Category: Game Post

PREGAME: It’s west coast sleepy time baseball. At least the Tigers will have had a chance to get all Phiten’d up and that titanium should be improving their blood flow. Of course going up against Felix Hernandez they can use whatever advantage they can get.

If it weren’t for the ridiculous season by Zach Greinke, King Felix would have likey taken home the Cy Young award. Hernandez has made 2 starts this year, both of the quality variety. Although his 6 walks against the A’s probably wasn’t ideal. The Tigers faced him 3 times last year and they struck out 23 times in 20 innings.

Jeremy Bonderman goes for the Tigers. The rotation has struggled this second time through and it would be wonderful if Bonderman could be the first Tigers starter this season to record an out in the 7th inning.

The “normal” lineup is back:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Damon, LF
3. Ordonez, RF
4. Cabrera, 1B
5. Guillen, DH
6. Inge, 3B
7. Laird, C
8. Sizemore, 2B
9. Everett, SS

Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners – April 16, 2010 – MLB.com At Bat

POSTGAME: One way to look at this game is to think that the chances of the Tigers beating Hernandez weren’t that great, that this was a game they had a pretty good shot of coming out on the losing end anyways. Having said that…there’s losing and there’s getting smoked. The Tigers got smoked and there is very little to take away from this game that was encouraging. (more…)

PREGAME: The year was 2007. Tensions were high in Tigertown as a solid offense and mixed starting pitching were routinely being undone by late inning collapses. Still, the team remained in contention and there was much desire to add relief arms. Octavio Dotel was toiling for the Royals and may have provided the relief help the Tigers so desperately needed.

Rumor had it that the Tigers had offered up a young pitching prospect by the name of Jair Jurrjens to the Royals, but KC spurned the intra-division trade proposal and sent Dotel to Atlanta. Dotel only pitched in 9 games for the Braves, but he also only allowed 6 baserunners while fanning 12.

I don’t tell this story to assuage Tigers’ fans misery by saying they could have received even less for Jurrjens than Edgar Renteria. Or to point out that there is more than one team that is missing Mr. Jurrjens. I do it because the Royals received a pitcher by the name of Kyle Davies in exchange for Dotel. Davies is starting today for Kansas City.

Rick Porcello goes for the Tigers.

Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers – April 14, 2010 – MLB.com Gameday

PREGAME: Dontrelle Willis and Brian Bannister today. The second turn through the rotation hasn’t been a lot of fun so far. Can Dontrelle Willis right the ship? Can the Tigers finally figure out why Brian Bannister dominates them with such regularity. Come back at 1:05 pm for the most dramatic rose ceremony ever!

Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers – April 13, 2010 – MLB.com Preview

POSTGAME: For about six innings this game looked about as dramatic as a rose ceremony. Then things got better. Dontrelle Willis fought through 5 tedious innings as the Royals ran up his pitch count. Brian Bannister cruised through 6 innings only allowing a couple singles and walks. Then the seventh inning stretch happened. And billfer saw it was good. When Gerald Laird doubled and Roman Colon came in, that’s when I knew there was a chance.

• Scott Sizemore ripped the ball each time up. His hardest hit ball was the out he made as he hit an opposite field line drive to the warning track.
• Miguel Cabrera made his second error in as many games after looking great in the first two series.
• I continue to be impressed by Ryan Perry, Joel Zumaya, and Brandon Inge this season.
• Carlos Guillen is trying to catch up to Maggs and Miggy. Very few complaints about him swinging on the first pitch after a 4 pitch bases loaded walk. He was ready for his pitch and he ripped it. Let’s remember this the next time someone makes an out on a first pitch.
• More on Dontrelle here.
• And the post game interviews courtesy of FS Detroit.

PREGAME: The Tigers go for the sweep behind the arm of Justin Verlander. Dan Dickerson was kind enough to tweet exactly what I was looking for to summarize Verlander and Cleveland:

Verlander v. Clev. pre-2009: 6.70ERA in 15GS, Tribe hit .271 w/ .475SLG. 2009: 4GS, 4-0, 0.90ERA, Indians hit .157 w/ .196SLG, 41K in 30IP

Westbrook makes his second start of the season and only  his 2nd start since Memorial Day 2008. He allowed 9 White Sox baserunners (4 via the walk) in 4 innings on Opening Day and 5 of those came around to score.

Your Damon-less lineup is:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Kelly, LF
3. Ordonez, RF
4. Cabrera, 1B
5. Guillen, DH
6. Inge, 3B
7. Santiago, SS
8. Laird, C
9. Sizemore, 2B

Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers – April 11, 2010 – MLB.com Preview

POSTGAME: Through the first turn in the rotation, each of the starters gave their team a chance to win. Hopefully Verlander’s 2nd start isn’t a harbinger of the next 4 pitching performances. Fortunately though the Tigers offense managed to be both frustrating and dynamic all at the same time and they plated 9 runs to complete a comeback from a 5-1 deficit. (more…)

The Tigers were witness to a nice start from a big question mark on Thursday when Dontrelle Willis picked up a quality start. Jeremy Bonderman will try to repeat the script as he makes his first start of the season today.

Bonderman finished serving his 3 game suspension that was handed down at the end of last season while in Kansas City. Today he’ll debut his new split finger pitch (replacing the long standing change-up project).

He’ll be opposed by Mitch Talbot. We don’t know much about Talbot, who only has 1 career start (a 4.1 IP, 3 run no decision in September 2008 against Baltimore). We do know he is right handed, 26 years old, and was traded from Houston to the Rays with Ben Zobrist for Aubrey Huff in 2006.

Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers – April 10, 2010 – MLB.com Preview

PREGAME: I’m certainly rooting for the guy, but the phrase “The Tigers will look to Dontrelle Willis to secure a series win,” just doesn’t have me bubbling over with confidence.

Willis wasn’t that good this spring, save for a shiny ERA, so the hopes aren’t high here that he’ll magically find something today. I’ll be thrilled to be wrong though.

He’ll be opposed by saber-pitcher Brian Bannister. Bannister hasn’t started against the Tigers since 2008. He faced them 3 times that season and shut them out twice. In fact the Tigers have only scored more than 2 runs against him once.

Raburn gets the nod at second base today – and it has nothing to do with Sizemore’s gaffe in extra innings. This was decided prior to last night’s game. And Don Kelly goes at third base.

Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals – April 8, 2010 – MLB.com Preview

POSTGAME: I’m happy to be wrong. Dontrelle Willis was effective. Things were shaky of course at the outset, what with the 4 pitch walk to open the game. And yes, he did benefit from 3 double plays. But he also didn’t allow an extra base hit, and didn’t issue a free pass after the first inning. In fact you might even say he was pounding the zone after the first inning with 68% of his pitches the next 5 innings going for strikes. And he certainly wasn’t getting extra help from home plate ump Chris Tiller. (more…)

PREGAME: It will be Max Scherzer versus Luke Hochevar in game 2 of the 2010 season. The big news around this game in Detroit is that we won’t be able to watch it, until the Red Wings game is over anyways. Due to a scheduling tsunami the Tigers are pushed off of both Fox Sports Detroit, and it’s FSD+ brother (which will show the Pistons). A bummer to be sure but FS Detroit is likely contractually bound to the 2 other games and picking up the Tigers in progress is extra effort on their part.

But back to the game…

Hochevar gets the #2 role due to an injured Gil Meche. The Tigers have beat up Hochevar the last two times they faced him. Miguel Cabrera will try to make history as he has gone a perfect 8 for 8 in his last 8 at-bats against Hochevar. Lefties strike out just as much as righties against Hochevar, but they walk twice as often.

Scherzer makes his Tigers and AL Debut. He dominated righties last year with a 4.58 K/BB ratio and hopefully he can hold down Billy Butler.

The Tigers lefty heavy lineup is:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Damon, LF
3. Ordonez, RF
4. Cabrera, 1B
5. Guillen, DH
6. Inge, 3B
7. Avila, C
8. Sizemore, 2B
9. Santiago, SS

Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals – April 7, 2010 – MLB.com Preview

POSTGAME: That was certainly a disappointing ending to an otherwise compelling game. The Tigers did quite a few things right in this game, but also had their share of struggles.

Offensively the Tigers couldn’t muster anything but ground balls against Hochevar. Sixteen of the Tigers outs against Hochever were ground ball outs, including two double plays. The only hit of note was a wind blown triple by Austin Jackson. And unlike against Greinke, many of those outs came early in the count meaning that Hochevar was able to hand the ball directly to Joakim Soria  with 2 outs in the 8th and avoid the tasty middle relief options of the Royals.

Fortunately Scherzer was up to the task and he didn’t allow a hit until the 5th inning and left after 6 scoreless innings. It was a very nice Tigers debut for Scherzer who’s only blemish was a couple of HBPs. (Bless You Boys has the pitch f/x breakdown)

The bullpen which was quite efficient on Monday, didn’t control the strike zone to the same degree. Fu-Te Ni, Brad Thomas, and Phil Coke each threw more balls than strikes. It was Ni’s walk in the 8th that moved a runner into scoring position for Chris Getz’s RBI single.

Jose Valverde, a notorious slow starter, didn’t do much right in the 11th inning with a chance for his first save. The Callaspo homer was a bullet, and the Ankiel shot off the wall was smoked as well. Yes, Scott Sizemore blew the relay play, but even if he catches it clean the winning run is 90 feet away with nobody out and the closer being bludgeoned. There is definitely shared responsibility for that 11th inning.

• The Miguel Cabrera at-bat in the 9th inning was tremendous. Down to the last strike Soria couldn’t put him away and with pitch #10 Cabrera doinked the foul pole to tie the game. That’s 4 big hits in the first two games for Cabrera.
• It was the Venezuelan uprising in the 11th that again game the Tigers a chance. Singles by Ordonez, Cabrera, and Guillen  gave the team the lead. It goes without saying that the majority of the offense will run through those 3.
• Don’t make too much of the Cabrera caught stealing. It was costly, he just left a tad too early. I don’t mind the added aggressiveness.
• Where was that aggressiveness earlier though when Jackson led off with a single only to have Johnny Damon with a first pitch GIDP?
• I didn’t care for the Sizemore bunt in the 8th inning. Hochevar had barely been in the stretch, and even though Sizemore was his last batter, make him try and get the out. The Tigers had already handed over too many easy outs.
• Gerald Laird is 2 for 2 in not even making a throw down to gun out a runner.
• Jackson’s strike out in the 10th was a pretty bad at-bat, but not all that surprising either. He was probably experiencing some additional pressure, and he’s already a player who’s entire minor league career has been prone to the strike out. Not that he won’t do a lot of things right this season, but he’s going to have his whiffs.
• Two more walks for Sizemore who continues to work the count.

Post game video with Leyland/Avila/Sizemore/Valverde

My first thought about this game is the same this year as it is every year, “it’s about time.” And the pitching match-up is certainly Opening Day worthy with Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander doing battle.

Greinke is pretty good at pitching, what with that well deserved Cy Young award and all occupying a space on his mantle. Greinke led the league in ERA (Verlander was 5th), he led the league in WHIP (Verlander was 5th), he was 2nd in strikeouts (Verlander was 1first), he was 5th in innings pitched (Verlander was first). These are some good pitchers.

(more…)