Game 2016.133: White Sox at Tigers

Sorry for the late post, just flipped on the game. Very excited about this one.

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B

2. Jose Iglesias, SS

3. Victor Martinez, DH

4. J.D. Martinez, RF

5. Justin Upton, LF

6. James McCann, C

7. JaCoby Jones, CF

8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 1B

9. Andrew Romine, 3B

39 thoughts on “Game 2016.133: White Sox at Tigers”

  1. I was gonna listen to the game..but Alex hits a dinger off JV..I am out of hete til after the game!

    1. Yes, a joy to watch. Glad we have gotten JV off the hook. Remember Sales next start is against us!

  2. KRod threw just 12 pitches in the 9th, if DET doesn’t score, I think I’d bring him back for the 10th… can’t believe I just suggested that, but a better option than JWilson or Rondon I would think – at least until he allows a base runner

  3. JJ should takes his parents on the road with him in case he’s showing off for them.

    1. Yes, like Maybin he seems to add the x factor. It goes well with Ian, JV who are real bull dogs.

  4. Stole another well pitched game from Sale – for the 2nd time this year.

    …but they’ll face him again next week…in Chicago (Monday)

  5. Brad gave Big Al the credit for bringing JJ up now. I was sure it wasn’t Brad but the brilliant part is Avila brought him up before September 1st whish qualifies him for post season play. With Maybins health an issue that could be very big.

  6. Upton is suddenly racking up a ton of walks. I think two things are going on; he’s crushing the ball because he’s laying off bad pitches, and pitchers are actually pitching around him now.

  7. Just wondering: was Mr. Jones on anyone’s radar before this? I for one, admit I had not heard of him…

    1. i had been following him, as the word on the street when they traded Soria for him was “he’s a player”, but then he had the 50-game suspension (for ‘drug of abuse’) and after tearing up AA ball, he struggled a bit when first promoted to AAA – which tempered a bit of the optimism.

      Its been just two games, and against the CWS – but a great debut is a great way to start – and we all know how MLB pitchers/teams are very good at finding rookie hitters weaknesses, so we’ll see how it plays out. He’s a big strong kid, decent fielder, fast and puts the ball in play – all qualities DET can use.

      Props to DD for his “parting gifts” to DET: Jacoby Jones (for Soria), Boyd & Norris (for Price) and Fulmer (for Cespedes)…and DET also got Luis Cessa from NYM (pitcher w/Fulmer, who DET then traded to NYY for JWilson) – not bad for 3 players that were going to be FA’s and a team (DET ’15) who was going nowhere (playoff-wise).

  8. Man, JV was awesome yesterday. 3 hitter to pull us into the playoffs. He has certainly proven me wrong. I was hoping he’d win out and get to 20. If his Sept is like his July/August were, he’s gonna get some Cy Young votes.

  9. Welcome to September and we still have a chance. This is much better than last year and some hope for the future with some good young pitchers and established stars. I think the upcoming series with KC is very important. We can not allow them to sweep us. That might end the season for us. Sweeping KC should end their season. If it is 2-1 or even 1-2 we still have a shot. I’m hoping for Maybin in CF and JJ at 3rd until Casty is ready Could be exiting.

    1. I agree Tony, every series will be critical. If (and that’s an incredibly big “if”) DET were to win (not sweep) all of their remaining 9 series, DET would finish 20-9, w/a 92-70 record, which could be good enough to win the ALC.

      …of course, winning every series (2 of 3, or 3 of 4) would entail DET taking 5 of 7 games from a CLE team that has totally owned DET this year… so there’s that obstacle to contend w/… but the 7 games left w/CLE should ‘each’ be played as if it were the 7th game of the WS – as those “W’s” against CLE carry obvious add’l significance.

      from here on out, DET will thrive or dive with “starting pitching” – and I have no idea as what to expect, either a 20-9 or a 14-15 finish are both conceivable… I guess we shall see. At least we’re still on board for meaningful baseball in Sept, which is a good thing.

      1. If you have time, take a look at the Tigers, Indians, and Royals won/loss records for the AL East, AL Central, AL West, and Inter-league play. Kinda revealing where the Tigers have all their above .500 wins. Time to get it on!

        1. also interesting that DET in 1-run games has a winning record 23-15 – good sign typically – and usually means a good bullpen. CLE is only 21-18 in 1-run games.

          DET sub.500 against ALC 26-27 – whereas CLE & KC have feasted on ALC teams: CLE 36-17 and KC 34-17. DET’s abysmal record against CLE this year is the difference, if DET were .500 against CLE, they’d be ahead of CLE…which magnifies the 7 remaining w/CLE – 3 in CLE, 4 in DET

          DET & CWS only ALC teams w/winning records against AL East (DET 18-13)

      2. Last year we were in a race of sorts (for last place in he Central) and we denied the White Sox the privilege.

  10. I don’t think we can expect the 8-2 pace over the next 30 games …BUT………….stranger things have happened in baseball!

    Nice of the schedule makers and lack of rain to get the veterans some days off lately…Kins..Miggy..VMart..Mabin(hurt)…Upton (refreshed)….will all benefit!

  11. For the what its worth category….Ja Coby Jones comes from Richton, Mississippi. Given the excitement of his parents and sister at the recent two games, I now believe there are now more than one Tiger fan in Mississippi! In fact did you see his parents wearing Tiger shirts during Game 133? Glad to see the excitement as we enter September.

    1. good point Ole Miss…apparently your numbers are growing, and thus maybe your title may have to be adjusted to; “The First Tiger (DET, not LSU) Fan in MS” 😉

    2. Yes but they are suspect fans since their son is on he Tigers. If he were with the Twinkies they would wear Twins gear (but perhaps not publicly). Ole Miss you are the Only (TRUE) Tiger Fan In Mississippi.

  12. And let’s not forget there is also the Jackson State Tigers and Delta State Univ has the English D logo on their caps. It’s tuff around here during hurricane season!

  13. Does anyone know if the Sunday game with the Royals is televised? It shows up as a no TV on the Tiger broadcast schedule.

  14. Ole Miss: Thanks, I felt that FSD would show the game and I just verified it on Comcast. Maybin has been the fresh air that has given us a chance and maybe JJ can add to it.

  15. Several articles on why the Tigers don’t beat lefties..Brad doesn’t know why, Victor doesn’t know,McCann doesn’t know..Kinsler doesn’t know….well Jud knows..hey Brad you listening
    ….the free swinging Tigers leave the strikzone swinging an amazing number of times. BUT they really leave it against lefties. More swing and misses, more poorly contacted balls, less hits (stats show that)..less runs(stats show that)..it has nothing to do with LH/ Rh or LH /LH matchups. It has to do with where pitches are. Watch them against the next bush league pitcher thats a LH…they will swing at a ton of pitches outside and almost every pitch in the dirt…
    Thats my theory and I am sticking to it.

    1. Jud, that has always bothered me about the Tigers. I have even done a rant or two about it. If you noticed in the last few games against the Sox, their starters (who except for Sale) were so-so pitchers never were anywhere near pitch count trouble. I can forgive chasing a slider out of the strike zone when you have 2 strikes but is how you got there that gets me mad. How many times do we see our hitters go for the first pitch after a walk? When a new pitcher comes in, why can’t we take a pitch or two to see if he even can find the strike zone. No discipline. When we are 2 or more runs down doesn’t the batter realize that what we need is a base runner not a home run? Oh well, I’m ranting again.

  16. And Tony it doesn’t matter who the batting coach is , the manager or the player. Thats just that they mostly all do it. Watch the Yankees and Red Sox theres a reason they walk 100 times more than the Tigers. Both teams are amazing at it along with other teams. That lack of disciplne runs thru their entire Tiger organization…my rant fir the day…

  17. Suggested nickname for Fulmer…”The Streak?” We could even use Ray Steevens’ 1970 hit “The Streak!” (Well, they call me the Streak….boogie down..boogie down!)

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