Dustin Ackley

Tigers 6 Mariners 3

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I think we can put to rest the stories about JV losing his velocity.  He threw 17 pitches tonight at 95 MPH or above.  Instead, I think his issues have been command and not pitching inside.  That being said, he pitched well tonight.  He went seven and two thirds and allowed three runs, struck out seven and walked one.  Really, his only blemish to was the homer to Kyle Seagar. At least it wasn’t to the Ackley Kid. 🙂

I know Seattle is not really a powerhouse team but the Tigers don’t seem to play very well there so this was a very impressive outing for JV.

Ok, it is way past time to say this but Miggy and Victor are smokin balls!  Miggy hit a two run shot and Victor hit a three run homer after Legendary Lloyd McClendon intentionally walked Miggy in front of him.

Let’s see if Smyly can put in a good performance tomorrow.

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

Tigers 5 Mariners 4

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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

Ackley Kid…

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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