Game 2014.131: Yankees at Tigers

71-59, 1.5 games behind, .5 WC games back.

Last night’s win was a real, professional win. 5-2 is a score that seems like an appropriate margin for a good, but not obnoxious, team. If the San Antonio Spurs played baseball, they would win most games 5-2.

Ricky P was phenomenal, again, scattering 9 hits over 8 innings and walking none. He’s only allowed 8 walks in his last 10 starts, and none (NONE!) in his last 3 games, spanning 23 innings. Keep that in mind when a reliever walks the first guy he sees tonight.

If Porcello pitches like this over the final 5 weeks, he may be slotted as the 3rd pitcher in a playoff series, or the 3rd guy to hit in a Tigers foursome caddied by JV. Note, it just hit me that there is a real chance that we don’t get to see this rotation in the playoffs. Who knows if Illitch can afford to keep Scherzer around, or of Max even wants to stay. But what a shame it would be to not give this rotation a shot. I’m going to start a movement. #DoItForTheRotation We’ll see if this picks up more steam than my last movement #StopLettingQuasimodoMakeAirplaneSeats.

The Tigers crowd last night got a little emotional with Joe, chanting “Let’s Go Joe” as he got going in the 9th. Joe heard it, and I’m sure the team loved it. We’re stuck with him, might as well see if we can help him in anyway. The crowd at Comerica is the best.

David Price takes the mount tonight, looking to rebound from a one hit complete game blowout loss.

#DoItForTheRotation

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Torii Hunter, RF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. J.D. Martinez, LF
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Alex Avila, C
8. Eugenio Suarez, SS
9. Rajai Davis, CF

 

55 thoughts on “Game 2014.131: Yankees at Tigers”

  1. Good comment KiD. After last night’s game I was thinking “do they really want to send Little Ricky to the bullpen for the playoffs?” Meanwhile, do we think we are going to get Sanchez back in form in time for the playoffs?

    I gotta teach class tonight so keep the Boys on track. I will DVR the game but will miss Dan’s and Jim’s call. We are headed to Texas tomorrow so I will listen to that one while driving west and a sweep of the Yanks would be a very nice start for a holiday weekend.

  2. Lets see what happens tonight..Greene embarrassed the Tigers in NY..lets see if the Tigers put in the effort tonight

  3. Assmus is an idiot for playing Miggy on the field with his gimpy right ankle. He couldn’t get to the ball hit almost right to him and he was in pain limping around after that play. He should be DHing at the most. Who is running this team the players or the manager.

    1. Miggy couldn’t even pivot to make the pick-off at second because his ankle is hurting him so much and ….. that runner that should have been out comes in to score! Clean up your act Assmus ….. switch him and Vmart!

      1. I agree, but the worst that is happening is that Avilla is still a Tiger. Worst catcher in MLB!! Can’t throw anyone out & can’t hit!!! Just asking, who’s his daddy & who cares!!!

        1. Avila must be removed and destroyed for the good of all mankind. I designated him for assignment when he hit Ichiro in the back.

    1. Ceremonies between innings are all that’s missing. The idea that tomorrow is Jeter’s last game at Comerica has me tearing up already. It’s an emotional time for all of us, I know – together we’ll pull through it. Kevin is setting up a special DTW hotline for the occasion. Counselors will be standing by to help and support you.

      1. 20 years from now we will all remember what we were doing the last time Derek Jeter hit a flare to right field in the state of Michigan.

  4. Seems like the blowpen will get a lot of work tonight. This could be very painful…

  5. Rod,” Greene dominated the Tigers on Aug 8 in New York. He won’t be able to do that again tonight”……Hey Rod so far he isn’t dominating them he is embarrassing them….Pretty easy to do actually

    …Meanwhile does everyone on the infield have bad ankles. My gosh Suarez how about getting to one of these ground balls tonight!

      1. On the bright side, we can relax and watch this one completely analytically now. Pay no attention to that “8.” It’s an exhibition game and we’re not keeping score. It’s Bullpen Audition Night.

  6. And why Hardy? He’s been a rare bright spot in the late innings, so he is going to be a long man tonight in a blowout, making him unavailable tomorrow?

  7. Coupla less obvious things about the most horrid David Price inning ever:

    Even a halfway decent throw from Avila gets Ellsbury on the SB attempt. Ugh.

    Check out Castellanos on the Gardner IF RBI single. Dumb as a box of rocks. Stands there watching the play. No attempt to get back over to 3B. Following chess rules as a pawn, apparently. Ugh.

    This is crazy bad. Totally unexpected. If it’s a Clown Game, it’s another new twist on the theme.

  8. not to sound cynical, but with the matchup tomorrow (Lobstein vs Kuroda), this series looks like it was lost in the 3rd inning tonight… really needed Price to be the opposite of how he was tonight.

    DET moves on to series w/CWS, CLE then SF before their first of two series w/KC – while KC plays CLE, TEX then NYY before the DET series – the math (and KC’s remaining schedule does not bode well for DET)

    1. Except that it wasn’t quite a meltdown. It was more like the famous Porcello Inning of 2013 vs. the Angels. Pulling Price early to go with 7 innings of Detroit bullpen is an easy decision to make only in retrospect.

    1. Well, since there is nothing else to appreciate tonight…I’m appreciating that in an 8-0 game Phil Cole comes in all amped up. He puts it all out there. No matter what he gets on the talent score, he has always gotten an A on attitude.

      1. Plus he never just goes thru the motion on those shoulder shrugs…He goes 100% on all shrugs!!!

  9. Poor AB by Golden Boy there, him and the next guy. I see that the plan with a man on 3rd is to ground out to 3B. J.D. and Nick must be taking Hitting With A Purpose lessons from Ian Kinsler.

        1. Good (albeit easy) observations on both counts. One gets the sense that Kinsler likes the physical act of swinging at a pitch as an end in itself, though it often takes him two called strikes to warm up to it.

  10. I read someplace last week (can’t remember where) that umps are calling the low pitches strikes more often this year. If so (and the players must be clued in), maybe that is why there seems to be such an epidemic of lousy ABs.

  11. I see the Twins scored 2 runs in 2 days against the Royals.. The Twins need to get back to the Tigers so they can score 7 a game

  12. Shawn Greene about the 100th pitcher it seems like with 1 or 2 wins that shuts down the great Sluggo offense again and again and again and again and again and again and…………

  13. Well. Aside from a couple inherited from and charged to Price scoring on sac flies, that was 7 scoreless from the Tigers bullpen. It’s like a game from earlier in the season in reverse. Plus a great leaping catch from Suarez. Plus a somewhat respectable 4 runs in the end. Put it all together… and it’s an 8-4 loss. Doesn’t seem fair. Ended rather fittingly, though.

  14. “David Price takes the mount tonight, looking to rebound from a one hit complete game blowout loss.”

    Well-crafted, Kevin, but you might have put the hex on Price.

  15. One thing I am wondering about: Betances nails Hunter on the hand (miraculously, not breaking it) last time out. This time out, he misses his face by a few inches. Torii was seriously displeased. Next batter, he makes Cabrera do a backflip with an inside pitch. No warnings were issued. Maybe it’s because I started watching baseball back in the old days, but I’m thinking it’s not a question of if, but who on the Yankees gets nailed tomorrow.

    1. I would like to see that Cervelli guy get plunked; I anticipate an aria of emotion and some serious angst, Italian style.

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