2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.43: Tigers at Red Sox

50 Comments

“I don’t recall any team ever winning a game without scoring a run.”

This is one thing we learned from yesterday’s game, courtesy of Stormin’ Norman.

For all of the hand-wringing over Leyland’s decision to go with Schlereth, and stay with him after he walked Crawford (not to mention the decision to lift Coke at 78 pitches after a short rain delay), the real story of the game was the failure to capitalize on 2 opportunities with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 out.  In fact, after a big recent surge, the offense has started sputtering a bit

A big reason for this has been the slump–yes, it’s time for the “S” word–of Miguel Cabrera.  Over the past 2 weeks, here are the numbers of Cabrera, and the much-maligned Inge:

.188 .372 .281 .653

.200 .314 .300 .614

Inge with a bit more hitting and power, Cabrera with more BBs…otherwise, almost identical. Yikes.

Tonight has all of the makings of another game where capitalizing on scoring opportunities will sort the winner from the loser, as the 2 hottest starting pitchers in the AL, Justin Verlander and Josh Beckett face off.  While Verlander has been nearly unhittable, literally, in his last 2 starts, Beckett has posted a 1.75 ERA for the season himself, so this will likely be good stuff for fans of the pitching duel.

Tonight also has the makings of another rain-delayed affair.  Weathermen are standing by.  Brandon Inge has the hockey gear ready.

One more thing we have learned:  it isn’t just here at DTW that clowns are unwelcome.  The anti-clown backlash has been sweeping the nation–even Ronald McDonald is not immune: Critics to McDonald’s: Stop the clowning

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Miguel Cabrera

Was his double yesterday against the tough Buchholz a sign that he is emerging from his little “s” thing? In a game where one big hit could make the difference, we hope so.  Hit one for all of the classy Red Sox fans who were chanting “DUI” yesterday.

Today’s Mr. Dirks meets the Green Monster Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Scott Sizemore 2B
  3. Brennan Boesch RF
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez DH
  6. Andy Dirks LF
  7. Jhonny Peralta SS
  8. Alex Avila C
  9. Brandon Inge 3B

50 thoughts on “Game 2011.43: Tigers at Red Sox”

  1. I thought when the Tigers traded Matt Joyce for Edwin Jackson (which consequently brought Scherzer to the Tigers) was a great deal for DD/Tigers.

    With a quarter of the season in the books, Mr Joyce is hitting .365 – .434 OBP – .619 SLG and 1.054 OPS. He’s taken a while but MJ might finally be establishing some consistency to the flashes he displayed while on the Tigers.

    This also seems to be another affirmation that the first-place (after starting just 1-8) Rays front-office has an eye for talent – and doesn’t need a huge budget/fan base to field a quality team.

    If the Rays ever decide to fire Maddon, i’d like to see him in Detroit.

    1. Joyce is off to a red hot start, but it’s still just 126 AB’s. Some people would say that his .419 BABIP is unsustainable. He’s normally a .300 BABIP type fly ball hitter.

  2. We need to send Cabrera down to the minors so that he can find his stroke. Just kidding. I’m the least worried about him. He hit a laser beam down the right field line for a double Yesterday. It’s just a matter of him getting decent pitches to hit.

  5. Mr. Inge, you too receive a Commendation; Mr. Lamont, we are going to need you to come down to the station with us.

  6. Last nights game management decision making along with tonights management decision making so far are a very good reason why, unfortunately, we won’t make it to the post season.

    1. I think the managing has been good. Not many experts were picking us to compete for the division this year, but here we are in contention for the wild card. Whatever Leyland is doing to piss people off, I hope he keeps doing it because I want to win. Leyland see’s the big picture. He’s trying to groom players into certain roles and getting them the experience they need in high leverage situations. Growing pains should be expected. His in-game decisions work out about as much as any winning manager I’ve watched over the years, such as Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, Joe Torre,ect, ect. It’s up to the players to hone their games and make those strategies work.

      What I do know is that any strategy can work at any given moment, but any strategy is just as prone to failure.

      1. Grooming is what the minor leagues are for! Every game in the majors counts!
        All the games that Smoke on the Brain and his crew have thrown away are a chance at the post season most likely thrown away.

        1. oh please. The minors doesn’t teach how to handle pressure cooker situations against the best players in the world in a jam packed MLB ballpark with the fans rocking the house down. Normal people would probably wet themselves under those situations.

  8. I’m surprised Rayburn isn’t in the lineup again tonight since he is so due – 4 for 41 this month.

  9. Inge! Just when you think he is permanently going to go below th Mendoza Line, he comes through.

      1. Ugh…yeah…I’m starting to wish we would have offered Polanco whatever he wanted to stay with us…It would have been worth every penny because right now we have no 2nd baseman…

        1. I could also live with him playing 3B, with a rotation of others at 2B. We would have production at one position at least. Right now we have nothing at both.

        2. Polanco always gets off to a hot start like this then turns to crap come August or he gets hurt. I thought he was one of the main reasons why we had problems down the stretch.

          1. Yeah, those 2nd half swoons were just killers. Here are Polanco’s splits for the last five years:
            ’06 – .285/.317
            ’07 – .335/.348
            ’08 – .305/.309
            ’09 – .256/.315
            ’10 – .318/.280

            1. I knew my statement didn’t hold water shortly after I posted and looked at his splits. But still, for some reason I didn’t care much for Polanco and thought he didn’t have much baseball left in him. Opinions are like farts, everybody has them and they all stink.

              My last memory of Polanco as a Tiger was in the EPIC game 163, when he let the game winning hit get through the infield to end the game. Maybe that’s why I think negatively on him.

              1. I did have issues with Polanco, as beloved as he was here. Great contact hitter, but he hardly ever walked, homered, stole a base or took an extra one. But he looks like a hall of famer compared to what we’ve got there now.

              2. I did have issues with Polanco, as beloved as he was here. Great contact hitter, but he hardly ever walked, homered, stole a base or took an extra one. But he looks like a hall of famer compared to what we’ve got there now.

  18. verlander needs to stay in. home game i bet jim switches him out easy, but on the road, in this game, justin needs to stay in right here

  19. Alert the national media, Mr. Inge now has a 2 hit game. With that hit, he won’t make contact between bat and ball for another 20 ABs.

  20. Ok, someone quickly check the Earth’s rotation (CCW still?). Both Inge and A. Jackson now have 2 hit games.

  21. This is the game right here. Bases loaded in the 9th against Chucky. Come on Bosch!

  22. I am starting to see the 2nd half swing in Boesch’s stroke. Hope I’m wrong.

  23. I’ve seen Papplebon work his way out that situation a few times. He’s so good when the pressure is on.

  28. What a game. Had my heart pounding. Result sucked for us, but a great game to watch nevertheless.

    1. fun game late. wish we could have stole one in fenway. lets get back on track at a weirdo pitt team

  29. For consecutive game infractions, a warrant has been issued for Brennan Boesch

  30. Hey Jimmuh, on the off chance you are reading this, please try the following:

    Move Cabrera into the 3 slot.
    Hit Martinez 4th
    Hit Boesch 5th (he does not belong in the 3 slot)
    Peralta 6th

    I got nothing after that, but at least you make sure that Cabrera won’t be leading off the second inning…

    1. To make that move you’d have to play Cabrera in LF/RF, since the 1B always bats cleanup.

  31. The Tiger’s league worst bullpen ERA rose to 5.61 last night.

    No real secret to the Tiger’s wins this year – quality starts and some clutch hitting. On the flip-side, a constant theme in their losses has been: a lack of clutch hitting and bullpen breakdowns.

    Need some production (or at least base runners) from the top of the order – as this is only magnified by a weak #9 and sometimes #8 hitter… that’s 4 or 5 breaks for opposing pitching… kind of evokes some painful memories from yester-year when JL would role-out Inge, Everett, Laird, Inge, etc in succession.

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