2013 Season, Game Post

Game 2013.159: Tigers at Twins

102 Comments

92-66, 1.

Since this won’t be my last post this season, I won’t feel bad about a short one on a busy day.

You know that a win tonight, or a Cle loss, will clinch a third straight division title. That’s the first time since…ever. They did win three straight pennants from 1907-1909, but they have never won 3 straight division titles. Please keep that in mind as you shake up a can of frustration at the first negative play tonight. If we win a WS in the near future, we’ll always remember this stretch as one of the best in club history.

21-3 just sounds so much cooler than 20-3, doesn’t it?

A few notes:

– Igelsias is rehabbing nicely, he hit off of a tee today. I think they’ll keep him out until the playoffs start.

– Peralta is eligible to start in LF on Friday.

– Rondon may not be quite as alright as we were hoping. Leyland says his arm condition is “not good.”

Tonight’s Central Division Clinching Lineup:

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

102 thoughts on “Game 2013.159: Tigers at Twins”

  4. Mumbles will never think of this but Fielder actually runs pretty well, but is sandwiched between the two slowest of all the slow Tigers . I would switch Fielder and Cabrerra in the order v because no extra base hit by Fielder can score Cabrerra, but an extra base hit by Cabrerra could score Fielder.

    1. Good thought. I would bat Fielder in front of Cabrera to begin with, even with Cabrera heathy.

  7. Strike ’em out throw ’em out. Wow, that must be the first time this year they’ve done that.

  10. objectively they rank 32nd in hits with RISP….that doesn’tseem like the second best offense in baseball to me!!!

          1. They should handicap the playoffs like they do stakes races in horse racing–the guys on the teams with the best records should have to use heavier bats. Who would you rather have batting 4th on your team: Ortiz with a 36 oz. bat, or Fielder with a 34 oz. bat, or Santana with a 32 oz. bat?

  19. I didn’t mind the hit and run play with Martinez, you have nothing going all game, but not with Dirks, Avila, or Jackson..they swing and miss way too much!

    1. With a slow runner, the probability of him getting past second on a hit is low anyway. If you just want to move the runner up, or stay out of the double play, then a good contact hitter is necessary, and as you said, not with Dirks. So it was a bad idea on two counts.

      1. The idea with a Martinez-on hit and run is to “unclog the bases,” obviously. Subtle genius from Captain Marbles.

      1. They might spend all the pent-up offense in Miami and end up back where they started. Just a cheery thought.

          1. I’m not sure if Verlander has ever put a ball in play. What the in-play outs were would make a good trivia question, if he has.

  21. Smyly…h*ll ya!!!

    I know Mumbles doesn’t want to do this but I could care less about Benoit in Miami!!! today baby!!!

            1. Champaigne in my Dad’s Tiger Mug that I gave him for Christmas of 1968. I only pull it out on Open Day, Championship celebrations, playoff and World Series games….I AM THRISTY!!! (I only wish my Dad was here to see this!)

    2. I’m a Newcastle guy myself. Now that you bring it up I think I’ll enjoy one or two before hitting the hay tonight. The Newcastle is going to taste better than usual after seeing the boys wrap a third consecutive division title.

  23. it should have been way easier than this…but this team doesn’t do anything easy!!…CONGRATS..BOYS,!!!!!!

  24. Finally. Congratulations. Now please give Miggy the weekend off and everybody else take extra batting practice.

        3. Bell’s Oberon is another of my favorites…great for grilling or sitting by the pool in the summer.

          those guys clearly know what they are doing.

  28. The pitching staff needs to get 8 strikeouts in the next three games to break the team record set by the Cubs in 2003.

  29. something that was kind of overlooked this year, and I know the strikeouts were part of this but, the Team Defense Improvement was remarkable!!!

  31. Well…..I gotta say that I felt kind of bad watching the postgame show on FSN-Detroit tonight. I rip on Jim Leyland (a.k.a Ol’ Smoky) a lot, I mean a ton as he continually confounds me with his lineups and in-game moves. However, to see the guy as choked up as he was in the locker room after the game was pretty cool. It shows that the guy does care and it does mean a lot to him. Despite all of Leyland’s faults I do appreciate when something means that much to the guy. You could really see the emotion pouring out of the guy as he talked about winning it for the fans. How he “hopes that we’ve given the fans their money’s worth” as he can barely speak because he is so choked up.

    I’ll still probably question a bunch of his decisions in the postseason, but at least I’ll know that the guy really does care as much as I do (sometimes it doesn’t feel that way on get away days or the infamous Sunday lineups). That was raw emotion shining through tonight from Jim Leyland and I appreciated it. Maybe he isn’t as senile as I thought he was. 🙂

    2. And you can tell the guys love to play for him. You never see guys quit on this team, or point fingers. Last I can remember like that was Pudge, and he was shown the door.

    3. Well said Jerry……Leyland needs to know the Fans have the Tigers back! Meanwhile what LEADERSHIP that Torii Hunter is displaying. Well done #48!

      1. I was asleep and missing the game. This is how you party when you’re old and sick and single. Cheer up.

          1. Thank you, Mr. Coleman. I may have to delete that post. Seeking public sympathy for a mere cold… what have I become? A Detroit Tigers relief pitcher? Oh, I guess I’ll have to leave the post there for context now.

            1. Yes, well I’m glad it’s just a cold. At any rate, Kevin needs a good dose of “when we were your age, they didn’t have blogs, and we had to walk to the games in the snow.”

              1. He does, and it’s all true. Why, when we were Kevin’s age, baseball wasn’t even automatic like it is nowadays, where you just sit back and watch. Back then, you had to move the players around, put the ball where you thought it would go, do things over real slow for the replay, make the crowd noise – it was all manual, don’t you know. They didn’t even have “stats” back then – a lot of us old-timers had a hard time getting used to that, as you well know y’self. Sure, there were numbers, but we used to throw ’em out after the game on account of they might spoil without an icebox, and who could afford an icebox back in those days?

                Yup. Those were some good times. Hard times, sure, but that’s why we’re The Greatest Generation.

  33. 3rd division crown in a row…impressive!

    Now the “real” fun, anxiety, tension and (yes) second-guessing begins. Based on this team’s body of work this year and a few current key injury concerns, I won’t be surprised by any outcome – whether its one-and-done or WS winners… it all depends on which team shows up for each game. Strap on your seat belts and don’t forget your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device.

    1. Please go over the oxygen mask instructions again. I might need to breathe again before we hit the water.

      1. You know that thing where people take pictures of garden gnomes in unusual places? Gardenhire just has to take pictures of himself.

        1. I didn’t know about that thing, but Gardenhire is absolutely a gnome. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize him as such – I’ve seen him a thousand times in Scandinavian folk art without even realizing it.

          1. And based on what Torii said, I’ll think twice before attempting to pick up a gnome. As in “lift,” I should perhaps clarify.

  35. 1 2 3 4, what are we playin for ….. the WS Crown, as our opponents go down ….. then we can party downtown.

  36. http://espn.go.com/mlb/hot?id=9720918

    the MLB Network guys last night had a debate on who starts game 1 for DET, and today Crasnick and Shoenfield take up the issue. As Crasnick suggests, Cabrera’s health is going to have more bearing on DET’s success than who starts game 1.

    Personally, i’d start Scherzer (because he’s clearly been more consistent than JV), but if JL starts JV (or even Sanchez) I wouldn’t have a problem with it, because the pressure of the playoffs can effect players positively or negatively. Bottom line, if DET’s offense, bullpen & defense are shaky, ‘who the starting pitcher is’ might be a moot point.

  37. http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/9725806/robinson-cano-seeking-10-year-305-million-deal

    so Cano wants 10 yrs $305M?!?!…good luck with that – he turns 31 in about 3 weeks. I guess the 8 yr $110M Pedroia deal would look like a steal compared to Cano’s asking price. He might get something close to $30M per year, but not for more than 4-5 yrs. I think NYY learned their lesson w/ARoid… and have seen other teams (LAA Pujols… DET w/Fielder?) get burdened w/long-term/high-dollar contracts that extend into a players ‘golden (injury riddled, less productive) years’

    1. Every year I say “Who would be dumb enough to do a deal like that?” and every year some team does. It’s only a burden if the fans refuse to go along with the higher ticket/concession prices that support the big salary increases. That doesn’t seem to happen in most MLB cities.

  38. Here’s the problem with the Cano business. There are exactly two (2) decent free agent options at 2B for next season. Cano, and Infante. Infante is hitting .315. Infante will be looking for a big long-term deal–he’s only a year older than Cano and will seem like a good option for a poor man’s version of a Cano signing. I think the Tigers will be saying good bye to Omar again. Let’s hope for a postseason worth remembering.

    1. If we don’t win the Big One maybe Illitch will be “in” on Cano. I hope not, since ex-Yankees don’t seem to thrive in Detroit. Anyway, I doubt Cano would want to play for the Tigers – not a big enough market.

      Besides, we’ll have the magical Iglesias-Perez combo to look forward to.

      1. I’ve had the thought that Infante might price himself out of reach for the Tigers. I like Omar, but I think we’ve just seen the prime of his career, pretty much.

  40. I started to write a reply to the SL/Coleman exchange above, but it got so long that I’m going to do a whole segment on it next week. You guys will like it.

    I’ve also pulled some fascinating MLB stats and will do those another day as well.

    That’s called a tease.

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