2012 Season, Game Post

Game 2012.119: Orioles at Tigers

18 Comments

63-55, 2nd place, 2.5 games (that’s what you get for taking a day off) behind CWS, 1 game behind WC

There’s been a lot of talk as of late regarding Miguel Cabrera’s MVP candidacy. In fact, it seems as if the local papers have received an edict to write about it daily. And they make strong arguments in his favor. But MLive’s Josh Slagter made a fantastic point in an article today – if the Tigers really do have 3 MVP candidates (Keith Law suggests that Verlander and AJax are in the top 5 right now), how are they 2 (really 2.5) games out of first place? Think about, when else have we had this talent at the op of the roster? Not to mention that our 1B has been a perennial NL MVP candidate over the last few years. Says a lot about the bottom…

(Interesting follow-up today on ESPN Insider – Dave Cameron uses Fangraphs’ Leverage Index to demonstrate why Cabrera’s clutch performance makes him a legitimate MVP candidate.)

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Tommy No Support Hunter opposes the Tigers tonight to kick off a three-game set. The O’s have scored two or fewer runs for Hunter in 10 of his last 16 starts, and 5 out of the last 6. Hunter is 4-7 for the year with a 5.54 ERA, and is 1-5 with a 5.94 ERA on the road. He’s getting hit pretty well by lefties (.291) AND righties (.321), which explains why Delmon Young is in the lineup. 67% of the runs that Hunter has given up this year have come in the 4th, 5th or 6th.

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A few notes:

– Al Al is hot on the comeback trail, he’s got 8 Ks in 4 innings and a 3.18 ERA since his move to Toledo on August 3rd.

– Schlereth is dominating…at Lakeland. 1 ER over five innings since August 3rd.

– The Tigers are 3-4 in extra innings this year, and 15-14 in one run games; the Orioles have won their last 11 one run decisions.

Tonight’s Lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Dirks, LF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Avila, C
6. Young, DH
7. Boesch, RF
8. Peralta, SS
9. Infante, 2B

18 thoughts on “Game 2012.119: Orioles at Tigers”

  2. I’m happy that Schlereth has found somewhere he can be successful. He should stay at Lakeland.

    1. Agreed. If I see Schlereth pitch at Comerica Park in a Tiger uniform anytime before 2020 it will be too soon. Hopefully The Beard will start to struggle in the minors and he is left in said minors until next spring. I still don’t trust the guy in any crucial situation to throw strikes. I have more confidence in my 12 year old nephew to throw strikes (and that lefty is wild too!) than I do in Schlereth. Every time he comes in I just try to brace myself for lots of three ball counts and a heavy dose of stress.

  3. in the previous series (postgame interview), MIN pitcher summed up Cabrera quite accurately, “That dude’s a beast,” said De Vries

  7. Wow, bringing in Benoit to face Weiters after his last at bat homerun

    1. Well, that’s why those two make the big bucks. They are expected to carry the club from time to time and tonight that is exactly what they did. Without those two this a 3-0 loss to the Birds tonight.

  10. Did anyone else feel like Verlander was fighting himself all night? He didn’t look comfortable in the least and was probably fortunate that BALT only got three off of him in his six innings tonight. I will give Ol’ Smoky credit for taking him out at the right time tonight. I wasn’t comfortable with Justin throwing another pitch after the 6th inning tonight the way he was struggling. I’ll bet it was tempting to see if JV could get through one more inning and perhaps the Tigers could’ve have scored in the bottom of the 7th to get him the win. Thankfully Ol’ Smoky did not tempt fate and turned to the bullpen as it was clear that JV just didn’t have his good stuff tonight. I want to give credit where credit is due because Lord knows that I slam Ol’ Smoky on the regular (not as though he doesn’t deserve it), so well done Ol’ Smoky. You pushed all the right buttons tonight in terms of handling the pitching staff.

  11. Question for the regulars here on the board. How many more starts do you give Sanchez if you are making that call for the Tigers?

    In other words, if Sanchez gets rocked again this Wednesday versus TOR do you go back to Smyly and put Sanchez in long relief? I just don’t think we can afford too many more of these atrocious outings from Sanchez down the stretch. We are in a dogfight for the playoffs (both division-wise and the wild card) and we can’t have a guy getting lit up like a Christmas tree every five days, essentially almost guaranteeing a loss every five days (on Sanchez’s starts). If I’m DD and/or Ol’ Smoky the leash gets rather short with AS starting this Wednesday against TOR. If Sanchez gets lit up I’m going back to Smyly and demoting Sanchez to long relief. It would be a tough pill to swallow for DD after trading one of our minor league “jewels” in Turner, but its not as though we are getting zero return on the deal as Infante has filled the black hole at second base admirably and he is signed thru 2013.

    I’d love to hear from you guys in terms of how long a leash you would give Sanchez going forward.

  12. They are going to give him 3 or 4 starts I would think. But really, DD made the move with the idea that they are going to ride with Sanchez. While I hated the pick up for giving up Turner, which really was ridiculous before it happened and looks 10 times worse now, Sanchez will continue to get his chances. Thats the way stubbornness works…remember J Washburn? What about Aubrey Huff? Leyland and DD means the vets will always get the preference. So, the answer is Anibal will be given his shots.

    1. I’m with The Rake. I think their scouts and ops guys made the decision that this was the guy, and that he was worth giving up Turner for. I’d be surprised to see him get pulled from the rotation.

  13. Sanchez is learning the Central Division batters and style. Give him to the end of August

  14. I predict if Sanchez gets slammed again, he will be day-to-dayed with a minor ailment and skip a start.

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