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Game 89: Tigers at Mariners

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PREGAME: It’s game 3 of the 4 game set and it will be Kenny Rogers taking on Miguel Batista.

Batista’s peripherals aren’t that impressive. A 5.9 K/9 and a 1.55 K/BB ratio won’t really wow anyone, but he does have 3 straight quality starts. Gary Sheffield should be smiling tonight as he comes in hitting .346 with 5 homers in 31 PA’s against Batista. Looking at Batista’s splits, the key is to jump on him early. The OPS against is 868 the first time through the lineup, and it drops to 738 the second turn.

For the Tigers Kenny Rogers looks for his 4th straight win since coming off the disabled list. The thing to watch tonight is his endurance. He went from 75 to 84 to 95 pitches in his first 3 starts. He has had plenty of rest with the All Star Break, but he also hasn’t really had a chance to get stretched out yet either.

Placido Polanco returns to the lineup tonight and Marcus Thames will start in left field again. Otherwise the lineup is full of the usual suspects. Pudge Rodriguez was suspended one game, but he isn’t serving that tonight as he hits 6th.

Game Time 10:05

DET @ SEA, Saturday, July 14, 2007 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

POSTGAME: A pounding headache and 3 straight West Coast games have me feeling out of it, so this’ll be real quick:

  • The first game of the series and the last game before the break the Tigers kicked the ball around. Last night and tonight the defense was quite exceptional – with Brandon Inge turning in 3 highlights over the 2 nights.
  • Of course there was an error tonight, but that was from Kenny Rogers who really hurt his cause. Between the error and the walks, and the grand slam, it really was a defense independent pitching performance.
  • Rogers is typically a ground ball pitcher, but there were a lot of balls in the air tonight.
  • Bruce Froemming is basically a cartoon at this point. But he was pretty consistent, so I won’t get too upset. Kenny couldn’t get calls on the edges of the strike zone which will make for a long night.
  • Batista didn’t look that tough, at least from my viewpoint on my couch in Michigan. But the Tigers couldn’t really touch him.
  • Actually, Granderson, Sheffield, and Rodriguez seemed to hit him pretty hard. Just not enough fell.
  • Still, the Tigers put up a couple runs in the 8th. And Raul Ibanez made a very nice running catch that saved putting the tying run on 2nd with one out.

128 thoughts on “Game 89: Tigers at Mariners”

  1. I get more pumped up to watch a Kenny Rogers start than anyone else on the pitching staff. It’s just amazing what he can do at his age and it’s fascinating to watch him work a batter. Let’s get a win here tonight gang, because it looks like the Indians might drop one to the Royals.

  3. MLB Extra Innings is on Free Preview this weekend. So if you’re like me and are used to just following on MLB Gameday or the like, you can actually watch it live for a change! I’m on Time Warner Cable in NYC. I’m not sure if it’s a local promotion or nationwide, but check it out.

  6. Ryan S! Great tip man! I’m in NYC on Time Warner as well and I would’ve had no idea this was on had you not said so. Now I get to watch Rod and Mario instead of the Seattle broadcast on MLB.com. Thanks!

  18. this is an atrocious strike zone. I don’t think I can load gameday charts up here, but check them out on MLB.com. Ugh.

  19. I’m at President & Henry. Williamsburg makes me feel supremely unhip, too many cool haircuts. Although i really like Diner, uh, the diner down by the bridge.

  20. Not so sure Casey should have cut that. It appeared to be on line and Sexon is slow

  21. Great brunch at Diner.

    My man the whole hipster thing is overblown.

    Should that have been cut-off? I guess if you see Jojhima going, you need to make that play.

  23. Dave – especially the Beltre at bat. Rogers was missing pretty bad on the other walk and the 3 balls to Betancourt. But to Beltre he made pretty good pitches at the top and bottom of the strike zone – and didn’t get either one.

    And with enhanced gameday these locations are done by a series of cameras, not someone’s judgement in the press box.

  26. Yes, the Eggs Benedict, bacon, and a Mimosa at Diner has cured many a hangover. And started news ones. I also have a problem with Williamsburg’s lack of trees.

    [sorry guys for all the NYC talk. we now we return to our regularly scheduled programming]

    Man, if I had MLB extra Innings i swear i would never leave the house. It’s video crack. Must. Not. Order.

  30. One last thing Stephen…you live in one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in a beautiful city. And I do miss the trees. Although I’m out east a bit and we have some tree lined streets. It still isn’t anywhere near as pretty. Lots of Italians around here too though which I love. Need my cannoli.

    Damn. That play at the plate hurts.

    Ichiro looks pretty broke out there at the moment.

  31. I think that given the current spending spree MLB is currently mired in, it could be worse (and it would’ve been had he tested the market). But still, that’s an insane amount of cash for a dude who doesn’t slug.

  33. Yeah, my neighborhood kind of rocks. When the sun is going down hitting all the brownstones and I’m going for run underneath the Promenande I feel incredibly happy.

    THe thing with Ichiro is he’s got lot of miles on those wheels. If he slows down a bit and doesn’t leg out as many hits all of a sudden you’re paying tens of millions for a guy hitting .295 with a .345 oba. That’s Luis Polonia territory.

  34. Totally. He’ll be 39 when the contract ends. Any slowdown in the legs or reflexes and that dude isn’t worth anywhere near that money.

  42. Maggs gets a great jump and is thrown out by five feet. I’m gonna say Sheffield, better numbers since April 30, excellent baserunning etc.. is my new Tigers mvp. Not down on Maggs, just think Sheff has been better.

  43. Ichiro may not be worth it as a player, but he is well worth it in marketing money to the Mariners. Seattle would colaspe in ticket sales and merchandising without him.

  45. Rene, very true. Plus there’s a ton of revenue coming back from Japan. They had to do it, but three years from now if Ichiro goes into decline those seats are gonna be empty AND they’re gonna be shelling out 20 million plus. I don’t envy that team.

  46. That’s definitely true Rene. I guess I hope the Tigers don’t ever end up with an aging Japanese icon on the team.

  47. Joey C and Stephen – glad I could help with the Extra Innings tip. I’m in Brooklyn, too! Windsor Terrace. Good to know there’s other Tiger fans around.

  53. Thanks Ryan, much appreciated. Ride my bike up around Windsor Terrace all the time.

    We had Nomo in 2000, the year we almost played .500 ball.. Higgy, Polonia, Moehler.. Ah the memories.

  58. Just a thought as I watch his slump, would you take over or under on Maggs hitting .330 by the end of the year?

  63. I appreciate the effort and all from Inge, and the play was amazing, but a belly flop on to the stairs? Ouch.

  64. The free preview goes through Wednesday, so we get 2 games vs. the Twins too.

  65. Leonard Smalls/Tex Cobb cannot believe what he just saw. Then again, he hasn’t remembered much since the Larry Holmes pounding.

  67. Billfer – agreed. I was wincing and afraid for a broken elbow or wrist.

    The crowd reaction was fun to watch.

  72. Saw yer boss on Charlie Rose a couple of weeks ago. Got a link to that Sheff article?

  74. I do not like the way this game is going. I feel like a fight is going to break out.

  77. Eric – I think that ruling refers to players establishing position off the field before making the catch, which you cannot do. Making the catch while diving in, then landing off the field is legal. The second bit would suggest that if that hadn’t been the third out, runners could have advanced (was anyone on at the time – I forget)

  80. I have seen 3-4 more pitches in this inning alone that were strikes according to EG. This must be infuriating for Rogers.

  83. Ya, you guys are probably right about it being the third out making the runners moving up irrelevant. I don’t think there were any on at the time anyway.

    That grand slam just hurt quite a bit as well 🙁

  86. Before we blame the umps, Froemming has been consistent for the most part. Seattle as deserves credit for laying off those close pitches. The Tigers just haven’t done anything with the balls they’ve seen over the plate.

  87. Hey guys, we should all be thankful that Froemming has put the universe back in proper alignment. Things were just too unbalanced after Sheff’s knock last night. Now we can all go about the rest of the weekend without having to look over our shoulders.

  88. But they can afford to lay off pitches when they know that anything remotely borderline won’t be called a strike. Without the entire bottom fifth of the strikezone, a finesse pitcher is going to be in trouble.

  89. Let me try and lighten the mood. This is my favorite Tigers story. Back in the 60s/70s the Tigers had a longtime pinch hitter named Gates Brown. Check out his stats, they’re sort of hilarious. .200 one year, .350 the next and back below the Mendoza line and so on.
    Gates mostly pinch hit ’cause he couldn’t field and was a bit fat. One day, Gates was in the clubhouse enjoying a hot dog early in a game when he was suddenly called to pinch hit unexpectedly. Gates raced to the plate, tucking his shirt in and fastening his belt. He promptly hit a gapper and belly flopped his way into second. When Gates stood up his jersey was covered in red and yellow.
    He had stuck his half-finished hot dog in his waistband.
    Perphaps apocryphal, but still great.

  92. Gates “Gator” Brown hit a pinch home run in his first major league at-bat and became known as a pinch-hitter deluxe. His 16 career pinch home runs are tied for fourth all-time, trailing Cliff Johnson (20), Jerry Lynch (18) and John Vander Wal. Through 2000, Gates was 10th all-time in career pinch-hits (107) and his .462 pinch-hit average in 1968 was third among players with 35+ PH AB; only Ed Kranepool (1974, .486) and Frenchy Bordagaray (1938, .465) were higher. Although seldom used as a regular, Brown was a great fan-favorite during his 13 Tiger career. After retiring following the 1975 season, he was a Detroit Tigers coach from 1978 to 1984. In 1989, he became manager of the Orlando Juice of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He coaches at Tiger Fantasy Camp in Lakeland, FL.

    [edit]Notable Achievements
    Won a World Series Ring with the Detroit Tigers in 1968

  95. Ichiro did not look good there at all.

    Where do Grandy’s triples this year rank in the record books?

  96. Froemming is just past his prime, period. He’s so overweight he looks like he’s ready to have a heart attack. Probably should have retired when he was 65.

  97. I think he’s on pace to hit more than anyone in the modern era. Dudes used to hit 30 or more in the early 1900s.

  99. He’s 10 from the AL mark. He’s on pace to pass the modern mark. The all-time mark of 39 is never gonna fall… never say never.. but yah.

  102. Nice Guillen!

    Baseball reference lists the record as 36 by chief wilson (?) in 1912.

  104. That’s two really well hit balls that have gone for outs for Pudge tonight. Beautiful catch by Ibanez.

  108. Hey, thanks Jim. You couldn’t have two more kind of guys than Damon and Sheffield, but they both were pretty fascinating to write about. And they both play hard which is the main thing.

  109. Wow, a den of Tiger fans from NYC. Got Brooklyn and Queens(Whitestone) covered. If he doesn’t catch that ball… Live in an Italian neighborhood,too. Great food abounds. All right, going to the ninth, two runs down. Gotta get to this Puts or whatever his name is.

  110. Yeah, notice we’re all in the city that never sleeps and we’re blogging about the Tigers on a Saturday night! Priorities, right?

  112. Putz.

    I can’t believe I’m actually used to hearing about a dude with this name and not falling over laughing anymore.

  113. From the city that never sleeps…that’s where I’m going. Better one tomorrow…

  114. Very discouraging that we’ve lost two of three all the while holding Ichiro in check. I thought the key to this series would be keeping Ichiro from getting off but it hasn’t panned out that way. Seattle scares me, they just seem to do what it takes to scratch out wins. Tonight their so-so catcher parks a grand slam off of Rogers. Beltre looks like Ichiro in this series and Betancourt came up with his usual key hit against us inthe 4th with his RBI single. Need Justin V. to come up big tomorrow. We need a split here. It’d be nice to get a healthy lead too so we don’t have to see Putz. This guy is out of nowhere is the new Mariano Rivera.

  115. Dave W: How ’bout Maybin for Putz? I kid.
    I wish i could be angrier about the loss, but getting to see the game from the comfort of my own pad has diluted my bile. Promise I will bring bitterness tomorrow. ‘Night guys/girls.

  117. I thought we were in good shape with tonight’s pitching matchup. Oh well. Props to Inge and Grandy for the dinger and another triple.

    Good night everybody.

  118. So, someone explain to me how and why Kenny Rogers is still in the game with the bases loaded and no one out in a one run ball game on the road against the surprise team of the American League who happen to have one of the best bullpens in the majors when he was clearly not feeling it and getting squeezed in the strike zone by Bruce Froemming? Because I just do not understand it.

  119. Because Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney are not back (and not back at 100%) and until they are, Jim Leyland doesn’t trust his middle relief over Kenny Rogers in that situation.

  120. Even after Rogers walked 2 straight batters, was getting squeezed by a tight zone, Seattle’s hitters not chasing and his inability to get any ground balls? Chad Durbin and Zach Miner are better options in that situation. If they come in and get a GB or only give up a 2-run single, it’s 4-1 and not 6-1. I don’t care who’s in our bullpen, a tiring Rogers who’s not throwing strikes in just his 4th start back and first after the all-star break is not the best option in that situation.

  121. Cleveland, Minnesoto and now Seattle. Yikes. And I don’t trust those damn Yankees either.

  122. Stephen and I are incapable of being bitter about the same game, so it’s on me to keep the acerbity going. Here’s what gets me: Kenny tried to adapt to the strike zone. Really, he did. After he got an inkling as to how little he had to work with on the bottom, he tried to feel out the upper limit, too (see first or second Beltre AB). Froemming didn’t give him a pitch in the mid-upper left of the zone, which must have led Kenny to believe he had about four inches total to pitch to. Unfortunately, Seattle hitters came to the same conclusion, and took any pitch that wasn’t basically right down the middle.

    I don’t understand your assertion of Froemming’s consistency, Billfer, as Betancourt was apparently given calls beyond what Rogers could expect. In Casey’s first AB, Betancourt threw a breaking ball to almost the exact same spot as Rogers in the above Beltre AB and got a strike (also, see Rodriguez’s AB in the 6th inning for indications of Froemming’s inconsistencies on outside pitches). I don’t know why this bias occurred, since I can’t imagine Froemming would have any motivation for it, but it seemingly existed nonetheless.

    I can’t remember the last time I was this annoyed at an umpire. Is it due to my love of Kenny, or am I simply using it as an excuse to avoid studying for the GRE? We may never know.

  123. I was at this game and Rogers looked beat up and exhausted from the start. You could tell something was up with him. Maybe just a bit rusty from the extra time off?

  124. Hey Ed, and everyone else,

    the Mrs.Bix and I were at this game too — 3rd row, right ont he bag at 3B, FANTASTIC seats — and I have a few observations to pass on:

    1.) I think Kenny was more annoyed than exhausted. I actually chatted a bit with him before the game as he walked out to stretch, and he seemed in really good spirits and fired up. But I think Froemming was KILLING him emotionally/mentally. When Leyland came out to get him there was ZERO emotion as he left.

    2.) I think Inge just gets bored sometimes. He and the 3B ump had some kind of running joke all day, and both of them were giggling nonstop at each other. They may have been laughing about a fan or something, as everytime a baserunner got to third, both of them would talk to him, and then all three of them would start laughing. Funny stuff. And Mrs.Bix loved being so close to him…he’s HER Tiger.

    3.) I know sometimes Inge makes the EASY plays look hard, and he occasionally wings a simple throw into the dugout…but he also routinely makes the HARD plays look easy. He made two amazing digs, and then that play in the seats — about 5 feet from us, mind you — is easily the best play I’ve ever seen anyone make in person, and maybe just plain ever. I tried to get the D50 up fast enough to get a picture of it, but all I got was the aftermath of him digging himself out of the crowd (which was kinda funny). I was worried he might be dead, as he went in HARD. The whole team mobbed him on the way to the dugout.

    4.) My Tiger? Grandy — and it’s not even close (tho I love em all). He came over and chatted with me (yes, with his glove on his head) and a boatload of other Tiger fans (surprising number in attendance) and signed autos for 10-15 minutes before the game. I complimented him on his blog, said it makes for good reading, and for his interest/support of Brian Bluhm and his family after the VT shootings. He is/was SUPER classy and friendly, and no matter what happens with Maybin and CF over the next few years, I pray he’s a guy we keep around, as genuinely good people are an asset to a team that you can’t measure by stats (oh, and he’s 7th in the AL in SLG%). Told him to go out and have a good game…so he hits the 4th pitch of the game out to Rt Center. I take credit for that. 🙂

    What else…Ibanez’s catch was awesome, and the crowd was getting a little antsy at that point, so it was a killer. Froemming was HORRIBLE, and I think both team’s fans had had it with him. Johjima’s grand slam was crappy, but cool to see, as it’s the first one i’ve seen in person in several years, and was the wife’s first. Saw & talked to Zumaya before the game, he said he’s getting better and plays a little catch every few days now, but he’s still a ways off. I resisted the urge to ask how the finger injury was impacting his Guitar Hero. 🙂

    Lots of other thoughts, but those are the biggies. The Tigs are 0-for-the-last-5 games (incl Game 1 of the WS last fall) that I’ve been to…so I apologize to the community and the team for my karma issues. I’m working on them.

    Oh, and I took the 300mm lens and took a boatload of pics, so I’ll post some pics on Flickr and post the link here as soon as I get em up.

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  126. I do concur regarding Graderson. He seems to combine talent & class and that seems to be a rare commodity these days. So I do hope the Tigers can keep him around for a long time.
    By the by, I feel Todd Jones falls in that group as well. The guy impresses the daylights out of me.

    Paul M.
    Fort Worth, Texas

  127. This is exactly what I expected to find out after reading the title Game 89: Tigers at Mariners. Thanks for informative article

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