2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.51: Red Sox at Tigers

27 Comments

Lots going on today.

First of all, in a move that reeks of DD desperation (and rightfully so), Scott Sizemore was traded yesterday to the athletics for LH reliever David Purcey. Considering Sizemore was once a top organizational prospect and is now gone after just over 200 ABs in the bigs demonstrates that there were some serious evaluation problems up and down the chain.  David Purcey is in his 3rd year in the bigs and looks to have finally figured out how to pitch at this level.  He was having a pretty decent ’10 campaign (1.21 WHIP, .210 BAA) until an injury ended his season after 34 IP. Detroit is his 3rd team already in 2011 as he was dealt to Oakland after being DFAd from Toronto early this season.  Though he had pitched well for the A’s, they have a plethora of worthy relievers (and Bailey is coming off the DL soon) which made Purcey expendable.  Apparently, the A’s have coveted Sizemore for some time.

I make the point about desperation because 1) DD is not under contract for 2012, 2) DD is admitting that the bullpen needs help as he has not been able to develop talent internally, nor has Benoit panned out thus far and 3) Sizemore is not the answer at 2B.

I also make the point about desperation because Ryan Raburn, who seems to have tree limbs for hands at times, will now be the regular 2nd baseman.  Whether this move came from the top, or it is Ol’ Smokey’s own doing, a fellow  2012 contract-less Jim Leyland is also beginning to realize that time is of the essence.  Lowe’s article in Today’s Freep contains a very scary chart which displays the offensive output for each of the four different 2B starters this season.  Read it at your own risk.

In today’s exciting news, Andy Oliver makes his 2011 debut after an impressive 9 starts in Toledo. Covering 9 starts with the Hens, Oliver had a 3.31 ERA , 1.26 WHIP, and 8.53 K/9.  The 2009 second rounder will fill in for Phil for at least two starts over the next week.  It will be interesting to see what happens to the rotation if he pitches well.

In other roster news – Wilk & Perry down to make room for Purcey & Oliver.

Tonight’s reasonably composed lineup:

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

 

27 thoughts on “Game 2011.51: Red Sox at Tigers”

  4. Is the only purpose of a day/night to ensure that the home team can collect two games worth of admissions?

    2. Extra revenue for those pay raise extensions for Dombrowski and Leyland (since they’re so close).

  7. Andy Oliver, Ace. Why am I not convinced.

    4 stolen bases in one inning – Clown Show Alert!

  8. Sizemore gets traded for his .222 BA yet Inge’s whopping .236 keeps him around?

    1. With being owed 11M, he’s probably untradeable. He is probably untradable anyway considering his non-existent upside. And he is hitting .204.

  10. Can’t remember the last time one of our middle relievers had a clean inning during a tie game. Looking good for Dombrowski. He may have fixed our bullpen with that Purcey trade and with the Furbush call-up.

      1. Is it just me, or was that Ortiz HR gonna be a be a double if the fan didn’t catch it?

      2. Raburn is approaching the Mendoza line…for OBP vs RHP. He was down to .230 before the start of today’s game.

        And yeah, I would like to see the Ortiz HR in slow motion.

    2. He could of. I’d rather of had AA pinch hit for Inge, if Peralta, Kelly, or Raburn got on base. Papelbon didn’t let that happen.

  14. Utterly predictable. We are watching one team on the rise and solidifying its hold of first and another floundering and tightening its grasp of mediocrity. The Tigers are the classic .500 club except they will need play hard and catch some breaks to stay at .500.

    1. The first inning was embarrassing. Seriously, I was embarrassed just to be a fan. I can’t imagine what the coaching staff felt like. Jackson’s throw home was closer to the dugout than the plate.

    2. Almost expected wIth Ordonez and Guillen out of commission and taking up and taking a big chunk of our payroll with them. Next year maybe that $23 Million could be used to get us another great player. We’ll have to grind it while we’re breaking in these young players in the meantime. I like Dirks and Boesch, so I don’t mind seeing them get PT. Right now I could do without Raburn and Inge, but finding anything decent at 3B or in the middle infield is pretty difficult these days. We have some guys in the lower minor leagues that might be worth a look next season. That being Nick Castellanos, Hernan Perez, and Gustavo Nunez, but I’m sure nobody here wants to wait another year or two until they are ready. Can only hope that Inge and Raburn get hot real soon. If they do heat up, it could be a real fun summer.

  15. There are tornado warnings just west of Detroit and might be headed my way and towards Comerica Park. I guess I better get ready.

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