PREGAME: Things that annoy:
Starting off a game post after winning a series with they Yankees by saying “the Tigers look to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Royals…”
I can talk pitching match-ups until I’m blue in the face, but only one pitcher matters in this one and it is Jeremy Bonderman who has to perform. I don’t even care if he gives up a run in the first inning. I just want to see a strong effort that spares a bullpen that was burnt out in the first 2 games of this series. I want him to go shut down a team and get the Tigers a win. It’s that simple.
POSTGAME: Yeah, totally sorry about the game thread today folks. I knew I was going to be away from a computer the bulk of the day, so I used one of the neat features with the blog software that allows me to schedule a post ahead of time. So I wrote the game thread last night, and set it to go live like it were a night game. But it wasn’t. Plus it was actually game 134 not 135. See, the season is wearing on me too. Sloppy play on my part.
As for the game itself, Bonderman was good. Yes it was the Royals, but look how much trouble Robertson and Miller had the last 2 nights, and how much trouble Bonderman has had regardless of the opponent. He made it through 7 innings on only 87 pitches and 63 were for strikes. A pretty incredible ratio no matter who you’re pitching against.
And Grandy and Ordonez powered the offense, with…wait for it…help from Timo Perez. Some may call it Jim Leyland pushing the right buttons by batting a guy who couldn’t crack the big league roster until late August at DH in the 3 hole pushing the right buttons. Or maybe it was dumb luck. Or maybe Leyland knows something that we don’t. (I’ll go with door number 2)
The offense has hardly been dormant in this series as they’ve piled up hits in each of the 3 games. Today they finally cashed in some of those baserunners into runs. And once again a solo homer sparked a crooked number inning. We’ve seen it several times in the last few weeks and it was Granderson who got it started this time.
On to the West Coast. Again.
Maybin’s 1st walk
Well, your wish was granted today Billfer!
Why not let Bondo try for the CG? The Bullpen put in a lot of work the last 2 games…
Yep. Kudos to Bondo for that start
Either way, nice job Bonderman. Great to see you pitch like that again.
Bondo was good because he attacked the zone. No walks. They actually got some good swings on him, and his stuff is still not A grade. But he took a page from Jair Jurjjens playbook and went after em’, and let the defense help.
Methinks the problem with “Bonderlander” is that they both try to pitch like Kenny Rogers, when they should be pouring it in.
Did bondo throw anything other than his fastball and slider?
Man, Rodney has just looked awesome since coming back. Reminds me of a couple years ago when he looked like our future closer. I like him a lot.
And somehow this whole Timo Perez batting 3rd thing looked good today… I still think Leyland cost us a couple games, but man does he seem to find a way to prove people wrong too.
Gotta love Granderson and his 80-whatevereth extra-base hit!
Dave T, I commented on the same thing earlier in the previous post. I believe ve we are thinking rightly.
Ordoñez – 119 RBI, .359 Avg
A-Rod – 124 RBI, .305 Avg
If we pull this off, and really even if we don’t and Maggs overtakes in the RBI chase, I think we’ve got ourselves a MVP.
1. Don’t be fooled — it is never the right move to bat Timo Perez third.
2. Maggs trails A-Rod in VORP, EqA and OPS. As great as Maggs has been, A-Rod has been significantly better if you look beyond batting average.
Does Bondo have anything other than a FB and Slider? (I know he “has” a changeup, but I haven’t seen it in a while)
Luckily, Brad, BBWAA doesn’t really look at anything other than the traditional stats. Add to that the irrational hatred that the NY media hold for A-Rod, and I think Maggs has a good chance.
Timo Perez with 2 more hits. Well, you know what this means – Leyland will continue to play him. Damn.
Maggs gets the MVP only if the Tigers make some kind of magical comeback, make the playoffs, which probably still means winning the division and Maggs can be seen as the driving force behind it. Even if he wins the batting and rbi titles, my guess is A-Rod’s homeruns plus the fact that he is from NY still trump him. If the Yankees make the playoffs, even if the Tigers win the division, I think A-Rod still has the advantage.
I’ll reserve judgment on Bonderman; it wasn’t like he was facing the Royals A-lineup today. He’s been too disappointing lately to get me overly excited by this one outing.
It looks like Granderson is going to make the 20-20-20-20 mark – 2 more HR and 3 SB should be attainable. If Curtis learns how to hit LHP a little better, we may have a perennial .300 BA power hitter here. His OPS vs RH is close to 1.0 now. vs LHP it is a putrid .482.
Granderson will hit lefties. He’s Grady Sizemore-like and this is the first year that Sizemore started hitting LHP and Grandy is a year behind Sizemore.
What we have is a hitter wasting away in the leadoff spot.
Polanco
Raburn
Guillen
Magglio
Granderson
Thames
Casey
I-Rod
Santiago
That’s, of course, with Guillen DH’ing and Raburn at 3rd.
The only problem with your lineup is that Polanco generally refuses to hit lead off. Someday in the future, Granderson will slip to third.
Just caught this in the AP recap…
“The Tigers started the day 4 1/2 games behind AL Central-leading Cleveland, which hosts Cleveland Thursday night.”
Andrew–
right on on Rodney..one of the few recent bright spots–11 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 15 K, 0 Runs allowed.
that’s not just good, that’s unreal.
According to Price and Dickerson, Bondo did mix in a few changes today, which was the first time they’d seen it in awhile.
To echo Rob, it was good to see that Bondo didn’t f-around with a crappy Royals lineup…throw lots of strikes and make them beat you.
Avoiding the sweep is nice, but with 28 left to play, they must start sweeping series themselves and winning at least 3/4.
On to see (former Tiger 3B prospect) Jack Hannahan and the A’s…
(Hey, remember when we started our “hot” streak last year with a visit to Oakland?)
Just ran across these items. Haven’t seen them posted here yet…
http://blog.mlive.com/tigersinsider/
Vasquez to start Friday at Oakland. Miller to Lakeland (though it looks temporary). Clay Rapada is the Craig Monroe PTBNL. Aqualino Lopez outrighted to Toledo (to make room for Rapada on the 40-man).
I heard there’s a chance we’ll see Rapada in September
-Bondo threw a couple changeups, atleast one I know of he got a strike 1 on.
-Even if Timo Perez found a way to hit a 7-run homerun I still wouldnt want him batthing third.
-Granderson will eventually become a three hitter, but not for a few years
-Vazquez tommorw will be ineteresting
-Watching Polly hit in oakland will be fun as well
Good game!
Jim, I’m thinking maybe 2 years for Grandy to hit third. Also, you seem to have an unusual hatred for Timo Perez. Give the guy a chance, he has been ok since being brought back up.
Don’t forget about Chris Lambert coming over from the Cards to complete the Maroth trade. With an ERA of 7.49 in 28 games at AAA, this looks like a less than nothing exchange.
Here’s the line on Rapada:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Clay%20Rapada&pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=449060
whoop-de-do. But then he is only 26 years old.
K-Man, there’s no hatred for Timo Perez. He’d make a lovely 8 or 9 hitter–if you didn’t have a guy who’s hit more than 40 HR in his last 600 ABs on your bench, that is.
Marcus Thames’ combined line over the last two seasons:
570 AB
91 R
144 H
30 2B
2 3B
41 HR
103 RBI
47 BB
150 K
AVG: .253
OBP:.310
SLG: .528
Free Marcus Thames!
K-Man
It’s not that I hate him it’s more of a hatrid of the role he’s been put in. He represents another one of leylands hunch’s that he loves to do where as right now I’d be much more happy with solid managing.
Another reason is I believe he’s taking playing time away from Raburn, Maybin and Thames, players I feel deserve to play over him reguardles of lefty/righty crap.
Exactly Kyle. My father and I have been saying over and over GIVE HIM 400 AB’s! More than likely he’s the type of guy who’d go 1/4 with a Homerun or double everyday. I’d take that over Timo.
Full career stats on Rapada:
http://thebaseballcube.com/players/R/Clay-Rapada.shtml
Full careet stats on Lambert:
http://thebaseballcube.com/players/L/Chris-Lambert.shtml
Suffice to say Rapada is more intrigueing. Atleast a nickname for him would be easy too
You think Thames’ production would decline as an every day player? (a la Frank Catalanotto or David Dellucci)
Borowski is melting down….. Go Ems!
tie game come on seattle!
Kevin: doubtful. If anything, Thames’ production has gotten better with more AB’s in his career.
I find it interesting that so many people who criticize Thames (not that YOU are being critical), particularly in comparison to C-Mo (using such banal reasons as “clutch”) use the arguement that he’s “never been a starter” or would “decline as an everyday player,” often based on his post-All-Star slump last year. Even with that slump, 2006 was by far his most productive season. As Kyle J states, this year has been a continuation of that trend.
Kyle J is right: Play Thames. Period. He’s earned it and deserves it.
He has the best career HR/AB ratio on the roster. To that end, I posted this on another site last week:
********
…but its been nice to see Thames FINALLY getting regular playing time. The guy mashes when he gets AB’s, even if he’ll never be a high BA guy.
In doing a bit of research, Thames has slightly over 1000 plate
appearances in his career. To qualify for “all time leader” status, one needs 3000 appearances, but that being said, Marcus’ current lifetime average is hitting a homer every 15.3 AB’s.
Historically, this would place him 19th (!!) all time.
Guys ahead of him on the list:
1. Mark McGwire 10.60
2. Babe Ruth+ 11.80
3. Barry Bonds 12.90
4. Jim Thome 13.70
5. Adam Dunn 14.00
6. Ralph Kiner+ 14.10
Albert Pujols 14.10
8. Harmon Killebrew+ 14.20
9. Alex Rodriguez 14.30
10. Manny Ramirez 14.40
11. Sammy Sosa 14.50
12. Ken Griffey 14.80
Ted Williams+ 14.80
14. Juan Gonzalez 15.10
Dave Kingman 15.10
Mickey Mantle+ 15.10
17. Jimmie Foxx+ 15.20
Mike Schmidt+ 15.20
(+=Hall of Famer)
Not bad company if you ask me.
Who knows whether he remains in the Tigers’ long term plans if Maybin has “arrived,” but Thames deserves to play for someone, no matter what.
(Just for the record – and because I can’t resist – Brandon Inge – the famous #9 hole power hitter – does have 3000+ plate appearances and is 473rd on the list, tied with the famous Norm Seibern, at 33.9 HR/AB.)
**************
Kevin: why would it decline? Thames has done nothing but get better with more AB’s.
His best season was last year, even with his post-AS break slump, and he’s done nothing but continue that trend this year, despite continued unexplained absences from the lineup.
Kyle J is right: Play Thames! Period. He’s earned it and deserves it.
People who’ve questioned him always say “he’s never been a starter” or “he’s a part-timer” or “bad defense,” etc., particularly in comparison to the departed C-Mo, who was so “clutch”, blah-blah.
To this, I copy a post I made on another site last week:
************
…but its been nice to see Thames FINALLY getting regular playing time. The guy mashes when he gets AB’s, even if he’ll never be a high BA guy.
In doing a bit of research, Thames has slightly over 1000 plate
appearances in his career. To qualify for “all time leader” status, one needs 3000 appearances, but that being said, Marcus’ current lifetime average is hitting a homer every 15.3 AB’s.
Historically, this would place him 19th (!!) all time.
Guys ahead of him on the list:
1. Mark McGwire 10.60
2. Babe Ruth+ 11.80
3. Barry Bonds 12.90
4. Jim Thome 13.70
5. Adam Dunn 14.00
6. Ralph Kiner+ 14.10
Albert Pujols 14.10
8. Harmon Killebrew+ 14.20
9. Alex Rodriguez 14.30
10. Manny Ramirez 14.40
11. Sammy Sosa 14.50
12. Ken Griffey 14.80
Ted Williams+ 14.80
14. Juan Gonzalez 15.10
Dave Kingman 15.10
Mickey Mantle+ 15.10
17. Jimmie Foxx+ 15.20
Mike Schmidt+ 15.20
(+=Hall of Famer)
Not bad company if you ask me.
Who knows whether he remains in the Tigers’ long term plans if Maybin has “arrived,” but Thames deserves to play for someone, no matter what.
Just for the record – and because I can’t resist – Brandon Inge, the famous “#9 hole power hitter,” does have 3000+ plate appearances and is 473rd on the list, tied with the famous Norm Seibern, at 33.9 HR/AB. 🙂
***************
Kevin: No. If I recall correctly, his best stats came when he was the regular DH the first half of last season.
Why was Seattle pitching a guy with a 7.41 ERA in the 9th inning of a tied game?
He just walked in the winning run.
It’s because they were out of better pitchers and they had lefty Eric O’Flaherty in there, so they went to get Rick White to get Peralta and Gutierrez out (righty-righty matchup). White got Peralta to fly out to right and then he walked Gutierrez to load the bases. The Mariners didn’t have their only remaining lefty heating up in the pen so they just stuck with White and hoped he got hte final out…which he didn’t.
I’m confused…What happened to that lights-out Seattle bullpen we keep hearing about?
And once again Borowski forced me to pull a Harry Doyle and pull out my stash of bubbly…he scares the living daylights out of me.
Blowrowski
Cubbies fans very upset to lose rapada:
http://www.prosportsdaily.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139505
I guess they just had an off-night with a little bit of two out bad luck. After the Mariners took a 4-3 lead, the Indians got two two-out, run-scoring hits to retake the lead. They also had a bad break in the ninth with one guy on and one out when Ryan Garko sort of backed into a pitch to put the winning run in scoring position.
By the way I saw Bonderman pitch and he looked pretty impressive…his best start in a while. This is the kind of boost the Tigers need, especially with the starting rotation depleted.
Oh and btw, did anyone else see Rodney? MY GOD is he hot right now. his changeup was fiiiiiilthy today.
Where is everyone? We’re not even gonna top 100 comments tonight 🙁
Kevin: why would it decline? Thames has done nothing but get better with more AB’s.
His best season was last year, even with his post-AS break slump, and he’s done nothing but continue that trend this year, despite continued unexplained absences from the lineup.
Kyle J is right: Play Thames! Period. He’s earned it and deserves it.
People who’ve questioned him always say “he’s never been a starter” or “he’s a part-timer” or “bad defense,” etc., particularly in comparison to the departed C-Mo, who was so “clutch”, blah-blah. The fact is, Thames is productive and carries a threat that’s lacking at times in our lineup of 25 HR/yr guys: instant runs. He’s a 40+ guy over a full season.
To this, I copy a post I made on another site last week:
************
…but its been nice to see Thames FINALLY getting regular playing time. The guy mashes when he gets AB’s, even if he’ll never be a high BA guy.
In doing a bit of research, Thames has slightly over 1000 plate
appearances in his career. To qualify for “all time leader” status, one needs 3000 appearances, but that being said, Marcus’ current lifetime average is hitting a homer every 15.3 AB’s.
Historically, this would place him 19th (!!) all time.
Guys ahead of him on the list:
1. Mark McGwire 10.60
2. Babe Ruth+ 11.80
3. Barry Bonds 12.90
4. Jim Thome 13.70
5. Adam Dunn 14.00
6. Ralph Kiner+ 14.10
Albert Pujols 14.10
8. Harmon Killebrew+ 14.20
9. Alex Rodriguez 14.30
10. Manny Ramirez 14.40
11. Sammy Sosa 14.50
12. Ken Griffey 14.80
Ted Williams+ 14.80
14. Juan Gonzalez 15.10
Dave Kingman 15.10
Mickey Mantle+ 15.10
17. Jimmie Foxx+ 15.20
Mike Schmidt+ 15.20
(+=Hall of Famer)
Not bad company if you ask me.
Who knows whether he remains in the Tigers’ long term plans if Maybin has “arrived,” but Thames deserves to play for someone, no matter what.
Just for the record – and because I can’t resist – Brandon Inge, the famous “#9 hole power hitter,” does have 3000+ plate appearances and is 473rd on the list, tied with the famous Norm Seibern, at 33.9 HR/AB. 🙂
***************
Kevin: why would it decline? Thames has done nothing but get better with more AB’s.
His best season was last year, even with his post-AS break slump, and he’s done nothing but continue that trend this year, despite continued unexplained absences from the lineup.
Kyle J is right: Play Thames! Period. He’s earned it and deserves it.
People who’ve questioned him always say “he’s never been a starter” or “he’s a part-timer” or “bad defense,” etc., particularly in comparison to the departed C-Mo, who was so “clutch”, blah-blah.
To this, I copy a post I made on another site last week:
************
…but its been nice to see Thames FINALLY getting regular playing time. The guy mashes when he gets AB’s, even if he’ll never be a high BA guy.
In doing a bit of research, Thames has slightly over 1000 plate
appearances in his career. To qualify for “all time leader” status, one needs 3000 appearances, but that being said, Marcus’ current lifetime average is hitting a homer every 15.3 AB’s.
Historically, this would place him 19th (!!) all time.
Guys ahead of him on the list:
1. Mark McGwire 10.60
2. Babe Ruth+ 11.80
3. Barry Bonds 12.90
4. Jim Thome 13.70
5. Adam Dunn 14.00
6. Ralph Kiner+ 14.10
Albert Pujols 14.10
8. Harmon Killebrew+ 14.20
9. Alex Rodriguez 14.30
10. Manny Ramirez 14.40
11. Sammy Sosa 14.50
12. Ken Griffey 14.80
Ted Williams+ 14.80
14. Juan Gonzalez 15.10
Dave Kingman 15.10
Mickey Mantle+ 15.10
17. Jimmie Foxx+ 15.20
Mike Schmidt+ 15.20
(+=Hall of Famer)
Not bad company if you ask me.
Who knows whether he remains in the Tigers’ long term plans if Maybin has “arrived,” but Thames deserves to play for someone, no matter what.
Just for the record – and because I can’t resist – Brandon Inge, the famous “#9 hole power hitter,” does have 3000+ plate appearances and is 473rd on the list, tied with the famous Norm Seibern, at 33.9 HR/AB. 🙂
***************
“…but its been nice to see Thames FINALLY getting regular playing time. The guy mashes when he gets AB’s, even if he’ll never be a high BA guy.
In doing a bit of research, Thames has slightly over 1000 plate
appearances in his career. To qualify for “all time leader” status, one needs 3000 appearances, but that being said, Marcus’ current lifetime average is hitting a homer every 15.3 AB’s.
Historically, this would place him 19th (!!) all time.
Guys ahead of him on the list:
1. Mark McGwire 10.60
2. Babe Ruth+ 11.80
3. Barry Bonds 12.90
4. Jim Thome 13.70
5. Adam Dunn 14.00
6. Ralph Kiner+ 14.10
Albert Pujols 14.10
8. Harmon Killebrew+ 14.20
9. Alex Rodriguez 14.30
10. Manny Ramirez 14.40
11. Sammy Sosa 14.50
12. Ken Griffey 14.80
Ted Williams+ 14.80
14. Juan Gonzalez 15.10
Dave Kingman 15.10
Mickey Mantle+ 15.10
17. Jimmie Foxx+ 15.20
Mike Schmidt+ 15.20
(+=Hall of Famer)
Not bad company if you ask me.
Who knows whether he remains in the Tigers’ long term plans if Maybin has “arrived,” but Thames deserves to play for someone, no matter what.
Just for the record – and because I can’t resist – Brandon Inge, the famous “#9 hole power hitter,” does have 3000+ plate appearances and is 473rd on the list, tied with the famous Norm Seibern, at 33.9 HR/AB. :)”
Jim ,I think a lot of people looked at the standings, did some aritmetic and settled into a depressed state of watching Animal Planet, checked the Indians score, became more depressed ,watched more Animal Planet and then fell asleep on the couch.
Doctor, doctor, I detect a faint heartbeat. Yes nurse, but it’s very weak. IT’S A MIRACLE! IT’S A MIRACLE! Nurse, get a hold of yourself. You remember last year when the same thing happened and we had that big celebration and still ended up losing the patient? Yes, doctor, that was very unfortunate.
On the topic of our newly named PTBNL from the Cubs, I just spent a month in Des Moines (home of the AAA Iowa Cubs) and had the chance to catch two of the I Cubs games. Our new Tiger, Clay Rapada did not pitch in either game that I attended, but I did snap a few pictures. If anyone wants to see some amateur photos of minor league baseball:
http://picasaweb.google.com/keith.giertz/IowaCubs
To the “Bring A-Rod to Detroit” contingient. You gotta be kidding! There aren’t enough strippers in Windsor to entice him to come. Where’s he going to take his shirt off for his photo ops – Belle Isle? He’s never won anything anyways. We need some .290, 20 HR, 90 RBI guys who don’t complain when their shoulder hurts; players who don’t sit out a week when they get the flu; pitchers who do not suffer from tired arms; and a manager who is not in the early stages of dementia.
Ron, you couldn’t be more wrong about A-Rod. He DOESN’T take a day off. He has played more then 148 games a year, every year, since 2000. 3 of those years he played in every single game. 2 of those years he played 162 were in the intense heat of Texas, manning a demanding position of Shortstop, and managing to post an OPS of 1.021 and 1.015 in those two seasons. Hitters park aside, to be THAT productive (something Hank Blaylock and Mark Teixeira never did in that park) while in that heat is astounding.
And I do think he would have interest in Detroit. He wants a ring, I don’t care what anyone says. There are few players (if any) that don’t want to win and would rather make money. Here, he could play SS again for a team that’s got World Series aspirations, the ballpark being a “pitchers park” can be refuted now with the seasons Magglio and Sheffield and Guillen are having/were having in sheff’s case and the numbers back up that it’s almost neutral between hitters and pitchers. Not like he needs a hitters park to be successful — turning Yankee Stadium which is tough on RH hitters into his own batting cage.
Do I think he will come here? No. But there will be interest as we’ve shown a propensity to spend money and this year we’re 3rd in the AL in attendance, meaning we actually would have a surplus of money to be working from. And how much can his mental toughness be questioned? He’s won an MVP and on his way to a 2nd while playing in New York. And his postseason woes are misleading as after game 1 of the ALDS last year, no one in the Yanks lineup was hitting.
I just think there are a ton of misnomers that are out there about A-Rod that are just that — misnomers.
yeah!
and guess what: in baseball you are selling entertainment and to make money ya need fans. several things attract fans. one is winning. but another is having colorful characters on yer team and our Tigers are well on their way to creating one of the most colorful teams in baseball with players like Grandy, Casey, and Thames. and Maggs too of course. I didn’t get a Maggs hat 🙁
remember mark Fydrich? what a character. the fans loved him and our Tigers are well on their way to creating one of the most loved teams ever in baseball
figured out what to do
tee hee
even the annopuncers on our local sand lot game (Kalamazoo Kings) know the pitcher HAS to go after the hitters
and this is where coaching is letting Leyland down. and I don’t like it and I think it needs fixed
Kenny Rogers for Pitching Coach!!
Thames does just fine in left
and when he comes to the plate: LOOK OUT!
Grandy as lead-off with Poly at #2 makes perfect sense
notice last night how many times they tried to pick off Grandy
ain’t no better way to start an inning that with Grandy on base. if he don’t hit a triple he’ll steal 2d
that’s been an issue with Bondo, but more than than Bondo hasn’t “pitched to the bat” — as Jim Leyland puts it. i.e. go after the hitters
MLB pitcher should have at least 3 pitches he can get over reliably for a strike
first of course is the fastball and he should be able to throw a tailing fastball as well as a rising fastball
second taught generally is the curve
next, any pitcher throwing fastballs is going to have to learn to throw change-ups unless he wants to get bombed again and again
next, the slider is regarder as a devasting pitch but — often — runs out of the strike zone
sliders and sinkers — stuff that runs out of the strike zone are go when the pitcher is ahead in the count.
but first the pitcher has to get ahead in the count
and that is where we see pitcher failing today
the best thing the pitcher can do is get up and challenge the batter with the first pitch. make it 0-1
but you don’t wanna throw everyone that first pitch a fastball down the pipe. and that is why ya gotta have at least 3 pitches ya can throw reliably for a strike
I remember George Kell telling us on radio of one of the great Yankee pitchers ( can’t remember which one ) “He’ll show you the fastball”
yeah, baby! Command and location — that’s the game
I noticed a remark above I like too — Kenny Rogers is a finesse pitcher. possibly come with age. but yeah, if the young bucks try to emulate that too much instead of challenging the hiters and “pitching to the bat” — they’ll get in trouble unless they have the mastery of command and location that Kenny has had
If Kenny know this and can teach it ( I bet he does) he might make a heck of a pitching coach. but I do not like what I see happening on the squad right now and something has to change
From the other thread:
The difference is that the Tigers imploded last year at the end of the regular season, is that what you are counting on from the Indians?
Except that the tigers destiny is NOT in their own hands. Having destiny in your hands means that if they win, they are in. Which is not the case. The tigers could win every game for the rest of the year, and still miss the playoffs. The Indians destiny, however is in their own hands.
Even if they lose all 3 to us, they still can win the division, as that is only 3 games and their lead is 4.5.
Being a big Wings fan also, I used to keep hope alive until the team was officially eliminated, but after so many heart breaking and devastating seasons, I try to be more realistic so the pain in the end is not as bad. I would love to see the Tigers in the playoffs, but I am just looking at the facts.
The Indians have 29 games left. If they go 14-15 (under .500), then the tigers need to go 19-9 to win the division. (if my math is correct).
(hopefully this post works, as I am uncertain how well my attempt at quoting will work)
Mike, I know A Rod plays every day. I was referring to the current Tigers When I suggested we need some replacements. As for your statement about players wanting to win versus money, let’s see where A Rod ends up. His best chance to win a World Series is with the team he’s currently with and yet he hasn’t committed to them. Could money be the defining issue here? Yes,players want to win but not at the expense of their checkbook. Now the tide might be shifting for A Rod at this point in his career because he’s got a gazzillion bucks in his bank account , but I doubt it. He may want to win that coveted World Series ring as an owner. And being mentally tough and winning MVP awards means your a damn good ballplayer and that is all it means.We did not fall apart this year because we didn’t have an A Rod. You and I both know that in April we were on the fast track to the Series. We hit the proverbial pothole that turned into a sinkhole in July. Your argument would be that A Rod could of carried us on his back thru this period. Don’t let his gaudy numbers fool you. And this is not a misnomer. He does melt down at the most inoppurtune times.
ron,I’m not the biggest ARod fan,and I agree he probably wouldn’t sign with the Tigers,but as to your statement that he’s never won anything,I beg to differ.He’s won:
AL MVP in 2003 and 2005
AL Player of the Year in 2001,2002,and 2003
AL Batting Title in1996,Home Run Title in 2001,2002,2003,2005 & RBI Title in 2002 and 2007(for those paying attention,that’s 2/3 of a Triple Crown in 2002)
Silver Slugger Awards in 1996,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2005
Gold Gloves(at SS) in 2002 and 2003
It’s frustrating listening to and reading people repeat the wisdom “He’s never won anything anyway”.Since I pointed out a couple of things that he has won,perhaps you could provide a list of all of the individuals who have won World Series titles,which I believe is the point of your comment.Anyone who doesn’t think that adding one of the best players IN THE HISTORY OF THE GAME in the prime of his career wouldn’t improve their team because he hasn’t singlehandedly pitched,hit,and fielded the teams he’s played on to World Series titles deserves a team with Brandon Inge at third base or Ramon Santiago at shortstop(given the prevailing sentiment of moving Carlos Guillen to first base to replace the anemic Sean Casey).
On the tradeoff between BA and HRs:
Sean Casey is basically a .300 hitter who almost never hits a HR.
Marcus Thames is basically a .250 hitter who hits a HR ever 15 ABs.
So Casey gets an extra hit (a single or a double) every 20 ABs.
And Thames gets an extra HR (instead of a single or a double) every 15 ABs.
I’ll take the extra HR.
I won’t even do the comparison with Timo’s career numbers . . .
Wow, the ARod fans are coming out of the woodwork now. Thanks Bob, you saved me the trouble of going to Barnes and Noble and checking out all those awards in the Baseball Almanac that A Rod has accumulated. I only watch baseball in October, so I’m not too familiar with the guy.
If ARod does become a Tiger, The announcers will have to practice their IT’S AN A BOMB FROM A ROD call. I hear that he just loves it.
Like I said,not a big fan,just someone tired of the echo chamber repeating the nonsense about ARod not winning anything.But how about taking the trouble to look up the long list of individual players who have won a World Series by playing all nine positions simultaneously?
By the way,I did take the trouble of looking up post season stats of some other ‘losers’.
AB AVG/OBP/SLG HR RBI
ARod 132 280/362/485 6 16
Gary Sheffield 161 248/401/398 6 19
Barry Bonds 151 245/433/503 9 24
Mike Schmidt 140 236/304/386 4 16
Cal Ripken 110 336/411/455 1 8
and my favorite:
Willie Mays 89 247/323/337 1 10
Obviously my formatting skills leave something to be desired,but I think you can get the idea.Or maybe not.It’s kind of obvious you only watch baseball in October,because you’re clueless in August.
I was babysitting my grandson yesterday at my son’a house (no internet access) and just happened to turn the game on. Forgot they had an afternoon game. Wow, that was nice!
I was a little disappointed to see Timo in the lineup, but he did OK.
Here’s some other things I like:
1. Seeing Carlos at 1st base. He just looks like he belongs there and plays it with a flair for the dramatic.
2. Finally, watching Bondo being dominant.
3. Fernando Rodney (after all the “upper body rehabilitations”, tired arm, tendonitis, etc. Looking like the stud he really is.
4. Santiago at SS. He’s good.
While individual awards are important to the players and add to the fans enjoyment; bottom line, I’d give all that up to see us make it into the playoffs. I’ve decided to stop watching what Cleveland and other teams are doing and just enjoy watching the Tigers this season and see where they land. Hope Sheff and Kenny can make it back, too.
After rewatching the game, I was most impressed with the defense yesterday, everyone’s head looked like it was fully in the game. And as Rod and Mario noted, it looked like Guillen was completely comfortable at 1st base. I know he’s not really wanting to move there, but he’s building his case to move there sooner rather than later. A first baseman who moves like a shortstop? He robbed 2 players of potential doubles yesterday.
We gotta connection, tiff!!
Kyle J – thanks for putting the case for Thames so succinctly. With Sheffield out, he should be an everyday starter. Period. Especially when you figure in the fact that he can slot in at three different spots (LF, 1B and DH).
Kathy, we were on the same wavelength!
Enough ARod. We got 29 games to catch those damn Yankees for the wild card. GO TIGERS.
Billfer, don’t beat yourself up over the imperfections, we love ya, man!