Detroit Tigers: 78-56, 1st Place (6.5 ahead of Cleveland). 

The last time I did a post, the Tigers were 5.5 games ahead of Cleveland. After going 4-4 in the meantime, they have somehow increased their lead to 6.5 games.

The Tigers of course, as we know–and if you don’t know, well then, good for your blood pressure–came within 1 strike of suffering an historic 4-game sweep at home. The last time that happened: 2004, when the starting pitchers were the esteemed rotation of Maroth, Knotts, Robertson, and Johnson. Omar Infante was there (5-for-9 in the series), as was Torii Hunter, on the Twins (5-for-16). Yes, those were different times: total attendance for that 4-game series: < 90,000.

But the sweep was not to be: the Twins pitcher decided to grant ball four to both Jackson and Fielder (props to Loon for that one, although you missed the “Grant” angle…just saying), with 2 outs and 2 strikes Victor “Mr. August” Martinez lined a single to center, which brought Torii Hunter to the plate with the potential winning run. The potential became the actual, as Hunter, swinging for the fences, actually cleared the fence (how often does that happen?). Torii’s old teammate from the last Tiger home sweep (Balfour was on the Twins in 2004…maybe Torii still knew him well?) F-Bombed his way off the mound, and the Tigers somehow got out of that series with the A’s on an upbeat note. Phew.

*****

The Tiger starters, somehow–all four of them–were ridiculously bad that series. It’s not that even the best pitchers don’t have bad outings; they do. And Max himself has been saved by a couple less than stellar outing by ridiculous run support. But bad outings by all four starters, on the best starting rotation in baseball, in the same series? How does that happen? Is that one of those (cringe) “that’s baseball” things?

Or is is something else? Leyland has been very good about pulling all of the starters this season as soon as is reasonable (well, less with Verlander); yet they have thrown a lot of pitches. Is it late-season fatigue? I heard murmurs that maybe the Tiger pitches were tipping pitches (Verlander has had this problem in the past). But all four of them? That doesn’t make sense. Were the A’s stealing signs? Doubtful (if all the big bombs came with a runner on 2nd, that theory would make more sense). It may have just been that the A’s–not a great offensive team, but a very disciplined one–were just well-prepared. They have that video stuff nowadays. They certainly seemed to know what pitches were coming. Or it could just be that the Tigers ran into a team with a whole lineup that was hot at the same time…it happens.

At any rate, going into this key Cleveland series, the Tigers are somehow on an upbeat note. Complete absolution, as Tom in Lakeland says.

*****

Yes, of course Cabrera is in the lineup tonight. As if. Word on the street is that Tuiasosopo has been working out at 3B.

*****

Jose Iglesias still has the reigning Web Gem. But is that play as good as the one Victor Martinez made back in June?. Yeah, that’s a repeat comment. But still true!

*****

Cleveland has just picked up Jason Kubel (.220, .612….278, .786 career vs. Detroit), to replace Ryan Raburn (DL, achilles). But can he pitch?

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Victor Martinez

The first two months of the season, Victor was the biggest problem in the lineup, according to me. He was though, really. Leyland and crew obviously had faith he would come around. They could not have been more right. After a first half hitting .258 (.693 OPS), Victor has put up these numbers in BA and OPS:

• JUL:  .390 / 1.010
• AUG:  .383 / .917

Victor is easily the 2nd-best bat on the team right now, there is no competition.

Tonight’s Lineup:

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

Detroit Tigers: 74-51, 1st Place (5.5 ahead of Cleveland). Best record in the AL.

Anyone who woke up this morning and looked at the 7-1 score of last night’s game would think the Tigers had an easy one, but it was anything but. Kevin Correia breezed through the Tiger lineup in what looked like it was going to be a 2nd consecutive hat-tip to the Twins’ pitching, and the inevitable stolen base led to the lone run against Anibal Sanchez as he left in the 7th with a 1-0 deficit.

Then the Tigers rallied in the bottom of the inning with 2-outs when Holaday singled, Jackson singled, and Torii Hunter came through with a big 2-run double. Still, the Tigers clung to a slim 1-run lead. Then came the play of the game; after an intentional walk to Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder struck out, and the floodgates opened.

• The catcher couldn’t handle the pitch, and it flew his glove to the backstop.
• Fielder recognized the situation immediately and bolted for first (no trundling there–you always get hustle with the Prince).
• The inexperienced Caleb Thielbar stood on the mound and and didn’t think to cover home.
• The experienced Torii Hunter saw the above and scored from 2nd.

After that Martinez doubled, and the game was now a safer 4-1 score.

*****

How good has Anibal Sanchez been in the 2nd half? (I cleverly waited until after the game for this, when the jinx was no longer in order).  4-1, 1.51 ERA, best among Tiger starters since the break.

*****

The Tigers will try to take the series today with Justin Verlander matching up against Dreaded Rookie Pitcher Guy–make that Dreaded Lefty Rookie Pitcher Guy, this one named Andrew Albers. Pena says he is available to catch if needed (Holaday is starting), and Alex Avila is starting a rehab assignment with the Mud Hens tomorrow.

*****

Jose Iglesias still has the reigning Web Gem. But is that play as good as the one Victor Martinez made back in June?

*****

Fun With Small Sample Sizes

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

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Not Victor Martinez again. Victor hasn’t been doing so well with the day games:

• VMart in the day: .233 BA .652 OPS
• VMart at night: .320 BA .809 OPS

Clearly we have a vampire on our hands.

We’ll go with the day splits of Matt Tuiasosopo here: .352 / .963 during the day vs. .219 / .832 at night.

Today’s Rubber Afternoon Lineup:

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

Detroit Tigers: 73-51, 1st Place (5.5 ahead of Cleveland). Best record in the AL.

Well, apparently I managed to jinx Omar Infante, Rick Porcello, and Miguel Cabrera, all in the same post yesterday.

Of course, nobody wins them all. And sometimes you have to tip your hat to the other guy. No, really, all joking aside, this from Jim Leyland in the post game interview: “I’ve got to tip my hat to Pelfrey.” Yes, he really, actually, said that.

OK, as much as we joke about the hat-tipping here, sometimes lack of hitting is really great pitching, and vice-versa. But Mike Pelfrey? Not buying it.

****

Catching is hard. As in difficult, and as in hard on the body. Avila took batting practice again today, but is still not ready to play. The Twins put Joe Mauer on the new special 7-game concussion DL, so we won’t see him in this series. For Detroit, Pena is day-to-day with a bad toe (he has been a real spark lately), and Victor Martinez–yes, that Victor Martinez–has been putting in work behind the plate.  “I’m contemplating catching him a game in New York, and I’ll leave it at that,” Leyland said.

*****

As you all probably know by now, Phil Coke has been optioned to Toledo, and Jose Alvarez has been called up to take his place. Which is intriguing. Is he now the lefty bullpen specialist, instead of the 5th-6th starter guy? Not to worry about Phil Coke though: he could still be eligible for the postseason.

*****

Speaking of relievers, imagine this situation: tie game, bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, bases loaded, and you need to bring someone in from the bullpen…hmmm, who do you go to? The Red Sox decided Brayan Villarreal, and every Tiger fan yelled Noooooooo!!!! Walked in the winning run. This is not to say that Zorro won’t turn out to be a key bullpen arm, but right then and there…um, no.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Victor Martinez. Martinez has a career 0-fer against Correia, but he has been hot (.358 in 2nd half), and has been strapping it on. I’m going against the splits today.

Today’s Celebrate Holaday Lineup

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

Detroit Tigers: 73-51, 1st Place (6.5 ahead of Cleveland). Best record in the AL.

Taking 3-of-5 from Kansas City was nice (sorry, Cleveland, but KC seems the the bigger threat right now), but after being swept in both games of the double-header–and held to 1 run and 6 hits–it was very nice indeed. All the better that the two series ending wins were driven off the bat of Miguel Cabrera, in back-to-back pitches ending Saturday’s game and beginning Sunday’s.

How good is Cabrera anyway? Lee Panas suggests the talk of the possible Triple Crown actually undersells how good a season he is having–whether he wins or not, his season is better than most Triple Crown seasons have been. Jason Beck points out that if his season ended today that he would have an historic season under his belt. Only 16 other people in baseball history have had a season batting .360 with 40+ home runs and 120+ RBI, and Babe Ruth is 6 of them. If he continues on the pace he is at, he would finish over .360 with 50 HR and 150 RBI, which has only been done twice, by Babe Ruth in 1921 and Jimmy Fox in 1932.

Is there any chance he could continue at this pace? Oh, he is just warming up. Here are Cabrera’s month-by-month OPS numbers:

• .995 Mar/Apr
• 1.222 May
• 1.196 June
• 1.028 July
• 1.265 August

Fasten your seat belts.

*****

This is not to say that everything is roses in Tigerland. Despite his ridiculously hot bat, Miguel Cabrera is playing hurt, with multiple injuries. His inability to move in the field and inability to run the bases (congratulations Victor, you are now no longer the slowest guy on the team) have already cost the Tigers a couple of runs (we’ll take it). I predict he will get some rest after September call-ups.

Alex Avila’s health is also a concern. The good news is, that Avila has been cleared for workouts, and will take BP and run drills today.

*****

Detroit looks to keep rolling with 3 against the Minnesota Twins, before going on a weird 3-game road trip against the Mets, and then back home. Tonight features Mr. 2nd Half Rick Porcello (5-0, 2.84 since the break), who will have to solve Josh Willingham (.438 lifetime against Porcello).

And a tip of the cap across the diamond to Mr. Joe Mauer. Miguel Cabrera isn’t the only one playing today who is compiling a pretty darn good career. Mauer is still doing it, and doing it on a team that that is OK on its good days, depressing on others. The Twins were awful in July (9-17), during which time Mauer merely hit .360. He just doesn’t give away at bats. After 10 years as a career .323 hitter, he is hitting .324 this season, mostly at catcher, on a team eliminated from contention roughly in May. [Tip].

[Update: Mauer scratched with dizziness in BP–he has been taking a lot of foul tips lately, like Alex has. Let’s hope they are both OK].

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Omar Infante. Omar returns to the lineup with a 15-for-34 lifetime vs. Pelfrey in his back pocket.

Today’s Infantastic Lineup:

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

Omar Infante is back after a day off with back stiffness. I am liking how the Infante-Pena-Iglesias bottom of the order is coming together.

Detroit Tigers: 69-46, 1st Place (8 ahead of Cleveland). 

Miggy is unreal.  That pitch was in his batters box and he hit a bomb. He has the cheat codes to this video game.

–Tweet from Max Scherzer.

Max is right on: ESPN had an overhead view of Cabrera’s home run, and the ball was not just inside, it actually crossed the batter’s box. How someone can even hit a pitch like that in fair territory, much less for a home run, is beyond me.

I remember at the beginning of the season that there was a lot of talk about how pitchers had to pitch Cabrera inside to have any success against him. I guess he has adjusted to that. He still seems to have trouble sometimes hitting (or laying off) the high heat; Salazar especially had success against him that way. But I would not be surprised to see him eventually start blasting homers on pitches up around his eyes.

In the past two seasons, Cabrera has hit 20 home runs on pitches outside the strike zone (Zimmerman has the next most at 11), 16 of which have come on inside pitches.

*****

Today the Tigers look to take the series from the Yankees, with Justin Verlander on the mound, trying to build on his impressive last outing and get back to being, well, Justin Verlander.

Of course there is a simple explanation for his struggles this season: he finally stopped taking steroids, says some guy named Jack Clark. Oh wait, you mean that Jack Clark? The one who feuded with teammates, managers, and fans every place he played (he couldn’t even get along with Tony Gwynn. Tony Gwynn!). Yep, that Jack Clark. Well someone thought it would be a good idea to give him a radio show, and he proceeded to tell how he knows a guy who knows a guy, and he knows Albert Pujols and Justin Verlander have been big steroid users. Oh well, it makes for good radio right? Verlander dismissed the comments as “moronic,” but Pujols called his lawyers, and the radio station decided maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all, and fired Clark.

*****

.238 / .319 / .345 / .664

Those are Don Kelly’s numbers…er, wait, Ramon Santiago’s? Alex Avila’s? Nope, that is Prince Fielder’s line since the All-Star break. The .345 slugging % is especially baffling (Jose Iglesias has a SLG of .357 since the break).

But what about all of those RBIs? Fangraphs does an analysis of how many RBIs Prince Fielder would have if he were the cleanup hitter on every other team (if Fielder were on the Royals he would have 57).

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Prince Fielder.  Seems every time I say something critical of him, he makes me look bad by having a big game. Which works for me.

Today’s Tuitastic Lineup:

(Alex Avila a late scratch)

1. Jackson, CF
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Martinez, DH
6. Tuiasosopo LF
7. Perez, 2B
8. Avila, C Pena, C
9. Iglesias, SS

Detroit Tigers: 68-46, 1st Place (7 ahead of Cleveland). 

Sneaking under the radar a bit: Detroit Tigers, American League’s Best Record.

Well all good things must come to an end, and the Tigers’ winning streak finally topped out at 12–but not without some excitement.  After failing to take advantage of several early inning opportunities, the Tigers went into the 9th inning down 3-1. A double by Austin Jackson set the stage for a two-out classic confrontation between Miguel Cabrera and the great Mariano Rivera, and after two quick strikes (and a foul shot off of his knee), Cabrera struck, with a massive home run to dead center.

Torii Hunter:  “they should make  movie from that at-bat.”

Unfortunately, the Tigers again failed to take advantage of runners on base in the top of the 10th, and Al Alburquerque couldn’t hold the Yankees in the 9th. Was there any doubt of the outcome once Alburquerque came into the game? Unfortunately the Tigers had already burned through Coke, Bonderman, Smyly, Rondon, and Veras, and didn’t have much choice (although Veras might have been able to handle one more inning).

*****

Cabrera has a bandaged left shin, but will be in the lineup.  Prince Fielder gets a “day off” at DH, with Victor Martinez digging out his glove and taking first. And Leyland is hoping Don Kelly will run into one in the 6th spot.

For the Yankees, Alex Rodriguez gets the day off, with Jayson Nix at 3rd.

*****

Omar Infante’s rehab assignment, finally, is progressing: last night he was 2-for-4. The Tigers are tentatively shooting for Monday for Infante’s return. They certainly could use the punch in the bottom third of the lineup.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Don Kelly.  The struggling Andy Dirks gets the day off, and the Donkey takes aim at that short RF porch.

Today’s Let’s Start a New Streak Lineup:

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

Detroit Tigers: 68-45, 1st Place (7 ahead of Cleveland). Winning Streak: 12. 

Sneaking under the radar a bit: Detroit Tigers, American League’s Best Record.

Well, there we go. (Tap). A four-game sweep of the division rival Cleveland Indians, who have now become the “division rival” Cleveland Indians. (Tap). That’s a four-game sweep AT Cleveland. (Tap). The Tigers are now 13-3 on the season against the Indians, including 9-1 on the road. (Tap). (That tapping sound you hear are the nails going into the coffin of Cleveland’s division title hopes). I’m not sure how Cleveland can bounce back from this, but for those who think Terry Francona is the best manager around, it’s time to see what he’s got.

Despite the comfortable division lead, tonight’s game is significant because the Tigers have a chance to extend their winning streak to 13 games. Just kidding: we all know the most important story tonight is the Alex Rodriguez home debut. Will they boo? will they cheer? Will we care? At least the Tigers are playing the Yankees, so they won’t cut away from the Tiger game to show A-Rod bat like the MLB Network did to broadcast Derek Jeter’s First At Bat of the Season live (yes, they did). Hey, the Yankee fans need something to distract then, they have been pretty much eliminated from the playoff picture.

OK, back to our regularly scheduled program. It has been a long time since the Tigers franchise has won 13 in a row; in fact, as ESPN points out, Jim Leyland was not alive the last time it happened (which is amazing, since I was pretty sure Abner Doubleday was his 3rd base coach at one point). 1934 was the last time Detroit won 13 straight. Can anything stop the Tigers right now? Maybe the weather: rain is predicted. [Update: 6:00, light rain, tarp on the field].

Tonight’s game looks as though it may be an unexpected pitcher’s duel.  Rick Porcello vs. Ivan Nova hardly seemed to be a marquee matchup, but look at their records over their past 5 starts:

Porcello: 5-0, 1.87 ERA

Nova: 3-2, 1.66 ERA

Porcello should get an extra boost tonight from the new Jose Iglesias/Hernan Perez infield behind him.

*****

In some ex-Tiger news:  the Chicago White Sox put Caspar Wells on waivers, and he has been claimed by the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies in turn cleared a roster spot for Wells by giving the ol’ DFA to…Delmon Young! Wells has now been a member of the Mariners, Blue Jays, A’s, White Sox, and Phillies this season. And also pitched one scoreless inning for the White Sox, a la Ryan Raburn, which I somehow missed.

The White Sox, by the way recalled Avisail Garcia today.

*****

Jose Iglesias is now a REAL Tiger–he has changed agencies and will now be represented by Scott Boras. If anyone is interested in who represents who, MLBTradeRumors has an Agency Database. How about that!

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Alex Avila. Alex was sent back to Detroit, rather than traveling with the team to New York, for observation, since he had complained of dizziness and nausea after taking a shot off the mask which left him with a bloody ear. He was cleared, and has caught up with the team. Alex Avila takes more abuse than other catchers, maybe more than any other catcher, and it has been going on long enough that it is hard to brush it off as bad luck. Is it the way he sets up? Is there a catching coach who could help him? Is it the way the Tiger pitchers pitch? Would it help him to have a goalie-style mask?

[Update: Avila was originally in the lineup, but has been scratched for Pena. Let’s go with AJax as POPG, 5-for-13 off Nova]

Today’s Baker’s Dozen Lineup:

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

Detroit Tigers: 60-45, 1st Place (2.5 ahead of Cleveland). 

Today is Christmas in July at Comerica Park, featuring Santa Paws. He will have his eyes on you, Mr. Verlander. Will this outing be naughty, or nice?

The Tigers won their 4th consecutive in the two-game series opener as Alex Avila was the unexpected hero with his first career grand slam. It was a big win because Cleveland won their 6th straight, as Ryan Raburn came through with a two-run pinch-hit single. Raburn is now batting .321 for July. The Royals have also won 7 straight and crept over the .500 mark.

After the conclusion of the quick two-game series with Washington, the Tigers get another day off, then the White Sox (and Avisail Garcia) come to town, and then it is off to Cleveland. (I don’t think I can ever remember seeing a two-game series in the middle of a home stand with days off before and after).

*****

Miguel Cabrera seemed to tweak his hip flexor yesterday charging a slow roller at 3rd. According to Kevin Rand Cabrera actually suffered an abdominal strain, and is listed as day-to-day, with today not being one of those days, and tomorrow being an off-day. There is a chance the Tigers could begin their White Sox series with a Santiago-Iglesias-Perez infield.

In better news, Omar Infante has begun running and may be able to join the team on its upcoming road trip.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Alex Avila. I may be pressing my luck with this one, but Avila is on a 5-game hitting streak, and has actually put up respectable numbers for July: .250 BA, .740 OPS.

Today’s  Lineup:

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

Game 2013.105: Nationals at Tigers

Detroit Tigers: 59-45, 1st Place (2.5 ahead of Cleveland). 

It is Tuesday night, the trade deadline draws nigh, and the Tigers have one of those oh-so-2013 two-game Interleague series with Washington, who is out for revenge for that 1970 trade that sent Denny McClain to Washington for Joe Coleman, Eddie Brinkman, and Aurelio Rodriguez.

I predict Denard Span will do something annoying (Span career BA: Overall-.282 vs. Detroit-.344).

As Kevin posted yesterday,  the Tigers obtained Jose Veras from the Astros to shore up their bullpen. Following the Jim Leyland rule of dealing with new players, expect him to appear in the 7th or 8th tonight.

With a day and change left before the trading deadline, will that be the only move the Tigers make? There has been a lot of speculation that the Tigers will looks for some Shortstop Plan B in case, just in case, Jhonny Peralta gets waylaid. There seems to be very little noise, rumor-wise, in that direction. I assume Dave Dombrowski is fully apprised of any shoes that may be dropping, and take this to mean that Peralta, for this season at least, will be around. We shall see.

Mr. D, actually, decided the best place for him to be on Monday was in Toledo, where he took in a Mud Hens game, in which he just happened to be able to watch Jeremy Bonderman pitch two perfect innings. Hmm. The Tigers are rumored to still be after one more relief pitcher. Is Bonderman that one more?

*****

When the Tigers nabbed Veras, the question became, who goes to Toledo, Putkonen or Evan Reed? Putty drew the short straw, and was optioned to Toledo today.

*****

Stat of the Day:  July OPS:

• Don Kelly: .873
• Hernan Perez: .658
• Prince Fielder: .643

Just saying.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Victor Martinez. VMart has become, well, VMart. He is batting .385 for July, with a 1.011 OPS. Martinez was just killing the team the first half of the season, and how long to wait on him before pulling the plug was a legitimate topic. Leyland was patient, for the win.

Today’s Torii is Well-Rested Lineup:

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

Detroit Tigers: 52-44, 1st Place (1.5 ahead of Cleveland). 

About a month ago I commented that I thought Kansas City, not Cleveland, would end up being Detroit’s closest Central competitor, which looked rather foolish when the Royals ended the first half with 5 consecutive losses, including a three-game sweep by the Indians. Now after taking the first two games from Detroit, the Royals are in a position where another win today would bring them within 5 games of first place (the Indians, like the Tigers, have started the 2nd half 0-2).

The Tigers, for their part, would love nothing more than to get out of Kansas City with a win this afternoon, although the teams won’t have to wait too long to see each other again: the Royals head to Detroit August 15th for a 5-game series (yep), and the teams play each other a total of 11 more times this season.

As has been common this season, the Tigers came up short once again in a 1-run game, which brings their season record in 1-run games to 9-14 (the Royals are an even 17-17, which is an awful lot of 1-run games). Kansas City has now beaten Detroit by 1 run 3 consecutive games.

The Tigers tried to manufacture a run in the 8th inning, and break the 7-9 Dead Zone curse. After Alex Avila singled and Don Kelly got a pinch-hit walk (in his 2nd consecutive game pinch-hitting for Ramon Santiago), Jackson bunted the runners over to 2nd and 3rd, but Hunter and Cabrera were unable to get a run home.

I liked the bunt call. I can understand why there was some grumbling, but consider that Austin Jackson is in an awful slump right now: he is only hitting .202 since returning from the DL, and an awful .139 over the last 2 weeks, with on On-Base % of only .205.  Add to that the Tiger propensity for rally-killing DPs and the fact that a successful bunt almost guarantees a Cabrera at bat with someone on base, and I think it was a great call. Just didn’t work.

*****

Of course Detroit was in a hole to begin with because of another appearance by Bad Justin. There seems to be a little tension between Verlander and Leyland also.

Leyland: Verlander is pitching a bit too careful. [Why is that?]

Leyland: You’ll have to ask him.

Verlander: No I’m not [Then why would Leyland say that?]

Verlander: That’s a question for him.

Well, nobody is happy about losing, right? Anyway Verlander’s velocity was back up, for what it’s worth.

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Victor Martinez. Martinez dusts off his glove while Fielder gets the day at DH. The last two times Martinez has played first he has played some sparkling defense, including this play, which had a good run as the reigning Web Gem.

Today’s Lineup:

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

Detroit Tigers: 52-43, 1st Place (1.5 ahead of Cleveland). 

Do the Tigers need a little jump start?

They came back from the break cold as could be–the offensive highlights of the game were two warning track flies to center by Torii Hunter and Miguel Cabrera.

Perhaps they do need a spark; accordingly, Jim Leyland is sending a message and sending out a lineup that is…the same as last night.

You know I will go out on a limb and say that while there are certain topics that invite criticism, Leyland is not really doing a bad job of playing the hand that he has been dealt. And it IS the hand that he has been dealt–he does not have a magical ability to make better players materialize from the the bowels of Comerica Park.

It is not so hard to see the Tigers’ weaknesses. They have great starting pitching; the bullpen? Cross your fingers. They have a great offense–with arguably the best hitter in the game– but one that either bombs the other team into submission, or makes the likes of Ervin Santana look like an All-Star Game snub, with not much in-between. It is easy to see that the Tigers are not so good at the low-scoring, let’s-manufacture-a-run type of game, but harder to see what to do about that, managerially. Leyland does try: last night after Andy Dirks got a rare hit, he was sent with Avila batting, which got them a 3rd out. He only has so much to work with.

Not that there is no room for criticism. Pinch-hitting Don Kelly for Ramon Santiago? Really? Because there actually was a guy on the bench who could have tied the game with one swing. Unfortunately, he swings from the wrong side of the plate, so he could not have possibly done better than Ramon Santiago or Don Kelly, right?

*****

Before the season started there was much discussion about how the Tigers needed a right-handed bat. What they really need, it seems, is a left-handed one. Andy Dirks and Alex Avila we won’t discuss. But also Prince Fielder is not really panning out in that respect. He may want to skip the hard work of taking BP against lefties and just focus on crushing righties. Also he could use a day or two off, which will never happen, and will become increasingly more annoying as his Tiger tenure continues. He currently has a meager .798 OPS against right-handers (.253 BA), which is just a tick better than Don Kelly (.763). This is not what Mr. Illitch paid for. Oh, and by the way, Tuiasosopo’s OPS against RHP is a mere 1.134.

*****

This team is desperately missing Omar Infante. The worst thing about the lineup is their inexplicable inability to do anything after the 6th inning. The one exception is Infante, who has been the late-inning star, with across-the-board standout numbers: a .337 BA (Cabrera is 2nd with a lukewarm .260), and an OPS of .897 (Cabrera again 2nd at .808, Tuiasosopo 3rd at .788). Martinez may as well leave early and let Don Kelly take over, with late-inning numbers of .180/.489.

*****

Not that there was nothing good about last night’s game. In the weekend before the All-Star break, Bruce Rondon seemed to have what may have been a breakout performance, retiring Texas in the 7th with 2 strikeouts and a groundout–all on 0-2 pitches (and added another out in the 8th).  Last night Rondon came in in the 7th and got Billy Butler, and then followed up with a quick 1-2-3 8th inning. This is two in a row for Rondon, and his emergence, if that what it is, could end up being the biggest story of July for Detroit, who I suspect is trying really hard not to pay way too much (in trade or otherwise) for bullpen help.

*****

The White Sox have been struggling mightily, and finally manager Robin Ventura decided he had had enough. Alex Rios was removed from the game after failing to run out a grounder (on which he may have been safe).  I have always been a bit skeptical about the actual value of “sending a message” like this. On the other hand the White Sox are currently bombing the Braves 9-4, and Rios is 3-for-4 with a grand slam. Food for thought.

*****

Stat of the Day: Anibal Sanchez is an even 7-7. In each of his 7 wins, the Tigers have scored 6 or more runs. In each of his losses, they have scored 3 runs or fewer.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Justin Verlander, in case the lineup bats like yesterday.

Today’s Same as Yesterday Lineup:

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