63-55, 2nd place, 2.5 games (that’s what you get for taking a day off) behind CWS, 1 game behind WC

There’s been a lot of talk as of late regarding Miguel Cabrera’s MVP candidacy. In fact, it seems as if the local papers have received an edict to write about it daily. And they make strong arguments in his favor. But MLive’s Josh Slagter made a fantastic point in an article today – if the Tigers really do have 3 MVP candidates (Keith Law suggests that Verlander and AJax are in the top 5 right now), how are they 2 (really 2.5) games out of first place? Think about, when else have we had this talent at the op of the roster? Not to mention that our 1B has been a perennial NL MVP candidate over the last few years. Says a lot about the bottom…

(Interesting follow-up today on ESPN Insider – Dave Cameron uses Fangraphs’ Leverage Index to demonstrate why Cabrera’s clutch performance makes him a legitimate MVP candidate.)

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Tommy No Support Hunter opposes the Tigers tonight to kick off a three-game set. The O’s have scored two or fewer runs for Hunter in 10 of his last 16 starts, and 5 out of the last 6. Hunter is 4-7 for the year with a 5.54 ERA, and is 1-5 with a 5.94 ERA on the road. He’s getting hit pretty well by lefties (.291) AND righties (.321), which explains why Delmon Young is in the lineup. 67% of the runs that Hunter has given up this year have come in the 4th, 5th or 6th.

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A few notes:

– Al Al is hot on the comeback trail, he’s got 8 Ks in 4 innings and a 3.18 ERA since his move to Toledo on August 3rd.

– Schlereth is dominating…at Lakeland. 1 ER over five innings since August 3rd.

– The Tigers are 3-4 in extra innings this year, and 15-14 in one run games; the Orioles have won their last 11 one run decisions.

Tonight’s Lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Dirks, LF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Avila, C
6. Young, DH
7. Boesch, RF
8. Peralta, SS
9. Infante, 2B

Detroit Tigers, 62-55, 2nd place, 2 back.

Doug Fister didn’t disappoint, and despite a carnival of a 3rd inning, and Gene Lamont being A Great 3rd Base Coach, the Tigers ended their 3-game losing streak.  Cabrera reached the century mark in RBIs, and Dirks hit one out, which I’m still trying to figure out, because both he and the pitcher are lefties, and I didn’t think that was possible.

The Tigers finish off the three-game series with Max on the mound.  Scherzer was impressive Friday against Texas (2 runs in 6 innings), although he had too many strikeouts (8) and ran up a pitch count of 112 in 6 innings.  With the way the bullpen has been lately, a longer outing is recommended for today.

He may need to be at his best, since the Tigers will encounter dreaded Rookie Pitcher Guy again, this one named Cole De Vries. CDV was pounded his last time out–8 runs in 1 1/3 innings.  Will the Tigers finally break out of their Rookie Pitcher Guy slump?

Stat of the Day: Delmon Young is only hitting .217 in day games.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Andy Dirks.  What a difference having Dirks back!

Today’s Berry Different Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Andy Dirks RF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Alex Avila C
6. Delmon Young DH
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Omar Infante 2B
9. Quintin Berry LF

Detroit Tigers, 61-55, 2nd place, 2 back.

Well, as expected the Tigers couldn’t manage much against Cy Deduno.  Deduno’s flaw is that he can’t find the strike zone, but against Detroit that is not a flaw, but a feature. I wish we had been keeping a tally of how many times in the pre-game we have noted a pitcher with control problems, only to watch the Tiger hitters struggle (the two pitchers with the highest walk ratio in the AL, Ubaldo Jimenez and Yu Darvish, have victimized them multiple times).

Not that it mattered:  Sanchez was Horibal, Coke has lost his fizz, and the Twins pounded Detroit for 18 hits and 9 runs.

Duane Below was scapegoated to Toledo after the game. The Tigers have recalled ol’ Putty, RHP Luke Putkonen.

The Tigers now have an actual losing streak going (3 games), which is something not recommended for pennant chases. Time to bring the Fist down on the Twins.

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As if things aren’t bad enough, on ESPN’s injury report is listed “Justin Verlander SP – Aug 12: Day-To-Day.” What’s that all about?

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Stat of the Day: Everyone loves Twins! Well, not Doug Fister. He is a career 1-6, 4.36 against Minnesota.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Jhonny Peralta.  A bit of a surprise choice. Peralta was the one Tiger who was having none of what Cy Deduno offered last night–he took two walks and doubled.  And hey, look at that! He gets the troublesome 5th spot tonight.

Today’s Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Omar Infante 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Jhonny Peralta SS
6. Delmon Young DH
7. Jeff Baker RF
8. Andy Dirks LF
9. Gerald Laird C

Detroit Tigers, 61-54, 2nd place, 2 back.

Detroit had last night off, instead donning clown suits for a hilarious charity exhibition game. Brennan Boesch was a hit with his huge shoes and big floppy glove, and the performance was capped off by the always funny bit where the whole bullpen piles into a tiny car.

Unfortunately, Brayan Villarreal probably shouldn’t have been taking part in that particular stunt:  turns out he has actually had a problem with his elbow for the past week, and is now on the ever-popular day-to-day list.

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The Toledo Mud Hens put on a different sort of exhibition Saturday night.  In the 2nd inning Durham’s Will Rhymes hit a two-run home run, and admired it a bit, much to the chagrin of starter Drew Smyly, who plunked the next batter, leading to ejections (Smyly and manager Phil Nevin), and warnings.

Not to be left out of the fun, when reliever Bruce Rondon faced Will Rhymes in the 7th, he threw behind him, Rhymes charged the mound, and both benches cleared.  Not to excuse anybody here, but I think Wee Willie Rhymes needs a bit of leeway for home run admiration; it’s not like he gets them every day.  And Rhymes charging Rondon is probably its own punishment.

At any rate, suspensions have been handed down to Rondon (5 games) and Smyly (3 games).

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The Tigers travel to Minnesota tonight to finish the mini Stars loop road trip (random hockey reference).

Detroit will face the always tough Rookie Pitcher Guy, this one a righty named Samuel “Cy” Deduno (3-0, 3.27).

The Tigers hand the ball to Anibal, as we all wonder how many more times we will be able to use that phrase.

Stat of the Day: The Tigers now lead the American League in pitchers who bomb, turn out to have a physical problem nobody knew about, and become classified as “Day-to-Day.”

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:   Omar Infante.  After a bit of a slow start, Infante has hit .375 with power (6 extra base hits, 9 RBI) in his last 13 games.

Today’s OK-Your-Turn-To-Try-5th-Alex Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Andy Dirks LF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Alex Avila C
6. Delmon Young DH
7. One-Pitch Boesch RF
8. Jhonny Peralta SS
9. Omar Infante 2B

61-53, 2nd place, 1 game behind CWS, .5 games behind Brandon Inge and Oakland for the WC lead (which means tied for 2nd WC spot)

Last night’s heart breaker ended on a Mike Olt single in the bottom of the 9th with two outs. Kid’s been up for less than 2 weeks. The two walks to lead off the 9th were definitely the culprit, though Leyland’s assertion that late leadoff walks have spelled death for “1,000 years” may be a bit overstated. To be fair, I haven’t checked the box scores from 1012.

Even so, and despite the fact that the Tigers have lost 3 out of 4, all of which they have had a good, if not great, chance to win, the Tigers can move back into a tie for first with a win and CWS loss today.

To do so, they’ll have to solve Yu Darvish, a riddle against which they are 0-2 thus far this year. Darvish was dazzling in May (6 1/3, 2 H, 1 ER, and just good enough against the Tigers in June (4 ER in 7 IPs). Since that June game against Detroit, however, Darvish has just 1 QS out of 6, and is averaging an outrageous 5.6 walks per 9. He was one win during that time frame. Darvish has allowed the fourth most walks in all of baseball (his WHIP is 1.46), yet in two games against Detroit, he’s allowed just 3 walks. The key today’s game is taking pitches. Darvish will walk you. Cabrera, Jackson and Boesch are a combined 0-15 v. Darvish this year.

Porcello has pitched good enough to win the last two times out, but he hasn’t been spectacular. The Rangers are in a bit of an offensive slump, so he doesn’t have to be perfect. Kinsler (5-8) and Murphy (5-9 with 1 HR) have Porcello’s number.

You know how Leyland gets real defensive of players that are mired in career long slumps, and then they eventually get cut about 4 months after they should have been? Well, Leyland said yesterday that “Gene Lamont is a great third-base coach.”  Could be the beginning of the end for Lamont. (Anyone know where we can check % of runners scoring from 2nd?)

Today’s (proposed) We’ll Get Yu Lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Dirks, RF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Boesch, DH
6. Avila, C
7. Infante, 2B
8. Santiago, SS
9. Berry, LF

A few fun  facts before you look at the actual lineup:

– Delmon Young is batting .250 over his last 10 games, with 3 RBI (think of all of his chances); Berry is batting .185 with 2 RBI, and is batting .238 in games he’s started. Young has had 9 more ABs to get that 1 RBI, but I’m guessing that he’s probably had 2 – 3x as many runners on base in front of him.

– Delmon Young is batting .223 in day games this season; Berry is batting .273 in day games.

– Delmon Young is batting .257 with a .645 OPS against righties this season; Berry is batting .293 with a .773 OPS.

Actual Lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Dirks, LF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Boesch, RF
6. Young, DH
7. Avila, C
8. Peralta, SS
9. Infante, 2B

61-52, 2nd place, 1 game behind CWS, tied for WC lead

Despite allowing too many baserunners (10 in  6 innings; the Rangers had at least one base runner in every inning), Scherzer’s too many strikeouts got him out of one jam after another, and then Dotel and Valverde impressively shut the door on a 6-2 Tigers win.

Today’s match-up looks to be the most favorable of the series on paper, as JV takes on Derek Holland. Holland has been terrible as of late, giving up 6 ER in 3 of his last 4 starts, and posting a 6.30 ERA over his last 10 outings. He also has a 6.19 ERA at home this year (vs. 4.06 on the road, park effects can’t be that bad) so we should be able to plate a few this evening.

JV has a career 1.90 ERA vs. the Rangers, and 8 out of 10 quality starts. Verlander is 3-0 against the West this year with a 1.89 ERA.

Prediction: Prince Fielder, who has become a hitter with power, not just a power hitter, will finish the season 2nd in the Majors in RBIs.

What I would like to see for Tonight’s Lineup (someone please post later):

1. Jackson, CF
2. Infante, 2B
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Young, DH
6. Peralta, SS
7. Boesch, RF
8. Baker, LF
9. Laird, C

60-52, 2nd place, 1 game behind CWS, tied for WC lead.

Well, the Tigers blew a fantastic chance to take over sole possession of 1st place last night when Joaquin Benoit gave up back to back HRs in the 8th to relinquish the lead, and then the Tigers went R3L2O fail R3L2O fail R32O fail with an opportunity to tie the game in the 9th; which is arguably the most life force draining consecutive at bats that a fan can endure.

It’s hard to come away from the Yankee series on a positive note, but I will admit that the Tigers are playing better all the way around, and I certainly wouldn’t be scared to face the Yankees in the playoffs.

There is, however, a team that worries me, and we start a three game series against them tonight. Though their pitching staff has been hit hard with injuries (Colby Lewis is out of the year, and Neftali Feliz may be out until 2014), guys like Scott Feldman have stepped to help keep the Rangers comfortably in the lead. Feldman is 6-0 over his last 7 games, during which his ERA has dropped from 6.50 to 4.52.

The Tigers look to continue their hot hitting streak in the scorching Texas heat (it was 108 yesterday). The Boys have collected 13 hits or more in each of the last 5 games (which makes yesterday’s loss even tougher) and are batting .356 with 11 HRs in 8 games this month.

I will be a few rows back up the 3rd base line, look for me, I’ll be the one explaining to Gene Lamont that base runners need to touch home in order to score a run.

A few notes:

– Joaquin Benoit is a league leader…his WHIP in July/August….is .84.

– Leyland being Leyland on a potential Castellanos call-up in September.

– 37,661 per game at Tiger Stadium, good for 3rd in the AL. I see you Tigers fans.

Stat of the day – Miguel Cabrera leads all major leaguers with a .369 BA against the Rangers.

Tonight’s Back on Track Lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Dirks, LF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Boesch, RF
6. Young, DH
7. Avila, C
8. Peralta, SS
9. Infante, 2B

BTW, I’m still upset about last night.

Detroit Tigers, 60-51, 2nd place, .5 back.

Too many runs.  Too many runs finally ended the Tiger win streak last night, although the bats kept going and kept them in the game.

There were some things to like about last night:  the offense plated 8 runs, Jeff Baker’s Detroit debut was a success (“looks like he knows what the bat is for,” said Leyland), Dirks and Boesch continue to come up with big hits, we have a 2nd baseman who can put the ball over the fence, and Chicago lost.

On the other hand, there may be a few cringes the next time they hand the ball to Anibal, Ramon looks utterly last at the plate, and whatever has happened to Phil Coke, let’s hope it unhappens.

The likelihood of Too Many Runs is low this afternoon, with Doug Fister going up against Hiroki Kuroda (weren’t the Tigers rumored to be pursuing him this offseason?).

Mister Fister has come out roaring since the All-Star break, going 4-1 with a 1.62 ERA, and a remarkable 0.769 WHIP. He has been on close terms with the strike zone:  he has only walked 5 in 39 innings since the break.

Kuroda has been no 2nd-half slouch himself (2-1, 2.27).  He faced Detroit June 2, and gave up 2 runs, a Cabrera home run and an RBI single to Quintin Berry.

Stat of the Day: Ramon Santiago is only hitting .118 in the 2nd half, and has yet to plate his first RBI or get his first extra base hit.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Quintin Berry.  If he can get himself on base, watch for him to be turned loose on the bases for a change.

Today’s Resting-AJax Lineup:

1. Quintin Berry CF
2. Andy Dirks LF
3. Miguel Cabrera DH
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Brennan Boesch RF
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Alex Avila C
8. Omar Infante 3B
9. Ramon Santiago 2B

Detroit Tigers, 60-50, 2nd place, .5 back.

Well, Jose Valverde almost pulled a Chris Perez, but tragedy was averted and the Tigers won their 7th consecutive, and 10th in a row at Comerica.

But all’s well that ends well, and that one ended well, and Detroit finally picked up a game on Chicago, and added a bit to their growing aura of invincibility at home.

These auras…I don’t know how reliable they are, and I’ve been having trouble finding any statistical measures by which to judge them, but they can’t hurt.

Tonight the Tigers hand the ball to Anibal. C.C. Sabathia will face the Right version of the Tiger lineup, featuring newest Tiger Jeff Baker, and bad boy Gerald Laird, who will try not to get ejected today (apparently Laird said nothing that merited ejection–although he admitted to making “hand gestures” from the dugout).

Stat of the Day: Tiger starters, 2nd half: 14-7, 3.79

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Jeff Baker.  The Tiger unveiling.

Today’s Baker’s Dozen Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Omar Infante 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young DH
6. Jeff Baker LF
7. Brennan Boesch RF
8. Gerald Laird C
9. Ramon Santiago SS

Detroit Tigers, 59-50, 2nd place, 1.5 back.

Too many strikeouts;  way too many strikeouts.  Somehow though, Justin Verlander was able to overcome his 14-strikeout performance (a career high), and put away the Yankees, the 9th consecutive Comerica Park win for the Tigers.

All of the strikeouts meant no complete game (he tied a career high with 132 pitches–an amazing 96 of which were strikes), and that Tiger specialty, the pitcher’s error led to 2 unearned runs, and meant no shutout, but Verlander’s performance was dominant enough–and on ESPN–and against the Yankees–that one is hearing the C-word bandied about again.

No moment probably showed how dominant Verlander was more than his 3rd strikeout of Ichiro, on which his swing was so off-balance he almost fell down. Ichiro is not what he used to be, but he is still the hardest batter to strike out in the American League (9.1% K ratio), and it’s safe to say (but harder to look up) that he has never been struck out 3 times in a game by the same pitcher before.

There was plenty of hitting to go around to back Verlander up:  every starter had at least one hit (including big flies from Fielder and Cabrera); the bottom of the order came through again (5 hits, 3 RBI from the 7-9 hitters); 7 different players had RBIs.

And Austin Jackson continues to be hot, prompting him to be listed as the 5th best CF in baseball, a pretty nice ranking when you look at the other names on the list.

Tonight the Tigers go for their 6th in a row and 10th in a row at home, and look to add to their 16-14 record against AL East teams (they are the only Central club over .500).

Detroit hands the ball to Rick Porcello,  the one Tiger pitcher not suffering from Too Many Strikeouts. Phil Hughes himself may be feeling a bit at home in Detroit: he has only given up 1 run in his last 22 innings at Comerica.

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Toledo Forecast: Heat. Bruce Rondon of the 100 mph fastball was promoted to Toledo yesterday, joining Al Alburquerque and his upper 90s fastball.

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Stat of the Day: When Omar Infante stole 2nd base Saturday against Cleveland, Detroit recorded its first SB by a 2B in 2012, ending its run as the last team in baseball without a stolen base from the position.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Omar Infante. With Jackson hot and Cabrera and Fielder in form, Infante’s ability to get on base/advance runners may be the key to tonight’s game.

Today’s Keeping-Omar-2nd-Even-Against-The-RHP Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Omar Infante 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Brennan Boesch RF
6. Delmon Young DH
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Alex Avila C
9. Andy Dirks LF

Well, the less said about last night’s game, the better.

Wait, hold on…they did WHAT?

They like to say “it ain’t over ’till it’s over.”  But often, well, it just is.  Down 23 at the 2-minute warning in football, and…well, we could score, onside kick, score again, onside…oh never mind.  Basketball:  well, keep fouling, make a 3-pointer, foul again, ‘nother 3-pointer…OK, never mind–but the game does seem to take forever to end, so there’s that.

Baseball, though, is different.  2 outs in the 10th inning down by 3, 2 strikes on the batter…well he COULD get a walk, and the next guy too, and then a double, and a single, and hey! Not very likely (it has happened only once this season), but very possible.

And all after the 9th inning looked like a classic fail (but a somewhat tolerable one; they still would’ve taken the series)–a leadoff triple they couldn’t score, after Manny Acta out managed Acting Manager:  the old double intentional walk/pulling an outfielder/adding an extra infielder trick (which I don’t think I’ve ever seen).

(To be fair, I thought Lloyd made a good move–pinch-hitting one of the toughest double-play outs in the league in a spot where a ground ball that is not a DP probably wins the game).

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Losing closer Chris Perez once famously said (May 25):  “You look over there and you’ve got Cabrera and Fielder and Verlander and Valverde.  But that doesn’t win baseball games. Good teams win baseball games.”

He left out Austin Jackson.  Jackson had 9 total bases yesterday (including back-to-back triples), and if his double in the 10th wasn’t the game winner, it was the shot that put Perez on the ropes.  In fact the 1-2 hitters Jackson and Infante combined for an 8-for-12 night with 17 total bases.  That will win you a few games.  (And another great thing about baseball:  the goat of the 9th inning, Infante, came up with the game tying hit in the next inning).

The walk off shot of course was by Cabrera, a towering fly that was a bit in doubt until it cleared. Cabrera wasn’t about to take all the glory though–Cabrera insisted Austin Jackson join him for the postgame interview. And I think it’s time to acknowledge that Cabrera is not only an amazing baseball player, but a first-rate teammate also.  Such is the stuff good teams are made of.

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Tonight Justin Verlander tries to right his ship (tongue-in-cheek: see below).

Yankee starter Ivan Nova (Spanish for “I don’t want to go out there”) takes the mound for the Evil Empire with a 10.13 ERA vs Detroit this season.

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Also newest Tiger Jeff Baker joins the Tigers today.  To make room for Baker, Danny Worth goes back down to Toledo again, for the umpteenth time. The last time he got sent down (July 24) he vowed to buy a new guitar to make himself feel better.  He is a man of his word. Meanwhile, Ryan Raburn will continue to have a sprained thumb until September 1 call ups.

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Stat of the Day: Justin Verlander has “struggled” in the 2nd half–to the tune of a 2-2 record with a 2.89 ERA, and a 1.107 WHIP.  Not Cy Young stuff that, but relax everybody.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Austin Jackson.  AJax tore it up yesterday, and has a brief but rewarding relationship with Ivan Nova, hitting .375 in 9 PAs. The A-Train keeps on rolling tonight.

Today’s Two-Out-Rally Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Andy Dirks LF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Brennan Boesch RF
6. Delmon Young DH
7. Alex Avila C
8. Jhonny Peralta SS
9. Omar Infante 2B

57-50, 2nd place, 1.5 games back.

The Tigers rode Doug Fister’s tremendous  fantastic complete game performance to another easy win. For the first time in a while, they beat up on Ubaldo Jimenez en route to the 6-1 victor. None of the Tigers’ RBIs came from Cabrera or Fielder, as the BooBs went 6-16 with 4 XBHs and all 6 RBIs. Jud slept well for sure.

Too Many Strikeouts Max takes the ball this afternoon looking for the sweep. His 11.08 Ks/9 leads the AL, and he’s 5-3 with a 3.73 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over his last 10. I’m going to predict that Max gets his first career CG Shutout (even a shutout would be a first) today.

The Tigers go against little used call-up spot start guy Chris Seddon, who is making his first Major League appearance since 2010. The lefty has a career 7.03 ERA, .299 BA and 1.64 WHIP. The Tigers really should put up some runs against this guy.

A few notes:

– Raburn to the DL retroactive to 8/1 with a thumb sprain. Worth up (and starting…).

– Al Al moved up to Toledo yesterday, and retired the only batter he faced.

– Schlereth began his rehab with Lakeland on Friday.

Today’s Play Wherever You Think You are Worth-while Lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Infante, 3B
3. Cabrera, DH
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Young, LF
6. Peralta, SS
7. Boesch, RF
8. Laird, C
9. Worth, 2B