2009 Season, Game Post

Game 2009.114: Tigers at Red Sox

108 Comments

PREGAME: Talk about leaning on your ace. Justin Verlander simply has to come up big today, and that means rebounding from back-to-back 5 run outings. The Tigers faced Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz once last year and got to him for 10 hits and 5 runs. He has a WHIP of 1.97 and I hope he doesn’t “figure things out” at the Tigers expense.

Detroit vs. Boston – August 13, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

POSTGAME: He’s got a way about him. I don’t know what it is. He comes to me when I’m feeling down. He inspires me, without a sound.  He touches me…uh…well…he doesn’t do that. But man does he bring it when it needs to be brung. The he of course is Justin Verlander who donned his ace cap today and put the team on his back, or his right arm and stopped a 3 game slide pretty much on his own. He also rescued a depleted bullpen.  And it’s not the first time this year.

You may remember a similar performance against the White Sox in the front end of a double header. It stopped a slide and rescued a bullpen. And like that other game he was spectacular again. A K an inning. Blistering velocity carried past pitch 120 (96.57 mph average on the fastball today).

Ryan Raburn was the offense knocking in both runs, and 2 ended up being more than enough as Fernando Rodney pitched a completely uneventful 1-2-3 9th inning for the save.

Great bounce back game before coming home.

108 thoughts on “Game 2009.114: Tigers at Red Sox”

  2. Sorry Chris, but the Tigers win this one big. Making them one Greek tantrum from a split series.

  5. Bad at bat by Cabrera. I wonder how much of the Tigers’ home-road differential can be attributed to his personal split:

    HOME OPS 1.139
    ROAD OPS 0.786

    I don’t see anybody else who is as bad…

    1. thanks for this, Anson. Needed to do something this afternoon away from the tv 🙂

      1. Glad to provide a distraction. I love it how I spend my time scouring the internet for tigers links instead of finding a job and contributing to society.

  7. Seems like more often than naught when the Tigers are facing a pitcher coming off bad outing and having a bad year they seem to figure things out vs. the Tigers. Really need to win this one today.

    1. Well, he pitched pretty well against the Yankees last time out and the guy is a stud prospect. He’s thrown a no hitter in the big leagues.

      1. A lot of luck is involved in throwing a no-no (Clemens and Maddux never threw one, for example), and when teams have a limited scouting report on a guy early in his career, you increase the chances of one occurring (to support what skip said about both Sanchez’).

        That’s not to say Bucholz isn’t any good, he was a highly regarded prospect, I just don’t think a no-hitter is the first thing you point to as an indication of his ability.

      2. He only gave up 2 runs in 6 IP to the Yankees last time but he had 6 hits and 5 BB. You average almost 2 runners an inning you are not going to have too many solid performances. He had 3 good starts in 2007 and since then in his next 20 starts he has flat out sucked. 6.75 ERA 1.76 whip .299 BAA in 2008 in 15 starts. This year in 5 starts 5.33 ERA 1.97 whip .327 BAA. But as has been an extremely frustrating theme with this team all year really crappy pitchers or pitchers with little to none MLB experience have basically shut us down too many times.

  8. Is he still a prospect?
    Anyway, he’s really good, but hopefully the Tigers can get more than 1 run off him.
    (and Anibal and Jonathan Sanchez both threw no-hitters… So, you don’t have to be great to throw one…)

    1. To be fair…I think the umps are going for a record for most missed calls in a 4 game series.

      When you get that close to a record, you just have to go for it.

  10. It would be nice to get a couple more runs to back Verlander. It’s looking like he might go the distance this afternoon. Hate to waste a gem.

  16. Leyland switched around the defence for that inning and I don’t know if Ordonez would have made the catch that Thomas just made for out #3.

  17. I’m liking the Inge-Raburn-Clete-Ordonez shift…and also liking the first pitch swings–clearly the Ugly Sock People fear our bullpen…

  18. I’m forced to watch this one on gamecast instead of gameday, which sucks. Because of this, I don’t know Verlander’s pitch count. Anyone want to fill me in on how many he has thrown after 7 innings?

    EDIT: I now see he has thrown 105 after 7. Hopefully the pen is up to the challenge.

  20. Should Ol’ Smoky pull JV after the leadoff double in the 8th? I think I’d give him a chance to work out of it. If another guy gets on then I’d make the move.

  22. I was hoping he would pull JV after the Martinez out. Oh well. We’ll see what happens.

  24. “That fastball is ridiculous” — Eckersely on Verlander in the 8th inning.

    They were talking about him throwing hard in the early innings and saying he’d never last until the late innings. Just closed out the 8th with 99, 100, 100mph strike-out.

  25. I said JV was gonna have to go the distance. Looks like he might be done after the 8th due to 123 pitches, but the dude just struck out Jason Bay to end the 8th inning. Do we really want to see Rollercoaster Jr. for the 9th?

  27. Boston Announcers on JV pitching 100mph in the 8th:
    “Strikes out Bay… WOW.”
    “That’s just devastating.”

  30. The umps just missed another one, this time in our favor. Raburn swung at the 2-2 pitch.

  31. The Royals just wrapped a 5-4 win in Minnesota. Soria with a six out save, mowed down O.Cabrera, Mauer, and Morneau in order inthe ninth.

    1. That was as good a close as you’re going to see. Rodney is not Rivera or Papelbon, but I don’t think either of them could’ve done any better than Rodney did this afternoon. 1-2-3 with a strikeout and back-to-back weak groundouts. Rodney didn’t even give up a hard foul down the line. To sum it up, Rodney was flawless today at Fenway.

    1. He also must be the least appreciated closer who has a 24/25 record in save opportunities.

      I know he blew some big ones last year and has some rough games this year, but generally I like him.

      1. Good point Andrew. I think everyone outside of MN & the Bronx are generally unhappy with their closer.

        I was listening to the Rangers post game report last night and the calls that were coming in were eerily similar to the posts we see here. Hitting is terrible, pitching is gonna fall apart soon, here comes the 2nd half slide, etc.

        Point is that fans are never happy unless the team goes 162-0. Rodney gives me heart palpitations, but I’d be content with a worse performance. Up to this point the team has played above where we all thought it would, so let’s just bask in the mediocrity of the AL Central and enjoy.

        (one more note – I caught today’s Bos pre-game and the color guy had a few choice words for the AL Central. Basically he said that Bos winning the first 3 wasn’t a big deal b/c the AL Central is so bad. Hard to argue with him. Is it just me, or are the Tigers scared of NYY and Bos? I’m glad Porcello punked Youkilis. Not right for this guy to post the video on Youtube (MLB rights) – but check out the comments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSLGlaeT6yc)

        1. “Point is that fans are never happy unless the team goes 162-0.”

          I disagree completely. I would be satisfied with 161-1. Maybe even 160-2, provided neither of the losses were to the White Sox.

    2. I don’t know. It was a 1-2-3 inning. He fell behind 3-1 to Ortiz, but otherwise it wasn’t even that nerve wracking. I don’t know what else could have hoped for.

      1. You know how jealousy isn’t actually about other people, it’s about you? Same goes with rollercoaster closers.

          1. How does one define today’s ninth inning as interesting? Rodney struck out Ortiz and then got Lowell and whoever the next guy was (name is escaping me) on weak grounders. There was nothing “interesting” about the ninth inning today. A lot of nights ROdney will make you sweat in the ninth, but what exactly did he do wrong to make any Tiger fan sweat today? He never even allowed the tying run to come to the plate, not even a hard hit foul ball. Man, some people are hard to please. I thought I was hard to please, but man alive I guess some are even tougher to please than I am.

  39. There are a lot of good pitchers in baseball, but I don’t know that I’d trade Verlander straight up for any of them.

    Good stuff all around.

    1. Not sure if I’d go that far, but I agree Verlander is among the best in the game at his position as of 2009. I would trade him straight up for Beckett or Lincecum, but that’s about it off the top of my head. That being said, I hope Verlander is a Tiger for life. He is a stud and is my second favorite Tiger behind Granderson (even though I will admit that Verlander is “better” than Granderson). I would love it if Granderson and Verlander play their entire MLB careers in Detroit. They would both likely retire as legends in the state of Michigan if that happens, especially if they are ever part of a World Championship in Detroit.

      1. I wouldn’t trade him for Beckett, with his injury history. Same for Johan. Lincy, in a second. Greinke, needs more time. Halladay, too old. King Felix is a hard one to decide. That’s probably about it.

        1. I think Sabathia should be in that conversation. Halladay, too. I wouldn’t trade JV for either of them, but they’re in that echelon of pitchers. No-doubt aces.

      2. I hear you on Beckett or Lincecum, and those are both terrific pitchers. But I don’t think either of those guys are BETTER than JV; that was my point. Lincecum might be, but until he pitches in the big boy league, we’ll never really know for sure.

        1. It’s an interesting question. Based on pure “stuff”, I think there’s Felix, Verlander, Lincecum and then everyone else. If I had to pick one guy to win Game 7 of the World Series I might have to go with Beckett, though. He’s got the guts of a burglar, as they say. Johan’s lost a bit, but a couple of years ago he was the best in the game, but now he’s on the wrong side of 30.

  41. I was just following online, but that has to be one of the best performances of Verlander’s career.

  42. Thank you, Verlander.
    Thank you, Rodney.

    Net result of this wretched series: .5 games lost to White Sox, 0 games lost to Minnesota. Very nice. The 5-1 homestand coming up will cure a lot of ills.

    1. Actually we lost a .5 game to both of our pursuers. When the Tigers woke up in Boston Monday morning, we had a 3 game lead over Chicago and 5.5 over Minnesota. We lost 3 out of 4 while they both lost two out of three: net result is that they both picked up a .5 game on us. However, considering how awful the series at Fenway was we got a big break. Getting the Royals to win two out of three at the HorrorDome is big. I’m not surprised that the White Sox dropped two of three in Seattle because Safeco has been one of “those” parks for the White Sox in recent years. They have now lost 13 of their last 20 at Safeco, going back to 2006.

      1. Sox going to Oakland next, where they are just as bad, if not worse. Good chance against KC to pick up a game or two (although Grienke vs. Washburn does not have me excited).

        I checked the schedule, the Sox are about to embark on the toughest part of their season. Starting next Friday they play 10 straight against the AL East, including 7 straight on the road against Boston and NY. Then it’s 3 straight in the Metrodome after those two series, followed by a Cubs makeup game and 4 at home against Boston again. That is brutal. Our schedule is tough too, with 7 games against TB, but we mix Cleveland and KC in there also. Good chance to gain some ground, but we have to do better on the road.

  43. thank you for taking this team on that right arm of yours……brilliant pitching today….we knew the Tigers would get 0-1-or 2.. Who would have thought that would be plenty…WOW

  44. Nice. TIGERS WIN!!!! 2.5 up on ChiSox and 5 on the Twins. We only lost a .5 game to our two pursuers despite an awful week in Boston. That is big. Special tip of the cap goes out to Francona for sending his “B” lineup out there today against our ace. No Pedroia, no Drew, and no offense for Boston. They still had Bay, Lowell, and Ortiz but no question Francona made it a little easier for Veralnder today. Maybe he felt bad for his buddy Jim Leyland, but I’m not gonna question it. Its just nice to see a manager other than Leyland run a “B” lineup out there and get punished for it.

    My three stars in the win:

    1. Justin Verlander: Obviously with eight strong shutout innings with 8 Ks.
    2. Ryan Raburn: Both Tiger RBIs and the only Tiger to clear the Green Monster this week.
    3. Fernando Rodney: No drama, just an easy 1-2-3 inning. Strikeout, weak grounder, weak grounder. Nary a hard hit ball, not even a hard foul ball. Exactly what you want from your closer. Very solid close by Rodney who had not pitched since Sunday vs. the Twins.

    1. Plus the Tigers get to come home to play the Kansas City Royals. Tigers have had their way with them this year & hopefully it continues.

  47. After this series, I’m pretty sure that we could beat Boston in a best of 7 series.

    In the playoffs I don’t think the umpiring will be this bad.

    Boston won’t be starting fights and getting our starting pitcher ejected.

    Leyland will also be thinking about winning now instead having some insurance left on the bench.

  48. This series easily could have been 3-1 the other way, save the worst at bat of the season in Game 1 and beanball in Game 2.

  49. re: Porcello v. Youkilis.

    My link up top didn’t work, so I’ll repost here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSLGlaeT6yc. Make sure you check out the comments.

    I’d like to see Avila straight up v. Youk. We already know Porcello can pin him. Next time we play Box, we’d better see plenty of well thought out signs at the games.

      1. Bummer. They all had the same tone “Youkilis missed badly with his helmet from close range, and then got punked by a guy half his size.” Just a little more color in the language. Good stuff.

  50. In KC’s win over MN today they scored all 5 runs against Pavano. What have they got that we ain’t got?

    1. Because the game wasn’t even broadcast in HD. Is it me, or does the FSN HD schedule make no sense whatsoever (at least on dishnetwork)? Last night they broadcast in HD, then today, hardly 12 hours later, the games in SD? It seems like hardly half of the games are broadcast in HD, and its worse for road games.

      1. Oooh. I can answer this one. There are a bunch of factors involved in providing an HD telecast. Virtually all of the home games are in HD. The only ones that haven’t been are when there were Red Wings/Pistons conflicts in the spring…and the make up of the rained out White Sox game.

        For road games the biggest factor is availability of HD transmission equipment. If it is another Fox Sports city, this typically isn’t an issue. But like Cleveland for example, that is now Sportstime Ohio and there isn’t enough HD transmission equipment.

        Another factor is that all of the Fox Sports Regional networks have to share HD transmission and there is a certain allotment that gets divided up. So there’s a lot that goes into whether or not it is an HD broadcast.

        HD broadcasts also cost more which is why the replays are in SD.

  52. “The Tigers said after the game they would option right-hander Freddy Dolsi to Triple-A and call up right-hander Eddie Bonine.”

    Am I missing something or did we just call up Dolsi to sit on the bench for a game or two? Did he even to come to Fenway?

      1. Oh alright I missed the game yesterday. I saw the score and decided that if I didn’t read about it then I could pretend it never happened.

  53. Is it OK that I have a man-crush on JV right now? Geez, what a start that one was. Although I guess we should be getting used to it by now.

  54. I don’t think that series was a disaster but it could have been. They could have won game one and that was a terrific baseball game. They would have won game two if not for the Sux cheating ways, and they got a great outing from Justin today and a couple of timely Ryan Raburn hits. That’s right, Ryan Raburn got more than one hit in a game and they were both HUGE.

    Anyway Washburn needs to show up for his next few starts and the team needs to get a few hot bats.

  55. Verlander was super but am I missing something on the bullpen? Lyon didn’t pitch the entire series (thanks to Leylands odd decision to go with Miner in the tie game), the guys ERA is under 1 his last 30 apperances since using the cut fastball. Wasn’t he available for 2 or even 3 innings?

    Rodney didn’t pitch at all either, he didn’t look too tired. Seay threw 1 unstressful inning. I know Miner wasn’t available which I am sure disappointed nobody but Leyland but is your bullpen depleted if your top3 guys had 1 apperance for 1 inning in the last 3 days? Rodney and Lyon both had 1 outing in the last 5 days, Seay had 2 for less than 2 innings.

    Personally I would have preferred seeing Lyon in the 8th, IMHO he was well rested and could use the work, Boston isn’t very good at the plate I am sure he could hold them just fine. Verlander normally gets in trouble over 105 pitches and it was great he was throwing 100 on pitch 123 and all but I think he only has so many bullets in the gun there and we have been riding him in situations we really don’t need to. I just think we are running the risk of burning him out if we do make the playoffs like CC is every year.

    1. Rodney had the save in Game 4 — 1-2-3 inning.

      There was no chance to use Lyon in game 2 or 3 (too wide a margin), and Lyon wasn’t really available in Game 1, if my memory serves.

  56. I like it when I’ve got other plans and I’m unable to watch the Tiger games…wins are satisfying and the losses are much easier to stomach.

  57. Old schoolers gotta love Leyland’s “pitch counts? we don’ need no steenkeen pitch counts” approach.

    1. I like it, but only if the pitchers are being conditioned to throw that many pitches. From the looks of it, JV is probably doing a lot of long toss, which would be good. I mean seriously, 96.57 mph average on his fastball? Hitting 100 on the gun in the 8th inning? Or maybe he’s just a freak.

    2. Not fond of it myself, but this game was a great example of when it’s worth leaving a guy in for 125 pitches.

  58. I feel like Verlander should be in the conversation as the top pitcher in the AL. Beckett, Halladay with Greinke and King Felix seem to be mentioned. By my eyes, Verlander is the front runner for AL CY Young (even if ESPN CY Young predictor has him below Aardsma – Asrdsma!! – http://espn.go.com/mlb/features/cyyoung). Since his first four starts of the year, he’s 13 – 4 with 2.65 ERA over 21 starts. He has 11.1 K/9 IP rate over those starts. Overall he has 13 starts where he’s given up 2 or less ER and pitched at least 7 IP. Plus 6 starts where he’s given up 0 ERs and pitched at least 7 IP.

    1. The crystal ball says Beckett wins the Cy Young…but take heart, in something of a shock Verlander is named the AL MVP, becoming the first pitcher since Eckersley to win the award.

      OK, it’s actually just a bowling ball. But I swear I see things in it…

    2. I think the model for the Cy Young predictor is a little off because it assigns so many points to saves. How many relief pitchers have actually won the Cy Young? Nine. So why does this model give 2.5 points per save? It seems kind of silly.

      If you, take Aardsma and Rivera out of the equation, JV is in the top five. But I don’t think he has a significant chance at winning this year unless he somehow manages to get his ERA down to about 2.50 and wins close to 20 games.

  59. I agree that you need to throw out relievers (although Riviera remains a statisical freak), so let’s examine AL starters. Halladay is model of consistancy – only 2 starts with less than 7 IP and only 3 starts giving up 5 or more ER. But he lacks the dominance factors like ‘big wins’ or high strike out games (only 2 starts with double digits Ks). Additionally, Halladay has 11 starts where he went at least 6 IP and gave up 2 ER or less.

    Verlander – and Beckett – have been much less consistent (both have 7 starts of 5+ ERs) but Verlander has been slightly more ‘dominant’ (Verlander has 13 starts – Beckett 11 – of 2 ER or less; Verlander 5 double digit K games and Beckett has 2).

    But, now that I look at more closely, King Felix is having the most dominant year. He’s had 5 starts where he’s given up 5+ ERs, but an amazing 16 starts where he’s given up 2 or less ER.

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