Detroit Tigers, 72-61, 1st place (tie), 2 back for WC spot.
Well, here we go. It’s all even, the season starts today, and it’s only 28 games.
Unlike Kevin, I don’t have a plan for this thing, so I will go with his suggestion that Detroit win this afternoon.
It all went according to plan last night: Verlander gave up a leadoff home run, which combined with his 8-run last outing made the White Sox (and a few Tiger fans) think “aha, he’s lost it.” The overconfident Chicagoans were helpless the rest of the night, until Valverde entered to provide fun and excitement for all.
Also according to plan Brennan Boesch finally baesched, to dead center, no less; Jhonny Peralta made perhaps the best tag on a stolen base attempt for the season; Avisail Garcia practiced his look-alike Cabrera opposite-field stroke, Don Kelly um…got in the game, and most of all Delmon Young kept the D-train rolling, when he golfed a pitch over the left-field fence for his somethingth home run of the week (depending on whether we are counting the “home runs” as well as the home runs).
There was a downside to the sweep: watching Robin Ventura calmly take it all in. Would have been awfully entertaining to hear what Ozzie Guillen had to say afterward.
The Tigers face a Cleveland team that has lost 16 of their last 18, and a pitcher who has yet to win. In fact, they are looking like an alternate-ending version of Major League. I’ll save the sympathy for later: it’s a pennant race. Besides Cleveland still leads the season match-up, 7 games to 5.
With Garcia continuing to look promising, Dirks back, and Boesch showing glimmers of hope, the outfield suddenly seems a bit crowded, with Quintin Berry holding the short straw. Nonetheless, Leyland found a way to get short-straw Berry in the lineup, as Jackson gets the day off. Might have also been a good day to let Cabrera DH, but it looks like the Jackson/Berry plan took precedence (you don’t dare leave Delmon out right now). Meanwhile, look for Danny Worth to appear in a pinch-running role, now that he has proven his ability to elude goats.
Stat of the Day: Delmon Young has hit 15% of his 2012 RBI and 19% of his home runs in the last week.
Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Delmon Young. I have a one-game plan for him to continue his hot streak.
Todays AJax on Holiday Lineup:
- Quintin Berry CF
- Andy Dirks LF
- Miguel Cabrera 3B
- Prince Fielder 1B
- Delmon Young DH
- Brennan Boesch RF
- Jhonny Peralta SS
- Alex Avila C
- Omar Intante 2B
CLE has lost 16 of their last 18 road games, as they come limping into DET.
DET just swept CWS, so the table is set for DET to roll over a team that is clearly down…or DET is primed for a let down game/series… what’ll it be?
Early returns suggest Clown Show.
is it just me, or has Avila been playing some uninspiring ball lately?
Uninspiring would be being nice concerning his hitting lately…hopefully it’s not spreading to his time behind the plate also.
Clownvila
hey Avila we know you can’t hit…how about catching the pitches at least!
gee Berry actually gets to plays and already does something good
And Boesch with the rally-killing DP with bases loaded 1 out…how predictable was that? As well as we have been playing lately, we still can’t manage a #!*@! fly ball with a guy on 3rd and 1 out.
Mr. Kaline was on the pregame show – he didn’t pull any punches discussing how awful swinging at the first pitch is…
Boesch has a .510 OPS this year on the first pitch. Yes, I wrote OPS.
His 1-0 is .802, and his 0-1 is 1.139. Doesn’t anyone tell these guys these things?
The hitting coach would…… if he knew about them, huh.
can’t hit, can’ t catch…can’t throw…..so glad your playing Alex!
Just when we need Avila to strike out…
This looks like one of those where we seem to be trying to lose…suspect the Indians will prevent us though.
We should be up at least a couple of runs, if it weren’t for the bumblin & stumblin.
And the Avila-in’
can’t hit, can’t catch, can’ t throw, can’t run…….are you doing these things on purpose????
Trying to get Smokey canned!
If it were my call i’d pull Sanchez, he’s put in another 6 solid innings, thrown 105 pitches and Avila’s given up his 2 runs. Continue to build his confidence, hand the ball to Villareal or (dare i say) Coke in the 7th.
…or i guess, Downs.
should i be worried if i’m starting to think like JL?
Cabrerra hits a fly ball with a runner on third to score him. MUMBLES TURNS TO McClendon and says..”is that legal? MCclendon answers ” don’t know, never seen it before”
Trailing 3-2, two outs, a 1-2 count on the batter and Leyland calls a steal? Oh wait, surprise value, I get it.
Ah yes, time to get Phil Coke going…
Wow, nice play Prince! Now let’s jack one out.
This is going to end up being all up to Avila, isn’t it?
Not a good day for AA. But you gotta stick with him because of the confidence thing.
Leadoff double, no attempt to move the runner to 3rd, no pinch runner. Ya gotta do better than that JL.
Avila has now stranded 14 in his last three games…the Cleveland Plain Dealer named him POG for todays game
Remember early in the year when Leyland kept playing and kept playing Raburn because “the only way to get out of a slump is to hit your way out.” Remember how well that “strategy” worked? This is more of the same.
Is there a reason that the rest of the AL hates us? I mean every non-contender except KC rolls over for Chicago, BALT, OAK, and the LAA but they play like their mother’s honor is on the line when they play us. Getting real tired of the Clevelands of the world getting swept series after series until they play us. Same goes for Seattle, playing lights out until they rolled into Chicago last week and get swept.
Simple question for me is how bad do the Tigers want it? If they would actually score some runs and stop failing in just about every R3L2O, they might actually win the division in back to back years for the first time ever (let that sink in as to how inept we have been as a franchise since divisional play was instituted in 1969). 40 plus years of divisional play and ZERO two year runs as division champs of either division.
Highly frustrated right now with this team in spite of the sweep of the ChiSox. They are letting so many winnable games slip away. You can almost see how everyone is going to point to the games in KC and today;’s game at the end of the season as the difference as to why we’re not competing in the AL playoffs.
That Minnesota inning was very..,Tiger-like.
That’s why it’s goodbye playoffs ….. too many games just given away …… bumblin & stumblin! You play your best players …… none of this mix and match.
Why do managers like coaching against Mumbles:
1. Never bunches his hot hitters. He always gives you outs in between
2. He is not concerned with moving runners…Doesn’t encourage it nor does he believe in it
3. Therefore he is not going to bunt, hit and run, steal….he plays you one base at a time
4. He will always leave a starting pitcher in one or two batters too long
5. Seldom of ever lets a short reliever go more than one inning if they have an easy inning
6. He uses IBB more than anyone in Baseball giving you runners
7. Will never ever ever PH a RH batter for a struggling RH batter or vice-versa. you can count on that!
8. gives up more of those non throwing steals than anyone in baseball
9. Despite not having hardly any speed on his team he encourages guys to try taking the extra base if they are the batter and there is a lead runner. The Tigers lead the majors in runners thrown out in these situations.
10. He religiously coaches for the three run home run that hardly ever ever ever comes
11-15. His Ego outweighs almost all common sense
Wouldn’t you want to coach against him too…………………………………………………
..oh has a losing lifetime record
Wait until you see today’s lineup.