Tigers Beat Indians 6-4; Another Good Outing for Rickey

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Saturday, June 8th, 2013

The Tigers beat the Indians 6-4 on Saturday with Rick Porcello pitching 6 strong innings giving up 2 runs but only 1 earned.

Porcello was solid but I was a little concerned early because a lot of his outs were in the air.  As a sinker ball pitcher it seemed like he was missing up but getting fly ball outs.

It doesn’t like Prince Fielder, aka PF Money, likes it when a pitcher walks Miggy in front of him.  In the 2nd inning Carrasco walked Miguel Cabrera to load the bases.  Fielder stepped to the plate and delivered a bases clearing double.

Papa Grande came in to close the game out and as usual, it wasn’t easy.  But to be fair, Santana hit a Texas Leaguer that dropped between Infante and Hunter.  It was a cheap hit but nothing is ever easy when Papa comes into the game.  Valverde walked Gomes but struck out Rayburn and Aviles to end the game.

I’m very concerned about Alex Avila.  I have been a huge fan of his since he came into the league but I’m not sure there is a place on any roster for a guy that hits under .200.  If he doesn’t get on a little roll in the next week or so, I’m wondering if sending him down to Toledo for a few weeks to work on his stroke might not be a good idea.

I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.

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

Tigers Win 7-5; JV OK

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JV was OK in his start tonight against the Cleveland Indians.  In what is becoming a pattern, he gave up 3 earned in 7 innings.  The rough inning was the 5th when the Indians got two infield hits and a Texas Leaguer to load the basis.

The first run was driven in on a hard single to left by Michael Bourn on an 0-2 pitch.  I really have to question the pitch selection.  From the third base side it looked like a 96 MPH fastball that obviously caught too much of the plate.  I guess I’m not sure why he threw Bourn an 0-2 fastball.

The damage could have been limited to 2 runs but a fly ball off the bat of Jason Kipnis went off the heal of Torii Hunter’s glove in right scoring two runs.  I thought Hunter should have been given an error on the play but what do I know.  JV got Swisher and Brantley to fly out to end the inning.

This is just an observation or suggestion.  I don’t understand why JV and other Tiger pitchers allow batters to hang over the plate and foul two strike pitches off. It is absolutely maddening.  It drives the pitch count up and gives the hitter the advantage.  Why not throw inside and move them off of the plate especially with less than a 3 ball count?  For example, in the 6th Mark Reynolds worked Verlander for a 9 pitch at bat.  Reynolds fouled off 3 pitches with the count full and eventually lined a single.  Even with a full count, after Reynolds fouled off the second pitch, JV should have buzzed him hard inside.  I’m not saying to hurt the guy but I would argue that lighting up his ribs with a 90 MPH fast ball would have moved him and the rest of the Indians off of the plate and he would have been no worse off.  Reynolds would still be on first but I bet he wouldn’t be leaning over the plate fouling off pitches the next time at bat.

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

A Theory About J.V.

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Justin Verlander is the best pitcher in baseball but struggled mightily the past month.  Even his good starts in May, pitching 7 innings and giving up 3 earned runs, are not good by JV standards.  Three ERs in  7 innings is a 3.857 ERA.

I don’t claim to be in the know.  In fact, I don’t know much.  But I heard a rumor that his ex-girlfriend Emily Yuen got married.  Now I know J.V. has been dating Kate Upton.  However, from a little research, I found out that Justin and Emily began dating in High School, continued dating through college, and during his pro career.  I will conjecture that Emily was Justin’s first love.  If in fact, Emily is married or engaged to someone else, I don’t care who J.V. is dating or how much money he’s making, I would lay odds that his head is in a bad place.

In fact, I would bet that J.V. is re-evaluating a lot of things in his life.  If the rumor about Emily getting married is true, and my conjecture is accurate, this could take a long time for J.V. to get over and could make for a tough season on the mound.

But what do I know?

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

 

Tigers take series from Rays 5-2

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In the 5-2 win there were some encouraging signs.

First Alex Avila, aka A Squared Money, got a hit again after getting two in last night’s game.

Victor Martinez drove in 3 runs including a two run HR.

And Papa Grande worked an uneventful 1-2-3 9th.

I guess I forgot to mention seven strong innings from Scherzer allowing only 1 run.  It is kind of nice that a seven inning, one run start feels pedestrian.  Now, if JV can get back into form, the Tigers could build a lead in the Central.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs

 

Jhonny Peralta Named in PED Scandal

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Tigers shortstop, Jhonny Peralta, who is hitting .338 with 6 HRs and 26 RBIs,  is one of the 20 players named in the Biogenesis scandal.

This is not good news for the Tigers.  If Peralta gets suspended, the Tigers will need a shortstop along with a closer.

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9301536/major-league-baseball-suspend-20-players-including-alex-rodriguez-ryan-braun-part-miami-investigation

Score One For The Good Guys

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Soon to be Hall of Fame pitcher, Roger Clemens, was aquitted of all charges made against him by a congresssional inquisition.  Clemens walked into the den of vipers and thieves, and other than a little lighter in the wallet, emerged unscathed.


It didn’t take the jury long to aquit Clemens, only 10 hours after 9 weeks of testimony.  Apparently, being accused of lying, by pathological liars, was more than the jury could take.

Here’s a link to an article on MLB dot com.

“It’s a wonderful game, this baseball. ” -David Schoenfield| ESPN.com

Tigers Return Home and Take a Dump

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I know, Valverde sucked and Marte was worse.  But the game should never have gotten to extra innings. 

The Tigers were 3-14 with runners in scoring position.  They didn’t get the big hit and Valverde blew an otherwise great night for the bullpen.

One bright spot was Prince Fielder flashin some leather.  He turned two double plays in the second and third both off the bat of Giambi.  The first double play went 3-2-3.

I’m beginning to worry about Valverde and Delmon Young.

Back at it tomorrow at 4:05.

“It’s a wonderful game, this baseball. ” -David Schoenfield| ESPN.com

 

Tigers Take Series From Cubbies

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It is a good thing AJax hit that two run homer in the top of the ninth to give the Tigers a 5-2 lead.  Papa Grande came in and gave up a run in the bottom of the ninth but the Tigers held on to win 5-3 and take the series two games to one from the Cubbies and give JV his sixth win of the season.

Next, the Tigers head home for a weekend tilt with the Rockies.

-Crippy

“It’s a wonderful game, this baseball. ” -David Schoenfield| ESPN.com

Jeff Ruby’s-Great Steakhouse In Cincinnati!

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Jeff Ruby's Steak House Cincinnati I was in Cinicnnati last weekend watching the Tigers play Cincinnati. After Saturday’s game, my friends and I were referred to Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse for dinner. We were not disappointed.

All three of us said it was one of the best steaks we had eaten.  All three of us frequent steakhouses.

Personally, I found my New York strip to be better than anything I’ve had a Morton’s, Smith & Wolinsky’s and Ruth’s Chris.  The only place where I’ve had a comparable steak is at a private dinner club in Michigan, The Hunt Club, in Farmington Hills.

Turning to baseball, I belive the Tigers turned the corner in Cincinnati. In fact, even though they lost Friday night, Brennan Boesch’s hit with two outs and a runner on third to tie the game in, I believe the 6th inning, was the turning point in not only Boesch’s season but the  Tiger’s as well.

The Tigers went on to win the last two games in Cincinnati, in comeback fashion, and then headed to Chicago to play the clubs.  They lost the first game on Tuesday but took last night’s affair 8-4 coming back from a 4-1 deficit.  JV is on the hill this afternoon.  If the Tigers can win today, they will take their second series in a row and head home to face Colorado.

Let’s hope this is the beginning of another pennant run.

-Crippy

“It’s a wonderful game, this baseball. ” -David Schoenfield| ESPN.com

FREE ROGER CLEMENS…

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from federal tyranny.

Obama has sent his Einsatzgruppen after
former major league pitcher, Roger Clemens.  Clemens is facing prison
time for allegedly lying to congress about his steroid use.  Of course,
they don’t have a shred of evidence, but the facts don’t matter to these
modern day Torquemadas.

While the American people have
mountains of evidence that 99% of all elected officials in Washington
D.C., and their staffs, routinely lie to 300 million people, this band
of worthless Eichmann are trying to put a man in jail because he didn’t
give them the answers they wanted to questions they had no business
asking.

From Lew Rockwell dot com, A Tale of Two Congressional Testimonies, by William Anderson:

The
New York Times and all of the usual mainstream media outlets were
blaring out the news that the Obama Department of “Justice” had indicted
former perennial all-star pitcher Roger Clemens on charges of “lying to
Congress.” Indeed, with the DOJ actively pursuing cycling legend Lance
Armstrong allegedly for using steroids (although Armstrong, who has been
randomly tested often, never failed a drug test), it seems that the
government is ramping up its efforts to imprison as many prominent
athletes as possible.

Clemens’ indictment, I believe, is a new
low, especially since the “evidence” that the government has is based
upon conflicts in testimony given by Clemens and his former trainer,
Brian McNamee, and another statement by a former Clemens friend who says
that Clemens told him that he took human growth hormone about 10 years
ago. In other words, we have a “criminal” case based entirely upon
hearsay.

Keep in mind that Major League Baseball at
the time had not banned any of the products that Clemens is alleged to
have taken, and, furthermore, MLB is a private organization, and
breaking the rules of private organizations should not be a crime,
period. Last year, Candice E. Jackson and I had this article in which we
examine the tactics that the federal government has used to criminalize
actions that might not even be violations of private rules, much less
infractions of criminal law.

Another thing to keep in
mind, Roger Clemens is more useful while he’s taking a crap than all
three branches of the federal government, minus Ron Paul, are on their
best days.

God help us!