Billfer likes long walks in Comerica Park. Check out the 
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PREGAME: After a lackluster effort the Tigers can hopefully muster some offense against Matt Ginter. You may remember Ginter as a former Tigers pitcher and an accomplished banjo player
Armando Galarraga takes the ball for Detroit. He had that whole perfect game thing going on in his last start against the Royals. I was hoping he’d get it just so I could see if he was capable of smiling. He’s faced Cleveland twice and has 10 K’s against 2 walks in 12.1 innings.
DET @ CLE, Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Game Preview - Baseball-Reference.com
Whipping boy powers activate
Armando Galarraga fared okay, but wasn’t quite as sharp as his past outing - which would be quite tough to do in all fairness. The bullpen kind of got the job done, but man - those freakin walks.
{ 250 comments… read them below or add one }
banjo playing pitcher takes on banjo hitters.
It’s just like the irresistable force meeting the immovable object.
Come on, Armando, do it for the fantasy team!
“banjo playing pitcher takes on banjo hitters”
Oh yeah? Wait’ll they see our new closer, Steve Martin
Let’s do it today fellas. One series at a time.
Peralta is the slowest SS alive
I’m glad that the break leyland gave the team is making all the infield line drives be not directly at fielders today.
Bad bad dp. It is getting painful.
Spoke too soon, dp
Texeira to Angels. They are a lock for WS. Crap. Great guy - went to HS with him in Baltimore. Too bad we could not land him. Move Cabrera to dh, ditch Gary.
Yeah tex is good
Nice shot for Miggy
that was a missile from Miggy.
That’s really sad, hafner’s dad just died
Yeah, this can’t be the greatest year of his life
Little reversal of yesterday’s luck - broken bat blooper, couple grounders where they aint in the first…
At least we’ve put up a run against deliverance dude.
Renteria doing us good.
Good for Renteria; besides, the Ham Sandwich is no longer available.
This guy was doing OK against us until he ran into the Renteria/Inge buzzsaw
It’s now official: Renteria > Sheffield.
Maybe if everyone on the team got together, they could manually pull Sheff’s oblique. PleasePleasePlease let this be the last series of him as DH.
Renteria’s the man, he’s a shortstop jerking doubles every which way. VORP that.
“Maybe if everyone on the team got together, they could manually pull Sheff’s oblique”
I think offer him a pillow to sit on, that seems to work…
Over the last week or so, Renteria is really looking like the guy I thought he was at the beginning of the season.
Shapiro was in the booth for the last inning on STO. He’s a really impressive guy.
Remember when we thought our lineup would be like this every day, with no breaks even at the bottom of the order. All the “OMG they have Hall of Famer Pudge Rodriguez and he might bat 8th or 9th!” talk. It’s definitely more fun!
Sheff needs to go the way of Todd Jones…
Did Edgar read the blog? Did he take offense to possibly being traded for a ham sandwich? Is this some sort of clue to give him a nick with some sort of variation of ham?
ooh maggs missed a hanger there
Yeah he did
Bad call on that Strike out. Hope it does not cost him the batting title
ump rung up sheff with no appeal earlier as well…don’t know why you wouldn’t just always let first base make that call.
all right matty, nail this 3-1
man, rincon just drilled the black there twice in a row
Joyce has to swing. Can’t leave the bat on your shoulder
Both of those pitches to joyce were slightly off the plate.
When Sheff puts a good swing on it - not much lately - the ball goes. How does he pull that? Down and away.
And now Rincon’s exactly where he didn’t want to be: pitching to Edgar Renteria with RISP.
That ball Sheff hit might’ve been the hardest hit ball all night — quite the feat with the Renteria double and that laser Miggy hit earlier to make it 1-0.
Billfer might have to bring back the “Whipping Boys Powers - ACTIVATE!” graphic. RBI doubles for Renteria, Inge and Sheff!
Sheff’s ball got to the wall faster than Miggy’s
perhaps a bit premature, but with the angels no hitting the sox and the tigers up 5, looks like by the end of the day we’ll be only 5 losses back of the WC.
Ryan in B-town: “Billfer might have to bring back the “Whipping Boys Powers - ACTIVATE!” graphic. RBI doubles for Renteria, Inge and Sheff!”
Just wait till the appearance of the new set-up guy, Todd Jones…
Chris Guccione is absolutely BRUTAL behind the plate tonight.
Hey! The batters have shown up all day!. Nice to see Shef put one on the wall and make up for that first at bat where he looked so weak.
Coleman: I predict Jonesy strikes out the side in the 8th on 9 pitches.
Surprised Grandy didn’t get rung up with no appeal there
And in hindsight it would have been preferable
Cleveland announcers have mentioned that Guccione is a rookie ump…….he sure looks it too! Some of his calls have been erratic as can get.
no hitter through 8 for lackey!
They’ll probably have to pull Galarraga once he plunks one of their sluggers as payback for Inge…
I don’t really think Galarraga has looked that good today…lots of hard hit balls, few hung breaking balls that guys just missed…
Anyone else starting to feel very nervous?
Nervous? Why, just cause baseballs are flying around like popcorn in a Jiffy Pop bag?
Stranding inherited runners is both solid and sexy
God I hope Ellsbury bunts to break up the no no
Luckily we countered with the potent Dolsi-Inge battery (season ERA 0.00).
We have to be leading the universe in dp’s. Would be nice if the pen gets 9 up, 9 down.
Pedroia singled to break up the No-no. ESPN then quit showing it and seconds later Youkilis hit a 2-run bomb to make it 6-2 LAA.
So far this year, this is where the trouble comes. I have a Lorazepam that I might take. My doctor ordered it to reduce anxiety for an MRI. But now would be a better time.
You would think that a team with very little speed that plays station to station baseball and has lots of right handed power bats would hit into lots of dps…
Well, there you have it. Sexy Freddy is coming apart.
Nah, Freddy’s just getting a little retribution for his buddy Inge.
More amazingly predictable incompetence from the Tiger pen!
Forty: “lots of right handed power bats.” But you may not predict Renteria to lead the pack…
And Mediocrity Bordering On Downright Bad strikes again.
Dolsi has not looked good recently.
Clearly they are setting up Cleveland for the triple play…
Billfer, you know a lot more about this team than I do. Why don’t they get some other pitchers that can throw strikes? I mean, even if the hitters can hit it, at least you have a chance to play it. Do these guys eve practice throwing the ball in the strike zone?
Forty:
And you would be correct. That is 95 GDPs now.
I am trying not to get angry, or be cynical, but I really feel strongly this game is already lost.
Time to play possum…
this bullpen has been giving games away…. Quite a disappointment
Dolsi has not looked good recently.
His peripherals were always pretty questionable. The sample size has grown.
Zoom warming up, so who’s the closer tonight?
They say that hitting a round ball with a round bat is one of the most difficult things to do in sports. Apparently just throwing the damn thing is more difficult for some.
Freddy Dolsi has thrown exactly 10 innings coming into tonight without a walk or a hit allowed. Out of 31.2 IP.
Edit: Sky, how is that not cynical?
Questionable Peripherals: not sexy.
Nice to see stranded runners
Zu-Zu is the new sexy.
Nice job.
Pen has not allowed any runs, inherited or otherwise, to score tonight.
Twins are coming back………..putting the Chisox on their heels.
So, now that Jones isn’t the closer anymore, is he the new setup guy?
“Questionable Peripherals” is too long for a nickname, let’s just call Dolsi “Gil”.
So still, thanks to Zumaya:
Dolsi-Inge battery, season ERA 0.00.
Oh, also: Zumaya-Inge season ERA: 0.00
So Coleman, are you saying Inge is the pair of lingerie to Dolsi’s sexiness?
All I saw, Mike, was Dolsi started off the inning with a walk and hit batter. That’s not very good relief work even if no one ends up scoring. And by the way, he was pulled for Fossum who did the job.
Sky, it’s ok to be cynical and angry. That lorazepam is good stuff. Take it now and you’ll be sleeping by the ninth inning.
Joyce you’re not going to steal second and you’re scaring me. Get your butt back to the bag.
Inge comes through again!
Dave Dombrowski and his staff have a preference for high velocity/stuff guys who they hope that can be harnessed to throw strikes. It’s a philosophy thing.
I’m sure they work on a variety of things between games and during spring training. One thing I’m sure isn’t a point of emphasis is throwing balls out of the strike zone.
As a side note, the Tigers reliever who most frequently throws strikes (though less frequently this year) is Todd Jones so take that for what it’s worth.
Ingy!
Still, sky. You can’t preface something as “not being cynical” and then follow it up with a cynical statement like that, haha.
Wonderful to see a guy they do not expect pull that off on them!
Restores optimism………
Sorry, Mike, ….you’re right about Zumaya, and he looked very good.
I guess Inge didn’t like getting hit with that pitch?
He actually was pulled for Fossum who got Grady on a ground ball.
yeah, I edited my post immediately as I forgot that he did bring in fossum to face Sizemore, it was my mistake. Sky, you were right.
I’m saying Inge brings along a Peripheral or two himself sometimes…
The best part about checking out stats on the Baseball Reference page is things like this… included on the list of “most similar” pitchers to Joel Zumaya:
Aubrey Gatewood, Ron Klimkowski, Ed Hanyzewski, Manuel Corpas, John Urrea, and Dave DeBusschere. Dave DeBusschere??
Jones in the ninth I’m guessing…
Forty: “Joyce you’re not going to steal second and you’re scaring me. Get your butt back to the bag.”
And a good thing his butt was back on the bag when Inge went long….
how many of john urrea’s friends know his name means pee? most guys with ridiculous names know it early on. you know boof bonser and jimmy gobble had it rough in third grade. but i can just imagine john having that “noooooooooooooo!” moment in 9th grade bio when he realized what his name meant (minus an r).
I would be disappointed if Manuel Corpas wasn’t built Fernando Valenzuela-like…
If they think Zumaya’s breaking ball is what is hurting his arm, then why don’t they eliminate it from his repertoire and go with the change-up?
Directly from his bio on MLB.com:
THROW THE CHANGE-UP FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Pisses me off.
Mike R - I’ve been annoyed by that for a long while. If his change was ever that good, to go with his plus plus fastball (frequently hear his fastball and santana’s change as the definition of 80 on the 80-20 scale), how is he not one of the best relievers in the game?
Rough night for Maggs. He gets screwed on the strike out call, and then hits a screamer right at the 2nd baseman missing out on a rbi
That change up they are talking about is partly a product of that fastball though; take some of the steam out of the fastball and the change is not so unhittable. So I think before his velocity was back (is it yet?) the change isn’t the pitch it was before…
Coleman, there’s not much more velocity to add when he’s hitting 97 at the bottom of his fastball velocity.
Also, there was an article on the hardball times that suggested that a change up in the middle 80’s that was 6-ish MPH slower than the heater is actually the most effective.
Edit: here’s the article.
Questionable use of your tired closer with a 4-run lead. Then again, I recall a certain game last year when our other closer came in the 9th with a 4-run lead.
Zumaya’s change-up in ‘06 was hitting 90-92.
I see ol’ Cap Askew is gonna give it a go in the 9th…
Rodney getting squeezed
It’s the new Rodney with the straight hat and a handsome dude he is. Now if Magglio would cut that damn ugly hair and we’ll look like a real baseball team.
My comment was something of a question though. Is Zumaya’s fastball back to where it’s consistently 97+ ?
Oh, sorry Coleman, I guess I didn’t read that as a question. Zumaya’s velocity is not the problem at all, he’s in the upper 90’s. Control is a different animal, though. It’s upper 90’s with no idea where it’s going.
Also, where’d you see that his change up in 06 was 90-92?
Magglio’s hair? Dude…
(the Inge weird-beard however seems expendable…)
I just wish I had thought of the name Cap Askew earlier in the season…
Oh man , he crooked it between the second and third batter.
That was fugly, but much needed. Two more must wins ahead!
Nah, Ron, I think we just need some bleached goatees…
Mike R: it was in one of the pre-World Series pieces, maybe one of the rain-delay fillers. And to go with it they had a clip of Tigers watching him pitch and someone (I forget who) elbows Kenny Rogers and says look at that, 92! His change-up! and Kenny shrugs and says, “whatever” which cracked me up at the time…
It was very ambitious yet unfortunate that in the WS Zumaya decided to work on his knuckleball while fielding bunts…
Mark Teixeira traded to the Angels instead of the D-backs…. Oh well. The Tigers will have to face him in the ALCS instead of the World Series…:)
One thing you are certainly right about, Billfer, is that Jones can throw strikes. We always knew he would do that at least. Somehow he lost his deceptiveness, or whatever he was doing to get his pop-ups and ground -outs.
My beef with our relievers is too many walks and pitches no where near the zone. I understand emphasizing velocity, but look at Gallaraga. He overpowers no one, but he keeps hitters from putting anything on the ball. Elroy Face used to do that many years ago with nothing but junk and went 18-1 in one season. What command he had, though. And that is the name of the game: control and command.
“Mark Teixeira traded to the Angels instead of the D-backs”
I think it’s one of those deals where they’re gonna “flip” him to another team, I’m guessing something like Teixeira for Renteria/Larish/Jones.
(That’s my penance for any earlier pessimism).
that’s the optimism i like to hear lol
“It was very ambitious yet unfortunate that in the WS Zumaya decided to work on his knuckleball while fielding bunts…”
Ooooh. Burn. Joel sees that, you’re toast, dude.
twins win 5.5 back
Whipping Boy Powers Activate again! Uncanny.
Tigers have won 6 of their last 9. Why don’t I feel giddy? White Sox series hangover, that’s why.
My impression of tonight’s game:
INDIANS (in Towely voice): Wanna score some runs?
TIGERS: Oh no, we really shouldn’t.
INDIANS: Come on.
TIGERS: Are you sure? OK, 1 or 2 can’t hurt.
INDIANS: Tell you what - for every run you score, you can leave another 2 on base.
TIGERS: Really? Wow… well, if that’s how you’re gonna be…
INDIANS: Knock yourselves out.
TIGERS: Say, you wanna score some, too?
INDIANS: Oh no, we really shouldn’t.
TIGERS: Come on.
INDIANS: Well… is it OK if we cash in on every opportunity, then, as long as we fall a bit short?
TIGERS: Knock yourselves out.
INDIANS: Cool. But you know, you’re making it kind of hard for us to fall short.
TIGERS: Say. how would you like a come from behind win instead? Normally, we prefer to lose the heartbreakers at home, but we’re still kind of tired, and -
INDIANS: Yeah, well, we’re kind of tired too.
TIGERS: But wait - we’ll give you Rodney in the 9th, even Jones if you want him! Walk-offs are fun… or so we’ve heard.
INDIANS: We were thinking more like Cliff Lee domination tomorrow and the walk-off on Thursday, if you don’t mind. More soul-destroying that way, if you know what we mean.
TIGERS: Sounds like a plan. See you tomorrow.
INDIANS: See ya. Wouldn’t wanna be ya. Well, actually we would.
Dave BW
“I’ve discovered a new family of chemicals!” came from misspelling basically as basicalyl. Which resembles chemical names like isopropyl, et al. Also has the base thing (acid/base) going for it.
Hope that doesn’t tarnish its glory. If nothing else, it was spontaneous and uncontrived.
Sean, the Tigers did a sufficient job with scoring opportunities tonight.
But I did like your little dialog thingy… funny.
Chris
You’re right. But my reaction comes from a combination of being a glass half empty kind of guy and the desire to see the Tigers put the serious hurt on when the scoring opportunities were being served up on a platter. I wanted a stomping of the Indians to wipe the shutout from memory.
I can’t complain about a win, but sometimes I still do.
I’m more apt to complain about our new closers inability to consitently find the strike zone. Not so good.
That’s one thing that’s hard to like about these Tigers, how they sometimes get into an almost sleepwalking mode, and all go cold together (which I guess is how they can score so many runs and still be shut out more than anyone). Fair or not I think Edgar represents this malaise to a lot of fans (a spot he took over from Cabrera)…for all his many faults, I have to admit appreciating that Sheffield at least gives the impression he is pissed off and frustrated at his performance. And I do think that’s one plus also to having Inge in the line-up. And mostly Pudge also. They don’t have that sleepwalking vibe.
(also, while I’m mostly teasing with the pitcher-catcher stats, I do really think there may be something in the higher HPB ratio when Inge is catching)
i am going to just express my gratitude that the tigers won and leave it at that.
It’s nice to read of the gratitude of the grateful;
one grows weary of the hatitude of the hateful.
Stephen, I’m not satisfied with your gratitude of them winning. I need some dooms-day scenario from you, pleassseee!
Tomorrow, we have to win. Just somehow, someway, find a way to beat Cliff Lee. Nate Robertson will have to not be a bum for one day. Tough, especially against the Indians.
Regardless, if we win, it’ll be because of our offense. We need to be high energy tomorrow. Send runners going. Hit and run. Draw walks. Step in to the strike zone and get hit if you have to! If we don’t get Lee out of there by the 6th inning, we’re probably going to lose.
And with Carmona pitching on Thursday, we might be f’ed then too.
Coleman: “also, while I’m mostly teasing with the pitcher-catcher stats, I do really think there may be something in the higher HPB ratio when Inge is catching”
OK, here’s why, at least against Cleveland.
# games Inge has caught against Cleveland: 4.
# HBP in games Inge has caught vs Cleveland: 7 (yes, 7).
# times CLE HBP has followed DET HBP: 3.
# times HBP has followed CLE HR: 1 (Garko, 6/9).
# times I think CLE suspects Inge has been calling for HPB and nails him: 1.
# times CLE batter that CLE thinks Inge called hit on (see June 9) gets HBP to lead off inning by a Tiger pitcher that previously had career 0 HBP: 1
well, you get my point…
We need Chief Monday to counter-balance Stephan
I don’t know what game everyone else was watching here.
Galarraga had a perfect game going for the 1st 3 innings. Then when Galarraga was losing it, Dolsi came in and slammed the door shut. The rest of the pen wasn’t nearly as perfect, but they got the job done.
The Tigers hitting was excellent in the clutch. We scored 8 runs on 14 hits and 2 walks. 50% of our baserunners scored in this game. MLB average is about 37%.
Anyways, Galarraga cements his 9th win. ROY honors would be his if the season ended Today.
The White Sox pitching has crapped the bed once again. Their pitching has been terrible in 15 out the last 17 games. In that span, they’ve surrendered 111 runs. That’s the sound of the toilet flushing on their season.
That sound should be familiar to all of us here, that’s what the Tigers did last season. Last year, from July 20th to Aug 5th we gave up 118 runs in 17 games. We didn’t know it at the time, but that was where the 2007 season ended for the Tigers.
It occurs to me that the most consistent aspect of the Tigers game through 106 games has been - believe it or not - the starting pitching.
The most improved aspect as compared to April-May has been the hitting, especially in its consistency. There has also been improvement in the defense.
There have been times when the bullpen seemed like it was going to be OK, but overall, the pen is the most worrisome component heading into the part of the season where it’s harder to make up losing games they should have won.
Pardon me, but 2 months of mostly good news has whetted my appetite for a better record than 2 games over .500. That’s not pessimism, exactly. Restless discontent, maybe. As sson as .500 seems like a done deal, you want more.
This outcome of this game was fairly perdictable from the outset and a very good bet for a Tigers victory. Tigers generally mash against pitchers like Ginter and Galarraga came thru, more or less on par. The real test is how the team will fare tonight against Cliff Lee. If they really are contenders, they are going to have to defeat the good pitchers — the Cliff Lees, the Lackeys, the Lincecums of the world. Cuz no matter how you slice it, those are the kind of pitchers we’ll be facing in the playoffs — if we are fortunate enough to get there in the first place. If they can win tonight, we’ll talk some more.
Had the Tigers lost this game, I’m sure more attention would have been drawn to the fact that Chris Guccione was absolutely horrible. Horrible. The third strike call on Maggs (without the benefit of an appeal) wasn’t even close to a swing — wasn’t even close to a quarter of a swing, ditto on Sheff’s checked-swing-called third strike — and on the other side, a couple guys virtually swung through the ball yet won the appeal. I’m also beginning to think some of these umpires are collaberating on an early retirement for Gary Sheffield. I can’t believe some of the strikes they ring up on him.
Kudos to Renteria — a rare two out RBI double. More of the same from Sheff.
F-Rod is still a mess. I may be too harsh a critic, but as far as I’m concerned, you can’t have erratic command and hope to save tight games on a consitent basis.
I’ve now given up hope on the Tigers. Even if they make the postseason, nobody is stopping that Angels juggernaut. Unless they make the decision to start Jeff, er, Jered Weaver every game.
Chief: Go back through the archives on this site. I’m pretty sure about a month ago I posted that the White Sox pitching was due for a correction. I might have even used the phrase ‘crap the bed’. I like being right sometimes. Although to be fair they’re still in 1st place. Albeit tenuosly.
Cliff Lee will be tough to beat. He hasn’t given up a HR in his last 7 starts.
He’s 14-2, with a 2.29 ERA, with a 6 to 1 K to Walk Ratio. Statistically, he’s probably