Tigers head to the Windy city after benefiting from a friendly series with the Twins. They find themselves a season high 2 games up in the central, and with an opportunity to do more damage to a division foe.
Heavy dose of trade rumors to discuss, the most interesting being a report that the Marlins are interested in Brandon Inge. The return could be closer Leo Nunez. With Al Al’s emergence and Benoit hitting stride, a closer really doesn’t make sense. Inge has a no trade clause and is a 10 & 5 guy to boot, so we may be stuck with him regardless of any interest.
Continuing, the Tigers are thought to be aggressively pursuing Kuroda (thumbs up), Guthrie (pass), Harang (prob gonna stay in SD) and Vargas or Fister (…interesting), talking about Volquez (yes, if we can keep Turner) and Marquis (meh), and still asking about Ubaldo Jimenez. Would you part with Jacob Turner for Jimenez? I would.
Tigers are also reportedly talking to Baltimore about Kenji Uehara, but I just don’t get that one.
Duane Below makes his second career start tonight. He was good enough against Oakland last week but suffered a bit of bad luck as an error led to two unearned runs and he left in the 5th after giving up 5 hits and walking 1 while striking out 2.
Tigers called up 2010 draft pick and fellow Longhorn Chance Ruffin today, sending Lester Oliveros oli way down to Toledo. Ruffin is a hard throwing former college closer who struck out 11.5/9 in stints at Erie and Toledo. His boss dad knows a little something about pitching in the bigs.
What’s it going to take to put Boesch into the 3 hole and slide Maggs into the 2 hole? Seems like a better fit considering their contact/power splits as well as the R/L/R/S we could pencil in every night.
Tonight’s Uh-Oh Jimmy is Screwing with Avila in the Lineup Now, Lineup is:
1. Jackson, CF
2. Boesch, LF
3. Maggs, RF
4. Cabrera, 1B
5. Martinez, DH
6. Peralta, SS
7. Guillen, 2B
8. Raburn, 3B
9. Avila, C (pick to click)
Comments
32 responses to “Game 2011.102: Tigers at Pale Hose”
I swear Avila said something after that game where Raburn left him stranded two consecutive times after triples (and GIDPd him after a single)…Avila just does not want to see Raburn in the on-deck circle when he is batting.
Avila has a .226 batting average vs LHP and is hitting .160 this month. He’s slumping and facing Buehrle isn’t going to help much.
I really hope the White Sox stop hitting the ball to the 2nd and 3rd basemen
Vmart capitalizes on the error. Nice
HA. I’m loving this!
Best clown show ever!
Wow. Jim Price just got finished saying that the White Sox have a veteran team that inexplicably makes dumb mistakes in the field.
Rangers have put up 3 runs in 4 consecutive innings against the Twinkies.
Check that, they just added a 4th in the 4th.
Who needs to trade when we can just bring up guys like Cy Below
OK, this is on me (jinx!)
Did you know that Peralta leads the Tigers in WAR?
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2011&month=0&season1=2011&ind=0
He also leads all AL SS in WAR (he trails only Reyes and Tulowitzki)
I did see this. He led the Tigers at the all-star break in WAR, even before his outburst in the Twins series.
Peralta looking like an MVP.
Verlander’s WAR must be up there too.
Look out Below!!
Shoot, I didn’t even have a chance to post my view that bringing Chance Ruffin into a bases-loaded situation was a mistake before he gave up the double. If we have nobody better to bring in in that situation, we are in worse shape than I thought.
It was too important a situation to leave to chance.
You’re better than that.
Apparently not.
The kid has chance and he blew it (Sorry. I had to do it).
How many times have we seen Jimmy throw guys into the fire like that, only to see them flame out like yesterday’s newspaper. That’s just JLs MO.
Should have been Al Al there. The 7/8/9 thing is so stupid that it makes my face hurt.
Agreed wholeheartedly. That’s a high-leverage situation in a pennant race. It makes zero sense — zero. It was a flat-out dumb decision with an utterly predicatble outcome.
Yeah….This decision seemed really bad to me. Throw the rookie into a tough situation for his first day in the big leagues…Yeah….that never works out….and it didn’t here…great job Leyland…
Indians with a come from behind walk off. We’re due for one of those.
I wasn’t able to watch, but it sure looks like Leyland got tossed for having Raburn’s back on strike calls (?). Someone please tell me I’m wrong
Coleman, he got tossed for starting Raburn at third base. The rest was academic.
Clownos Guillen
A few observations….1. The middle relief is awful 2. This team sucks at comebacks 3. Leyland likes throwing rookies into a the meat grinder.
4. Leyland hasn’t a clue as to how to use a bullpen; never has. 5. Leyland hasn’t a clue as to how to set a batting order – Jackson’s OBP is .315 and he projects to score about 75 runs – great for a leadoff hitter, right? Ordonez batting 3rd? – please. He should be hitting 7th or 8th and platooning with Dirks.
Ordonez is hitting .321 since June 26th.
Get home and rest for tomorrow. Good thinking Maggs.