Thank You Victor!

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Victor hit a solo shot in the 10th to bail out Tigers closer, Joe Nathan, and give the Tigers a split of the two game series with the Dodgers, 7-6.

After blowing his second save in a Tigers uniform, Tigers closer Joe Nathan, picked up a bat and headed to the on deck circle in the top of the 10th.  As he was heading up the stairs of the dugout he had a short conversation with Tigers skipper Brad Ausmus.

Ausmus: What are you doing?
Nathan: Getting ready to hit.
Ausmus: Sit down.  You’ve done enough.

Early on, I was afraid Ausmus was going to let Anibal go too long so he could qualify for the win. I thought he should have come out after Crawford’s double with two out in the 5th. But, Sanchez was able to get out of it.  He was shaky at first, throwing 63 pitches in the first two innings, but settled down to retire nine in a row before Crawford’s aforementioned double.

Ausmus probably wanted to save Smyly, who was warming up, for the Dodgers left handers coming up.  Whatever the case, it worked out, although Sanchez didn’t get the win.

Thanks Joe!

Despite Nathan’s heroics, there was a lot to like in this game, not the least of which was Victor’s game winning solo shot in the 10th.

The Good:

  • The Tigers manufactured a run with steals in the first.
  • Sanchez had a nice, unexpected double in the second.
  • Dee Gordon’s costly error to extended the second inning.
  • The Dodgers squeeze play in 2nd with a 3-2 count on Beckett, while not good for for the Tigers, was still a pretty sweet play.
  • Nick Castellanos hit a three run shot in the third, his first MLB homer.
  • The Tigers stole three bases.
  • Ajax had a big sac fly in the 7th to increase the Tigers lead to 6-3.
  • Tyler Collins got is first MLB hit in the 8th and added his second in the 10th.
  • Drew Smyly and Ian Krol were smokin’ balls out of the pen. Smyly pitched three complete, allowing only one hit in relief of Sanchez.   Krol came on to relieve Joba in the 10th and struck out Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Eithier.
  • The Amazing Al came into relieve Krol and got the final out.

The Bad:

  • Anibal Sanchez was shaky in the first two innings throwing 63 pitches.
  • The Tigers bounced into three double plays.
  • Joe Nathan.
  • Joe Nathan got the win.

The Ugly:

  • Joe Nathan blew another save by giving up three runs in the 9th.  I don’t have the words.  He was horrible.

Quietly, Ian Kinsler seems to be a nice addition to the Tigers.  Whether it is hitting, fielding or running, he seems to do something good to help the Tigers win.  However, the best part about the Kinsler acquisition is that Prince in not in a Tigers uniform anymore.

Trivia: The Dodgers have now played longer in LA than they did in Brooklyn. (H/T Shannon Hogan)

Tigers fall to Dodgers 3-2 in 10

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Max pitched well.  He got through seven innings, surrendering only two runs but seemed to pitch out of trouble all night, evidenced by the eight hits he surrendered.

Unfortunately, lead off walks and wasted opportunities were the Tigers undoing.

The Good:

  • A Squared Money picked off Crawford in the first
  • Victor came up big with a two out RBI in the 9th to tie the game after DK and Miggy failed to advance Kinsler after his lead off double
  • Joba struck out the side in the 9th
  • Nice steal by Davis in the first
  • Ajax homer in second
  • Romine, Jackson, Kinsler and Victor all flashed leather

The Bad:

  • Hunter couldn’t get the run in from third with one out in the first
  • Even though he got a hit, and swiped second to lead off the game, I didn’t like Rajai Davis swinging on 3-0,  especially to lead off the game

The Ugly:

  • Miggy hit three of the softest ground balls I’ve ever seen off of his bat and struck out in the 9th with the tying run on second.
  • Jackson’s throw to the plate in the 7th that Kemp scored on was an abomination.
  • Kelly grounded softly to third in the 9th with Kinsler on second after a lead off double.  Horrible!
  • Phil Coke gave up the game winning hit.  Although, in a mild defense, he inherited a lead off walk from Joba.

Back at it tomorrow for the last game of a short, two game, series with the Dodgers.

“God I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural

Did anybody notice….

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Former Tigers closer, and current Mets closer, Jose “Papa Grande” Valverde recorded his first save on Friday.

Replacement closer Jose Valverde struck out Jay Bruce with two on to end it, and the Mets avoided their first 0-4 start since opening with five consecutive losses in 2005.
The 24-year-old Mejia (1-0), who beat out Daisuke Matsuzaka for the final spot in the rotation, struck out a career-high eight in six innings. Flashing a sharp breaking ball, he allowed one run and four hits in a steady rain and mist.

Good luck to Papa the rest of the way.  Except when/if he faces the Tigers.

“God I love baseball.” Roy Hobbs | The Natural

 

Tigers, JV lose first game of 2014 3-1 to Orioles

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Justin Verlander deserved a better fate.  He suffered his, and the Tigers, first loss of the season, but he pitched very well.

The Good:

  • JV looked like the Cy Young and end of 2014 JV.  He pitched eight innings, allowed five hits, and two earned runs.

The Bad:

  • The Tigers only managed one run, however after scoring 17 runs in the first two games, I can’t complain too much.
  • JV only struck on three while walking two but saying this is bad is a little bit of a stretch
  • Torii Hunter hit his third home run in as many games accounting for the only Tigers run.

The Ugly:

  • The Amazing Al surrendered another run and currently has 6.00 ERA.

All things considered, it was a good home stand, and even I, didn’t expect the Tigers to go 162-0. 🙂

Off to Los Angeles for a meeting with the Dodgers.

“God I love baseball” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural

Tigers 7 Orioles 6

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Sorry, I’m a little late with this post, tax season, hopefully is finally over.

The Tigers moved to 4-0 and followed a 10 run game by putting up another 7.  And in the end, they needed every one of them.

The Good:

  • The Tigers had another great offense outburst.
  • Kinsler, Hunter, and Ajax had two hits each and my man Donny Baseball was 3-4 with a RBI and two runs scored.
  • Freeway Ricky Porcello was dealing in his first start.  He went 6 2/3 allowing only one run on three hits.  He struck out three and walked two.
  • Torii Hunter blasted his second home run in as many games.
  • Evan Reed pitched an inning and a third, allowed zero runs, two hits, and one strike out.

The Bad:

  • The bullpen.  Combined, the pen surrendered five runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings.
  • The Amazing Al pitched to only one hitter in the 9th and allowed a single to Matt Wieters.
  • Joe Nathan, while recording his first save, allowed a run on two hits.

The Ugly:

  • Phil Coke.  Unfortunately, Phil is starting where he left off in 2013. He recorded only one out and surrendered three runs on two hits.  I’m pulling for you Phil, but the clock is ticking.

When it’s all said and done though the Tigers moved to 4-0 and the offense has looked pretty good the last few game.

“God I love baseball.” Roy Hobbs | The Natural

 

 

 

 

 

Tigers 10 Orioles 4

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It was nice to see the Tigers offense explode for 10 runs.  I just hope this isn’t the continuation of a familiar pattern, 10 runs one game, then nothing for the next few.

The Good:

  • The Tigers moved to 3-0.
  • The Mighty Miggy went 4-5 including his 2,000th hit, a two run bomb in the 8th.
  • Drew Smyly came in to relieve Anibal Sanichez after the rain delay.  He pitched 3 innings, struck out 3, walked 1 and didn’t allow a run.
  • Nice defensive play by Andrew Romine in the 6th.

The Bad:

  • Joba Chamberlain.  WTF?

The Ugly:

  • The weather was horrible.  I hate cold, rainy, days.
  • Romine got charged with an error in the 5th.  From all the angels I saw, it looked like he recorded the out at second and dropped the ball on the transfer.  What made this ugly is that the umpires reviewed the play and upheld the call on the field.  My only response is WTF?

“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural

 

 

 

Tiger 2 Royals 1

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The Tigers are 2-0 on this young season and the first two wins have come at the expense of the Royals, who usually seem to give the Tigers trouble.

The Good:

  • The Tigers won and were able to come back after new closer, Joe Nathan, blew the save.
  • Ian Kinsler was 3-5 with two RBIs including his first home run as a Tiger, a solo shot to lead off the 4th.
  • 2013 Cy Young winner, Max Scherzer, looks to be picking up where he left off.  He pitched eight scoreless innings striking out 7 and walking only one.
  • The Tigers got two plays overturned with replay.

The Bad:

  • Joe Nathan blew his first save opportunity as a member of the Tigers.
  • Miguel Cabrera took an ofer and struck out twice.  He also missed an “easy” RBI chance in the 6th, grounding into a fielder’s choice with runners at the corners and one out.  I’m sure Miggy will ok but this was still bad.
  • Alex Avila struck out twice.

The Ugly:

The Tigers managed only two runs.  Despite the skewed numbers from the 2013 regular season, the Tigers have struggled to score consistently for the past two years, putting too much pressure on their pitching staff.  It’s only two game so I won’t sound the alarm for 2014, yet.

Back at it tomorrow.

“God I love baseball.” Roy Hobbs | The Natural

 

Tigers open 2014 with a win

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It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win.  The Tigers prevailed 4-3, over the Royals in the 2014 season opener.

JV looked pretty good.  He gave up only 2 earned runs and lasted  six innings.  He could have lasted longer but the defense behind him was, not good.  Torii Hunter dropped a routine fly ball in the second, shortstop Alex Gonzalez made an error in the fourth and Nick Castellanos, although he wasn’t charged with an error, failed to catch a ball in foul territory.

I was very pleased with the way the Tigers battled back in the late innings after trailing 3-1.

Also notable: A Squared money was 1 for 2 with 2 BB.  Victor hit a solo shot.  Castellanos and Gonzalez each had two hits.

 

“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural

 

I don’t like it!

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The Miguel Cabrera contract, that is.  By now, I’m sure you’ve all heard that the Tigers and Cabrera have agreed to a 10 year $292 million contract extension.

That being said, Cabrera is the best hitter in baseball and one of the best hitters I’ve ever seen.  But 10 years for a guy that is already 30 years old?  I think it will work out fine for four or five years but will then hang upon the neck of the Tigers organizations like a South African necklace.

Oh well, it is not my money.  All I want is a World Series.  It has been 30 years.

“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural