2010 Season, Game Post

Game 2010.073: Tigers at Braves

118 Comments

The Tigers are still looking for their second win of the road trip. They’ll send out Max Scherzer and the following group of warriors to find it:

  1. Jackson, CF
  2. Santiago, SS
  3. Ordonez, RF
  4. Cabrera, 1B
  5. Boesch, LF
  6. Guillen, 2B
  7. Inge, 3B
  8. Avila, C
  9. Scherzer, P

118 thoughts on “Game 2010.073: Tigers at Braves”

  1. Apparently the Mets thought they were the Tigers today and got the Pavano treatment, so no first place for today. Let’s see what we can do stay a half-step back.

    1. Pavano fits in nicely with the Twins theory of having their pitcher throw strikes – 75/35 B/S ratio today (1BB/4K) – and that is pretty much what he does every game. There is something to be said about having an innings eater like that on your staff.

  2. Good leadoff hit… I’d be interested to see Austin Jackson’s post-beaning stats – i know he had a 3 hit game immediately after, but since then…

  4. Before we get rolling on the game thread, I’d like to make a brief note to all the Tiger-haters out there (and I do mean ALL):
    In the interest of objectivity, please make NO disparaging remarks about our beloved team. remember that this could be construed as offensive by some of our fellow fans, so have a care.
    1. For example, if reference is to be made to the R3L2O situation (special note to Coleman), remember that they are only 4% below average in this category. This is a GOOD thing – it means that there are at least 4 or 5 teams in the league worse than the Tigers.
    2. They are 9th in the league in Runs Scored – true they are behind the Royals, but they are ahead of the White Sox – YEA! – definitely a good thing.
    3. As for our fine pitching staff, they are 8th in the league in ERA (not the best, but certainly not the worst), and more importatly only .001 pct behind the dastardly WSox (booo). However, we are suredly destined to pass them in the rankings – also a good thing.
    4. And our defense is improving – we no longer lead the league in Es (by some of the sabermetric calculations we may even be average there too) – so three cheers please!
    5. And when it comes to Leyland’s game management, just remember that managers really aren’t that important and that the players are the ones that win or lose games (e.g. lineups are meaningless). In fact, because the players and MSM like him so much, this proves he is one of the best right now, maybe even all-time if not just the century (MOC). Appreciate.

    A final suggestion before the ump yells our favorite two words “Play Ball”: a good rule of thumb to fall back upon at emotionally heightened moments is: Think Twice, Submit Once. So, as you sit back, relax and down a few, please keep these positive perspectives in view.

    Go Tigers!

    Go Tigers!

  5. Gee this is a real positive game so far the Tigers aren’t behind…..sorry that’s the best I can do for now!

  6. I like the lineup tonight. Especially Scherzer batting ninth – none of this fru-fru Tony LaRussa batting the pitcher 8th NL stuff.

      1. McClendon is definitely under-rated. Getting the pitchers ready to hit for NL games on such short notice definitely deserves a hearty pat on the back.

    1. Yep. And Porcello will be all fixed up and ready to go soon too. Right now I am daydreaming of a Verlander, Scherzer, Porcello, Oliver, Turner rotation (not necessarily in that order or course) in a year or two. Wow!

  12. Excellent strategic decision by Leyland to replace Scherzer with Zumaya after the former reached his 102 pitch limit.

  13. Hey, this Kawakami guy seems to move the ball in and out nicely. Hard to believe he is 0-9 with a 4.50 RA.

    1. 3 up and three down for the Tigers there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t the Ole Fox’s plan, so that he could get anotheer inning out of Zumaya without wasting the bench.

  15. More or less an intentional walk of Cabrera to get to Chipper Jones there. You can hear the Wheels spinning from here.

  16. If Brandon Inge just maintained his current numbers for the rest of the year I’d take him to the carnival and win him a panda!

        1. Just a random Pablo “Panda” Sandoval reference, not that I’d rather have him at 3rd than Inge, I’m sure the guy can’t even kick a field goal

          1. Ah National League humor. I try not to pay attention to the Giants and the great season %$### Aubrey Huff is having.

            1. Don’t worry this is the last week of Interleague word-play.

              I know what you mean about Huff, so I won’t torment you by telling you Giants fans call him “Huff Daddy.” Oops, I just did, so sorry.

  18. The Tigers have two hits off 0-9 Kenshin Kawakami, that’s better than I could do!

    1. The 0-9 record is deceiving, a few of those have been earned but for the most part, he hasn’t gotten a whole lot of run support.

  19. How unfortunate. Well, those Hall of Fame guys will do that to you once in a while.

  20. Man…this team is just awful on the road… What is with all of the walks all of a sudden by this pitching staff?

  21. Zumaya should consider throwing something other than fastballs. Might have been helpful facing Chipper.

    Sigh.

  22. Remember when Zumaya hurt himself, helping someone move? That guy is such a humanitarian. There’s nothing he won’t do for his fellow man.

  26. Well, my mother once told me there would be days like this. After all, we knew going into the season that it was impossible for them to win them all, so we just have to accept this game as one of those statistical inevitablities. We need to build on the good things that happened today: Scherzer had another good outing, Jackson and Santiago had hits and the team played flawless defense. “We’ll get ’em tomorrow though” as Grant said to Sherman after being defeated on the first day of the battle of Shiloh in 1862.

    I also want to take this opportunity to thank all the posters for a “hateless” game thread. It was quite refreshing (my girlfriend, who is a therapist, would say “calming”) after yesterday’s rancorous debate. I send out a virtual hug to you all.

    Go Tigers!

    1. I apparently missed the memo, my apologies. Forget everything I said, Go Tigers!!!

  34. The Braves got 2 walks and a HR in an inning, and we just got 2 walks and a HR in this inning. So they didn’t really do any better than we did, it just came out in a different order that’s all.

  38. Worth to Laird, too bad we’re not playing Trenton!

    Laird, I forgive everything with a HR.

  39. Hahaha and Laird in the on-deck circle, Prince Puffalot is testing us, isn’t he?

  45. Rod: “Laird knows what he’s getting, if it’s a strike, punish it!”
    Oh stop it Rod, you’re killing me

  48. They can put their white robes on now with their names inscribed on the back and comfort themselves.

    1. Oh, no!. We have to show the world what class we are as a team. To set an example of how humane we are by not arguing with the umpire and just laying down and humbling ourselves.

  52. Wow, that pitch was so outside I thought Eric Gregg had come back from the dead.

  53. Well, we didn’t get the victory technically, but I think we can all agree we didn’t lose this one.

    1. The call was not borderline. it is a ball 99.999% of the the time, except when the umpire soils the bed, kinda of like Joyce/Galarraga call. It would have tied the game at the very least — and a hit breaks it open. It is a call the team needed. It’s very complexing and frustrating, because it wasn’t even close — there is no debate.

  56. I don’t want to hear any Damon bashing, i.e. you can’t take that pitch etc.. You can’t be a good hitter and swing at that ball in this situation. He did everything right.

    1. You are 100% correct. Who in the world would bash Damon for taking that pitch? At the same time, I would certainly bash Damon if he swung at that pitch on a 3-2 count. It was well out of the “protecting the plate” zone. I’m not even sure Damon could have put the bat on that ball.

    2. Damon was right to take the pitch. It was ball four. However, in regards to Johnny Damon I have one thing to say: May 23. That was the date of Damon’s last RBI. I’m not expecting the guy to drive in 90 this year, but 34 days between RBIs is disgraceful for a #9 hitter, much less a player of Damon’s ilk. So even if the ump got the call right Damon would have 1 RBI in over a month’s time and that would’ve been on a bases loaded walk. In short, we need more from Damon.

      1. You might want to blame the bottom of the lineup, A-Jax slumping and playing in the NL for this. If there is nobody on base to drive in not sure what you want the guy to do. Let’s be honest, the bottom of the lineup was a black hole until Everett was cut , then A-Jax slumped, got hurt and we played in NL parks where the pitcher is batting. Not really a lot of oppourtunities for RBI’s if the 4 guys in front of you have an OBP below 200. Actually you’ll be leading off a lot of innings, I will agree Damon is cold but there really aren’t a lot of situations for him to drive in runs, his job is to get on base in front of our 4 best hitters so I don’t want him swinging for the fences, he has a great OBP so I got no problem with him. He has gotten called out on ridiculous strike 3’s on numerous occassions and by all accounts is nice and well liked, which is bizarre.

        No way he should have swung at a pitch that far off the plate either, he wouldn’t have hit it regardless, if the pitcher is going to get that call you have no chance.

        1. As I said, I don’t expect the guy to drive in 90. He has had ample RBI opportunities, albeit not as many chances as Maggs, Miggy, and Boesch. I thought I heard or read that he is 0-for-his last 19 at-bats with RISP. Whatever it is, its not like he has had zero opportunities to drive in a run here or there. May 23rd people, May 23rd. Laird is even blushing at that stretch of futility.

  58. You know this is at least the 4th time this season Damon’s been rung up on a called 3rd strike that’s not a strike. So I have to ask, is there something going on here? Has he on the umpires’ hit list for some reason? What’s going on here?

  59. We get screwed by the umping once again……….this time on the phantom strikeout of JD in the bottom of the 9th……..this time with the game om the line!
    Some of these umps should go back to bagging groceries at Farmer Jacks!

    1. That would be tough to do with Farmer Jacks having gone out of business about 5 years ago,

  60. I think the Tigrers should assume the worst of calls will continue to be made and that is why they have to play every game, every inning, every at-bat like it’s life and death. In order to win the Division, they are going to have to ignore what being fair is and just absolutely play to win to the very last out.

  61. The Tigs got screwed on that last pitch but they put 2 hits up on a guy who had been 0 for 9. Something has to give with the Tigs’ absent offense.

    1. But they did what they had to in the end. They got cheated from the win. The last inning was a textbook case on teamwork.

  62. I can’t imagine anyone would take the stance that Damon erred.

    I remember the Rangers losing on a call like that last year and Tom Grieve (TV color guy) would not let it go. Though small, it was a nice consolation for the fans here. Hopefully Leyland will say something about it in the post-game. He needs to protect his players. I’d love it if he said something and got fined for it.

  63. What’s curious to me is Gameday on mlb.com shows the pitch in the strike zone. How does that work?

  64. Got back from the game a bit ago, freaking hot today-90 plus. Notes:

    1. As everyone has noted, the bats are just ice cold. No base hits, let alone situational. Avila again crushed one straightaway, and the Miggy homer was no doubt. Melky Cabrera didn’t even turn around. CRUSHED.
    2. Max was good, the walks killed Zumaya, and the home run just happens sometimes.
    3. Kawakami wasn’t as bad as his 0-9 record. Bad luck and lack of run support have contributed to that mark.
    4. As much as everyone is killing the team, whether we win tomorrow or not, if we go up to Minnesota and win 2 of 3, all is well.

    Be back tomorrow to see Verlander do his thing. Hanson has lately had a tendency to give up a big inning early in the game so hopefully we can take advantage. That is if the bats wake up down here in HOT Atlanta.

  65. Just now chiming in because I was just sitting down for dinner when that PIECE OF GARBAGE 3rd strike was called. Are you freaking kidding me ump? What the hell was he looking at. And I agree with everyone else here who’s already made the point, but that pitch was not even borderline and Damon would have been a fool to try to defend the plate against it. Just a horrible way to lose.

    My dinner tasted like crap if anyone’s wondering.

  67. Just curious — did Leyland say anything about the blown call in the post-game?

  68. He did. From Beck’s tweets:

    Leyland: “We should’ve had it tied. We should’ve got a walk there at the end.”

    Leyland: “You can’t miss those pitches. You just can’t miss those.”

    Leyland: “I don’t need to comment. I know it was outside. The pitch wasn’t close. It was that far outside.”

  69. sorry folks bottom line 2 hits off a 0-9 pitcher..and 3 altogether…… beats NO ONE!
    excuse me he is 1-9 now

  70. ATLANTA — Sitting at his locker and clearly unhappy with himself, home-plate umpire Gary Cederstrom said that when he saw the replay of his game-ending strike-three call tonight on Johnny Damon, “It didn’t look very good.”

    Cederstrom said he called the pitch too quickly and that, when an umpire makes a call too quickly, he “usually gets in trouble.”

    Tigers manager Jim Leyland said the pitch was several inches outside.

    If Cederstrom had called the pitch a ball, Damon would have had the game-tying walk, and the Tigers — remarkably — would have had their fifth consecutive walk with two out in the ninth.

    Instead, the called third strike from right-hander Peter Moylan on Damon allowed the Braves to escape with a 4-3 win.

    “It was a sweeping pitch, going away from Damon,” Cederstrom said. “It looked good coming in, then broke late.

    “My timing was fast. Whenever you have fast timing as an umpire, you usually get in trouble.”

  71. It’s a conspiracy I tell ya!

    Cederstrom’s wiki page . . .

    “Cederstrom is widely considered the best umpire baseball has ever seen due to his accurate, consistent game calling.”

    Deja vu all over again

  73. So now that he has apologized and admitted he blew the call, I guess the next step is, next time he is behind the plate, have Damon bring out the lineup card and everybody hugs and all that…

  74. Baseball Tonight did a whole demo on the call. They questioned the call, and then demonstrated that Cederstrom was out of position.

    Still sucks.

  75. If I had a gifted athlete son, I would not steer him toward playing professional MLB. This year alone has shown me how archaic the sport, with it’s lack of technology, has made it so unfair and inacurate.

  77. It’d be nice to win today’s (Sunday) game going away. I could do without the drama for once. I’ll focus my energy on rooting for the Cubs.

  79. We need to get someone up on the pen. JV doesn’t have it today. This is a must win.

  80. A Laird hit…a Laird..steal and a Laird run…..now thats what we are talking about!

  81. Twins lost 6-0. So we’ll be a half game out of 1st when we play Minnesota tomorrow. White Sox down 8-3 also, so we’ll be a full game ahead of them also.

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