PREGAME: It looks like a pretty clear mismatch on paper. Chad Durbin is taking on Roger Clemens.

Durbin was knocked around in his last start against the A’s and allowed 10 baserunners in 4 1/3 innings. He walked 4 despite routinely getting ahead in the count because he couldn’t put hitters away, or at least get them to put the ball in play. That won’t be any easier against a very disciplined Yankees team.

Roger Clemens can be quite effective, but it isn’t a sure thing anymore. A look at his game log and it’s easy to see you don’t know what you’re going to get. He has only thrown more than 100 pitches once since the beginning of June so the Tigers may be able to chase him relatively early.

Game Time 3:55
DET @ NYY, Saturday, August 18, 2007 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

PREGAME: Going in this game looked like a mismatch. In the top of the 6th inning it still looked that way, but only for the good guys. The Tigers had just ensured that Clemens had pitched his last inning and had put pressure on him the whole game. Meanwhile Chad Durbin had gone through the first 5 innings on 65 pitches retiring 6 Yankees in a row on a total of 13 pitches in the 4th and 5th. The only concern was that the many missed opportunities the Tigers had wouldn’t come back to haunt them.

That concern was founded as Derek Jeter led off with a single and Bobby Abreu hit a homer that seemed more like a pop-up. Next thing you know Chad Durbin is out of the game without recording an out in the 6th, Roger Clemens is in line for the win, and Tim Byrdak and Jason Grilli combine to slowly limit the bleeding. And the Tigers lose going away.

Curtis Granderson had a pretty poor game with the bat. He hasn’t been hitting line drives for the last week or so, but he had at least been drawing walks. That didn’t happen today, and he was a big part of the reason the Tigers didn’t push more runs across. He fanned in a runners at the corners, no out situation in the 3rd and popped out in a bases loaded situation later on.

As for Cameron Maybin, things were definitely better. He did a nice job placing a ground ball to the right side on a hit and run for his first hit. And he drilled his first homer to striaght away centerfield. He also should have been credited with his first stolen base, but the official scorer didn’t give it to him on a nice play by the Yankees, and a poor one by the Tigers. Marcus Thames fanned with Maybin on first and Inge on third. Maybin was running and had 2nd base stolen. Roger Clemens cut the throw from Jorge Posada and ran over and tagged out Brandon Inge who was breaking for home on the play.

In the end the Tigers let a winnable game slip away, and now have to take the finale to muster a split.

Yankees 5 Tigers 2

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