2012 Season, Game Post

Game 2012.28: Tigers at Mariners

78 Comments

The 14-13, 2nd Place Tigers take the long bus ride to Seattle and take on the Mariners in a 3-game series.

Tonight marks the return of Doug Fister; from the DL, and to the team that traded him to the Tigers. To make room for Fister, the Tigers optioned Brayan Villarreal to Toledo.

Facing 6’8″ Doug Fister is Blake Beavan.  Taking on Fister is a tall order, but The Beave, at 6’7″ 240 could be up to the task.  It should be a big pitchers’ duel.

The Tigers headed west without broadcaster Jim Price, who is staying back for health reasons. Former Tiger pitcher Dan Petry will fill in for Price.

And it’s nice to see Dirks becoming a fixture in both left field and the two-hole.

Today’s Player of the Pregame: Ryan Raburn.  Raburn looks to get hot and work towards his career May average of .162.

Today’s Who’s On Second Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Andy Dirks LF
  3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
  4. Prince Fielder 1B
  5. Delmon Young DH
  6. Alex Avila C
  7. Jhonny Peralta SS
  8. Brennan Boesch RF
  9. Ryan Raburn 2B

78 thoughts on “Game 2012.28: Tigers at Mariners”

  1. With Fisters return the tigers start to play as they should be. Be nice if our two savers play close to last years levels.

    1. Inge had 4 RBI for Oakland in yesterday’s game. Ra(y)burn has 2 for the season.

      1. Wow. Thanks for sharing.

        Good for Inge. I’m glad he’s gone, but I hope that he can stay in the bigs.

    2. Maybe while in Oakland, you can visit Ryan and learn how to spell his last name.

  4. Kevin,
    In regards to the posted lineup, it’s Rayburn, not Raburn 😉

    1. Hopefully Damon Fucious will see that we’re just having some fun with Rayburn.

      1. Misspelling names makes everyday posters look stupid Kevin. Please don’t invite me to your Stupidity Club.. I’ll continue to address this as if posters here are newbies to MLB.
        If you want to be looked-at / addressed like a newbie, then have-it. I will continue to correct the Rayburn spellings as someone that doesn’t know the Tigers player names appropriately.

        1. Seriously?! …by my count, there are no less than 353,627 more deserving ’causes’ in this world to take up, than a cause for Mr. Raburn, especially the one to ensure his name is spelled correctly on a blog.

          …and in case you were wondering, yes i am a card-carrying member of the Stupidity Club… and membership has its privileges

        2. It is a joke. Calm down. We all know how to spell Rayburn’s name properly.

          1. I think it’s usually my posts in general which make me look stupid.

            Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Damus – I’m glad to have you along. The site is better with more viewpoints.

    1. K-Burn Strike Again…I have often thought that every time K-Burn is due up, the Tigers may as well skip his at-bat and start with one out. At least we wouldn’t have to see his feeble attempt to hit a baseball…

  10. Inge was hitting .130 when he was released. With that second K of the game for Rayburn he is dangerously close to falling under the Inge line.

    1. Tonight was Coleman’s doing. Let’s give blame where blame is due.

      1. To be honest was just trying to find a reason to bring up his career .162 May BA.

    1. I was wondering if he was on a pitch count, but I don’t think it is going to matter – 37 (26 strikes) in 4 IP

  13. With the way Boesch has been going does that hit and RBI get a qualified “bash?”

  14. Raburn was still having a pity party for himself after the tough luck foulball and then he watched a pitch right down the middle. That guy has no business staying in the lineup.. Smokey is stubborn…Dirks should have been in the 2 hole weeks ago. There are not many good options at 2nd, so, he isn’t killing us too much. Delmon’s 5 RBI in the 5 Hole is far more damaging than Raburn’s struggles. In any event, for the most part, they are getting good at-bats, if they just keep grinding, they should be OK. Cabby is 0 for 2 and Prince is 2 for 2…Baseball is not always fair.

    1. Remember 2 seasons ago when Boesch had that terrible streak where he hit like .125 for about 200 AB and Smokey just kept playing him? JL believes in the theory that one has to hit oneself out of a slump – or at least that’s what his gut says.

  15. Delmon has become a bit of a Raburn these days… Of course, at least, he has hit a home run on the year and is hitting above .200. But he really doesn’t bring much to the plate or to the field defensively…

  16. With this pitching, if we could just score 4 runs/gm we should win this division easy. Right now, just too many guys not bringing much to the plate. We need Boesch to get hot…Of course, as nad as Boesch’s struggles have been..he has about as many RBI as Avila, Young, and Raburn combined.

  17. Can’t hit the middle relief of the Mariners…This offense is pathetic.

  19. Well, Jackson and Dirks keep getting on base, the big money guys could be having monster RBI numbers this year…Yet, they do not. The Pen is gassed and the offense can’t help the cause…Fister coming off the DL, even w/ a low pitch count…he probably can’t finish. So, who closes? I assume Dotel. The good news is…Leyland has found a way to keep Raburn’s bat in the game, by moving him to RF…His love for Raburn is unconditional.

  21. It’s asking a lot to expect Fister to go this deep and shut these guys out, w/ it being his 1st start off the DL. They got better swings in that inning…I’d leave him out there for the 8th and hope for the best and then bring in Dotel to close.

      1. Too long…Coke was dominant in the 8th, so we pull him w/ our top 2 relievers unavailable. Dotel is going to blow this game…He can’t throw a strike. Smokey is going to leave him out there…They deserve to lose, w/ the at-bats they had in the 8th and 9th…Just throw away at bats…something is wrong w/ Dotel…Get him out.,

        1. Chris, I just shake my head at most Monday-morning quarterbacking, but you’re on record as advocating for Dotel to close the game out, so what in the world are you talking about?

          Below was warming up within minutes of the start of Dotel’s implosion. Are you saying he should have been warming up at the start of the inning? There isn’t a manager in the league that would do such a thing in May. In October, maybe, but not in May. No way.

          Are you saying Below should have been brought in quicker? He warmed up for 2 batters and there multiple mound visits during that time. They stalled as best they could, but you simply have to give your reliever a chance to stretch his arm before you bring him in.

          There’s a lot you can pin on Leyland, but this one falls solely on Dotel. There isn’t a manager in the world that could have avoided this particular train wreck.

          1. Jeff, anybody in their right mind, could have seen after one batter that dotel was not “right”…of course, you bring him in, but, when he throws 2 strikes in the first 13 pitches…you stall, you do whatever you can to get Below enough work and get him in the game…To say, that it is beyond belief that any manager would pull Dotel…Is crazy? Sparky would have had him out long ago…LaRussa, we just watched Ventura pull his guy, and insert a RH to face Jackson w/ the game on the line…Managers do it all the time, especially, when it is not the normal closer. Also, how can you call it Monday morning QBing…when I said, get him out…in real time after the 2nd walk. I said ” Dotel will lose this game get him out” That was in real time…do you know the definition of Monday morning quarterbacking? If Leyland is incapable of making that obvious move, then why is he paid millions of dollars to manage?
            That move was obvious. sometimes guys just don’t have it, and it’s the manager’s job to make a move before it costs the team. Dotel has normally had great command, so, this was even more obvious. This is a guy who kept throwing Rodney out there, when he was hurt years ago & Schlereth this year…so, his ability to handle a bullpen is not good. He just gives out roles and sticks w/ them regardless of situations.

            1. One other thing Jeff; I said pitch Fister 8 and use Dotel. That means that Coke could have been warming w/ Dotel and could have been a backstop for any problems; I also made that comment before Coke came in and was dominant. If your normal 8th and 9th inning guys are unavailable, then it stands to reason that you are NOT confident in anybody you have closing (Otherwise they would be your closer, so, I would have used Coke until he got into trouble and did a community save) You can’t use my words against me and then change the context, that is so disingenuous. Your whole post is beyond belief w/ it’s intellectual gymnastics. You act as if Jim Leyland had only one option and that Dotel was Mariano Rivera or something…I would agree w/ you, when Valverde blows the save or Benoit, because those are your guys…but, to pretend as if a 7th inning guy will get the job done, no matter what…in a new role is a lack of planning and that is the job of the manager. I coach HS football and when we do not forsee a situation, that is on us…we can not control everything,but, when we are forced to put a kid in a new situation and do not have plan B ready, then it’s on us…not the player.

              1. I said pitch Fister 8 and use Dotel.

                Fister’s arm isn’t stretched out yet and the left handed part of their lineup was due up. It made perfect sense to bring in Coke for the 8th.

                That means that Coke could have been warming w/ Dotel

                Nobody does that in May. Nobody.

                to pretend as if a 7th inning guy will get the job done, no matter what…in a new role is a lack of planning

                First, it’s not a new role. Dotel has 108 saves to his credit. He’s not some scrub that we called up from Toledo in a pinch.

                Second, nobody is dumb enough to expect he would “get the job done, no matter what.” Even the great Mariano Rivera has blown 73 saves.

                Nothing is guaranteed. All you can do is call the shots as best you can and let the chips fall where they may. Sometimes your moves will backfire, but this isn’t a 10 game season in a sport that allows unlimited substitutions, so your football comparison is inappropriate.

                There’s no way you can make it through a 162 game season if you don’t trust your guys, especially the veterans.

            2. Chris,

              anybody in their right mind, could have seen after one batter that dotel was not “right”…of course, you bring him in, but, when he throws 2 strikes in the first 13 pitches…you stall, you do whatever you can to get Below enough work and get him in the game…

              No kidding. That’s exactly what happened. Below was scrambled after the first batter and they stalled as best they could. Dotel was in the showers after 15 pitches. You can’t warm up a replacement any faster than that.

              Also, how can you call it Monday morning QBing…when I said, get him out…in real time after the 2nd walk. I said ” Dotel will lose this game get him out”

              The only way Dotel was coming out after the second batter would have been if Below was warming up at the start of the inning. You were five minutes too late; the die had already been cast.

              He just gives out roles and sticks w/ them regardless of situations.

              Leyland likes to assign roles, of course, but it’s utter nonsense to say he “sticks w/ them regardless of situations.” He pulled Dotel! If he were blindly loyal to his royals like you say, he would have left Dotel in there until the bloody end. No, Leyland knew full well that he needed to get Dotel out of there, but he had to wait until the replacement was warm.

  26. hey Smokey it isnt against the rules for a guy to pitch the 8th and 9th..Coke was lights out….

  34. Dotel channeled his inner Valverde. Somebody out there has voodoo dolls for the Tigers bullpen.

  36. This one’s on Leyland 100-percent. No reason to pull Coke: 8 pitches, 7 strikes, 3 outs. This one will come back to haunt us later in the year. Wasted another great starting pitching performance. No clutch hitting in 8th and 9th doomed us as well.

    1. Lots of reasons to pull Coke. There were reasons to keep him in too, of course, but this was one of the top 5 worst performances of Dotel’s 706 game career and you’re going to blame Leyland because he didn’t realize that tonight was the night Dotel was going to lay a monstrous egg? Are you crazy?

      1. Quote:
        “Lots of reasons to pull Coke.
        ——————————————-
        Must be related to Leyland and brainwashed by him.

  39. Fister..73 pitches
    Coke three easy outs
    frickin Dotel throws 8 pitches in Portland but the game was in Seattle
    Smokey…please quit and take your son Rayyybum with you

  40. Time to officially resurrect a term from days of yore: ladies and gentlemen, we have a Blowpen.

  41. I head to bed last night with Tigers leading and Fister dealing only to wake up to this crap… No offense and no bullpen to speak of. This team’s mediocrity is pathetic… The amount this team spent on offense this year and to produce this little… Reminds of the 2008 team, except I think this one is more disappointing…

  42. must have been a deja vu moment for Fister… pitching in SEA, throw 7 innings of shutout ball, very little run support… ending in a team loss

      1. Raburn should have been given the same speech as Brandon Inge around 10-12 days ago. Even Justin Henry could manage a hundred points higher with his batting average.

        There are options at Toledo or Erie that won;t render anything near a .127 BA – without counting the trade market available to Dombrowski.

        1. See Justin Henry and what he his doing down in Toledo!

  44. Stayed up and watch that debacle. After the first batter faced, you could tell Dotel didn’t have what he has had this past season. Meanwhile, the offense needs to help by scoring more than two or three runs. If so, then like last year our leads going into the 8th are better protected. However having poor 8th and 9th hitters doesn’t do much to accomplish such?

  45. When is the media going to start challenging Leyland on his terrible managerial calls? His concept of pulling the starter and going with a 3 man closing approach just ain’t working. Your depending on all 3 guys to be perfect. I am tired of seeing his “oh well” attitude after each loss. It may be time to be closing out his career along with the pitching and hitting coach. While there at it, make a trade for a true second basement. Rayburn can’t hit, can’t play second and well we all know how bad he is in the outfield.
    Hate to see this team become another Piston team.

    1. Yes, Gary in the D. I’ve asked that time and time again.

      I don’t listen to the local Detroit sports talk shows, but does anyone every bring this up? I’m not referring to just one game, but based on what I read, it seems to me that the Detroit journalists pander to the teams. I’m wondering if the on-air guys are any different.

      I remember a recent MLB poll where players ranked the managers they would most like to play for and JL was in the top 3. I can see why – he has a ridiculously long leash and rewards showing up instead of on field performance. He protects his players unabashedly, and rarely criticizes them in public. I don’t expect Leyland to change, but it would be nice for him to explain a few things now and then – or at lease be asked to explain them.

      I agree with a few of you that this was an anomaly in Dotel’s long career, and perhaps one of his worst outings, ever, but after 10 pitches Jimmy or Jones could have at least made a visit to the mound, if not pulled the guy.

      Remember that in the last two years we’ve a) missed the playoffs by 1 game and b) missed home field advantage by 1 game.

      1. Kevin,

        Below was scrambled after the fifth pitch. There was a mound visit immediately after that and Avila even visited the mound on his own at least once. After a total of 15 pitches, Dotel was out of the game. It’s absolutely absurd to characterize that as a long leash. Aside from LOOGYs, every reliever gets at least a dozen pitches per appearance.

        This site used to attract a ton of insightful commenters (and I loved coming here to pick their brains), but now it’s dominated by the same half-wit incessant whining I can hear at any crappy bar.

        It would be really cool if you could return this site to something at least remotely resembling its former glory.

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