2013 Season, Game Post, Playoffs

Game 2013. Playoffs 11: Tigers at Red Sox

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ALCS: Boston 3, Detroit 2. Game 5: Red Sox 4, Tigers 3. Not as close as the score would indicate… or was it? It doesn’t take much to lose a game, and in this instance I’m not talking about late-inning drama. For a game that looked like it was over after 3 innings, the Tigers had their chances. Upon chances.

Let’s get the hat-tipping out of the way right away, shall we? A. Napoli’s 445′ shot to center. The home broadcasters would be foaming at the mouth about “another planet” had a certain Tiger hit that pitch that far. Let’s give credit to an opponent for awe-inspiring raw power. (I thought it was a blip at the time, a wake-up call that would get Sanchez back on track.) B. The crucial Bogaerts-Pedroia-Napoli DP that killed the Tigers’ 6th. C. Tazawa v. Cabrera. D. In general, the Red Sox were very, very ready for a pitcher who had stumped both them and himself last time out. E. Lester, the guy the Tigers can hit without hitting. I like their chances against Buchholz and Lackey much, much better. F. Smart baserunning by Middlebrooks, the sort of thing you’d see from Hunter or a healthy Cabrera, although perhaps Miggy would have to be unusually healthy to make this first to third on a sac bunt.

The bad: A. No one did more to lose the game than Anibal Sanchez. More bad pitches in one start than you’ll usually see in three from him, and he was lucky to get away with 4 runs allowed. The run-scoring WP in the 3rd pretty much killed the game for me, and in the end, it stood out as the nail in the coffin. B. Miguel’s fielding error was just butt-ugly. Don’t give me “bad hop” or “he’s hurting.” C. I don’t care if Miggy didn’t see Brookens’ change of signal or blew through it. To even entertain the thought of sending Cabrera home from 2B on a sharp single right to the left fielder, a play that will obviously force Cabrera to slide if it’s even close, is egregiously wrong on principle. That is not “aggressive baseball.” That is a losing call. That is fly by the seat of your pants, unprepared, situation-oblivious stupidity. I think we are beyond disbelief of Tom Brookens at this point. I know I am. But maybe that’s just uninformed, opinionated fan talk I’ll regret when I realize the genius of it all.

The unfortunate: A. Peralta’s nearly-double deep foul down the LF line with 2 on in the first inning. Oh! Boy, did he smack that one, first pitch. B. Cabrera’s nearly-HR down the RF line later on, also against Lester, also with a man or two on if I’m not mistaken. C. The Jackson GIDP in the 6th. D. The Cabrera DP in the 7th. The latter did score a run, but it could have been so much more. Second pitch. Ouch. Miggy didn’t like it, either. E. Avila getting hurt on the collision at the plate with Ross. I guess I’ll leave not removing him from the game sooner in the “unfortunate” category.

The good: A. The amazing play by Iglesias on the shallow LF popup? I think the amazing part was that the ball stayed in his glove. The long run (from Ortiz shift 2B position) to get there? Well, he’s fast – that’s not so amazing. The quick move to swipe at the ball and glove it? Well, there’s amazing somewhere in there, but the more I watch it, the core of it seems to be in the glove control.The fast reflexes, yes – wow. Holding on to that swiped-at ball. Double wow. B. The Detroit bullpen was outstanding. The Veras curve is a joy to behold, much like the Fister curve and the Verlander curve. Some prefer fastballs. I like a good curve. C. Hey, the Tigers made a game of it, sort of. Even Sanchez recovered, sort of. D. Pena lives. Got himself an RBI.

A play and a call: A. There was that Ross sac bunt that got Middlebrooks over to 3B (from 1B) in the top of the 9th. Good bunt. Very good play by Miggy on it. No flies on the throw to 3B from Prince after the out at 1B. Bit of trouble covering 3B, apparently. Some “umpire interference” at 3B that really didn’t make a difference, in my view. Broadcasters said Pena was to blame for a late break to cover 3B. I’m no strategy expert, but why isn’t Alburquerque breaking to cover the base? The whole play, he’s meandering in the center of the diamond. B. Now, with a man on 3B, only runner, one out, playing to prevent any runs, why the intentional walk? What do the stats guys have to say about this? If you’re the Tigers and the walked batter is Ellsbury, you’ve essentially issued an intentional double, which is exactly what happened. That’s two easily scored runs to worry about when you can’t afford to allow one, and your double play (which was no sure thing anyway, with Victorino batting) down the drain. Pointless. No damage done, thanks to Alburquerque, but I wonder if it’s irksome to a pitcher to have the IBB ordered in a situation like this.

All right. Next.

* Oh: Phooey on the tiresome Cardinals. There goes the Fielder trade. I was hoping for a Tigers-Dodgers WS, just for variety’s sake. Well, at least the Cardinals don’t have silly beards. Or do they? They do have the unknown rookie phenom pitcher going for them, which might be worse. Hmmm. Nah.

* Could there be a slight lineup tweak in the offing? You know who I’m talking about.

I could go on for several long paragraphs with contrasting views on the Tigers’ chances down 3-2 and headed to Boston, but I’ll boil it down.

* The Detroit Tigers can beat the Boston Red Sox any day of the week. However, they might not be able to beat the Red Sox any two days of the week. I’ll go out on a limb and say there’s no way Boston beats Detroit two in a row now.

* That the Tigers can win two in a row at Fenway Park was amply demonstrated in Games 1 & 2. Well, maybe not amply, or even at all, because it didn’t actually happen. But you know what I mean. It was that close. Boston was on the ropes.

* Stats are out the window,  and what’s happened to date in the postseason is out the window. The 2013 regular season doesn’t matter, and looking ahead to 2014 doesn’t matter. The Tigers Universe now consists of two games (or so we hope) against the Red Sox in Boston. All hands on deck. Do it, whoever you may be and at whatever point you may or must, but do it and get it done. Do it or die. Do it or go home to watch the World Series instead of playing in it.

We might have to prepare ourselves for some heartbreak, so let me ask you this: Would you rather have the Tigers go down in 6 and be done with it, or see them take it to a thrilling 7 only to watch it slip away in another 9th inning or extra inning anticlimax? I guess the answer to that is too obvious. So let me rephrase it: Which would hurt more? Which would inspire the more bitter commentary?

Ultimately, what can we be right now but hopeful and happy, happy that there’s hope and hopeful that we’ll still be happy tomorrow?

Scherzer today. That’s good. Verlander tomorrow would be even better. Kevin did promise. After that.. well, what could go wrong?

121 thoughts on “Game 2013. Playoffs 11: Tigers at Red Sox”

    2. Clearly, since he is injured and on pain-killers, the sensible thing to do would be to move him up to 6th in the lineup.

    1. Well done Loon as you fine tuned my emotions for Game 6. The only things left I need to do is tune into Dan and Jim on the next, empty a few beers into my Dad’s ’68 Tigers Championship mug, and hold on for a good ride. Great seasons are made from series like this! Let’s go Tigers!

  3. Great write-up/recap Loon!

    In honor of Bum Phillips who just passed away at 90, and who’s still a ‘big deal’ in Houston, the following are a few of his more memorable quotes:

    “How do you win? By getting average players to play good and good players to play great. That’s how you win.”–Bum Phillips (sound advice for DET this weekend)

    “There’s two kinds of coaches, them that’s fired and them that’s gonna be fired.”– Bum Phillips

    1. my favorite Bum quote was when some reporter asked him about Earl Campbell not being able to finish a one-mile run during pre-seaosn training:

      “When it’s first and a mile, I won’t give it to him.”

  4. It’s kinda good to hear that this time the Cardinals must now wait.

  8. Isn’t there a rule that you have 12 seconds to deliver a pitch with nobody on base? Buchholz has been taking way more than that (last pitch was 28).

    1. If you’re talking single, stolen base, groundout, sacrifice fly….. it ain’t gonna happen.

    1. In the old days that Coleman and I know so well, replays had to done through reenactment.

  17. we teach our high school hitters, don’t try and pull the outside pitch, go with it the other way….of the many things about The Tiger hitters making all this money is only Miggy and Hunter can do this…

  27. Just goes to show you what happens when you go to your blowpen too early but I’m glad it’s the Red Sox this time around.

  28. Thousands of heads in Boston have thousands fewer hairs after watching Fielder walked on four pitches.

  32. only the Tigers can do something like this….it would be unbelievable if they didn’t do this all the time

  35. I don’t like the Kelly substitution. Peralta’s spot is likely to come up again in a key spot.

    2. Especially with injured Avila coming up with a very small chance of getting a hit. Wasted pinch-runner.

      1. Still not getting the Kelly for Peralta pinch-running going on. In this instance, you still don’t know how the inning will end. Why take a good bat out of the game earlier than you must, earlier than it really makes sense to?

  37. That was very poorly executed. Come on. We needed at least one more run there. Gotta get the low hangin’ fruit.

  38. Stupid Prince! Then he dives on the ground, not near the base and looks at the umpire. Should he be drug tested?

    1. Excellent point. I felt like the Tigers were *behind* at that point – no lie. That’s how deflating it was.

        1. The ball four call blowed. Very tight zone for Max, especially in that inning. There were two pitches called balls that could well have been strikes in that at bat.

  56. Scherzer had the 2nd out. I would have left him in. I guess JL hasn’t learned a thing in all his years of managing if you want to call it that.

    1. I don’t disagree re Max but but JL didn’t lose this one if ‘hey lose. How about the errors, the foolish base running, the inability to score guys on third, Fielder taking the post season off, Veras throwing a hanging cuve in a 0-1 count??? All of these things just add up to bad baseball on the field not from the dug out.

      1. But the manager sets the tone. This stuff has been going on for eight years, with multiple player personnel changes.

        1. Three curves in a row from Veras. I don’t know about that. Who’s choice? Bad one. It’s a great pitch, yes. Not three times in a row.

  59. I’m disappointed in Kelly. At least Hunter went over the fence after the ball, Kelly didn’t even try.

  60. you can’t make this stuff up..If you told someone this story..they would have you locked up!!!!!

  61. as I mentioned earlier in this thread (above):

    “There’s two kinds of coaches, them that’s fired and them that’s gonna be fired.”– Bum Phillips

    …only wish it were applicable to DET, but I know its not

    1. Well, they could still come back here, have done it before. Even so, the bottom line is that the Dombrowski/Leyland model doesn’t work – one-dimentional offense (sluggers) with otherwise gaping holes in their offensive game making it virtually impossible to sustain high level success when the going gets toughest. After 8 years they have mostly been “almost” good enough. Unfortunately, as the old saying goes, almost only counts in horseshoes. Illitch needs to rethink how the team is assembled and how it is managed.

      1. Don’t forget about the pitching. We had a bunch of historic starting pitching performances this ALCS and they were all for naught. If the past eight years have taught us anything, it’s that amazing starting pitching, a couple sluggers, mediocre defense, and a shoddy bullpen are enough to win your division, especially when it’s the worst one in baseball, but it won’t win you the world series.

        The past couple years have shown that Dombrowski has a flare for dramatic trades and signings, but cannot put together a complete team. The past couple years have also reinforced (we’ve known this for a long time now) that Leyland is a good manager of people and commands respect, but he’s an absolutely mediocre in-game tactician. I can only hope he’ll swallow his pride and retire because it’s pretty clear that Dombrowski and Illitch will not ask him to leave. In my mind, that is their greatest failure.

        1. I agree with a lot of the things you say, but I don’t think the Central is the weakest division in baseball. That would be the NL West, although if you wanted to make an argument for the NL East, I’d listen to it (

          1. And the AL Central is better than the AL West, although the Astros are trending up (really).

  62. its been a great ride boys…thanks for letting spout off…see ya next season. thanks for all the “Billfer ” work you guys have done….its been fun!

  64. Over the off season, Prince needs to go to the Torii Hunter school of leadership.

  65. The Tigers will have an opportunity to get back into this game.

    Problem is that I don’t have any hope left that they’ll take advantage of it.

    I’m exhausted.

  66. My biggest concern (besides coaching and leadership) moving forward with this team is “shelf life” – players don’t play/perform in their prime forever…

  67. Our only chance was with our starters, since our fielding, our baserunning, our bullpen, our third base coaching and managing all stink. I can’t remember any manager taking out Whitey Ford, Sandy Koufax or Nolan Ryan with the game on the line. Our “manager” has taken out our nearly unhittable starters and Cy Young winners time and time again and replacing them with our blowpen.

  68. Great season Y’all. All of you are awesome to help me make it thru my 47th season as a devoted Tiger fan. Have a safe off-season and see you in the Spring when the Turtle will once again sing. God Bless You and Thanks!

  69. Well gentlemen, it has been fun! I enjoy all of the debates, wisdom and humor. I told the bride that if the WS came up all ” red” that I would not watch or care, so here I am and here we are without a dog in the hunt. Wait till next year, we lasted longer than what, 26 other teams, but there are things that must be done to patch up this leaky ball club.

  70. I’ll take heartache in October over indifference in September.

    See you guys in a few.

  71. Needs for next year:

    1) Dominant late-inning relief. You need it to win in the postseason, and we don’t have it. Benoit is a setup man and Veras is a 7th-inning guy, and the Red Sox showed the Peter Principle in action. Either Bruce Rondon stays healthy and grows into the role, or we open the checkbooks for a free agent. The status quo is not an option

    2) Figure out what is wrong with Prince and fix it. He let his teammates, the fans, and the organization down with his shoddy play this postseason.

    3) Get another corner outfielder who can hit. We had Don Kelly batting with 4 outs to go in our season. That can’t happen again.

    Our starting pitchers aren’t going away, so we should be in the postseason in 2014 if we take care of business this winter.

  72. here’s the telling stat – Tigers blowpen surrendered 7 ER’s in 12 2/3 innings. Sox bullpen allowed us 1 ER in 21 innings. so it’s prediction time for next year:

    we’ll never see Phil Coke again….he’s gone
    we won’t see Peralta again either…..we have plenty of OF’s
    Rick Porcello, who is nothing more than a RH Nate Robertson [maybe 2 good outings a year with the rest mediocre at best] will fade into obscurity. if he’s still with the Tigers, it’ll be in a long relief situation type thing
    if there’s any top closers on the market, Dombrowski will open the checkbook big time
    idiot Leyland will still be managing, but with a new rule: no Tigers’ starter will throw more than 20 pitches a start, thereby saving their ‘glass arms’ forever [just kidding]

    the Tigers will win the division again next year [there’s too much talent not to], but if a top closer + more bullpen help can’t be had, another ‘early’ exit should be expected

    now, I guess it’s time to watch some NFL football………. 🙁

    1. I haven’t read this yet because I am a bit terrified to find out what god makes of it all.

      1. God turns out to be a pretty ordinary baseball observer. He manages to underwhelm me with his writing every time out. I was going to invite him to submit some game posts, but I’m not so sure about this anymore. He might go off on one of his rants.

  75. You’re right. In the press conference today it was made clear that DD was going to bring JL back until JL told DD on September 7 (a day that will live in infamy!) that he wasn’t coming back in 2014. At least Leyland had the good sense to tell DD that he was burned out (the fuel was low as Leyland put it). I’m wondering if it would have made any difference if the players knew before the playoffs began (maybe they are slightly more inspired to not do stupid things like get thrown out at home by 20 feet or freeze halfway down the third base line) in terms of feeling like they had a “mission” to win one for the old man. It may not have mattered, but I’ll take any cheap motivational tactics at this point. Talent alone is not getting don for us in the postseason.

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