2014 Season, Game Post

Game 2014.132: Yankees at Tigers

54 Comments

Derek Jeter – I’ve enjoyed watching you play for the past twenty years. Best of luck with whatever is next.

Drew Smyly has allowed fewer runs in 5 starts with the Tampa Bay Rays than David Price allowed last night in the 3rd inning.

In no way would I go back and unwind that deal. I loved it then and I love it now. But baseball is a funny game, and there are a lot of intangibles which we can’t see nor measure. For the better part of the last four years, we all took those intangibles for granted, and many of us, including me, even suggested that other teams had better intangibles than us. I blamed the manager. Though it sure did seem that things tended to fall the right way for the Tigers more often than not.

Not I’m starting to rethink whether we were missing much at all.

This team is missing something. Perhaps JV isn’t the same in the clubhouse, or Miggy’s injury means he can’t laugh as much, or the bullpen is on pins and needles and that’s hurting things. But this team hasn’t been right in a month, and I’m not sure how we get there.

Winning is contagious, Royals are showing us that. Is mediocrity the same?

There’s still time, the Royals can’t play .800 ball the rest of the way out. But they’re likely going to play better than .500 ball. Can we be 3 games better than whatever that number is?

Kyle Lobstein makes his first career start this afternoon. I’ll be tuned in all game. Let’s go Tigers.

#DoItForTheRotation

1. Rajai Davis, CF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. J.D. Martinez, RF
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Don Kelly, LF
8. Alex Avila, C
9. Andrew Romine, SS

54 thoughts on “Game 2014.132: Yankees at Tigers”

  1. Your this team is missing something paragraph was right on…..what that paragraph indicates to me is that the Tigers have the wrong captain steering the ship! This is a team going nowhere. .500 doesn’t do it…theres no plan…theres no direction..whose in charge?..whose leading?…whose calling the shots???…whose taking responsibility for this failing season?..injuries hapoen to evety team .KC loses Hosmer and shoots to first place…NY loses most of their rotation and will catch the Tigers soon.. This team finishes 85-77 or worse and alot of people starting with Asmus have to go.

    1. I too fear that. 7/9 of a season doesn’t seem like long enough to make a final determination, but we’ll know here in 30 games.

    2. if DET “finishes 85-77 or worse”, in light of the relatively weak remaining schedule, that should be viewed as disastrous, and questions on Ausmus’ leadership should/would be in order.

      1. i say DET closes out the regular season 18-13 and finishes 89-73 (but hopefully slightly better)… because KC likely ends up with at least 90 wins

        as for the wild card, SEA has a tough remaining schedule and NYY’s is much more difficult than DET’s…so the WC is do-able

          1. KC with 90 wins? I’m doubting it.

            Detroit has beaten Kansas City 9 of 13 and outscored them 72-48. Maybe they’re better now… and maybe they won’t be by the time the Tigers face ’em again. I don’t think the Royals are suddenly the A’s or Angels.

            1. You are correct Sir! KC is not LAA or OAK; and I hope you’re also right that they won’t win 90.

              …but math seems to compute; when considering their 74-59 current record and of their remaining schedule 29 games, 20 games against TEX, BOS, CWS & CLE – teams w/ an avg. winning % of .448, (the other 9 = 6 vs DET, and 3 vs NYY), I can see them going at least 16-13 against that schedule, and getting to 90.

              Captain Obvious feels the 6 DET-KC head-to-head games will be critical…and I tend to agree.

  3. Tigs know they have to step it up for the kid today..they never handle that pressure well..0-1-2 runs today!

    1. That’s unbelievable. You can see why the Rangers fans were so excited to get Fielder.

  9. Everyone in America knew Avila would K there..why not try a bunt.. theres nothing to lose he is going to K…

  10. Price was the first pitcher to give up 9 consecutive hits in 25 years. I wasn’t watching, how many of those could have been fielded?

    1. I watched about 3 of the 9 hits, and there were some bleeders

      also “could have been fielded” is a very subjective term especially when considering the ‘range’ (or lack thereof) of a few DET infielders

      1. I thought Suarez should have gotten to two ground balls, and he never got close???. A routine fly ball to Martinez in medium left field…no throw home…no throw to third with Gardner tagging who went to third???? Cadsy never covered third on another…just our regular clown show stuff!

      2. Why is Miggy playing???. Don Kelly can give you more effort than Miggy has this entire week. And especially that at bat!!!

    2. ….. starting with the first one by a gimpy Miggy. That would have changed the whole complexion of that inning.

      1. Kevin – there were some defensive shortcomings, but Price’s pitching was every bit as hittable as the results indicate. It’s not like he was hanging ’em. More like he was consistently just off his spots with unusually lifeless pitches.

  12. Hey Lobstein great job today…the Tigers would have gotten you a win but you gave up a run or two and for them to get you 3 is asking a bit much!

  13. pitching-wise – thus far this game has been a pleasant surprise (go figure: veteran LHP Price gives up 9 hits in a row, 8 runs (in one inning!), then the next day a rookie LHP in his first start holds the same NYY lineup to 1 ER and 4 hits thru 6… strange game indeed.

    offensively, I pretty much expected Kuroda would hold down DET hitters

    …didn’t think DET would even be in a position to win this game in the 8th or 9th – so why don’t they just go ahead and do that (win)?!

  14. Cabrera’s got nothing right now, maybe he needs time off, as sad as that would make the lineup look.

  15. Cabrera looks like 2/3 the hitter he used to be…can’t catch up w/good fastballs, chases bad pitches, bad AB’s

    …that K in the 8th looked bad

  17. I’m pretty confident the secret to winning this game comes down to this simple premise: No Nathan

  20. is Holaday that much faster than VMart…and if you go into extra’s don’t you think you might need your best hitter?

    …or is it win in the 9th or bust?

  21. Ausmus must be thinking, why even bother to bunt Castellanos…as it probably will end badly…let him swing away and run into one

    2. Casty is no bunter..but he has hit that groundball to the right side…when he swings. Ok to not bunt there…The Tigs are so bad at it anyway!

  24. We sure do not play much small ball for a team that was supposed to this year. Reminds me a lot of Ole Smokey.

  28. This was an Old Smokey all the way…the old three run dinger!!!…even if it was a single!..

  29. As a side note..The Tigers could learn so much from Victors approach to hitting……..they just don’t!

  30. Had to get some work done, so DVR in effect watched the playback, saw AA coming up: 2 on, 2 out bottom 9, said to no one in particular: Extras!, and surprise, surprise! Totally ran into one!!!

  31. Kelley flung his glove to the ground as soon as Avila connected.
    “That’s about as bad as I’ve felt walking off a mound in my career,” Kelley said. “I got myself in a hole, but then I got the two outs I needed, and I had a chance to keep the team alive. But I hung a slider, and Alex Avila can hit that pitch. Most guys can hit that pitch.”

    …Tiger fans can find some humor in those last two sentences

    1. I’ve always been a strong supporter of Avila. I can’t be responsible for what other people have said writing under my name.

  33. Minnesota with 6 in the top of the 10th. Hopefully that’s enough to hold off the Royals.

    Did anyone watch Texas A&M destroy South Carolina tonight? Wow.

    Also, I forgot to ask TIGERS RULE how his “night out” was last night.

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