12 thoughts on “Game 2014.121: Mariners at Tigers”

  2. Tigers hitters seemed to stay with the King. Well done as he is gone in five.

      1. Nathan gets the save because it was a save. What’s the complaint? Do you have a similar complaint about David Price’s 8th inning?

  6. (back home, good wedding, thanks for asking)

    A few questions about the Vince/SL exchange above.

    1) If Price doesn’t struggle in the 8th, does Ausmus bring him out in the 9th? Let’s say he’s at 100 pitches after a quick 8th. I feel that the right move would be to bring him back out, but based on Ausmus’ brief managerial history, I’m pretty sure he would have brought in Nathan regardless b/c “the 9th is the 9th.”

    2) Assuming the 9th is the 9th, at what point in time does Ausmus bring in someone else. If Soria is healthy, does he get a chance? How many more lives does Nathan have? Statistically, I think Nathan is the worst regular reliever in the majors (no research done prior to asserting that claim). I mean, objectively, how can this be our answer? Are DD and Ausmus sharing a drink every night praying that Jim Johnson or Soria or Hanrahan are ready to take a shot?

    Other thoughts:

    1) Who pitches game 163? Price or Scherzer?

    2) Holy cow is anyone watching the Angels? Do the Tigers have a streak like that in them? They’ve done it before (albeit 4 months ago). The Royals, Angels, and Mariners have done it.

    3) Sick as Felix is, is it a relief getting to that bullpen? Tigers hit tonight like we expect them to.

    4) I’ve been meaning to say this before, I don’t get ever pulling Castellanos late. Is Kelly that much of a defensive upgrade considering our bullpen liabilities? Wouldn’t it be smarter to keep that bat in the lineup?

    5) The ads in between the MLB.com highlights kill me. I pay for the subscription, I should be able to skip those.

    6) How awesome is beer?

  7. For the record: Ausmus handled the pitching exactly right tonight. At first when he came out with bases loaded one out I thought for sure he was pulling Price (which would have been the WRONG move–and which would have resulted in a rant from me); no disrespect to Chamberlain, but if Joba comes in there, the score is easily 4-3 with one base hit, and likely 4-4 before he gets out of the inning. Kudos to Ausmus for keeping Price in the game. Yes Price could have ceded runs as well, but he was still the Tigers best option to limit the damage.

    Ausmus pulled Price in the same situation last outing (and Scherzer two starts ago) and not only did it cost the Tigers both games (and Price 2 ERs, compliments of the blow pen), it also ended up burning Porcello for his next start and likely set off the 4-game losing streak spiral (and maybe even the loss last night, if one attributes the recent Porcello funk to the interruption of his routine. All because of a couple ill-advised managerial decisions. Ausmus appears to be a quick study.

    The bottom line is this — and this in NOT complicated — as he still had gas in the tank, the inning was Price’s inning, and he was the Tigers best shot to get the last two outs.

    As far as the rumblings about trotting out Nathan in the 9th:

    Yes, Nathan doesn’t exactly instill confidence as a closer, but Price had just pitched a stressful 8th and was at 110 pitches… in a 4-1 game, putting Nathan in given the circumstances was also the right move. Three runs is a pretty long leash. If you can’t count on Nathan to close out that game, then there is no role for him on the team; you might as well designate him for assignment now. (If the score is 4-3, I’m definitely singing a different tune however….) Problem is, IF the Tigers are fortunate to make the playoffs, and IF they are fortunate enough to call upon their closer to close out a W or two, a long leash ain’t gonna cut it. Those games more likely than not will be one or two run margins at best.

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