Well, bullpen happened.

Not a good outing by JV either. I don’t get pulling JV for Greene in the bottom of the 6th. Though I don’t get a lot of what Ausmus does. Winning last night would have been a gift, with all of the trouble the pitchers were in last night.

The Blue Jays have won six in a row now. The dreaded Pelfrey/TBD/TBD trio on the mound the next three games. Remember, Saturday is an afternoon slot.

Baseball-Reference Game Preview here.

1. 2B Ian Kinsler

2. CF Cameron Maybin

3. 1B Miguel Cabrera

4. DH Victor Martinez

5. 3B Nick Castellanos

6. LF Justin Upton

7. C James McCann

8. RF Mike Aviles

9. SS Jose Iglesias

Well, if you’re gonna lose 2/3 and 11 in a row, a 12-2 drubbing is a good way to go out. Certainly lessened the blow.

Baseball-Reference game preview here.

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B

2. Cameron Maybin, CF

3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B

4. Victor Martinez, DH

5. Nick Castellanos, 3B

6. Justin Upton, LF

7. Steven Moya, RF

8. James McCann, C

9. Jose Iglesias, SS

We’ve won these last three against the Rays in three very different manners. Late inning improbable come back, blowout, pitching duel. With Pelfrey on the mound maybe today will be high scoring back and forth.

This is a day late, but Sanchez is not pitching his way back into the rotation.

The odd lineup frustrates me, but I know you gotta give 27 year old professional athletes a rest from their 3 hour a day jobs from time to time. It’s ridiculous, but I agree with the historical results.

1. Kinsler, 2B

2. Iglesias, SS

3. Cabrera, 1B

4. Martinez V, DH

5. Castellanos, 3B

6. Upton, LF

7. Moya, RF

8. McCann, C

9. Romine, CF

Half-way point after today.

Miggy sitting.

Baseball-Reference game preview here.

1.  Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Cameron Maybin, CF
3. Victor Martinez, DH
4. Nick Castellanos, 3B
5. Justin Upton, LF
6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 1B
7. Mike Aviles, RF
8. James McCann, C
9. Jose Iglesias, SS

I admit…I did not see that one last night coming. Nor learn about it until this morning. Baseball is a funny game.

Would be nice to get a quality start from Zimmermann or Verlander sometime soon.

Fulmer v. Smyly today. Remember last year when Smyly was on his way to being an ace before an injury? He’s got some ugly numbers this year, but don’t be fooled. His WHIP is only 1.24, and he’s actually improved his K/BB rate pretty significantly (it’s at 5/1 right now, versus 3.67 career). He’s suffering from a slightly high BABIP this year (.312), and he’s given up .8 HR more per 9 than his career average. Thus, a few outliers are pushing up his ERA and loss total. Baseball is a funny game.

Fulmer has had 8 days off. Tigers going for 4 in a row.

Baseball-Reference game preview here.

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B

2. Cameron Maybin, CF

3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B

4. Victor Martinez, DH

5. Nick Castellanos, 3B

6. Justin Upton, LF

7. Mike Aviles, RF

8. James McCann, C

9. Jose Iglesias, SS

Will Cle ever lose again?

Weekend set v. the Rays starts tonight. TB is not good. 3/4 would be nice. 2/4 at a minimum. This kicks off a pre-All Star break 11 game road-trip, highlighted by 3 in Cle.

Baseball-Reference game preview here.

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B

2. Cameron Maybin, CF

3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B

4. Victor Martinez, DH

5. Nick Castellanos, 3B

6. Justin Upton, LF

7. Steven Moya, RF

8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C

9. Jose Iglesias, SS

Thank you to coleman for filling in on short notice yesterday. Checked with Dr. Andrews, MRI was negative. Back at it today.

In all honesty, getting swept at home in late June isn’t going to really affect our chances of competing in a mediocre division. But there are two things at play today which are much more serious.

1) If Ausmus intended to stir up his team through his comments about “getting angry” to the media, or in the clubhouse, it certainly didn’t work. There’s not a person reading this who isn’t surprised. But it brings Ausmus’ (in)ability as a leader to the forefront once again. This team has rolled over the last two nights, and just about every game of the 8 so far vs. Cleveland. The team is good enough to win a few on its own; I stand by that the team is competing in spite of Ausmus. A Avila and Mr. I and their consiglieres certainly know more about baseball than I do. I would love to figure out what I’m missing regarding Ausmus. It’s something. Perhaps there is a manager arc…imagine a baseball reference closest comps for managers – and he’s on the Tom Kelly/Tony LaRussa/Joe Torre arc, but with an Ivy League education. Let’s hope.

2) If Verlander wants to show that he’s an ace again (I read one Detroit columnist who said that JV could be in Cy Young conversations…tap the brakes on that) he needs to put an end to the losing streak, right now.

As far as Sanchez goes…I have no idea what to do with him. I’m sure he’ll get another start. It’s an ironic consequence of high paying contracts. He’s too expensive to bench or send down. So we’ll just continue to  get kicked in the nuts every 5 days b/c he had a great year a few years ago and DD overpaid him.

Don’t get too down. It’s an average team in an average division. It could still be a fun summer.

Moya day to day with a sore knee. Numbers below off of Josh Tomlin.

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B (8-for-20, 2 doubles, HR, walk, K)
2. Cameron Maybin, CF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B (7-for-18, double, HR, 4 walks, K)
4. Victor Martinez, DH (3-for-19, double, HR, 3 walks, 2 K’s)
5. Nick Castellanos, 3B (4-for-17, 2 doubles, 5 K’s)
6. Justin Upton, LF (2-for-9, double, K)
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C (4-for-5, double, HR, walk, K)
8. Mike Aviles, RF (2-for-14, double, HR, walk, 3 K’s)
9. Jose Iglesias, SS (1-for-4)

The angry(?) Tigers, winners of 4 in a row, are set to host the first place, and streaking (as in winning streak, not JR Smith streaking) Indians, winners of 6 in a row. The Tigers have yet to win against Cleveland this year. That’s going to change soon

Fangraphs ran a very interesting post on Cabrera today, apparently he has the worst vsR/vsL splits in the majors; and the effect is reversed. That’s right, he’s crushing righties, and getting dogged by lefties. He’s also way off his career average on change-ups. The article points to age, but I see a splendid opportunity to progress towards the mean. He won’t be this good against righties all year, but he’ll be much better against lefties. Here’s something that should make you salivate…his BABIP v. lefties this year is .192. It’s likely to be around .300 by the end of the season.

Baseball-Reference game preview here.

1. Kinsler, 2B
2. Maybin, CF
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez, V, DH
5. Upton, LF
6. Castellanos, 3B
7. Moya, RF
8. McCann, C
9. Romine, SS

A series that started off so promising is dangerously close to being a 3-1 convincing KC series win if Zimmermann doesn’t deliver today. These last two games haven’t been close.

I checked the standings. Last night’s bullpen massacre only counts as one loss. I could have sworn it would be two, but thankfully, it’s just one.

Matt Boyd on the hill tonight.

Baseball-Reference game preview here.

The only thing more exciting than a good JV team win, is Fulmer pitching the next day.

J.D. out for a month.

Baseball-Reference game preview here.

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B

2. Jose Iglesias, SS

3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B

4. Victor Martinez, DH

5. Nick Castellanos, 3B

6. Justin Upton, LF

7. Steven Moya, RF

8. James McCann, C

9. Andrew Romine, SS

What do you guys think about the Ichiro hits record? Doesn’t move the needle for me. He’s a HoFer for sure, but I feel that MLB records trump all.

Tigers in KC for four, our re-remerging ace Justin Verlander is on the hill tonight.

Baseball-Reference game preview here.

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B

2. Jose Iglesias, SS

3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B

4. Victor Martinez, DH

5. J.D. Martinez, RF

6. Nick Castellanos, 3B

7. Justin Upton, CF

8. James McCann, C

9. Mike Aviles, LF