torii hunter

Tigers fans, we have a problem…

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it’s called the bullpen.  Although, to be fair, Freeway Ricky wasn’t much better.

The Tigers put up 10 runs and jumped out to a 10-1 lead but Tigers pitching and Twins resilience made this game more interesting than it needed to be.

The Good:

  • The Tigers picked up their 12th win with a 10-6 victory over the Twins.
  • Nick Castellanos had three RBIs, two hits, including a two run homer.
  • Andrew Romine flashed some leather at shortstop today.
  • Brian Dozier made an nice running, over the shoulder, basket catch in the top of the ninth and robbed Austin Jackson of a lead off hit.

The Bad:

  • Ricky gave up four earned runs in five plus innings.  He left in the sixth with two on and nobody out.  Justin Miller came in and couldn’t preserve Ricky’s line.  He gave up a single and a double to score the inherited runners.
  • Joe Nathan had to come in for the ninth in a non-save situation.

The Ugly:

  • While the bullpen only gave up one earned run, the Tigers needed five relief pitchers to close out the Twins.

On another note, while Miggy had two hits and an RBI, his ground out in the third was my favorite at bat.  The score was 2-1 entering the third.  Torii Hunter lead off with a double.  Miggy got an inside fastball and was able to pull his hands in and ground out to second allowing Hunter to advance to third with one out.  A week or so ago, he might have pulled that to short and Hunter would probably not have advanced.  It’s early but the little things add up during the course of a 162 game season.

Sanchez goes tomorrow.

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

 

 

Not Good! Tigers Fall to Padres 5-1, lose series

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The supposedly light hitting Padres got to Max for four earned and beat the Tigers 5-1 this afternoon.

Despite striking out 10, Scherzer only lasted five innings then turned it over to the bullpen.

Max didn’t get much help from the offense either.

The Good:

  • Max struck out 10
  • Phil Coke pitched a clean, 1-2-3 sixth inning.
  • Rajai Davis had two more hits.
  • The Amazing Al struck out Chris Denorfia, the only batter he faced, to end the 7th.
  • Joba Chamberlain pitched a scoreless 8th striking out 2.

The Bad:

  • Miggy was 0-4
  • Ajax was 0-3 with three strikeouts
  • The Tigers could only push across one run

The Ugly:

  • Miggy grounded into a double play in the 8th after Torii Hunter lead of with a walk.
  • Miggy is struggling, big time
  • The Tigers lost the series and finished the road trip 2-3.

The Tigers come home this week to meet the Tribe and the Angels.  I hope they can turn around their struggles against the Angels.  They need a big home stand.

“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 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

 

Red Sox 4 Tigers 3

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An error, a wild pitch, and three double plays proved to be the undoing of the Tigers tonight.

Neither starter, Sanchez or Lester, were great, but they both pitched decently.

Both bullpens were good.  I was very impressed with Coke Veras, and Alburquerque.

After falling behind 4-0, the Tigers showed some fight, battling back with single runs in the 5th, 6th, and 7th, to make it a one run game.  In the end they just couldn’t get it done.

If the Tigers are going to end their 29 year World Series drought they’re going to have to win two in a row at Fenway Park, no easy task.

The Tigers will have Scherzer pitching in game 6 and Verlander pitching the finale, if it goes to 7.  If they can turn in performances close to their first outings, the Tigers may have an outside chance but they’re going to need some clutch hitting.  What else is new?

The Tigers had a great chance to tie the game in the 7th.  Down 4-2, with one out and runners on first and third, Cabrera stepped to the plate but grounded into a double play.  The third run scored on the play but the double play effectively killed the rally.

The Tigers are getting nothing from Prince Fielder, except for the occasional single.  It’s not good enough.  He hasn’t driven in a post season run since game two of the 2012 ALDS.  What makes matters worse is that he is having horrible at bats.  Most of the time he falls behind 0-1 and ends up grounding into the defensive shift.  He’s pretty much become an automatic out.

I’m also not thrilled with Torii Hunter’s performance in the lead off position but I guess there aren’t many other options.

Saturday it, once again, it’s time to “F*** or walk”.

We’ll have to wait and see.

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

Red Sox 1 Tigers 0

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How much more can the Tigers ask from their pitching staff?  It has gotten to the point where the staff can’t afford to surrender a single run.

JV was “smokin balls” again today.  He had one mistake in 8 innings and it cost the Tigers a game and allowed the Red Sox to reclaim home field advantage.

I believe this is the 5th or 6th time since the beginning of September that the offense have failed to give JV a single run.

Pathetic.

Just when I think I’ve seen it all the Tigers offense reaches new heights of futility.

I understand they are facing good pitching but the hitters have to find a way to scratch out runs.  This Tigers team has proven over and over again that they not capable.

The Tigers had chances.  They had a runner on third with less than two outs twice and couldn’t manufacture a run.

In the 5th, Peralta led off with a double and went to third on an Alex Avila ground out.  Omar Infante, who is now hitting .100, struck out. Dirks followed with a ground out.

The Tigers failed to score.

In the 8th, after an Iglesias K, Jackson walked and went to third on a Torii Hunter single.  Runners and first and third with one out and the Tigers still trailing 1-0.  Things looked good with Cabrera and Fielder coming to the dish.  But Miggy struck out on 4 pitches and Fielder one-upped him with a K on 3 pitches.

The Tigers failed to score.

Pathetic.

It is impossible to win when you don’t score.

Fister vs Peavy tomorrow.

Your guess is as good as mine.

I wasn’t at the game but a frequent reader of this blog said the crowd sucked. However, I didn’t see much to get excited about.

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

Red Sox 6 Tigers 5

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DISASTER!

That’s only thing I can say about this game.

After the offense finally put up some runs and built a 5-0, Max throwing a gem, the bull pen and defense blew it.

Max threw 108 pitches through 7 innings.  He struck out 13, allowed 2 hits, and 1 run.

I was hoping he’d come out for the 8th but when I saw Veras warming up I began to worry.

Veras, Smyly, Alburquerque, and Benoit couldn’t protect a 4 run lead and the Boston Red Sox evened the series with 4 in the 8th and 1 in the 9th.

Porcello came in to start the 9th and the wheels began to immediately fall off.  He got Gomes to hit a ball between 3rd and short.  Iggy fielded the ball and made a wide throw to first.  The throw took a glove high hop but Fielder couldn’t knock it down.  The hit and error sent the winning run to second with nobody out.  Porcello got Saltalamacchia to foul down the first base line.  Prince went to the stands but couldn’t make the catch.  The ball hit off the heel of his glove giving Saltalamacchia new life.

Porcello then threw a wild pitch sending Gomes to third and Saltalamacchia singled through a drawn in infield to end the game.

I don’t have the words to describe this one.  What an awful way to lose.

I hope it is not a back breaker.

Torii Hunter almost robbed David Ortiz of a game tying grand slam but seemed to over run the ball.  It would have been a great catch but it looked like he might have made it if he didn’t over run it.

The Tigers may have stolen a game yesterday but they gave this one away.

Austin Jackson and Torii Hunter were both 0-5.  If there is any good news coming out of the 1 and 2 slots in the order it is that Jackson only struck out once tonight.

I’m stunned and sick to my stomach.

This one hurts!

Let’s hope JV can give the Tigers 9 on Tuesday.  Despite yesterday’s success, the pen worries me.

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

Tigers 1 Red Sox 0

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Nebraskaknows hit it right on the head when he said he “feels like a thief in the night” after the Tigers 1-0 win in game 1 of the 2013 American League Championship Series.

The Tigers pitching staff was fabulous again tonight.  As a staff they allowed only one hit and no runs.  It would be hard to ask much more from a pitching staff.

The Tigers offense strove for an unprecedented level of ineptitude.  The Boston pitchers were good but the Tigers offense was an abomination.  They managed only 1 run on 9 hits.

Without an extra base hit it takes the Tigers 4 hits in an inning to score a single run. The likely hood of that scenario playing out is not very good and this pathetic excuse for an offense is living proof.

Miguel Cabrera hit a ball in the corner tonight.  It bounced around, the outfielder bobbled it and still Cabrera could only get to first base.

Austin Jackson is on the verge of becoming un-playable.  He is doing absolutely nothing.  He did have a single tonight but struck out 2 more times.  In six postseason games this year he is hitting .200 with 15 strikeouts.  The Tigers may not have another center fielder but Austin needs to be moved out of the lead off spot. No matter how much I like him he has become an embarrassment at the plate.

In the top of the 9th he had a chance to make up for some of his struggles by doing something useful at the plate.  Iggy lead off with a single.  The Tigers needed Jackson to move him over.  AJax tried twice to bunt him over but couldn’t get the job done.  He ended up striking out.  What made matters worse was the Torii Hunter followed Jackson with a double to left field moving Iggy to third.

At this point all the Tigers needed was a fly ball to push across a second run and give Benoit some breathing room.  Unfortunately, as a result of substitutions, Don Kelly was now hitting in Cabrera’s spot.  DK struck out on 3 pitches.

I thought Leyland managed masterfully in the last game against Oakland.  But today’s moves leave me almost in shock.  With a one run lead Leyland had Cabrera and Peralta on the bench for the remainder of the game.  He got away with it today but for me these types of moves are asking for trouble.

Back at it tomorrow.

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

A’s 1 Tigers 0

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The A’s tied the series tonight courtesy of a 1-0 win handing the Tigers their 13th shutout of the season.

There was nothing new to see here.  The Tigers got tremendous pitching and no offense.

I was listening to the post game show on the radio and Dan Dickerson said that the Tigers have scored in only 5 of their last 54 innings going back to the last week of the season.

Miguel Cabrera has carried this team for years.  Now he’s hurt and there is nobody there to pick him up.

Austin Jackson was embarrassing. He went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts.  He took fast balls down the middle and then swung at every other piece of garbage Sonny Gray threw to him.

Torii Hunter was 0-4 with 2 Ks.

Prince Fielder was 0-4.

In fact, the Tigers only managed 4 hits.  Cabrera had one, DK had 2 and Iggy had the other one.

Speaking of DK, he got the start in left tonight.  I wonder if Puppet Master, Jim Leyland, read last night’s game post. 🙂

The pitching left nothing to complain about.  The only thing I might have done differently would have been to bring Ricky in after the lead off hit by Cespedes in the 9th.  But really, how can I complain about a game where the pitching staff surrendered 1 run and lost.  Everything can be second guessed.

Monday is a 1:00 pm start at Comerica Park.  The Tigers will need a big start from Sanchez.  What’s new?

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

Royals 1 Tigers 0

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This was a tough loss to take but no that surprising.  Both Fister and Santana pitched like aces but the “top rated” Tigers offense could not produce a single run.

I understand that Santana has had a good season and pitched well tonight but with the money the Tigers have invested in their offense it is not unreasonable to expect better.

This game has it’s share of leather flashin.  Royals’ short stop Alcides Escobar made several nice plays.  Torii Hunter threw a seed from right field to gun down Chris Getz trying to take third on a fly ball in the top of the 8th.  Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila teamed up to cut down Eric Hosmer trying to score from third and a ground ball in the first.  And the play of the game was a relay from Alex Gordon to Alcides Escobar to Salvador Perez to cut down Prince Fielder at the plate to end the game.

Objectively speaking this was a really well played game.  The only problem is that the Tigers offense couldn’t come up with a single run.  This seems to be the story of the last two seasons, no consistency on offense.  They score a lot of runs one game then go into hibernation for a week. It is very frustrating and sometimes painful to watch.

There are two plays in particular I’d like to address.

  1. In the bottom of the sixth Iggy led off with a bunt single.  At this point it was obvious runs were going to be at a premium.  I was hoping the Tigers would give Iggy the green light to try to swipe second.  I’m not big on bunting a guy over from first to second but I am a fan of the stolen base.  Instead, Jackson followed with a fielders choice then Hunter and Cabrera flew out to end the inning.  If Iggy could have stolen second he could have gone to third on Jackson’s ground ball and scored on Hunters fly out.  Instead the Tigers settled for nothing.  I understand speed is not the Tigers game but Iggy does bring this dimension to the team.  This would have been the perfect time to try something new instead of just going to the plate and taking your hacks against a pitcher that’s been dominating you.  I could have lived with Iggy getting thrown out at second.  But I can’t live with doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
  2. In the bottom of the 8th Miggy came to the plate following a Hunter double.  This put Hunter a second with two out.  Cabrera then ended the inning with a ground out to second base on the first pitch.  I know it is hard to complain about Miggy but he has been horrible the last few weeks and I’m not sure it is all injury related.

On the bright side Fister did pick off Emilio Bonifacio at first base in the top of the third inning.  With pick offs and runners thrown out at second the Tigers seem to be making strides at slowing down the opposing team’s running game.  Now if they could manufacture a run or two of their own they might have something.  Still with this lineup they really have no excuse for being shut out ever, let alone, 11 times this season.

Let’s see if Max can get is 20th win of the season in the rubber game tomorrow.

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