Well, Leyland continued his “lousy” performance in Colorado last night, as the Tigers were spanked 13-6 by the Rockies. Walking Jason Hammel with the bases loaded may have been the leak that sprang the dam, but the Rockies tacked on another 7 runs (their margin of victory), after the forgettable 2nd inning.
Phil Coke will be the guy to get the Tigers back on track tonight, as he looks to build on his strong 6 1/3 no ER allowed performance against Tampa earlier this week. Coke’s 1-6 record doesn’t suit his 3.69 ERA and 1.28 WHIP, so let’s just say he’s due.
Opposing Coke is Ubaldo Jimenez. Or a guy who looks just like Ubaldo Jimenez and has the exact same pitching motion as Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez has inexplicably been average this year, suffering a 1-7 record with a 4.63 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. His walks and K/9 are close to his career average, and his .245 BAA is just a little higher than usual. Lefties actually have a lower BA against him (not much – .240 to .250), but slug a little more. Like I said, his ERA and W-L is inexplicable. Let’s just hope the bad luck continues.
Tonight’s boy do I wish Don Kelly could play 2B lineup:
1. Austin Jackson — CF
2. Don Kelly — 3B
3. Brennan Boesch — RF
4. Miguel Cabrera — 1B
5. Victor Martinez — C
6. Andy Dirks — LF
7. Jhonny Peralta- SS
8. Ryan Raburn — 2B
9. Phil Coke — P
nice lineup Smokey………………………………….not
I only say that because any combination of any lineup that has Rugburn in it is a…. not
un-frick-in believable….
un-frickin believable…offense this time
as a side note Cabrerra was safe at home last night and safe at home tonight….
Jimenez isn’t throwing any more strikes than he usually does., That’s why he is 1-7 but now, these are the free swinging Tigers now aren’t they…
hers another typical stat…..Rockies 4 runs 5 hits…Tigers 1 run 6 hits.
Yes I know how the Rockies were aided by the walks but its the typical Tiger strand 10 game
That’s Raburn. Bases juiced and hits into an out.
I would have pinch hit Porcello or borrowed Jimenez to hit there instead of instant out Ordonez…the only thing that amazed me there was he didn’t make the out on the first pitch!!!!
Why must we suck against the NL this year and why must we always get crushed by Colorado. We lose tonight and we are out of 1st place….This is just disappointing….
Great job bullpen, way to keep the deficit manageable…Not…This team folds like a paper Tiger when it really matters. Every other team in our division is winning against the NL and making gains, while we are still getting our you know what handed to us by a team that certainly sub-par…
And we are out of first…this is going to be a rough road trip, isn’t it….
Playing at Colorado blows. Always has, always will. The Rockies have a very good team too. Many of the experts picked them to win the NL West. I pretty much expected us to drop this series before it started. Not much of a surprise that we lost the 1st 2 games.
is it just me or is anyone getting tired of Jackson swinging and missing pitches by one two feet…he can track a ball going 400 feet perfectly and yet can’t tell a strike from a ball. I’m not talking boarder line I’m talking balls hardly in the area code of Denver or Detroit for that matter…..His 350 K’s between last year and what he will end up this year kill the team.
We’re a game out of first. It’s June. We have Justin Verlander.
We’ll be alright.
As constructed, the Tigers are a slightly better than average team. They are good for about 85 wins. There are holes in the lineup, the bench is weak and the pitching staff is a bit iffy. They can be exciting and they can be frustrating (sometimes from game to game). The hallmark of a mediocre team is inconsistency. The Tigers are inconsistent. Can they win the division – yes. It looks like it will be wide open to the end and should be an exciting race despite the duds. The really good news is that they are improving. Some of the youngsters on the roster do seem like the real deal and that bodes well for the future. There’s still some dead weight that needs to be cast off though, and that will take some time, most of which may not be rectified until the off-season. Although I personally think the high minors are pretty well depleted at this point, there are a few players (mostly pitchers) who can add some quality (on the roster or through trade) to the team NEXT year. So, although I haven’t exactly given up on them this year, I think they will be even better next season. I’m still dubious about management of course, but that is another story.