So this was supposed to be a simple re-blog of a Detroit News post, H/T Nebraska and Sark, regarding Dirksburger’s rehab setback. But then I read the article.
This was the last sentence of the story:
“Dirks has hit .275 with 24 homers and 100 RBIs over 297 games with the Tigers, and was a finalist for a Gold Glove in 2013.”
with back surgery.
Here is a link to the story from MLB, H/T Nebraska.
Hmmmm does this mean Davis and Lombardozzi will be platooning in left?
This is a shame, I had Good Ole Dirksy slated for 40 HRs and 130 RBIs this year. It will be tough to replace his production.
“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural
Forgive me for not immediately ordering a Davis home jersey.
The detnews is reporting, hat tip Nebaraska, that the Tigers have signed, former Athletics and Blue Jays outfielder, Rajai Davis, to a two year contract.
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — The Tigers have struck — they just haven’t struck gold. (UNDERSTATEMENT)
According to a report from Sportsnet.ca’s Ben-Nicholson Smith, speedy outfielder Rajai Davis and the Tigers have come to an agreement on a two-year contract. The Tigers have yet to confirm the move, but The News learned late Monday night that the Tigers were zeroing in on adding offense, and were likely to strike soon — and perhaps at the winter meetings.
Davis is a right-handed hitter who is in line to be in a left-field platoon with the left-handed-hitting Andy Dirks.
Keep reading here.
I don’t get it. Another platoon player? Great, he has speed but his on-base percentage is .312. It is still impossible to steal first base, isn’t it?
This makes the Fister trade look even worse. What are the Tigers going to do with Lombardozzi? A three way platoon with nobody that can hit.
All this wheeling and dealing and the Tigers still don’t have anybody to play left field.
And, they’re down a pitcher.
I feel another Dirksburger episode flaring up.
Should this be posted under WTF? It seems that category is getting flooded this off season.
“God I love baseball.” Roy Hobbs | The Natural
Finally, the bats came to life and bailed out the pitching staff which, for the second straight game, was less than stellar.
Doug Fister put in a quality start but I thought it was going to take something spectacular to win this game.
The offense continued its ineptitude through four innings. However, in the bottom of the 5th and trailing 3-0, the Tigers bats showed signs of life and tied it up on a three run homer from Jhonny Peralta.
After the 5th, the Tigers bats did something they haven’t done in a long time, score in another inning. In fact the Tigers continued to score with two in the 7tth and three more in the 8th,. And they needed them.
Max Scherzer relieved Fister in the 7th and got the win. Max has to get a lot of credit for pitching out of a bases loaded, no out, jam in the 8th to preserve a one run Tiger lead but the jam was his own making. He walked the lead-off man in the 8th, a no-no in any situation, but even a bigger problem late in an elimination game.
Peralta and Martinez each had big home runs but the biggest hits came from Austin Jackson and Omar Infante.
Jackson, who is in one of the worst funks I’ve ever seen big league hitter in, came through with a single in the 7th to drive in a run and give the Tigers a 5-4 lead. Prior to his single, Jackson had struck out three more times making it 9 Ks in his last 10 at bats. Jackson didn’t hit a rocket but it was a much needed hit both personally and for the Tigers as a team.
The Tigers scored their 6th run on a wild pitch in the 8th then Omar delivered a two run double extending the Tigers lead to 8-4.
Joaquin Benoit came in to pitch the 9th and didn’t have his A game. He made it interesting. He allowed two runs and stranded the tying runs on base.
I’m a little worried about Joaquin.
I know Miggy is hurt but I’m disappointed in his at bat to lead off the bottom of the 8th. Miggy swung at a 3-0 pitch and grounded out to third. I know he can’t run but I was hoping he’d take a pitch or two to see if he could get a free pass. With the way the Tigers offense has been struggling they can use all of the base runners they can get.
There were a few substitutions that worried me. In the bottom of the 7th Peralta doubled but was pinch run for by Andy Dirks. In bottom of the 8th Victor singled and went to second when Andy Dirks walked. Hernan Perez then pinch ran for Victor. At this point the Tigers were only up 5-4 and with the substitutions, their two hottest hitters would not bat again if the game went to extra innings.
The moves ended up working out OK. Perez scored the 6th run on a wild pitch and it is doubtful if Victor would have scored in that situation.
In any case, everything worked out today and game five is Thursday with JV on the mound. I’m done with predictions, I’ll just have to wait and see.
It’s still “F*** or walk”.
I’m hoping for the best.
“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural
Whew!
Behind excellent pitching and just enough offense the Tigers took the first game of the series in Oakland.
The Tigers scored three runs in the first but couldn’t add on the rest of the way. This was not really a surprise. This is the same thing we’ve seen all year.
Scherzer, Smyly and Benoit were outstanding and combined to strike out 16 Oakland batters.
Readers of this blog know I’ve been hard on Dirks this year and I’m going to continue. The Tigers are still not getting anything substantial out of his bat and his fielding is terrible at best. I know, there is supposed to be some metric that tells us Dirksy is a wonderful fielder but the numbers don’t correspond to the visual.
In the bottom of the second Yoenis Cespedes hit a hard shot to left field that ended up as a one out triple. I understand the ball was hard hit but it looked like Dirksy didn’t take a very good route to the ball. It would have been a nice play. It is a play I would expect a good left fielder to make.
There was another play in the 5th or 6th inning where Dirks ran for a ball in foul territory. The ball looked like it hit the palm of his glove and he ended up dropping it.
Luckily, Max was able to pitch around these two plays and the pen was able to hold on for the win but I think Leyland and the Tigers really need to evaluate what they are getting from left field both offensively and defensively. I’m not even saying put Peralta in but perhaps it’s time to put DK in left. Let him play solid defense and take what you can from his bat. What are you really losing playing DK over Dirksy?
In the 6th the Tigers had a chance to add on. With one out, Martinez on second and Avila on first, Omar Infante singled sharply to right field. Tom “The Windmill” Brookens sent Victor home and he was nailed at the plate for the second out of the inning. At first, I was screaming about another horrible send from The Windmill, but on further review, I think it was the right thing to do. The Tigers had just gotten three hits and Dirks was up next. At this point, you can’t expect anything from Good Ole Dirksy.
I’ve been screaming all year about the offense but nothing is going to change. The formula the Tigers used tonight to win will have to be the recipe going forward. But at least if they could tighten up the left field defense, it might increase their chances.
JV goes tomorrow. Your guess is a good as mine regarding what to expect.
“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural
the era of Jhonny Peralta in left field for the Tigers is about to begin.
From the Detroit News: Hat Tip Nebraska Knows!
Tigers minor leaguers: Jhonny Peralta ‘a natural’ as outfielder
Tigers fans are vastly uneasy about Jhonny Peralta’s ongoing transition to left field. But two outfielders currently playing alongside the former shortstop have a message for you.
Calm down.
“He’s a natural,” said Austin Scotts, a Tigers prospect who played center field while Peralta played left in an instructional league game Monday.
“Can’t really tell he’s new to the position.”
Said Connor Harrell, another outfield prospect also working out in Lakeland, Fla.: “I think he looks really good out there — pretty natural, honestly.”
Peralta, 31, has been in Lakeland since the middle of the month, shagging countless flyballs and getting his bat back into shape.
He is expected to hear from the Tigers today regarding their plans — and it’s widely believe they will welcome him back for their final regular-season series this weekend in Miami, then for the postseason, as his 50-game suspension for his Biogenesis involvement comes to an end.
Keep reading at DetNews dot com here.
“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural
WOW! Do I feel like an ass for leaving this game in the top of the 9th.
For the first 8.5 innings, I saw exactly what I expected. After scoring 12 runs last night and facing who I believe to be the best pitcher in the American League, Chris Sale, the Tigers offense did next to nothing.
Chris Sale was dealing. Except for Miggy, who had two hits against him, the rest of the lineup was completely and thoroughly dominated.
On the Tigers side of the ledger, Fredrick Alfred Porcello was fantastic. For 6 and 2/3, Ricky was almost as good as Chris Sale. Almost as good. This was a match-up between an Ace and an Ace in waiting. Ricky allowed only 6 hits and 2 runs while walked nobody and striking out 9.
I’m not sure what has gotten into him but Ricky has been getting a lot of swings and misses lately. He struck out 10 in his previous start and 9 more today. If Ricky and Iggy can stay healthy, Porcello will make a bid to win 20 games next year with an ERA well under 4, perhaps 3.50.
Tui was flashin leather tonight. Jose Veras came in to relieve Ricky. With two outs and the left handed hitting, White Sox catcher, Bryan Anderson at the plate. The defense was shaded towards right. Anderson hit a wounded quail to shallow left field and Tui made a fabulous diving catch to end the inning and save a run.
What can I say about Good Ole Dirksy? He pinch hit for Tui in the bottom of the 9th with two on and nobody out and delivered a 3 run shot to pull the Tigers to within one run, 6-5. Good for Andy. It would be great if got to his 2012 form in time for the playoffs.
After Dirksy’s blast Infante walked bringing Santiago to the plate. Ramon bunted Infante over to second. I’m not sure how I feel about this play. Generally, I don’t like bunting a guy from first to second. In this case I didn’t particularly care for giving the White Sox pitcher an out when he was having trouble finding the plate. Couple that with the Tigers’ bats perking up and nobody out and my initial reaction to the sacrifice was revulsion. Looking back on it, however, it was the bottom of the 9th. The Tigers were trailing by only a single run and it did get the tying run into scoring position. It worked out this time but I’m still not sure if I would do it again should the occasion arise in the future.
Other than his inability to run, Miggy looked like his old self at the plate today. He touched Sale for two hard hit singles and singled in the Tigers’ first run in the 9th. He left the game with groin tightness and is listed as day to day. It might be time to give him a day off.
Austin Jackson is struggling. He was 0-5 with a walk tonight. He had two hits last night, going 2-6, but he was 0-5 in the final game against the Mariners. That makes him 2-16 in the last three games. He needs to get on base so Miggy and Prince have a chance to drive in some runs. That being said, AJax is a streaky hitter so hopefully he’ll go on a hot streak in time for the postseason.
The Amazing Al pitched well tonight. He pitched two scoreless innings, the 11th and 12th, and got the win. He allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out two.
Paul Konerko flashed some leather tonight as well. He made a game saving, temporarily at least, backhanded pick in the 12th, on a throw in the dirt from third baseman Conor Gillaspie
The magic number is 2.
Sanchez is on the mound tomorrow.
It would be nice if the Astros could help the Tigers out tomorrow but I’m not counting on it.
God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural
The Tigers beat up on the White Sox and their pitching tonight and got Max Scherzer his 20th win of the season.
They jumped on White Sox starter, Dylan Axelrod, early and often. The Tigers put 7 runs on him and got the bullpen for five more.
Scherzer put in a quality start going 6 complete, allowing 6 hits and 3 runs, while walking 1 and striking out 3.
The Puppet Master had Good Ole Dirksy in left field tonight and he paid dividends right away with a two run single in the first to give the Tigers an early two run lead. Dirks would finish the game 3 for 4 raising his batting average to .261.
A few areas of mild concern are Miggy and Jose Alvarez. Miggy was 1-5 tonight and left 6 runners on base. Jose Alvarez pitched one inning and allowed 3 hits and two earned runs. I say mild concern but I’m a little more than mildly concerned about Miggy. I know he’s still hitting .346 but his batting average has been slowly dropping this month and he’s been struggling to drive in runs. I hope it is just a little slump but I can’t help worrying about his nagging injuries. It is going to be hard to make long playoff run with Miggy struggling to drive in runs.
The good news is that the Tigers won, Max got his 20th, and the magic number is down to 3. Hopefully, they can clinch this weekend.
I hope the Tigers saved some runs for tomorrow because they’re going to need all they can get. They’ll face White Sox ace, and Cy Young contender, Chris Sale.
I’m looking for a big game from Ricky tomorrow.
God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural
Fister pitched well and got his 13th win of the season. The four runs he surrendered is a tad high but three of the runs came on a homer off of the bat of the Ackley Kid.
Smyly got the last out in the 8th and Joaquin Benoit converted his 22nd save of the season to close out the game and give the a Tigers 3-1 series win.
Incidentally, Tigers starters struck out 10 Mariners in 3 of the 4 games this series. The only one with less was Justin Verlander. Is this telling the Tigers something? I’m not sayin. I’m just sayin.
Torii Hunter got the Tigers on the board in the first with a solo shot but Fielder and Martinez did most of the damage this afternoon, they were a combined 5 for 6 with 3 RBIs.
Victor Martinez caught today and I thought he looked great. Oh, and his batting average is now .301.
In the 6th inning, the Puppet Master, Jim Leyland, went to work. He had Good Ole Dirsky pinch hit for Tui. Dirksy didn’t get a hit but he had a hell of an at bat. He bounced out to second base on the second pitch he saw from Mariner reliever Tom Wilhelmson. Tui wasn’t doing much but isn’t there anybody else to pinch hit, like Charlie Marcuse? Oh, wait, the Tigers fired the singing hot dog man a few weeks ago.
Good Ole Dirksy redeemed himself in the bottom of the 7th, with runners at first and third and one out, Dirksy had another grind em out at bat. He struck out on four pitches.
Letting Good Ole Dirsky bat in the 7th, against a good left handed reliever, Charlie Furbush, is a clear indication that the Puppet Master is still struggling with Dirksburger Syndrome.
Austin Jackson had a rough day. He was 0-5 including grounding into a double play.
Iggy got hurt and left the game when he was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the 6th. Luckily, he’s only got a bruised hand. When it happened it looked like it might be broken.
All in all this was a good win. The Tigers’ magic number is 4.
The White Sox come to town tomorrow.
God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural
Ok, I can’t help myself. Ever since the Mariners got to town, every time I see or hear Dustin Ackley’s name, I can’t help chuckling to myself.
Robert Ackley is a character in my all time favorite book, The Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caulfield, the main character, liked irritating Robert and did so by constantly addressing him as the Ackley Kid. This nom de guerrre drove Ackley crazy.
As a result, Ackley Kid, has taken on an urban meaning that translates to tool. For example, instead of calling a person a tool, simply refer to him as an Ackley Kid and the meaning is pretty much the same.
God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural
Flashin' Leather 