Interleague play can be fun when those natural rivalry games come up. Then there are all of those other games, the leftoverlry games, in which it has somehow been decided that Detroit vs Arizona is a good idea.
Just our luck: The Diamondbacks are the hottest team in MLB; they are the new Indians, leading the majors with 27 wins since May 14. And traveling to Comerica doesn’t look to phase them: Arizona is 15-4 over their last 19 road games.
On the other hand, we get an added treat this season, since Arizona is being managed by ol’ Gibby himself, and joining Kirk Gibson on the bench is bench coach Alan Trammell. Not that Gibson is being all sentimental about it: “they’re the enemy. It’s totally different. Tiger Stadium is where I played.” Expect that to change for the 3rd game of the series Sunday, when the Tigers will hold a ceremony retiring Sparky Anderson’s number.
Phil Coke will take the mound today and pray for some run support for a change. Oh wait, look, Brandon Inge is back tonight! Problem solved. (Danny Worth drew the short straw, so back to the Toledo mud for him). Inge and company will be bashing against Zach Duke, who gave up 3 runs in 5 innings vs the White Sox his last outing.
Today’s Player of the Pre-Game: Alex Avila
Justin Verlander says, vote Alex into the All-Star Game. (By the way, Justin seems to have borrowed artwork by Samara over at Roar of the Tigers).
Today’s Ingetangible Lineup:
- Austin Jackson CF
- Casper Wells LF
- Magglio Ordonez RF
- Miguel Cabrera 1B
- Victor Martinez DH
- Jhonny Peralta SS
- Alex Avila C
- Brandon Inge 3B
- Ryan Raburn 2B
Comments
27 responses to “Game 2011.76: Diamondbacks at Tigers”
I think we’re going to score plenty of runs for Coke in this game. I hope he can hold up his half of the bargain.
Jhonny !
I hate interleague play.
The Allstar Game is a joke.
Stan and Ollie batting 8th and 9th for us tonight.
Go Tigers anyway.
Watching the Tigers is like watching an All-Star team.
Is anyone else concerned that WS home field advantage is going to be settled by guys like Russell Martin and Derek Jeter? I realize this isn’t a new problem, but this has got to change soon. I’m guessing they’ll do so when they re-align/change the playoffs.
Kevin
Even if those guys are voted to start, it doesn’t mean they’ll play much. They’ll probably get 3 or 4 innings before getting replaced.
Also, the NL has Lincecum, Halladay, and Lee, so it’s going to be difficult to score runs with any line-up.
Is the 4th inning too early to bring in a defensive replacement for Clownburn?
Wonder how many runs that’s gonna cost us…
I’m his biggest supporter, but even I can admit that he’s not good enough to be our 4th outfielder anymore.
And I also feel that playing him at 2B is making things worse. He needs to be somewhere where he feels more comfortable. Like Toledo.
I don’t know if he would feel more comfortable at Toledo, but I certainly would.
And Ryan Perry joins the clown show, taking out Avila in the process. Can we send him back to Toledo yet?
Can someone remind me why WP Perry is on the staff again.
How awesome was the transaction wire yesterday that brought back Inge and Perry?
Raybu……………..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
JaKKson
Perry’s arsenal:
1. 2-seam fastball
2. 4-seam fastball
3. Dirt ball
I think he needs to add another pitch
Seriously…How is Raburn still getting any playing time when we have better options on the bench???
That was stupid…
This is such a lame game to lose….
BOMB
Well, it’s good to see Mr. Inge back in mid season form.
What a wasted game. The old man should be all over these guys. Glad I didn’t pay to see it.
Raburn and Inge aren’t really the concern. Our offense is fine. The problem is that our starters now have an era around 5.15 over the past 29 games.
The real problem is Jim Leyland. Once again, he makes a critical mistake by pitching to Wily Mo Pena. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Anyone who is afraid to pitch to Wily Mo Pena probably isn’t in the majors.
It would of been Pena’s 1st walk of the season also.