The only suspense left in the season is whether the Tigers can improve their draft position.
Fun fact: hitters are batting .417 off of Matt Boyd when he’s ahead in the count.
Career numbers off Erasmo Ramirez
In years past I planned my Labor Day around the game.
Career numbers off Drew Smyly
Alfredo “Big Pasta” Simon has now earned the “enigmatic” description. Apparently all he does is throw either batting practice, or shutouts.
It is easy to find a reason to watch today: Justin Verlander, who continues to impress. Verlander’s 2nd half numbers now sit at at 2.45 ERA, and a stingy 0.930, numbers which would put him in the Cy Young conversation if he had had a whole season of that.
Another reason to watch: if you have relatives from Cleveland visiting. I don’t think they care any more than I do at this point, but still….
Ian Kinsler gets a day off today. It’s worth appreciating what he has done the 2nd half, continuing to hit even as the boat sinks. He’s currently at .354, .980 OPS for the 2nd half, and now leads the team with a 5.9 WAR.
Today’s Lineup:
I’m taking the over tonight. I predict Brantley runs wild. Last 2 starts for Simon: 14 earned runs in 9.1 innings. I want Suarez back!
Gose isn’t happy with his base running: “my mouth has written checks my butt can’t cash.” +2 for Anthony Gose. -2 for anyone who doesn’t know he is doing anything wrong.
Ausmus is getting more and more bold. He says he might sit Victor for a day, maybe, if things get crazy. “If I think he needs a day or two (off), we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Ausmus wants it to be known he is a bridge-crosser. He will burn that bridge at both ends, and cross it when he comes to it.
Today’s Hey! It’s Football Season! Lineup:
Corey Kluber was supposed to pitch tonight, then Cleveland realized oh wait, it’s only the Tigers, so they switched to Josh Tomlin (actually, Kluber has a hamstring strain. That’s the story anyway).
Reason to follow this game: the much-anticipated return of The Lobster, Kyle Lobstein. OK, “much-anticipated” may be a small exaggeration.
A guy named Kyle pitched for a while last night and didn’t do so well, but really, without that final touchdown, they had a chance to win that one. Oh wait, that was the Michigan game.
Jose Iglesias is out for “more than a couple games” with a finger that got bunt-failed, so the Tigers call up Dixon Machado to fill in.
Today’s Lineup:
Michigan plays tonight!
1. Anthony Gose, CF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. J.D. Martinez, RF
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Tyler Collins, LF
8. James McCann, C
9. Jose Iglesias, SS
JV is getting into a groove. The defenses miscues are troubling. Lots of guys look like they have checked out.
1. Anthony Gose, CF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. J.D Martinez, RF
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Tyler Collins, LF
8. Jose Iglesias, SS
9. Alex Avila, C
Hello Friends –
There are still 32 games left for the Tigers to sink further into the depths of the AL standings. I don’t think there is anything that Ausmus can do to save his job at this point in time.
JV on the hill tonight. That’s something at least worth following.
1. CF Anthony Gose
2. 2B Ian Kinsler
3. 1B Miguel Cabrera
4. RF J.D. Martinez
5. DH Victor Martinez
6. 3B Nick Castellanos
7. LF Tyler Collins
8. C James McCann
9. SS Jose Iglesias
Well, yesterday’s game was about as ugly as it gets. Edwin Encarnacion had 3 home runs and 9 RBI, which is about a month’s work for Victor Martinez. Which is not to say today couldn’t be just as bad: last outing Aflredo Simon dispelled the mirage he created when he through a 1-hit shutout, and was banged around for 8 runs in 4 innings. The Blue Jays may be having a big plate of pasta this afternoon.
Brad Ausmus said he was “embarrassed” by yesterday’s game, which for him is practically a tirade. So today Brad will be taking extreme measures: he swaps the Martinezes in the batting order.
Today’s Wait, How Many Outs are There? Lineup:
Today Buck Farmer takes his turn at trying to keep the Blue Jays in the yard. This lineup is truly potent, as opposed to the “potent” Tigers offense that Rod Allen is always talking about. The Tigers have leadoff hitters who can’t get on base and a cleanup hitter who can’t hit in runs, but hey, other than that they are fine.
When David Price made his last start fort the Tigers, the Tigers were 48-52, and the Blue Jays were 50-51. That’s a 1 1/2 game difference. The Tigers decided to sell, the Blue Jays decided to buy, and now Toronto is 12 games better than Detroit.
Today Brad swaps Gose and Davis in the lineup, and decides to prank Buck Farmer by giving JD Martinez the day off.
Today’s Lineup:
Matt Boyd returns to Toronto, and takes on his former team, as does Anthony Gose. David Price is there, and not doubt will be renewing acquaintances, but we won’t see him pitching this series.
Justin Verlander’s near no-hitter was a tough act to follow, but crafty veteran Randy Wolf did a pretty good job of it. He has now had two good outings, which is probably as much or more than the team expected to get from him this season. Wolf now has a WHIP of 1.143, which is the 2nd lowest among Tiger starters (Verlander now, by the way, has a lower WHIP for the season than David Price did). Wolf says he isn’t yet ready to concede to age.
If Miguel Cabrera gets 5 plate appearances tonight, he will appear in the official batting average leaders list.
In Minor League notes, current Erie pitcher (and former Binghamton pitcher) Michael Fulmer has been named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. Some hope for the future.
Today’s Where Did the Runs Go? Lineup:
I wish I had more time to give JV his full due, and to apologize in part for some things I may have said earlier this year…but I doubt he’s reading.
But you know who is…billfer. Check out his thoughtful post on JV this morning.
1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Tyler Collins, LF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. J.D. Martinez, RF
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Alex Avila, C
8. Jose Iglesias, SS
9. Anthony Gose, CF
