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PREGAME: Here we are at one of those critical junctures where if the Tigers lose, even the optimists have to call it a season. It reminds a lot of a series like this 2 months ago where Detroit improbably swept the White Sox. Of course that series was in the confines of Comerica Park.
It will be Nate Robertson taking on Gavin Floyd. Robertson has been the awful in 2 of his last 3 starts. Both of those came on the road. Both of them he was showering before the 4th inning started. And in both of them the team gave him a ton of run support. In between he picked up a quality start against these same White Sox.
Floyd’s ERA is 2 runs lower when pitching in Chicago. He has allowed 11 homers in 76 home innings, and the Tigers have been known to hit some homers, so that might be good.
As for all those changes Leyland was talking about, there were no roster moves, and other than Ryan Raburn starting in left (5 for 12 off of Floyd) there’s really nothing of note.
- Granderson, CF
- Polanco, 2B
- Guillen, 3B
- Ordonez, RF
- Cabrera, 1B
- Sheffield, DH
- Raburn, LF
- Inge, C
- Renteria, SS
Game Time 8:10
POSTGAME: Oh Holy Hell.
I’d like to say something about Polanco’s game. Or Fernando Rodney being the man. Or Ryan Raburn’s 4 hits. Or Nate Robertson making it through 5 innings. Instead…
Oh Holy Hell.
Farnsworth has allowed more homers than all but 25 AL pitchers. All 25 are starters. Edgar Renteria had had a good game with 3 hits and some nice defense…until he booted a routine grounder. The game should have been over. Joel Zumaya should have thrown something that wasn’t a fastball.
Oh Holy Hell.
{ 556 comments… read them below or add one }
“Don’t perform and I won’t put you in the lineup”???
Sheffield, Renteria, Robertson have been performing great!
that’s why leyland is dead in the water with his players. he is going to stick with his vets until they are definitely out of contention and then we’ll see some kids.
Just once, I’d like to see the 3-4-5 be Ordonez-Cabrera-Guillen. Not that the offense has been bad, I just think that might make it a little better. Maybe. Or maybe not. But you never know until you try.
I would hope so. Yes, you can get lucky and have a couple guys like Joyce and Galarraga overachieve for awhile, but you’re not going to win a division (aside from the NL West, maybe) by promoting your AAA team.
If the vets don’t start clicking on all cylinders ASAP, the season is over. There’s nothing anyone can do to change that fact.
“Just once, I’d like to see the 3-4-5 be Ordonez-Cabrera-Guillen.”
Agreed. I’ve been wishing for this for some time — ever since Cabrera started heating up, to be precise. Leyland always says Maggs had a career year batting clean-up, so he doesn’t want to move him. But arguably, Guillen had a career year batting fifth last year. Cabrera has no support behind him right now, and I have to assume that translates into less hittable pitches.
I’m going dorm-stuff shopping with my son; he’s 18 and leaving for Ann Arbor in 3 weeks so I’d rather spend the time with him at this point! I’ll record the game and if any miracles happen I’ll take a look and chime in later. Have fun!
Hopefully this board has some descriptions, because this is a no-fly game on MLB.tv thanks to Hawk and DJ. My sanity is at a breaking point with the Tigers already without their tandem idiocy.
Oy. I’m leaving for Target right now.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb...../808050436
Dang the game doesn’t start til 8:10 pm ..I gotta be to work at 5 am and get up alittle before 4 am.. so I def won’t be seeing the whole game. When I wake up they’ll probably be replaying it on FSN, like they usually do, hopefully I wake up to some good news. Go Tigers!!!
Robertson vs. Floyd. Yikes.
Nice start.
perfect… nate loves to blow early leads!
Placido two run homer!
Ouch. Carlos swung at ball three, four, and five.
cib: “I’m going dorm-stuff shopping with my son; he’s 18 and leaving for Ann Arbor in 3 week” Hey that’s cool.
One tip: don’t wait till the last thing to buy the cases of beer, or that dorm room gets all full of chairs and clothes and all that and it’s totally a pain to find any room. Oh wait, nevermind I just remembered that’s on the list of stuff you forget to tell your parents about…
Damn, doesn’t that just figure? Granderson finally steals a base and Polanco goes and wastes it by Homering, he might has well have just stood on first for all the good it did him.
I’ll have to look this up but…it seems like Polanco and Inge both hit homers in the White Sox stadium.
Here goes Nate trying to give the lead right back.
Amanda: “..I gotta be to work at 5 am and get up alittle before 4 am”
crikey!
shoot there goes Nates NO Hitter
Obviously we know what Amanda does for a living. Which is cool, since I’ve never known anyone who was a professional duck hunter before.
Anyone else smell a 3-run homer?
Yup, just keep running up those counts Nate
Nate holds a lead!
Alright one inning full of stress in the books after the DP. Nice pitch Nate.
It’s amazing how much double plays smell like 3-run homers.
Actually I think it sometimes works in our favor when there’s a guy on 2nd, especially if he moves around a lot, because sometimes that helps keep Edgar awake.
can we just call this a full game right here and chalk it up in the W column
Raburn lays down a great bunt, and forces a throwing error to advance to second.
I hate sheff hitting but that was 6 inches outside
C’mon Inge, let’s see some back-to-back two-base bunts for once.
After that first swing from Edgar, I thought Ryan had a better chance of stealing home than him coming in on a hit.
Is there anyway we can break up Inge and Renteria in the lineup, somehow? Just sayin. Those automatic two outs amid a rally or with RISP is just painful. Especially with a runner on 3rd with only one out.
Opportunities Squantered: 1
Let’s keep this number down if we have any shot at winning this game.
If Renta-retard continues his futile hitting in this series, and if he still is in the everyday lineup, then I will know that Leyland is full of crap when he says he is going to bench non-performers.
Konerko seems to have lose all understanding of the strike zone. He thought he had a walk on a fastball down the middle.
For whatever the reason, be it 1997 or whatever, Jimmuh is forever loyal to Renteria. It’s going to end like the band going down with the Titanic, most likely.
Wow. Nate looked good that inning. Here’s hoping it lasts.
That’s OK, the White Sox may hit a few long balls, but obviously the have no answer for our one-two punch of the Big Bat of Polanco, bracketed by the small-ball attack of Granderson/Raburn, who effortlessly carry the shaky double-play hitters between them.
Plus Chicago made the 1st error, and the team making the first error usually ends up losing as often as not.
And another thing:
I know this is a “softball” slugging team, but as long as we have Inge and Renteria and a struggling Sheffield in the lineup, I definately think we need to see some more suicide sqeezes with a runner on 3rd with less than two outs. I understand it’s not a popular call, but to me it’s a no brainer as long as someone not named Grandy, Polanco, Guillen, Maggs or Cabrera is at the plate.
Come on. Let’s start producing some runs anyway we can.
Dave BW: “Konerko seems to have lose all understanding of the strike zone. He thought he had a walk on a fastball down the middle.”
In his defense, he may have visually calibrated “middle” based on the called 3rd on Sheffield
For whatever the reason, be it 1997 or whatever, Jimmuh is forever loyal to Renteria. It’s going to end like the band going down with the Titanic, most likely.
Renteria is probably the sole reason Jim Leyland is managing today. If not for that winning hit in the 1997 WS (courtesy of Edgar Renteria), Jim Leyland probably becomes an also-ran manager who fades to oblivion. I can see something like “slave for life” gratitute oozing from Leyland as far as Renteria is concerned.
It’s kind of like that Jim Belushi movie — Mr. Destiny I believe, where the one strike out vs. hit changes his entire life.
This is as good as explination to me as any why Renteria is still playing.
actually Edgar and Inge batting bachck to back kills only one rally…if they were spread out they could kill 2
Looks like another Gavin Floyd dominating performince of the Tigers… Good thing Poly got that homer before Floyd found his mojo.
Renterias the man, he was traded for two good prospects. I doubt I’d be worth either of jurrjens or gorkys.
T Smith: “I know this is a “softball” slugging team, but as long as we have Inge and Renteria and a struggling Sheffield in the lineup, I definately think we need to see some more suicide sqeezes with a runner on 3rd with less than two outs. I understand it’s not a popular call”
I’m with Tsmith…(Is that a Hungarian name perhaps?)…
Inge is a good bunter at least (yeah I know, he had that lame checked-bunt strikeout last year, but other than that), and is fast enough that if its fielded by an error-waiting-to-happen guy, it just may happen.
So is Sheff, but I can’t say that I can visually recall him bunting before…but I would enjoy seeing him square up, and at the last moment cock that thing and yank it hard foul off the wall between home and third.
I know it would just be a strike, and you would want to make sure LaMont was awake when the signs were put on because you don’t want Raburn stealing home then and getting the Cupid business.
But after that we can bunt as much as we want, and as hard as he tries that 3rd-baseman won’t be able to charge in for at least a few innings; he’ll want to, but his legs won’t move. That would be a fine peripheral to attain.
T Smith:This is as good as explination to me as any why Renteria is still playing.
I am going with your explanation also cause there can’t be any other reason that would make any basic sense
the sad thing is, i have a bad feeling they might pick up his option.
I love gushing about ramirez after he lucks into a broken bat double
hey Nate way to keep Uribe from moving that runner over.
how about Miggys stretch /…he is getting good over there
What are the odds that we would have scored ramirez there? 10pct? 20?
Man, with Gavin getting better each inning and Nate getting worse, I’m starting to seriously regret putting my life savings on this game. That’s going to be $14.25 sorely missed.
judpma: “actually Edgar and Inge batting bachck to back kills only one rally…if they were spread out they could kill 2″
back to back is one thing, but I would feel better if they were back to back instead.
I think we will see poor Inge get a least a hat trick of strikeouts; those walks he has learned to love this season–well when he realizes who is on deck, they just make him double-play bait. I’m not sure he’s equal to the pressure of the “must….get….double…” game.
Nato need only go two more innings and then we can turn it over to The Committee.
Sheff nice swing
Oh but hey, some good luck for a change–2 outs! C’mon Inge you’re free! free of nagging DP fear! Take those pitches with wild abandon!
Inge, put that one out!
Oh crap The Inge actually drilled that sucker, maybe there IS something to the DP-Phobia theory…
And with that, Inge’s BA falls to a nerdy .219. He must feel like quite the man prancing around the clubhouse in his Peter Pan tights with half a ham sandwich.
Come on nate, all you have to do is hold the lead and hand it to the pen
My intuition, such as it is, says this (4th) is the inning where Robertson will get shelled!
Wow another DP. Nate found the pitcher’s best friend.
GOOD J
GOOD JOB, JIM.
Nates best friend is the four days he doesn’t start
Thank you declining, never to hit above .270 ever again Jim Thome.
And now we get to see the future hall of famer. And griffey is up too.
Despite the walk, Konerko is Tinkerbell to Inge’s Peter Pan.
Forty
That’s four best friends.
Guess my intuition is not that good today.
Rod keeps calling Griffey Jr. “Griff”, but that only makes me think we’re playing against Fred McGriff.
Tigers need to find a way to run up the pitch count on Floyd and chase him out of there in the 6th.
“And now we get to see the future hall of famer. And griffey is up too.”
Are you really claiming that Nate Robertson is a future hall of famer. I mean, ok ok you have an argument, but definitely not first ballot.
Only 76 pitches so far for Nato. He should go five innings easy.
Ken Griffey Jr…… The Crime Dog…
Ken in Vargas: You should have saved a few bucks from your debauched splurge; you could buy a book and then read it. What I am trying to say is if you had ever read the chronicles of the famous prancing gender-neutral sprite, you would know it is a vegetarian creature that would never let the salty-good but meaty with pigflesh ham dangle from its child-lips.
But he did lay a power of wood against that pitch and were it not for the unlucky circumstance of having a left fielder loitering about right out in the very left field where he sent the drive lining its way warning-trackward, you could have easily seen The P-Pan flutter all the way to 2nd in its dainty silk slippers.
Thank You Grandy!!! Somebody needed to get to Floyd again.
Edgar and Curtis…….what a ticket!
And Polly!
Griffey yikes man…
This is the exact reason I didn’t understand putting Griffey in center. He Joyced two bases for Polanco.
atta boy Grandy
problem with Renteria’s hit is that will guarantee him in the lineup for the rest of August
Guillen gives the Tigers the Cycle in four batters!……..This is the fun part of the team. If only…………….! well, we will talk about the bullpen later.
Good job Guillen. Let’s keep pouring it on. 5-1 “bad guys” according to hawk
WAHOO!
However, we are not yet out of Robertson lead-blowing territory.
It’s still “Gum Time”.
Nice. Tigers finaly solving the riddle that is Gavin Floyd…
Chris: “Ken Griffey Jr…… The Crime Dog…”
That is a difficult one. One the one hand, if he is a crime dog, we could have him quad-cuffed and hauled tailwise to the pound. And it’s not like we couldn’t use every little edge we can get.
But I think there may be a wrongness in that which would nag at me. If the dog has no ability to reason, no concept of what a weighing of right vs wrong would even be…can any dog be said to commit a crime once you reason from that starting point? You see the difficulty now?
Besides, we are pounding the living hell out of the ball right now anyway!
T Smith:
Regarding Leyland owing Renteria for winning him a championship, you said “I can see something like ’slave for life’ gratitude.”
I agree that it’s the only possible explanation. I propose Renteria’s official nickname be “Gratitude.”
the question is how many runs will be a safe lead when it goes to committee???????????????????????
Grr at least dp is out now
Coleman, are you really Clive Staples Lewis disguised as a man who mines cole? I have never heard a ham sandwich described with such vivid imagery.
“What I am trying to say is if you had ever read the chronicles of the famous prancing gender-neutral sprite…”
I have not read these chronicles, admittedly, but I’m pretty sure this sprite you speak of hangs out on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Flamingo Rd. Her name is actually Jackie.
On a more relevant note, thank you Grandy! And Polanco going for the cycle today?
Palmcroft via Tsmith: “I propose Renteria’s official nickname be “Gratitude.” That’s coincidentally not far from my unofficial nickname for Renteria, “GIDPitude”
a sheff rally
This past weekend, other mcb. called this scenario:
Detroit getting a 3-game sweep of the ChiSox, after which we would all get sucked back into the pennant race, then Detroit going to Kansas City and (I quote) “blowing the goats”.
Too bad he’s not really good at predicting these things. It would save me a lot of time.
Either is certainly a milder version of suckitude, which is probably the most accurate
KILV (oh now I get it, you’re a TV station, I’m a bit slow to catch on sometimes): “Polanco going for the cycle today?”
I would prefer he forgo the cycle out of deference to Renteria who couldn’t look less lively wearing lead leggings and by god cycling around the basepaths is like a three-day vacation to the leg-weary…
Wasserman with a 8.56 e.r.a. Well what does he expect, spelling his name Eh-ren. That reads more like a glamorized stutter than anything.
good at BAT Rayburn
At least Gratitude started off the inning with a double. And just when Leyland thought his debt was nearly paid….
Nato’s job now is to hold them to four runs or less ths inning.
I love listening to hawk get upset. He gets all flustered. He gone and he gone.
these guys are very helpful DP DP DP
Another DP - Nato’s balls must be heavy this evening.
Man when was the last time you saw a team kill itself with dps like this?
nice move Nate walk the guy with two outs to set up that next DP
In case anyone was wondering, the last time Polanco hit a homer with someone on base, it was Sept 27th, 2006.
You think when Nate Robertson gets run support he just starts to suck? I do.
Nate does realize the majority of MLB pitchers do actually like pitching with multi-run leads, right?
get the hook!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That was fortunate. Time for the committee to shut the door.
my only HOPE here with the committee is the first guy you walk or hit ..you are out of there PERIOD. next
You see the commercial is funny because when he stops making the mojito the music stops and the people stop dancing
Jermaine Dye is THE Tiger Killer and is having an excellent year…. God, am i amazed he did not hit a 3-run homer.
As much as I’d like Robertson out of the game, it’s Thome, Konerko, Griffey next inning. He’s held Thome in check and K’d Griffey twice. And Konerko spent the offseason training with Gary Sheffield. So I totally get it if he comes back out next inning.
billfer: “the last time Polanco hit a homer with someone on base, it was Sept 27th, 2006.”
It’s something like the Lunar eclipse then?
No…it’s just your gentle way of breaking the bad news, isn’t it?
Let’s see, sure enough, there it is, Sept 27th…aww, we lost though! and that “N. Robertson” guy who got the loss had been pitching so well earlier…
Has Robertson had a 1-2-3 inning lately?
Edgar will NOT make you pay for hanging a curveball
judpma: “my only HOPE here with the committee is the first guy you walk or hit ..you are out of there PERIOD. next”
It’s a bit more complicated than that. Like if you hit a guy but he’s a catcher with Darko hair, then you may remain until you hit a 2nd batter.
“Has Robertson had a 1-2-3 inning lately?”
Yes. The 2nd inning of this game.
Despite the K by Granderson there, he has actually done a magnificent job vs. lefties this season. I think we need to give Lloyd McClendon a big round of applause for this success story.
You can tell the sox miss ozzie ranting and raving
I like it that so many of the Tigers seem like nice guys, but to me it doesn’t seem appropriate to go easy on this pitcher just because he is Amish.
maybe if you hit a guy so hard in the middle of his chest that he can’t possibly run you get to stay in also
You can put it on the board: nate sucks
Oh my God. YOU CAN’T PUT HIM OUT ANOTHER INNING.
HE’S NATE ROBERTSON.
god, i hate “hawk”
I would have thought Nate’s leash would have been mighty short. Thome’s double seems like enough to me…and as I type this, Konerko homers. Captain Smokes???
I wonder what Nate’s BAA split is between him pitching out of the wind-up and pitching out of the stretch.
Boy was I wrong.
…and robertson’s ERA is back to over 6.00
Nate still managed to leave the game with a higher ERA than when we started.
I am so glad we have Nate just getting it done
Eh two runs is plenty for the committee
bet he starts his next game totally ignoring the threat by the skipper of produce or your out of there
Yes, and also their pitchers have to be careful, anything gets away from them inside…well the suspension iron is hot as they say.
And if one of ours got away inside on their catcher next inning, as much as they would be yearning for the payback, at the same time they are in mind of the hot suspension iron (not to mention the fine…um….skillet, yeah, the fine skillet. Because that’s not just parking meter money they are fining you, and they have families to feed…)
And fossum induces the almost double f9…for a one third of an inning no hitter!
Now we are see why good bullpens are so damn valuable. Our bullepen is terrible while the Sox is the best in the majors… We needed about a 5 run lead going into this stage of the game…
I was in the living room and commented to my wife that with the score 6-2 in the bottom of the 6th I expect the Tigers to lose. That is a very sad attitude, but two batters later the score was 6-4. So it isn’t cynicism, it is just the proof of experience this season against good teams like the White Sox. They are not going to give up and the Tigers have a bad habit of not scoring any more after getting early runs. They seem to sit on their laurels with leads instead of pouring it on.
so far the bullpen is doing great!!!!
judpma: “the threat by the skipper of produce or your out of there”
It depends on the produce.
a rotting head of lettuce upside the head would leave your cheek with a foul aroma that would take days to scrub off, try ignoring THAT.
My girlfriend points out that juan is one letter away from being juan ooh-ree-nay
Here’s a thought:
Listening to Ken Harrleson on White Sox TV is worse than watching Rodney pitch. You heard that right here, from Sky!
In case anyone was wondering, 3 of Juan Uribe’s 13 walks this season are courtesy of the Tigers. A little more surprising is that the strike throwing Twins have walked him 3 times also.
The Sox bullpen isn’t really that good. They’re pitching at a 6.50 ERA in the last two weeks.
the game should be stopped here and awarded to the Tigers for the simple reason the Sox failed to take advantage of 2 Tiger bullpenners
Honestly sky, have you EVER expected the Tigers to win this year regardless of the score?
“There’s no reason to think olivo was thrown at”
No dan there isn’t. Unless you count the two previous pitches, the lopsided score, and olivo getting hit earlier in the season by the sox.
judpma: “maybe if you hit a guy so hard in the middle of his chest that he can’t possibly run you get to stay in also”
that game is sucking even more as time goes on, like a cheap wine aging into a harsh vinegar in the hot sun. Because Inge should have gunned it to second on the sac bunt, because the runner on 1st was bluish from lack of breath, and I can’t imagine got down to 2nd like The Flash or anything.
I really believe Rodney should not be allowed to pitch until after the 3rd out in the 9th inning. Then he can come out and throw to the Little Leaguers running the bases.
the Tigs are in their lets get this over with offense cause we have more runs to give up
“I really believe Rodney should not be allowed to pitch until after the 3rd out in the 9th inning. Then he can come out and throw to the Little Leaguers running the bases.”
SECOND
Put me on record as actually thinking hawk has been fairly tolerable and reasonable tonight…it’s clearly all relative, but he hasn’t bugged me too much…
Honestly sky, have you EVER expected the Tigers to win this year regardless of the score?
Many time, Billfer. But not for the last few weeks against teams like the Twins, Indians, Sox, or TB. Ask around, I am not the only one who gets this feeling.
Hey, I don’t like it! It is just a feeling of no confidence in the pen to stop the ops, especially in away games. I don’t think I am the only one who has noticed this!
This small park is ridiculous.
Man quentin is the man, he’s very good
I think you have to bring Rodney out in the 9th. He&