Game 2015.29: Tigers at White Sox

And so the Blowpen, that creature that was almost starting to seem like a myth, rears its ugly head.

In retrospect, you could see this coming by the third inning.

Simon was holding off the White Sox, but very inefficiently, up to 60 pitches before he got the 2nd out of the inning. Clearly this was going to be a game where the bullpen would be a factor. Unfortunately, in Tuesday’s game Shane Greene couldn’t even make it through the 3rd, and the bullpen pitched the majority of the game. This left Al Alburquerque, Tom Gorzelanny, and Joba Chamberlain as the only real options for the Tigers, and with the dangerous right-handers in the Chicago lineup, and the struggles of Alburquerque, it’s hard to argue with the choice to go to Chamberlain.

Why he didn’t pull him when he was getting bombed is a mystery I can’t solve.

Oh yeah, Joba Chamberlain, he’s still on the team, right? When is the last time he pitched, anyway? (He got 2 batters on May 1 against KC). Joba was doing OK up until tonight. But he’d never gone as long as 4 games without an appearance. I know it seems that Ausmus didn’t get him out in time, but it all happened pretty fast. I do think that we may have a case of bullpen mismanagement though: surely, if you have a guy that you are going to trust to take over in a close game, you can’t let him sit for a week.

Last season Chamberlain appeared 68 times, and only 8 of them were with 4 days or more rest, and the majority of them with 0-2 days rest.

Alburquerque, by the way, has been battling sinus problems, which seems like a lame excuse for bad pitching. Then again, do any of you remember how we ended up getting him in the first place? Colorado gave up on him; besides struggling on the mound he had been struggling with headaches. The Tigers grabbed him and he got what was described as “serious dental problems” fixed, and went on to be a great reliever for Detroit.

Despite the disappointing blowpen appearance, we may look back on this game as a turning point, in a good way: Victor hit a home run. Is V-Mart back (at least right-handed)? I won’t miss that Inge-Mart guy.

Today’s Can’t Let These Clowns Sweep Us Lineup:

  1. Rajai Davis, CF
  2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
  3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
  4. Victor Martinez, DH
  5. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
  6. JD Martinez, RF
  7. Nick Castellanos, 3B
  8. Alex Avila, C
  9. Hernan Perez, SS

Iglesias gets another day off. Troubling.

20 thoughts on “Game 2015.29: Tigers at White Sox”

  1. Maybe I’m missing something here, but if Victor can hit right-handed but not left-handed, why doesn’t he just bat right-handed full time?

  2. Because that make too much sense!. When have the Tigers ever been accused of being smart!

  3. As the Tigers work on their manditory 1 or 2 runs for Lobster. I think of how good Cabrerra Victor and now Cecpedes are at fouling off pitches until they get a pitch they can hit hard. Cecpedes just had a 10 pitch at bat and even though he didn’t get a hit, he ripped a ball down to third. On the other side Castellanos and JD rarely have more than a 4 pitch at bat…and Because if how often they leave the zone to swing it has very little to do with how a pitcher is pitching them….

    1. hopefully a good sign that his confidence (& hitting ability) is returning

  4. And Casty actually comes thru. Can’t believe they threw him a 2 strike pitch in the strikezone!..anyway…good job!

  5. What do you do when JV comes back???…Lobster is frickin solid in there!!!!!

    1. I agree – other than a few shaky innings, Lobstein has been solid – and lately much more reliable than Greene.

      …anyway, I suspect JV won’t be pitching for DET for at least another 2-4 weeks… with the long-term money they have committed to him, DET will make sure he’s completely ready before he pitches in a MLB game

  6. Just because we won today is not a valid reason to let Assmus off the hook for his blundering idiot moves! Why was Avila starting against a lefty today ….. so he could get his requisite 2-3 K’s? This team can’t overcome his blundering moves on a daily basis!

    1. I agree and on top of all the blunders last night he said he didn’,t replace Casty defensively in the 8th because he was scheduled to bat in the 9th…..why???..so what!!!!! Today Avila plays against the lefty….hey Brad you did graduate from real college didn’t you?…and heaven forbid can’t Goss and Davis play at the same time and park Mr K ..Martinez on the end of the bench!!!!

  7. Was JMart a flash in the pan last year and he is now reverting to the type of hitter that his previous team let walk?

  8. Wana know how much worse Ventura is as a manager than Asmus…he intentionally walked JD!!! Who is batting .088 with 17 K’s this past 10 games….

    1. Haha, Jud, you and I agree on something. Couldn’t believe Ventura walked him. He’s struck out 20 times in the last 8 games. This is getting embarrassing—not just for him but for Ausmus, who apparently doesn’t see someone who’s slumping and needs a few days off.

  9. Asmus is just a younger version of Jim Leyland. He is everyones buddy. Doesn’t want to hurt anyones feelings!!!!. Hey might sit JD for one game instead of sitting him on the bench for a week, so he gets the understanding that this is a business and you are paid big money to produce. Players loved Smokey cause he held no one accountable. Is Asmus any different. Tigers are just barely over .500 the past 3 weeks. Make any changes…none. heck he still has a guy batting .350 batting ninth..why!. How bout putting him somewhere where guys can drive him in. How bout playing Gose and Davis at the same time….how biut playing Romine in right, what has he done so far…a lot! How bout sticking to your catching platoon. Instead of giving up free at bats with Avila today..right now 5-6-7-8 in the order is a joke, and when Victor bats LH then 4-6-7-8 Are a joke..

    1. “Asmus is just a younger version of Jim Leyland.” Yep. Because those are the kinds of guys Ilitch and Dombrowski like. They’re finally playing catch up with the other saber-minded teams in baseball by getting guys like Davis and Gose, but the other part of the equation is getting a coaching staff that lives and operates in 2015. Until that changes, it’s going to be same old Tigers.

  10. You are right…and unfortunately Jones and Lamont have way too much influence on him . I like both of them as coaches, but they are walking ,”Leylands” and Asmus is afraid to stand up to those two also. You telling me NO ONE in the dugout thought Joba should come out during that frickin inning yesterday….no one????…

  11. I agree with everything that was written about the Manager and some of the coaching staff here today.

  12. Yordano “Jesse the Body” Ventura goes to the mound tonight in his first Royal start since his suspension for fighting with the White Sox. Meanwhile Price tows the slab for the Tigers coming off a strong outing against the Royals and inheriting a well-rested bullpen. Will the Royals attempt to test Price’s game plan by The Body pitching in close at Comerica?

    1. If there is any fighting let’s make JD Martinez the designated brawler–he’s a big guy, and he could use the few days off from the suspension.

      1. Let’s make it a tag-team match and throw in Joba Chamberlain!

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