Scherzer went from Marvelous Max to Maddening Max in the span of a few batters last night, and a rare BB BB start by Joba Chamberlain opened the door for those pesky Twins to tie the game, 6-6, in the bottom of the 8th. Phil Coke did okay, but the savior last night was Kyle Ryan, who came in and immediately induced an inning ending double play.
Three pitches and two bombs later, the Tigers were up 8-6. Soria closed the door, partially b/c Nathan needed a rest, partially b/c the closer’s role is up for grabs (I think).
Castellanos is a late scratch – foul ball off of the foot during BP. Kelly was already slated to start in CF, he slides to left and Rajai enters in the lineup at 9.
1. 2B Ian Kinsler
2. RF Torii Hunter
3. 1B Miguel Cabrera
4. DH Victor Martinez
5. LF J.D. Martinez
6. 3B Don Kelly
7. C Bryan Holaday
8. SS Andrew Romine
9. C Rajai Davis
Hmmm…I hope Castellanos didn’t get stepped on during the Rookie Locker Room football scrimmage.
And I hope he has changed out of that outfit.
Kyle was shakin’ and trembling’
http://beck.mlblogs.com/2014/09/16/on-kyle-ryan-and-the-improvised-bullpen/
Here’s an interesting take on the Royals loss to Boston. As much as we have complained about the “8th inning guy” etc stuff here, apparently Ned Yost is even more strict about it. After the game he lamented that “It’s frustrating that we were one out away from getting to Kelvin Herrera with a one-run lead.” When asked well, why didn’t he bring Herrera in sooner, he replied because “Aaron Crow’s inning is the sixth inning. Kelvin’s is the seventh.” So there you go.
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/51466/ned-yost-still-hurting-the-royals
So we start the game with some classic Kinsler baseclowning.
I don’t think you can coach “stupid” and Kinsler ranks right up there. Some things he does defy normal behavior..
One of the worst starting pitchers in the AL Central, no maybe THE Worst….0 runs 2 hits thru 4
Got to tip your cap to Cy Nolasco.
Tiger bats – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Wake me up when they do something.
Hey Angus, wake up!!
Well, they actually left a runner on in the 5th, so that’s progress.
Perhaps. Not worth waking Angus for though.
So far we have hit for an out every pitch he has throw in either batters box, except the one behind Victor…funny he has thrown 6-7 hanging curve balls but of course we have taken those!!!…
Hey Wally, nice game plan tonight. Swing at every fastball out of the zone and take every curveball, 3 more that inning that break down the middle!
Total bases: Kenny Vargas 8, Tigers 3.
Hey Donkey he threw you two pitches off the plate for ball one and two…he threw the same pitch for ball three….oops you pop out!!!
The Man.
This cannot be reality!!!!!! Are we in Kansas??? Or Iowa???
Mr. 9th inning. I am awake.
Shades of the 68 Tigers. Well done JD!
Send in Little Ricky
JD!!
Mr. Septober.
Joe Blow + Clown Show = No Go
no way do you try that rookie!!!! NoWAY!!!!!!!!
No!!!!!!
The two guys on the field most likely to blow it just did. Wow.
Both managers blew it by bringing in their “closers” while their starting pitchers were cruising.
missed all that. Tuned in just in time to see the clown show
Agree both should of had a CG…
Lets play extras…thanks Joe!
Let’s go White Sox. We need the stinking help. Man I hate the Twins.
There is about zero chance the White Sox will score again.
Hey Rookie…thanks for nothing!
Assuming you’re talking about Carrera, he’s not a rookie. I made that same incorrect assumption. He’s a scrub that’s played parts of four seasons. Dombrowski talked him up like a rookie when they traded Jackson because no one had ever heard of him…with good reason.
Didn’t know that..thanks. which makes that play even worse cause he should have known better!
Assmus will defend Carrera for his great attempt when in reality it was not a very smart play …at all! Absolute Clown move!
Interesting discussion on the post game there. Dan aptly pointed out that Nathan’s 3.38 ERA over his last 16 innings is misleading – 18 hits and 12 BBs during that time. “That’s a lot of traffic…” The lead-off BB is just killer. It’s inexcusable for a team that has WS aspirations.
Still, the division is in our hands.
Let’s go White Sox!
We’re going to have to do it ourselves, chances of White Sox not being swept are close to zero.
He had a 1.537 WHIP (before today), which is comical for a closer.
just got home from the Astros CLE game (BTW – Altuve broke a team record for 212 hits), and i was watching the scoreboard…seeing DET shoot blanks against Nolasco (c’mon), until the JMart HR in the 9th – one of the guys i was with (CLE fan) said “DET seems like a team of destiny lately…” to which i responded, “Nathan still has to pitch the bottom half of the 9th” — and i see where his sloppiness did ‘his thing’ again
…talk about a buzz kill
Give the ball to Soria
Will be interesting to see if Nathan throws Carrera under the bus like he did Castellanos (it was definitely a clown play, but even if he played it well it’s still was a single smoked to center).
Perhaps there could be a bright side to this – if this means no more Sloppy Joe Blow at the end of games.,
Assmus will say what a great job His dad Nathan did and the only reason he blew it was “thats Baseball”…. Assmus pat answer…..
If you want the real cause for the loss how about the 25 pathetic outs off the Tiger bats on maybe 5 strikes and 21 balls out of the strikezone. 10 of which the batter just basically threw his bat at the ball…theres the loss. Should never have gotten to that ninth….now thats baseball…
Haven’t been on a roller-coaster ride like that one since my last trip to Coney Island….
Joe Nathan = Magic-kill, with honorable mention going to Carrera (what a bone-headed play… runners on 1 and 2 with one out is still escapable, even for Joe Nathan), and Brad Asmus for not bringing Parcel back in, or even Soria. It would seem the entire organization is in denial about Nathan.
Keeping your heads in the sand is not going to make Nathan come back into form. It is not going to make this team’s gaping 9th-inning hole magically go away nor sow up the division and/or secure a playoff berth. Best case scenario, if the Tigers can make the playoffs, it certainly isn’t going to produce wins in a closely-contested playoff series.
Meanwhile, in the 7th inning in Kansas City Ned Yost bores the White Sox to death by bringing in his 7th pitcher of the game.
Gillaspie just cleared the bases. White Sox up 7-5 in the top of the 7th.
Maybe the Royals bored them back awake!
Conner Gallisspie…atta boy!!!
Holy cow, Oakland really may not make the playoffs.
Well, after 15 combined pitchers, the Chicago/Kansas City game is finally over, and Chicago actually managed to win. Sometimes That’s Baseball is a good thing.
The Brewers/Cardinals played 12 innings in 20 fewer minutes.
Assmus…”better to walk a guy like Ploufe than to give him a pitch to hit a home run”……is this guy forr real????????
I agree. At least Papa Grande imploded the lead with the bats. Walking batters, no control, and average pitches is horrible for a closer. Papa Grande would throw a million fastballs and just blow up. Closers should throw strikes. My only wish would be that Ausmus would stop the bleeding and give anyone else a chance to be the closer. At this point I would even take Coke over Nathan. Looks like our 10 million dollar solution was not a solution at all.
KC faces Sale tonight …who I believe is the best pitcher in the AL…and probably only 2nd to Kershaw for MLB best… DET faces Gibson (who’s been very hittable lately) – one would think this bodes well for DET, but you just never know…
if the schedule holds and Sale doesn’t have any health issues, he’s scheduled to pitch KC’s last game of the regular season on 9/28…hopefully its doesn’t come down to game 162…
http://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2014/09/17/detroit-tigers-joe-nathan/15777749/
My heart tells me a cagey veteran like Nathan is going to figure it out, and get back to previous year form… but the numbers and ‘my head’ just doesn’t see that happening…and fears some version of a bad Valverde re-run in a crucial game.
Watching the replays of last night’s game, it didn’t appear MIN hit Nathan that hard, except for the breaking ball he hung to Suzuki on that ball Carrera dove for…and turned into an RBI double
I’m hoping Soria is the answer (but have some doubts about him too), because I’m not seeing Chamberlain, ALBQ, Johnson or Hardy filling that ‘9th inning guy’ role. I never thought I’d admit this, but I’d rather see Coke than Nathan in the 9th – and that my friends is what desperation looks like.
Hmmm…..seven blown saves. How many games would the Tigers be ahead of KC if he only had 3 or 4 blown saves? I simply think old age is creeping up on Joe. His pitch speed is dropping, losing some command, and because of such he is simply losing confidence in throwing that important challenging pitch that batters in the past swung at but missed. As a result, the walks creep up and we all know what happens after that?
With that said, I must say Joe handled this past/last episode of the Tiger fan critism rather well. It made me realize that he’s a good guy, got his heart in the game and with the team….just getting old like us all and losing that magical and envious gift from the baseball gods. Welcome to the team Joe!