2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.50: Red Sox at Tigers

27 Comments

Thank goodness yesterday’s game was rained out.  Wait, scratch that.  It actually counts.

Though the Tigers are still over .500 and stand comfortably in second place, they are 6.5 games behind the Indians and are hitting about as well as the Gas House Gorillas.  In fact, the first few innings in that clip look eerily similar how Max Scherzer did yesterday.  Rosenberg put together a piece today in the Freep on some of the aforementioned troubles, but here was the strongest line (not that it’s news to us): “They are getting below-average production from second base, third base and — perhaps most critically — all three outfield positions.”

The red hot Red Sox have won 11 out of 13 and are now tied atop the AL East.  Their bats are booming, plating more runs in the past two games than the Tigers have in their last 10 games (and that includes 13 in the short sweep over Tampa Bay).  The elder statesman of the Majors, Tim Wakefield, takes the mound celebrating his 44th year and 298th day birthday.  Wakefield has been a spot starter for the Red Sox, posting a 4.50 ERA for the year.  In his 3 starts he’s had two decent ones, allowing 1 ER in each though he never made it out of the sixth, and got drilled for 6 ER in 4 1/3 innings against the meek Twins on May 6th.

The Tigers counter with Rick Porcello, who has been phenomenal for over a month now, posting a 1.59 ERA and .98 WHIP over his past 6 starts.  A win tonight would match Porcello’s career best of 5 consecutive wins.

Today’s Miggy at DH/VMart at 1B for the first time all year lineup is:

1. Jackson cf
2. Santiago 2b
3. Raburn lf
4. Cabrera dh
5. Martinez 1b
6. Peralta ss
7. Avila c
8. Wells rf
9. Inge 3b

 

 

 

27 thoughts on “Game 2011.50: Red Sox at Tigers”

  1. The Martinez at 1B thing had me going for a minute myself: I almost thought this was the real lineup, until I saw Raburn batting 3rd.

    1. Nothing for nothing – one of those “we have to do something” moves. We add another mediocre pitcher to the system (DD likes those pitcher) and in the meantime we can await the imminent return of Carlos Guillen at 2B to save us.

      1. Or it means they like Dirks in LF, and we plan to play Raburn Roulette at 2B

  3. Vince, nothing for nothing? I think Purcey is a decent reliever. I’m surprised they were able to pluck him for Scotty.

    Raburn at 2B eh? Santi plays tonight, but I don’t see either being a regular. Guillen at 2B? Hardly. He might get 30 games in before he’s back on the DL. Rhymes is hitting well in Toledo. I expect he’ll be recalled.

    Another big question is, how long until Argenis Diaz gets a crack at replacing Inge?

    1. We’ll see soon enough on Purcey. I hope he works out. However, DD’s hope that he will “help stabilize the bullpen” maybe a bit much to expect without some other moves. Saying bye-bye to Gonzalez/Perry/Thomas wouldn’t hurt for starts.

      1. For what it’s worth, my brother was in the same squadron and class (’73) at the Air Force Academy with Purcey’s dad. I recall seeing him relieve when the Tigers played the Blue Jays in 2008.

  4. Tigers have announced they have called up Danny Worth, so it looks like 2B will be Worth/Santiago/Raburn.

    That means they still have to clear a roster spot for Purcey. Is Enrique Gonzalez gone?

    Other breaking news: Jason Beck reported Magglio took batting practice with the team today. So who is gone when Maggs comes off the DL? Could tonight be The Ghost’s last stand?

    1. Perhaps a Worth/Santiago/Raburn/Guillen/Rhymes rotation is in the works?

  12. You know you’re having a bad day when you’re sent down to Toledo (Ryan Perry) by a team who’s staff still includes Enrique Gonzalez.

  13. Aaarrrggh! In other official news, Leyland announced that Raburn is now the “everyday” second baseman. Can’t say I didn’t predict this. (Cause I DID).

    (On the bright side: even Raburn would be hard-pressed to pull off the assisted-HR from 2nd. On the other bright side: Leyland pronounced Thames the “everyday” LF, and he was never seen again.)

    I suppose he’ll be batting 2nd now, since that’s where 2Bs bat. Heck might as well bat Inge 3rd. With KJax, K-Burn, and KInge together we could just call them the KKK.

    1. In other news, Ramon Santiago has officially changed his name to Late-Inning Defensive Replacement.

  14. Making Raburn the everyday second baseman is beyond ridiculous. Even if his bat picks up a bit, his defense will more than off-set any value. Seriously. If you play him 80-90 games at 2B, he’ll break the all-time record for errors.

    I’d rather see a Worth/Santiago platoon. You’re not going to get much offense, but both are good defenders, which is what this team needs. Dombrowski should be looking to bolster the offense at 3B. At this point, Inge is not an everyday player anymore. A platoon with Don Kelly is our best bet there, too.

    I agree with whoever said Dombrowski should be fired. Other than the surprise trip to the Series in 06, his body of work is not very good. He’s had a decade to turn the franchise around. Yes, he has made some good trades and other moves, but the negative outweighs the positives substantially in my opinion.

    The biggest indictment of Dombrowski is his failiar to build a stronger farm system. I think there should have been a more even approach in terms of using high picks on positional players. Let’s face it, as it stands right now, do the Tigers have ANY potential impact positional players in their system? The third baseman perhaps?

    He drafts these “known” quantity college guys that max out as platoon or 4A type players. Our roster is filled with them.

    Whoever is the GM come this off-season, they’re going to be forced to trade starting pitching for positional help … or, gasp, consider moving Caberra to pluck several top young players. Either way, the Tigers immediate future looks mediocre at best.

    1. IMO, it’s just another way for Leyland to say that Raburn lost his job in the outfield. Raburn is at the end of his rope and is being phased out. This is his last chance. He might be following Guillen’s footsteps.. He’ll get hurt at 2B and be done.

  15. First the good news. Furbush has been pitching phenomenal. Adam Wilk has looked good too. Today we get to see Oliver pitch.

    The bad news. We haven’t had much chance of winning the way Porcello and Scherzer pitched these last 2 games. Everyone is bound to have a bad game, it just so happens that Verlander, Scherzer, and Porcello pitched bad this week.

    and the ugly…….Phil Coke. Getting hurt is the ugliest thing that can happen, especially when you’re pitching well. Also, a game that we should of won got rained out.

  16. I have a note for PJ
    Dombrowski isn’t the guy that drafts amateur players; that is the role of David Chadd I believe.

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