36-38, 3rd place, 3 games behind CWS
Dombrowski said today that “he did not think that 2B is going to be the reason why we win or lose the division.” Was this an endorsement of Santiago? Santiago’s hitting .286 in June and as long as Ramon gets the majority of the ABs, then I agree with DD. Despite that, Tigers 2B are hitting .202 this season, which is why Lowrie remains a trade rumor.
Fister climbs the mound tonight the 9th time, looking for his 7th quality start…and 2nd win. He’s the mark of consistency, having posted 14 quality starts in his 18 career Det starts. Fister is 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA over his last three against Texas, including 2 runs in 7 and 1/3 in last year’s ALCS. Nelson Cruz is a lifetime 7-14 with one dinger off of Fister.
The Tigers will face Roy Oswalt (remember him?) on a scorching Texas night (hit 104 here today). Oswalt went 6 2/3 allowing 9 hits, 1 walk, 1 run and striking out 6 in his first game back since injuries cut his season short last year. Oswalt has dominated Cabrera (3-15) and Fielder (5-36) in his career; with few ABs against anyone else.
A few notes:
– AJax has the AL’s top OBP from the lead -off spot at .402
– JV is up for two ESPY’s – Best Male Athlete and best MLB player
– Did you know that the Tigers are 24-18 when Raburn starts, but 6-12 when Worth starts?
– Good article on MLive today which discussed Scherzer opening up about his brother.
Tonight’s Series Taking Season Turn-arounding Lineup Is:
1. Jackson, CF
2. Berry, LF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Young, DH
6. Avila, C
7. Peralta, SS
8. Boesch, RF
9. Raburn, 2B
Comments
22 responses to “Game 2012.75: Tigers at Rangers”
The circus is in town tonight.
Dombrowski said today that “he did not think that 2B is going to be the reason why we win or lose the division.”
I agree, It is 2B, 1 corner OF spot, DH, and a lack of depth in the rotation. To say nothing of generally shoddy defense, poor coaching/managing…. But hey, we don’t need to pile it on
Well, TB just got swept by the Royals (hear those cleted footsteps boys?), so they may be down a bit too. The question in the upcoming 4-game series will be which team provides the “sparK” for the other.
Rayburn now hitting .333 (7 for 21) since his return from Toledo.
Tigers will start hitting and doing better when the weather warms up. And when they get some coaches, a manager, acquire more than one consistent pitcher, learn how to field, remember what a baseball is, etc, etc.
A Universal Baseball Truth.
In a few years when Global Warming–oops, Global Climate Change–fully kicks in, the Tigers will score so, so many runs.
Raburn is in 2nd half form now. Boesch is a future Player to be Named Later.
Although he only has 108 ABs, QBerry is leading the team in avg… w/.324
16 GDP for Cabrera, 71 for the team.
15 rather. Last year he smacked into 24, so he on pace for ~33 this year.
Does anyone want to read a really disturbing HR statistic?
In the last month (that’s right, MONTH), the Tigers have hit just 4 HRs with a runner on base.
Each one has been a 2 run HR.
Peralta on May 28th
Cabrera on June 7th
Jackson on June 14th
Berry on June 23rd
http://www.freep.com/article/20120628/SPORTS02/206280457/Tigers-hitters-still-suffering-power-failure?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Detroit%20Tigers
Well, that was some mega clown show.
Thanks for sharing Kevin. Fortunately some strong pitching has help poor sticks and Raburn’s antics.
Dotel has got to really be glad to be off the DL.
Remember when we thought the Tigers could compete with the Rangers? Those were good times.
Dave Dombrowski is right about one thing…………second base will not be a factor in the Tigers winning the division.
If they do win the division it will be in spite of the dearth of talent at that spot.
However, I’m thinking that winning the AL Central is a pipe dream. We are now 7 games below .500 versus AL teams with no more interleague games on the horizon to bail us out. This team has one starter it can count on and that is not enough for any team to succeed. Unless DD can pull another Fister miracle out of his hat this July the White Sox will be the division champs in 2012. There is evidently no one on the farm that can help, and I am still of the mindset that Below is a better option than Smyly, Turner, or Oliver.
Can someone who watched the game please explain this to me:
“Ian Kinsler doubles (24) on a pop up to second baseman Ryan Raburn.”
So…. has anyone else noticed the drop in Fister’s velocity since he returned from the DL? Previous to his stint, he was working in the low 90s. Since he came back, he has been in the upper 80s and I’ve seen him touch 90 maybe a handful of times. Losing a couple MPH off a fastball can be a big deal.
I actually still think they win the division at 87 wins. Then get hammered in playoffs.