2009 Season, Game Post

Game 2009.160: White Sox at Tigers

185 Comments

PREGAME: Edwin Jackson and Jake Peavy is the first pitching match-up Tigers fans care about tonight. The second one is Lenny DiNardo and Francisco Liriano Jeff Manship.

Peavy outdueled Eddie Bonine last time out despite Bonine’s fantastic outing. The Tigers fanned 8 times in 7 innings and could only muster 6 hits and 2 walks.

Jackson on the other hand was dinged for 5 runs in 7 innings when he faced the White Sox last time. He did only walk 1 batter though so the improved control was a good sign.

I wish I had something light and pithy or at least moderately insightful to add. Maybe I’m tense. Maybe the pressure is getting to me.

Chi White Sox vs. Detroit – October 2, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

Kansas City vs. Minnesota – October 2, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

POSTGAME: My friends and I decided to splurge a little since this was the last game in our season ticket package and have dinner in the Tiger Club. For those who haven’t been, that is the glassed in area that hangs from the uper deck in right field.  They have a buffet with a 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. seating. We took in the 5 p.m. option so we could be in our seats in time for the game.

The buffet featured prime rib which delicious and marbled beautifully. Next to the prime rib was a personal favorite of mine, chicken oscar. You put asparagus and crab with anything and I’ll try it. Unfortunately the first batch was a little dry, I think it had been sitting under the lamp too long and the crab dried out. Fortunately they put out more that was delicious.

Around the corner from the chicken was ravioli florentine which was good enough to warrant a corner of each plate I prepared. There were green beans and sauteed vidalia onions as well as red skin mashed potatoes. The highlight for me though was a scallop and risotto dish.

There were cheeses and relish and salad options as well. I didn’t delve into those areas greatly. And for those who enjoy more traditional ball park food there were nachos and hot dog stations as well. Again, I passed.

I was already uncomfortably full though when I went for dessert. It was a monstrous Sanders hot fudge cream puff.  It was huge and wonderful and worth having to loosen my belt.

After paying our bill we went out to watch the game. Casey Fien and Clay Rapada did a nice job.

185 thoughts on “Game 2009.160: White Sox at Tigers”

  2. Tigers lineup:

    Granderson cf
    Polanco 2b
    Ordonez rf
    Cabrera 1b
    Huff dh
    Guillen lf
    Inge 3b
    Laird c
    Santiago ss,

  3. If Inge can string together four strikeouts this weekend, he moves into the all-time, American League Top 20 for most strikeouts in a season. Ever. So, in reality, the magic number this weekend is two and four.

    2. Inge’s job in this one is to get hit by a Peavy pitch his first time up (after Ed-Jack hits a batter in the first), leading to Peavy’s ejection.

      Edit: That should be “The Frog’s ejection.”

  4. It worked last time so let’s try this again:

    Last time we faced Pavano Peavy I played the “this cannot keep happening, tonight we beat up Pavano Peavy” card. Needless to say, it didn’t work.

    So today I’m going for the opposite strategy. Pavano Peavy is a brilliant pitcher worthy of the Cy Young award and tonight he will once again prove his dominance and shut down our formidable line-up.

    1. Well, we have to share credit, since you had the anti-Pavano anti-jinx jinx, and I had the Pavano anti-curse curse…stay tuned, I’m working on it…

    1. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise not having “hitting” coach Lloyd McClendon available tonight to offer the same expertise he has been giving our hitters all year.

      1. I feel the same as I did after the Porcello travesty–I think it’s great for the team. These guys seem to thrive when they have a little bit of the chip-on-the-shoulder, we-don’t-get-no-respect, edge to them..good for team chemistry…

  6. this is an important game…i don’t understand huff being anywhere in the lineup but batting 5th???

  7. Audrey is 0-11 career against Peavy and hitting .190 as a Tiger.
    He hits 5th.
    He’s due I suppose.

  8. Hey, you know what? Jake Peavy looks like a frog!

    (Once again, as with the Pavano curse, The Google was my friend. “Peavy looks like a” brought up this amusing post as the first result–a White Sox fan, in reference to the Peavy to Sox rumors, saying, “Peavy looks like a frog…I hope this trade doesn’t happen” http://blogs.suntimes.com/whitesox/2009/05/peavy_to_the_sox.html)

    (I also had many other choices–Peavy looks like a lot of stuff apparently, including a “punk,” a “terrorist,” and a “giant banana.” [??] But gotta stick with the animal theme here…)

  9. Mario opens the conversation with this gem Polanco is back in the line up tonight and that is “probably” good…………..duh

    however Huff in the 5 stop i hope isn’t the kiss of death

  12. Anybody else have a bad feeling about this last series against Chicago? After the implosion yesterday against the Twins, and a series with Chicago where we face Peavy who rocked us once already this year. Not to mention the Twins still red hot and facing the Royals…

    1. You would like, at the very minimum, for Cabrera to at least swing the bat right there, no? That’s not asking too much from an “MVP Candidate”?

  15. The strike 2 on Cabrera was off the plate. The next pitch caught the edge of the plate. Why wasn’t Cabrera swinging to protect the plate after he knew the strike zone had been expanded?

  16. if we are all wondering….. what is the Tigers record in the last three games of -06 07-08 could it be 0-9

  19. Hate to be the eternal pessimist, but I could seriously see Detroit losing this 0-1…We had a chance in the 1st do put up some runs, and now Peavy will be in cruise control, striking out a ton and getting a lot of early swings…

    1. I feel the same way. Peavy is owning the outside corner and then getting feable waves and misses at everything else, notably Laird, who all of a sudden is swinging from the heels in every at bat.

  20. I hope the Tigs are not hanging on the best chance of winning this whole thing is the Kansas City Royals!

  23. Let’s hope that KC is watching the sign stealing and plays them! Cheaters never win in the long run and even though it is not ‘cheating’ it is an unwritten rule and unacceptable to play the way the Twins have. Hopefully it will get them tonight and tomorrow!!!

  24. It seems our best chance of winning this game is to drive up Peavy’s pitch count and chase him early….Unfortunately, I’m not seeing that pitchcount climb fast enough…

    2. rod allen knows everything–didn’t you know that? he even knows what people are thinking! he gets on my nerves too!!!

      1. I’m talking about the espn guys. I’d much rather hear Rod. The ESPN guy was saying he it “felt” like the Tiger team was nervous b/c they “blew” last night’s game and knew it. Ugh.

        1. sry old man coyote–rod just infuriates me with his ‘know it all’ talk. wish he would stop some of that!

  27. At least Peavy is doing something every other good pitcher does, and that’s handle the Tiger line up very easily

  32. I’m sure all of those watching on gameday are wondering where pitch 5 of the Jermaine Dye at-bat was.

    1. Right over the plate for a strike. Just because Laird was set up outside and had to move to catch it – it was either missed or the movement threw off the ump and he thought it was off the plate.

  33. Wow…that was great…..

    This team always has a way of punking out on Jackson…offensively and defensively…

  34. Thanks Guillen, hell of a play there.

    Sorry. not much insight there. Terrible way to give away another run — which feels like about 20 — at this point.

  38. um……………. get guillen a slip and slide out there, he apparently loves sliding for fun.

  39. how can the Tigers have signed under contract the 3 worst left fielders in all of baseball Ra-y-burn Guillen and Thames…..you’d think they could find someone who can play there…

  40. From mlbtraderumors.com

    2010 MLB free agents – Left fielders

    Garret Anderson (38)
    Marlon Anderson (36)
    Jason Bay (31)
    Emil Brown (35)
    Marlon Byrd (32)
    Carl Crawford (28) – $10MM club option with a $1.25MM buyout
    Johnny Damon (36)
    David Dellucci (36)
    Cliff Floyd (37)
    Matt Holliday (30)
    Reed Johnson (33)
    Jacque Jones (35)
    Gabe Kapler (34)
    Greg Norton (37)
    Wily Mo Pena (28)
    Manny Ramirez (38) – $20MM player option
    Dave Roberts (38)
    Gary Sheffield (41)
    Fernando Tatis (35)
    Randy Winn (36)

      1. No way they can afford him. Yankees and Red Sox will go hard after Holliday and Bay will probably go to the loser.

    2. Great…we can get rid of the 3 we have now and rotate Sheffied, Kapler, and Jacques Jones…

      1. not much difference defensively… Kapler might be the All Star in the whole group of 6 whats Bobby Higginson doing he is in that class

    3. Granderson didn’t know how many outs there were when he caught the 3rd out.

      edit: didn’t mean to post here.

  42. How did they score that a hit?

    Jackson did not look pleased!

    I agree, Guillen should be DH. Huff should be benched. And Rayburn or Thomas should be out there.

    1. Thanks, Cabrera, I think I saw you do that yesterday. Nice to hear Huff getting hassled by the fans 🙂

      oops, didn’t mean to reply here

  47. Only a true fan would be doing what I am doing now. Using my son’s computer at his house which was just broken into. They got the big TV and other goodies but left the computer. Tell me the score is wrong. I just will not accept a loss. My Internet Exlorer is down on my computer at home, there’s a full moon, and I’m feeling madness. Don’t know when I can post again. Night all. We gd better win this game! Go Tigers!!!! Over and out.

  49. This team is so absolutely frustrating…. They aren’t going to win this game, there is no magic, there is no clutch hits. The Twins are about to pull in the improbable “coming back from 3 games to win the division in the last four games”….

  54. Off to a good start in Minny…not.

    1st and 3rd one out in the top and Brayan Pena GIDP. Fan-xxx-tastic.

  58. run through the base without wasting energy making the ‘SAFE’ sign yourself please!

    2. “winning” is a bit of an understatement…that one has “game over” written all over it…

  64. Could this night get any worse….Twins are up big…Tigers are about to be down by 4….and the lead will shrink to 1….This team…. I can’t even type the vulgarities…

  65. I hate this kind of stuff, but hand it to the Twins, they are playing like a team that wants to get swept by the Yankees.

  67. And who do we have starting tomorrow? Alfredo Figaro…Figaro is apparently suppose to save Porcello for the Playoffs… I vote Porcello starts tomorrow, because otherwise we aren’t going to the playoffs…

    1. I hope that works out better than that “save Kenny Rogers for later in the World Series” maneuver…

    2. It’s not “saving him for the playoffs.” It’s because he’d be pitching on short rest – not a recipe for success.

      1. I’d rather see Verlander go tomorrow in a “must win game” and if need be pitch Porcello on sunday on normal rest.

        1. What the heck…let Inge pitch. Bat Kelly 4th. Pinch-hit Everett for Ordonez. It’s not like it could be much worse…

  70. Starting Figaro will be the most incompetent move Leyland has every made and he leads the majors already, by far, in incompetent moves….its Porcello or nothing

  71. I don’t usually bail out on a game, but I’ve seen enough. Hope the Tigers prove me wrong and come from behind to win it, but I can’t stand to watch this.

  72. wow, I really should have went to see Bruce Springsteen again at Giants stadium again tonight. this is NOT a good night. ugh. I guess at least being on the east coast I can go to bed earlier…

  73. Suddenly shaky starting pitcher.
    No hitting.
    Shoddy fielding.
    Borderline incompotent managing.

    That’s how you make history….the bad kind of history.

    Absolutely no guts whatsover on this team.

    1. “Absolutely no guts whatsover on this team.”

      That’s a ridiculous comment. What would make you say this?

      1. Are you being sarcastic?

        This team is playing completely tight and scared. (One hit, too.)

        Down 8-0 in a nearly must-win game, yeah, that’s pretty gutsy.

        1. Losing 8-0 = no guts? That’s absurd. It’s baseball. You play well one day, you don’t the next. You can’t draw any conclusions about “heart” or “guts” or effort purely from the result.

          1. I won’t quibble back and forth, but when it got tight down the stretch, the team has collectively wilted under the pressure. To me that is a team lacking guts.

  75. Dye was out the second time. The last one was also ko. But the chief umpire has surpassed Hernandez as the worst ever

  76. HAHAHAHAHAHA. This team is so unbelievably indefensible. I mean. No urgency. Inge provides NOTHING in the field. He hits .220 and makes TONS of errors now. I mean. His knees are shot. Take a break, bro. Aubrey Huff. WHAT did you provide? So happy to just take a paycheck in Baltimore. You are BASICALLY depending on Greinke and the Royals to win a game tomorrow, and PRAY that you can win Sunday. This is HILARIOUS. I hope the Inge/Leyland worship STOPS now.

    But at least Polanco is rested. That’s good.

    1. Um, yeah, whatever. This ain’t the Freep message boards…the whole Inge is a crappy fielder bit–I mean even Stephen never goes there…and if you were to actually read anything here about Leyland…well it’s a strange form of worship is all I can say…

  77. Twins have the bases loaded again, no outs in the 2nd with the immortal Victor Marte pitching for the Royals.

      1. Guess the only upside is they still clinch if they win tomorrow and Sunday. Who knows, though, Ozzie Guillen might dig up Tom Seaver to pitch, so anything’s possible.

  78. OK, I feel better now. The White Sox, like their manager, are very up and down, swayed by emotion. Tonight they will party. Hard. The next two are ours.

    1. Thanks for that Coleman. It’s not easy talking me off the ledge, but every little bit helps.

  79. Twins face Greinke tomorrow. We get to face Garcia. Bottom line is, they lose and we win, it’s over tomorrow.

    1. And this is what is miraculous. We really should be thankful. For all the hand-wrenching, and despite our preference for the Tigers, we have to know this is a blessing.

      Most teams with ~85 wins were eliminated a long time ago,; i.e. Texas, Seattle, SF, Cubbies, Rays. These are our peers.

      I will continue to pull hard, but it’s only a division pennant. My hope that this team can compete in the playoffs went on vacation a long time ago.

  80. I will take this opportunity to official thank Sir Loyd McLendon for cultivating and INSPIRING one of the most stellar offensive lineups in all of baseball history. The heart, the spirit, the determination, and the all out never say die attitude of this offense speaks volumes.

    Ok, before you all flame me, we all know that historically any offense that leaves a trail of LOBs throughout the season like this team has is definitely the fault of coaching. There simply is no other explanation.

    Radio and TV announcers alike continue to spout off excuses of “This guy has great stuff . . . oh no, they are going to have a tough time facing “sillinininin” tomorrow night . . .” . . . so I suppose it’s safes to say that as long as we face Cleveland or scrub pitcher w/an 8.0 era or above, we will be shut down offensively . . .

    Hey, here’s an idea . . . let’s do nothing whatsoever within the organization in the offseason and run this same bunch out in 2010 . . . makes sense to me.

    Why is it that a team like the Twins have all those AL Central flags hanging up, 02, 04, 06 . . . with less than half the payroll, and the media in MI keeps focusing on 1984 and 1987? DD, why is that? Mr. Illitch, why is that? Do they have broadband in Sweden, homes?

    1. I agree, the approach at the plate at times seems baffling, but its not the coaches swinging the sticks.

      One thing I have noticed from a coaching standpoint is the opposition defenders have the Tigers hitters scouted perfectly, meanwhile, well, let’s not talk about the recent outfield defense by the Tigers.

      1. True, they aren’t swinging the sticks, but someone has to be accountable for this systemic season long non-sense.

    2. McClendon is awesome, and the Tigers hitters would clearly be lost without him. Or weren’t you aware he was suspended tonight?

  82. You are right. This team is just what it is. Mediocre. In an awful division. I am saying, if this team blows this lead. I mean, thats twice in 4 seasons they’ve blown a division on the final weekend. And this time, no backup plan..

  83. I decided I was too nervous to watch and watched Harold and Kumar instead thinking I’d click over and catch last three innings. And it’s already over. Sigh. Guillen can’t play the field ever again.

  84. Just for kicks (no, not like the butt kicking the Tigers & Royals have received tonight) lets say that the division is not secured before Sunday and Verlander pitches Sunday and the Tigers & Twins end up *gasp* tied. Porcello would pitch in the game at the baggy dome and if the Tigers manage a win who gets the ball in Game 1 against the Yankees? Jackson (I assume)?

    2. Actually it makes less difference than you would think–if we clinch Sunday, the Yankees can elect to start the series on Tuesday. If we have a playoff, they lose that option and the series starts Wednesday. So with the playoff we burn whoever pitches the playoff game, but for the rest of the rotation there would actually end up being an extra day off…

  85. I’m feeling a bit bad for billfer right now…who clearly has consumed celery stalks by the score trying to think of SOMETHING possible to say in a Postgame sort of way…

  86. Well, tip of the cap to White Sox GM Kenny Williams, sure trading for Jake Peavy screwed up his team’s 2009 chances, but at least it messed up the Tigers postseason chances.

    Can’t wait to face him four-fives times a season for the next couple years.

    1. I’m with you there, if by “tip of the cap” you refer to that gesture with middle-finger extended…

      1. How’s this? Over the summer I was going through my old baseball cards and stumbled upon a shot of Kenny Williams as a Tiger.

        I nearly threw up.

          2. I did know Kenny Williams was a Detroit Bengal Cat…I’m OK with the vomit, as long as it maintains the “would-be” status…at least Hawk Harrelson never wore the Olde English D (except maybe privately before his hotel-room mirror with the doors locked…)

  87. Don’t have much to say to that…but i DO want to see if my reply stays at the bottom of all the posts no matter what like your comment has magically done…

    1. Wow…and the replies don’t even reply in a reply-ish way…just hoping Jud uses these powers for good instead of evil…

  88. Twins blown half their lead. I’m telling you this is the NC A &T versus Widener play-in game.

    1. Q. When is blowing half your lead no biggie?
      A. When aforementioned lead is 10 frickin’ runs

  89. BILLFER: THAT IS BEST POST GAME COMMENT EVER. WELL DONE!
    (yes i’m shouting, it is that awesome).

    2. Glad you liked it. I was reading the comments throughout the game. And I certainly understand the negativity and frustration. But I thought it would be best to focus on the positives.

      1. Pay no attention to the disarming nonchalance of billfer’s comments…the postgame was pure genius, a clever strategem combining the metaphorical and the visceral…avoiding the popular but somewhat negative complaints – “The Tigers show no “HUNGER”!, etc” – he instead inspires by CREATING a hunger with his over the top descriptions of his fine dinner (tell me, are you hungry now? I am!…case closed). Now we’re all hungry, and no doubt the feeling will carry over in some fashion to the players.

        (Although as far as “fire in the belly goes”…in some ways that may be the opposite of being “hungry.” Because I had a delicious habanero shrimp skewer that was filling and yet seems to be producing a fire in the belly…)

    1. Eh. All year long I’ve stressed that it’s too early to go into full-throttle mode. That’s not the case anymore. For the next two (or three, if it’s f!@#ing necessary), both teams will play their best people at every conceivable opportunity. Nathan will pitch in every game, even if it means he’s pitched in 6 of 7 straight games.

      1. I agree, but he won’t be effective if he’s used four straight days. Twins are not playing that well, I don’t think they win the next two. They had two more errors tonight, squander most of a 10-run lead and had to use Nathan again. We just need to win one more frickin game in my opinion.

  97. LMAO. Billfer… You’ve outdone yourself. That postgame will be unanimously inducted in the Hall on the first ballot.

  100. Yes, that wrapup was brilliant.

    Unfortunately, Jud has rigged the site, so none of the well-deserved compliments will end up at the bottom.

  103. Does everyone now see why I freaked out during the Thursday afternoon loss? Because this was sooooooo predictable, that is why. I have to laugh that people were counting on Jackson to outduel Peavy tonight in yesterday’s thread. Peavy is one of the elite pitchers in all of baseball, Jackson is good but nowhere near Peavy’s level. Porcello’s young arm be damned, they need to start him tomorrow or go with JV on three day’s rest and come back with Porcello Sunday. Leyland counting on Figaro tomorrow is akin to taking a card with a 16 at a blackjack table with the dealer showing a six. It might work, but the odds are not in your favor. What a mess. THIS is why I lost my mind Thursday afternoon. It was all there for the taking, the Twins made four errors, and we still got blown out. After blowing an opportunity like that it is tough to re-group (as we saw tonight). I’m hoping for the best, but this has historical collapse written all over it (as ESPN reminds us of nightly). So depressing to see this go down this way.

    1. Question: What’s the only thing sillier than assuming a .531 team will hold onto a 1 game lead with two games left?

      Answer: Assuming that a .525 team can overcome a 1 game deficit with two games left.

      I wish this was locked up a week ago, but it’s not. Oh well. Think of these as bonus playoff games. Every move matters so much that it has the same intensity. Enjoy it. This is baseball drama at its finest, even if the baseball skill leaves a bit to be desired.

    2. I’m not depressed. As long as the Tigers are in 1st place, I’m happy. I’ve been very happy for since May 10th. That’s nearly 5 whole months. If the Twins can somehow take 1st place away from us, then congrats to them. I’m not a sore loser.

  105. Nothing better than taking this thing down to the wire….if our bats don’t come alive today, shame on us!

  106. Oriole fan wrote me this: “You know what Aubrey Huff is? He is PAYBACK FOR KEITH MORELAND! CHOKE ON IT, TIGERS! Happy 20th anniversary of ruining one of the best baseball seasons of my life, Detroit.”
    (The Tigers pawned off Moreland during the 1989 pennant race).

    Moreland and Huff post-trade stats are remarkably similar!

    1. Huff hit a huge 3-run ninth inning homer against Toronto. Tigers won that game in extra innings. That win could be the difference between winning the Central. Did Moreland do anything like that for the Orioles?

  107. I’ve gotten fairly use to how Rodney closes games. The way the Tigers will win the division is just the Rodney way of doing things.

  108. Let me state for the record I stated with 100% certainty there was no way the Twins would get to 85 wins.
    I am an idiot.

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