(746 miles)From the CoPa

Playoffs??? What Do You Mean Playoffs???

2009-10-07T12:26:00.001-04:00

The MLB playoffs kick off today, unfortunately without the Tigers who had a kick to the nether regions of their own to deal with last night. So with the Tigers out, the question is who do you root for (provided you can stomach a Tigerless playoff)? So here's cases for and against all 8 teams.

Minnesota Twins
Hate them for: Nick Punto, the damn Metrodome, and that fact that they just won't die
Root for: AL Central loyalty, their fans are pretty cool, the underdog factor

New York Yankees
Hate them for: They're the Yankees, do I really need to list things?
Root for: Revenge for the Twins beating the Tigers I guess...uh...Derek Jeter's from Michigan, right?

Boston Red Sox
Hate them for: Being the only group of fans more obnoxious than Yankee fans, Kevin Youkilis, months of smug Bill Simmons columns if they win
Root for: Fenway Park to collapse. There is nothing redeemable about this team

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Hate them for: The fact the official team name is "The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim", the Rally Monkey, Vlad Guerrero's pine tard helmet
Root for: Winning for Nick Adenhart, a Red Sox loss.

Philadelphia Phillies
Hate them for: Winning last year, Philly fans
Root for: Ryan Howard seems like a cool guy, the potential reappearance of Pedro Martinez's little person.

Colorado Rockies
Hate them for: Wearing purple, the good chance their fans are also Avalanche and Bronco fans
Root for: Todd Helton to finally win the big one, the fact their best pitcher is named Ubaldo.

St. Louis Cardinals
Hate them for: the way media slobs over them for having the "best fans", the stupid Budweiser song, Joe Buck
Root for: Albert Pujols, and the fact Jim Leyland is probably rooting for them too

Los Angeles Dodgers
Hate them for: Manny being a cheater, employing Jeff Weaver, the fact that dumb Randy Newman song will be played ad nauseam during their games
Root for: Gratuitous screen shots of superfan Alyssa Milano

So there they are pick your side. Me I'm just hoping for some good games
As for how the playoffs are going to turn out, here's my thoughts:

Twins vs. Yankees
Yankees in 4
I don't think there's anyway the Twins can win today after last night's brutal 12 innings. The Twins won't go out without a fight, but the Yankee bats are just too much

Angels vs. Red Sox
Angels in 5
Both teams are pretty equal, but I just think the way the Angels seem to fly around the basepaths at home will be the difference in game 5

Phillies vs. Rockies
Phillies in 4
As long as the Phillies keep it out of Brad Lidge's hands they should be able to out hit the Rockies

Cardinals vs. Dodgers
Cardinals in 4
This may go 5, but the fact the Dodgers may have to beat Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright 2 out of 4 times makes me pick the Cards

ALCS
Yankees over Angels in 6
I think the Yankee starters are a little better than the Angels, and Mariano Rivera is light years ahead of Brian Fuentes

NLCS
Phillies over Cardinals in 7
Other than Pujols and Holliday there really isn't a dangerous bat in the Cards lineup. While the Cards may have the best 2 pitchers in the NL, Philly's rotation is a bit deeper and that will make the difference in a 7 games series

World Series
Yankees over Phillies in 6
It's going to be a bunch of 7-6 games, and it's going to come down to who can get the last three outs. Rivera vs Lidge. My money's on Mariano.

Damn

2009-10-06T21:47:00.002-04:00

One of the greatest games I have ever seen. Too bad about the outcome. I've lost 3 pounds sweating, and I'm sure most of my hair has turned gray. Good luck the Twins

Game 163: The Biggest Game Of The Year

2009-10-06T10:23:00.000-04:00

Some stuff went down these past few days. Some good (Justin Verlander), some bad (Miguel Cabrera). But like Mark McGwire said, I'm not here to talk about the past.

I'm here to talk about the biggest game for the Tigers this season. They face the Twins today in Satan's Butthole (aka the Metrodome), with most people expecting the Twins to win. Well I for one think 83 games is way too many for the Metrodump and think the Tigers can make it be the last one played there.

If the Tigers do these things victory is assured:

1) Score first, preferably in the first inning. A big first inning would theoretically take the crowd out of the game and let Kid Rick focus on just pitching, not trying to win the game singlehandedly.

2) Work the pitch counts. Other than Joe Nathan, no one on the Twins is an all-world pitcher. Make them throw tons of pitches, get them tired, and drive their mistakes into the stands.

3) No free baserunners. There will be a decent number of ground balls. The Tigers can't afford to allow the turf to beat them.

4). Miguel must atone. He let his team, his fans, and his city down this weekend. A key hit or two would do a lot more for his image than a form letter apology

5) Assume Joe Nathan will be out in the 8th inning. So they need to have a lead by the 7th.

6). Hits from the bottom of the order. If the 7-8-9 hitter drive in runs, the Tigers will win.

7) Last one is a simple one. Play better baseball than the Twins. Any one team can beat the other team on any given day. The Washington Nationals won a series against the Yankees this year. It doesn't matter where the game is, top to bottom the Tigers are a better team than the Twins. If the team that showed up on Sunday shows up today...bring on the Yankees.

Thank god for DVR as I won't get out of work until 5:30, and thanks to Atlanta traffic at my house around 6:30. Regardless of what happens tonight I hope to have a playoff preview up tonight. I'm really looking forward to typing up a Tigers-Yankees preview.

Theme Song for Game 162

2009-10-04T12:09:00.001-04:00

Game 161 Recap

2009-10-03T22:11:00.002-04:00

The Tigers are slowly killing me. Need to win tomorrow. That's all I got.

Game 158 Recap

2009-09-30T22:11:00.003-04:00

Another big game, another big win for the Tigers. The 2009 Tigers, exactly the opposite of the 2008 version.

Eddie Bonine, the September call-up, the 4 option for a starter behind Jarrod Washburn, Armando Galarraga, and Nate Robertson, had himself another great game on the mound for the Tigers tonight. His 3rd start in September (4th of the year 9th of his career) was the magic one, as Bonine picked up his first career win. It wasn't easy though, as the Twins had him on the ropes in the first. Down 2-0 with the bases loaded, Bonine got a huge play from Placido Polanco to turn a double play and end the inning. He allowed only 4 more Twins to reach base in the next four innings and had himself another great start in a pressure packed situation.

Last time out Bonine was out of luck as he drew Jake Peavy to try to outpitch. This time he went up against a guy that had been pitching like a Cy Young winner against the Tigers. This time they figured him out. It all started with a pair of singles from Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez. Carlos Guillen drew a five pitch walk and the bases were loaded for Brandon Inge. Inge continued his hot hitting from yesterday, by driving a double to the gap in left center which brought in two. Ramon Santiago drove in Inge and Guillen with a single to center and the Tigers took the lead and never looked back.

The Tigers had the bases loaded again in the 5th. Miguel Cabrera at the bat, one pitch weak pop out. Here we go squandering again, right? Wrong. Magglio Ordonez took his first pitch and drove it deeper in the same part of the field that Inge's when for a bases clearing double, making the game 7-2. Zach Miner took over for Bonine, and while he wasn't as dominant as he was yesterday afternoon, he didn't allow a run to score in 2.1 innings pitched. Brandon Lyon bounced back from his wild performance yesterday (Closer mentality...hint, hint Mr. Dombrowski) as he struck out both batters he faced with runners at 1st and 2nd to end the 8th. Fernando Rodney showed he can in fact pitch a 1-2-3 inning to end the game.

A fact blurbed on "Baseball Tonight", no team has ever come back from 3 games back with 4 to go. The Tigers win tomorrow and they win the AL Central for the first time. Go do it Tigers.

Tigers 7 Twins 2
W: Bonine (1-1)
L: Pavano (13-12)

Tigers Record
W - L
85 - 73
1st Place AL Central (3 games ahead of Minnesota)

MAGIC NUMBER: 2

Games 156 & 157

2009-09-30T12:30:00.000-04:00

I spent all of the first game, trapped at work and wearing down my phone's battery for updates. After Lyon's performance my phone was almost the third wild pitch of the afternoon. As if the stress of month-end wasn't enough, the work day ended with the Tigers clinging on to a minuscule one game lead in the AL Central.

I spent most of the second game vomiting uncontrollably. It could of been from the fish I had at lunch. But more than likely it was caused by Nick Punto.

All in all yesterday was two games that kicked started my emotions into playoff mode. I nervous, agitated, surly, and I love it.

Tonight, dual Tiger killers are in effect. Carl Pavano is on the mound and the game is on ESPN. Maybe they will cancel each other out. And I think karma owes Eddie Bonine his first win anyway.

Game 153 Recap

2009-09-26T22:02:00.003-04:00

Down 5-0 after four innings, and only one hit to show for their efforts. Same old Tigers, right?

Wrong.

After 4 innings of domination the Tigers figured out Freddy Garcia. It started with a Miguel Cabrera solo home run. 5-1. Miggy struck again with a 2 run single in the 6th, 5-3. Then in the 7th the Tigers broke it open. With Carlos Guillen and Gerald Laird aboard, Adam Everett singled, 5-4. Then Curtis Granderson singled, 5-5. Placido Polanco, single, 6-5. Magglio Ordonez (now hitting .297 by the way), single 7-4. The Tigers never looked back. They added 5 more runs over the next two innings on their way to a 12-5 victory.

Ozzie Guillen will be grumpy tonight, and that warms my heart.

This is why the Tigers are going to the playoffs. Yes, I know there are 8 games left and the lead is "only" 2. The bottom line is when this Tiger team absolutely, positively needs to win, they do it. Worst case scenario, the Twins come into town behind only one game. They will not lose that series. Still, I would not be opposed to a 3 game lead when that series start. Go Zack Greinke!!!

Tigers 12 White Sox 5
W: Figaro (2-1)
L: Garcia (2-4)

Tigers Record
W - L
83 - 71
1st Place AL Central (2 games ahead of Minnesota)

Game 151

2009-09-23T22:09:00.002-04:00

Now that's a little bit more like it. It's about time this first place Tiger team, treated a last place team like they are supposed to. And for one Tiger hitters attacked a struggling pitcher instead of making him look like a Cy Young candidate.

Justin Masterson faced the Tigers back on August 1st. He pitched 3 scoreless innings and gave up only 2 hits. In the first four batters he faced tonight he gave up 3 hits and allowed a run to score. The Tigers scored four runs in the first which would turn out to be enough to win the game, but thankfully they didn't stop there. Every Tiger starter recorded at least one hit, with most of the damage done by the Venezuelan Power Station of Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Guillen. Miggy went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI, and Carlos was 3 for 4 with 2 home runs which helped him drive in 4. 11 runs on 15 hits, makes for a pretty enjoyable night watching the Tigers.

Rick Porcello was spotted 4 runs, before he took the mound. He seemed eager to give those runs right back as he loaded the bases on two hits and a walk after recording the first out. A Travis Hafner ground ball scored a run, but got an out. And Luis Valbuena hit a ground ball of his own to end the inning with Porcello relatively unscathed. He would go one to give up 4 more hits and walk two, but there were no runs scored and he was pulled after the 5th with the game well in hand at 9-1.

As for the bullpen it was a tale of two innings for Ryan Perry. He took over in the 6th and struck out the side. In the 7th he gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. Zach Miner, Jeremy Bonderman, and Fu-Te Ni combined to close out the game with little resistance from the Indians.

Tomorrow, Justin Verlander is on the mound, and the Tigers have a chance to break out the brooms and pick up a half game on the idle Twins. Unfortunately the Twins did some sweeping of their own closing out a sweep of the White Sox tonight. I can only hope the Sox will be as welcoming as they were to the Twins, and as the Indians have been so far to the Tigers.

Tigers 11 Indians 3
W: Porcello (14-9)
L: Masterson (4-9)

Tigers Record
W - L
81 - 70
1st Place AL Central (2.5 games ahead of Minnesota)

Game 150 Recap

2009-09-22T22:19:00.002-04:00

Remain calm...ALL IS WELL!!!!!!!!!

Little crazy around here, with work, family obligations, and that whole widespread flooding of northern Georgia thing. When I last left the Tigers they were 4.5 games ahead of Minnesota, then all Hell broke loose and the Tigers September of 2009 was on the verge of being mentioned in the same breath as the September of the 2007 Mets and other epic collapses. Then Nate Robertson of all people keeps the Tigers from getting swept and possible saves the season.

A Minnesota win and a Tigers off day yesterday cuts the Tiger lead to 2.5 games. Edwin Jackson and his new tip-free delivery took the mound. Edwin was not the Mr. Jackson of the 1st half. He scattered 7 hits and gave up 3 walks. But the most important number, runs, was a big zero. Pitching one both sides seemed to suffer from a questionable strike zone from home plate ump Paul Schrieber. 12 walks in all. A Brandon Lyon bases loaded walk was the only run the Indians could manage. The Tigers were a little luckier with their bats.

Ryan Raburn started the scoring with a solo home run in the third, a few moments removed from gunning down the Indians first attempt at a run with a perfect throw to Gerald Laird from left field. Then nothing until Miguel Cabrera hit a double to left field to drive in a run, and Marcus Thames followed with a sac fly (made possible by a nice slide by Clete Thomas) to give the Tigers a few insurance runs.

In came Fernando Rodney. Pitcher with some control issues. Umpire with a errant grasp on a strike zone. Recipe for disaster right? Nope. 2 quick outs, the obligatory base runner, then a groundout and the game was over. Unfortunately, the White Sox could not cooperate to help the Tigers increase the Central lead, but nonetheless the Tigers are one win closer to the playoffs.

Tigers 3 Indians 1
W: Jackson (13-7)
L: Laffey (7-7)
S: Rodney (34)

Tigers Record
W - L
80 - 70
1st Place AL Central (2.5 games ahead of Minnesota)

Thank You Ernie

2009-09-16T22:14:00.002-04:00

- You know the life and times of Ernie Harwell could be capsuled I think in two famous quotations, one from a left handed, the New York Yankee pitcher and the other one from a right handed English poet. The Yankee pitcher, Lefty Gomez, once said, "I'd rather be lucky than good. " And the poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, once wrote in his epic poem Ulysses, "I am a part of all that I have met." Well, I know that I'm a lot luckier than I'm good. I've been lucky to broadcast some great events and to broadcast the exploits of some great players.

When I went to Brooklyn in 1948 Jackie Robinson was at the height of his brilliant career. With the Giants I broadcast the debut of Hall of Famer Willie Mays. When I went to Baltimore the great Brooks Robinson came along to replace my good friend George Kell at third base. Kind in my 22 years at Detroit it's been a distinct privilege to watch the day by day consistency of Hall of Famer Al Kaline. Yes, it's lucky that I've been there and I've been at some events too. I want to tell you about one that Ralph mentioned Bobby Thomson's home run October 3^rd. I felt a little sorry for my Giant broadcasting partner that day, Russ Hodges. Ole' Russ is going to be stuck on the radio, there were five radio broadcasts and I was gonna' be on coast to coast TV and I thought that I had the plum assignment. Well, as you remember it turned out quite differently. Russ Hodges' record became the most famous sports broadcast of all time, television, no instant replay, no recordings in those days, and only Mrs. Harwell knows that I did the telecast of Bobby Thomson's home run. When I got home that night after the telecast she said to me, she said, ''You know Ernie when they turned the camera on you after that home run I saw you with that stunned look on your face, and the only other time I had ever seen it was when we were married and when the kids were born.”

That other saying, I'm a part of all that I have met, I think that would have to begin with my wonderful parents back in Atlanta when I was a youngster five years old I was tongue tied. They didn't have much money, but they spent what they had sending me to speech teachers to overcome the handicap. I know that a lot of you people who have heard me on the radio probably still think I'm tongue tied, but through the grace of God officially I'm not tongue tied any more. Also I'm a part of the people that I've worked with in baseball that have been so great to me, Mr. Earl Mann of Atlanta, who gave me my first baseball broadcasting job. Mr. Branch Rickey at Brooklyn, Mr. Horace Stoneham of the Giants, Mr. Jerry Hoffberger in Baltimore and my present boss, here's too the greatest ever, Mr. John Fetzer and Mr. Jim Campbell. I'm also a part of the partners that I've worked with and there have been so many great ones, beginning with Red Barber and Connie Desmond at Brooklyn and continuing on to my present partner WJR's Paul Carey.

But most of all, I'm a part of you people out there who have listened to me, because especially you people in Michigan, you Tiger fans, you've given me so much warmth, so much affection and so much love. I know that this is an award that's supposed to be for my contribution to baseball, but let me say this I've given a lot less to baseball than it's given to me and the greatest gift that I received from baseball is the way that the people in the game have responded to me with their warmth and with their friendship. Yes, it's better to be lucky than good and I'm glad that I'm a part of all that I have met. We're all here with a common bond today. I think we're all here because we love baseball.

Back in 1955, Ralph referred to this, I sat down and wrote a little definition of baseball to express my feelings about this greatest game of all. And I know that a lot of things have changed since then. Especially in this strike filled year but my feelings about the game are still the same as they were back then and I think that maybe yours are too. And I'd like to close out my remarks for the next couple of minutes with your indulgence to see if your definition of baseball agrees with mine.

Baseball is the President tossing out the first ball of the season and a scrubby schoolboy playing catch with his dad on a Mississippi farm. A tall, thin old man waving a scorecard from the corner of his dugout. That's baseball. And so is the big, fat guy with a bulbous nose running home one of his 714 home runs.

There's a man in Mobile who remembers that Honus Wagner hit a triple in Pittsburgh forty-six years ago. That's baseball. So is the scout reporting that a sixteen year old pitcher in Cheyenne is a coming Walter Johnson. Baseball is a spirited race of man against man, reflex against reflex. A game of inches. Every skill is measured. Every heroic, every failing is seen and cheered, or booed. And then becomes a statistic.

In baseball democracy shines its clearest. The only race that matters is the race to the bag. The creed is the rulebook. Color merely something to distinguish one team's uniform from another.

Baseball is a rookie. His experience no bigger than the lump in his throat as he begins fulfillment of his dream. It's a veteran too, a tired old man of thirty-five hoping that those aching muscles can pull him through another sweltering August and September. Nicknames are baseball, names like Zeke and Pie and Kiki and Home Run and Cracker and Dizzy and Dazzy.

Baseball is the cool, clear eyes of Rogers Hornsby. The flashing spikes of Ty Cobb, an over aged pixie named Rabbit Marranville.

Baseball just a came as simple as a ball and bat. Yet, as complex as the American spirit it symbolizes. A sport, a business and sometimes almost even a religion.

Why the fairy tale of Willie Mays making a brilliant World's Series catch. And then dashing off to play stick ball in the street with his teenage pals. That's baseball. So is the husky voice of a doomed Lou Gerhig saying., "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.”

Baseball is cigar smoke, hot roasted peanuts, The Sporting News, ladies day, "Down in Front", Take Me Out To The Ballgame, and the Star Spangled Banner.

Baseball is a tongue tied kid from Georgia growing up to be an announcer and praising the Lord for showing him the way to Cooperstown. This is a game for America. Still a game for America, this baseball! Thank you.

- From Ernie Harwell's Hall of Fame induction speech August 2nd, 1981

3 Up and 3 Down

2009-09-10T19:34:00.004-04:00

Back in town, fully rested after a lot of driving on a long weekend that seemed way to short. So how did the Tigers do?

The weekend was very good. A sweep over the defending AL champions, the Tampa Bay Rays. Home runs were hit, games were exciting, balls were chucked at reporters. In hindsight, maybe that wasn't so impressive, as Tampa has dropped 11 of it's last 14. The three straight come from behind victories might have lulled the Tigers into a false sense of security.

The last place Kansas City Royals, are doing what they did in 2006. Making the September of the Detroit Tigers a little less fun. Maybe it was the Curse of Marc Lancaster for Fernando's throw. The magic created against the Tampa bullpen, was left in Florida as the Tigers were only able to score 3 runs in 11.1 innings against the vaunted Royal bullpen. Bruce Chen was the only Royal the Tigers were able tear up, of course that is a feeling than many of team have felt.

So all in all a .500 road trip. While the result is not at all half bad, the way they got to it was kind of disappointing. 7 at home and a good change to at least keep the AL central lead the same going into next weekend's huge series in Minnesota.

9 Things

2009-09-02T21:14:00.003-04:00

So a busy past couple of days, personal and professionally, have kept me away. Now a trip up to Michigan for Labor Day weekend will keep me away for another couple of days. So I decided to make an actual non-game recap post of things I've seen or have been on my mind this season. 9 seems like the perfect number for baseball. So here I go in no particular order.

1) While Miguel Cabrera is without a doubt the team MVP. A good case can be made for Placido Polanco. His bat has been below his career averages this year, but when the offense has been clicking Polly's been in the thick of it. In game in which Placido has scored a run, by my count (which may or may not be accurate)the Tigers are 38-12. It seems simple enough. If Polly gets on base, it's a good chance the Tigers win

2) I still cannot figure out why the Twins in second place scare the crap out of me. Maybe it's flashbacks to 2006. Maybe its the fact that the way this team just will not die, is like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhies, and Freddy Krueger rolled into one. Joe Nathan looking human today was a relief, but I wont be able to sleep at night until the Tigers lead in the Central is greater then the amount of games remaining.

3) I didn't except Jarrod Washburn and Aubrey Huff to be a Cy Young candidate and a triple crown threat. But I expected a little bit more than a 6.81 ERA and .145 batting average. Solid Septembers from the both of you, please.

4) One thing about Magglio's contract, and other contract related issues. If the Tigers make the playoffs, and get at least 4 home games and it's paid for. My math figures average ticket price is around $100, times 4 sellouts of 44,000. That's $17.6 million, and that's not including merchandise, parking, etc. I know that it's not that simple and everything isn't pure profit. My point is if the Tigers win, they will make money. The City of Detroit is struggling. Mike Illich is not. If the Tigers win, he will sign the checks with a smile.

5) I've grown a bit weary of constant criticism of fringe players on the team. I've heard way much consternation about Adam Everett's bat. What are you really expecting from someone batting ninth? He's hitting .244, his career average is .245. The same with the fielding stats. Any offense he can provide is great. Yeah the Tigers don't have the world's greatest offense. That really didn't get them far last year.

6) 32 pitchers have recorded at least 10 saves or more in the Major Leagues. No one is perfect, but there are 3 with one blown save. Mariano Rivera, Huston Street, and...wait for it...Fernando Rodney. We all know that if the game's not on the line things can get dicey. Even when the game is on the line things can get dicey. 31 times out of 32 the job has been done. Sure who wouldn't like a guy who does it like Rivera, but those guys are few and far between. Here's a stat to repeat in your head next time Nando takes the mound: No closer has induced more groundouts then Fernando. His 80 edges Chad Qualls by one, in third is Rivera with 69. So have faith when that baserunner reaches, odds are that the double play is coming.

7) I would really like to see Nate Robertson and Armando Galarraga bounce back. Nate had a promising start last Saturday. Armando's final rehab start is in Toledo tomorrow. If both can pitch at a high level, the Tigers could drop one into the rotation and use the other to spell Rick Porcello, or the apparently aching Jarrod Washburn. A healthy, rested starting rotation will go a long way down the stretch and into the playoffs

8) If Jair Jurrgens wasn't traded for Edgar Renteria, he would have been in the Cabrera deal. Let it go people. I for one am happy he's in Atlanta. I've seen him pitch in person as many times down here as I did when he was in Detroit.

9) Meaningful baseball in September. Welcome back. We've missed you. Go ahead make yourself comfortable. We've got a futon you can sleep on. Better yet, I'll take the futon. You're a guest, please stay as long as you like. Those jerks in Chicago don't know how to treat you. And have you been to Minnesota in October? Brrrrr. Stay here, I'll throw a couple brats on the grill. We've got some catching up to do.

So there it you go. Tigers 10 games above .500 and 4.5 ahead in the AL Central on the 2nd day of September. Pretty damn good if you ask me. Everyone have a safe holiday weekend, and I'll see you in about a week. Go Tigers!

Game 127

2009-08-28T22:30:00.002-04:00

Tigers were back at home, but bats were still working like they were against the Angels.

All the damage today was provided by the bottom 3 in the order. Brandon Inge started things with a solo HR in the second. Right after the home run, Gerald Laird was plunked by Tampa starter Matt Garza. Laird got his revenge in the 4th. 2 walks and a Inge single had the bases loaded for Gerald. Gabe Gross decided to use the Copa outfield as a slip-n-slide, and a Laird line drive to right turned into a 2 run double. Adam Everett followed that with a double of his own to left. Curtis Granderson drove in Everett with a double of his own and the Tigers had a 6-0 lead.

Rick Porcello used that run support to pick up his 11th win of the season. Porcello broke the 100 pitch mark for the first time all season. Fu Te Ni, and Brandon Lyon combined to pitch a perfect 3.1 innings, leaving Bobby Seay to work out some kinks in the 9th. Sadly he did not as he gave up a home run to Gabe Kapler and a single to BJ Upton before giving way to Fernando Rodney. Fernando fought through the rain to record the final out and preserve the win for the Tigers

The return of Nate Robertson occurs in front of a National (well 1/3 of the nation) audience. I will have to miss out on the game for 2 reasons. First, since there is an NL East team playing that is what will be on my local broadcast. Secondly, and most importantly, my wife and I will be celebrating our First Anniversary. The pennant race will be taking a back seat for the rest of the weekend. I would appreciate breaking the 10 games above .500 bubble a great present.

Tigers 6 Rays 2
W: Porcello (11-9)
L: Garza (7-9)

Tigers Record
W - L
68 - 59
1st Place AL Central (4.5 games ahead of Minnesota)

West Coast Trip

2009-08-22T12:33:00.003-04:00

I'm might be able to stay up and watch the games with the 10 pm start times. But after 8 hours of sleep, the details of the game are a little fuzzy. Especially when you add to that I had a weird dream (nightmare actually) that the Tigers blew a 14 run lead in extra innings. I had to scramble to the computer to confirm the Tigers did win last night. Stupid brain trying to trick me. Although Ryan Raburn hitting two home runs in a game is still a little hard to belive as well. My point is blogging will be sparse (well more sparse than usual) until the Tigers return to the Eastern Time zone

Games 119 & 120

2009-08-20T21:16:00.002-04:00

Game 119

When your offense struggles against Felix Hernandez it isn't fun to watch, but at least it's understandable. When your offense struggles against Ian Snell it is even less fun to watch, and it's inexcusable. One bad inning from Justin Verlander, and the game was over.

Tigers 1 Mariners 3
W: Snell (3-9)
L: Verlander (13-7)
S: Aardsma (28)

Game 120

It started out same old story, just a different day. Bottom of the 4th, Tigers down 4, and they only had one hit at this point. But Ryan Raburn lead the inning off with a solo home run, and Brandon Inge added one of his own two batters later. The Tigers had a bit of life as they cut the lead in half. Unfortunatly the Mariners answered back with two solo shots of their own in the 6th inning and the lead was back to four.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers had Seattle starter Ben Howland-Smith on the ropes. A double and two walks had the bases loaded. Then the rains came. How would the Tigers respond to the delay and a solid bullpen? An RBI groundout from Aubrey Huff, and a 2 RBI single from St. Avila and the Tigers were within one.

While Jarrod Washburn struggled, the bullpen was stellar. Two perfect innings from Zach Miner, and one thrown in from Bobby Seay gave the Tiger bats a chance to win it. They came close in the 8th, with runners on first and second with one out. Unfortunately lightning could not strike twice for Avila, as he lined out. Placido Polanco followed that with a weak popout to end the inning. In came David Aardsma, fifth in the AL in saves. In to face him was the pinch hitter Carlos Guillen. Carlos did what he does best, battled his way through the entire at bat. Seven pitches and he was at first with a walk. Ryan Raburn tried to bunt him to second, but ended up popping out the catcher. Miguel Cabrera did the job and then some with a double down the line. The Mariners walked Magglio to set-up the double play. Brandon Inge did not oblige. He hit it deep enough to score Guillen on a sac fly (aided by a poor catch by Johjima at the plate). That misplay put the winning run 90 feet away for Clete Thomas. Clete had a Gullien-esque at bat fouling off pitches and fighting to a full count after falling behind 1-2. The 8th pitch (Aardsma's 27th) was in a place Rod Allen calls "The Happy Zone". Clete lined it past Russell Branyan for a base hit, giving the Tigers the win.

So crappy middle game aside, it's a series win for the Tigers. A series win with two comebacks against one of the better bullpens in the Majors. Now to a West Coast swing, and insomnia for Tigers fans for the next 6 games. Maybe they'll remember to put the bats on the plane this time.

Tigers 7 Mariners 6
W: Seay (4-2)
L: Aardsma (3-5)

Tigers Record
W - L
64 - 56

1st Place AL Central (2.5 games ahead of Chicago)

Game 118

2009-08-18T22:20:00.002-04:00

Once again the Tigers had themselves in a pitching duel, with Kid Rick Porcello facing off against King Felix Hernandez. Hernandez allowed one run on five hits, while striking out 9. At least this time a struggling offense was due to a top flight pitcher, not someone of Carl Pavano's caliber

Porcello gave up a lead off hit to Ichiro, then promptly retired the next 13 in order. Not to be outshines by King Felix, 7 of those were strikeouts. He ran into some trouble in the 6th, and left the game with the bases loaded. In came the other rookie in the rotation, and ended the inning with a harmless fly out after 2 pitches. He went on to pitch another inning before being pulled after a lead off single in the 8th. In came Bobby Seay, and it was not pretty. Seay gave up two runs (one was credited to Perry) and here we go again...

St. Avila will have none of that. He led off the 8th with a solo shot that landed in the Seattle bullpen. Ramon Santiago, pinch hitting for Adam Everett, followed that with a single. After Curtis Granderson fouled out, Placido Polanco reached on a ball that might have been the inning ending double play. Might have being the key phrase, it wasn't due to an error by the shortstop. Add a Carlos Guillen walk later, the bases were full for Miguel Cabrera. Line drive, Tigers have the lead.

Fernando Rodney did his thing, but finally struck out Jose Lopez on the 12th pitch of the at bat, with the tying run on second base. And thanks to a little help from the Royals, the lead in the Central grows.

Tigers 5 Mariners 3
W: Seay (3-2)
L: Lowe (1-6)
S: Rodney (25)

Tigers Record
W - L
63 - 55
1st Place AL Central (3 games ahead of Chicago)

Game 115

2009-08-14T22:16:00.003-04:00

Jason Karnuth has been avenged. Brandon Inge's walk-off home run, at a reasonable hour none the less, off Ramon Colon gave the Tigers the 1-0 victory. But the real story of the game was the pitching duel between Zach Grienke and Jarrod Washburn.

The Jarrod Washburn the Tigers traded for finally arrived on the mound today. He had a no hitter going into the 5th inning until some idiot jinxed him. Washburn had his best start since, well since he pitched against the Tigers on the 23rd of July. He pitched 8 innings for the 3rd time this year. All three of those starts he did not allow a run.

Zack Greinke was just as good, if not better than Washburn. He pitched his best game since facing the Rangers on the 24th of July. He struck out 7 and only allowed 3 hits in 7 innings pitched. But he could only make it into the 7th inning, and the game was turned over to the bullpens. Brandon Lyon was perfect, Ramon Colon was not.

By the way...is there anybody pitching better than Brandon Lyon since June 1st? Since the month of May ended Lyon has pitched 34 innings. In those innings he has 28 K's, with only 3 runs allowed on 16 hits and 10 walks. His ERA has shrunk from 6.43 to 2.95. He picked up his 5 win in the time frame due to his perfect 9th inning.

JV stellar start, JarWash stellar start. Mr. Edwin Jackson, you're next.

Tigers 1 Royals 0
W: Lyon (6-4)
L: Colon (1-2)

Tigers Record
W - L
61 - 54
1st Place AL Central (3 games ahead of Chicago)

4 Days in Boston

2009-08-13T20:10:00.003-04:00

It started with a gut punch, turned into a brawl, devolved into a butt kicking, and ended with a statement. 3 losses and yet the Tigers still sit 2.5 games ahead in first place heading into a 6 game home stand.

It was a series with a bunch of what ifs. What if Zach Miner pitched like he did yesterday on Monday. What if Kevin Youkilis didn't charge the mound, or for that matter Brian O'Nora issues a warning on the pitch inside to Victor Martinez. What if the Tigers didn't leave men on base on Monday. What if Jim Leyland pinch hit for Adam Everett. What if Armando Galarraga took some Robitussin Tuesday night. 3 losses, but 2 of those showed moments where the Tigers played like a team that could contend in October.

We did learn something else, Justin Verlander must be an illegitimate son of Jack Morris sans moustache. 8 innings of "here it is, you are not hitting it" dominance. 8 strikeouts, one walk and four hits. 123 pitches total. The last 2 hit triple digits. Once again, when the Tigers needed a win, needed a starter to go deep, needed an emotional boost, Justin Verlander delivered. There's not a pitcher in the majors that I would rather have pitching for my team come playoff time.

1 of 4 in Boston. Not good, but luckily for the Tigers their division foes were more that happy to stay put, as they both lost their series as well. In comes Kansas City, and let's hope they behave like the Royals of May and June of 09, not the Royals of September of 06.

My Thoughts on Kevin Youkilis

2009-08-11T22:25:00.003-04:00

Game 111

2009-08-10T22:48:00.002-04:00

A reeling Boston team desperate not to drop their 7th game in a row, and the game being televised on ESPN this game had tough luck for the Tigers written all over it.

Edwin Jackson was never really on, and the Tigers were down early. To their credit they fought back and eventually tied it in the 7th inning. Only to give the lead away in the bottom of the inning. A total gut punch of a game.

Tigers 5 Red Sox 6
W: Ramirez (6-3)
L: Miner (5-2)
S: Papelbon (28)

Tigers Record
W - L
59 - 52
1st Place AL Central (2.5 ahead of Chicago)

Game 110

2009-08-09T23:11:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I was taking in a Rome Braves game, the Class A farm team for the Braves. They won, the Tigers didn't, so let's move on to today's game

The Twins took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the 4th punctuated by back to back home runs to straight away centerfield. Those deep blasts tearing up shrubbery must have awakened the dormant Tigers offense, as they stormed back in the bottom of the inning. Marcus Thames started it off with a solo shot to lead it off. The next three pitches were singles for Miggy, Maggs, and Guillen to load the bases. Brandon Inge added a sac fly, and Gerald Laird (possibly inspired by the new guy's offensive prowess) tied the game with a double. Ramon Santiago grounded out, but to the right side of the infield and that allowed Maggs to score and gave the Tigers the lead

One inning later Miguel Cabrera added some more runs with a 2 run homer after Placido Polanco led off the inning with one of his patented two strike hits. Miggy seems to have gotten his power stroke back, but I would argue just as important to the Tigers resurgent offense is Placido Polanco. He is on a 12 game hitting streak, hitting .396 in that time. He was 3 for 5 today with that 3rd hit being a RBI single to give the Tigers back the lead in the 8th.

Then TBS went out and jinxed save opportunity Fernando. He got Mauer and Morneau out to start the 9th. Good thing too, as Michael Cuddyer went yard for the second time today. The insurance run Clete Thomas provided in the 8th paid off. And with a big barehanded assist from Brandon Inge, Fernando Rodney was able to close out the game and the series win.

A series win from Cleveland over the White Sox and the Tigers regain a 3 game lead in the Central. Good thing too, because I do not have a good feeling about going into Fenway to face a Red Sox team that lost 6 straight. Added to that, the game is on ESPN, which has brought nothing but suckitude from the Tigers. Poor Edwin Jackson.

Tigers 8 Twins 7
W: Lyon (5-4)
L: Guerrier (5-1)
S: Rodney (23)

Tigers Record
W - L
59 - 51
1st Place AL Central (3 games ahead of Chicago)

Game 108

2009-08-07T23:17:00.002-04:00

Alex Avila is the talk of Tigertown, after adding 4 RBI and a home run to his resume after a RBI double in his MLB debut yesterday. After a start like this, Gerald Laird would be wise to teach him the art of defense very, very, slowly to protect his own job security.

Avila's two run homer followed Miguel Cabrera's 3 run shot to open the scoring for the Tigers in the first. Hmm...the Tigers score a lot of runs and the 1-2 guys in the order go 7 for 10. Strange isn't it? I'm sure 7 of the 15 hits being those of the extra base variety helped run the score up as well. and hey another rookie pitcher that wasn't able to shut down the Tigers. Maybe the Tigers are finally figuring out pitchers under the age of 24.

And it's a good thing the score was run up, because as quick as the runs were put on the board. Tigers pitchers seemed determined to give them right back. Armando Galarraga led the way allowing 4 runs on 8 hits and 5 walks. All of the damage was in the first two innings, partly due to the 4 free passes issued by Armando. Ryan Perry was hit or miss almost literally. he gave up 2 runs on 4 hits, and struck out 3 in 2 innings of work. Brandon Lyon's redemption song added another chorus as he pitched a perfect 1-2-3 8th. Then non-save Fernando happened. Happened all over the place. When all was said and done the Tigers held on to win it. Todd Jones used to say something to the effect of "If you don't the way I do things, get up go make a sandwich, when you come back it will be done one way or the other" regarding his "relief" appearances. Someone needs to translate that to Spanish for Fernando to repeat.

Oh yeah, thank you Cleveland for sticking to other teams in the Central, and helping the Tigers expand their lead. Let's hope Carl Pavano left his magic against the Tigers by Lake Erie.

Tigers 10 Twins 8
W: Galarraga (6-10)
L: Swarzak (3-5)

Tigers Record
W - L
58 - 50
1st Place AL Central (3 games ahead of Chicago)

Agreement Reached

2009-08-06T21:59:00.002-04:00

Sunday I set forth a list of demands for this Tiger team to accomplish by today. Let's see how they did:

4 Runs a game - 5, 2, 4, and 7 for and average of 4.5. Well done offense.

3 Extra Base hits a game - 14 total for the series. Cabrera who I called out hit .400 with 3 extra base hits and 4 RBI.

JV complete game - almost, and since Edwin Jackson pitched into the 9th yesterday, I'm going to give it to them

No runs surrendered by the pen - The pen gave up 3 in nine innings, but when it counted they were perfect, so I'll give this one to them as well

Granderson to drive in some runs - I singled out Granderson, but my point was get some 2 out RBI. I think 12 2 out RBI in the series will work

Win 3 games - Locked it up this afternoon.

Whether it was the home cooking or three rookie starting pitchers against them on the mound, the Tigers acted like a first place team. The lead in the Central stays the same, and Minnesota comes into town this weekend. Keep it going Tigers, I want to keep watching

Strike Update

2009-08-05T11:08:00.000-04:00

After a good first day of negotiations Monday, talks fell apart last night.

Spirits were high Monday as The Tigers had come close to fulfilling all requirements, but Tuesday had them pulling everything they had put forth Monday off the table. Both sides now sit at exactly the same point they were when the strike began late Sunday.

The Tigers are pulling out all the stops, reshuffling staff, and doing what the can to end this by Thursday. Today's talks figure to be key, as if they are not a step forward, the strike could continue into September.