Detroit Tigers Player-by-Player First Half Reviews: Starting Pitchers by Seth9

This post is courtesy of Seth9 who currently blogs with me at MM. Anyone who hasn’t read Seth’s stuff is missing out on perhaps the best up and coming sports blogger on the internets. I asked him if I could post this here and he told me I could so without further ado I give you Seth’s mid-season report card.

 

 

With their 12-9 win on Monday afternoon over the Baltimore Orioles, perhaps the second worst team of the decade (number one being the 2003 Detroit Tigers), the Tigers hold a record of 44-37 over the first 81 games of the year, meaning that we have hit the actual halfway mark in the Tigers season. This record is good for first place in the AL Central, 1/2 game over the Minnesota Twins.

As the Tigers have finished the first half of their season, I will be grading the first half performances of every player. This post is dedicated to the starting rotation. The next will cover relievers and the last will cover position players.

Note: I will not be using a number of advanced statistical performance measures during these reviews. For instance, I will not use the Fielding-Independent Pitching (FIP) statistic because, in my opinion, the assumption that hits should be treated as irrelevant is not a good one to use for pitchers, as a large proportion of Tigers pitchers give up hits at a higher clip because they are power pitchers who tend to locate their off-speed pitches poorly. As a result, they give up a fair number of hits and runs, but are able to lower their FIP by striking out a bunch of batters.

Justin Verlander

Grade: B+

Verlander has without a doubt been the best of the Tigers starters, producing a 10-5 record in 17 starts with a 3.85 ERA. He has 103 strikeouts and 37 walks in 110 innings pitched. He has generally been able to go deep into games, pitching 7+ innings 10 times and pitching fewer than 6 only five times. The problem with Verlander, as usual, was an atrocious start to the season. Verlander's first four appearances included a 1-1 record with a 6.95 ERA, a major problem as the bullpen was strained early on and having to regularly bail out the ace didn't help matters.

Jeremy Bonderman

Grade: C+

Bonderman has been highly inconsistent during the first half. This is not a terrible thing. After all, he has 8 quality starts in 15 starts, which makes him the only Tigers starter other than Verlander to produce a quality start over 50% of the time. The problem with Bonderman is that when he's not having a good start, he is often very, very bad. Even so, considering the rather low expectations that most Tigers fans had for Bonderman going into this season, considering his injury history, a 4-6 record with a 4.81 ERA over 15 starts isn't bad.

Max Scherzer

Grade: B-

Max Scherzer got off to a decent start, going 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA in his first four starts (he gave up quite a few preventable unearned runs that made his start look better on paper than it really was). Then, he had a string of four incredibly awful starts from April 28 through May 14 in which he went 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA, which led the Tigers to send him to the Minors for a couple weeks. Since coming back, however, he's been excellent, going 4-2 in 7 starts with a 2.62 ERA with 11.3 K/9, 3.29 K/BB, and a 1.12 WHIP (Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched). This adds up to a 5-6 record over 15 starts with a 4.88 ERA. Outside of his atrocious stretch from late April to mid-May, Scherzer has been at least as good as Verlander on a daily basis. However, when coming up with a grade for him, a string of starts bad enough to get sent down to the Minors has to be taken into account. That said, his future looks very bright for this season and beyond.

Rick Porcello

Grade: D-

If Jeremy Bonderman in the most inconsistent pitcher in our rotation, then Porcello is our most consistent pitcher. Unfortunately, he was consistently bad. In his 13 starts, he went 4-7 with a 6.14 ERA. He had a decent set of games in May, procuring 3 quality starts in 5 games, but has otherwise been simply bad. Really really bad. As in, Michigan's linebacking corp did better this past season than Rick Porcello is doing this year. Porcello's specific problems are major issues. He's had trouble controlling his pitches and his breaking balls have not bite to them. And he simply seemed to lack confidence on the mound. Porcello was sent down to Toledo in June and will hopefully get back to form and return to the rotation relatively soon, just as Scherzer did earlier this season. After all, his stuff is still excellent when he's on and he's got a lot of potential.

Armando Galarraga

Grade: A+

On May 16, Galarraga was called up to pitch against Boston to take over Max Scherzer's spot in the rotation while he worked in the Minors. He stayed in the Majors after Scherzer came back, as the Tigers chose to release Dontrelle Willis and keep Galarraga in the rotation. A couple days later, Galarraga pitched what should have been a perfect game, retiring 28 batters in a row, despite giving up a nominal infield single to Jason Donald because of because of perhaps the worst call in MLB history:

 

Since the near-perfect game, Galarraga has not been very impressive, producing only 1 quality start, which came against the Pirates, in five outings (of course, as I write this, he's pitching very well against Baltimore). In those five starts, he has gone 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA and a worrying 0.60 K/BB ratio. Since these grades are supposed to cover the entire first half, Galarraga doesn't really deserve an A+. However, he does deserve a perfect game, so I figured I'd give him a compensation prize. It isn't much, but it's more than what Bud Selig gave him.

Dontrelle Willis

Grade: C-

Willis did not play well in his time at Detroit. Before this year, he played in a few games, showed no control, and spent most of his time on the DL for anxiety disorder. This year, he started in 8 games and produced a 1-2 record with a 4.98 ERA. He actually pitched fairly well in April, but fell apart in May. The biggest problem with Willis was that he never went deep into games. His longest outing lasted 6 innings, a feat he accomplished only 3 times, none of which happened outside of April. As such, when Scherzer was ready to come back from Toledo, the Tigers chose to release Willis and let Galarraga in the rotation. Willis was picked up by Arizona and released after a performing poorly in both the rotation and a relief appearance.

Andrew Oliver

Grade: C

Oliver was called up to replace Porcello while Porcello works out his issues in Toledo. He has gone 0-2 in his 3 starts with a 5.93 ERA. However, he also has 11 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings, as well as 2 quality starts. And, when you look at his games individually, the overall stats do not seem as bad. Oliver had a solid first outing against the Mets, in which he gave up 2 runs in 6 innings and got the loss. In his second outing, he went up against the Twins and was the recipient of poor defense on the way to his second loss (although he was the cause of some of it). After his first two games, he had a 3.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 12 innings. His latest outing, which I attended, against the Orioles was terrible. He gave up 6 runs (5 earned) in 1 2/3 innings and his pitches had little movement and were not well located. Still, he's been decent and has done well enough for a temporary call-up from the Minors.

Overall

Grade: C

The rotation has not been good this year. While Verlander and Scherzer project well for the second half, definite questions remain for the bottom of the rotation. If this season is going to be a success, then Porcello needs to get it together and Bonderman and Galarraga need to be more consistent, or the Tigers will need to make an acquisition before the deadline. The problem is that the Tigers do not have a ton of prospects available to trade and there are also holes at catcher, the middle infield, and, thanks to the Zumaya injury, the bullpen that demand Dombrowski's attention and he cannot solve all of them.

Willis and Jackson make their return to Comerica

Former Tigers, Edwin Jackson and Dontrelle Willis roll into Comerica Park this weekend, with their new team, The Arizona Diamondbacks. Jackson is having a rather subpar year, so far he is 3-6 with a 5.18 ERA. He has walked 35 while striking out 75. A 1.43 WHIP hasn’t exactly helped him.

The D-Train has made two starts for the Diamondbacks and hasn’t looked terrible so far. He still has control problems as he has walked 10 in 10 IP for the DBacks. I loved the D-Train while he was in Detroit. He was one guy I always rooted for, and I wish him the best in Arizona. Hopefully he can put it all together, and get back to the way he used to be. I just hope that the turn around doesn’t start tonight.

The Tigers, winners of 6 in a row, look to keep that winning streak going tonight as they send Mr. Perfect, Armando Galarraga to the hill. This guy has been fantastic since he was called up from Toledo. LETS GO TIGERS!!!!!!!!

It’s Boesch Time!

Brennan Boesch is by far the most impressive rookie I have seen play this year. This kid, who for the record, wasn’t rated in the Detroit Tigers top 30 prospects, continues to kill the fucking ball. I love Brennan’s baseball philosophy, “See Ball, Hit Ball”. That is exactly what he does. He rips the cover off the ball. It’s an absolute joy to watch.

He did it again tonight against the Nationals. The youngster went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI’s including a mammoth 3 run homer off of Livan Hernandez in the 7th. You knew the second that you seen him make contact that this ball was out of here, an absolute no doubter.  

I should also mention that Justin Verlander went 8 solid innings, including 11 k’s. This was the first time all year that Verlander had reached double digit strikeouts. Verlander did give up 2 long balls early in the game, but you know what they say “no harm, no foul.”

If we could only play bottom tier National League teams for the rest of the year. Bondo looks to complete the sweep tomorrow and the way he’s been pitching I’d say there’s a good chance of it happening.

‘Gers Beat the Nats

7-4 was the final score, the Tigers had a fine offensive performance including a 3 run shot by Ryan Raburn. Max Scherzer struck out 9, and gave up 4 earned over the course of 6 innings. Brandon Inge extended his hit streak to 10 games.

This win currently puts the Tigers win streak at 4 games, all which have come against bottom tier National League opponents. I guess you do whatever you can to make up ground, although Minny is currently up 9-3 on Colorado in the top of the 9th as I write this.

I think maybe the Tigers have things figured out. I realize that I’ve said this about 936 times so far this season, but I’ve liked what I’ve seen recently. The starting pitching has been consistent, if not pretty good. The bullpen has been very good, and the bats, especially the bottom 3rd of the lineup, have seemed to perk up.

It’s really to bad that we can’t play every game against Washington and Pittsburg, but what the well at least we get 6 in a row. Hopefully the Tigers can continue there magic over the next couple of games.

BTW, I’ll try to update the site a little bit more, life has been hectic lately. 

26 Hours Later

I thought I would take some time and allow myself to cool off before I wrote anymore on the debacle from last nights Tigers game. I briefly covered my feelings on the matter here.

A little more than 24 hours later and honest to God I feel the same way. Armando Galarraga threw the 21st Perfect Game in MLB History. I know that the record books will call this game a one hitter. However we fans of Major League Baseball sometimes have a duty to throw record books out the window. Jim Joyce admitted he blew the call. Bud Selig decided he won't overturn the botched call. So what? We as fans of the game have a duty to remember this as a piece of perfection. Cy Young would want it that way, Don Larson would want it that way. Hell Babe Ruth would want it that way. Major League Baseball has a rich and storied history, and Armando Galarraga just help write a new chapter. 20 years from now I sincerely hope that people remember 6-2-2010 as the day Galarraga threw a perfect game.

Fwiw Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga may be the two classiest human beings to ever be a part of this game that we love so much. First Galarraga who in my epinion should have been irate last night, instead humbly accepted Joyce’s apology. He said that no one is Perfect we all make mistakes. Armando you were wrong because last night my friend you were perfect.

Jim Joyce will go down in the history books as my favorite umpire. It took s0 much guts to go out there today and call this game. And he did it, and called a good game. He had tears in his eyes when Galarraga brought the lineup card out to him. He profusely apologized to Galarraga for costing him the Perfect Game. That is guts. More officials in the game need to take a page out of Joyce’s book. It’s so easy to forget that we are all human and therefore prone to making mistakes. 

Armando has probably received more fame from almost throwing a perfect game, then had he actually done it. This was easily the top story in all of sports for the last 26 hours. He also got a sweet new Corvette out of the deal courtesy of Chevy. The quote of the day also comes courtesy of Mr. Galarraga.

I will keep the CD," Galarraga said. "I will tell my sons I have (a perfect game). It's not official, but I know I have it.

Well done Armando, Well done.

 

 

 

28 Up 28 Down

Armando Galarraga became the 21st pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball to throw a perfect game tonight. What makes Armando’s perfect game a little bit odd, is the fact that he did it with 28 outs.

Jim Joyce, who was the 1st base Ump for tonight’s game, made one of the WORST calls in baseball history. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, Joyce proceeded to call Cleveland Shortstop Jason Donald safe, when he was out by a full step.

Armando was brilliant tonight, and I don’t care what MLB says, this was a perfect game. Nothing will ever change that.

I waited about an hour after the game ended to write this, My anger has subsided but I am left with an empty feeling. Not only did the Tigers need some magic, but hell the State of Michigan could also use a bit of magic. However it was not to be on this night. Or maybe it was, I think in 10 years I’ll honestly look back on today’s game as a piece of perfection. And Fuck You Bud Selig if you disagree with me.

Goodbye Mr. Willis

 

 

 

 

The Tigers last night, in a move that surprised no one, Recalled Max Scherzer from Toledo and designated Dontrelle Willis for assignment. This ends the D-Trains reign of terror in Detroit. Since 2008 Willis record in the motor city is an appalling 2-8 with a  6.86 ERA.

Willis was a huge get for the Tigers in 2008, coming over from Florida along with Miguel Cabrera, for Andrew Miller, and Cameron Maybin, whom were the two top prospects in the Tigers organization.  This was a guy who was supposed to anchor the Tigers rotation, he was just a couple of years removed from winning 22 games and finishing 2nd to Chris Carpenter in the NL Cy Young race. However things were not to be as Willis had all kinds of problems throwing strikes. It was never an issue of him missing close, he would pitch and the ball would fly over the backstop. It was a little bit sad to watch.

Willis has 10 days to clear waivers at which point he would be eligible to go pitch in the minors, an option that the Tigers do not think that Willis will take. Gerald Laird seems to think that Willis’ career is not over. He noted that he has watched Willis make huge strides over the last couple of years.

Report Card: Quarter of the way through the season issue.

Yes we are a little over a quarter of the way through the 162 game season, time to do Grade Reports for Your Detroit Tigers:

Starting Pitching

Grade: C+

Starting pitching which carried this team last year has kind of been the Achilles heel of the Tigers this season. Outside of Verlander we really don’t know what we’re going to get. Verlander is a MLB Ace however, just ask Rod Allen, he’ll tell you all bout it. Porcello has had some really good starts and some really bad ones. Opponents are still hitting over .300 against him. Willis still walks every other guy he faces, the sad thing about this is, his pitches are really good. Guys have a hard time hitting the D-Train when he’s on. Bondo has been really good, this needs to continue if the Tigers hope to have a chance of winning the division. The 5th spot is currently held by Galarraga but he’s just holding the spot until Scherzer gets his issues figured out.

Prediction: Eddie Bonine becomes a starter if Galarraga, Willis or Scherzer can’t figure it out

Bullpen

Grade: A+

In 2009 the Tigers pen wasn’t very good. Zumaya spent the majority of the year hurt, Rodney was very inconsistent in non save chances, for the most part the pen sucked. Fast forward to 2010. Zumaya is pitching like the 2006 version of himself, except maybe he’s a little bit better. Jose Valverde has been phenomenal. He may be the single biggest free agent signing in Detroit since Magglio Ordonez.  You know when Valverde comes in to close a game out, its a done deal. Phil Coke and Fu Te Ni have been two very good lefty’s out of the pen. Both pitch extremely well against left handed hitters. Finally Eddie Bonine who I think is headed for a starting spot, has been very very good in long relief for the Tigers.

Prediction: Alfredo Figaro gets a call up to the majors in the near future to work long relief for the Tigers.

Outfielders

Grade: A

This unit has been very consistent, which is pretty surprising considering the youngsters they have playing out there. Both Brennan Boesch and Austin Jackson are rookies and they are probably the two favorites for AL Rookie of the Year right now. These kids can flat out hit, and Jackson is the equivalent of Curtis Granderson in the outfield.  Boesch started out slowly playing the field, but he has made some nice plays recently. Ordonez and Damon provide veteran leadership for the two youngsters, its nice to see Mags return to form. Lets face it 2009 was an anomaly. Damon was a good free agent pickup, he’s still one of the best table setters in the game.

Infielders

Grade: B-

Without Miguel Cabrera this grade would probably be a D+/C-, however Cabby is probably the 2nd best 1st baseman in baseball, right behind Albert Puljos. The rest of the infield has been pretty substandard. Lots of errors. At 2nd base so far we have seen Sizemore, Worth, Raburn, and Santiago, all start there. Guillen will be the starter once he gets back. Inge is still probably the best 3rd baseman in the game, yet he still can’t hit. Everett and Santiago platoon the shortstop position,a role that I would like to see Santiago get 75% of the playing time. Everett is well lets face it, he sucks at the plate. His glove is good no doubt about that, but Santiago’s glove is also good, and He can hit a little bit more consistently than Everett.

Prediction:  Brent Dlugach gets a call up sometime in June.

Catchers

Grade: D

The catching position has been woefully inconsistent. However even if Laird and Avila can’t hit they both are pretty solid defensively.  The Tigers are going to have to hope that Avila grows into this role, and hopefully he can replace Laird as the everyday catcher.

Overall Grade: 

 

There you have it folk the Tigers a little over a quarter of the way through the season Report Card We Own The Central Style.

ESPN Power Stankings

So in ESPN's new power rankings, The boys in Bristol rank the Tigers who sit a game out of first place 11th. The Twinks who are currently ONE game up on the Tigers, are ranked 4th. What gives ESPN?

This is a Tigers team who has been playing really good baseball over the last 3 weeks or so. Forget losing 2 of 3 to the Dodgers, whom may be the hottest team in baseball right now. This Tigers team has series wins in the last few weeks over, The A’s, The Red Sux, The Yankees, the Twins. This is a good baseball team, albeit a Team with a few lingering issues.

We need more starting pitching. Dontrelle is reverting to the old Dontrelle ways of walking every other batter he faces. Galarraga is still the same pitcher he was last year. His fastball has incredible movement on it, however that doesn’t matter much when you can’t locate it.

You never know what you’re going to get when Porcello goes out there. Sometimes(like on Sunday) he looks like a legitimate ace, other times he looks like Armando Galarraga. I’m not going to be too hard on the kid yet though, he is only 21 years old. And then there is Bonderman who is starting to figure himself out. I think Bondo could be a pitcher who can give you 12-15 wins per season. His slider is a very good pitch and he is learning how to throw the 2 seam fastball.

Finally Justin Verlander for my money is the best pitcher in baseball. I wouldn’t take another starting pitcher over him, but yes I am a bit of a Homer. 

Taking over Fox Tonight!

So our beloved Tigers take over Fox tonight. Will we become bigger than the Simpsons? We Already have.

Armando Galarraga gets the start for Detroit tonight hoping to build off of his good outing last week against the Yankees. I noticed that Armando’s two seam fastball had tons of late life on it. His control was erratic at best, but with the way the Dontrelle Willis has pitched his last couple of starts, we really need Galarraga to step it up.

Fwiw I really think that Scherzer is probably on his way back soon. I also think that the D-Train may be done in the Motor City. This is unfortunate but the Tigers are trying to win a Division, and 14 walks per 9 isn’t going to get it done.

Speaking of Scherzer, in his one start at Toledo he went 8 innings giving up only one hit and walking only one while striking out TEN. Max we’d love to have you back pitching with the old English D on your chest. Hurry up and figure out your stuff and come back and win us some games.

Chance at First

As I am writing this the Minnesota Twins are Losing to the Boston Red Sux 4-0 in the top of the 5th. If the Twins don’t mount some sort of comeback the Tigers will be tied for first going into inter-league play.

So why didn’t I wait. Maybe a small part of me thinks posting this before the final will prove that I have super powers. If the Sux end up blowing this game, you can lynch me, because I most certainly have the power to change the course of a Major League Baseball game.

So yeah this post is too more or less find out if I’m super.

Inter-League play kicks off tomorrow with the Tigers heading into LA to face the Dodgers. I love inter-league play, when MLB decided to adopt this format, they did it right. Baseball purist’s you can suck it.

No LiveBlog tonight

I'll try again tomorrow night, just remember to support you neighborhood TIGERS!

Preview Chicago White Sox

 

The White Sox come into Detroit with an astounding 15-22 record. Have Ozzie Guillen’s meltdowns spelled doom for this team? I don’t know.

This has turned into a very good rivalry over the last couple of years. In this series the Tigers will send two of their best(Porcello and Verlander) to the mound to face the reeling White Sox.

Porcello gets the start tonight, coming off his best outing of the season, in which he beat the Yankees 2-0, throwing 7 strong innings. I look for this trend to continue, as Porcello’s stuff is just to good to keep getting hammered. Facing him will be Freddy Garcia.

Verlander gets the start tomorrow, squaring off against John Danks. Once May arrived, Verlander really seemed to turn the corner, and once again is the dominating pitcher we have all come to love. Danks has had a very strong year, but has been hurt by lack of run support.

Great Lakes Loons

 

 

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So this weekend I made the drive over to Midland and received a full tours of Dow Diamond , The home of the Great Lakes Loons, the class A affiliate of the Las Angeles Dodgers.

For being part of the Dodgers, the crew that runs things in Midland sure knows how to put on a good show. I was treated to a full tour of the Front Offices, the Press Box, and the indoor batting cages. It was quite cool. I have been to several Minor League ballparks over the last few years, and Dow Diamond ranks right up near the top of the list.

As for the game itself, we were treated to extra innings baseball. This unfortunately was offset by the FREEZING cold temps. In the top of the 14th the Dayton Dragons scored to take a 3-2 lead. The Loons had their last chance in the bottom of the 14th and boy did they take advantage. With 2 outs Christian Lara doubled home Austin Yount and Rafael Ynoa, to end the game with a 4-3 victory.

Would I go back? Yes, even if this team is affiliated with the Dodgers. They put on a helluva show, and played really good baseball.

Go Back to New York

We took 3 out of 4 from the heralded Yankees. Somehow I get the feeling that Baseball Tonight won’t praise Detroit as much as they’ll find reasons that New York lost.

Well ESPN fuck off, because we Tigers fans have become used to your neglect(and when you do praise us bad things happen. See the 2006 World Series).

The Red Sox(Dead Sox?) come into town tomorrow, if there is a team I hate almost as much as the Yankees, it’s the Red Sox. Boston I’ll always praise you for the 1776 revolution, but that’s it. YOU GET NO OTHER PRAISE(okay you get a little bit of praise for Tom Brady  and Zolton Mesko).

Rainout

Day night double header tomorrow. Day game starts at 1pm and the night game starts at 7pm. This sucks, there is nothing on TV tonight and now I don’t even get to watch the Tigers. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Fuck The Yankees

Well that says it all now doesn't it. Young Rick Porcello looks to make it two in a row tonight as he squares off against Javier Vazquez and his ERA of almost 10.00. New York the only good thing about your club is Curtis Granderson, and he's injured so there is currently nothing good about your club.

Site Update

So in the last couple of weeks I’ve gotten pretty lazy about posting stuff. But lets be honest, there is all kinds of Detroit Tigers blogs on the interwebs that do a much better job in doing REAL coverage of this team. So what I’m going to do is give you Dark Blues crackhead opinion on all things Tigers related. Maybe if the following grows we can turn this site into a real baseball blog. Until then…….

Look to the right of the screen . Yes that is a message board play with it and have fun. Don’t mind the flamewars between ultra pseudo homo Hulk and myself. It’s just business.

Time for some Lists

So today I will look at MY top ten pitchers in the game today. Here we go.

1. Tim Lincecum – back to back  Cy Youngs is all you need to know.
2. Roy Halladay – It’s so unfair that this guy is pitching in the NL.
3. Ubaldo Jimenez – His WHIP and ERA are both under 1.00 and he’s 6-1 through his first 7 starts
4. C.C. Sabathia – I still wouldn’t want anyone else on the hill in a big game
5. Barry Zito – He’s found his big sweeping breaking ball and has been lights out early this year.
6. Zack Greinke – Poor Zack, he would probably be #1 on this list if he didn’t play for the Royals
7. Francisco Liriano – He’s back which is bad news for my Tigers
8. Joel Zumaya – The first reliever to make the list and holy shit has he been outstanding this year.
9. Andy Pettitte – Even at 37 this guy can still pitch. Too bad he’s a cheater
10. Matt Garza – TB is the hottest team in the league and this guy is a huge reason.

Down with the Tribe

I'm posting  this more at of boredom than anything else. Sitting through a Linux admin class is the very definition of a bore.
In the 3rd inning the Tigers are up on the Tribe 3-1. Oops make that 6-1. My hatred of Cleveland ties into My hatred of all things from Ohio. Worst State Ever!

The Game for all America

The game for all America

Sporting News, The, May 1, 1995 by William Earnest Harwell, Mark Newman

 

Baseball is President Eisenhower tossing out the first ball of the season; and a pudgy schoolboy playing catch with his dad on a Mississippi farm. If s the big league pitcher who sin in night clubs. And the Hollywood . singer who pitches to the Giants in spring training.

A tall, thin old man waving a scorecard from his dugout -- that's baseball. So is the big, fat guy with a bulbous nose running out one of his 714 home runs with mincing steps.

It's America, this baseball. A re-issued newsreel of boyhood dreams. Dreams lost somewhere between boy and man. It's the Bronx cheer and the Baltimore farewell. The left-field screen in Boston, the right-field dump at Nashville's Sulphur Dell, the open stands in San Francisco, the dusty, wind-swept diamond at Albuquerque. And a rock home plate and a chicken wire backstop -- anywhere.

There's a man in Mobile who remembers a triple he saw Honus Wagner hit in Pittsburgh 46 years ago. That's baseball. So is the scout reporting that a 16-year-old sandlot pitcher in Cheyenne is the new "Walter Johnson."

It's a wizened little man shouting insults from the safety of his bleacher seat. And a big, smiling first baseman playfully tousling the hair of a youngster outside the players' gate.

Baseball is a spirited race of man against man, reflex against reflex. A game of inches. Every skill is measured. Every heroic, every failing is seen and cheered -- or booed. And then becomes a statistic.

In baseball, democracy shines its clearest. Here the only race that matters is the race to the bag. The creed is the rule book. Color is something to distinguish one team's uniform from another.

Baseball is Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin, asking his Brooklyn hosts to explain Dodger signals. It's player Moe Berg speaking seven languages and working crossword puzzles in Sanskrit. It's a scramble in the box seats for a foul -- and a $125 suit ruined. A man barking into a hot microphone about a cool beer, that's baseball. So is the sportswriter telling a .383 hitter how to stride, and a 20-victory pitcher trying to write his impressions of the World Series.

Baseball is a ballet without music. Drama without words. A carnival without kewpie dolls.

A housewife in California couldn't tell you the color of her husband's eyes, but she knows that Yogi Berra is hitting .337, has brown eyes and used to love to eat bananas with mustard. That's baseball. So is the bright sanctity of Cooperstown's Hall of Fame. And the former big leaguer, who is playing out the string in a Class B loop.

Baseball is continuity. Pitch to pitch. Inning to inning. Game to game. Series to series. Season to season.

It's rain, rain, rain splattering on a puddled tarpaulin as thousands sit in damp disappointment. And the click of typewriters and telegraph keys in the press box -- like so many awakened crickets. Baseball is a cocky batboy. The old-timer whose batting average increases every time he tells it. A lady celebrating a home team rally by mauling her husband with a rolled-up scorecard.

Baseball is the cool, clear eyes of Rogers Hornsby, the flashing spikes of Ty Cobb, an overaged pixie named Rabbit Maranville, and Jackie Robinson testifying before a Congressional hearing.

Baseball? It's just a game -- as simple as a ball and a bat. Yet, as complex as the American spirit it symbolizes. It's a sport, business -- and sometimes even religion.

Baseball is Tradition in flannel knickerbockers. And Chagrin in being picked off base. It is Dignity in the blue serge of an umpire running the game by rule of thumb. It is Humor, holding its sides when an errant puppy eludes two groundskeepers and the fastest outfielder. And Pathos, dragging itself off the field after being knocked from the box.

Nicknames are baseball. Names like Zeke and Pie and Kiki and Home Run and Cracker and Dizzy and Dazzy.

Baseball is a sweaty, steaming dressing room where hopes and feelings are as naked as the men themselves. It's a dugout with spike-scarred flooring. And shadows across an empty ballpark. It's the endless list of names in box scores, abbreviated almost beyond recognition.

The holdout is baseball, too. He wants 55 grand or he won't turn a muscle. But, it's also the youngster who hitch-hikes from South Dakota to Florida just for a tryout.

Arguments, Casey at the Bat, old cigarette cards, photographs, Take Me Out to the Ball Game -- all of them are baseball.

Baseball is a rookie -- his experience no bigger than the lump in his throat -- trying to begin fulfillment of a dream. It's a veteran, too -- a tired old man of 35, hoping his aching muscles can drag him through another sweltering August and September.

For nine innings, baseball is the story of David and Goliath, of Samson, Cinderella, Paul Bunyan, Homer's Iliad and the Count of Monte Cristo.

Willie Mays making a brilliant World Series catch. And then going home to Harlem to play stick-ball in the street with his teen-age pals -- that's baseball.

And so is the husky voice of a doomed Lou Gehrig saying, "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth."

 

Baseball is cigar smoke, hot-roasted peanuts, The Sporting News, winter trades, "Down in Front," and the "Seventh-Inning Stretch." Sm arms, broken bats, a no-hitter, and the strains of the Star-Spangled Banner.

Baseball is a highly paid Brooklyn catcher telling the nation's business leaders: "You have to be a man to be a big leaguer, but you have to have a lot of little boy in you, too."

 

This is a game for America, this baseball!

COPYRIGHT 1995 Sporting News Publishing Co.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

William Earnest Harwell "The game for all America". Sporting News, The. FindArticles.com. 04 May, 2010. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_n18_v219/ai_16871148/

COPYRIGHT 1995 Sporting News Publishing Co.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

More Ernie Harwell

Here is his farewell speech from Sept. 16th 2009. I deeply miss this man.

Tigers Lose

What a terrible fucking day(excuse my language). The Tigers lose 4-3 on a Ryan Perry wild pitch in the bottom of the 9th.

The Red Wings lose 4-3 in OT.

Oh and Ernie Harwell passes away.

Great day to be a Detroit Sports fan.

It’s days like today that make me appreciate the good times that much more.

Goodbye Ernie Harwell

I tried to not have tears in my eyes while I was writing this, but it was a battle I lost. Legendary Detroit Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell lost his battle with cancer today at the age of 92.
Ernie started his broadcasting career in Atlanta, calling games on WSB radio for the Atlanta Crackers. Harwell became the only announce to ever be traded when he was shipped off to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948.
Ernie joined the Tigers in 1960. Ernie became the voice of the Tigers quickly. He served as the voice of the Tigers from 1960-1991 and 1994-2002. His break in broadcasting resulted from an ill advised move by new Tigers president, Legend Bo Schembechler. When Mike Illitch bought the team in 1993 one of his first moves was to bring the lengend back.
This is one of the saddest days of my life. Ernie represented more than just Tigers baseball to me. He was a little piece of my childhood. 
One of Ernie’s trademarks was to read the Song of Solomon v 2:11-12, at the first spring training broadcast.
¹¹'For behold, the winter is past,
         The rain is over and gone.
¹²'The flowers have already appeared in the land;
         The time has arrived for pruning the vines,
         And the voice of the ^(A)turtledove has been heard in our land.
Ernie you will be missed by millions. Those in heaven can rejoice because the greatest announcer to ever call a game is now doing so in  the big stadium in the sky.

Just Checking

In attempt to see if I can successfully use MS-Word to blog I am publishing this post. BTW the Tigers get their asses handed to them tonight. Maybe I actually didn't watch long enough to check the final score.

So I quit writing and the Tigers get Hot!

Our Tigers have won 5 in a row since I last posted something. Coincidence? Maybe just maybe. These wins include a sweep of the LA Angels and a series win against Central Division lead Minnesota.

Justin Verlander took the mound today hoping to forget all about his rough April. Forget it he did as he went 8.1 giving up only 3 hits and 1 earned as the Tigers won 5-1. Verlander struck out 7 and didn’t walk anybody. At one point the Tigers Ace retired 23 in a row.

This team seems to be coming together nicely. The offense has ROARED to life after a slow start. The starting pitching is beginning to come around and their bullpen remains the best in all of baseball.

If things continue to go the way are currently going we should be in for a very exciting summer. GO TIGERS! 

Tigers down the pesky Twins

So Max Scherzer got hammered. Yet the Tigers came back and won. An epic day it was. This is what the Tigers must do if they have any shot at winning the division.

The Tigers put up 5 runs on Scott Baker, and got to their bullpen for 6 more. Final 11-6 Detroit.

Come on Kitties win tomorrow and gain some ground in the Central.

Can Bondo Patch some holes in his game

Bondo gets the start tonight looking to build off of his last outing. He needs to go at least 6 innings tonight to allow the bullpen to rest a little bit. In his last outing against the Angels he gave up 3 runs to the first five batters. Then he settled down and only allowed one infield hit over the next 19 batters.

So what does Bondo have to do to find success in the league? A couple of bullets and maybe we can find the answer.

• First Bonderman must locate his pitches. He must be able to work hitters both inside and out. Bondo has never had pinpoint control, but when you are only throwing 88 MPH this is something you have to do to be successful.
• He has to be able to throw his slider and changeup for strikes. This is something he did well his last time out. That changeup could become a very good pitch for him if he builds confidence in it.
• Finally Bondo must trust his stuff. His two seamer has lots of late life, which is a good thing. He has an almost wicked slider and has turned the Split-fingered fastball into an out pitch.

Moar Joel Zumaya pleez

 

 

So our Tigers have really struggled with their starting pitching. This is one area I really thought would be a strength for this team coming into 2010. It hasn’t really worked out that way. Verlander is 1-1 with a 6.95 ERA. Porcello is 1-2 with a 7.91 ERA. Willis and Bonderman haven’t been much better. I realize that its early in the year, but the Tigers need to do something.

Well DB, what do they do you might ask? I have a couple of ideas. First off Joel Zumaya has been lights out.  This guy, after all of the injuries and set backs has a 2-0 record, with 13 K’s 0 BB’s in 12 innings of work. There was talk a couple of years ago about making Zumaya a starter. I think now may be the time to do this.

What do the Tigers have to lose(I know a big part of their pen). This team must keep pace with the red hot Minnesota Twins. Maybe just maybe Zumaya is primed for a starters roll.

The other option at this point is to call up Armando Galarraga. Through 4 starts this young season, Galarraga is 3-1 with a 2.22 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting just .180 against him. With the way that some of the Tigers starting pitching has been struggling, He is a viable option at some point in this season.

Tigers rally

 

Jeremy Bonderman overcame a rough first inning and the Tigers stormed back in the 9th to give them a 4-3 victory.

Bondo looked really good, after the first inning. I was very pleased with what I saw. We know that Bondo is probably never going to be the hard thrower that he was. Yet last night his two seamer had lots of movement on it and he was able to throw the breaking ball for strikes. This is what we need out of Bonderman.

Cabby you are the MAN!!

Our Offense Has Issues

After the pain and trauma we’ve endured the last two seasons watching Dontrelle Willis pitch, he goes out pitches lights out and loses. Our offense sucks. 9 hits today and no runs scored. 9 fucking hits and nothing to show for it.

I am now officially in the fire Lloyd McClendon camp. I’m not saying all of the hitting woes are his fault, but something has to be done to pull these guys heads out of their asses. There is big league talent on this team who hit like little leaguers.

Anyways enough with the rant……I’ll see you tomorrow after Porcello shuts the Angels down.

Preview: LA Angels

DOTW	Tigers	Angels
Monday	Dontrelle Willis (0-0 4.91 ERA 5BB 7K)	Joel Pinero (1-1 2.77 ERA 3 BB 9 K)
Tuesday	Rick Porcello (1-0 4.09 ERA 2 BB 5 K)	Scott Kazmir (0-1 13.50 ERA 3BB 2 K)
Wednesday	Jeremy Bonderman (1-1 9.00ERA 6 BB 9 K)	Jered Weaver (2-0 2.84 ERA 3 BB 21 K)
Thursday	Justin Verlander (0-1 6.88 ERA 5 BB 15 K)	Joe Saunders (1-2 4.26 ERA 4 BB 8 K)

The Tigers invade Los Angeles looking to take down the perennial AL West powerhouse Angels.  I’m going to be honest. I feel this is a series that could make or break this season. I know we’re not even a month into the year yet, however this is the best team we have faced and we need our bats to come alive if we have any hope of winning the Central.

That being said, this Angels team is loaded. Yes I know that their record is only 6-7, and yes I know that they have scored less runs than the Tigers have. But this team has so much pitching depth, I fully expect them to easily win the West(yet again).

Our Starters haven’t been good over the course of the last week and a half. My hope in this series is that our pitching is good enough to keep the Angels Struggling and our offense can come from some where. Our pitching and bats both need to improve in a major way if we are going to make any kind of run this year.

It feels so good to be back

So I’ve got to apologize to my readers for my absence. I’ve had a very busy week which capped off with a trip to Ann Arbor for the University of Michigan Spring Game. You can read all about my trip here.

The Tigers kicked off a very tough early season west coast swing. After losing two of three to Kansas City the Big Cats rolled into Seattle where they promptly lost the first two games of the series. Thankfully I missed most of both of these games, although I did see a little bit of Verlander’s performance and he looked pretty good.

Today I arrived home in enough time to turn on FSD-HD and watch Max Scherzer and the Tigers beat the Mariners 4-2. Scherzer looked impressive, going 6 innings, striking out 4 while only walking 1. This was a good outing for the young righty.

The Tigers scoring started with Miguel Cabrera’s 3 run homer in the top of the 3rd. That was all until Austin Jackson singled home a run in the top of the 8th.

Tigers offense continues to suck. They have been outscored 61-58 this year. They continue to strand way to many runners, I’m not quite ready to call for Lloyd McClendon’s head just yet….but its coming. These guys just can’t seem to hit when there is runners in scoring position.

The bullpen continues to be very good, which they have to be with the starter not going especially deep into games. I’m still hoping for .500 on this road trip, but if they continue to hit like they have it will be more like .250.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a preview of LA.

The Comeback Kids Strike Again

Well once again Brian Bannister baffled the Tigers lineup for 6+ innings. And once again Late in the game the offense roared to life(you see what I did there?).

Bannister shut the tigers down for the first 6 innings of this game. Giving up only two hits. However in the 7th everything changed and the Tigers stormed back to take a 6-5 victory. That puts the Tigers at 6-2 with a chance to be 7-2 before there long west coast swing.

I’m not going to break down the performance of the team today. I haven’t the energy to go back and re-watch the game. But I do have a couple of thoughts…

Dontrelle Willis looks like he is back. Yes his control is not perfect, and yes he gave up 4 earned in 5 innings of work. Yet the D-Train looks like his stuff is good again. When he misses he doesn’t miss by 4 feet.

Gerald Laird had a couple of hits today which is a good thing. However Posednik had a stolen base off of him and Willis. If its not offense its defense I guess.

Could the Tigers asked for a better start to 2010? I’m going to go out on a limb and say no. I’ll see you all with a recap tomorrow night, followed by a preview of the Mariners. See you then.

Tigers Lose

I’m going to be honest, I didn’t get to watch much of today’s game. I had other things going on…..sue me.

What I do know is our defense let us down. Scherzer gave up 5 runs with only two of them being earned. It sounded like he turned in another solid performance.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap of 4/13 game. GO TIGERS and thanks for once again killing my predictions. Some seer I am.

Preview Kansas City 4/13-4/15

 

DOTW	Kansas City	Detroit
Monday	Luke Hochever (0-0 0.00 ERA 2 K)	Max Scherzer (0-0 0.00 ERA 3 K)
Tuesday	Brian Bannister (0-0 1.50 ERA 3 K)	Dontrelle Willis (0-0 3.00 ERA 4 K)
Wednesday	Kyle Davies (0-0 4.50 ERA 3K)	Rick Porcello (1-0 3.60 ERA 3 K)

 

For the second time in the young 2010 season, the Royals and Tigers meet up, this time from beautiful Comerica Park. In the first series of the season, the Tigers took 2 of 3 from KC.

The Tigers currently rank 4th in the AL in total batting, while the Royals rank 12th. The Tigers rank first in the AL in total pitching and KC ranks 13th. Early in this young season the Tigers look like legitimate contenders while the Royals look like the Royals.

In the Monday game we get a rematch of the gem from last Wednesday between Scherzer and Hochever, a game in which the Royals won. Scherzer was brilliant in his Tigers debut, while Hochever was brilliant for the Royals.

The good thing about playing the Royals is we get an opportunity to face their bullpen, and in this series we won’t have to see Zack Greinke.

I like the Tigers to take at least 2 out of 3 and I think if we catch to level we are capable of, there is a very good chance we could once again be pulling our brooms out.

Get Your Brooms Out

Tigers Record (5-1)

At one point in this game the Tigers were down 7-1. But as we all know baseball is a funny game and funny things happen every once in awhile.

Cleveland stormed out of the gates scoring 5 runs on Justin Verlander in the first inning. Verlander settled in nicely after that only allowing 1 more run in 5+ innings of work. Eddie Bonnine then came in and gave up 2 earned in 3 innings of work. Verlander wasn’t particularly impressive for the second straight outing. I’ve kind of had flashbacks to his slow start of 2009. Hopefully he can get things turned around in a hurry.

Going into the bottom of the 7th Cleveland led 8-3 and then the Tigers offense got rolling. Sizemore doubled in a run in the 7th, Inge and Guillen both double in runs to make it 8-6 after 8.

The 9th was one of the most memorable performances in recent memory. Mags started things out with a sharp single to left. Cabby followed it up with a walk. Guillen rips a double into the right field corner, Mags scores. 8-7 Tribe. Inge is then thrown out on a beautiful play by Asdrubal Cabrera, runners still on 2nd and 3rd with two outs. Santiago draws a walk to load the bases, Leyland decides to pinch hit Johnny Damon for Laird. Damon walks in the tying run on 4 pitches. Guillen scores on a wild pitch. BAM SWEEP!!

I started to get down on our offense early in this game, but they came through when they had to aided by a sub par pitching performance by the Tribe.

Tigers win 3rd in a row

Record (4-1)

Truth be told I didn’t know what to expect from Jeremy Bonderman coming in to the 2010 season. I pretty much knew that he wouldn’t be the guy that threw 96 mph anymore, but aside from that I had know idea.

Well Bonderman showed me something today I didn’t really expect. He had a change up that was great. I heard through out spring that this was a pitch he was trying to master, and boy did it look good today.

Bonderman went 5 strong innings and his bullpen backed him up as the Tigers pulled out a 4-2 win. We as fans couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the season.

Early thoughts on the 2010 season

• Our pitching staff looks like a division winning staff. Both the starters and the pen have been almost dominating. Hopefully this is a trend that continues. With both Willis and Bondo having strong starts, we should be extremely optimistic.
• Remember all the talk a year ago about the Tigers picking up Mags option. Right now that looks like a great move by Dombrowski and Co. This guy is tearing the cover off of the ball.
• Still leaving too many men on base. This will have to change if we want to make a serious post season run.
• Has anyone else had enough of Gerald Laird?

Tigers win again

Record (3-1)

So this year couldn't have started much better. The youngster Rick Porcello threw 5+ innings of 2 run ball. The offense delivered 3 unearned runs on David Huff in the 5th on a throwing error by Johnny Peralta. The bullpen continued with 4 innings of shutout ball. So far 2010 has been kind to the Tigers.

Now I'm not ready to hand them the division title just yet. There is still 158 games to be played, but 4 games into the season, things look solid.

Hero's

• Magglio Ordonez continued his hot start, this guy is blistering baseballs all over the field.
• The bullpen yet again. 2 solid innings from Zumaya, who would of thought we would have gotten this kind of production from Zoom Zoom? Apparently Jim Leyland and Dave Domborwski. 
• Scott Sizemore. Congrats on your first major league hit.

Goats

• None Today!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll see you all tomorrow afternoon, hopefully then I'll be on a computer using Windows Live Writer.

Preview: Cleveland Indians (April 9-111)

 

DOTW	Tigers	Indians
Friday	Rick Porcello	David Huff
Saturday	Jeremy Bonderman	Mitch Talbot
Sunday	Justin Verlander (0-0 7.20 era)	Jake Westbrook (0-1 11.25 era)

 

So to be completely honest with you I had to do a bit of research on this Cleveland Indians team. Gone are the days of CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee,and Victor Martinez. Tiger killer Grady Sizemore remains in the lineup(unfortunate isn’t it ).

We get to see our first look at young Rick Porcello tomorrow. I’m expecting big things from the kid who finished 3rd in Rookie of The Year voting. David Huff faces him, Huff pitched in Cleveland last year, going 11-8 with a 5.61 ERA in 23 starts. I’m not into predications but I say Detroit easily wins this game in front of a packed home crowd.

Bondo makes his return to the bigs on Saturday, facing off against Mitch Talbot.  Talbot who won the starting job late in spring, finished spring training on a rough note, giving up 6 earned in 5.2 IP. Let’s hope this carries over to Saturday and Detroit can own his ass. We may need to put up a bunch of runs in Bonderman’s stuff isn’t good.

Justin Verlander squares off against Jake Westbrook in the series finally on Sunday. Verlander’s first start wasn’t a bad one but it wasn’t a particularly good one either.  However this is a guy who will win right around 18 games, so nothing to be worried about. Westbrook on the other hand had an awful opening day against the ChiSox. He went 4 IP gave up 5 earned and walked 4. If this guy is Cleveland’s number one started it could be a long year for the Tribe.

I look for our offense to fair better against Indians starting pitching than they did against the Royals. Cleveland has a pretty “meh” staff, so here’s hoping that our O can unleash some devastation.

All aboard the D-Train

 

Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
Willis	6.0	7	2	2	2	4	0	88-54	3.00
E.Bonnine (W, 1-0)	1.0	3	0	0	0	0	0	21-16	0.00
R.Perry	1.0	1	1	1	1	0	0	21-11	3.86
J.Valverde	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	14-9	4.50

 

Dontrelle turned in 6 solid innings of work as the Tigers defeated the Royals 7-3. Willis started the game a little bit shaky allowing a run in the first, but he dug in and really settled down after that. His control wasn’t very good, in fact at times I wondered if this was the same old version of the D-Train. What he did VERY WELL was get hitters to ground into the double play. 3 of em to be exact.

The Tigers offense once again demolished the KC bullpen. Their pen gave up something like 14 ER in 10 IP. It’s too bad we can’t play KC’s pen about 159 more times.

Heros

• Cabrera, god has this guy started out the year on fire. He is 8 –14 with 7 RBI’s early in the season. This Dude could win an MVP this year.
• Ordonez, had a solo big fly  in the 6th. He has also started the year on a tear. It’ll be really nice if opposing pitchers have to fear the middle part of our lineup.
• Willis was great. It’s so nice to see this guy play well. He’s the kind of player you can’t help but root for.

Goats

• Both Bonnine and Perry had a few issues, but I don’t think its anything to be to concerned over
• Laird, in what I have a feeling will be a continuing trend makes this list for the 3rd day in a row. He can’t hit and so far in this young season can’t seem to throw out runners either.

Preview of the Cleveland series coming shortly.

Well that reminded me of 2009

Tigers record (1-1)

It was a cold rainy night in Kansas City and pitching dominated the hitters at Kauffman Stadium. Max Scherzer showed why the Tiger’s were willing to give up Edwin Jackson. Joel Zumaya showed that maybe, just maybe he is back. Jose Valverde showed that maybe we should miss Fernando Rodney.

Scherzer and Luke Hochever were both outstanding tonight. Scherzer went 6 innings allowed only 1 hit, walked 2 and struck out 3. Hochever was even better, giving up 5 hits and walking only one in 7.2 IP. KC scored its first run of the game on a Chris Getz single off of Fu Te Ni.

Things took a dramatic turn in the top of the 9th. Joakim Soria struck out the first two batters he faced. Then mighty Miguel Cabrera stepped up to the plate. A 10 pitch battle ensued and on the final pitch Cabby hit one off of the right field foul pole. Game tied 1-1.

Fast forward to the top of the 11th. Carlos Guillen singles home Don Kelly who was pinch running for Mags. Tigers take a 2-1 lead. The next batter or maybe it was two batters later, Cabrera was picked off trying to steal third. This becomes very important in the next half inning.

So in the bottom of the 11th Valverde comes on the close things out for the Tigers. First Batter Albero Callaspo works the count deep and then promptly hits one over the right field fence. Then two batters later Rick Ankiel doubles, Scott Sizemore drops the ball and Willie Bloomquist scores. Boom game over. Thank God there is still 160 more to be played

Hero's

• Miguel Cabrera, Max Scherzer and the entire bullpen besides Valverde

Goat’s

• Valverde and Gerald Laird for the 2nd night in a row. Way to not throw runners out.

 

Well so it’s a long season, no reason to get to pissed about one game. The pitching was great and Valverde just had an off night. I’ll see you all tomorrow after the D-Train makes his 2010 debut. Peace.

Facebook Fan Page

For anyone interested there is a facebook fan page here. I’m trying to make We Own The Central a big thing, but you know, my terrible writing style is probably hindering me. Join if you want, especially if you think this blog is a piece of crap.

One down 161 to go

 

 

It was a day that started off well, took a bad turn in the 5th and then was broken wide open in the 7th. Justin Verlander went 5 innings giving up 4 earned runs while striking out 6. Greinke who battled control problems early in the day, out-dueled Verlander, but Kansas City’s woeful bullpen gave up 6 runs in the 7th which sealed the deal for the Tigers.

Verlander was not in mid season form today. He looked solid for the most part, but Yuniesky Betancourt sent a deep  shot over the left center field wall in the bottom of the second to give KC a 2-1 lead. Verlander went on to set 10 in a row down after that, but again worked himself in to trouble in the 5th. Billy Butler singled in two runs to give KC a 4-1 lead, at that point you couldn’t wait for KC to go to its pen.

The Tigers scoring started out in the 1st when Magglio Ordonez was able to score, when Carlos Guillen hit a towering pop up that was misplayed by Willie Bloomquist. Greinke then held their bats in check until Cabrera’s RBI single in the 5th cut the deficit to 4-2.

You realized just how bad the Royal’s pen was in the 7th, after A strong outing by Greinke things just went to hell for them. It all started with a Sizemore walk. 6 runs later later the Tigers held  an 8-4 lead. The bullpen did the rest holding KC to 3 hits the rest of the way.

Hero’s

• I’ve got to give props to the bullpen. Joel Zumaya hit 102 on the gun and dropped a couple of real nice breaking balls. Ryan Perry threw 1.2 innings of solid ball.
• Offensively Austin Jacskson , Johnny Damon, and Cabrera all had big games. Okay Jackson didn’t really have a big game but he did get his first Major League hit which was a 2 RBI double.

 Goats

• Justin Verlander, you’re not going to see his name listed here very often to I figured I’d get it out of the way now. He didn’t have a bad performance but he was out dueled by Greinke.
• Gerald Laird went 0-4 from the plate, and the Royals had two stolen bases off of him, neither one resulted in a throw.

The series resumes Wednesday with Max Scherzer(making his Tiger’s debut) taking on Luke Hochevar at 9:10 eastern time. Hopefully the Tigers can start off 2010 with a two game win streak. I’ll see you then. GO TIGERS!

 

Missed opportunities.

How is it possible to lose a 4 run lead? Bad decisions that's how.  Both the Yankees and Boston played mediocre last night. The Yankees started off great with Posada putting the Yankees on board first with a solo homerun. Granderson, showing how comfortable he is in pinstripes produced a homerun with his first his first hit as a Yankee. Everything seemed to be going accorded to Joe Garardi's plan, until he left Sabathia in for an inning too long. It took Gardener stealing home to light a fire under Boston's ass. Park came in pitching for the Yanks and handed the game to Boston. I might not be happy with the outcome of the game, but it was very exciting to watch. The rest of the series should be good.

Finally…….

It’s here, opening day, Major League ballparks are filled, the hot dog vendors have their carts out, and we are ready to play ball. This day should be a national holiday. What better way to kill off the remainder of winter than baseball? Plus we get the Men’s National Championship game tonight a 9:21(Go Butler!). Overall it is a great day worthy of all of our admiration. Makes me proud to be an American.

Preview: Kansas City.

 

	Tigers	Royals
Monday	Verlander	Greinke
Wednesday	Scherzer	Hochevar
Thursday	Willis	Bannister

Tomorrow at 4:10 Eastern Time, The Tigers kick off their quest for the 2010 Central Division crown against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals finished 2009 tied for last in the division with a record of 65-97.

The Royals send 2009 Cy Young award winner, Zack Greinke to the mound to face Verlander on opening day. These are two guys who finished in the top three of the AL Cy Young voting.  The Tigers as a team hit .176 against Greinke in 2009 although few teams faired much better.

On Wednesday we send Max Scherzer to the hill to face Luke Hochevar. Scherzer was acquired from Arizona in the Edwin Jackson deal, will get his first shot at American League hitting. Hochevar last season had a rough go of it(7-13 6.55 ERA) He’s a guy that throws strikes(46 walks last year in 143 IP) so hopefully the Tigers can put the ball in play and make some noise.

The series wraps up on Thursday as we send the D Train to the hill to face Brian Bannister. Willis is looking to get on track for the first time since he has put on a Tigers uniform. This is a guy who has given up something like 947 walks in only 17 innings of work(Yeah I exaggerate, so what) so hopefully he can prove that he has turned the corner and make this a year to remember.  Brian Bannister is the same pitcher he has always been, not over powering, but he has pretty good command and could have had a much better season last year if he received any kind of run support.

Shaking hands

I'm very happy, and excited to be on board with Dark blue. My two top loves in this world: sex, and baseball. Since im sure no one wants to hear about the good stuff, I'll stick to baseball. I will be trying to give you a good view on all of baseball. My top three favorite teams are (in order) The Yankees, The Tigers, and the Braves. One day I will make it to a World Series game. My perfect day would be in the Bronx watching the Yankees beat Boston, munching on some dogs and beer. The countdown has started to opening day, so without trying to be lame... PLAY BALL!

Then New Kid on the Block

I realized shortly after starting this blog, that there are some things that are better done with others. This list includes(but is not limited to) sex, video games, poker, football, gangbanging, etc. Well we can add blogging to that list, a 162 game season is a bit much for one guy to handle, so what did I do? Well I went out and got some help from one of the best in the business. The Seventh Son is joining me in my pursuit of the best blog in baseball.

SS, will be giving you a broader view of the Major League Baseball world. His scope is much bigger than mine, he realizes that there is other teams worth covering besides the Tigers, I on the other hand only believe the Tiger’s are worth covering, but that is a story for another time.

Read his stuff, do it, it cures cancer so I’m told.

Best thing evah

So as I write this, we are a little more than 60 hours away from the first pitch of the Tiger’s 2010 baseball season. And what a treat that first game will be. Zack Greinke faces Justin Verlander in what should be an absolute gem. I can’t remember a year I was more excited about. Then to get this pitching match-up on opening day is like you know, the best thing evah.

Goodbye Nate Robertson

 

Yesterday the Tigers sent Nate Robertson and 9.6 million dollars to the Marlins for 22 year old left handed pitching prospect Jay Voss. The move in my opinion, is a good one, but I don’t think we will know just how good it was until later in the season. If Dontrelle Willis or Jeremy Bonderman fall on their faces, this becomes a terrible move.

In his 8 year major league career, Robertson has compiled a 51-69 record with a 4.92 ERA. His best season came in 2006, when he went 13-13 with a 3.84 ERA. Since then he has really struggled, with his command.

So so long Nate, thanks for all of the memories and good luck to you in Florida.

2010 Season Preview

What does 2010 hold for the Tigers? As long as it’s not a loss in the 163rd game to the freaking Twins, I’m going to be happy. Actually truth be told I expect big things from this team. There has been some good moves made along with some questionable ones. I put great trust in what Dave Dombrowski does, so hopefully this is the year we return to form and head back to the post-season. Lets take a look at the 2010 Tigers
Starting Pitching
Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello anchor the top two spots in the rotation, this much we know, and barring any kind of unfortunate injury, these two have too hold the fort down. Max Scherzer will be the third started, coming over from Arizona in the Edwin Jackson deal. The back end of the rotation is probably the biggest question mark on this team. Jeremy Bonderman will start out with the fourth spot and Dontrelle Willis will be the fifth starter. Neither one of these guys has pitched much in the last couple of years, and both really need to return to Major League form if the Tigers are going to have a chance to go back to the playoffs.
Relief Pitching
Off season acquisition Jose Valverde will be the closer. This guy was very good in Houston and it will be interesting to see if he can transfer his success into the American League. I think the biggest question revolving around the bullpen is can Joel Zumaya stay healthy and pitch for a full season? This guy has pitched something like 88 innings over the last 3 seasons. He needs to stay healthy and return to his over powering self to give the team some late inning options. With Bobby Seay likely out for the year, Fu-Te Ni will look to fill the role of middle relief left hander. He was very good in 2009, appearing in 36 games and only allowing 9 earned runs. Phil Coke came over from the Yankees in the Curtis Granderson deal. Coke had an impressive .209 BAA, but he did give up 30 ER in 60IP. He’s another lefty that the Tigers will be relying on to get left handed hitters out in late innings. Ryan Perry will look to build on his strong rookie campaign. He is probably the Tiger’s top option in the eighth inning. This kid was so impressive, I expect big things out of Mr. Perry. Eddie Bonnine and Zack Miner will round out the pen, you know what you are going to get from both of these guys, they are both good options in long relief. Overall I think the bullpen is by far the most improved area of this Tigers team.
Outfield
Here is where things get interesting. Two new faces will start in the outfield. Johnny Damon will play left and Youngster Austin Jackson will start in center. Jim Leyland has said that Damon will also DH, but I don’t honestly know how long the Damon experiment will last. While I love the leadership he brings to the clubhouse, there is a guy who will be sitting on the bench who is ready to break out in my opinion. I fully expect Ryan Raburn to be an everyday player by the All-Star break. I know he needs to improve on defense, but this kid is such a good hitter, I don’t think it makes much sense to keep him on the bench. On the plus side Raburn can also play second base, third base, first base, and he can catch if the need arises. Austin Jackson is in a tough position imo. Here is a young kid whose expected to fill some pretty big shoes. He has all of the tools to be a quality Major League player, but I don’t think we should expect to much out of him to soon. He has played great this spring Hitting .343 in 35 AB’s, he has also stolen 3 bases, so yeah he’s got tools. Mags will be back in right, here’s hoping he can play like he did in the second half last year. Mags is Mags, He’s going to hit right around .300, not strike out a whole lot, and drive in some runs. The power may have fallen off a bit, but he has looked very good this spring. Clete Thomas and Don Kelly will round out the outfield. Clete probably starts the season in Toledo, but he will be called up at some point, early in the year.
Infield
Some old faces and some new ones will make up the Tigers infield in 2010. Brandon Inge and Miguel Cabrerra return at the corner infield spots. Inge coming off offseason knee surgery, looks to regain his early 2009 form. In the second half of the season you could tell that the knees were really bothering him, as his production fell off dramatically. Cabrerra has to be mentioned in MVP talks, like he is every year. This guy is an absolute beast, he crushes balls like Oprah crushes donuts. He came into camp this year in great shape, and since he has given up the booze, I look for Miguel to have the best season of his young career. It’s hard to believe this guy isn’t even 27 yet. Adam Everett returns at shortstop where, not a big offensive star but a solid defensive player none the less. The new guy in the infield is Scott Sizemore. The 25 year old has been called upon to take Placido Polanco’s place at second base. He was the Tiger’s representative at the Future’s Game in 2009. WOTS is that Sizemore has all of the tools to possibly be an All-Star one day. He has some speed and he has some power. An ankle injury late season has slowed him down a bit this spring, but hopefully he will be fine once he gets going. Ramon Santiago returns once again to backup second and shortstop. This is the same guy we’ve seen the last 4 years, a solid backup who plays the field well, and can deliver at the plate in clutch situations. Don Kelly and Ryan Raburn will also get their shot playing infield sporadically.
Catchers
Gerald Laird will again be the starting catcher. Laird should’ve probably won a Gold Glove last year, in fact I’d being willing to bet that he would’ve won, had his offensive numbers been better. Laird threw out 40% of would be base stealers last year, an almost Pudge like performance. Yet Laird really struggled at the plate hitting .225 with no power. He has faired a bit better this spring, He and Lloyd McClendon went back and retooled his batting stance, which will hopefully lead to some more success at the plate. Backing up Laird is Alex Avila. The 23 year old catcher made some noise last year in his first trip to the show. This kid can hit, there is no doubt about that. He has a little bit of power, and he’s a lefty bat which the Tiger’s need. I don’t think he will replace Laird as the everyday catcher this year, but he is definitely the future.
Predictions
I think the Central Division is wide open, the White Sox, Twins, and Tigers all have a legit chance at winning the division. The Tigers have improved enough that I would pick them as the favorite to win the division right now. It doesn’t hurt that the Twins have lost Joe Nathan for the year. I’m going to go out on a limb and say the Tiger’s finish the season 93-69 and win the Central.

Background Info

So I am an avid readers of sporting blogs and am a huge Major League Baseball fan and have been a Tigers fan since birth. I love this team almost as much as I love the University of Michigan athletics (I love U of M almost as much as I love life itself and currently blog about them at MM.) , and spend many spring and summer nights in front of my TV screaming at Leyland for not sticking with Verlander for one more inning.

Why should you read my blog? I don’ t have a good answer for that, I’m by no means an expert on the game. I am also no dummy when it comes to the game. I am probably a little bit more of a die-hard when it comes to the Tigers. I love this team, The history, The passion of the players. I loved going and watching them play at Tiger Stadium, I love watching them play at Comerica Park.

I live on the West Side of the State, and spend a lot time watching the West Michigan Whitecaps, so then one thing I will be able to do for you, is give you a first person account and the development of some of the younger kids in the Tiger’s organization.

I plan on posting something new, everyday, especially once the season gets started, so stick around and lets see what 2010 holds for Detroit.