Yes, we usually do these in the morning, but after finally winding down and falling asleep at 3 a.m., that just wasn't going to happen today. (And if you think this post was really written around 8 a.m. this morning... well, bless you, boyo.) Plus, I've been away from the computer (and basically, out of touch with humanity) most of the day, so this helps me catch up, as well. Okay, let's carry on.
The Tigers and White Sox will make up their April 14 rainout as part of a day-night doubleheader on Friday, July 24. The make-up game will be at 1:05 p.m., with the regularly scheduled game to be played at 7:05 p.m.
Why not a twi-night doubleheader? Brother (or sister), you are preaching to the choir. But I suppose it's a logistical nightmare to try and get all the fans for the first game out of the park before the second game's crowd can come in. Still, I'm with Blake: Teams should schedule at least one of these per season.
Kurt wins the Best Headline Award from last night, don't you think? Maybe the Freep should hire him, so they can avoid debacles like this one. (I say we blame Armando Galarraga's poor outing on that. He was probably traumatized if he read it.)
In his weekly post for Big League Stew, Curtis Granderson says that long road trips like the Tigers' current 10-game excursion aren't that big a deal. He sure looked comfortable last night, with two home runs. And make sure to click over for a great picture of Grandy and the gang in the dugout.
During last night's game, Samara noticed Andy Van Slyke helping Carlos Guillen avoid a penalty from MLB's uniform police. Well done, Eagle Eyes. (Me, I was trying to make sure I could type coherently by that hour.)
The Angels will call up Matt Palmer from Triple-A to pitch against the Tigers on Thursday. Darren Oliver made a spot start last week, but the team feels he helps them more in the bullpen than in the rotation.
If you want to see footage of Dontrelle Willis's rehab outing last night for Single-A Lakeland, Lee points us to the MotownSports forum, where links to YouTube clips are posted. For the evening, Willis threw 58 of his 75 pitches for strikes, was hitting the mid-90s in velocity, and walked no one. Read that again, because I put it in italics.
Also doing the rehab thing was Joel Zumaya, who pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning for the Toledo Mud Hens last night, striking out two of the batters he faced. (And if you click through to the boxscore, you'll notice that neither Fu-Te Ni nor Scott Williamson pitched very well. Also, Denny Bautista pitched for Indianapolis.)
Over at Trumbull and Michigan, Sean is taking a shine to Gerald Laird, who's been playing well on both sides of the ball. (His absence is even more noticeable with Matt Treanor in the lineup. I'm still pulling for the guy, but... let's pick it up, fella.)