PREGAME: The Tigers will try and close out the season series against the Yankees with a win. It will be two left handers on the mound today which should favor Detroit.

The Tigers offense is built to beat up lefties, and they took care of Andy Pettite last time they hooked up in Detroit.

For Detroit, somehow Nate Robertson will give up 4 runs. He’s allowed 4 runs in 5 of his last 6 starts. It’s just a matter of how long he lasts.

Then again, it’s raining north of Detroit right now, so who knows if they get it in.

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, my grandma (who we buy the sports package for as a Christmas gift each year so she can watch her Tigers), and my wife. Also Happy Mother’s Day to cib, and Kathy, and Anne, and all the other mom’s.

NYY @ DET, Sunday, May 11, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 1:05

PREGAME: Hey, it’s Fox Saturday Baseball again, and it’s the main game with Ken Rosenthal in town and everything. (I saw Rosenthal at the game last night and that is a tiny dude. So small it seemed like John Keating could dribble him).

The Tigers will send out Jeremy Bonderman who still is looking for that first “wow” game of the season. His last time out against the Red Sox he was hurt by a pair of two run homers. The time before he had his typical first inning struggles but then went onto pitch 7.2 innings in his longest start of the year.

Bonderman, like most righties has had a rougher time with left handed batters. While he’s still walking them quite a bit this year (19% of the time actually), it’s the right handers who have hit for more power (449 slugging for righties, 380 for lefties).

The Yankees send out Darrell Rasner. Rasner is making just his second start of the year. He held Seattle to 2 runs in 6 innings in his 2008 debut walking none and fanning 4.

And following Ian’s lead, a shout out to my blogging buddies for the Wings and Pistons on this a Detroit triple header day. Behind the Jersey, Need 4 Sheed, Detroit Bad Boys.

NYY @ DET, Saturday, May 10, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 3:40

PREGAME: The last time the Tigers saw the Yankees they were one game under .500. Since then the Tigers have won one game. They have 10 extra base hits in their last 241 at-bats. They’ve struck out 43 times. They haven’t hit a home run since Curtis Granderson led off with one 5 games ago. Things aren’t good.

Kei Igawa takes the mound for the Yankees, making his first start of the year. Last year he allowed a homer 4.5 innings so that may bode well for an offense in a power outage.

Kenny Rogers has quality starts in his last two outings. His last start against the Twins was derailed following a Carlos Guillen error, but he still managed 6 strike outs and no walks.

NYY @ DET, Friday, May 9, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 7:05

POSTGAME: The Tigers have a thing about playing the Yankees on Friday nights. Comerica has seen some noteworthy games tilting in the Tigers favor under those circumstances. There was the shellacking of Randy Johnson, the Mike Maroth 1-hitter, and the 3:30 in the morning walk-off. Todd Jones did his best to make this one memorable as well.

Jones made a 4-run lead look very surmountable, but the winning run was left on first base as Shelley Duncan hit a ball hard but at Granderson. All I can say about Jones is that if he’s going to pitch crappy, better to do it with a 4 run cushion than a 1 run one. But yes, he will blow some saves, as do all closers.

As for the offense, they pounded Kei Igawa as they’ve pounded many left handed pitchers. Part of me wishes Boof Bonser was traded to the NL instead of Johann Santana (that would be sarcasm). Pudge had two doubles, a single, a WALK, and a flyball deep to right field.

Polanco had two hits, and two line drives that turned into outs. Guillen took an 0’fer but might have had the hardest hit ball of the night but Bobby Abreu tracked it down.

Ryan Raburn got a rare start (more on this later) and made the most of it with two hits.

Two milestones occurred last night. Gary Sheffield tied Al Kaline on the all time RBI list. This was acknowledged on the scoreboard. Kenny Rogers broke the pick off record, totally befuddling Wilson Betemit (who had a really bad game). Yet this wasn’t even mentioned in the stadium.

PREGAME: Justin Verlander and Josh Beckett tonight.

Sorry for the brevity, gotta run.

BOS @ DET, Thursday, May 8, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 7:05

POSTGAME:  That winning thing was short lived.  I missed the first 3 innings of this game while coaching my son’s team but it appears to be more of the same. Tigers starting pitching allows runs early, but not so much to make it a blow out.  Red Sox starting pitching looks golden allowing some baserunners, but they were all singles.  And it’s yet another loss.

Curtis Granderson fanned 4 times, besting (or worsting) his 3 K’s performance last night.  Miguel Cabrera is slumping again going 0 for 4 with a couple ugly looking K’s.  If it weren’t for the subs at the bottom of the order – Thames, Inge, and Santiago – stringing together 2 out hits it would have been another shut out.

I just don’t know.

Red Sox 5 Tigers 1

PREGAME: The Tigers are in a 3-way battle for AL suckitude with the Rangers and Mariners. It would be nice to not be in that position.

It’s Armando Galarraga and Clay Bucholz if the rain holds off.

Bucholz has been money with only 3 runs allowed total over his last 3 starts since a shellacking at the hands of the Yankees. He has a reverse platoon split with righties hitting an 846 OPS against him whereas lefties are struggling to the tune of .564.

Here’s your lineup.

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, 3B
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Sheffield, LF
7. Joyce, DH
8. Renteria, SS
9. Rodriguez, C

BOS @ DET, Wednesday, May 7, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 7:05

POSTGAME: You know, when a game last 4 hours it gives you quite a bit to comment on. I’ll start with the finish. The Tigers got the win. Good. Very good. Much needed.

The 9th inning rally wasn’t one of shock and awe. It consisted of a check swing dribbler, an error, a bunt, a ground ball to second, and a broken bat single. But it’s still two runs, and it’s still a win. And to each guy’s credit that inning, they found a way to put the ball in play.

Now a ton of bullet points: Continue reading Game 35: Red Sox at Tigers →

PREGAME: Here we are with another extended losing streak and the light at the tunnel to .500 just keeps getting dimmer. Tonight it will be Tim Wakefield going up against Nate Robertson.

With Wakefield you don’t know what you’re going to get, aside from a bevy of knuckleballs. The last time the Tigers faced Wakefield they drew 5 walks, but like we saw last night it doesn’t translate to runs without some extra base hits.

Robertson had a typical Nate outing allowing 4 runs. He’s allowed 4 runs in 4 of his last 5 outings.

I’m off to the game!

BOS @ DET, Tuesday, May 6, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 7:05

POSTGAME: It’s a tardy postgame report because I make a rule to try and not blog angry. Plus I couldn’t even muster the words to express my disappointment in that game. And the morning after I still can’t. So just some bullets will need to suffice:

• I saw cib and tiff and Samara prior to the game. So a lovely early summer night started off lovely.
• Robertson struck out the lead off hitter on 3 pitches. That seemed like a good omen.
• Nate is at least remarkably consistent. My friend and I debated how he would give up the 4th run of the night in the 7th inning. He had Manny going deep. I had a double to Pedroia that would be let in by the bullpen. We were both wrong.
• I feel I bear some responsibility. When Carlos Guillen singled in the first I said “at least we don’t have to worry about the no hitter tonight.”
• Curtis Granderson saw 23 pitches in his 3 ab’s against Wakefield
• Pudge’s double was the only time a Red Sox outfielder had to make a movement away from the infield.
• Can you believe that Manny Ramirez swung at the first pitch from Freddy Dolsi. What was he thinking?
• Being in the stands it was hard to judge the effectiveness of the knuckle ball except to say it was slow. But I can recall only one pitch at all getting by catcher Kevin Cash which seems remarkable.
• There are times that I think the batting order doesn’t matter that much. Tonight was one of those times.

PREGAME: It will be Daisuke Matsuzaka taking on Jeremy Bonderman. Matsuzaka shut out Detroit for 6.2 innings despite walking 4 the last time the two teams met. Bonderman is coming off a start where he went 7.2 innings and only allowed 2 first inning runs to the Yankees.

The Tigers unveil their new look lineup which has Carlos Guillen and Gary Sheffield flipping spots in the order. Matt Joyce who has been with the team about 2 hours will get the start in right field while Sheffield will man left. (I’ll have extended comment on this later tonight)

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, 3B
4. Ordonez, DH
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Sheffield, LF
7. Joyce, RF
8. Renteria, SS
9. Rodriguez, C

BOS @ DET, Monday, May 5, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 7:05

POSTGAME: Well, they grinded out at-bats. Matsuzaka made lots of pitches and the team drew 10 walks. The trouble is they only had about 5 line drives (the same number that Jacque Jones had this season BTW). The Tigers couldn’t muster an extra base hit meaning it was hard to get people in motion. And with out a speed team the Tigers are more reliant on things like the hit-and-run. But with a pitcher nowhere near the strike zone, it’s a tough play to call.

Highlights were a Marcus Thames pinch hit single and a Curtis Granderson diving catch. And Jeremy Bonderman fanned 4 while only unintentionally walking 1. A definite improvement. Unfortunately Clay Rapada and Todd Jones allowed runs to score as the bullpen has allowed runs in the last 4 games. I just dont’ know where this team is headed.

PREGAME: Coming into this series I was hoping to be talking about a sweep today. Of course I didn’t anticipate it being about sweep-avoidance for the Tigers.

It will be Kenny Rogers taking on Boof Bonser. Bonser is coming off his best start of the year. A 1 run, 7 inning, 8 K game. Rogers is also coming off a solid start where he held the Yankees to 2 runs in 6 innings.

Jim Leyland hinted at a lineup shake up last night, and it sounds like it is still coming. For today anyways it will only be Miguel Cabrera moving to the 3 hole as Gary Sheffield gets the day off.

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Ordonez, DH
5. Guillen, 3B
6. Thames, RF
7. Renteria, SS
8. Rodriguez, C
9. Jones, LF

DET @ MIN, Sunday, May 4, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 2:10

POSTGAME: Things looked so good to start. Curtis Granderson, frustrated over being stranded at third on Saturday night started the game with a homer (he finished Saturday night’s game with a homer also). And then things went really right for the Tigers and really wrong for the Twins. Five runs later Boof Bonser was at 45 pitches and the Twins were just coming to bat.

But then the offense went to hell. I defended the approach in many of the games saying that the Tigers were working the pitcher (their pitch/pa has been near average all season). Today was indefensible. They swung at the first pitch of the inning in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th innings. And that just set the tone. Bonser managed to pitch through 6 innings despite throwing half a games worth of pitches in the first.

The decision to go to Miner is certainly debatable – but not awful. Miner had been pitching well of late. They needed one out. Miner got Gomez to pound the ball into the ground, unfortunately it hit the plate and went for an infield single. That’s bad luck more than bad strategy. But the subsequent line drive to the wall resulting in a double was bad pitching.

Kenny Rogers was fine. The bullpen wasn’t. But the biggest problem was the offense. And that’s a mighty strange thing to say when they plate 6 in the first inning.

PREGAME: It will be Justin Verlander taking on Scott Baker at the Metrodome tonight.

Baker faced the Tigers once and he limited the Tigers to 3 runs over 7 innings before the explosion. On the season Baker is striking out more than 5 batters for every walk he issues. Baker has allowed 6 homers but they’ve all been solo.

Verlander has one quality start on the season. Now would be a good time for a second.

DET @ MIN, Saturday, May 3, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 7:10

POSTGAME: Well, Verlander pitched pretty good. Marcus Thames made some nice plays. Curtis Granderson had a real nice at-bat culminating in a home run (only the second run of the series for Detroit). That’s it for highlights. Again. Ergh. Three games below .500 again. Ergh.

PREGAME: From the Tigers perspective this game could be deemed the quest for .500. After the 0-7 and 2-10 start the Tigers and their fans would like nothing more to effectively hit RESET on the season. And it can all come true with a drubbing of Livan Hernandez and another surprising start from Armando Galarraga.

Galarraga continues his tour of the upper midwest (and Canada) as he heads to the dome in Minnesotra. He’s two for three in quality starts and has spun a 1.50 ERA.

Hernandez was a target of the Tigers this offseason while they were looking for a 5th starter. Actually I think he was leverage to use against Scott Boras while negotiating Kenny Rogers contract but that’s neither here nor there. He started off the season in dazzling fashion allowing 6 runs total in his first 3 starts while going 7 innings in each. But he’s struggled a little as of late including being tagged for 7 runs by the Rangers in his last start.

DET @ MIN, Friday, May 2, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 8:10

POSTGAME: It could have been worse. Okay, not much worse. Galarraga wasn’t sharp. Guillen had a costly error. The Tigers couldn’t take advantage of numerous scoring opportunities. The bullpen got shelled. And Denny Bautista left the game with an apparent shoulder injury. Yeah. This wasn’t good.

PREGAME: Nate Robertson takes the mound looking to earn a 3rd straight quality start for the rotation. Robertson pitched well his last time out working 7 innnings on only 89 pitches. But the Angels bunched their baserunners in the 4th inning when 4 runs scored.

He’ll be opposed by Ian Kennedy who has struggled so far this year. He’s been knocked out in the 3rd inning on two different occasions and with a 15:17 K:BB ratio he looks like he good be pitching for the Tigers. One positive for Kennedy is that he’s only allowed 1 homer in 19 innnings this year.

The Tigers lineup is:

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Sheffield, DH
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Guillen, 3B
7. Jones, LF
8. Inge, C
9. Santiago, SS

DET @ NYY, Thursday, May 1, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 7:05

POSTGAME: We’ll probably hear the naysayers talk about how this wasn’t the Yankees at full strength. They didn’t have two big guns in Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada. Well, tough. Yes it’s a break to play a team when they are struggling or banged up. Just ask the White Sox who took 5 of 6 from a slumping Tigers team that had the top third of the line-up banged up or missing altogether. But they still count as wins.
Continue reading Game 29: Tigers at Yankees →

Toledo 3 Louisville 4
Matt Joyce was 2 for 4. Erick Almonte singled and homered. Jon Connolly allowed 4 runs, 2 of which were earned, in 6.2 innings.

Erie 4 Akron 8
Wilkin Ramirez who homered twice yesterday was a homer short of the cycle today. Deik Scram and Ryan Roberson each had 2 hits and Scram added 2 walks.Andrew Kown allowed 4 runs on 4 walks, 4 K’s, and 6 hits in 5 innings.

Lakeland 5 Dunedin 6
Rick Porcello pitched 4 innings of shut out ball before allowing 2 runs in the 5th. He walked 3 and didn’t fan anybody. Ryan Strieby had 3 hits, including a homer, and a walk. Jeramy Laster bested him with 2 homers and a single.

West Michigan 6 Wisconsin 1
I just noticed that every team in the org is on the road tonight. Joe Tucker had 4 hits. Kody Kaiser doubled and homered. Kyle Peter singled twice and doubled. Lauren Gagnier fanned 11 in 6 shut out innings of work.