Oh, the humanity, etc. There’s something fundamentally ugly about letting Perez glom on to a good ballclub and get handed the ninth slot in the lineup with a post-it asking that he not be any worse than usual, but that’s what happens when you’re born under the right stars, I suppose. I can accept some sort of argument that there’s virtue in leaving Omar Infante in a utility role, and I think we can all accept that Santiago is one of the few utility infielders who might be worse than Perez. (We’ll get to the return of Manny Alexander in the Pads section.) I just don’t really buy into it all in concert: the Tigers would be best off with Infante in the lineup, and if you stick Perez in a reserve role as an infrequently-used reserve, that’s not the end of the world. The decision to make Perez the team’s everyday second baseman, however, might actually cost the team just enough runs and outs that a hot streak by the White Sox or Twins starts making things interesting. I know, it’s a stretch, but Neifi’s one of the game’s all-time execrables.

Oh, the humanity, etc. There’s something fundamentally ugly about letting Perez glom on to a good ballclub and get handed the ninth slot in the lineup with a post-it asking that he not be any worse than usual, but that’s what happens when you’re born under the right stars, I suppose. I can accept some sort of argument that there’s virtue in leaving Omar Infante in a utility role, and I think we can all accept that Santiago is one of the few utility infielders who might be worse than Perez. (We’ll get to the return of Manny Alexander in the Pads section.) I just don’t really buy into it all in concert: the Tigers would be best off with Infante in the lineup, and if you stick Perez in a reserve role as an infrequently-used reserve, that’s not the end of the world. The decision to make Perez the team’s everyday second baseman, however, might actually cost the team just enough runs and outs that a hot streak by the White Sox or Twins starts making things interesting. I know, it’s a stretch, but Neifi’s one of the game’s all-time execrables.

Who was the last REAL leadoff hitter the Tigers had? Logan started off hot a couple times, but couldn’t sustain his “luck” for a whole year. Alex Sanchez wouldn’t take a walk…same goes for Roger Cedeno and Brian Hunter. How about Luis Polonia or Chad Curtis? I would say the last leadoff hitter we had that I LIKED was Tony Phillips. Whitaker had some success there, but I don’t count him as a leadoff hitter, he just batted first. Jeeze, before him was Ron LeFlore.

how does one improve on a 4-0 win?

It’s hard, but a 95 pitch CG would have kept Rodney fresh for tonight.

Caveat: When Pudge batted first he seemed to be a different hitter, much more selective at the plate. Maybe if he stayed there he would draw tons of walks. It would be fun to try, but not in a pennant race.

Somebody please teach Nook Logan how to hit line drives!

Neifi has the most Runs Created Below Average ever. Sabermetric analysis has its limits, but it clearly shows that Infante (3 for 4 in his last start, BTW) creates more runs batting than Perez saves fielding.

When we acquired Perez, I thought Leyland would use him like Santiago – a late-inning DR and very occasional starter. Not only starting Neifi, but batting him leadoff, shows a troubling ignorance of how baseball games are won.

I agree that Granderson should be batting lower in the order with his prolonged slump. Who should bat leadoff? Pudge or Inge.

Still, you can’t beat the results, and lineup really doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things (although who plays does matter).

I agree most with the comments about DY hitting for Thames… Thames was crushing the ball (that homer by the flagpole was a real blast). Free Marcus!

Still, after all my griping — how does one improve on a 4-0 win?

I have no complaints about beating the White Sox 4-0. Sure, I could find nitpick things here and there, but I share Ron’s opinion above.

These Tigers just bring a smile to my face. I am just enjoying this wonderful season. Great win, Tigers!

We were swept by these guys and then lost the series with the Rangers (at home)

Winning is nice but step back. This is when we have to put the Sox away. Bury’em guys!

One little thing about Neifi that no one has mentioned, and that any Cubs fan knows, is you can never underestimate the value of leaving the Chicago Cubs. It is the best career move any player can make — just look at Nomar, Maddux, Borowski, Matthers Jr., etc. this year. I don’t know if this theory applies to guys like Neifi who have stunk for like nine different teams, but I predict significant improvement in Neifi’s numbers now that he’s off the Scrubs.

Pete
(aka Perez-ident, Neifi Fan Club)