Alfredo Simon, Rajai Davis, and Victor Martinez put a stop to the madness we saw at Comerica Park the past four games. Simon pitched 6.2 innings allowing only one earned run. Rajai scored three and Victor drove in three.
Indians manager Terry Francona walked Miggy every time he had first base open and Victor made him pay but I understand the strategy.
Forgive me if I’m not elated.
Lobstein pitches today.
Hat Tip Nebraska.
http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2015/04/detroit_tigers_notebook_victor_3.html
Sark, I have the same feeling about JV’s contract that you do about Victor’s.
After almost two times through the rotation, Shane Greene is the ace of the Tigers staff. He dispatched the Pirates lineup with the precision and efficiency of a Swiss timepiece. I really wanted him to get a chance to complete the game but I sort of understand the move to bring Victor in. Speaking of Victor, he doesn’t like right to me. Anyway, Greene needed only 81 pitches to get through 8 complete, scoreless, innings, a virtual masterpiece, albeit unfinished.
J.D. Martinez, Ian Kinsler, and Jose Iglesias all flashed some leather today and the Tigers got a win in a place where they don’t get many.
The offense left 10 men on base but we can cut them some slack. They scored enough for the W.
It would be nice for a series win tomorrow.
I like 7-1.
I can barely contain myself. Baseball starts Sunday. The Tigers open Monday and the hockey playoffs are right around the corner. The only downside is that I’ll be so busy watching or listening to baseball and hockey that I won’t get much reading done.
OK, I don’t expect much from the Tigers this year. As Nebraska says, “too many ifs”.
The Tigers could contend “if”:
Too many “ifs” and hope is not a strategy. But there is always a chance. The stars could align for the Tigers like they did for the Red Sox in 2013.
I’m excited but proceeding with caution.
Also, I recommend readers check out another site, Minoring In Baseball. I’ve been reading this blog for the last few years and absolutely love it.
Have a blessed Easter and LET’S PLAY BALL.
FYI: I’m on the verge of hating the Red Wings.
“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural
A very disappointing season comes to an end. This three-game demise was a team effort. The flaws of the 2014 Tigers were too much to overcome.
Bad defense and a horrible bullpen lost game one.
Ditto, in spades, for game two.
In game three it was an inconsistent offense that could muster only 4 hits, 2 off of “future hall of famer” Bud Norris.
Did I mention, the fielding sucked today too? Although no errors were awarded, Castellanos and Kinsler should have gotten one each.
David Price was fantastic. He lasted 8 innings and made only one mistake, a two run, opposite field, home-run to Nelson Cruz. (Perhaps, if they ever meet again, the Tigers should pitch around Cruz. I’m not sayin. I’m just sayin.)
Basically, all season long, the Tigers have had three reliable hitters, Cabrera, Martinez and Martinez. Before and after that trio, nobody contributed much. You can’t have 1 and 2 slot hitters that don’t get on base.
If not for the starting pitching the 2014 Tigers may have finished near the bottom of the Central. I don’t think spotty hitting, bad defense, and a horrible bullpen will take a team too far.
The most disheartening thing is that I don’t see a way to fix this team without spending a ton of money. They need two outfielders, a lead-off hitter, a shortstop*, a catcher**, and an entire bullpen.
*I’m not very optimistic about Iggy coming back. Even if he does come back how much is going to be able to play and contribute.
**AA left the game today after being rocked by a foul ball. He has taken so many shots I don’t think the Tigers should let him catch anymore.
My prediction is that the Royals and Giants will meet in the World Series. Everything just seems to be falling into place for both of those team.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever see another Tigers World Series win.
“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural
The Tigers had chance after chance to blow this game wide open. Only in the first inning did the Tigers go out 1-2-3 but couldn’t get the big hit.
Until the 9th. Hats off to Torii Hunter. He doesn’t walk much but worked a lead-off walk in the 9th that seemed to get things started. “Fear His Awesomeness” followed with his third hard hit ball of the night ( This DH thing might be just what the Dr. ordered?). After Victor flied out, J.D. crushed a three-run homer to give the Tigers the lead for good. I think J.D. was still fuming from the bad third strike call that ended his previous at-bat. Whatever the case, the Tigers needed a big hit, and J.D. delivered.
WTF, Kyle Lobstein? He looked good in his first outing against the Yankees but didn’t strike anybody out. In fact, according to Dan Dickerson and Jim Price, he had only one swing and miss. Yesterday was a different story. He struck out 10 Indians in 5.1 and allowed only two runs. Its amazing how much better a few wins makes me feel.
They call him Freeway Ricky and he was smokin balls tonight.
Well, actually, I’m the only one that calls him Freeway Ricky but he did smoke balls tonight. Porcello threw the fourth complete game of his career and his third complete game shutout this season. He allowed only three base runners and at one point retired 20 straight. The most impressive stat, however, is that Freeway Ricky needed only 104 pitches to get the job done.
On the offensive side, Victor drove in five of the six Tigers runs, four on a grand slam in the seventh. He looked terrible yesterday but Vmart looked good tonight.
Ok, Miggy is hurt and he has almost no power. That’s fine. I don’t expect him to find his power this year and perhaps he’ll never have the kind of power we saw from him in the past. But the thing that was driving me crazy about him was the strike outs and lack of walks. It looks like he’s figured the walk part out. There is a lot to be said for getting on base.
Finally, this was the best I’ve seen the bullpen pitch since Ricky’s last complete game. If they keep it up the biggest hole in the SS Tigers has been plugged.
One more thing, up yours Nathan you shit bird!
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For the seventh time in nine road games the Tigers lost.
I feel like an idiot for tuning in every game and hoping for a different outcome.
The Tigers aren’t doing anything well. Perhaps Brad Ausmus should consider playing his best defensive team and seeing what happens. It’s not like the offense can get much worse.
By playing defense first maybe they can help the struggling bullpen. The Tigers can’t afford to give anybody extra outs. Their pitching and offense can’t overcome the defensive miscues that plague this team on a regular basis.
Victor is going to have to sit in NL parks. Ever since his injury he hasn’t been doing much anyway and Cabrera can’t play third. Romine has to play short. I’m not sure what to do at third, maybe DK? Actually, I’m not sure what to do with the outfield either. On queue, the minute I commented on how well J.D. Martinez was playing in the field, suddenly he can’t pick the ball up anymore. Torii is old, I don’t think Davis is much of a fielder and I’m pissed at Carrera.
What a mess.
“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural
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The offense is so miserable that it I can’t write about Ricky’s start.
This team doesn’t deserve to make the playoffs. I’m still sticking to the post I made right before the Price acquisition, this team needs to be blown up, not just tweaked. We’ve had to sit through the same shit for the last 3-4 years. The offense scores 10 runs one game than hibernates for two weeks.
BA should have left Miggy on the bench. Miggy contributed a very disappointing at-bat. The same is true with Victor when he bounced into an inning ending double play
They make me sick. The whole lot of them.
“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural
There was a lot to like about this game and series.
Keep in mind, this series was a small sample, against a bad, depleted team but there really wasn’t much to complain about all weekend. I hope they can keep it up.
“God I love baseball.” -Roy Hobbs | The Natural
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Flashin' Leather 