50 thoughts on “Game 2013.127: Twins at Tigers”

1. Its still early, but early indications are that this will be another frustrating Thursday matinee game at Comerica. The Tigers are 2-3 in Thursday matinee get away games at Comerica this year, and 0-3 in Thursday matinee get away games on the road in 2013. That’s 2-6 in Thursday matinee get away games for those keeping score at home. Perhaps its time to change the routine or just stop scheduling these Thursday games in the afternoon. Our guys are apparently night owls that don’t seem to enjoy day baseball very much.

   1. Make that 2-7 on the dreaded Thursday matinee “get away” afternoon games. 2-4 at Comerica this season in those games, 0-3 on the road in that scenario. These guys need to get to bed earlier or something on Wednesday evenings because whatever they are currently doing in preparation for these kind of contests just isn’t working. Also, brace yourselves because we’ve got another one of these Thursday matinees next Thursday when OAK and the Tigers wrap up a four gamer at Comerica.

2. Worst baserunning team in baseball?

   1. Clown show base running continues unabated. What was Prince thinking there? It wasn’t even close. If we had gotten shutout and lost last night I might understand it (trying to make something happen), but there was really no need for that.

      Leyland is really loyal to this guys even though they obviously are not real good at coaching guys up (base running mistakes galore, leading the majors in having guys thrown out at home, our hitters glaring inability to hit sacrifice flies when faced with R3<2O situations, inability to help our pitchers and catchers slow down the opposing team's running game).

      That base running mistake by Price probably cost us a run as there were two singles following his single that the tried to stretch into a double.

      1. Edit: Meant to say Prince, not Price at the end of the previous post. Although I don’t think Jim Price would have successfully stretched it into a double either.

         1. I’ve never heard him mention The Art of Baserunning.

            1. 🙂

               1. Possibly because he’s a Tigers broadcaster.

3. Congratulations Bryan Holaday! (Holaday is probably the only Tiger who has seen Albers. He went 1-2 off of him in May in Toledo).

   1. If the Tigers go onto to win this game it would be funny if the guys played Madonna’s “Holiday” song from the 80’s when they get back into the clubhouse after the game. Congrats to the young man. Does anybody else think he looks like he could be Raburn’s kid brother?? 🙂

      1. Now that you mention it… good call.

4. Tigers lack of defensive range costs us yet another run. Omar should’ve caught Doumit’s bloop single. If he does we get out of that inning unscathed.

5. Verlander getting drilled again. This is officially a problem.

   1. That’s 10 H + W today.

6. …..and this one just might be ovah folks. JV continues his less than sterling 2013 campaign by giving up a three run bomb to Ryan “My eyes have no whites to them” Doumit (look up his profile pic on mlb.com to see what I mean). With Perkins at the back end of the bullpen the Tigers are in DEEP trouble today. *Sigh*

7. The ‘GOOD news’ is the old JV is back, the BAD news is, its the circa 2008 version

   If he doesn’t get back to form, its going to be difficult for DET to go deep in the playoffs

   1. The even worse news is that if we do get to the postseason that Ol’ Smoky in all of his infinite “wisdom” will give JV the ball in Game 1 of the ALDS. Bank on it even though Sanchez and Scherzer have been far superior to Verlander in 2013. In other words, welcome to the 0-1 hole and “must win” Game 2 scenario Tiger fans! All courtesy of 2008 JV and Ol’ Smoky!

   2. The even worse news is that if we do get to the postseason that Ol’ Smoky in all of his infinite “wisdom” will give JV the ball in Game 1 of the ALDS. Bank on it even though Sanchez and Scherzer have been far superior to Verlander in 2013. In other words, welcome to the 0-1 hole and “must win” Game 2 scenario Tiger fans! All courtesy of 2008 JV and Ol’ Smoky!

      1. Sorry guys. *Double post*.

8. That wasted opportunity could be deadly.

9. We gotta get JV out of there.

   1. Plenty of game left, but we can’t let this one get away from us.

10. Let’s go guys. Let’s get 1 or 2 right here.

    1. Matt just missed one.

11. perhaps when the 5th starter goes to the pen it should be JV…everyone else is better ….in the what have you dobe lately dept

    1. I wouldn’t go that far, but the infuriating thing is that you know Ol’ Smoky will give him the ball in Game 1. That is what will set my hair on fire.

12. Little single here and we’re right back into it.

13. Cue the Madonna music.

14. There we go.

    1. It’s a new game!

15. Cabrera is looking all Curt Schilling there.

    1. Nice. Who can forget Schilling’s bloody sock???

16. Raise your hands, who was nervous about JV facing Doumit again there?

    1. These days I’m nervous about JV facing anybody. He’s got me more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs for just about every one of his starts.

17. keep battling,,,,,,lets get this one!!!

    1. Hopefully Fien will have a repeat performance of his outing versus CLE last week where he gave up three runs without recording an out.

       1. Of course Casey couldn’t cough it up like he did versus CLE. Thanks a bunch ol’ buddy.

18. JV’s up to the minute ERA now at 3.68 after giving up 6 earned today over 7 frames.

19. Hmmm. Walking the #9 hitter?? Where have I seen that before??

    1. …not “trusting your stuff” and not “understanding who you’re facing and the game situation” — guilty on both counts

       I just don’t understand 8th and 9th inning walks with nobody on

       1. Exactly. Rondon should be challenging guys like that with fastballs over the plate. If he earns his way on with a hit, I can live with it. Last night it was Sanchez walking the #9 hitter in a scoreless game in the 7th (with two outs no less!) and having it cost him.

20. Two things: Why won’t AJ ever dive for a ball?? Sometimes you have to leave your feet AJ, especially when the game is on the line. If the ball gets past you, it gets past you. You’ve got to lay out and try to make that play.

    Also, this game is now over. Cabby looking very bad today which really limits our chances for a late rally. Glen Perkins is our Kryptonite. I’d rather have to face Mariano Rivera than face Glen Perkins.

21. Great pinch hitting decision Ol’ Smoky. Holaday with two hits and two RBI and lift him for a guy with a bum toe.

    1. Holaday was having a career game, R – L there makes sense.

       1. Normally I wouldn’t have a problem with it, but Pena is banged up right now. I’ll take the healthy righty versus righty matchup over a banged up lefty versus a righty anytime. Holaday swung a good bat today and he deserved to hit there.

22. Come on Prince, I believe.

23. Really starting to get a bit worried right about now. I don’t like having to go on the road this weekend for interleague play. We are 0-4 in interleague road games this season and we have a tough enough time scoring runs at times without having to add our pitcher having to bat into the mix. Adding to my dread is having to face Matt Harvey on Saturday and that Cabby is clearly not getting better. I was hoping that we would have won today so that maybe we could give Cabby a day or two off this weekend, but that may be out of the question. That being said, Cabby looked really bad in all of his at-bats today with the exception of his first one. The Mets are not good outside of Harvey and Wheeler (who I think we miss), but we have not shown the ability to beat up on bad teams with any kind of consistency this year.

    After the Mets we get a very tough OAK team for four at Comerica before hosting CLE for three games for our final head-to-head matchup with them in 2013. This is a very big 10 days coming up for the ballclub. If we get out the other side of this still five games up or better I’ll feel pretty good about our chances of winning the division. A lot of tough games are still in front of us so it really hurts to let Minnesota come in here and take a series from us at home.

    I’m really steaming right now as I feel very let down by JV most of all today. He got six runs of support, which should be more than enough against the Twins. If you told bookmakers that the Tigers would score six runs today, and that JV had beaten Minnesota the last nine times he had faced them the odds would have been astronomically in favor of a Tiger victory today. This is why I especially feel let down by JV. You’ve got to take advantage of bad teams and beat up on them. This is exactly how CLE is staying in the race. They are dominating teams within the division not named Detroit. Not only have that, but they gone 5-1 versus TEX this year and 5-2 versus OAK this year. So they are also beating some good teams up in addition to the bad ones. If I’m not mistaken CLE is 11-2 versus the White Sox this year.

    We’re only 8-5 versus the White Sox, and most every game with the White Sox feels like a death struggle. We’re now only 9-7 versus a well-below .500 Twins team. We went 0 and frickin’ 6 versus the LAA this year. In other words, we’re allowing CLE to hang around because of our inability to beat up on bad teams not named the Astros. Thankfully we have dominated CLE head-to-head like no one else this year, but we don’t get to play CLE every week either. We need to start asserting ourselves versus the bad teams. This crap of losing two of three at home to the Twins is akin to playing with fire IMO. Going to be watching very closely this weekend to see how the team responds. It will be interesting to see how much Cabby plays. Fister, Scherzer, and Porcello had better be “on” because I got a feeling runs are going to be scarce for the good guys at CitiField this weekend.

    1. but we are 13-3 vs the Tribe…the one matchup that matters the most.

       but I hear ya…it’s frustrating to drop 2 of 3 vs Minnesota. perhaps the past 2 weeks is just a “cooling off period” of sorts…we did go from 6 games over.500 to the best record in the AL in about a 4 week stretch. bound to be a reversion to the mean at some point.

24. “Worst bunter on the Tigers: Omar Infante. 4 sac bunt attempts, 0 successful.
    Best bunter on the Tigers: Omar Infante, 4 bunt hits.”

    I like that. So characteristic of the Tigers. Maybe of all teams, but I don’t pay that much attention to them, whoever they are, unless they’re playing the Tigers.

25. Ah well. Still 3-2 over their last 5, as they were at the end of the Royals series, and as I predict the Tigers will again be when they’ve wrapped it up with the Mets.

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