2008 Season, Game Post

Game 19: Tigers at Blue Jays

108 Comments

PREGAME: Nate Robertson and his sore lat takes on AJ Burnett. Sorry that’s all I have time for today.

Game Time 1:07

DET @ TOR, Sunday, April 20, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

POSTGAME: Another day, another loss. This time a depleted lineup couldn’t take advantage of an erratic AJ Burnett. And Nate Robertson pitched good enough to lose. But unlike other Tigers starters he actually had more strike outs (5) than walks (1) which was an encouraging sign. He had been having a good game until a poor 4th inning doomed the game.

If there was a positive it would be the 28 pitches thrown by Zach Miner. It was good enough to get him through 2 innings with only one baserunner. And 21 of them were for strikes. Miner had to be on the cusp of being sent down and needed a solid outing.

108 thoughts on “Game 19: Tigers at Blue Jays”

  5. Sheff hurt, gee why am I not surprised! Placido experiencing numbness in his leg certainly does not sound good.

  8. That was pretty dominating stuff by Burnett. I hope Verlander is watching, that’s how he should pitch.

    Nate just needs to throw strikes. Please. Just throw strikes.

  9. Thomas available….sure is. Kinda surprised bout that but I guess him not going down to the field and shake hands with his teammates is the straw that did him in.

  10. The Tigers, after having only one batter strikeout all of yesterday, just struck out 3 times in the first inning. And I did not get to see it.

  12. This is awful. What is taking them so long to get the station up and running? 3 K’s in the 1st inning? Not a good start, but let’s try to remain positive.

  14. Poor Nate. Two quality pitches, they haven’t come close to hitting that ball hard, and he gives up two doubles.

    I hope it’s not going to be one of those days…

  15. Oh great!! Nate struggling again….. It’s amazing how ALL five of our starters in our rotation are underperforming…. Every freaking one of them!!!!!

  16. Well, He got Rios and Wells out back to back–2 of the best hitters in baseball. Maybe he’s settling down. Not that I can visually see that.

  18. Here’s a recap for those who didn’t see it:

    Eckstein hit broken bat grounder that got under Inge for a double.

    Hill hit bloop off the end of the bat to center that dropped, but nobody coverd 2nd base, so Hill took 2nd. Eckstein went to third.

    Rios grounded out to short, run scored

    Wells struck out (after Hill stole 3rd)

    Nate hit Barajas on 0-2

    Scutaro flied out to center.

  19. haha. Mine just came back during the commercials also. The feed from the ball-park must be toasted. I’m sure those not getting it on FSN have their radios or gameday on, Mark.

  20. I don’t think Nate struggled that inning. He made good pitches and got incredibly unlucky. They didn’t hit anything hard off him, and he threw strikes. The only mistake was hitting Barajas on 0-2 (which seems to happen to our pitchers a lot).

  21. Mark, Feel free to provide a full recap for us. I may come back and read the game later.

  22. I’m sure those not getting it on FSN have their radios or gameday on, Mark.

    lol, not this idiot. I’m working on my computer, so I didn’t want to turn on Gameday. It never occurred to me to turn on the radio. 🙂

    What I don’t get is why they haven’t come on to tell us what’s wrong and/or provide alternate content. Very odd.

  23. Game’s back so I’m leaving to watch it. Good luck all….if Jacque Jones can walk……anything is possible.

  25. Jurrjens is going for Atlanta today, for anybody who is able to catch some of that game on TBS.

  26. Tony,

    Not everyone can get the radio call, especially for folks outside of Detroit. And Gameday is adequate but not as good as either.

    But for you, I’ll write up the play-by-play and send it right over. 😉

  27. Thanx Mark in Chicago for that description of Nate’s first inning. Now I see that he is pitching really well. Which is good because A.J. Burnett is looking sharp today as well.

    Hopefully the Tiger’s can begin to figure him out in their 2nd ABs.

  29. This is shaping up to be a decent rally. One big hit from Maggs would be nice right about here.

  31. That blows. I think we’ll be alright today, I like Nate’s efficiency, though it would be nice to score in the first three innings for once.

  32. Yeah, bit of a missed opportunity there, but Burnett is at 65 pitches already, half of them for balls. He’s looking like he’s good for 6 innings tops if we maintain our current approach. I think we’ll get to him at some point.

    Nate looks sharp, I’d like to see him do it the entire second time through the lineup for a change.

  33. It was still a good inning, even though we did not get the big hit. Burnett is struggling with control and the Tiger’s are making him work. Even if he gets his act together, he’ll likely be out of this game by the beginning of the 6th inning. And then hopefully one of the Jay’s relievers struggle.

    And it’s great to see Nate really have a good game… Very encouraging.

  34. It definitely has to be tough for a hitter to go up there with the guy not throwing anything near the plate and the only good pitch you get, you just miss or something. Maybe this will be like Friday’s game and they get it done against the bullpen.

  38. And now Thomas swings at two balls to start off the AB. This is why you don’t lead off with such inexperience.

  45. I can’t believe that pudge would go for that outside curveball. That pitch clearly has not been working correctly for Burnett.

  46. Pudge reverts to his old self in a feeble attempt to put the ball in play.

    At least we got a couple to take the lead. Take care of business here, Nate.

  49. Ouch. The runs allowed after scoring are just sickening. Absolutely sickening.

  50. Oh my god. Nate turns in his typical 4th inning.

    Game-tying single to Macdonald and a 3-run jack to David frigging Eckstein.

  54. This was set up perfectly for Nate. The offense gave him the lead, and had effectively worn down Burnett to the point that he’s on the ropes. All Nate has to do is set down the bottom part of a struggling Blue Jays lineup.

    So he promptly gives up a 4-spot by making one terrible pitch after another. Not going to win games with that.

  59. I’m on my way to Meijer’s but recording the game. Gotta watch it later and hopefully be surprised with a win.

  62. I’m following the game on gameday and I’m wondering why the hell Miner was brought into the game? Robertson had only thrown 93 pitches and had one bad inning. Was he laboring on the mound? I know his lat is hurt and all, but bringing Miner in is a deathwish.

  64. OK, Miner against the 3-4-5 hitters from the Jays. What could possibly go wrong?

  66. Superior pitching wins… Period!!!!

    Superior pitching staffs = Superior Teams…. Period!!!

    Blue Jays (and every other team) has superior pitching to the Tigers.

    Therefore, every team in the league is superior to the Tigers.

  68. Miner did lower his ERA to a very respectable 12.60. Congrats, Zach. I’ll really be impressed if he can lower his ERA to where he gives up less than a run per inning. That would be remarkable.

  70. Chris, I think you’d be surprised at the great number of teams who hit there way to the post-season. Then, pitching becomes of dire importance, but if you can lead the league in runs scored, have a league average ERA you’ll fin your way there most times. Right now, obviously you’re right, the pitching isn’t exactly league average.

  71. Chris, I think you’d be surprised at the great number of teams who hit there way to the post-season. Then, pitching becomes of dire importance, but if you can lead the league in runs scored, have a league average ERA you’ll find your way there most times. Right now, obviously you’re right, the pitching isn’t exactly league average.

  72. I’m with you, Kevin. It’s a shame we won’t get our big 3 of Guillen, Maggs or Cabrera, but Renteria hs been good, Pudge won’t bat until much later and Sheffield (who can still draw a walk at least) is on the benhc, along with Thames.

  73. Although I totally messed up the lineup. Pudge bats 3rd this inning, my bad. For some reason I thought Cabrera made the last out in the 8th.

  75. This teams starting rotation is just plain embarrassing…How many quality starts do they have? maybe 3?

  76. yeah…its amazing how decent the bullpen has been, even miner today. can the starters just trust their defense and throw a strike or two?

  77. 6-12 in our first “inning” of the season, and only one series won. Ouch. Okay, let’s win the second inning, starting manana at 1pm E.

  79. “This teams starting rotation is just plain embarrassing…How many quality starts do they have? maybe 3?”

    If I’m not mistaken, we only have one quality start this year…. and that was by minor league call-up Galarraga. This is absolutely pathetic. Our five starters– each and every one of them– are underperforming.

    Verlander 24.1 IP 0-3 W/L 7.03 ERA
    Rogers 21.1 IP 1-3 W/L 6.33 ERA
    Bonderman 22.2 IP 1-2 W/L 4.37 ERA
    Robinson 22.2 IP 0-2 W/L 7.48 ERA
    Willis 5.0 IP 0-0 W/L 7.20 ERA

    Grade: F-

    The fact that they are ALL struggling at the same time explains why we are at the very bottom of the league standings. Usually, some starters are cold while others on their team are having very strong outings. And usually things balance themselves out.

  80. how long before bad starting pitching is no longer a “trend”, but a long-term reality? starting pitching hasn’t been good since about June 2007. The rotation hasn’t hit on all cylinders since August 2006.

    With Verlander struggling and Rogers aging rapidly, we are left with Bonderman–who has never really put it all together, and Robertson, who is extremely mediocre. Add to that an injured Willis who seemingly can’t locate the plate, and it spells .500 or worse, even with a Hall of Fame-type offense.

  81. I can’t help but think that these starters were simply not ready for the season. That and the velocity drop for our two power pitchers suggests a problem of conditioning.

  82. With Sheffield out now, and Polanco, I think that its time for a slight change.

    If Polly hits the DL we need to buy Holliman or Sizemore contracts for internal option.

    If Sheff hits the DL we need to as much as I hate to say it, go with Bonds, or sign the now released Big Franky Thomas.

    But this rotation is killing me. We now have the Bullpen under control now the rotation needs to get its act together. Bondo and Rogers have been doing good. JV and Nate are looking like they need to spend some DL time or somehow get back into focus. And Willis just needs to lose some weight. They were saying his funky deleivery can’t be maintained if Willis has gained weight which he has since 2005, alot. We need something to be done about the last three starters I mentioned. If not this will b e a long seasaon. Whats that stat Tigers Live guy said, tigers scoring less then 5 runs are 0-11 wow just wow.

  83. What’s with our incompetence in day games? 0-11 during the day; 6-3 at night? That’s just weird!

  84. Is Barry Bonds a real possability if Shef hits the DL ? He would be a great left handed bat but do we need the circus that woul follow ?

  85. Ohhhh no. Another loss! Good God , when is this team going to wake up. BTW, Polanco has looked different to me since the season started. Also, he also doesn’t (I know this sounds crazy) clench his teeth even a third of what he used to do. I’ve been wondering about that for weeks. All those grimaces he used to make and not many in the past few weeks. Sheff might be OK, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s done. Grqndy will be back soon and that will be a joy for all Tiger fans. Hopefully, some of the other guys will step up. Please, Lloyd, make them take extra BP.

  86. All of our starters suck and when you look at what we traded away It is ever more frustrating.

    Jair Jurrjens 25.1 IP 2-2 W/L 3.20 ERA

    Yep folks. our guy, Dave Dumbrowski, felt we needed to trade JJ away for a few percentage points of BA at the SS position. This guy who I knew would be a good major league pitcher. And now we can see that he is BETER than any starter we have on our staff. More innings pitched, better win loss record, has quality stars, has an ERA less than half of three of our rotation duds (Verlander, Robinson, Willis)

  87. Yes that is true Chris and i do think we traded more then we should have for Renteria, but you cant deny that he has come through on several occasions and has helped us win 3 of our 6 games in breakthrough fashion. Should have been Gorkys and two mid level prospects for Renteria, but instead we got the trade we know today. In any case as much as Id love to have held onto JJ (even though I’m loving him on the Braves my second favorite team) the trade panned out for both teams.

  88. I realize that Renteria helped us win the few that we have so far, and if we did not have him we would have lost those games. And I do like his bat.

    But my concern is with the rest of the season. We are probably going to have a 100 loss season and I think it will because of our starting pitching.

    I know it is easy to see in hindsight, but having starting pitching depth in your organization can really help when things don’t work out.

    And things haven’t worked out. Verlander seams to be on the steep career decline, Kenny is getting old, Bondo now seems as if he will ever get never the hump, Nate is Nate and Willis a washed up former star, soon to be a former pitcher (he may have to be converted to an outfielder simular to Rick Ankile). Some of these things were to be expected and some are a surprise to everyone. All in all, its a bit of a perfect storm that is going to ruin this season.

    If we would have had that extra option in the form Jair Jurrjens, things would have been a lot better. Or at the very least, we could point to our starter core and not say that they all STINK!

  89. We owe $48 million to a guy who can’t play first base.
    We owe $26 million to a guy who can’t DH.
    We owe $140 million to a guy who can’t play third.

    Ai yi yi.

  90. But my concern is with the rest of the season. We are probably going to have a 100 loss season and I think it will because of our starting pitching.

    Oh yeah? I’ll take that bet. You can pick whatever odds you’d like.

  91. Holy crap Stephen. Man you are over the line. Guillen and Cabrera both of the best hitters on the Tigers team way better then Maggs and Pudge. How can you say that about both of them wow you are pesstimistic and ill informed.

    But the Sheffield knock is true. He I believe is finally done. His shoulder will just be too much of a burden to start on our team. I think DD will be done with him soon, and will offer a 1 year contract to either Bonds or Thomas. We have to we have no other good hitting DH on the roster.

  92. Not ill-informed. Cabrera can’t play third. Guillen can’t play first. The defense is awful. I didn’t say either of them can’t hit, matter of fact Cabrera could be a Hall of Famer. It’s just we’ve got all this $ invested in an infield setup that is unworkable. You have to move Cabrera to first and dh Guillen. I’ll admit that I was dismissive of others who bemoaned Cabrera’s shortcomings in the field, but I’m a convert. We’ve got no range anywhere in the infield. It’s one thing to carry one defensive weak link, but sheesh our whole infield, including Pudge, are on the downside defensively.

  93. If the Tigers sign Bonds I will be one of, I assume many, to boycott the season. But it probably will happen, especially with the Leyland connection.

  94. I guess I don’t get the Carlos Guillen can’t play first base cries. He made a handful of awful plays the first week of the season. He was fine there at the end of last season and fine there since.

    And Cabrera, well we knew he couldn’t play third base. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody.

  95. I agree with Jeff M. And can we please hold off on the Bonds/ Thomas talk? There is a reason Bonds is unsigned and Thomas was just released. I enjoy the comments on this blog because they seem to be more level headed than most fan forums.

    Verlander is not on a “steep career decline” and we are not going to lose 100 games. But disappointing mediocrity is certainly becoming a fast reality.

  96. Well after this season ends, Im pretty sure Sheff will hang it up. Which puts us in a position. I agree that Cabrera looks like a 1B calibur player(especially with his bat), Guillen with his ailing knees will DH. that puts us with a weak 3B or weak C. Either will be filled by Inge (more then likely 3B) that would mean a weak Catcher(Dane Sahardina). Or we go out and trade for a catcher. I’d say Either Laird, pry Saltalamachia somehow away from TEX, or go for a FA Catcher which is slim on talent. Pudge back, Kenji if you want to try him out(not sure if hes willing to go away from west coast), and then minor good guys in Olivo, and Ross. So not sure there either. Or try and trade to get another good prospect catcher. Or try our only good internal option- Dusty Ryan, 23
    Actual: .286/.375/.689

    That could also be a choice for next year. Oh well. Sorry if I offended you Stephen.

  97. Is there a baseball issue that Bonds is unsigned? If we’re talking about reasons, the man can still get on base. Not really a bad skill to have. If we’re talking about the “other” reaons, like the drama attached to him than I get that. But as a hitter, he’d help just about anybody.

  98. It’s hard to believe that Sheff will leave any money on the table and retire early.

  99. True but he can’t hit anymore if his shoulder is not back, if he’s on the DL he’s done for a while, and as for next year I would place a bet that we might do a Frank Thomas thing and cut him if he still cant produce.

  100. If Polly hits DL…just move Inge to second and have Raburn/Thomas super-sub.

    Duh.

    If Sheff’s done…man, I wouldn’t mind having Frank Thomas.

  101. Chris, you’re overreacting again. “Steep career decline” based on a handful of starts? Dear lord.

  102. Thomas/Bonds? Doubtful. If Sheff is DL’d we’ll probably activate Granderson, move Inge to 3rd, and either move Cabrera to DH or Cabrera to 1st so Guillen can DH.

  103. Steve in Kzoo: No worries, no offense taken. And I’ll defer to Billfer on Guillen, I haven’t seen the games this week so if the first ten games were an anomaly that’s great. But good god, did he look bad in the games i saw! And I’ll bow to BIllfer who was correct on the money about Cabrera’s fielding from day one. I guess I was hoping once he got on a good team and since he’s young that he’d be average. Maybe 15-18 games is not enough, but boy oh boy has he looked b-a-d.

  104. Re: Thomas. I’m not saying we should sign him, but it’s worth a thought. He had a solid season last year and i doubt he’s lost it based on 60 ab’s. The problem is he is the ultimate station to station baserunner. He struggles to score from second on a ground rule double. But I could see him having a Bill Madlock in 87 style resurgence on a contender.

  105. “Chris, you’re overreacting again. “Steep career decline” based on a handful of starts? Dear lord.”

    Yes, but remember last week when I said Cabrera was a bust and will be out of baseball in two years? Remember how Cabrera did last week right after I said that?

  106. We’re not gonna lose 100 games. We’re not gonna lose 90 either. But we may very well lose 80 and badly miss the playoffs.

    I know that Cabrera has been a negative at 3B, but Renteria has played flawless SS and is a huge improvement over Guillen. If Cabrera just turns out to be bad (instead of his current projected awful) then I think the infield will be a net plus for the year.

    Let’s think positively here. If we win tomorrow the we split on the road with a team that some (however ridiculous) predicted to win the AL East. Then we get Granderson back on Tues and go for our first 3 game series victory of the season.

    (Chris, whatever odds Jeff M gives you I’ll give you one point better, and no juice!)

  107. Tony if you’re right id love to give you money, but with Leyland and DD you’ll hear, “We got him to play 3B not 1B, hes our everyday 3Bmen and thats not subject to change.” So that idea is probably right to do and will be in future Seasons but not this year as Leyland and DD want Cabrera at the 3B corner.

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