2012 Season, Game Post

Game 2012.141: Tigers at White Sox

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73-67, 2nd place, 3 games behind CWS.

Baseball is a cruel game.

Omar Infante has played 335 innings for the Tigers, roughly 1/2 of how many he played for the Marlins. He has 6 errors so far with Detroit, compared to 8 with Miami, and a RF that has slipped almost a full point. Perhaps no error has been worse than last night’s. Infante’s error sparked a 4 run bottom of the 6th that put the Tigers in an insurmountable 3 run hole. And I don’t use that term lightly. In fact, the entire season looks to be insurmountable now. Drew Sharp may have said it best:

“When dissecting the cold corpse of a once promising season now almost certainly destined for disaster, the sixth inning at U.S. Cellular Field Monday will offer a fruitful diagnosis.”

Reciting the Tigers woes would be an extreme act of apathy, as you can find hundreds of words on the subject on any website that has “Detroit” in the URL. Some of the numbers are fascinating. In fact, the hitting incompetency has become so apparent that even Jim Leyland has caught on: “We’re not scoring very much, obviously,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said Monday after a 6-1 loss to the White Sox. “It’s puzzling.”

So let’s focus on the pitching. In case you haven’t noticed, the Tigers staff is pitching like a post season staff should. Over the last 12 games, a starting pitcher has allowed more than 3 runs only twice. They have 13 QS out of the past 19, and over the last 24 games, the staff has a 2.76 ERA, and a .232 BAA.

The crazy thing is, we’re really not out of this thing. A brief 2 game win streak, and we’re playing for first place on Thursday night. First place! 

Brennan Boesch is my pick to click tonight, as an early 3 run HR ignites a Tiger win. If it doesn’t happen, remember, Baseball is a cruel game.

Tonight’s Streak Starting Lineup:

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

27 thoughts on “Game 2012.141: Tigers at White Sox”

    2. I was actually just feeling envious of Infante’s single–because watching the replay, Ramirez actually came close to stopping it, miles closer than Peralta would have (it would have been a “routine” single)…funny how the long ball will change one’s perspective.

  5. This is not the most elegant way to win baseball games, but it’s what they do. I’m thinking they will probably need another HR or two to win this though, so I hope they don’t stop now.

  9. 2 months ago the Tigers hired 2 hitting instructors. No effect on Boesch yet. How about he shortens and tightens his swing and hangs on to the bat with both hands all the way through ala Barry Bonds. Tigers wasting a lot of talent here.

  13. well the answer to winning is pretty simple..here it is right in front of our eyes…if your starting pitcher allows two or less hits then the Tigs have a chance…..simple.why didn’t we think of that…I bet Mumbles knew!!

  18. One game at a time.

    Though I was really discouraged by the Cabrera GIDP in the 8th. Something’s off with him.

    1. While I haven’t heard any discussion of late, I believe it is still his ankle Great win and a team effort lead by Fister. Hopefully that primes the pump for two more against the White Sox!

  19. http://www.freep.com/article/20120912/SPORTS02/309120099/Tigers-lineup-critics-beware-Today-s-starting-nine-should-doozy

    this article provides a peek inside the workings of the JL brain…the logic behind his personnel decisions are as mysterious as his apparerent fixation with Raburn – JL is thinking about resting Raburn because he believes he’s “sluggish”…the fact that he’s batting .171, and in 205 ABs he’s only got 1 HR and 12 RBI, and a .226 OBP and 53 K’s…appears to be just a trivial detail

    1. That is brilliant, he manages to say Boesch “is due” and he “might run into one” in the same interview.

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