2007 Season, Game Post

Game 108: White Sox at Tigers

85 Comments

PREGAME: The boys are back in town, and this time it’s an actual homestand instead of just another stop on the Tigers July North American tour.

They welcome in the White Sox and Mark Buehrle. The Tigers beat up Buehrle to the tune of 14 hits in 6 1/3 innings, but he bounced back and threw 8 shut out innings against the Blue Jays.

The Tigers send out Andrew Miller who will be looking for that illusive 6th inning out. If he records one it will be his first since July 6th.

Game Time 7:05

85 thoughts on “Game 108: White Sox at Tigers”

  1. At least this is good news:

    Gary Sheffield isn’t going to play tonight, but he shouldn’t be out long.

    Sheffield’s right shoulder is still sore, but X-rays and an MRI done yesterday showed no structural damage, and doctors believe that it can be taken care of with medication and exercise. Sheffield could play again by the end of the weekend.

    Joel Zumaya’s visit to the doctor went well, too. Jim Leyland said today that Zumaya has been cleared to start throwing breaking balls

  2. as always, greetz from Germany

    Let’s hope for a good beginning of this homestand.

    Buehrle: You never know, what you can get from him. Either no-hit Ball or all hit Ball like the last time we faced him.

  3. Dirk, if I may ask, do most folks in Germany have much of any idea what happens in US baseball?

  4. Little news of note. St. Louis wants Mike Maroth to go to AAA. Doesnt look like hes going to take it (5+ years in bigs) and St. Louis will probably give him his release in the next day or two. At that point, he will not have to clear waivers and he will be able to sign wherever he wants. Don’t know where he’ll land but hopefully somewhere contending. Wishing Mike and his family the best!

  7. @JML: Baseball is not our national pastime (it’s soccer as you may know) but many Germans are interested in US Sports especially Baseball. Its become more and more popular here.

    I was infected with the baseball virus in 1990 when I watched my first Tigers Game. Cecil Fielder was my hero (only matched with Cal Ripken)

  8. Dirk: Wow, I’m surprised. For some reason, it always seemed to me that most Europeans found baseball impenetrable and uninteresting. Glad to hear otherwise! Trammel has always been My Tiger, until the new era; now it’s Polanco.

  9. It’s the same with soccer in the US. There are those who found it uninteresting and those who like it. The same here.

    (Most) Germans don’t like cricket becaus it’s british, boring, uninteresting 😉

  11. Man, if a contender signs Maroth they’ve got serious problem. He’s had, statistically, one of the worst 4 out of 5 starts sequence I can ever remember in twenty years of following baseball.

    Meanwhile, we have a first baseman on a pace to finish with 5 home runs and a catcher who is trending toward a 9 walk season. I’m not even sure how that is even humanly possible on a first place team.

  12. Anyone know why Fox dumped our boys for next Saturday? Hm, perhaps they watched them this past week….

  17. This is what happens when you rush a kid to the Bigs. Remember Bonderman’s first years…? Well, no need to repeat THAT in this day and age, and yet the powers that be seem intent upon it. If Tata keeps it up, send Miller down when Kenny comes back, at long last!

  19. The major concern is they play better on the road….I do not see things getting better on this home stand. BTW the Sox have ben hiting well.

  21. at least Santana is pitching against the Indians tonight. maybe there’s a chance we can keep this charade of a first place team another lousy day.

    call me crazy, haven’t seen the 2007 team muster any stirring comebacks this year.

  23. JML-Miller’s ERA, as of this second, is second best of the starting five. Almost exactly the same as some guy named Bonderman and more than a half run better than Rogers and Robertson.

  24. ChiSox batting order tonight:

    1. .216
    2. .275
    3. .270
    4. .242
    5. .234
    6. .272
    7. .217
    8. .214
    9. .212

  27. For whatever it’s worth, now in the senior circuit, Maroth has given up: 5, 1, 6, 10, 7, 7 earned runs for the Cards. Included are a pair of 11 hit games. Can’t say we miss him, even if he was a nice guy.

  29. Hopefully someone has had some time to get our young starter back from the brink of breakdown while the bench has been working some hits…

  31. Always a good sign when your potential franchise pitcher can’t finish his warmup tosses.

    I hope it’s a hammy.

  32. I’m going on record right now saying I DON’T like this move to have McBride as the long reliever. I foresee at least four walks, 2 ER before the next pitching change

  34. Well, the roller-coaster ride continues. I hope that a home crowd tonight can help carry the Tigs to a rally here…hell, the Yankees dropped an 8-spot on these guys yesterday, right?

  35. With Durbin away Leyland doesn’t have too many choices here. The bullpen is one man short for the weekend at least. And when your starter only goes 4 innings (one less than expected!) it is going to pressurize the bully. I hope this weekend doesn’t get too ugly.

  38. Alright, survived another round of the Macay McBride Experience…let’s get the bats going again here.

  42. Man, the Tigers look like an old, old team that just happens to have 3 young pitchers. If they lose tonight, they’ll be 80-78 in the last calendar year. Maybe, they’re just not that good and we got fooled by those 3 great weeks in October and forgot the fact the franchise has never had back-to-back playoff appearances ever. Left field, closer, shortstop, catcher, they’re all going to need new blood next year. That’s a lot of holes to fill.

  43. This team is dead. Tampa Bay must be licking their chops at playing this sad Detroit team.

    Sorry folks but this team is done!!!!!!!

  45. Too many players on this team are swinging at the first or second pitches right now. They walk like once a game and don’t work the count to get the opposing pitcher to make a bad/mistake pitch.

  47. Jack Wilson isn’t a world beater, but if they could have picked him up against lefties they could have played guillen at first instead of that slug Hessman.

  51. Oh Steven btw you are WRONG

    The Tigers have had been to the playoffs in back-to-back years either 2 or 3 times depending on how you count it.

    1907,1908 and 1909 made the WS.

    1934 made WS and 1935 won WS.

  57. Wow, it takes a little batch patch (which inevitably happens) and some folks are already dropping off the bandwagon. Silly…

  58. *** If they lose tonight, they’ll be 80-78 in the last calendar year. Maybe, they’re just not that good and we got fooled by those 3 great weeks in October ***

    Are you talking about the 2006 Cardinals?

  59. An injured Miller, an injured Sheffield, an injured Rogers, no stoppers in the pen, a doped up infielder gone for the season and 4 wins in the last 15. I get why people are down.

  60. I already anticipate the bullpen advocates praising the exemplary bullpen preformance tonight and pointing out the other shortcomings of the team. Here is a preemptive observation to those inevitable comments:

    Yes, yes. Good job McBride, Miner (and One-Run-Allowed-Jones). It is curious, though that the bullpen always seems to come thru when the team is down by one, two, or three runs, as in the last couple games. I’m absolutely not downplaying the importance of that, as it keeps the team the game.

    However, I reserve my ticket to jump on “this bullpen’s alright wagon” until they can duplicate the same preformance when the team is UP one, two, or three runs. In my view, that’s MORE important, and the primary objective. If your bullpen is always just trying to keep your team in the game, chances are you’re not contending anyway. You need your bullpen to hold the leads in late innings.

  61. This team looks remarkably similiar to the 2006 Boston Red Sox.

    In case anybody needs a refresher, Boston was in first place through July (similar record as the Tigers), into the first week of August, with the Yankees right on their tail (similar record as the Indians).

    Then injurys plagued the team and they dropped out of contention quickly, eventually ending their season in 3rd place, close to .500.

    I think this homestand will determine the season, and determine whether the comparison holds.

    So far 0-1. Good Times.

  62. I agree re: the bullpen, thats the major weakness that needs to be addressed. Hitting certainly hasn’t been the problem, nor fielding for the most part. The starting pitchers need pick it up a bit of late to be sure, but it’s not like they are a weak rotation. If he performs, keep Tata in and send Miller down to find his lanky sea legs. Bullpen consistency (of a positive sort) will spell significant success and that’s where they still need to make some moves if possible. That, and Leyland needs a good blow-up!

  64. David: Sorry! I wasn’t going back until before any of us we’re born as my sample size for the Tigers making the playoffs two years in a row. Let me correct that: ‘Unless you’re 80, a Tiger fan doesn’t remember the team going to back to back playoffs.
    And man, if we’re comparing ourselves to the 06 Cards, as the basketball player Micheal Ray Richardson would say, ‘the ship be sinkin.’ Last year’s world series was a fluke team that beat a fluke team. And I’m sorry, as much as I enjoyed it, you finish 19-31 and then reel off two playoff triumphs, that’s a fluke. This team is great when the pressure’s off–first half of the last two seasons, against the Yankees when no one thought they could win–but when they’re in the position where they’re favored–last year’s stretch drive, the World Series against the Cards, this year since the all star break–they’ve spit the bit. You see it in sports all the time: Look at MSU in football. Get a big lead against ND, then realize ‘holy crap’ we might win and fold like an accordian. The Cardinals blowing that 23 pt lead to the Bears on Monday night last year is another example. Winning when you’re expected to win is the sign of a champion. You have to close the deal.

  65. Forget about Cleveland/Yankees… I can’t think of a team in the league right now that I would feel comfortable playing…

    You know it’s bad if your quaking in your boots at the thought of the Devil Rays coming into town.

  69. Just back. I had to witness this game in person and it was not a lot of fun. Fellow DTW posters, there is something wrong I can’t put my finger on. The team has no spark, no heat. I’m not jumping off the bandwagon but I’m just concerned because it seems to have developed out of nowhere. It could be a combination of the known injuries and the ones that the guys are just trying to play over but I can’t see how a team can take so many hits.

    I Always enjoy reading everyone’s thoughts.

  71. This is one of those times where Harry Doyle would be pulling out his Jack Daniel’s just like when the Indians in Major League I and II went on losing streaks.

    Speaking of the Indians, they’ve just beat Johan Santana and the Twins yet again. Grady Sizemore went 3-4 with a HR off Santana and 4 RBI, and C.C. Sabathia got his 14th win. Not only have the Indians become the first team ever to beat Johan Santana three times in one season, they also more importantly take control of the AL Central for the time being.

    Boy, if the Indians get hot, look out. Remember that the Yankees are on everyone’s tails and have been scoring touchdowns for the past week, and Seattle is still playing good baseball.

    As for the Tigers…at least people watching the game on MLB.TV didn’t have to listen to Hawk’s broadcast.

  72. I’m glad Cleveland won and now finaly regain 1st place. It’s about time, and maybe this will spark a turn-around with the Tigers.

  73. Jeremy Bonderman needs to go out tomorrow and pound the strike zone with that fastball. The success of his off speed pitches depends on that. He also needs to be able to control that slider a little better and keep it around the strike zone so that hitters will be forced to swing at it. Last time out none of his pitches were working, so the only strikes he seemed to throw were fastballs right down the middle or hanging sliders, and as a result the Angels knocked him around. Javier Vazquez has had a solid season so the Tigers have a difficult task ahead of them.

    One other thing…Jake Westbrook is starting to pitch effectively again, so the Indians have four solid starters. If Tigers fans have anything positive to look forward to tomorrow, the Tribe have a rookie, Aaron Laffey, making his Major League debut against Twins phenom Matt Garza. Laffey is the guy who is replacing Cliff Lee, who really struggled lately and was sent to the Minors last week, in the rotation.

  75. I cannot believe you people are all giving up already. It is early August and we are only a 1/2 game out. We have a great team, but yet so many people are jumping ship after two bad weeks. Five years ago we would of have been praying for a situation like this. Lets not lose hope. I still believe that the Tigers can make the playoffs. If that makes me irrational or unable to suspend my disbelief so be it, I am going down with the ship. It cannot be any worse than what I have experienced previously. I believe!!!

  76. I’m inclined to agree with Shane. Everyone needs to keep in mind that Gary Sheffield and Carlos Guillen are day-to-day and will be returning in short order; the offense revolves around that middle of the order driving in Granderson and Placido. Once the trio of Sheff, Magglio and Guillen is back and healthy, the offense will begin churning out the runs again.

    Kenny Rogers, Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya should be back within a month or so too (Rogers will likely be first to return among the three). Andrew Miller is struggling, but remember that this is his first year in the big leagues. Hopefully for Jim Leyland, Miller will not miss his next start, which is scheduled to be Wednesday.

    Every team goes through cold stretches, and luckily for the Tigers, the Indians got cold at the same time as the Tigers (although some fans might see it as a missed opportunity to open some ground in the AL Central).

    The Tigers will come roaring back in short order…there’s little doubt of that because everyone knows what this team can do. It’s just a matter of when. There’s just too much talent on this team for them not to. In the meantime, the Tigers have some of the weaker teams in the AL coming up: the White Sox, who somehow give the Tigers trouble, the Devil Rays, whose pitching should get knocked around a bit by the Tiger bats, and Oakland, who have not seen their characteristic late-summer turnaround come together yet.

    I emphasize this stretch against those three teams because after that the road becomes extremely difficult; for 13 games the Tigers will see only two teams, the Indians and the surging Yankees. The Indians and Tigers will face off in a key two-game series at Jacobs Field August 14-15, followed by a four-game series for the Tigers at Yankee Stadium. The Tigers will then come home for a three-game set with the Indians and another four-game set with New York.

  77. I’m inclined to agree with Shane. Everyone needs to keep in mind that Gary Sheffield and Carlos Guillen are day-to-day and will be returning in short order; the offense revolves around that middle of the order driving in Granderson and Placido. Once the trio of Sheff, Magglio and Guillen is back and healthy, the offense will begin churning out the runs again.

    Kenny Rogers, Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya should be back within a month or so too (Rogers will likely be first to return among the three). Andrew Miller is struggling, but remember that this is his first year in the big leagues. Hopefully for Jim Leyland, Miller will not miss his next start, which is scheduled to be Wednesday.

    Every team goes through cold stretches, and luckily for the Tigers, the Indians got cold at the same time as the Tigers (although some fans might see it as a missed opportunity to open some ground in the AL Central).

    The Tigers will come roaring back in short order…there’s little doubt of that because everyone knows what this team can do. It’s just a matter of when. There’s just too much talent on this team for them not to. In the meantime, the Tigers have some of the weaker teams in the AL coming up: the White Sox, who somehow give the Tigers trouble, the Devil Rays, whose pitching should get knocked around a bit by the Tiger bats, and Oakland, who have not seen their characteristic late-summer turnaround come together yet.

    I emphasize this stretch against those three teams because after that the road becomes extremely difficult; for 13 games the Tigers will see only two teams, the Indians and the surging Yankees. The Indians and Tigers will face off in a key two-game series at Jacobs Field August 14-15, followed by a four-game series for the Tigers at Yankee Stadium. The Tigers will then come home for a three-game set with the Indians and another four-game set with New York.

    In all, that presents plenty of opportunity to put some distance between themselves and their opponents in the AL Central and the Wild Card races.

  78. I’m not jumping ship far from it.

    I still think that the Tigers have a good shot at making it.

    If you looked at any game this series this was the iffy one.

    Sunday should be a win and tomorrow should be too if Bondo is right.

    If Podsednick (sp) hadn’t made those 2 great plays and Erstad hadn’t gotten the lucky break to double off Grandy I think this games result would have come out differently.

  79. most excellent post there, Bob. I like everything ya said there.

    in particular some good comments on the Art of Pitching and in particular

    so that hitters will be forced to swing

    now right there is where I see trouble in our game. when ya get behind in the count hitter can afford to take a chance on the call.

    ya gotta keep the ball away from the hitter. but not so much ya get behind in the count and that is what I see happening. and our radio announcers are saying exactly the same thing

    and that is why I’ve been saying we gotta look at pitching coaching is the likely trouble spot. we got good arms both startes and in the pen and I say that inspite of some of the comments I read here this morning.

    let’s get out there and beat them six tonite

  80. Who exactly is jumping ship? Let me be frank. And I think I speak for a fair number of disheartened fans. I will go down with this ship, but I will not muzzle my disappointment about how the distress signals were managed. And here’s why, if I may employ a scene from popular culture with which we are all familiar:

    On or about Memorial Day, a very grand ship with a proud English D on her bow was chugging along at a champion’s pace, until she hit a colossal iceberg in the still of the night. The hull was clearly compromised. Water began seeping into the lower decks — although it wasn’t precisely clear (to some) the extent of the damage, how serious the damage, or if the incoming water would eventually sink the ship before she made it safely to port. This ship was so well equipped, however, some believed she could take the race, incoming water and all. In fact, there was spirited debate on the matter and soon a schism of sorts formed among the ranks. Two camps rallied around opposite solutions to address the situation.

    Some said, let’s sail on, mates! Let’s jerry-rig some patches and putty and press forward! We can make it to port with what we’ve got, and we can still win this race!

    Others recognized the grave danger and the impending threat to the ship. They insisted on outside help.

    Meanwhile, the captain radioed all nearby ships for aid. As far as his allegiance to the camps that had formed on the ship, he sat quietly on the fence and reserved all strategy on how to address the problem, depending on what help was available and at what price. He nonetheless scoured the waters for nearby lifeboats and rafts.

    What he found were various other ships in the vicinity – most of which offered a promise to help. Although they could certainly aid the ship in its race to port, none could guarantee the safety of all hands on board or a resolution to the problem for certain. So the captain had a choice to make, whether to accept these nearby offers, and he had until July 31st to make his final decision. After this date all ships would be out of range to help.

    Alas, the captain and the crew hemmed and hawed and debated night and day and until the sun came up; they pondered whether nearby help would come at too high a price, whether they could make it port alone, blah, blah, blah. Meanwhile, the water keep pouring ever so steadily into the lower decks, and amid all the blabbering and pontificating, the bow began to dip lower and lower and lower. And the July 31st deadline came and went and the ship was thus left to her own devices…

    Given the scene above, this fan’s certainly not jumping the ship. He’s just supremely perturbed the deck is now listing at a 45-degree angle, when the disaster could have been diverted weeks ago. (I see no sense rehashing all the arguments again. I can recite every rebuttal in my sleep). But don’t mistake my annoyance with jumping ship. I’m the guy on the deck, sipping brandy in black tie, listening to the quartet play its dirge amid the mayhem.

  81. I’m going to go out on a limb and call that the best extended metaphor of the season.

  82. Not sure where best to post this but here goes:

    Friday, Aug. 10: The Tigers’ Wives will serve as celebrity ice cream scoopers at the Ben ‘n’ Jerry’s PartnerShop at 1014 Woodward Avenue from 4-6:30 p.m. This Ben ‘n’ Jerry’s store operates in partnership with Goodwill Industries. The store provides Detroit youngsters (ages 14-21) a four-week training program at the Goodwill’s Detroit Career Center. After the classes have been completed, the youths are hired at this Ben ‘n’ Jerry’s location to apply the skills they learned, while gaining paid work experience. The Tigers’ Wives will serve as celebrity scoopers to draw attention to the special store, which serves at-risk youths in Detroit.

    Is anyone else going to the August 10 game? Maybe some of the posters would like to meet at Ben & Jerry’s before the game for this event. My daughter and I went last year and it was a lot of fun.

  83. RE: T Smith’s I’m the guy on the deck, sipping brandy in black tie, listening to the quartet play its dirge amid the mayhem.

    Best. Post. Ever.

  84. In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
    In the Baseball Players’ Cathedral
    The church bell chimed, ’til it rang 25 times
    For each man on the Jimmy Leyland.

    Apologies in advance to Gordon Lightfoot..

  85. Quote: “The band wagon is really flying now. No one allowed back on.”

    But at least we are still in first pl….

    oh, wait. nevermind….

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