PREGAME: A 4 game sweep would really suck. Let’s not do that okay? Armando Galarraga and Jesse Litsch.
TOR @ DET, Thursday, August 14, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com
Game Time 1:05
POSTGAMEArmando Galarraga is the man. I was the stupid blogger who didn’t believe his early season success could be sustained, but he’s gotten even better. And as it stands he’s got a legit shot at rookie of the year with his main competition (Joba Chamberlain and Evan Longoria) injured. He went far deeper in pitch count territory (121) than he ever has. I don’t know if it was a good decision to leave him out there, because he typically loses it really fast and it was a tight game, but it worked out. And it’s certainly worth looking at his next start to see if there is any residual effect.
As for the offense, it was dead. Again. But they broke through in a big way in the 8th. Miguel Cabrera got the big tying hit with 2 outs, but it was the Whipping Boy Power that drove in 4 of the runs. Renteria doubled for the 4th straight game and made a diving knock down with the infield pulled in to help Galarraga strand a runner at third in the top of the 8th.
Good Fernando Rodney showed up for a 1-2-3 non-scary inning.
Has Armando pitched a day game yet? If so, what results?
Can we beat 12 posts today? Maybe I’m aiming a little high.
Things have really quieted down around here lately. I think that’s called ‘capitulation’.
This game is being broadcast on the Armed Forces Network. Haven’t our troops endured enough hardship?
Hopefully Zumaya isn’t done forever. The erasure of a 4-1 lead for Miner looked intentional, like Jim wanted to lose on purpose so he put Joel in when he was hurt…oh wait, Zoom hadn’t seen fit to tell the staff he was pitching hurt, now why would that be important?
Sheffield is like luggage, ours to keep forever.
Renteria looks like a bargain at $3 mil to go away.
Willis & Robertson are LH starters and can stay in the league for another 10-15 years, keep or trade/mix & match. They’ll likely be good again in another uniform, and if the universe is right- they’ll come back to beat us when WE need a win.
Jones & Rogers would make good pitching coaches, not pitchers in ’09
Farnsworth & Rodney could be okay as set-up men or closers if they weren’t named Fernando or Kyle.
Guillen is an awesome DH, Inge is an awesome 3rd basement. Keep and play them in their proper places.
Maggs can still play & play well, he might be dealt (this might make me sob audibly) because he’s the only player we have with any real value to get something back.
Bye Joyce, you can’t hit breaking balls and the AL is the breaking ball league.
Cabrera is actually worth every penny as a 1st basemen, keep and enjoy!
Pitchers: We’re going young & cheap/signed already, so we’ll be average next year- but we’ve got pitching talent- add seasoning!
And yes, they gave up… I think it was April, perhaps March.
Maybe ‘Mando will once again be the shot in the arm this team needs. Plus I’m moving, so the radio is the only exposure I get. Hopefully Price+DD+yak is a magic combination… The straws have officially been grasped at.
“Inge is an awesome 3rd basement”
Interesting proposal. There probably is plenty of room left under Comerica Park.
“Haven’t our troops endured enough hardship?”
It’s called showing them that, as bad as they have it, there are people even worse off, engaged in even more futile endeavors. Very inspirational and motivational.
Brandon takes one for the team.
Jeez.
Why do we have the pitcher batting 8th AND 9th? Isn’t there a DH in the American League?
And why does our DH hit like a pitcher?
Baseball is a very confusing sport…
Mark stop using big words. I find that to be insidious.
Proof that the season is over: I am in my office. My office is a 10 minute walk from Comerica Park and I’ve been to every day game so far this year. Instead of going to the game, I am going home in about an hour and taking my 14-year old daughter school clothes shopping. Does anyone out there have a 14 year old daughter? If so you know the type of hell it is, and realize that I am choosing it over sitting at the ball game. It’s sad.
Mark,
As a Frenchmen, I’m pleased that you used our preferred term (capitulation) as opposed to “surrender”, which we find to be unfashionable.
and I find it to be…… capitulation. (it’s the only big word I know. did i use it right? either time? maybe?)
Hey Andre,
I have a French rifle for sale. Never used, only dropped once. You interested?
Only if it includes a white-flag-pole…er bayonette.
White flag already attached. That part’s a little worn, though.
Does anyone know how Caberra’s LOB/RBI ratio compares to other big hitters? It has gotta be high.
French bashing. We’re playing Toronto, not Montreal. Bash the Poles. They just built a tunnel for a train, but the train does not fit. The tunnel builders are blaming the track layers.
Is this the same crew that put the screen door on the submarine?
Inge might be the best 3rd basement I’ve ever seen!
Mark in Chicago, ha, I believe so.
Bash anyone, just take my mind off this damn game. Just don’t bash Putin.
Hey, what’s going on in the game? Not that I can’t look it up myself, but I’m afraid, and I prefer my bad news from friends.
Does anyone know how Caberra’s LOB/RBI ratio compares to other big hitters? It has gotta be high.
Don’t have that data, but he’s hitting .295 with the bases empty, .290 with men on base, and .291 with runners in scoring position. I’d say that’s pretty consistent.
Tough to bash Armando, he continues to string together solid starts. He doesn’t always pitch great, but he’s been solid much longer than I thought he would be.
I gotta think he’s in the rotation next year.
“Inge might be the best 3rd basement I’ve ever seen!”
After all the money the Tigers spent on making him the utility room, he’d better be.
Sean: Home run for Toronto just made it 1-0. Armando’s been otherwise very effective.
This game on the radio is nearly lulling me to sleep.
So. I’m taking my first vacation-like trip to Chicago next week. The typical touristy things are already on the list — Sears tower, the museums, Magnificient Mile, Navy pier. Since I notice a few Chicago/Illinois dwellers here, I thought I would seek suggestions for other possible places to go.
“he’s hitting .295 with the bases empty, .290 with men on base, and .291 with runners in scoring position.” [Cabrera]
Yeah, but he’s only hitting .150 with runners on 1st and 2nd, with 5 GDP in 44 PA and no triples. That really irks me, especially the no triples part.
Goddamn Tigers just can’t hit goddamn Blue Jay pitching…ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Thanks, Dave.
Brian P., I don’t have any real inside info on Chicago (I’m sure Mark does), but I thought the Adler Planetarium and the Shedd Aquarium were cool. Suburban touristy stuff, I guess. Oh, and the zoos.
Just posting to post since the Tigers pretty much suck 🙁 What happened to them? Did Pudge make some voodoo dolls of his ex-teammates that he’s poking pins in and twisting the arms on?
“Just posting to post since the Tigers pretty much suck”
I knew I should have patented my approach. Now everyone thinks they’re free to do this, willy-nilly, and I’m not going to make a red cent on it.
Did Pudge make some voodoo dolls of his ex-teammates that he’s poking pins in and twisting the arms on?
If so, he must have stuck a pin in his own arm too.
This team is more disappointing than the maginot line.
Brian,
You’ve got a lot of the good stuff with the museums, etc. Might I suggest Wrigley Field? World’s biggest outdoor beer garden, in August (surprisingly pleasant, by the way), in the midst of a pennant race. Highly recommend.
Between 2:31 and 2:48, the Tigers have gone from being down 0-1 to being more disappointing than the Maginot Line. Is this Stephen being Stephen, or are the Tigers down by 6 runs or something?
I find the Tigers to be more disappointing than the Greenwich Meridian, which I was never that disappointed with, really. My grudge was always with the International Date Line, which had no business being in the middle of the Pacific rather than right by my house.
Unlike the Line, we’re being stepped on, not stepped around. It’s still 1-0, but it feels like 6-0.
mlbtraderumors indicates that the Blue Jays placed John MacDonald on waivers. The Tigers should claim him.
This would be an upgrade for us. He hits about as well as Explosive Renteria, but is much better defensively (the best SS in the biz, according to some ratings).
Plus he “only” makes $1.9 million next year.
haha Jeff ..yes -point well made. Just seems the Tigers have been going downhill ever since the Farnsworth-Pudge trade.
Yeah, but he’s only hitting .150 with runners on 1st and 2nd, with 5 GDP in 44 PA and no triples. That really irks me, especially the no triples part.
That’s funny. My first glimpse of Gil in a Tiger uniform was in the penultimate Spring Training game against the Astros, and he tripled twice. I was roundly impressed. Whod’ve thunk he’d crap the bed so badly at the outset of the season? At least he’s been locked in for the past couple of months.
EDIT: I originally typed the S word without even thinking about it. Oops.
So the Tigers can’t buy a hit again, eh? That’s just too weird. Toronto has good pitching, sure, but come on. A more troubled* Tigers team managed to split with them earlier.
* Maybe this is where I’m wrong.
This would be an upgrade for us. He hits about as well as Explosive Renteria, but is much better defensively (the best SS in the biz, according to some ratings).
Agreed on both counts.
i can’t feel my toes. all of sudden, it’s got cold in here.
hold me.
Nice job by Battlestar today: 7ip 1r 5h 2bb 6k
best case scenario is a ND for him. Welcome to the team, Armando.
Interesting item and idea about MacDonald, Mark.
I’ll try to ignore what it means that we’re discussing the acquisition of an opposing player in the middle of a game.
Wow. Excellent line for the G-Man.
Is it just me, or is this game just flying by?
“This team is more disappointing than the maginot line.”
Stephen,
If the Germans had stuck to invading across shared borders we would have been fine. Instead they tricked France and invaded through Belgium. I think there’s a saying about fairness and armed conflict, however it escapes me at the moment.
**holding Stephen**
Don’t worry, little fella. I see a walkoff coming.
Well, seen through a glass darkly, anyway.
It certainly doesn’t feel like it, but Brandon Inge is actually having a much better year than last year.
2007: 236/312/376, OPS+ of 80, 4.1 RC/gm
2008: 218/318/427, OPS+ of 96, 4.7 RC/gm
at this rate he should be a perennial All-Star about the time he turns 52. Assuming he’s still playing and suffers no decline in skills as he ages, of course.
Wow! Hell of a job by Galarraga, getting 2 outs and stranding Rios at 3B. That’s something to get excited about, win or lose. It’s the kind of thing that, in the movies, would inspire the Tigers to put up some big runs in the bottom of the 8th.
My bad for assuming Battlestar was done for the day. Hells no, Jimmuh gets one more inning out of him, during which he pitches around a 1-out triple.
Nice work! *applause*
“Assuming he’s still playing and suffers no decline in skills as he ages, of course.”
Well, he’s very athletic, so that’s a given. Just look at Sheffield and Renteria.
This is the part where Miggy earns his pay.
No shutout! Go crazy, people!
This is the part where Sheff leaves on a high note.
Way to go Gil.
OK, Blue Jays, be that way. Then… this is the part where Matt Joyce hits a 3-run jack. Dream big, I say.
When was the last time Sheff was intentionally walked?
Just saying is all…..
Hmmm… OK, this is the part where Edgar finally earns our undying love, with a bases-clearing double.
Holy moley, Explosive Renteria got it done.
A win for Galarraga?! Farnsworth to close? Rodney?
YAY! Things are getting interesting now
Believe it or not, I called that one (except for Joyce not scoring) – I’m toggling back and forth between the game and DTW.
Unfortunately, the bullpen is involved. They only have to get 3 outs.
To whom does Jimmuh turn? Rodney? Farnsworthless? Jones? The possibilities are endless…
So Brandon can have the 3-run jack instead. I’m a fair-minded man.
So Battlestar went 121 pitches deep, as billfer quickly cuts and pastes his Verlander posting, changing the names involved…
Hooray!! It’s 5-1!! Finally somebody else’s bullpen blows up.
If you don’t think we’re going to need every one of those runs, you haven’t been paying attention.
Looks like I should really keep this up. I see Farnsworth pinch-hitting for Sardinehead and, oh, getting a single.
Can someone give me a score update? CBS Sportsline has some sort of glitch in their website right now because they’re showing the Tigers scored and are up 3-1…and obviously that’s incorrect.
I told you they should have put Farnsworth in there. Don’t tell me he’s going to pitch now. I’d rather see Sardinha on the mound.
Brandon Inge flips the bird to the haters.
Yeah, Greg. Game’s long over, Tigers got shut out again. There’s always tomorrow. Or the next day.
haha Sean..or next year 😉
Wow, good Rodney showed up today. That’s quite a few sharp outings in a row. Throwing strikes, getting ground balls. He looks a bit like a major-league reliever.
Greg you probably know by now but the Tigers won 5-1
Well that was pleasant. Much better than the first 3 games, which were kind of like 34 simultaneous prostate exams.
I’m not even going to ask, Chris. Frankly, I don’t know where to begin.
Wow. Had to go away for a bit, but it looked like Rodney was good. Coming back from 3-0 to K Zaun sure looked good to me.
Perfect game. Tigers kept it close when I wasn’t watching, and won it when I was. Excellent.
I don’t remember seeing this asked anywhere on this blog, but here’s something to keep us going for the rest of the afternoon.
Assuming the Tigers will finish this season right around .500, is 2008 better or worse than 2003? Feel free to answer in any context and from any perspective you think is appropriate.
Begin.
Amanda, your smiley-guy winked at me. Tell him to stop. It makes me blush.
Hey, the Whipping Boys had more than a bit to do with that rally, eh? Pull it out again, Billfer! I get a real charge out of it, even if I’m too old to really get the reference.
Some poster had this to say earlier in the game:
“Wow! Hell of a job by Galarraga, getting 2 outs and stranding Rios at 3B. That’s something to get excited about, win or lose. It’s the kind of thing that, in the movies, would inspire the Tigers to put up some big runs in the bottom of the 8th.”
What a genius.
Sorry about all those exams you had to endure, Chris. No wonder you have such a keen sense of humor. Survival tactic.
Pull it out again, Billfer!
Taken out of context, that could be a very misleading comment.
Same goes when you add the next sentence.
I’d say finishing at or around .500 would be very disappointing, but not on the scale of 2003. That team was the laughingstock of the entire sport. Maybe even all of sports. This team isn’t even the most disappointing team in the AL Central, though (see Indians, Cleveland).
Galarraga conquers once again. He’s been are MVP since he arrived this season. Wish we had more arms like him.
Nice win today, but it still doesn’t feel quite the same with so little at stake at this point.
Re: Mark in Chicago – I would argue that 2003 was worse than 2008 has been, because I will take any team that has real expectations of winning, regardless of whether or not they meet them, versus a team that (at the time at least) offered little to no reason to hope for a .500 season, let alone a winning one. To me, the fact that we again have high expectations for successful seasons (winning record, playoffs, WS) for the Tigers marks a victory in and of itself over 2003.
Yeah yeah yeah, you two. At least I didn’t tell him to put it in again.
Wow, good Rodney showed up today.
That’s because Good Rodney likes a four-run cushion and actually behaves nicely in no pressure situations. Put a couple baserunners on and a bloop or two, and the bullpen is still out there trying to record the last out.
Holy moley, Explosive Renteria got it done..
Sure, now that the season is officially over expect Renteria to pad his numbers and find the gap a lot, now that none of the games count. Heck, a few more games like this where his clutch hits really don’t matter and we may even re-sign him.
Nah. I’m not bitter or anything.
Just wanted to chip in with my favorite French joke:
Q) How is a Frenchman who only speaks German like a broken clock?
A) They’re both right sometimes.
Yikes! Things are getting dicey at the friendly confines of the DTW. 😉
This win feels like curing constipation with Drano. It might make you feel better, but it leaves you feeling hollow inside.
Is Sean C & Coleman one in the same? Ill have to keep my eye 😉 on the blog to see if they/he can be spotted posting at the same time. lol
BS. Renteria has hit 300/376/456 since the All Star Break. Most of those games mattered.
As for me, I’d just assume not see the Tigers give up just because the fans have.
And if he ever fails to drive in a run, don’t bother complaining because it doesn’t matter any more anyways right?
For the history buffs….
The Complete Military History of France
– Gallic Wars: Lost. In a war whose ending foreshadows the next 2000 years of French history, France is conquered by of all things, an Italian.
– Hundred Years’ War: Mostly lost, saved at last by female schizophrenic who inadvertently creates The First Rule of French Warfare; “France’s armies are victorious only when not led by a Frenchman.”
– Italian Wars: Lost. France becomes the first and only country to ever lose two wars when fighting Italians.
– Wars of religion: France goes 0-5-4 against the Huguenots
– Thirty Years War: France is technically not a participant, but manages to get invaded anyway. Claims a tie on the basis that eventually the other participants started ignoring her.
– War of Devolution: Tied. Frenchmen take to wearing red flowerpots as chapeaux.
– The Dutch War: Tied
– War of the Augsburg League/King William’s War/French and Indian War: Lost, but claimed as a tie. Three ties in a row induces deluded Frogophiles the world over to label the period as the height of French military power.
– War of the Spanish Succession: Lost. The War also gave the French their first taste of a Marlborough, which they have loved every since.
– American Revolution: In a move that will become quite familiar to future Americans, France claims a win even though the English colonists saw far more action. This is later known as “de Gaulle Syndrome”, and leads to the Second Rule of French Warfare; “France only wins when America does most of the fighting.”
– French Revolution: Won, primarily due the fact that the opponent was also French.
– The Napoleonic Wars: Lost. Temporary victories (remember the First Rule!) due to leadership of a Corsican, who ended up being no match for a British footwear designer.
– The Franco-Prussian War: Lost. Germany first plays the role of drunken Frat boy to France’s ugly girl home alone on a Saturday night.
– World War I: Tied and on the way to losing, France is saved by the United States. Thousands of French women find out what it’s like to not only sleep with a winner, but one who doesn’t call her “Fraulein.” Sadly, widespread use of condoms by American forces forestalls any improvement in the French bloodline.
– World War II: Lost. Conquered French liberated by the United States and Britain just as they finish learning the Horst Wessel Song.
– War in Indochina: Lost. French forces plead sickness; take to bed with the Dien Bien Flu
– Algerian Rebellion: Lost. Loss marks the first defeat of a western army by a Non-Turkic Muslim force since the Crusades, and produces the First Rule of Muslim Warfare; “We can always beat the French.” This rule is identical to the First Rules of the Italians, Russians, Germans, English, Dutch, Spanish, Vietnamese and Esquimaux.
– War on Terrorism: France, keeping in mind its recent history, surrenders to Germans and Muslims just to be safe. Attempts to surrender to Vietnamese ambassador fail after he takes refuge in a McDonald’s.
All I can tell you, Amanda, is that I black out at times during the day and have been known to sleepwalk at night. Sometimes I come to at my computer with the taste of ham sandwiches in my mouth, despite being nearly a vegetarian. But I’m sure there’s no connection.
Hey, whatever, man. Not that I’m French or anything, but there’s a reason we don’t German kiss, eat German fries and German dressing and German dip, and… um… eat German’s Yellow Mustard. Also, the kindly butler on Family Affair wasn’t named Mr. German.
If you ask me, the French have a certain je ne sais quoi.
Yeah, let’s not get too down on Renteria. He came through today. It’s never too late in the season for a good win, courtesy of anybody.
haha..yes purely coincidental. 🙂 I was thinking “the real Coleman” hasn’t posted the last 2 games. Sorry us duck hunters -getting up before the crack of dawn-once the coffee wears off, aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer..lol
woo-hoo, we made it to 100 posts today! even though fully 3/4 of mine involved making fun of the french.
Sean: There’s also not a German Tickler.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_tickler_(disambiguation)
Sean: There’s also not a German Tickler.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=french+tickler
Sean,
I dunno what it is either, but I can think of nones of times that speaking French to a lady at a party hasn’t been a good thing 🙂
Edit: could we get less creepy looking smiley faces for the site?
Chris: That’s what I was trying to think of! Way better than yellow mustard. Or so I’ve heard.
Sean,
Also we have the French to thank for the Statue of Liberty, but more importantly lingerie/bikinis.
“speaking French to a lady at a party”
So that’s where I’ve gone wrong. Every time I’ve intoned “Ihr Platz oder Grube?” to a chick in a bar or at a party, they thought I was choking on something and went all Heimlich on me. So it hasn’t been a complete failure.
German often gets overlooked as one of the more pleasant languages to listen to.
Armando Galarraga (who looks French) was golden. Had Kenny Rogers been just a little more golden yesterday, they coulda had a V-8, I mean a split. Are we ready yet to allow that the dude’s maybe for real?
Andre, didn’t Germany go through Belgium in WW I too? There’s the whole ‘fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me’ saying.
That would be like the Tigers not learning from their past and relying on Franco and Zumaya in 2008 after their disappointing 2007. Oh wait.
But today’s win, tres spectacular!
Yes, Andre. I often overlook it myself.
stephen,
i guess the French were counting on Germans to be creative rather than logical.
on the bright side, since the Maginot line wasn’t damaged in WWII, the French are ready for any future German aggression…
I’d love to see the Tigers finish the season strong. Things I look forward to seeing-
Cabrera has been an RBI machine lately. 43 RBI’s in his last 35 games. He’s gaining on RBI leader Josh Hamilton quickly. He’s been a pleasure to watch. His progress as a 1b has went hand in hand with his hitting. He’s also closing in on 30 HR’s. Bobby Higginson is the only Tiger to ever hit 30 hr’s, since we moved to Comerica Park.
Mags going for back to back Batting titles. Polanco is also in the batting title race.
Sheffield is closing in on HR #500. Currently at 492.
Galarraga has a great chance at ROY.
Renteria has been playing much better with the glove and bat.
Nate Robertson was excellent his last start. Maybe more good starts on the way.
Rodney has been excellent his last few outings. Maybe he can be our closer.
Minor has been quite good since joining the rotation. Maybe he’ll be a solid 5th man next year.
Willis is climbing his way back to the majors. Hopefully we can count on him as a Tiger soon.
Sean: I’m willing to concede that maybe Galarraga is for real. I just purchased a 12-pack of Battlestar Kool Aid. As his BABiP has begun the slow trek to normalizing itself, his production has remained the same.
This is my new favorite French joke:
http://www.despair.com/effort.html
My new favorite French joke is a faux motivational poster from despair.com.
Google “despair” and “effort” to find it (the filter doesn’t trust me to drop links around here).
Joel,
very true. Americans shouldn’t feel like they’re being specifically targeted when they go over there, the French really do make it a point (at least in Paris) not to be helpful to anybody, including other French people.
my favorite despair.com line by far though is “none of us is as dumb as all of us”…appropriate for these ’08 Tigers, I don’t know?
BS. Renteria has hit 300/376/456 since the All Star Break.
I’m not trying to pick a fight or anything, but 5 RBI since the All-Star Break (excluding the last couple games) isn’t exactly getting it done. It’s an impressive line over a limited span of games, except it’s still a whole lot of “empty” production as far as I’m concerned.
The last two games Renteria has stepped it up in the clutch and has driven in nearly the same amount of runs that he drove in during those entire span of games since the All Star Break. He has looked like the player I had hoped to see in May, June, and July. That’s the only point I was trying to make.
The biggest issue I have with Renteria is I know he’s a talented bat and can contribute like he has the last couple games. Which makes it even more frustrating to see that contribution come now, in mid August, after the Tigers have been all but mathematically eliminated.
“on the bright side, since the Maginot line wasn’t damaged in WWII, the French are ready for any future German aggression…”
Ha!
Who knew this French thing was such fertile ground for comedy? Pas je, or should I say, nicht ich. But I suggest we begin to tie it in with baseball somehow before Billfer bans all of us.
T Smith: Renteria’s RBI total is directly correlated to the amount of RBI opportunities he’s had over that stretch, so until someone finds out how many times he’s had men in scoring position in this stretch, I’m not putting stock into whether the 5 RBI is good, bad, or ugly.
Edit: Renteria also has not been healthy for most of the year. He went from a bad pectoral muscle which I’m sure doesn’t feel good when you’re swinging a bat, and then into a bum hammy for a while. I’m willing to give him an extended look — even through next year. The SS market isn’t exactly flush with guys who have been better and I’ve looked at his defense this year in a series of posts on my site a few days ago and he graded out, at that time, at about 4 runs below average — or just what he’s been for the last few years.
Okay, here’s my nomination for Best Sign Ever (hope the link works!)
This picture was taken just behind the visitor’s dugout at today’s game.
Sean C: the heimlich when correctly applied can be a life-saver and can dislodge the ham sandwich in most surprising and impressive ways. And when applied by a Frenchwoman, in addition will often result in marriage.
And if I can get bail or get out of here in some other fashion I will post with such fury as to make all the Captains swear the Tigers will never win again, and all the duckhunters to sleep through every alarm and wake up groggied by the noon sun.
Gold star for Sean
Fair enough. I read it differently the first time. I just get irked with the concept of “clutch hits that don’t matter.”
He had started building toward this over the last month, and it wasn’t just after they slid to a near impossible point of comeback.
so until someone finds out how many times he’s had men in scoring position in this stretch, I’m not putting stock into whether the 5 RBI is good, bad, or ugly.
Fair enough. My biased guess is this number will fall in the “bad” range of the spectrum. Probably not ugly, but certainly not good. But I’d love to be proved wrong — and I totally agree with you.
Personally, I have to disagree, though, about giving Renteria another look next year. Perhaps we won’t even feel the biggest disappointment of this season until 2009 and beyond, when the direct results of the suckitude of this year affect Ilitch’s payroll tolerence in upcoming years. If the rumors are true that Ilitch is so disgusted with the unprecedented underachievement this year, forcing DD to cut significant fat (to the tune of under a 100M payroll), Renteria should be the first casualty. I’d personally rather see Ordonez stay if it means we have to have a guy like Holliman man SS.
But at the end of the day, if we end up trading Ordonez and Guillen or guys like that (i.e. the achievers), on account of the underachievers (or on account of whatever one choses to attribute the flop of this season), and if DD dismantles the cream of this team, that makes this season even more painful to me. I can see us perpetually trying to build for another run that may never come.
T Smith: I hadn’t heard that about Illitch — in that sense, then yes, Renteria would be first to go because it’s just $3 mil to buy him out of his option. That definitely changes my tune.
Congratulations are in order for Sean C, who received the Billfer gold star for his suggestion to keep the comments ties into the Tigers.
Other gold star recipients included Joel Zumaya for his “we need to be able to throw strikes” comment, and to Edgar Renteria for his suggestion “we should stop hitting into so many double-plays.”
From the desk of Sean C. in Illinois, Esq,, winner of the prestigious Billfer Gold Star
MEMO TO ALL OF MY UNDERLINGS (this means YOU)
Whereas
a) He’s just plain funny
b) He really does post pretty cool stats once in a while, though they’re not as cool as mine
I hereby decree that the poster known as Coleman shall be exempt from any and all requirements for topical relevance.
Furthermore, whereas
a) I was unaware of Edgar Renteria’s vital defensive contribution to what was perhaps the most joyous 8th inning in all of 2008
b) I feel the need to clarify my thoughts on Mr. Renteria and distinguish my reasoned analysis from the easy jokes about an established and not entirely undeserving member of the Whipping Boys
I volunteer to get to the nitty-gritty of Mr. Renteria’s contribution to run production since the break.
In closing, I would like to add that Armando and the Whipping Boys have officially and four-handedly Restored The Roar to DTW for at least one more series, and that any less than 500 posts for Friday’s Orioles game shall be deemed unacceptable.
Soyez là ou soyez allé!
Mark in Chicago; love the history lesson. Maybe you can tell us how a Frenchman would pronounce Detroit. Is it Detwaa? And Sean C. you apple polisher, you.
“And Sean C. you apple polisher, you.”
You’d better watch what you say, mister. I’m on my way to the top, and nobody’s gonna stop me. There’s going to be some housecleaning when I get there, too, believe me.
Now get back to work.
Sean C: You’d better watch what you say, mister. I’m on my way to the top, and nobody’s gonna stop me. There’s going to be some housecleaning when I get there, too, believe me.
hehe that’s my boy!
Remember when you were in 1st grade and you came home crying cause all the kids were pronouncing your name “seen,” and mom and I said, dear, that’s how it’s supposed to be pronounced,” and you ran up to your room and we had such a laugh! Those were the times, eh?
And when you’re doing the housecleaning don’t “forget” to do the bathroom like you usually do.
Sorry…………does this mean that you and Bilfer and his family go camping together and take long walks in Comerica Park together and, and….I want a star too.
Mr. C,he was making fun of the French, too.
Wow I missed out on the back half of this entertaining thread. The photo that Rick G. posted was classic, as it has given birth to the new nickname of the week: Jailbait Granderson. Nice.
As for Renteria, my feelings on him are well known so I won’t go into it again. One thing I like to see out of a baseball team is a “win now, build for the future” mentality. You see this with clubs like Boston, New York and the like. Hitching your wagon to a 32 y/o SS with questionable actual value at the cost of two highly regarded young players is kind of the antithesis of that. I know we’ve cried a lot over this bit of spilled milk, but it kinda makes me question what this team will look like in 2010. Back to the cellar, I assume. Look at the link about Strieby. The first sentence says it all.
This team is Kramden like. Success is just around the corner. Alice needs to cut the fat. We had our chance in 06′.
Stop it, Coleman. You’re freaking me out. You know way more about me than you should. Amanda’s freaked out, too, the way you outed her as a professional duck hunter. So just stop it, or I might have to pull a few strings. Catch my drift?
Ron, I’ll get you that gold star. Keep an eye out for my posts, see when I veer way off topic for about 5 in a row, and then nail me. If Billfer doesn’t give you the gold star, I’ll give you mine. I guarantee it’ll still be shiny, too.
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