Detroit Tigers, 30-33, 4 games behind Chicago.

Ryan Raburn is an understanding guy. He really is. He says “I would’ve booed me as well.” (No word on how he would have spelled his name).

The boos are on hold for now, as Raburn scrounged up a couple of hits, and the Tigers won their 2nd consecutive Interleague series.

(Update:  Raburn will be playing LF.  Resumption-of-booing-needle swings toward Likely).

Detroit goes for three against the Colorado Rockies, once briefly home of Ol’ Smokey himself. The Rockies are 13-8 against Detroit in IL play, and have won the last two series.

The opener of the series sees Casey Crosby take his 3rd career start, and attempt to keep his ERA in single digits (9.35). Crosby will face lefty Jeff Francis, whose return to Colorado after a year sabbatical in Kansas City has been quite rocky (0-1, 21.60 ERA).  Doubtless tonight will be a pitcher’s duel.

Stat of the Day: Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder are a combined 5-for-27 (.185) lifetime against Jeff Francis.

Tonight’s Player of the Pre-game:  Austin Jackson.  AJax continues to have the hot bat. In addition, Rockies star Carlos Gonzalez has 16 home runs, but 12 of them have come in the mountain air of Colorado. In Comerica he will be leaving his shots on the warning track, and Jackson is there to haul them in.

Tonight’s Ha-Ha-You-Thought-Berry-Would-Be-In-LF-With-The-Return-Of-The-DH Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Brennan Boesch RF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young DH
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Ryan Raburn LF
8. Danny Worth 2B
9. Bryan Holaday C

Detroit Tigers, 27-32, 6 games behind Chicago.

Jim Leyland feels pretty good.  Every game.  Over and over. At least one can assume. “Anytime you have Cabrera and Fielder back to back, you feel pretty good. Right-hander or left-hander, it doesn’t make any difference,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.

Anyway yesterday was the kind of game that good teams win, in the same way the Friday night’s game was the type of game that bad teams lose.  So tonight is the rubber game both of the series, and of the good team/bad team thing, and it will be played out on the big stage: the game is the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball feature (thus the 8:00 PM start time).

Brennan Boesch has taken his share of abuse here, understandably so (although it should be noted he is no longer AL LVP: he is now behind both Ryan Raburn and Chone Figgins). But his double–and his base running on the Fielder single in the 8th (and this is exactly the sort of thing that the Tigers do oh so badly)–was the difference in the game.  Although no, sorry, Boesch still does not look as good as Joey Votto. 

On the down side, Boesch tweaked his ankle on the play, was removed from the game, and is now…day-to-day?

***Update: Boesch out, Berry in right, batting 2nd.  It may be a minor cavil, but it would make more sense to bat Berry first, and move Jackson to 2nd.  But maybe they were short of white-out or something.

In other news, apparently the Tigers made a serious offer to Roy Oswalt this offseason, and he said no thank you.

Stat of the Day: Jim Leyland is a career .500 manager. OK, technically 1615-1617. But he is 73-40 (.646) in Interleague play.  That sly, double-shifting devil!

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Miguel Cabrera. The Tigers have yet to see Reds flame throwing closer Aroldis Chapman.  That will likely change tonight, close situation or not.  The 100 mph fastball of Chapman meets the bat of Cabrera, and Chapman is tagged with his 2nd earned run of the season.

Tonight’s Jacksonberry Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Quintin Berry RF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young LF
6. Ramon Santiago SS
7. Gerald Laird C
8. Danny Worth 2B
9. Drew Smyly P

Detroit Tigers, 26-32, 6 games behind Chicago. Injury Report: Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Fog.

While the result of last night’s game lingers over Tigerville like a noxious fog, a flurry of movement can be seen at the town gates.

Austin Jackson is in, finally returning from the 15-Day DL.  Jhonny Peralta, have a cigar, and enjoy your paternity leave. 20 year old Hernan Perez (2B, .253) has been recalled from Lakeland, and will no doubt pinch-hit in a bases-loaded, 1-out situation. And Octavio Dotel is… something.  And there is still a shoe to drop:  someone has to go to make room for Jackson (Matt Young, anyone?) (Update: Jose Ortega draws the short straw).

And don’t worry, none of this will result in Berry and Jackson in the outfield at the same time:  “It is what it is. He’s an extra player on the bench,” Jim Leyland said in his pregame remarks. “I’m not going to take Boesch out. Hopefully we’ve got him going. I’m not going to take Delmon out.”

***

I am trying to keep this all straight.  Apparently Dotel, like Benoit, was newly unavailable last night (elbow inflammation, day-to-day). And Benoit was unavailable (forearm tightness, day-to-day), thus The Jose Ortega Experience. Although apparently Benoit may be available today.  And Dotel. Different day I guess.

“Day-to-day” pretty much sums up the Tigers this season, doesn’t it?

The Tigers easily lead MLB baseball in total number of day-to-day days. There is seemingly a new day-to-day player every game. Some will go on and off the list…some will be day-to-day, then go to the DL.  But both the bench and bullpen have been shorthanded all season because of the day-to-day action.  Is this bad luck? Bad conditioning? Too much work (bullpen)? Is this about the thinness of the minor league ranks (why DL a player if there is nobody to bring up)?

***

The Tigers were beaten by a squeeze bunt. It’s the kind of play other teams use to beat Detroit, and the kind of play Detroit could never execute to beat other teams.  The Reds are hardly a small ball team:  they are 4th in the NL with 64 HRs (Votto crushed one last night that would make Cabrera envious). But they showed that both kinds of skills can happily co-exist.

As for the bullpen moves, they make a little more sense now that we know that Dotel was unavailable: Leyland was stuck in a Don’t Ask, Dotel situation.  Then there was the double-shifting that took Boesch and Peralta out of the game early, and left poor Matt Young manning RF in clown shoes. Leyland rightfully took a lot of heat for yesterday’s game.

Maybe we should extend the Jim Leyland Signature Song poll question: In Jim Leyland’s future career as a singer, his signature song will be:  ______.

***

Speaking of Votto, ESPN has a good comparison between Votto and Hamilton, and argues that Votto is the better hitter. They have one of those cool “heat maps”  that show that Votto just does not swing outside of the strike zone, and almost never at outside pitches. (By the way, in the Alternate Baseball Universe in which the Tigers won last night’s game, Coke’s strikeout of Votto was the play of the game).

***

It will fall to Justin Verlander to make Tiger fans forget the bunt force trauma of last night.  Although apparently nothing is more important than for Verlander to get his first career hit.

Stat of the Day: The Tigers are undefeated in games in which they have led after 9 innings.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Austin Jackson.  Jackson has been leading the Tigers in about everything (Batting Average, On-Base %, OPS).  Can he pick up where he left off? Or will he come back as 2011 AJax?

Tonight’s Would-It-Really-Have-Killed-Him-To-Try-Austin-And-Berry-Together? Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Brennan Boesch RF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young LF
6. Ramon Santiago SS
7. Gerald Laird C
8. Danny Worth 2B
9. Justin Verlander P

Detroit Tigers, 26-31, 6 games behind Chicago.

Day-to-Day injuries: 2 (Benoit, Laird). 15-Day DL: 4 (Jackson, Fister, Avila, Dirks).

The Tigers hop on the bus and ride their 1-game winning streak south to Cincinnati, where they will engage in a 3-game Sparky Bowl series with the Reds.

The Reds have taken over first in the Other Central, led by MLB Most Valuable Player Joey Votto (if you take WAR rating as a guide), who failed to get the memo about how performance should tail off after signing a huge contract.

The Reds will be facing Rick Porcello, who tries to follow up an a good 1-run, 6 inning outing against New York. The Reds will counter with Mat Latos, who they received this offseason from the Padres in exchange for Yonder Alonso, Edinson Volquez, Yasmani Grandal, and Brad Boxberger. Just wanted to type those names.

Austin Jackson,  Doug Fister, and Andy Dirks are all preparing for their returns.  If there are any more setbacks, Jim Leyland may be singing a different tune, as StorminNorman posted.

So here is today’s challenge.  In Jim Leyland’s future career as a singer, his signature song will be:  ______.

In other news, Detroit won’t have Omir Santos to kick around anymore: he has refused his assignment to Toledo and is now a free agent.

Stat of the Day: Something is foul here.  The Tigers lead the AL in the propensity to foul off pitches: 29% of the team strikes are from foul balls.  I have a feeling this is a good thing, although I can’t quite articulate why.

Tonight’s Player of the Pre-game:  Rick Porcello. Rick Porcello and his .250 career average gladly grabs some lumber and helps his own cause.

Tonight’s Un-Designated Lineup

1. Quintin Berry CF
2. Brennan Boesch RF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young LF
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Gerald Laird C
8. Ramon Santiago 2B
9. Rick Porcello P

Detroit Tigers, 25-28, 5 games behind Chicago. Day-to-Day injuries: 3–Add Benoit, with forearm tightness. Dirks officially to the 15-day DL. Matt Young called up from Toledo.

He had only been on the team a couple of days, and had been having a nightmare of an evening, committing 2 errors and seeing 5 runners steal on him. But Omir Santos had one thing in his favor: he hadn’t been around long enough to fall into the Tiger runner-on-3rd-less-than-2-out malaise, and his sacrifice fly redeemed a great outing by Rick Porcello and a Cabrera power show (Santos also had a sac bunt).

And in case you were wondering what Leyland would have done if he needed another player to take the field (he used his entire bench), Villarreal would have put on the glove.

Today is Magglio Ordonez Day at Comerica, with official retirement ceremonies beginning at 12:30.

This afternoon Justin Verlander steps on the rubber for the series rubber game, and looks to maintain Detroit’s winning record against the AL East (9-8). Verlander, impressed by last night’s game, is working on developing a 2-HBP, 2-Walk, 3-SB inning, except that he thinks he can do it without giving up a run. At any rate both Benoit and Valverde are likely to be unavailable today, so go Justin!

Stat of the Day: Miguel Cabrera hit 910 feet of home run ball last night (they were listed at 466 and 444). “That was a lot of footage, to say the least,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Magglio Ordonez, who is literally the player being celebrated in the pre-game.

Today’s Hey-It-Worked-Last-Night Lineup:

1. Quintin Berry CF
2. Danny Worth 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young DH
6. Brennan Boesch RF
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Don Kelly LF
9. Omir Santos C

Detroit Tigers, 24-28, 6 games behind Chicago. Day-to-Day injuries: 3.

Alex Avila was scratched from tonights lineup with right hamstring tightness.  Gerald Laird is out with hamstring issues.  Suddenly the move to bring up Omir Santos looks prescient.

Ramon Santiago will go into tonight’s game as the only position player available on the Tiger bench.

Stat of the Day: Detroit and Minnesota are tied for the AL lead in grounding into double plays with 56 each.  Not surprisingly, the Twins also lead the league in ground ball to fly ball ratio (1.09).  Surprisingly, the Tigers have one of the league’s lowest ratios (0.74).  So they really aren’t hitting the ball on the ground–but they are making it count when they do.

Tonight’s Player of the Pre-game:  Don Kelly.  The Donkey will do his best to not clown it up at his weakest position, while keeping his fingers crossed for the health of Omir Santos–Don Kelly is now the only backup catcher on the team (which means he will not be pinch-hit for or otherwise replaced).

Tonight’s Day-to-Day-to-Day Lineup:

1. Quintin Berry CF
2. Danny Worth 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young DH
6. Brennan Boesch RF
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Don Kelly LF
9. Omir Santos C

Detroit Tigers, 24-27, 5 games behind Chicago, winning streak: 1 game. And it’s Polish-American night.

It was all a terrible misunderstanding.

A lot has been written about the last day of the current installment of the Ryan Raburn Experience, mostly about the surprise appearance of Raburn in the 2nd spot in the order.

Subsequent stories have described this as a last ditch effort to see if Raburn could produce before lopping off his head, or at least fitting it for a Mud Hens hat. Because nothing relaxes a player who is pressing like being moved up to the 2nd spot in the order (there are two ways, of course, to look at this: Leyland is a fool, or Leyland is a genius, who could have predicted Raburn would strike out 3 times and just wanted to get this demotion thing done with).

The real story though is much simpler, and shows the importance of good communication within an organization.

Dave Dombrowski walked by while Leyland was in a pre-game fret about Raburn, and was asked for advice on what to do with Raburn.  Dombrowski: “He would be a good table setter.” Leyland, already stumped at how to get a table setter in the 2 spot on base in front of Cabrera and Fielder, jumped at the suggestion.  Much to his embarrassment, only later did he find out that Dombrowski was suggesting Raburn spend the day setting up the post-game buffet.

When asked why he didn’t question Dombrowski immediately about the unusual suggestion, Leyland said it fit with what he thought Dombrowski had previously said about Raburn: “He’s scrappy.”  Turns out he had misheard that.

***

Of course, the Raburn affair was overshadowed by the foul tip in the dirt which was neither tipped nor in the dirt, which joined the balk which was not a balk and the bunt off the invisible leg at the top of the list of Tiger umpiring travesties.  But be that as it may, how would you like to have to deal with what the Yankees have had to deal with from the umpires?

Why just Wednesday, the Yankees had to contend with an umpire throwing new balls to the pitcher, instead of letting the catcher do it! Remarkably the Yankees were able to prevail under these adverse conditions, and still beat the Angels 6-5.  Still catcher Russell Martin had no hard feelings over the incident, leaving umpire Laz Diaz with the conciliatory words, “you’re such a d—. You’re a d—, dude. Like, for real. Unbelievable.”

***

Tonight the Yankees will have to overcome the unknownness of Tiger rookie Casey Crosby, making his MLB debut against the enormous talent of C.C. Sabathia. Crosby posted an uninspiring 4.26 ERA at Toledo, but will be aided by the Yankee inability to recognize him from his generic Gameday photo.  I hesitated before posting the Game Post pic (it clearly reveals Crosby as a lefty), but have been assured that Yankee players rarely frequent this blog.

No word on whether Avila is out as a precaution after getting his mask knocked off, or whether Leyland is playing the usual RH/LH strategy.  Dirks is out with a sore achilles, which is apparently getting worse. And still no Jackson. We may see Raburn back at this rate.

***

Stat of the day: Prince Fielder (at 275 lbs) just hit his 10th career triple. According to baseball-reference.com, Prince Fielder is the second player in MLB history weighing at least 275 pounds to have 10 career triples. Adam Dunn (285 lbs) also has 10. I’m not sure which is more astonishing: the 10 triples, or that Fielder is listed as 10 lbs less than Dunn. Although if I read this correctly, all Austin Jackson has to do to break this record is to gain 90 lbs.

***

Tonight’s Player of the Pre-game:  Prince Fielder. The matchup between Fielder and fellow ex-Brewer Sabathia will be huge. Apparently, Sabathia was trying to convince Fielder to become a Yankee.  Tonight Sabathia will really wish Fielder was a Yankee.

Tonight’s Rookie Hazing Lineup:

1. Quintin Berry CF
2. Danny Worth 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young LF
6. Gerald Laird DH
7. Brennan Boesch RF
8. Omir Santos C
9. Ramon Santiago SS

Detroit Tigers, 23-24, 3 games behind Cleveland, winning streak: 3 games.

Happy Memorial Day to everyone!

Ah yes, the Boston Red Sox.  Remember when the season started with a 3-game sweep of the Red Sox in Detroit? The Tigers scored 26 runs in 3-games, they pulled off a clutch 11-inning victory for the sweep, and Duane Below managed to rack up 2 of the 3 wins. The Tigers had a legendary offense that was going to just crush the opposition, and cruise to an easy Central title. Oh well.

Boston had problems of its own, but seems to have righted the ship somewhat, and both teams go into this series with identical records. Austin Jackson again will miss this series with his abdominal strain, so Detroit is hoping the Q-Berry magic continues.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Quintin Berry. Run, Quintin, Run!

Today’s What-Could-Be-More-Obvious-Than-Batting-Raburn-2nd Lineup:

1. Quintin Berry CF
2. Ryan Raburn RF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young DH
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Andy Dirks LF
8. Gerald Laird C
9. Danny Worth 2B

Detroit Tigers, 22-24, 4 games behind Cleveland, winning streak: 2.

I can finally stop worrying how the Tigers are going to get back to .500 without winning winning consecutive games.  We are now in the midst of a full-blown 2-game winning streak. It’s almost enough to make one forget the shaky defense they have been playing.

The offense came through again, and the icing on the cake was the bullpen performance. Scherzer struck out 9, after striking out 15 his previous performance, but was faltering even before a rain delay ended his day early.  Dotel came in with runners at 1st and 3rd with 1 out, struck out Willingham, got Morneau to foul out, then struck out the side in the 7th.  All in all the Tigers struck out 16 in the game.

Manager Jim Leyland said “a good game and everything but to me the hero of the game was Octavio Dotel.” As for Dotel, when asked how he keeps throwing 94 m.p.h. at his age, he said, “Yeah, I’m 38, but I feel 15.”

Speaking of the bullpen, we may need it today.  Rick Porcello takes the mound for Detroit, and he has gone 3 straight outings without making it through the 6th inning.  Porcello faces P.J. Walters, who has been a pleasant surprise for the Twins, filling in for Nick Blackburn with a 2-1 record and 2.95 ERA, including his first complete game last time out. He also beat the Tigers 4-3 in his previous appearance against them.  On the other hand, past performance is not a guarantee of future results, and he is named after pajamas.

***

I often find it entertaining to take a peek at the ESPN game previews and see what the two predictions for the game are, the AccuScore prediction and the fan prediction.  Today AccuScore says Minnesota has a 52% chance to win this afternoon, Detroit 48% (I’m guessing home field is what swings it their way). The ESPN fan poll says: Tigers 96.2% Minnesota Twins 3.8%.  On behalf of the Twins, we’d like to think you fans for your support. Both of you.

***

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Prince Fielder. The Tigers’ slump and Fielder’s slumps coincided. Fielder was 4-for-4 yesterday, and homered off of Walters the previous time they met. Fielder keeps the hot bat, and we forget that he takes the field wearing clown shoes.

Today’s Leyland-Read-The-Vince/Coleman-Posts-and-is-Trying-Boesch-At-DH Lineup:

1. Quintin Berry CF
2. Andy Dirks LF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Brennan Boesch DH
6. Alex Avila C
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Don Kelly RF
9. Ryan Raburn 2B

Detroit Tigers, 21-24, 5 games behind Cleveland.

[Update: start of the game is delayed by rain. Tentative time for first pitch is 2:30 EST.]

Runs! And lots of them.  Alex Avila said after the game: “We have the type of offense that can make up for mistakes.” Um, let’s not get carried away here.

It still remains to be seen if the Tigers can extend a winning streak beyond one game.

Trying to make that happen is Mysterious Max Scherzer, who is himself trying to put together consecutive good outings, fresh off of a 15 strikeout gem. Trying to spoil the party for Detroit is a one-time nemesis, Carl Pavano. Pavano was 4-0 with a 1.48 ERA against the Tigers in 2009, but is 1-4 with a 6.00 ERA since then.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Quintin Berry.  While he is no Austin Jackson, Berry has provided a spark at the top of the lineup, and can do that thing where he moves his legs really fast while getting from one place to the next.

Today’s Streaking Lineup:

1. Quintin Berry CF
2. Andy Dirks LF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young DH
6. Brennan Boesch RF
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Alex Avila C
9. Ramon Santiago 2B

Detroit Tigers, 20-24, closer to Minnesota in the standings than to Cleveland.

The last time the Tigers won 2 consecutive games their starting 2nd Baseman was Brandon Inge.

Things are not well in Tigertown.

Justin Verlander, for one, is not particularly pleased.

Even Chris Perez got his digs in, saying that “good teams win baseball games.”

It’s clear what the problem is (though not so clear how to fix it):  the Tigers just aren’t scoring runs.

The Tigers have scored 3 runs or fewer in over half of their games, in which their record is 6-17 (.261…somehow they have thus far avoided being shut out).  The 3-run mark is where losing teams stop–over the league as a whole, teams are 50-227 (.181) when scoring 3 or fewer runs (that record jumps up to 54-32 in games with 4 runs).

You’ll notice the Tigers have actually been outperforming the averages in their low-scoring games, thanks to some brilliant starting pitching. It could actually be much worse.

It’s clear Earl Weaver ball (waiting for the 3-run home run*) isn’t working. For one thing, the home runs aren’t’ coming: the Tigers need a home run from each hitter in the lineup tonight to reach league average.  And even when they do get one–like Avila’s the other day–that still only leaves them at that 3-run mark, unless they can do something else.

(*Weaver actually said that the key to winning was pitching, fundamentals, and the three-run homer).

Tonight Drew “No Run Support” Smyly (15 runs in 8 starts) looks to turn the tide. This looks like a good chance to do it:  Smyly will be facing the 0-3, 4.73 Anthony Swarzak.  And as bad as things have been, at least Detroit has yet to lose to a guy who believes that The Sasquatch (Bigfoot) exists, and intends to find one.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Prince Fielder.  When Fielder steps into the batters box in the 1st inning, Swarzak yells, “I’ve found one!!” rushes from the mound, and attempts to tackle “Bigfoot” Fielder.  The Tigers pound the Twins bullpen following Swarzak’s ejection.

Tonight’s Return of Raburn Lineup:

1. Quintin Berry CF
2. Andy Dirks LF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young DH
6. Brennan Boesch RF
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Alex Avila C
9. Ryan Raburn 2B

Detroit Tigers, 19-21, 4 games behind Cleveland, and tied with Pittsburgh.

So much for the theory that the Verlander performance would provide a big spark: the Pittsburgh McCutcheons evened the series with a 4-3 win, and added insult to injury by taunting them with Jason “Gas Can” Grilli.  It was all too much for Grilli, who is now listed as Day-to-Day on the Pittsburgh injury report.

Sparky Anderson once said, “You can’t tell anything about a baseball team until 40 games have been played.” Well, the Tigers now have 40 under their belt. What do you think?

This afternoon the Tigers look to take the series behind the arm of the enigmatic Max Scherzer.  The Pirates counter with right-hander Kevin Correia, who last won on April 15th.

After today’s game the Tigers get a long day off, then hop on the bus for Cleveland for a key 3-game series against the division leaders.

***

Random stat of the day: Baltimore leads the AL with 27 wins, and also leads the AL in GIDP with 46.  2nd most GIDP belongs to the worst team in the league, Minnesota, at 44.  Detroit is 3rd with 39.  Make of that what you will.

***

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Brennan Boesch. Delmon Young had another good game yesterday. We finally have something going from the 5-hitter. Now if we could only get something from the 6th spot. Boesch has quietly been heating up, and is in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak. Leyland bumps the struggling Avila down the lineup and moves Boesch up to 6th.

Tonight’s Return of Raburn Lineup:

1. Don Kelly CF
2. Andy Dirks LF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young DH
6. Brennan Boesch RF
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Alex Avila C
9. Ryan Raburn 2B