I feel about as good after this lose as a Tiger fan could. I would have loved to have swept the Tribe but the Tigers have beaten up on them pretty good this season. It doesn’t hurt that bad to drop this one.
Why do I feel good?
First, JV looked good. After a 35 pitch first inning when it looked like deja vu all over again, Justin regained some of his lost form. JV allowed only 4 hits, no runs, walked 2, struck out 6, and threw 116 pitches. If we subtract the first inning, JV averaged just 13.5 pitches per inning over the final six he pitched. Very encouraging.
Second, Alex A Squared Money Avila went three for three and raised hit average to .207. This is huge considering he’s been below the Mendoza line for the majority of the season. In fact, going into July, I believe he was hitting around .165. Perhaps, Alex is getting healthy and his offense is showing it. Whatever the case, I’ve always like Alex and I’m glad to see him above .200.
Third, Andy Dirks had two more hits and has raised his average to .257. It looks like Dirksy might be getting a little bit of a stroke back which will bode well for the playoffs should the Tigers make it.
On the flip side of the coin, the Tigers did have 11 hits but failed to score a run. This just highlights the way the team is built. The Tigers have virtually no speed so unless they hit for extra base power they have a hard time scoring.
I’ve come up with a hypothesis. I believe that a team should be able to score a run for every two hits they get. So at the end of a game if a team puts up 10 hits they should have 5 runs. Here’s my reasoning:
- The lead off man singles.
- The next batter singles.
- The runner on first goes to third on the second hit.
- The runner on third can now score on a ground out or a sac fly.
- This is not an exact science but I feel like it is mostly accurate.
The problem with the Tigers is that they cannot go from first to third on a hit, they’re terrible at taking an extra base. As a result, they have to play station to station. That’s why we see games like today when they have 11 hits and no runs and other games when the have 4 hits and 6 runs. The Tigers have to win using Earl Weaver’s formula, pitching, defense and three run homers. They didn’t get the three run homers today so they lost. But I’ll take 2 out of 3 against Cleveland any day.
Off to Boston.
“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural
Flashin' Leather 
I agree there is more positive to take away from this game than negative. JV looked lost in the first inning, but somehow managed to get sorted out. But then again, this is Cleveland and I want to see more of this against KC in his next two outings.
I would agree that it’s somewhat encouraging about Dirks raising his average, but I still see his lack of production with men in scoring position as troubling. Some guys just don’t have the ability to knock runs in, and I fear Mr Dirks is a deer-in-the-headlights in these situations.
This is a big road trip coming up. Hope for a decent showing in Boston.
Sark, I agree. I need to see JV shut down a good team. I would have been nice if he dominated the A’s. But the A’s are hot right now, they just swept Tampa Bay. I guess it is not who you play but when you play them. The A’s look tough!
Pitching and Defense. Well I believe we have seen the upgrade in defense with Iggy and a healthy Omar up the middle. I still believe that we will see tinkering at the back of the pen and our starters didn’t just shut down the A’s so there is work to do however looks like they are moving in the right direction!
I was really impressed with JV. After the first inning, I was expecting another shitty start. I didn’t think he’d make it 5 innings and I sure didn’t think he be throwing a shut out.