Billfer likes long walks in Comerica Park. Check out the 
Subscribe to the feed
PREGAME: Detroit will face James Shields. Shields is really good and he owned the Tigers last year. But that won’t really matter if the starting pitching can’t keep the team in the game and help out the bullpen a little. It’s been a week since a starter made it through the 6th inning with Zach Miner last doing it against the White Sox. Only once in the last 12 games has a starter recorded an out in the 7th inning. Coincidentally that one time was Armando Galarraga who will be starting today for Detroit.
DET @ TBR, Sunday, August 3, 2008 Game Preview - Baseball-Reference.com
Game Time 1:40
POSTGAME: Well, Armando Galarraga was great again. Bobby Seay was great again. The offense was good enough, getting a small lead (Ordonez x 2), adding an insurance run (Sheffield), coming back to tie the game off their closer (Granderson), and taking the lead (Cabrera). But it was undone by Farnsworth, Rodney, and Leyland. That list is in chronological order, not in order of crapulence.
Leyland’s negligence in the final inning will be the subject of a future post.
In the end it is another entry into the poll for worst loss of the year.
{ 198 comments… read them below or add one }
after watching the past two games i see why the rays have a 30% jump in attendance, aside from the winning record i mean. they are just a fun club to watch good young club with outstanding pitching and we didn’t even see matt garza on this trip. gotta like what theyve put together…could be a model for major league clubs to follow.
Other teams have followed the model of stinginess. Oakland for 1, Florida for another. TB, like them, will never be able to afford their players once they become Free Agent eligible. It all depends on how they can turn their talent over in trades.
TB is just in phase 1. They finally got some good players now, that was the easy part. The hard part is either keeping them or trading them when they are FA elgible for other top prospects.
For those that are interested, you can watch Pudge catch for the Yankees on TBS this afternoon.
the rays remind me of the Tigers in 06
I wish the Tigers reminded me of the Tigers of ‘06. Or ‘05 even…
does SHeffield’s contract include a buy out?
Death by a thousand singles!
We’re hitting Shields hard, just at people.
I don’t think the Rays have a ball out of the infield on Battlestar yet.
lol guys does anyone know is SHeffield can be bought out after this year?
I heard the Packers are trying to trade Farve for Sheff even up
hey Brandon none of those were strikes. perhaps you could look a few of those balls over better
I remember dreading the Armando call-up. So foolish. So naive. He would have a no-hitter if it weren’t for Guillen’s misplay at third.
It wouldn’t matter, Brian. There’s no way he’d get to pitch nine. Too many pitches.
lead off double ..never moves has that happened 1000 times this year
He only has 80 thus far. It may take 110+, but he could still do it.
But that’s all moot now.
BATTLESTAR was battlin all the way!!!
Thankyou Sheff. bout time though.
Shef….you kidding me a good swing
White Sox down 10 - 0 in the 6th inning vs KC. Looks like they’ll only win 2 out of 7 games this week.
Twins up 5-1 in the 7th vs the Indians. Looks like they’ll move into 1st place by .5 game.
well is it bullpen time..makes this a 35-65 odds of winning
Galarraga seems to hit some kind of wall right around the 7th inning no matter how many pitches. Just like the potential no hitter he was lights out for a long stretch and then just becomes very hitable. Both games he had <90 pitches I believe.
great outing again by Battlestar,,one of many many many this year
Nice effort, Farnsworth.
can WE UNTRADE “Homersworth” back for Pudge
This season blows.
The horror.
Why wasn’t Seay starting the inning with 2 left handers due up?
Farnsworth fitting right in…immediately
Yeah. Wow. Good. Sweet. Awesome.
I am not surprised.
Top of the order due up, so maybe that’ll help.
Nice trade.
Good god, this is like the opposite of a fairy tale.
Looks like the Tigers will win only 2 out of 7 games this week also. Oh well.
Did anyone really expect anything else?.A few weeks ago this would have upset me. Now it is what I plan to see so I do not get too bent out by it.
Two homers in the one inning! That was really quite a debut, Farnsworth! You heard about what relief pitchers are supposed to do on this team, eh?
Every game, somebody performs like crap and loses the game. I HATE THIS SEASON. I HATE THIS BULLPEN. IHATE THIS TEAM.
Curtis! Oh muh goodness.
CURTIS
Let’s Go Lions!
/sigh
edit: TGFCG (thank god for curtis granderson)
Unreal. I’d say “nice trade” but that’s been taken care of already.
As I’ve said before, I’m with Sky. My mind is back in pre-06 mode. I don’t expect to win anygames, anything better than that is a bonus.
Have a nice Sunday evening, all.
This has to be the most disappointing team in franchise history. I’d be open to hear of other candidates but this is just comically bad.
I swear, right after the top of the 8th, I turned to my wife and said that the bullpen was going to blow this game and the Tigers will lose….. Some things are just too predictable
Chris, for what you say to be true, we’d have to have lost every game.
Guys, we just tied the game. Enough with the futility already, seriously.
btw, Farnsworth’s debut was Yesterday. He pitched 1 perfect inning.
Expecting the Tigers to win this game is much like a man getting married for a second time: it reflects a triumph of hope over experience.
Hey, I hope the team comes back and wins the game. But even if they do, you just acquired a set up guy for a hall of fame catcher and he just spit the bit. There’s been way, way too much spitting the bit this year.
All right so the season’s over. Why bother even continuing to complain? Come back next year, when we’ll squander even more talent and expectations.
Pudge is a future HOF catcher on his last leg. He’s been nothing more than an overpaid below average catcher for the past few years. We were lucky that anybody wanted a 36 year old catcher. That’s the truth of it.
Following the Tigers is like smoking, you know it will kill you, but it’s a hard habit to break.
There’s my Miggy!!! Go Baby Go!
Miggy did that!?
Thankyou Miggy.
Wow. Did you hear that sound on TV? I’ve never heard a ball hit like that.
Yes Chief Monday, we were lucky to get Farnsworth in return for Pudge. We should have just received a bag of chips.
I just hope and pray that Leyland leaves Seay in the game!
At least he was getting them out
thanks Miggy the light at the end of the tunnel…atta boy
All right Miggy. We’re still battling.
Miggs obliterated that thing!
I hear ya stephen.. Could of easily went to bed early last night when they were getting smoked. But I for one am not a “fair-weather” fan.. Was fun watching them still.. and also to see Farnsworth’s debut.
Nice!
I agree. Seay should close this game. He only has 16 pitches, and again, there’s two lefties coming up next inning.
Minny going to be in 1st after tonight :O 6GB if we win.
I hope Ozzie doesn’t explode before the series. That would be bad.
Then again, lefties do hit nearly .300 off Seay.
With Liriano back and apparently healthy (six shutout innings today), we probably have to assume it’s the Twins, not the White Sox, that we need to catch. Seems like a longshot the way we’re playing, notwithstanding heroics such as the Fossum miracle the other night and Curtis and Miggy this afternoon.
I’ve been watching KC pummel the Chisox off and on all afternoon. It’s been delightful.
Let me say this before the bottom of the inning. A few games back I said the same thing about Zumaya, only about 15 pitches, BUT he gave up a HR in his 2nd inning. This is where Leyland earns his money. TOUGH CALL!
The WhiteSox are doing their part in helping the Tigers stay in the playoff race. Now the Tigers just have to do their part.
was that really Jones who was pitching for the Rays
Is Trever Miller a Casey Fossum clone?
Chris, what did your wife say?
ron: I presume that the poor woman has been secretly wearing headphones while watching games with him for years
F-Rod is due for a save.
Sure enough, Rodney is coming in. I have no confidence. I REALLY WANT TO BE WRONG. But I just do not trust him to prevent a run or more in situations like this.
As I posted I saw that Seay is staying in………
Yay! Rodney time!
At least he has more strikeouts than walks, which is more than I can say for SOME of our relievers
I don’t know if this will work but it is at least the right move at the moment….that can change of course instantly come on crooked hat!!
I can’t help but notice that no one commented on Rod’s extremely disturbing story about how Kenny Rogers’ dad (the oft mentioned Big Earl) sent Rod several packages of underwear. Rod’s stories have now progressed to a whole new level.
Then Rodney comes in anyway and walks the first batter…..what a POS he is
No i heard about that.. Fruit of the loom. tighty whities…pretty weird..haha
Yes, the fact that they were tighty-whities made it all the worse, quite frankly
Everytime Jimmy comes out, the next guy gets a hit.
Yes, exactly
on the verge of being creepy
“what a POS he is”
Rodney’s a point-of-sale? You take that back!
Yikes. Rodney is literally killing the Rays.
That’s one way to prevent the next guy from getting a hit.
Rodney may well have just killed backup catcher Riggins
I hope this guy is ok. Man was he drilled.
I have been saying this for a long time. Has anyone yet been convinced?
Rodney is just plain no good!
Look at what this ass has done this inning! Why does Leyland let him pitch?
Fernando Rodney IS AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UN****ing believable
But how do you guys really feel about him?
And the next guy. Rodney, the head, the head, not the chest.
I’d swear Rodney is doing this kind of stuff on purpose he is so bad.
We have the base open. Let’s one pitch walk another.
the weird thing is the pitch wasnt even that far out of the strike zone…the guy made a full turn and ended up taking it in the sternum instead of the arm or side…
Don’t blame Rodney, I’m sure he just has that same mysterious, possibly communicable ailment that sent Jones and Gobble to the DL
After watching Fernando come in and pitch and almost always we end of loosing, HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU KEEP THIS SCREW UP!
that explains why he turned like that–he was SWINGING at that pitch. crikey.
Rod was warning Rodney not to get kicked out!……I sooooooooooowish he would!
Rodney’s nuts.
that guy didn’t get down to first very quickly after the bunt and i thought, wow either he’s dogging it or he’s really slow, then I saw the flak jacket under the jersey and it made more sense…
I want to know how Chris’s wife feels about Rodney.
ron: “Rodney’s nuts.”
what about them?
I *&^$ing give up on this &$#!ing team.
Evan’s desperate.
I can possibly understand leaving Rodney in during a tied game. But why on Earth would you leave him in after seeing the first three batters he faced?
Jeez…Renteria with his best Carlos Guillen 2007 SS impression on what could have been a DP ball.
this team should be on Comedy Central unstead of FSN
Bye Ryan P. All the best!
Time for him to drill another guy.
Exactly how bad does a reliver need to be for Leyland to take him out?
Leyland takes out a starter at the slightlest sign of trouble, but leaves relivers in until the game is lost!
I agree, ron. And this time I want him to do some permanent damage.
classic ending.
Yay, he put us out of our misery.
Walk off walk! Awesome. It doesn’t have the charm of a walk off hit batter, though.
BOOOOO!
Another epic collapse from the bullpen, wasting a brillliant start from Battlestar.
We’re desperate for a closer. I guess we know where to focus our attention in the off season.
I posted that previous comment before the last batter even came up. Rodney is a completely incompetent pitcher. That is all there is to it!
That did not just happen. I give up too. Pathetic. I NEVER want to see Rodney again.
Perfect way to lose a game. Absolutely perfect. Titled brim or whatever, Rodney is awesome.
Did you see Bartlett’s finger, Dave? It was nasty. That might take a week to heal — does that count as permanent?
Bury Rodney with the rest of this team…another walk off walk. Sheesh they suck
This game is a perfect representation of the 2008 Tigers. It doesn’t matter if its Rodney, Zumaya, Jones, Seay, Dolsi, I don’t care. We will find a way to blow it.
I think you answered your own question there, Brian.
Chris’s wife :RUN, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!
Fernando Rodney needs to be put on the DL with a choking disorder.
The Marlins’ prospect package is looking much nicer than Crapsworth right now.
Fire Leyland…letting Rodney pitch that entire inning is totally inexcusable…hell put Inge in…. anyone ….total incompentence
RODNEY SUCKS!!!! The only guy on this team that doesn’t walk batters is Galarraga….what disgusting pitching! …
It wasn’t as fleeting as losing one’s breath. Maybe he’ll have bad handwriting for the rest of his life.
This one really sucks, since we actually did that thing they call “comeback.” Bah. I almost called it, I was predicting the walkoff wild pitch.. (Inge did almost lose the 3rd or 4th pitch)
It was bad in every way–very poor planning for one; if you’re gonna kill their players you do it in the 1st game of the series, not the last, numbskulls…
Rodney’s nuts were roasted by the DEVIL Rays.
how can you have an entire bull pen where NOT one pitcher can pitch….piss poor management…Leyland take Hernandez with you bye bye
Rodney’s inning:
walk, HBP, sac bunt, walk, single, K walk
Billfer, I don’t know if you will read this, but I am sick and tired of the flagrant stupidity of those who run this team. I have never played professional baseball but an idiot can see that Rodney can not under any circumstances be allowed to pitch in a close game. He really needs to be retired..NOW……what is with the management that they do not see just how bad he is???
Memories of 2006 don’t mean a thing in 2008!…I don’t want to hear that crap! He is no different than Renteria, Willis, and all the others who are supposed to know how to play this game.
Congrats to the Rays and their fans. They kicked are behinds this weekend with good fundamental baseball.
This has been one tough road trip for the Tigers. We had 18 of 21 games on the road after the All-Star break. After the coming up 3 game series at Chicago, the Tigers schedule will be much better, with 20 of 26 games at home.
On the bright side, I bet it’s really fun to be a Tampa Bay fan this year.
Cheaf Monday: “After the coming up 3 game series at Chicago, the Tigers schedule will be much better, with 20 of 26 games at home.”
Which is a good thing, since by then we’ll need to win 22 or 23 of those 20 games…
Maybe with that homer in the 8th the Tigers can trick the Rays into taking Sheffield off their hands. Maybe the only positive of the last three games.
Mark in Cubcity: “Rodney’s inning:
walk, HBP, sac bunt, walk, single, K walk”
I think I have discovered a weakness in the Peripherals here…
Chief, there was nothing fundamental about that last inning. TB had the benefit of Rodney pitching for them.
Mike in CT: “Maybe with that homer in the 8th the Tigers can trick the Rays into taking Sheffield off their hands. Maybe the only positive of the last three games.”
Voice of Doom replies: or on the basis of that home run the Tigers will sign him for another year…
You know, you’re probably right. In the infinite wisdom of Jimmuh L. Sheffield’s as good as the back of his baseball card. So come Sept. 21 he’ll prolly get the average over .250 and justify everything.
The Rays accomplished their goal; sweep the series and keep the casualties to a minimum.
Plus: it will give the fans something to celebrate amidst the disappointment, when we have the big 500 HR Sheffestival
I think the Sheffestival is a potluck; I’m planning to bring the Ham Sandwich
Safe to say, Sheffield would clear waivers. Too bad somebody would foolishly put in a claim on Rodney, who’s value is roughly a circa-1979 pitching machine and five used Leyland ashtrays.
I am not giving up on this season, if only because the White Sox are stinking it up too. We really missed an opportunity to pick up a couple games on them, but at least we get them head to head this week.
We all knew the bullpen was going to be a problem this year, but it seems like EVERY TIME they go out there in a close game they struggle. Walks, HBP, base hits all over. How can they be THIS bad every time? The whole unit is a mess right now.
I propose as a new nickname for Rodney: Heartbreaker.
Which works on two levels for today….
Renteria did get his uniform dirty. All for naught. That had to piss him off.
It’s true the White Sox are playing in various ways involving toilet functions (I forget the particulars)…I’m more concerned about the MT Heads though.
ron: “Renteria did get his uniform dirty. All for naught. That had to piss him off.”
Reportedly after the game Renteria pushed his way into Leyland’s office and demanded a new uniform, showing him the dirt and grass stains obvious on his.
He calmed down once Leyland explained they have a guy that washes them and everything, and he would have it back clean the next day if he leaves it with him.
He missed his only head shot early on.