like on the Lakeland side of things. St. Lucie’s 2-5 hitters drove in all 8 runs by going a collective 8 for 20 with 2 doubles and a HR. Lakeland mustered just 2 hits against St. Lucie pitching. Kyle Sleeth gave up 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 0 K’s in 2 innings of relief. Why is he still on the 40 man roster? His 13.50 ERA as a nearly 26-year-old in Double-A can be let go.
Fort Wayne 4 West Michigan 8
Scott Sizemore had 2 hits and drove in 2. Gorkys Hernandez didn’t play today. Duane Below went 5 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, and striking out 7. The bullpen pitched well (Fragaso, Bierd, Clelland) as they combined to pitch the final 4 innings, scattering 5 hits, 3 runs, but only walked 1 and struck out 6.
thanks mike. hopefully colon is rounding into shape.
“This team is 55-56 in regular season games since last Aug. 1”
That’s an awfully arbitrary date. How about since last July 1 (70-66)? Or June 1 (90-73)? Or why not since last April? (126-91)?
So Jim got himself ejected again. Let’s see how it plays out this time. They are 1-0 now. What did they go after the last one? Can any one remember? The last ejection got the Tigs seriously fired up. I hope this one does. He’s got to have a back-up plan too just in case the ejection tactic falls flat at some point.
They went 9 for 10.