Comments on: Game 97: Tigers at Orioles

By: billfer

billfer — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:41:33 +0000

No name calling.

And the pine tar is obvious and not effective.

By: eRiCG

eRiCG — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:11:04 +0000

your an idiot they even want bonderman…i love bobby seay’s pine tar so easily seen on his cap!!!

By: Palmcroft

Palmcroft — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:01:12 +0000

Magglio and Bonderman to the Rays for David Price, with the Tigers paying 1/3 Magglio’s salary. ESPN just reported that the Rays are looking for a right-fielder who hits right-handed, they’re getting killed by LH pitchers.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:51:17 +0000

I think the saddest thing is that there are so many candidates for worst loss of the year. The thing about yesterday was that if they held on and won it would have been one of the better wins of the year, so that made losing, especially in that manner, that much worse.

By: Tbone

Tbone — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:23:06 +0000

I meant to say Minnesota, not Cleveland. The opener in that last series with the Twins was a game that they lost a big lead late and blew a nice starting performance. This game was a blown close game late with a crappy starting performance.

Still not good, but in my book the Twins loss was worse.

By: billfer

billfer — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:13:59 +0000

Eric – I’m not saying that the injuries aren’t a problem. Of course they are. I’m not assigning blame or anything like that. But whether it’s injuries or underperformance the season has been a huge disappointment.

The Tigers dug too big of a hole to be pissing away the games they are supposed to win. There will definitely be losses and I’m talking less about the opponent, but the fact that during the course of the game the Tigers had it in control and blew it.

At the same time, selling everyone would be dumb as well. This team’s window isn’t closed. Selling some (Pudge, Rogers if he consents) players who won’t be likely back next year makes sense. But Magglio is still owed too much money to fetch much in return. Blowing up a good but underperforming team isn’t an answer, it’s an overreaction. That means you don’t plan on contending next year, and the Tigers most certainly do.

By: Ryan P

Ryan P — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:38:35 +0000

Hopefully this team is disassembled by next weekend. Ship out Magglio, Pudge, Rogers, Robertson, Guillen, some young guys, whatever it takes. This team isn’t going to win.

By: Palmcroft

Palmcroft — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:25:11 +0000

I hate to keep saying it: The Tigers have only one good starter, Verlander, and only one more good starter in the minors, Porcello. End of Story, End of Season. Galaraga and Rogers often pitch well enough to keep the team close if the Tigers happen to hit the other guy. Robertson is not good and just cannot be allowed to take the mound much longer. Willis is continually horrible. Bonderman is a .500 pitcher who has enough tease to get something in return on a trade, but not for much longer — Billy Beane long ago saw the limitations of Mr. Bonderman.

The trade of JJ before the season had a bigger impact than the MC trade on this and the next few seasons. Drombowski’s failure to evaluate pitching talent, unlike Theo Epstein or Billy Beane, has turned this team into the Texas Rangers.

THE TIGERS DON’T HAVE NEARLY ENOUGH PITCHING. THEY ARE, THEREFORE, NOT A GOOD TEAM. Forget the underachieving stuff, they are achieving at exactly the level an all-bat no-pitching old team should be achieving: .500.

They need to trade Maggs for a top-level no. 2 starter and a quality pitching prospect that might project as a no.4-5 in a year or two. That should be DD’s top priority for the next ten days. See what’s in front of your eyes! In fact, throw in Sheff, Pudge, and Renteria for nothing. Get younger and get pitchier ASAP!

By: cib

cib — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:50:09 +0000

I have to agree with Billfer. You know how for the whole season now we’ve been saying “THIS is the game that will turn it around!!” after a win – well, this is the game that turned it around the other way, stalled it, buried it, whatever. Like I said, back in pre-06 mode now, just hoping for good weather and someone else buying the beer when I have tickets, anything more is a bonus.

By: Dave BW

Dave BW — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:08:30 +0000

I’m in agreement with Bill — worst loss of the year. I think the season may be a vast psychological experiment designed to discover the optimum collection of components for fan frustration.

By: Mike R

Mike R — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 06:40:13 +0000

I guess I should be glad I had to miss this one tonight? I’m with Erik Cioe that we’ve definitely had more than our share of set-backs, but even watching the highlights I (yes, even I, Mike R.) got that acid-y taste in the back of my throat. Bill’s postgame seems to succinctly wrap it up.

By: Coleman

Coleman — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 06:19:32 +0000

“We’re missing some sort of ‘x-factor.”

And yet we DO have Smoking Man…

By: Eric Cioe

Eric Cioe — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 06:04:22 +0000

“We just can’t win games we must win. We’re missing some sort of ‘x-factor.’”

They’re called good, healthy starting pitchers.

By: Coleman

Coleman — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:58:24 +0000

“This team will go down as one of the most under-achieving teams of all time.”

This is the one thing I don’t agree with…because they are so underachieving based on such overblown expectations.

Disappointing? Sure. Historically bad? Ehhh…

By: Coleman

Coleman — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:55:13 +0000

Eric Cioe:
“And if it is a “blown season” (which I consider an impossibility if they are playing meaningful games into September), at least a part of it has something to do with Willis being in A-Ball and Bonderman being out for the season and Nate imploding.”

I don’t know if I’d say the difference between Nate this year and Nate last year counts as an “implosion.” But I do think not enough is made of the loss of Bonderman–he was the number 2 starter after all, not just some guy on the DL.

Still, I think I think your point shows there are some obvious explanations for the Tigers not doing as well as expected, but even so…that leaves them still not doing as well as expected.

The phrase ‘blown season” might be a bit dramatic, but it seems like billfer has been very level-headed all along about the Tigers’ chances; but even some of the more optimistic arguments have been saying, wait until after the all-star break before you start worrying about how they are doing. Well, we are there now.

It would be dumb to say it’s hopeless or the season’s over or any of that; but I’d say at this point it would be generous to say that the odds of playing meaningful games in September or not is more than 50/50.