2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.83: Giants at Tigers

47 Comments

They might be giants.

Than again, who knows.  The Giants are the reigning champs of MLB, so they are certainly not to be discounted.  And once again, their pitching is top-notch.  Lincecum, Cain (who recorded his career 1,000th K last night), and the surprising Vogelsong are easily the class of the league, and The Beard leads the NL in saves.

On the other hand, they have been struggling like mad to score runs lately;  they only managed 2 in 13 innings against the Cubs yesterday in their 2nd consecutive walkoff loss, and the loss of Buster Posey becomes larger and larger the more Tejada and our old friend Aubrey “Ham Sandwich” Huff drop down the downside of their careers.  It’s gotten so bad they are rumored to be interested in picking up Mike Cameron.

The Tigers, meanwhile, have the momentum of yet another Verlander gem behind them.  The great thing about the way the DTW rotation has worked out is that I seem to get all of the post-Verlander posts, which is always fun.

This was Verlander’s 9th straight win, which is the longest streak for a Tiger pitcher since David Wells pulled off 9 straight in 1995.

On the downside, in a stretch where we’re likely to need our bullpen, we are going to have to do it without Captain QuerK:  Al Alburquerque has been placed on the DL with a sore elbow, or in layman’s terms, right flexor mass inflammation.  Right-hander Lestor Oliveros has been recalled from Toledo to take his bullpen spot. His Toledo stats have been underwhelming;  it wouldn’t be a surprise, if Al-Al’s stay on the DL is extended, to eventually see Chance Ruffin get a shot at his role.  At the very least he would be able to keep up the cool-nameness factor.

Oh, and the last time the Tigers faced the Giants, there was a minor stir caused when the game-winning run was knocked in by Ryan Raburn, and the SF Chronicle called him “a scrub.”

In other news, Carlos Guillen has crept up the rehab ladder from Lakeland to Toledo. A representative of Guillen says Carlos expects to be back in the lineup after the All-Star break. Stay tuned.

Today Brad Penny takes on Madison Bumgarner.  Penny has been a Good Enough Penny of late, so it will in all probability come down to run support.  Speaking of probability, ESPN voters say there is about a 55% chance the Giants win this.  Accuscore says there is about a 55% chance the Tigers win this.  Game on!

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Andy Dirks

Andy goes for 4 tonight–he has homered in 3 straight games.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game Deux: Ryan Raburn

Ryan says:  Scrub this!

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game Trois:  Casper Wells

The Faceoff:  The Ghost is the only player in MLB history named Casper.  The Bum is the only player in MLB history named Madison.  Who will prevail?

Today’s Raburn’s Batting WHERE? Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Casper Wells LF
  3. Magglio Ordonez RF
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez DH
  6. Jhonny Peralta SS
  7. Ryan Raburn 2B
  8. Alex Avila C
  9. Brandon Inge 3B

 

 

47 thoughts on “Game 2011.83: Giants at Tigers”

  1. Madison is a girl’s name. (Apologies if that affects anyone reading this)

  2. Inge needed to barehand that ball about as much as Ordonez needed to slide.

  6. Jackson’s improving it took him 5 pitches to strike out to open the game instead of the usual 4

    1. Still woulda been a run though. Let’s see what happens in the bottom half.

      1. He’s been pretty money as late. He’s not gonna be perfect. I’d rather blow a tie game than one where we already have the lead.

  21. This is gonna be five straight G1 losses in series (not including make-up games).

  22. Crawford was batting .198 when he rec’d his third free pass of the game. Sure he’s got to throw strikes, but i’m questioning the decision to bring in Villareal in that situation.

    1. Agreed. 1) Sure Valverde is getting hit, but he’s the closer. Don’t mess with that. 2) Let’s not put a guy in who just stepped off the bus from Toledo.

      (Note, I do not believe in a 9th inning guy system, but Leyland uses it, so he should stick to it)

  23. do i smell a rally… no that was just a whiff (pun intended) of Raburn and Inge

    1. I can’t understand why Avila doesn’t bat in front of Raburn….That is just stupidity… Of course, I can’t understand how Raburn is still in the line up at all…

  25. Avila just played the role of the 8 hitter in the NL. Now come the strikes. Inge sucks. I hope he shows me up.

  28. I just don’t like where we are in the lineup to have any shot, unless they start issuing passes.

  33. Hey Brandon I learned in Little League that you
    1. freeze on a line drive
    2. Make sure the ball gets thru before you go
    3. Know where the SS and 2B are playing

  34. i didn’t see the game or the final out (well two outs actually); baserunning blunder by Inge or a line drive hit right at second base?

    I’m sure the hyper-vigilant Lamont made sure his runners (Avila and Inge) made sure any ball in the air made it to through the infield before straying… that or Lamont was busy contemplating his post-game meal.

    That was a tough loss on a few levels. I guess we’ll see how they pick up the pieces tomorrow.

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