Because I have one of those dreaded daytime jobs, I didn't get to watch the entire effort put forth by the Detroit Tigers this afternoon. When I did get my chances, namely during a few of the middle innings, I found myself cursing at my steering wheel (I make my living as a courier). A lot, too... and impatience was the sticking point.
Watching Carlos Guillen and Wilson Betemit (among others) taking wild hacks at pitches out of the strike zone, running up a lethal stakeout total for John Danks. The White Sox hurler struck out 10 Tigers, NINE went down swinging. Most of those swings were nothing short of awful. The Tigers offense today went trigger happy, and ultimately wasted a good outing by Max Scherzer, who made only the mistake of giving up a 2-run homer.
A blown opportunity to go up 3 games in the division over the Indians, is instead just 2 over Cleveland, and only 3 1/2 over the White Sox. The Tigers now host the Angels for 4 games, which will likely be a total grind, thanks to L.A.'s starting pitching. We can take some solace that the high powered Red Sox visit Chicago this weekend. The Indians and their struggling offense host the Royals.
The Tigers had better get their bats to wake up, before the legions of fans continue to remember that they've been a failure in the second half of any season. It's been mentioned that Tigers owner Mike Ilitch will be "extremely disappointed" should they not make the postseason. I'm going to assume that's already the case.
Showing posts with label Tigers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tigers. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Random Thoughts On An Off Day
The Tigers are off today, as they prepare for a short 2-game series with the Oakland A's starting tomorrow night. We know Rick Porcello will pitch for the Tigers in game 1. Game 2 remains a mystery (as of this post). A couple of names from within the system have been mentioned, namely Charlie Furbush and Duane Below, and of those 2, Below seems like the more likely candidate. Furbush made an appearance last night for AAA Toledo, which makes any availability for a Wednesday start rather questionable. Otherwise, trade rumors keep surfacing, bringing names like Derek Lowe of the Atlanta Braves, Ubaldo Jimenez of the Colorado Rockies, Hiroki Kuroda of the LA Dodgers, and Jeremy Guthrie of the Baltimore Orioles, to name a few. Nothing hot about any of these rumors, and it appears as of now, nothing will come of said rumors. Usually with this we all play the waiting game.
Brandon Inge has seen a rather patient fan base in Detroit crumble away throughout the course of this season, and it has everything to do with not only his poor offensive production, but his defensive production as well. Inge has 8 errors in his time at third base this season compared to the 9 he had all of last season. His bat is an even bigger problem, logging a .180 batting average, 1 HR, only 10 total extra-base hits, and 38 hits overall. He hasn't recorded a base hit since July 3rd, and he seems rather put off with said fan base over the chorus of boos he's been receiving. Of course the simple solution is, produce more, field better, and all that goes away. Inge is drawing a $5.5 million paycheck this season, AND next season. At some point he has to know that what he's doing isn't alright.
Carlos Guillen made his return to the lineup against the White Sox, and for most Tigers fans his return is very much welcome. He comes back and replaces the also struggling Ryan Raburn at 2B, who is batting only .214, and is also a defensive liability too. Some might say Guillen is also a liability with the glove, but so far he and his damaged knee seem to be holding up. He has made a slew of plays in the field already, and has also contributed offensively by driving in the winning run in Sunday's 4-3 against the White Sox. Hard to predict whether or not his body will hold up for the rest of the season, but so far it's been a welcome return for Carlos. If he's to remain healthy, that closes a giant hole in the Tigers needs come trade deadline time.
One last thought, about Austin Jackson, who's been limited with a sore wrist sustained before the All Star break. He might find himself on the disabled list soon, and the Tigers might as well do it now, and get him healthy. His replacement, likely Andy Dirks, isn't a big change at the plate but will be a bit of a difference in the field. He'll likely spell time with Casper Wells who has done well in his defensive assignments anywhere in the outfield this season.
Brandon Inge has seen a rather patient fan base in Detroit crumble away throughout the course of this season, and it has everything to do with not only his poor offensive production, but his defensive production as well. Inge has 8 errors in his time at third base this season compared to the 9 he had all of last season. His bat is an even bigger problem, logging a .180 batting average, 1 HR, only 10 total extra-base hits, and 38 hits overall. He hasn't recorded a base hit since July 3rd, and he seems rather put off with said fan base over the chorus of boos he's been receiving. Of course the simple solution is, produce more, field better, and all that goes away. Inge is drawing a $5.5 million paycheck this season, AND next season. At some point he has to know that what he's doing isn't alright.
Carlos Guillen made his return to the lineup against the White Sox, and for most Tigers fans his return is very much welcome. He comes back and replaces the also struggling Ryan Raburn at 2B, who is batting only .214, and is also a defensive liability too. Some might say Guillen is also a liability with the glove, but so far he and his damaged knee seem to be holding up. He has made a slew of plays in the field already, and has also contributed offensively by driving in the winning run in Sunday's 4-3 against the White Sox. Hard to predict whether or not his body will hold up for the rest of the season, but so far it's been a welcome return for Carlos. If he's to remain healthy, that closes a giant hole in the Tigers needs come trade deadline time.
One last thought, about Austin Jackson, who's been limited with a sore wrist sustained before the All Star break. He might find himself on the disabled list soon, and the Tigers might as well do it now, and get him healthy. His replacement, likely Andy Dirks, isn't a big change at the plate but will be a bit of a difference in the field. He'll likely spell time with Casper Wells who has done well in his defensive assignments anywhere in the outfield this season.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Don't Jump Off the Wagon... Yet.
Alright, after viewing today's Tigers game vs. the White Sox this afternoon: via my television and through the world of Twitter, I've noticed amongst the masses of Tigers Tweeps that because of recent history of this franchise, notably from 2006-10 (omitting 2008), it's time to give up on the team because... they're a terrible second-half baseball team.
Fine. Except, even through my pessimistic mind, I have to remember that it's only the middle of July and I can't write this team off yet. That's very dangerous. For Example, I wrote off the Minnesota Twins on May 24th, when they were about 20 games under .500. As of the start of action today, they were just 7 games south of .500, giving their droves of fans reason to cheer that their scrappy ball club can be a contender down the stretch. That said, we all can't just write off the Tigers just because they came out of the All Star break with 2 losses. Teams lose two in a row. It happens. That same rationale has proven that even Justin Verlander can lose, as has been proven 5 times this season. As I type this out, the AL Central leading Cleveland Indians lost their game to the Orioles tonight, thus leaving the Tigers a mere 1 game behind them in the Central race. Awfully hard to write off a team who's that close.
Sure, the Tigers are a flawed team. Last I checked, every team in the division is flawed. But for the Tigers, they have issues to fix - pitching and a couple of infield spots. And while the offense has been lacking for the last couple of games, for the most part, minus a little consistency, has been there for the Tigers. Going into action today they had 5 guys in the lineup batting at least .300. People say pitching and defense win championships, and the Tigers are struggling in both. They are the 4th worst fielding team in the AL, and their bullpen has been hopelessly inconsistent this season. Jose Valverde might be perfect in saves/chances this season, but it's not without a challenge. And when he is placed in the game that isn't a save chance (like today), he struggles. The Tigers will likely try to add an arm for the rotation, which for right now lacks a mediocre 5th starter. We'll be hearing a lot of rumors before the trade deadline, which occurs at the end of the month.
It's easier said than done, but what the Tigers must do down the stretch is simple. Play consistent baseball, pitch well, and make sure Jim Leyland doesn't outmanage himself before any of these games start. Because if this team does finish off another second-half fade away, it'll all be on Leyland - the orchestrator of all those second-half failures of recent years gone by. Tigers fans all over have been calling for his head most of the season (myself included), but he needs to prove he can actually manage from ahead. Because we as Tigers fans have seen him try and manage from behind for a few too many years now.
Fine. Except, even through my pessimistic mind, I have to remember that it's only the middle of July and I can't write this team off yet. That's very dangerous. For Example, I wrote off the Minnesota Twins on May 24th, when they were about 20 games under .500. As of the start of action today, they were just 7 games south of .500, giving their droves of fans reason to cheer that their scrappy ball club can be a contender down the stretch. That said, we all can't just write off the Tigers just because they came out of the All Star break with 2 losses. Teams lose two in a row. It happens. That same rationale has proven that even Justin Verlander can lose, as has been proven 5 times this season. As I type this out, the AL Central leading Cleveland Indians lost their game to the Orioles tonight, thus leaving the Tigers a mere 1 game behind them in the Central race. Awfully hard to write off a team who's that close.
Sure, the Tigers are a flawed team. Last I checked, every team in the division is flawed. But for the Tigers, they have issues to fix - pitching and a couple of infield spots. And while the offense has been lacking for the last couple of games, for the most part, minus a little consistency, has been there for the Tigers. Going into action today they had 5 guys in the lineup batting at least .300. People say pitching and defense win championships, and the Tigers are struggling in both. They are the 4th worst fielding team in the AL, and their bullpen has been hopelessly inconsistent this season. Jose Valverde might be perfect in saves/chances this season, but it's not without a challenge. And when he is placed in the game that isn't a save chance (like today), he struggles. The Tigers will likely try to add an arm for the rotation, which for right now lacks a mediocre 5th starter. We'll be hearing a lot of rumors before the trade deadline, which occurs at the end of the month.
It's easier said than done, but what the Tigers must do down the stretch is simple. Play consistent baseball, pitch well, and make sure Jim Leyland doesn't outmanage himself before any of these games start. Because if this team does finish off another second-half fade away, it'll all be on Leyland - the orchestrator of all those second-half failures of recent years gone by. Tigers fans all over have been calling for his head most of the season (myself included), but he needs to prove he can actually manage from ahead. Because we as Tigers fans have seen him try and manage from behind for a few too many years now.
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