PREGAME: The Tigers continue the 13 game stretch of schedule that is titled So you think you’re a playoff team. Episode 4 takes place tonight with the Tigers taking on the Yankees in a battle of lefties.

For the Tigers it will be Nate Robertson. Nate has pitched better over his last 3 games with 2 quality starts. His last game he limited the damage to 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings despite allowing 5 walks. The walks were uncharacteristic as Robertson had allowed only 6 walks combined over his last 5 starts.

Andy Pettitte takes the mound for the Yankees and he hasn’t allowed more than 3 runs since July 6th. Over that span of 7 starts he’s fanned 41 in 45 2/3 innings and only allowed 1 homer. Curtis Granderson and Sean Casey remain in the lineup and I’m not sure if it is because the team is still sick, or because lefties have a 871 OPS against Pettitte this season.

And if you were wondering about Cameron Maybin, he’ll bat 2nd and play left field tonight. He’ll be sporting the number 4.

Game Time 7:05pm
DET @ NYY, Friday, August 17, 2007 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

POSTGAME: With so much excitement throughout the day, I think it’s safe to say that the game was nothing more than an eh.

Cameron Maybin didn’t look particularly good with 2 K’s, an out on a bouncer that he hit when he was leaving the box. He also didn’t look very comfortable in left nearly overrunning one ball. A second ball looked like it could have been catch-able, but with the only angle they showed it was hard to tell. Maybin has played much left, and with the rains couldn’t get on the field prior to the game. I don’t know how much of a difference either made, but it is something to consider.

But I didn’t think the debut was all bad. I thought that each at-bat seemed to get better. He showed some plate discipline laying off borderline pitches, and in his last at-bat he drove a ball on the outer half of the plate well to right field. Leyland has already said he’ll play tomorrow, so we’ll see if things get better with one game under his belt.

As for the rest of the game, the story was Andy Pettitte. He was good, and the Tigers couldn’t really muster anything off of him. That pretty much was the game.

Nate Robertson pitched better than his final numbers show. He would have been out of the 3rd inning with the lead and in good shape on his pitch count if not for a high hop over Guillen’s glove. He allowed 10 hits, 2 of which were the infield variety, one was the high bounce over Guillen, and one was the ball past Maybin in left. Those incidents accounted for the bulk of the runs Nate allowed.

Brandon Inge knocked in the only Tigers run on a double so that was good. But Inge had another check swing strikeout. It’s not so much the strikeouts themselves that bother me, it’s the indecisiveness that is so frustrating.

Ryan Raburn was the only Tigers hitter to figure out Pettitte and he picked up a double and a single.

PREGAME: The Tigers head to the Bronx to take on the Yankees, and they’ll continue their battle with the flu as well. Carlos Guillen is still sick, but will play. Pudge Rodriguez is back in the lineup, but Placido Polanco is still out. Todd Jones is available, but Zach Miner isn’t.

Regardless, it’s always special playing the Yankees because, well they’re the Yankees. Add in the fact that they are the hottest team in baseball, and it will be the first time the Tigers have faced them since October, and the 2 teams are battling for a playoff spot, and Gary Sheffield returns to New York, and there is a little extra juice tonight.

As for the pitching match up it will be Justin Verlander taking on Mike Mussina. Verlander returned to form against Oakland with 6 strong innings and 7 K’s. His pitch count was run up a little, but a solid 2 run effort regardless.

Mussina has had 4 straight strong outings and hasn’t walked a batter in his last 3 starts. The Tigers always seem to struggle against Mussina, but then again it’s an older Mussina and a different Tigers team so maybe things will better.

For more on the Yankees check out the esteemed Bronx Banter.

Game Time 7:05

DET @ NYY, Thursday, August 16, 2007 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

POSTGAME: A very delayed post game today. After running a workshop at work this week, I was exhausted and decided to just enjoy a bottle of shiraz and retired to bed immediately following the game. But enough about me.

The Tigers picked up an important win in the opener of the series. While a loss wouldn’t have been the end of the world, getting that first win out of the way has to make it easier in what is essentially a playoff atmosphere. Of course, if they drop the next 3 the point is rendered moot.

The offense, led by everybody really, beat up on Mussina. For a pitcher that hadn’t walked a batter in his last 3 starts, getting the ball over the plate proved to be a struggle and the Tigers waited until he came with pitches in the zone. What was really nice to see is that after the initial onslaught, featuring the Carlos Guillen granny, the Tigers kept tacking on runs and got into the Yankees pen in the 6th.

Getting to the pen early was especially relevant with Justin Verlander throwing a ton of pitches. He also uncharacteristically fanned only 2 in 5 1/3 innings. It was a rough and draining performance for a guy who is fighting the flu.

And the Tigers bullpen is a whole ‘nother thing, but in a good way. Tim Byrdak allowed a hit, and fanned a batter. Zach Miner allowed a walk, but recorded all 4 of his outs on the K. Fernando Rodney allowed a hit and a walk, but recorded all 3 outs via the punchout (kinda like in Cleveland the other night). Todd Jones scuffled a bit, but picked an opportune time to give up a couple runs but the lead was never really threatened and even he ended the game with a, you guessed it, a strikeout.

Now the downside is that the Tigers used their top 2 relievers to protect a 5 run lead. Jones and Rodney threw 22 and 21 pitches respectively in a game that wasn’t really in doubt. So despite chasing Mussina early, the Tigers expended more bullpen juice. Hopefully it’s a nonissue for the rest of the series.

PREGAME: A depleted Tigers team will take on the Indians tonight. Placido Polanco and Craig Monroe remain out, and it has now spread to Carlos Guillen, Pudge Rodriguez, Todd Jones, and Kenny Rogers. Mike Rabelo will start at catcher, but Carlos Guillen will remain in the lineup and play shortstop. Todd Jones may or may not be available.

A different kind of fever is probably impacting Jair Jurrjens who makes the jump from AA Erie to make his Major League debut tonight. Jurrjens has been lights out in Erie his last 3 starts with 2 earned runs allowed and a 24:1 K/BB ratio.

The Tigers will try to get to Fausto Carmona. Carmona has gone at least 7 innings in his last 6 starts so getting him to throw a lot of pitches early will be a challenge. They did get to him for 10 hits and 5 runs in 6 innings back on June 1st. You remember June 1st don’t you?

POSTGAME: Some losses are easier to take than others. tonight was one of those easier ones. Carmona was pretty darn unhittable as he racked up a career high 10 strikeouts. It wasn’t until the 8th inning that the Tigers picked up their first extra base hit, which was also Curtis Granderson’s 19th triple.

What made it palatable is that the Tigers got a strong start from Jurrjens. He didn’t look rattled, and even after being a little roughed up in the 3rd he came back with strong innings in the 4th and 5th. He lasted 7 innings and held the Tribe to 5 hits which is all you could ask from a 21 making his debut on national TV.

There were some disappointing elements to the game though. With Granderson on 3rd and nobody out, the Tigers had the chance to cut the deficit to one. Instead the 2-3-4 hitters failed to get the bal lout of the infield. And instead of hanging close, Bobby Seay had a rough inning and walked Travis Hafner to force in a run – although he did make a couple nice pitches to Hafner that he couldn’t get calls on. Which was surprising since the strike zone was big for both teams tonight. Still, Seay made his own mess in the first place.

Also, the Indians weren’t exactly sharp tonight. Victor Martinez made a baserunning mistake, and Ryan Garko forgot to stand on first base for a force play. But Carmona was just too much to overcome.
Game Time 7:05

DET @ CLE, Wednesday, August 15, 2007 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

PREGAME: Am I crazy for being geeked about this stretch of games? Given the way the Tigers have played lately I probably am, but I guess I’m anxious to see what the team is made of. I’m not going to take the position that the season will be decided over the next 2 weeks, that’s just silly. Unless the team is 4-9 or worse, or 9-4 or better, their status probably won’t really change. Still, the chance to see them take on the teams they are competing with for playoff spots should be exciting.

It starts tonight with Jeremy Bonderman. As much as baseball is a team game, Jeremy Bonderman is going to be critical to the team’s success down the stretch. With the injuries to Rogers and Miller, the Tigers need to get consistent efforts from Robertson, Verlander, and Bonderman. The other 2 have at least given decent outings of late, whereas Bondo has been in a tailspin. He’s giving up a ton of hits, more walks than normal, and not striking out many while racking up big pitch counts. And of course there’s that pesky first inning issue which has become ridiculous as of late.

He’ll be face by C.C. Sabathia. The Tigers knocked him around pretty good the last two times they faced him, and chased him after 4 innings in July. We’ll see if the Tigers are a little extra juiced to face C.C. after he predicted a title for the Indians earlier this month.

Marcus Thames will play left field instead of his usual post at first base against the left hander. Carlos Guillen will man first with Omar Infante at short and Ryan Raburn at second. Curtis Granderson gets the start in centerfield. Jason Beck reports that the Placido Polanco and Craig Monroe are battling the flu. Let’s just hope it doesn’t spread.

For the Indians Travis Hafner, bad knee and all, will be in the lineup and bat 5th.

Game Time 7:05pm
DET @ CLE, Tuesday, August 14, 2007 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

POSTGAME: Nice. I was IM’ing Ian of Bless You Boys and in the 9th inning I commented that regardless of the outcome I was happy with the team’s performance. There was sweet defense, the offense chipping away at a pitcher with his A game, some nice bullpen performances, and most importantly a strong start from Jeremy Bonderman.

Jeremy Bonderman had a bad 2 batter sequence where he shook off a change up and instead h is Casey Blake with a fastball. He then fell behind Grady Sizemore 3-1 before surrendering the homer in the first. After that he picked up 3 ground balls, 2 for outs, and the inning was over. He induced 8 ground outs, 2 infield pop outs, and he fanned 8. So the outfielders weren’t really tested during those first 7 innings. Bondo needed an outing like that, the Tigers needed an outing like that, and I think all fans needed an outing like that.

• Tigers pitchers fanned 14 Indians tonight. Three of those K’s were by Fernando Rodney with the winning run on 2nd base. One of those was by Tim Byrdak with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out. And one was by Todd Jones with runners on 2nd and 3rd and one out. That’s slamming the door.
• Of course Byrdak needed a little help slamming the door and he got it from Curtis Granderson who preserved the lead going into the 9th by making a fabulous diving catch on a sinking liner from Travis Hafner. It was on par with his catch this past Saturday and a catch he made against the Twins in that 1-0 Sunday Night game.
• Omar Infante turned in some nifty plays at short and reached base 4 times. Nice from the back up infielder.
• Magglio Ordonez is doing his best to make it an MVP race. I still think it is A-Rod’s right now, but Magg’s recent surge has closed the gap. His slugging is back over 600, he’s only 6 behind in RBI, and he holds a big advantage in batting average and OBP.
• Brandon Inge was 0 for 5 with 4 K’s, 2 of the check swing variety.
• Fernando Rodney has made 5 appearances since coming off the DL. He’s faced 16 batters, and only 2 have reached base while he has fanned 7. Tonight his fastball was sitting in the 96-98mph range. But with 25 pitches I don’t know if he’ll be available tomorrow.
• The roster move that was made to accomodate Jair Jurrjens was Yorman Bazardo being optioned to Toledo. But there will need to be another move to free up a spot on the 40 man roster. (actually 2 to make room for Rick Procello)

Tigers 6 Indians 2