Category: Game Post

Your Tigers look to get to .500 today, else it’s 1-3 with a dreaded off day tomorrow.

Porcello toes the slab for the Tigers.  Porcello was roughed up a little in spring training, allowing 29 hits and walking 11 in 27.2 innings for a 1.45 WHIP.  He struck out 17 during that time.

Jake Arrieta goes for the O’s today, after making the opening day roster for the first time.  Arrieta has four real pitches, throwing his curve, slider or change roughly 40% of the time, distributed almost equally.  Arrieta started 18 games for the O’s last year, posting a 6-6 record with a 4.66 ERA in 100.1 IPs.  He had a 1.53 WHIP and struck out 52.  Tigers should have their chances today.

The Orioles look about as good as you can after opening weekend, sweeping the Rays and outscoring them 12-3.  But I think their 3 game win streak ends today.

Fortunately, Luke Scott is not in today’s Orioles lineup.  Tigers look like this:

1 Jackson CF
2 Rhymes 2B
3 Ordonez RF
4 Cabrera 1B
5 Martinez C
6 Boesch LF
7 Peralta SS
8 Avila C
9 Inge 3b

Today is the styrofoam game of the three-game series as Max Scherzer eyes Detroit’s first victory and the Tigers try to keep the brooms in the closet.  The Tigers have yet to win a game; then again, neither have the Twins, so there.

Big Don Kelly will be filling in for Magglio Ordonez in right field, although strangely enough, not batting in his spot in the lineup.  That honor goes to Brennan Boesch, who yesterday became the first Tiger to strike out with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs. Ordonez was taken out of yesterday’s game with soreness in his surgically-repaired ankle, but it was cold yesterday and this sort of thing is to be expected and Leyland was planning to give him a day off soon anyway and there is nothing to worry about, really there isn’t.

Today will also see the 2011 debut of Victor Martinez behind the plate.

The Tigers face Phil Hughes, whom the Yankees drafted with a compensatory pick awarded to them when they lost Andy Pettitte to the Astros, before they got him back again.  Hughes supposedly is featuring a new “slider-cutter” pitch which is different from his slider or his cutter.  Let us know if you see one.  Hughes also was the winning pitcher the last time the Yankees swept a series from Detroit.

Fun fact:  Miguel Cabrera and Austin Jackson are tied for the team lead in leading off innings (5).  At some point do they consider moving Cabrera up to the 3rd spot in the lineup?

Today’s sweep-busting Tiger lineup:

1 Jackson, CF

2 Santiago, 2B

3 Boesch, DH

4 Cabrera, 1B

5 Martinez, C

6 Raburn, LF

7 Kelly, RF

8 Peralta, SS

9 Inge, 3B

Tigers looks to get to .500 today with Brad Penny on the mound versus AJ Burnett.  I believe that Penny is going to be a critical factor in the Tigers’ hopes to compete this year, so I’m really looking forward to this game.  Penny had a decent spring with a 1.34 WHIP in 25 1/3 innings, striking out 15 and walking only 8.  Penny gets a lot of ground balls, holding a 1.35 career GB/FO ratio.

AJ Burnett’s 2010 was…not good.  An article in today’s New York Post said it best: “After a strong start in 2010, nearly everything about Burnett’s season looked awful. He finished the year with a 10-15 record, a 5.26 ERA, 16 wild pitches, 19 hit batsmen, one lost fight with a clubhouse door, one mysterious black eye and just one postseason start after manager Joe Girardi deemed him untrustworthy.”  The article goes on to mention that Burnett’s 2010 was one of the worst statistically in Yankee’s history.

On the other hand, this is a guy with a career ERA just under 4, a 1.32 WHIP, and a 8.22 K/9 ratio over 12 seasons.  That’s pretty salty.  The boys will definitely have their work cut out for them today.

Boesch will be in left field instead of Raburn, batting sixth, and Avila and Inge will flip flop in the 8 and 9 spots in the lineup.

Check out this article that Joe Posnanski wrote on SI.com covering the 32 best players in baseball.  JV and Miggy made the list.

Opening day.  Is.  Here.   Rejoice.

The voice of the turtle, the warmth of the sun, and the superflous bunting adorning every inch of stadium fascia.  Every team is in first place and hope abounds.  Fresh cut grass, crisp new uni’s, warm dogs and cold beer.  It’s difficult to imagine a better day of the year.

I’m working a full day today, but I’ll be sporting my Tigers cufflinks (they contain little pieces of seats from Tigers stadium) and wearing my home cap.  Thanks to AppleTV and mlb.tv, I’ll be streaming the game on the TV in our lobby.

Who is going to the game?  If you’re not going to the game, how will you watch and/or listen?

If the weather has not already changed outside your window, summer is officially over.  The Boys wrap up the season looking to end up perfectly even – a .500 club.  That would be a fitting end for the season.

My plan is to take a few weeks off through the playoffs, and then start posting for the off-season in a month or so.  If you guys would like to have a few threads to discuss the playoffs, I’m happy to post them.

Lots to talk about this off-season, though the Inge discussion may be shorter than we’d like…

I would also like to get more input from you guys on topics, as well as solicit some help.  I’ll close out the season in a few days.  Just trying to enjoy the end of the summer.

Need to win the last two to finish over .500.

Who’s out there?

Anyone want to weigh on my Longhorns v. OU tomorrow?

JV goes for win #19.

Scherzer v. Talbot…6 games left.

What a tremendous finish to the home schedule.  Tigers end up with their best Comerica record ever, 23 games over .500.

Freep had a particularly candid article about the future a few free agents.  I’m pretty sure the writing is on Laird’s locker, not the wall.

stephen – did you “acknowledge” Inge?

Galarraga has been beat up pretty bad his last two starts, which have shot his ERA up from 3.89 to 4.44.  Two shut-outs to end the season and he’d break 4.00.

Final home game of the season for the Boys.  Who’s going?