Ron – I think the Tigers should be in good shape this series because the Yankees players make more money so they’ll care even less.

cib – It’s an instructional league (pitching machine for first graders) so they don’t keep score. But no, they still lost.

I think that confidence is key to a players performance in almost any sport, and possibly moreso in baseball. Playoff bound teams can absorb stretches of bad games like what the Tigers are going through, but the degree to which bad play factors into a teams confidence might be greater if its earlier in the season.

I would hope that the degree to which this affects professionals is less than it would myself…but can we really say that the burden of expectations with being the team’s “ace” and (until proven otherwise) knowing that your team isn’t going to hit for you doesn’t have something to do with JV’s awful start?

http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/joel-zumaya-17146

Make of that what you will…

http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/joel-zumaya-17146

Of course there is no context as to when these pictures were taken, but funny nonetheless.

While I wish he were still letting batters have it with the high 99 mph fastballs, if tweaking his mechanics prolongs his career…I’m not gonna tell the guy to burn out his shoulder for the win. The thing that bothers me is that I thought the change was supposed to stretch out his starts too. So far it does seem like he can’t go deep into the game (I haven’t been able to see enough games to know if this is a result of reaching a certain pitch count early or not). He didn’t seem to have endurance issues last year, but then again he was effective so I wasn’t looking for them.

I saw a stat a while ago saying that he was very effective early and then a sharp decline after inning 4 i think. This is what bothers me. Change your style to extend your playing time, even if it means decreasing velocity, fine. Why then the issues we’re seeing…I do think this is a coaching problem.

Look at the scores in their losses. Boy, is that telling. Make them all get ZERO tattoos for every time they’re shut out.

OK, negativity out. I feel better. Let’s go Tigers! Kill the Yankees!

Certainly agreed with the sentiment to take a long look at whether Chuck deserves a job. There’s no way Galarraga is the most talented starter. He’s just had the least time up here. Pitching staffs don’t naturally blow up all at once. They just don’t. And I, for one, don’t want Porcello within 500 miles of Comerica until Chuck is fired or I am somehow convinced that it’s not his fault.

Cabrera hasn’t done much lately, but overall he’s been OK. As someone has suggested, I think this 1B thing may be distracting Cabrera.

You know, I find myself wishing they would have just left Cabrera at 3B. If they had worked on him there with the same intensity they’re showing now at 1B, things would probably be getting better. No sense worrying about that now, though.

It ain’t what you don’t know that hurts you. It’s what you know that just ain’t so. Someone tell Jim Leyland.