Baseball

Tigers 8 Rays 7

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Yesterday, I said the Tigers deserved to be in last place.

Last night, the Tigers deserved to lose. They didn’t.

The Tigers, circa 2015, showed me a stubbornness that you usually find in contenders. That’s not to say this was a Russian Symphony. Nope. This was still  my seventh grade band class.  This was still a cacophony of nonsense.

However, it is early September.  The season has been an abomination. The park was empty, by Tigers’ standards, and there were plenty of excuses to pack this one in and go home but they didn’t.  They wouldn’t. That says something about these players and that says something about Brad Ausmus.

For this post, I have to break it down to the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good, nothing new here:

  • J.D Martinez. There is not much more to add.
  • Jose Miguel Cabrera
  • Brad Ausmus for not pinch running for JMC in the 10th. I know it didn’t matter in the final outcome but it did to me.
  • Drew Verhagen. He looks good out of the pen.

The Bad:

  • Rajai Davis’ outfield play
  • Bruce Rondon

The Ugly:

  • Nick Castellanos gets caught looking three times in a row, the last with the bases loaded. Get your head out of your arse. You’re not a rookie anymore.
  • The Amazing Al. This experiment needs to be over.

Nebraska – God Speed!

Going ‘Nuts in Lansing

Crippy Baseball

I almost forgot about Jim Abbott until I read this post from one of my favorite sites, Minoring In Baseball. As a member of the Yankees, Jim Abbott no-hit the Indians.

Minoring In Baseball's avatarMinoring In Baseball

Lansing Lugnuts vs Bowling Green Hot Rods (Midwest League)

 Cooley Law School Stadium-Lansing, MI: After Brian finished his seminar, we got a bite to eat at the Nuthouse, then went back to see the Lugnuts host the Hot Rods.

 One cool new aspect of Cooley Law School Stadium is the Michigan Baseball Hall Of Fame.  Some of the best players who are from Michigan or played in the state are honored.  Some of my childhood favorites like Alan Trammell and Jim Abbott are honored, as well as some classic Tigers like Al Kaline, Charlie Gehringer, and broadcaster Earnie Harwell.

 The game was a fun one for us to watch, and a good one for the home team. This game was special also, as it was the first one all three kids attended. I’m glad Lily finally made it to a game with us this season. Trevor took a good…

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Labor Day Weekend Review

Crippy Baseball, Detroit Tigers ,

My last post from was from last Thursday when the Royals beat the Tigers into a conniption.  It has been a hectic week for me.  I returned from San Diego late Wednesday night and then flew to London, England on Thursday to spend Labor Day weekend.

Although, London was five hours ahead I did listen to some baseball. I usually stayed awake for the first five innings.  Despite losing two out of three to the Indians, at home, over the weekend, I thought the Tigers would at least deliver free pizza with a nine run outburst on Saturday but they only mustered six in a shutout win.

In Sunday’s game, I guess they decided not to score any runs for JV who threw another quality start. He wasn’t great, but lasted seven innings, and gave the team a chance to win, but you know the story, when they get pitching, they usually decide not to hit.

Anyway, even after their win last night, the Tigers are in last place in the A.L. Central.  Without searching my early season posts, I believe I sounded an early alarm at the possibility that they could finish in last or at least third or fourth in the division.  Now, the Tigers are my team and I’m not one of those guys that starts cheering against their team when things go south, but this team is in last place and frankly, they deserve it.

I’m back home and I’ll be at the game tonight.

Elvis Andrus | Stealing Home

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9/1/2015

So I was at the Padres/Rangers game at Petco Park on Tuesday, 9/1/2015. I thought Petco was very nice stadium and I got to see a straight steal of home by the Rangers’ Elvis Andrus from a fantastic vantage point.  I was in row 17, seat 5, section 105, next to the Padres dugout, between home plate and first base. I could see Elvis with a walking, then running lead, as Padres reliever, Kevin Quackenbush, went into his slow, deliberate motion to the plate.

Tony Gwynn Street
7th & Gwynn
Petco Park Scoreboard
Petco Park Scoreboard 9/1/2015
Petco Park Scoreboard 9/1/2015
Petco Park Scoreboard 9/1/2015
Prince Fielder On Deck Petco Park 9/1/2015
Prince Fielder On Deck Petco Park 9/1/2015

Royals 12 Tigers 1

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The Royals beat Randy Wolf and Tigers into a conniption and for the second straight game I didn’t see or hear one pitch.  I was on my back from San Diego through Atlanta.  I was getting updates but decided not to tune in.

As the Tigers fall ten games below the .500 mark it is looking like three things are true.  First, Sark is correct, it will be hard for this team to win 70 games.  Second, Nebraska is correct, watching the Tigers is much easier with beer and whiskey.  Third, the only remaining games in which the Tigers have a chance to win are those that JV pitches.

Although this season has been very disappointing I’m hoping that JV and JD finish strong and Miggy gets his head out if his arse and wins another batting title.

I’d really like to see J.D. drive in 100 runs.  He needs 13 more with 30 games to get there.

Tigers 6 Royals 5

Crippy Baseball

I didn’t see one pitch. I’m in San Diego. I saw the Rangers beat the Padres on my first trip to Petco Park. I saw the Rangers pull off a successful steal of home and I picked up a retro Tony Gwynn Jersey. I’m on my way back to my hotel. I’ll post pictures when I get a chance.

It looks like JV pitched well. He went 6.2 and allowed only two earned. It also looked like there were some problems on defense.

Blue Jays 15 Tigers 1

Crippy Baseball

The Blue Jays beat Buck Farmer, lead by three home runs and NINE RBIs from Edwin Encarnacion, and the entire Tigers team into an absolute conniption! This was the worst beating I’ve seen in a long time.

Even Alex Wilson struggled and it looks like The Mighty Miggy is slumping!

This is very ugly!!

Blue Jays 5 Tigers 3

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The Tigers fell to eight games under .500.  They couldn’t do much against R.A. Dickey.

Matt Boyd looked okay. He was inconsistent. Some innings good. Some not so good. All in all not bad but for a young guy.

VerHangen and Feliz were not bad out of the pen.

The Jays are just rolling and are now my pick to come out of the A.L.

I hope Miggy is not going into a slump.  He hasn’t looked great the last two games. I know that’s a tough thing to say but he’s pretty much what I look forward to when I tune.

Angels 2 Tigers 0

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Randy Wolf pitched a gem. Unfortunately, Matt Shoemaker did him one better. For some reason the Tigers just can’t hit Shoemaker, even the Mighty Miggy.

No conniption shots today.

The Tigers dropped another game and another series. There wasn’t much to get excited about other than Wolf’s pitching and two nice throw outs by Alex Avila. A Squared Money displayed a Bazooka and Kinsler helped him out on the back end with a nice pick and tag on the first one.

Tigers 5 Angels 0

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JV’s third no-hitter would have been a nice saving grace to an otherwise dismal season. It was no to be.  However, I think it is safe to say Verlander is back to being a legitimate ace.  He was smokin balls, all night. He had legitimate no-hit stuff.  He made one mistake to a .188 hitter and didn’t get any luck. That’s the way this season has gone for him.  The Tigers did get him some runs so got his second win of the season.

Yes my friends, Miggy is that damn good and for the last two seasons, J.D. is just a notch, maybe two below; he’s pretty damn good too.

Miggy, J.D. and Castellanos each hit conniption shots. Do you remember yesterday when I asked why would the Angels pitch to Cabrera in the eighth? Why would they pitch to him with first base open today? They must don’t know.  They got burned today.

I’d like to see Miggy win the batting title at .350 +. I’d like to see J.D. drive in 100+ runs. I’d like Castellanos to get to 20 home runs and JV finish with an ERA at 3.20 or less. These are the things that keep me watching.

Jose Miguel Cabrera is that damn good. Let’s hope he stays healthy.

Nebraska, I wish I could have joined you Pal. I miss you! You didn’t by any chance cough up $12 for 3 chicken fingers did you? 🙂