Flexing Some Muscle: Tigers 8, Yankees 4

by Ian Casselberry on May 2, 2008 12:09 AM EDT in News

I thought about going with a picture of a broom tonight. And it would certainly be appropriate with the Tigers finishing off a sweep (the word I just couldn't say earlier tonight) at Yankee Stadium, something they haven't done in 42 years.

But I'm going with Popeye flexing here, because the hometown nine showed off some impressive muscle this evening, giving Nate Robertson the type of run support he hasn't typically received during his Tigers career. And Nate needed the help after a rough first inning. But much like Jeremy Bonderman did last night, Robertson pulled himself together and kept the Tigers in the game until they could bring the thunder.

That came in the third inning when Detroit's bats finally caught up to what Ian Kennedy was serving, began hitting him hard to the opposite field, and sent Bobby Abreu backpedaling and spinning around. Magglio Ordonez barely missed a home run, settling for a double, while Miguel Cabrera tripled, bringing in a combined three runs. In Cabrera's case, that drive to right field was merely a preview of deeper blasts to come.

Maybe the most unexpected muscle, however, came from the substitute shortstop. With a career average of .234/.299/.313, we know that Ramon Santiago stays in the major leagues because of his glove. But so far this year, when he's been able to get a few at-bats in a game this season, Santiago is swinging a strong stick, too. He went 2-for-4 tonight, and stroked the biggest hit of the night with a sixth-inning triple to the right-center gap that brought in the two decisive runs. Somebody's eating his spinach. And he now has a .375 batting average to show for it.

Cabrera finished off the gun show with a two-run homer in the seventh, pushing the Tigers to their best showing in the Bronx since 1966.

Closing Thoughts:

Matt came up with a fantastic nickname for Francisco Cruceta, who made his long-awaited Tigers debut in the ninth inning. I hope he makes it stick, and we'll certainly do all we can to help with that. Cruceta wasn't electrifying, so no cape yet, but that was probably too much to expect. Despite walking the leadoff batter (prompting Todd Jones to warm up), he didn't allow any runs or hits.
I think Bleed Cubbie Blue warned us about this when the Tigers first acquired Jacque Jones, but man, his arm in left field stinks.

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42 Years

of waiting are over. The Tigers last visit to “the house that Ruth built” was electrifying. Thanks for this series. Polly seems out of his slump, 2 Quality Starts from Kenny and Bondo. Great

Greetings from Germany. Dirk

by Germantiger on May 2, 2008 6:01 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Jones

I tried to tell you Jones Stinks!
That throw must of took three hops to the cut-off man!!
You really can`t look at the stats in April(unless you`re BIG Red)
But, mark my word at the end of May. The numbers aren`t going to be there!
Plus he throws like a Girl

Great Day for Detroit Fans!!!
Pistons,Wings, & TIGERS all Won!

the City of Champions

Only City to win three Titles in one Year!!
What year Ian?
Fats

by Fats Fothergill on May 2, 2008 6:37 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

um, yes

The Caped Cruceta is a bloody perfect nickname.

by Roar of the Tigers on May 2, 2008 11:35 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Sweeeet....

I went to the B.A.R. to blow off some steam and watch the game with a few old men that are Yankee fans so I could blow them some sheeeit. Great game. and yes Jacque STRAP Jones is horrible, although he got a hit to raise his average to what? Now that Grilli is gone, us horrible Tigers fans can turn our aggression to Mr. Strap.

by Zappatista on May 2, 2008 11:50 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Can I get some relief?

This Winter, everyone jumped on the Tigers bandwagon. Then when Zumaya was determined to be out, Rodney was injured, Cruceta was lost in legal limbo, the sound of people jumping OFF the bandwagon was deafening. Everyone was glad to say that the boys would score a thousand runs, but the big gaping hole in the Tigers this year is the bullpen.

Um, excuse me?

Since the April shellacking against Cleveland (13 games) the bullpen has put in 41 innings, given up 24 hits, 5 runs (all earned) 16 BB and 20K. Now I’m not a rocket scientist, but by my math that’s an ERA of 1.09 and a WHIP of 1.07.

Now, to further my amusement, I looked at what Todd “Rollercoaster” Jones has been doing during that same period
5IP 3H 2R 2ER 3BB 1K for an ERA of 3.60 and a WHIP of 1.20

Taking that out of the bullpen stats, you can see that WITHOUT Jonesy, the numbers are
36IP 21H 3R 3R 13BB 19K for an ERA of 0.75 and a WHIP of 0.94.

Sure, I’d like to see less walks, but when your middle relievers and setup guys have an ERA of 0.75, you are gonna win some games.

The bullpen has gone from being the key weakness of the team this year into a something rock solid.

Ok, now I better get back to work.

by pfuhrmeister on May 2, 2008 12:12 PM EDT reply reply 1 recs

Jones

Jacque has been pretty disappointing in every aspect so far. He’s quicker out there than Thames is but that arm is awful and the batting stats aren’t so hot either. It looks like he swings harder than any Tiger other Sheffield and the ball almost always goes nowhere.

Check out www.spotstarters.com for more news on the Detroit Tigers.

by spotstarters on May 2, 2008 12:40 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs