J.D. Martinez

Royals 2 Tigers 1

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Well, losing the last three games in a row is never good, but the Tigers finished this road trip 4-6.  Not great, but not terrible considering the abominations that were the previous two road trips.

Zimmerman pitched well but the Tigers couldn’t hit.  Even after they got the devastating Chris Young out of the game, who historically dominates the Tigers, the bats couldn’t do anything.  Unfortunately given the state of the bullpen, I don’t like their chances in extra inning games.

Hopefully, they can have a good home-stand.  It won’t be easy with Seattle and Cleveland coming into town.

The J.D. injury may be devastating.

Yankees 5 Tigers 4

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What might have been;

  1. If Upton didn’t get thrown out at the plate in 8th?
  2. If J.D Martinez didn’t hit into a double play in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded and nobody out?
  3. If there was a fourth hit in Miggy’s bat?

But those things did happen and the Tigers start out their home-stand with a loss.

Here come the White Sox.

Update 1:03 am 6/3/2016; Ok, I don’t get it.  The Tigers sent Kyle Ryan down to AAA. He pitched 2/3s scoreless last night and has a 3.10 ERA. What am I  missing?

 

The Miguel Cabrera Show

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Jose Miguel Cabrera put the Tigers on his back and carried the them to a 5-4 win over Philadelphia.

Miggy was 3 for 3 with two more Conniption Shots, a double, a walk, 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Perhaps the Phillies should have considered walking him after his second conniption shot?

Honorable mentions got to J.D. Martinez and Nick “The Quick” Castellanos for chipping in with home runs; Victor Martinez for going 3-4 and driving in Miggy with the winning run and Mark Lowe and K-Rod for pitching clean 8th and 9th innings.

Speaking of Francisco Rodriguez, perhaps reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated.  If I’m not mistaken, this is his 6th save conversion in a row.

FYI: Jose Miguel Cabrera is that damn good!

Tigers 10 Twins 8

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It wasn’t pretty.  It wasn’t easy. It was, however, a win.

This team is in a lot of trouble if they can’t field better than what they displayed on Monday night.  Three errors almost cost the Tigers a game in which they lead 8-0 after the first inning.

The pitching is what it is but the Tigers can’t afford to give any team extra outs.

One good sign is that K-Rod pitched another clean 9th inning for the save.  Perhaps he’s getting on track?

I’m not overly excited about the 10 run outburst.  I hope you’ll excuse me, but I’ve seen the show before.  Let’s see what they do the next 5-6 games.

A win is a win and I’ll take it.

Tigers 6 Orioles 5

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Could the break the Tigers got on the J.D. Martinez check swing in the 8th be the turning point in the dismal 2016 season?  I’ve seen stranger things happen.

Here are a few observations after the call:

  1. Miggy, followed with the go ahead solo homer.
  2. The bullpen didn’t give the runs back in the bottom of the 8th.
  3. K-Rod pitched a clean 9th.

This might be wishful thinking but I am an eternal “optimist”. 🙂

They’re back home tomorrow against the Twins.

 

Tigers 6 White Sox 0

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The Tigers ended a miserable season on a positive note by taking the season finale 6-0 over the White Sox. Daniel Norris and the much maligned bullpen combined on a three hit shutout.

The 74th win of the 2015 campaign was good for a last place Central Division finish and will provide the Tigers with a top 10 draft pick next season.

Here is my Good, Bad and Ugly for the 2015 season:

The Good:

  • James McCann finishes the year without making an error.  He has taken over the #1 catcher position
  • J.D. Martinez followed up last year’s impressive year with another one finishing with 102 RBIs, not bad for a guy the Tigers got for virtually nothing.
  • Justin Verlander looks like he will come back and be the Ace of Tigers staff in 2016
  • Nick Castellanos had a good year at the plate.  Remember this was only his second year.
  • Drew VerHagen, Alex Wilson, and Blaine Hardy look like they will be competent arms out the pen
  • Miggy won is fourth batting title

The Bad:

  • Victor Martinez’s injury riddled season
  • Miggy’s injury ridden power numbers
  • Castellanos’s play at third base
  • The inability to play as a team.  No part of the team “picked up” the other
  • Finishing in last place in the AL Central

The Ugly:

  • The base running – leading baseball in runners thrown out at home plate and just the overall incompetence on the base paths.
  • Hitting into the most double plays in baseball
  • Pitching – 28th in ERA 4.64
  • Bruce Rondon being sent home

The season in over for the Tigers but I’ll still be posting throughout the post season.  I’m predicting a Mets | Blue Jays World Series.  I’d like to see Granderson get a WS ring.

A big Flashin’ Leather Thank You to everyone that reads and comments!  I really appreciate your support!

Rangers 7 Tigers 6

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If you score six runs off of Cole Hamels you probably had a pretty good night.  Not last night.  The Tigers were charged with four errors and probably should have been charged with six. This was a cacophony of nonsense redux.

J.D. hit a two-run homer giving him 101 RBIs on the season. That’s about all I can stomach to write about this one.  It was disgusting. I felt bad for Daniel Norris who struggled but was kicked in the stomach by his pals playing the field behind him.

Tigers 7 Rangers 4

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The Tigers opened their final road trip of the 2015 season with a win over Texas.

The turning point of game came in the bottom of the fourth.  With the Tigers leading 1-0, Prince Fielder leadoff with a solo-shot off of Justin Verlander.  The next three Rangers then reached base loading the bases with nobody out.

For the second game in a row, however, J.V. gave us a glimpse of the Cy Young winning pitcher of prior years.  He was able to retire the next three Rangers without surrendering another run. He retired the side on a pop up to second and two strikeouts.

The inning did take its toll on JV.  He needed 30 pitches to get through the fourth.  He lasted six complete and gave up just the single earned run, striking out five and walking two.

The Tigers scored five in the top of the fifth, three of which came on a conniption shot off of the bat of Tyler Collins.

Game notes:

  • J.D. drove in his 99th run of the season.
  • Victor left the game with what appeared to be a leg injury.  They might as well shut him down for the rest of the season.
  • With their 73rd win, the Tigers will avoid a 90 loss season.

Twins 7 Tigers 1

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This was a disappointing home finale to a disappointing 2015 season.  The Tigers had a chance to leave the home fans with a good taste in their mouth but instead gave them one last up close and personal look at the cacophony of nonsense they’ve witnessed this entire season.

The game was decided in the second inning when the Twins scored six runs.  Only four were earned but that is only because official baseball scoring doesn’t assume a double play on a booted ground ball with a runner on base.  Nick Castellanos committed an error on a ball that should have resulted in a double play, Randy Wolf couldn’t pitch around it, and the flood gates were open.

The offense was no help and the home finale was another microcosm of the 2015 season. The Tigers will wrap up the 2015 season on the road.  They need one more win to avoid a 90 loss season, Miggy is still chasing his fourth batting title and J.D. needs two more RBIs for 100. (It’s a stretch but I need something to tune in for.)

We shall see.