15-14, 2 games behind Cle.
Boy, last night was fun. On a night when Verlander was far from his best (and apologetic for his on-field behavior), the offense came through and left just enough cushion for Valverde to load the bases on 3 walks (one intentional) before closing out the game. It’s been hashed and rehashed, but the blowpen has become a serious concern. In case you haven’t yet seen the numbers, the Tigers have already lost 4 games this year when they led after 8, which is 1 more than the last 4 years combined.
But a win is a win and the Tigers can win their second straight series tonight.
Smyly had his worst outing of the season last time out when he allowed 2 ER and 7 hits over 6 innings. Valverde calls that the 9th inning. Smyly’s ERA stands at an incredible 1.61 for the season with a 1.18 WHIP. And he’s averaging over a strike out per inning. We could not have asked for anything more out of the kid.
A few quick notes:
– Dirks and Fielder both have 4 consecutive multiple hit games.
– Fielder’s slash lines over his last four games .571/.647/1.071.
– Dirks’ slash lines over his last four games .470/.500/1.000.
– Inge hit a walk-off grand slam last night, and now has 2 HR and 8 RBIs in the last two games. Which are more than Raburn has this season.
Tonight’s what more does Andy Dirks need to do to get into the Lineup, even against Lefties Lineup is:
1. Jackson, CF
2. Boesch, RF (don’t like this)
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Young, DH
6. Raburn, LF (he had a hit last night)
7. Peralta, SS
8. Laird, C
9. Worth, 2B
I was hoping that last nights ejection would have shaken some sense into Smokey regarding his handling of the bullpen and lineup choices …. looking at tonight’s lineup ….. same old same old.
It is not close to panic time yet, but Smokey and the team can’t afford to be giving games away!
Dirks hamstring needs a rest, and Boesch is 7 for 12 against Vargas, so the line-up makes more sense in that context.
Cabby is in a serious funk.
I keep assuming that Cabrera’s next at-bat will be the one that sparks him…eventually I will be right. He has now had two funks this year, that I thought were impossible…I guess, he is human.
Maybe omebody should send him a case of tequila.
Forget the booze idea. Both Miggy and Papa Grande need some weight gain that improves strength. I am beginning to think their noticeable weight loss has negatively affected parts of their game
I see the offense decided to stay home tonight… Poor Smyly… Another good start of his is going to go to waste…
So…how many Double Plays does that make now? I swear this team must be leading the league this year…
I don’t know…Jackson continued his team leading % of getting runs home w/ R3L2O..Cabrera is just killing them right now…It won’t last long, but, it is shocking and very hard to believe..He did hit the ball hard.
27
Make that 28.
This inning was our chance to put up a crooked number …. I hope we get another chance.
that was looking like a big rally inning.
miguel struggling hard lately. thats gotta be 3 or 4 GIDP over the last week
didnt read the comments. glad we are all on the same note.
GO
What Cabby isn’t doing with his bat he is surely doing with his glove. Inge who??
Rally time.
Do you have Boesch bunt and leave it up to Cabrera and Fielder? I would, to avoid the DP, or you can steal.
This is some bad baseball gents.
It’s a long season, we’ll play better.
Catch everyone tomorrow.
F-ing Leyland…Everybody else executes bunts and wins ballgames. You spent A zillion dollars on two guys and if you execute a bunt…You get two chances to drive in the winning run…PH Santiago or Kelly and bunt. I’m sorry, but, that is just stupid baseball, by Leyland.
Tying run..
Putkonen’em? Putforken’em, this team is kaput!
Three double plays tonight…This team’s offense is just pathetic… Ryan Raburn still starting… Ugh, this is frustrating…. This team is so over-hyped and so over-paid, just like in 2008… Perhaps instead of investing 200 million dollars in another 1st baseman, perhaps they should have split the funds and found a decent 2nd baseman and 3rd baseman…
Said the same thing when we signed Fielder. Signing a superstar first baseman when you already have a superstar first baseman is a misappropriation of funds. We would have been better served (as Brenden posts) to use that money to plug holes at second and third base. This team spends money the way a drunken sailor spends it at the local whorehouse…………..unwisely. The first whore (player) that the drunken sailor (the Tigers) takes a fancy to gets their money. No thought is given to long term solutions, just panic and try to fill holes where there wasn’t a hole (first base). Fielder is not anywhere near the defensive first baseman that Cabrera is, and Cabrera (who was above average defensively IMO at playing first base) is a below average defensive third baseman. Meanwhile the hole at second base remains a gaping one. Great planning guys! I sometimes wonder if Dombrowski’s garage caught fire if he would respond by adding onto the kitchen at his home rather than replacing the garage.
The last time the Tigers won two in a row was April 17-18. 6-12 since then.
This team has reached it’s peak. Don’t expect any changes in the approach of how they play the game until there is a managerial change. Leyland needs to go.
Why didn’t you mention the “Leyland Must Go” when we beat the Yankees last October?
I will admit Jim’s having a terrible season shuffling his bullpen. Having a terrible season figuring out the hitting woes.
Even if the Tigers continue around .500 ball, Leyland has enough respect around MLB to finish the season as Skip.
I heard Leyland talk in the pre-game show saying that after being ejected, he watched the game on TV and saw the team wasn’t taking/waiting on pitches. He needs to join us for a week. What ever became of the art of drawing a walk?
Yeah, read Leyland’s comments about watching the game on TV with dismay. The dude obviously is not up to speed on 21st-century baseball technology, let alone the fundamentals of Moneyball/Bill James baseball analysis. I had figured his apparent lack of tactical logic was due to factors he knew better than I — matchup history, injuries, types of pitches thrown, moves he’d have to make in a couple innings … now it’s clear he’s pulling ’em out of his smoky butt. I get that the players like him, but wouldn’t they like him just as much if he were tactically astute?