Detroit Tigers

Tigers 6 Astros 2

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For the the third game in a row, a third clutch hit, a third unexpected, clutch performer. Tonight it was J.D. Martinez who hit a three-run homer to put the Tigers in the lead and bail Ian Kinsler out whose error in the top of the third lead to two unearned runs.

Kinsler had a bad night.  He was 0-4 to go along with his error.

Alfredo Simon picked up his fifth win and pitched well allowing no earned runs in seven complete.

Joba didn’t even look too bad today.

Somehow I’m feeling better than I did a few days ago although I’d feel a lot better if Miggy would start getting some clutch, two-out, RBIs.  But compared to where this team was on Wednesday, I’ll take it.

They still hit into to too many double plays.

Tigers 6 Astros 5

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Hmmm, I’m sitting there thinking, in the bottom of the 11th, ‘isn’t it time for Miggy to get a clutch hit’? I guess I always blame him when things go wrong.  But, then for the second straight game, an un-expected hero emerged, this time it was James McCann. He hit a solo shot to end the game in the 11th after the Tigers blew a five run lead.

By the way, where is Alex Avila playing when he gets back?

This is going to sound strange coming from my fingers but this pen is smokin balls.  Especially, Alex Wilson and Blaine Hardy.  The only weak link is Joba and I’m not going to jump on Soria, it is one blown save.

For the record, I like the five and six run Tigers much better than the two-run Tigers.

Tigers 5 Brewers 2

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I was fuming.  Another crappy performance by the two-run Tigers.  They’re asking too much from this pitching staff! From any pitching staff. Then it happened. Finally. From a most unexpected source. Nick “The Quick” Castellanos. A highly touted third baseman who has done virtually nothing in his sophomore season delivered the hit I have been waiting for.  A clutch, two-out, run producing, triple.  Finally, a lead.  A three run cushion.

Soria closes the ninth.

Isn’t this how it is supposed to work?

Brewers 8 Tigers 1

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Forty games into the season and what I see isn’t good.  Today marked the 19th time that the two-run Tigers scored two runs or less. Anibal was a nightmare but lets focus on a bright spot this year, the bull pen.  The pen is number one in overall era and runners stranded.  If you had told me that at the beginning of the season I would have thought that the Tigers would be 8 games up. Don’t look now but the White Sox have won six in a row. It is not impossible that the Tigers will finish behind Kansas City, Minnesota, and Chicago and in front of only Cleveland.  Another bit of good news is that Victor went on the 15 day DL. I know I’m reaching but this team is hard to watch.

Brewers 3 Tigers 2

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They’re back!  After a brief hiatus, the two-run Tigers, returned to Comerica Park.  The Lobber was fine.  The bullpen was fine.  The bats were an abomination.  There is no excuse for offensive production, or lack there of, of this magnitude.  Victor needs to sit down for a month.  He can’t hit left handed.  He can’t run, although I thought he was safe at first.  I sound like a broken record but you can’t ask a pitching staff to hold other teams to two runs or less every night. Somebody has to step up and get a clutch, two-out, run producing, base hit, like Iggy had a few nights ago.

I’m as guilty of this as anyone, I’m always looking to Miggy, but it doesn’t look like anybody is going to pitch to him even if his numbers aren’t great in night games; not with Victor hitting .216.  J.D. seems to be coming out his funk but he’s not driving in a lot of runs and I’m not exactly sure what Castellanos is doing. The middle of this lineup looks bad.

Cardinals 2 Tigers 1

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A sweep would have been nice but I’ll take 2 out of 3, on the road, against the Cardinals, any time.  Although there wasn’t much offense to speak of Yoenis Cespedes flashed some leather.  He made a nice running catch in the second.  In the seventh, the made a good, one hop, throw to the plate to cut down Jhonny Peralta to keep the game tied.  On the back end of the throw, James McCann made an excellent pick and tag.  After the play I couldn’t help wondering if Avila would have made the play.  Speaking of A Squared Money, does he still have a job?

Am I the only one that found John Kruk and Curt Schilling’s incessant Miggy worshipping too much to take?  It was making his at-bats hard to watch.  JMC is probably the best right handed hitter I’ve ever seen but enough already.  They were acting like fifteen year old girls, in the 80’s, at a Rick Springfield concert.  Hmmm, I’m showing my age.

White Sox 7 Tigers 6

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Perhaps Brad Ausmus is trying to unseat Robin Ventura as the dumbest manager in baseball.  I can think of no other reason for leaving Joba in the game to give up the go-ahead run in the 8th. I can’t fault him for the bomb off the bat of Melky Cabrera.  He should have been out of the inning.  I’m not sure how the official scorer gave Eaton a hit on the ball that went through Castellanos’ glove but he bottom line is Chamberlain should have been in the dugout with a three run lead.

Speaking of Castellanos, what happened to late inning defensive replacements? Andrew Romine?

This was another sub par performance from Alfedo Simon.  Like Shane Greene yesterday, he had little control. It looks like the three and four spots in the rotation are going to be problems.

There is more blame to go around.  Although the offense scored six runs they left 12 men on base,  Miggy looks horrible and they ran themselves out of the ninth.

Hmmm, has anybody noticed the runs the Twins are scoring.

On the bright side, the bullpen has looked good lately with the exception of The Amazing, Everyday Al and Joba.  Also, Victor drove in four runs and hit his first homer today.

Lober tomorrow to salvage one.

White Sox 5 Tigers 2

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The Tigers have a problem in Shane Greene.  He started off ok but I think this is four bad starts in a row.  He didn’t make it out of the third today.  He couldn’t find the plate at all. That being said, the Tigers had chances.

The top of line up set the table but the middle of the lineup was atrocious.  They are going to need Jose Miguel Cabrera to get some clutch, two out, RBIs if they are ever going to beat good pitching.  This was a very disappointing game .  They lost to the dumbest manager in the game.

Not this garbage again.

Tigers 6 Royals 4

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The Tigers salvaged a split of the four game, weekend, series in Kansas City.  They were lead by Anibal Sanchez who turned in 7.1 impressive innings and earned his second win of the season.  The offense took a brief hiatus from their spring slumber and put six runs on the board and the bullpen made the early lead stand up.  The series ended a lot better than it started.

I think Ned Yost did the Tigers a favor by taking Salvador Perez out of the game when the Tigers had a big lead. Salvi destroys Tigers pitching and might have done some damage when the Royals started coming back.

Jose Iglesias left the game with stiffness in his groin. Let’s hope it is nothing serious.  Besides Miggy, he might be the last person this team can afford to lose.

Question: If you are on second base, with less than two outs, and the ball is hit to your right, are you supposed to:

A: Run to third
B: Run back to second
C: Get caught in between
D: None of the above

Tigers 2 Royals 1

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The offense is still AWOL.  However, last night, the CY Young Award winner, David Price, showed up and shut down the Royals.  Thanks to Price, the Tigers have a chance to salvage a split in this series.

In my post yesterday, I lamented the inconsistency of the Tigers offense.  Prior to the game, Mario and Rod showed a statistic validating my complaint.  I don’t have the number committed to memory but I believe the graphic showed that the Tigers lead the league both in games scoring two runs or less and games scoring 10 runs or more.  Like I said yesterday, this goes beyond this year, this is a problem with philosophy.  It is a stubborn philosophy that has plagued this team for the last 5-8 years and they refuse to change.

Victor can’t hit right now, left handed, to save his life.  Defenses play “the shift” on him and give him the entire left side of the field but he won’t take his single. I know he can run but with the way the defense is playing him he doesn’t have to.  Same thing with Avila.

I believe someone a lot smarter than me once said “doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.”

Mr. Illitch, I know you are a regular reader, it is time for a different direction.  Start with DD and BA.