“No, no, no, no”

This was Jim Leyland’s response when asked if he considered leaving Porcello in the game yesterday.  He added, “To me, it’s a no-brainer,” Leyland said. “Your closer is supposed to be better than your starter after eight innings, in my opinion.”

As much as we are used to the no-brain style of management, it is strange that Leyland didn’t mention the only decent rationale for removing Porcello, using the pinch-hitter to try to add another run (you know, those things that we get 2 of per game).  At any rate, Leyland later decided to go all F-bomb about fan second guessing. Fun stuff.

Today is a homecoming of sorts:  The Tigers return home, and greeting them will be the Tampa Bay Rays, and some old friends:  the suddenly brilliant Matt Joyce, a reanimated Johnny Damon, and the Sobbing Barber himself, Kyle Farnsworth.

Making the start for the Rays will be the promising youngster Jeremy Hellickson.  And the Rays could use a bit of promise in their starting pitching lately.  Phil Coke will be going for Detroit, which, inasmuch as it keeps lefty Matt Joyce on the bench, is a promising thing right from the start.

About Coke:  his last start against Boston was perhaps the best of his career.  There had been rumors afloat after the demotion of Benoit that the solution was going to be Coke to the BP as the new 8th inning guy, and Andy Oliver up to join the starting rotation.  Coke made that very difficult with his last outing.  Is the un-demotion of Benoit back to the 8th inning role related to the continued presence of Coke in the starting rotation?

In other news, after placing Brad Thomas on the DL with an elbow that can’t pitch, the Tigers recalled Charlie Furbush, then followed that up by sending Brayan Villarreal to the Hens of Mud, and bringing up Enrique Gonzalez, because they missed having a guy who pitched like Brad Thomas.  I expect the Rreality Show to resume in time for the fall season, if not sooner.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Joaquin Benoit

After a 1-game demotion, it looks as though Benoit will be Joaquin to the mound in the 8th inning again.  Because…it’s a no-brainer.  Seeing the Rays reminds Benoit that he was actually really good last year, and he responds with a good outing.

Today’s Intraleague Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Scott Sizemore 2B
3. Brennan Boesch RF
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Victor Martinez DH
6. Andy Dirks LF
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Alex Avila C
9. Brandon Inge 3B

Short and sweet for the W.

Amazing what can happen in 7 days.  A week ago, the Tigers had won 7 in a row, were a season high 4 games over .500, and were leading the AL in runs scored.  Since then, the boys are 0-4, they’ve managed 6 runs in those 4 games, and are now 26 runs behind the Yankees.

Beyond the anemic offense, the bullpen has gone from terrible to catastrophic, allowing 10 ER in 4 2/3 IP over the last four games.  Help is on the way, as Charlie Furbush was recalled from Toledo today, with Brad Thomas going to the DL.  Furbush has been pretty darn good down there, posting a 2.91 ERA and striking out an international league leading 55 in 46 1/3 IP covering 8 starts.  I’m curious to see what his role will be.  Coke has certainly earned his spot in the rotation, but he’s sorely missed out of the pen.

Max Scherzer gets the ball today, on the heels of three fantastic starts where he allowed 2 ER over 20 innings.  At the plate, Max is a career .176 hitter with 2 doubles and 3 RBI in 68 career plate appearances.

Kevin Correia (core – A – ah) climbs the hill for the Pirates.  Correia has been in the bigs for 7 years, mostly as a spot starter until 2009 when he had a fine season with the Padres, towing a 3.91 ERA (3.81 FIP) over 33 starts and just under 200 IP.  He only pitched 145 innings last year (injury, I presume, but I practically had to look up where Pittsburgh is), and for 2011, he’s 5-4 with a 3.97 ERA and 1.25 WHIP (remember he’s facing a pitcher almost every 9 batters).   He doesn’t walk many (2011 2.06/9), nor strike out many (3.81/9) so let’s see if the Tigers can hit ’em where they ain’t.

I’ve got to get to a BBQ, someone please post the lineups when they are avail.

Let’s go Tigers!

Just how important is this inter league series, you ask?  I mean, we all know that AL Central match-ups have a direct effect on the standings; and playing the Yankees and Red Sox allow the boys to see where they stack up against the best.  But, Pirates?

Well, this weekend series against the Bucs kicks off a 12 game span that could demonstrate that 2011 could be a banner year for the Tigers, or could mean that the season is virtually over.  An article in today’s WSJ (yes, the WSJ, I found it underneath my baseball card magazines and Good Housekeeping) states that since 1996, just 9% of teams with a losing record on June 1 wound up with 90 wins, and the average correlation between a team’s win percentage on June 1 and its final winning percentage is 0.76 (which is high).  Before Cleveland’s inexplicable rise, 90 wins would have been a good bet to win the Central, and it still may be, or at least to earn a Wild Card slot.  The Tigers thus have 12 days to keep treading above .500, or we can all count on Matt Stafford shoulder updates 24/7 in October.

Who are the Pittsburgh Pirates, you ask?  Well, they come in at 20-23, which isn’t bad considering they have failed to finish above .500 since 1992, and have not won more than 68 games in a season since 2004.  Jeff Karsten started out in the pen, but now makes his 7th start of the season for Pittsburgh.  The righty has a 3.62 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and average 6.99 K/9.  He’s been much better in 2011 than the rest of his career, perhaps due to the development of a two-seam fastball which he’s relying on more in 2011 than ever.  He’s been decent over his 7 starts, keeping Pittsburgh in the game by not allowing too many runs, but he’s only reached the 6th inning twice all season.

Brad Bad Penny takes the first awkward swings of the year for a Tigers pitcher, as he looks to stop the 3 game slide.  Penny was awesome last time out versus Kansas City, allowing only 5 hits with no walks and no runs over 8 innings.  Over his last five BBP is 4-1 with a 1.51 ERA and .93 WHIP.

Lineups to come.

“I don’t recall any team ever winning a game without scoring a run.”

This is one thing we learned from yesterday’s game, courtesy of Stormin’ Norman.

For all of the hand-wringing over Leyland’s decision to go with Schlereth, and stay with him after he walked Crawford (not to mention the decision to lift Coke at 78 pitches after a short rain delay), the real story of the game was the failure to capitalize on 2 opportunities with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 out.  In fact, after a big recent surge, the offense has started sputtering a bit

A big reason for this has been the slump–yes, it’s time for the “S” word–of Miguel Cabrera.  Over the past 2 weeks, here are the numbers of Cabrera, and the much-maligned Inge:

.188 .372 .281 .653

.200 .314 .300 .614

Inge with a bit more hitting and power, Cabrera with more BBs…otherwise, almost identical. Yikes.

Tonight has all of the makings of another game where capitalizing on scoring opportunities will sort the winner from the loser, as the 2 hottest starting pitchers in the AL, Justin Verlander and Josh Beckett face off.  While Verlander has been nearly unhittable, literally, in his last 2 starts, Beckett has posted a 1.75 ERA for the season himself, so this will likely be good stuff for fans of the pitching duel.

Tonight also has the makings of another rain-delayed affair.  Weathermen are standing by.  Brandon Inge has the hockey gear ready.

One more thing we have learned:  it isn’t just here at DTW that clowns are unwelcome.  The anti-clown backlash has been sweeping the nation–even Ronald McDonald is not immune: Critics to McDonald’s: Stop the clowning

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Miguel Cabrera

Was his double yesterday against the tough Buchholz a sign that he is emerging from his little “s” thing? In a game where one big hit could make the difference, we hope so.  Hit one for all of the classy Red Sox fans who were chanting “DUI” yesterday.

Today’s Mr. Dirks meets the Green Monster Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Scott Sizemore 2B
3. Brennan Boesch RF
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Victor Martinez DH
6. Andy Dirks LF
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Alex Avila C
9. Brandon Inge 3B

Who knew?  Jim Leyland is a fan of alternate realities.

After refusing to answer questions on the subject, and despite all the proper things being said by Leyland and Rick Knapp, it looks like Benoit will no longer be Joaquin to the mound in the 8th inning.

Who will replace him has not been specified.  In light of yesterday’s rainout, it would make sense to bump Porcello back one day, move Coke back to the pen to be the 8th inning guy, and bring up Andy Oliver to take over Coke’s rotation spot next time around.

Yet, there he is, Phil Coke, today’s starter.  He is a lefty, which is useful against Boston’s lefty-heavy lineup.  But this is the 2nd time Rick has been skipped in the rotation;  and, plus:  Porcello vs Youkilis.  C’mon, who doesn’t want to see this?  At any rate today will feature Phil Coke vs the suddenly hot Clay Buchholz, weather willing.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Al Alburquerque

With Coke starting, Captain QuerK stands a good chance of being the 8th-inning guy du jour.  A good outing against the Red Sox could make it tempting to leave him there.

Today’s V-Mart Returns to Fenway Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Scott Sizemore 2B
3. Brennan Boesch LF
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Victor Martinez DH
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Alex Avila C
8. Ryan Raburn RF
9. Brandon Inge 3B

May 16, 2011.  Alternate baseball reality.

It’s a cold, windy evening at Comerica park, and looks to be a pitcher’s game.  The pitchers did not disappoint:  the undefeated Max Scherzer, while not overpowering, made all of the right pitches at the right times, only giving up 1 run (unearned) in 7 innings.  Son of Doug Drabek was also good, after escaping a bases-loaded no-out Cabrera-at-bat situation with only 1 run, getting the hot Victor Martinez to ground into an inning-ending DP.  So when Al Alburquerque came on in the 8th inning, and mowed down the side with a slider even more unhittable than usual in the cold, the excitement at Comerica began to build.  When Jose Valverde closed the top of the 9th with a K and a dance, the chants of “walkoff” began.

It didn’t take long.  After a popup by Victor Martinez,  Jhonny Peralta launched a blast to deep left center, and the Tigers suddenly increased their win streak to 8, and as the dugout emptied and danced around Peralta at the plate, it was hard not to wonder if we were watching the beginning of something special in Motown.

Back to reality.

As good as the Tigers’ starters have been, Detroit now has an AL worst 5.50 ERA for its relief pitchers.  It’s not Valverde:  he’s at a nice 1.50.  And the youngster Al Alburquerque has surprised with a decent 3.46, and an amazing 15.9 K/9 inning.  No, it’s the 8th inning guys, Ryan Perry (7.88) and Joaquin Benoit (7.98).  Oh, and Brad Thomas (9.00), but that’s kind of a given.

Jim Leyland is unlikely to replace Joaquin Benoit as the 8th inning guy, which he confirmed by even refusing to take questions on the subject. It’s a tricky problem:  so much of a relief pitcher’s success is related to confidence, and sometime knowing the manager has faith is an important part of a turnaround.  But what if confidence isn’t the issue?  Then you end up with a .175 Ordonez batting 3rd for 20% of the season, or a 2008 Sheffield wincing through a season as DH.  Whatever happens, it would be unlikely for Leyland to make changes anytime soon.

So what IS wrong with Benoit?  Bless You Boys takes a look at Benoit’s F/X data, and wonders if perhaps Benoit isn’t just overthrowing, and thinks things may work themselves out.

Today Rick Porcello takes on Jesse “Cy” Litsch, who gave the Tigers all sorts of trouble last start.  But that was before we had Andy Dirks.

In other alternate reality news:  Tomorrow’s probable starters:  Clay Buchholz vs Jair Jurrjens

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Rick Porcello

Porcello looks to continue the string of brilliant Tiger starting pitching.  His mission:  to make it through 7 innings, and turn the game over to Alburquerque and Valverde (surely, Benoit’s, um, arduous outing yesterday means he’s unavailable today?)

Today’s Where’s Ramon? Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Andy Dirks LF
3. Brennan Boesch RF
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Victor Martinez DH
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Alex Avila C
8. Scott Sizemore 2B
9. Brandon Inge 3B