2012 Season, Game Post

Game 2012.156: Royals at Tigers

55 Comments

83-72, 1st place, 1 game ahead of CWS.

In case you’ve missed today’s theme, we’re in first place.

Final home game of the regular season today, the Tigers head to Minnesota and KC for the final 6 of the season. Little bit of a shake-up for the final road-trip as Scherzer has been scratched for tomorrow’s start due to a deltoid strain. Smyly will start in his place. Jon Morosi wonders if the Tigers may look for a last minute replacement in the event that Scherzer’s shoulder is worse than we hope.

Luis Mendoza is 8-9 with a 4.44 ERA this year. The Tigers roughed him up for 6 ER on 7 hits over 5 innings on August 28th. Cabrera is 3-8 off of Mendoza with 1 HR.

If you’re headed out to the game today, here’s a list of the people whom you may need to say goodbye to: Leyland (I do not expect him to be back), Gerald Laird (I do expect him to be back), Brennan Boesch (I’m 50/50 on him), Jhonny Peralta (I hope we can find a better defensive solution; but don’t forget the Adam Everett days); Delmon Young (he’s gone with VMart back next year); and Anibal Sanchez (I expect the Tigers to make a strong offer to re-sign him).

I recognize that there is a lot going on with the pennant race and the Triple Crown and what not, but please take a moment to enjoy the sanctity and beauty of meaningful late September afternoon baseball. I’m going to watch the game from my desk with a sandwich and some chips, maybe a cold drink if things go our way. How about you?

A few notes:

– The Tigers will pass 3 million in attendance today for the 3rd time in club history (’07, ’08).

– The Tigers are 14 games over .500 since late June, 2nd best in the AL.

– The Tigers are 32-11 at home since Independence day. Some quick math tells us that they are not so hot on the road, so a win today is crucial with no more home cooking left.

Today’s First Place Lineup:

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

55 thoughts on “Game 2012.156: Royals at Tigers”

  1. Great words about enjoying the final days of this season! Meanwhile the Free Press reports Scherzer is out with arm pain and will miss Friday’s start and possibly more.

  2. Considering bringing out one of my cans of 1968 vintage Stroh’s, but am running low and should really save that for the postseason.

  3. This is why I like Quintin in the lineup: his speed just puts all kinds of pressure on teams. Now if only Leyland would figure out that he shouldn’t be hitting 2nd.

  10. highly advisable for DET to put up a run or two in the bottom of the 8th, with the prospect of ‘the potato’ looming

  12. Valverde won’t be facing the bottom of the order today… Butler, Perez & Moustakas… a taller task

    1. Acta probably got a bit of a bum rap there. I don’t think you can blame the manager when the starting rotation, which has been put together by the GM, sucks to the nth degree. And then all those injuries. And they weren’t supposed to contend anyway. But, I guess that’s baseball. So the Red Sox will have an additional candidate to interview, although I would like to put in another plug for Gene Lamont.

      2. i agree, in spite of his depleted roster, i thought Acta did a very good job. Sure CLE fell off a cliff the 2nd half this year, but as Vince confirmed, their GM did little or nothing to improve that team. If JL retires (and i hope he does), i think Acta might be a better fit for DET than Francona.

  24. Any time you can pinch hit Santiago in the bottom of the ninth of a pennant race game you have to do it. It’s in the guidebook.

  26. What a clown show! Peralta tries to kill the rally by hitting into another GP, and Moustakas says, not so fast!

  27. I’m sorry but my love for the Detroit Tigers is seriously being compromised by how much I hate the clown show of the AL Central. Seriously, it’s unwatchable and barely 4-A.

  31. The Royal have FIVE freaking errors. Relegate the whole division to the International League. Oh and from attendance figures there may not be any White Sox fans.

    1. Pena kind of fell on the ball down the line, reached out and tagged first laying on his belly, then kind of tried to roll onto his back and get up to make a throw home, never got a throw off.

  33. Yeah, I’m scratching my head a bit too on that ending. Must have hit right to the first baseman who stepped on the bag while throwing to home, I’m guessing, right???

  34. I wasn’t pretty, but it counts the same in the standings. I want to commend Leyland for resisting the temptation to have the bat boy pinch-hit for Avila in that situation.

  36. You have to admit Benoit and Valverde make every game an adventure. No such thing as sit back and relax even with a 3 run lead. A one run lead is never enough.

  37. The do nothing duo strikes again…Peralta tries to hit into a DP AGAIN and fails and the 4 highlight of the year Avila adds his 5th highlight a groundball out……LIFE IS GOOD!

  38. TAM is 2.5 games behind both OAK & BAL for wild card, they’re very much in the hunt and motivated to win at least 3 of their 4 games in this series against CWS… and we all hope they do just that. Because DET can use all the help they can over the next 7 days.

    Since JL has been managing DET, their regular season has ended:
    2011 won 5 of their last 7
    2010, finished with 7 road games (sound familiar) and lost 6 of them.
    2009 lost 4 of last 5 games – had a 3 game lead with 4 games left…and, well, you remember
    2008 lost 8 of their last 11
    2007 lost 7 of their last 12
    2006 lost 5 of their last 5, finished 2nd/wild card

    1. I will be at the TB-CHI game tomorrow night. It may be the last stand for Chicago, given the way they are playing now.

    1. And another Sox loss.

      Farmer: “That’s strike 3. And Rodney fires an arrow into the sky, now he’s watching it come down. Professionalism as we know it has left the building. Back with the wrap-up.”

      Such a guilty pleasure.

      1. ERAs for short relievers don’t mean much (see Phil Coke ;-)), and Rodney has allowed 4 UER to go along with the 5 ER. But the WHIP of 0.76 is very impressive. Cutting his walks way down this year has made all the difference (only 15 in 72 IP). I’m guessing he finally learned how to pitch rather than just throw. On the other hand it could just be a one season abberation. We’ll find out next year if the new Rodney is for real. I would also think he is in line for some Cy Young votes.

  40. One telling stat in the CWS – TAM game: U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, IL – Attendance 18,630 (45.9% full). For a so-called ‘playoff-like’ or ‘pennant race’ game, the fan turnout would not be confused as a vote of confidence.

    Even the ‘train-wreck of a team’ Cubs (2nd worse record in MLB) drew almost 3M this year, while the CWS likely won’t draw 2M… i know the Cubs typically outdraw CWS, but the CWS have been in 1st for a good chunk of this year

Comments are closed.