Clete's Walk-Off Treat: Tigers 6, Orioles 5
by Ian Casselberry on Aug 3, 2009 10:55 PM EDT
in Detroit Tigers News
Email
PrintOh, if only that first inning didn't happen.
Were you surprised to hear or read about the final score of this one? Admit it, you turned the game off. Tonight's GameThread emptied like there was a fire drill.
It's okay. This looked like an ugly, painful night in the making after Justin Verlander almost inexplicably gave up hits to six of the first seven Baltimore batters he faced. He fell behind just two pitches into the ballgame, leaving a fastball out over the plate, which Brian Roberts smacked into the right field seats. Three singles and two doubles later, the Orioles had a rather stunning 5-0 lead.
Game over before the Tigers even had their chance to bat? Not quite.
Curtis Granderson led off Detroit's half of the inning with a triple to centerfield (a ball that probably would've been a home run in most ballparks). Placido Polanco drove him in with a double, and just like that, the Tigers made it clear they wouldn't go down quietly. No, they didn't tie the game by the end of the first, but by answering with three runs, the home team showed some fight.
After that, Verlander did his best Gandalf imitation. You shall not pass! (Too nerdy a reference for a baseball recap?) You could just sense that the Orioles weren't going to score another run against him. But could the Tigers score more than five? That hasn't exactly been an easy hill to climb for them lately.
But climb it, they did. Ramon Santiago hit a two-out RBI single in the fourth. Then Miguel Cabrera tied the score with an opposite field shot over the scoreboard in right-center. And while the lineup clawed its way back, Verlander allowed only three more hits in another seven innings. That set the game up for someone to be the hero or the goat.
Clete Thomas stands on two legs, not four. And while goats may eat shrubs, heroes hit baseballs into the centerfield shrubbery at Comerica Park to win ballgames in the bottom of the ninth. (And thank you, Sweet Clete, for saving us from a third extra-inning game in four days.)
Comment of the Night:
I think the BYB Bunch would revolt on me if this, posted minutes before that baseball landed in the shrubbery, wasn't the COTN.
clete walkoff homer
by mrsunshine
And your runner-up. Because it made me laugh, and it fit the mood of the thread so well at the time. Hey, let's include this one, too.
41 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Watched every inning
Almost tempted to shut it off, but hung in there, just like the team.
"It's designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything is new again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops, and leaves you to face the fall alone". A. Bartlett Giamatti
Barring work, school, or some other previous commitment...
…I am always here till the bitter end. But I needed this win, because I’ve got a long, stressful week of work ahead (new software goes live tomorrow and I doubt the customers will be very understanding about it).
By the way, thank you all for the birthday wishes.
http://tigersamateuranalysis.blogspot.com
I watched every inning too.
can’t keep up with the thread tho. (you guys give every at bat away) Damn mlb.tv
Btw I am in for next season BYB game.
Words cannot describe right now
I’ll write up a proper synopsis tomorrow once I have collected my thoughts. And yes, pics will be included.
I hope you ar eworking on that
post right now, this very minute. I can not wait a long time. That would require ativan. k?
Welcome to Detroit>>Where the weak are killed and eaten.
TODAY PLEASE
k? thanks. Do it while you are still in awe. Will be so much more dramatic….I love drama and excitement.
Welcome to Detroit>>Where the weak are killed and eaten.
This Quote
“I’ve never hit a walk-off homer before — not at any level,” he said. “When I was rounding first and realized it had gone out, I didn’t know how to react. It feels better than you even think it will — and that’s something you always dream of doing.”
May very well be my favorite quote of the year. Clete Thomas you are my hero.
just got home
it’s after 2am but I had to watch the last half of the 9th. I KNEW they would come through. verlander got himself out of a jam and I knew they’d be there for him to make up for the lack of support other times. :) and what can be said about clete? THE CULT APPROVES.
LOL
I think his shoe is blending in with the logo on the bat
http://tigersamateuranalysis.blogspot.com
by SabreRoseTiger on Aug 4, 2009 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Nicely done.
Though as a frequent blinker, I now feel inferior.
by Ian Casselberry on Aug 4, 2009 10:12 AM EDT up reply actions
From wikipedia:
There are multiple muscles that control reflexes of blinking. The main muscles, in the upper eyelid, that control the opening and closing are the orbicularis oculi and levator palpebrae superioris muscle. The orbicularis oculi closes the eye, while the relaxation and contraction of the levator palpebrae muscle opens the eye. The Müller’s muscle, or the superior palpebral muscle, in the upper eyelid and the inferior palpebral muscle in the lower eyelid are responsible for widening the eyes. These muscles are not only imperative in blinking, but they are also important in many other functions such as squinting and winking. The inferior palpebral muscle is coordinated with the inferior rectus to pull down the lower lid when one looks down. Also, when the eyes move, there is often a blink; the blink is thought to help the eye shift its target point
Obviously, Ian, you have fantastic muscle tone to do all that blinking. On the other hand, all that action seems a little too complicated for Clete.
So after last night
we get a Jarrod Washburn debut today. Am I the only one that’s maybe just a little excited for that?
I watched the whole game.....
….I was really suprised that JV didnt allow another run and even more suprised that the offense scored 6 runs!!!!
by BennieBladesFan on Aug 4, 2009 10:00 AM EDT reply actions
Ian---
One of my English professors brought in a Gandolf figure that said “You shall not pass.” Which was geeky but slightly cool—-except for the fact that he brought it in for us to hear on final exam day :( Professors and their evil humor.
And by the way...
I don’t think the Gandalf reference is too geeky, but perhaps I’m not the best judge. I once turned a Justin Verlander complete game into the first thirty minutes of Return of the Jedi.
http://tigersamateuranalysis.blogspot.com
Hee hee
The Force is strong with JV
http://tigersamateuranalysis.blogspot.com
by SabreRoseTiger on Aug 4, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions
The knee, Brandon! The knee!
Jumping like that brings out the “inge” in “cringe”!
by Ian Casselberry on Aug 4, 2009 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Dear Wieters I love this team!
They have the uncanny ability to make me smile. and cry. and throw things. but mostly smile.
mmhmm!
but you left out “swear like a sailor”
by Kurt Mensching on Aug 4, 2009 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions
“This is one of my favorite starts of my career. In the past, I would have fallen apart— when I struggled in the first, I would never make it out of the fourth. Tonight, I went eight and kept us in the game.”
Justin Verlander after Tigers 6-5 walk-off win vs. Baltimore. JV allowed 5 runs in the 1st inning
ESPN.com
love that comment
It really shows his maturation as a pitcher. Some guys, no matter how much talent they have, never get to that point.
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." -- Philo of Alexandria
yay runner up
My google-fu skills pay off once again. Good to see the 5 mins I spent on a computer yesterday were well spent. Also I’m glad this team finally showed some testicular fortitude. Cmon new guy keep it going
http://www.fromthecopa.blogspot.com
by rock n rye on Aug 4, 2009 11:02 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bless You Boys
Related FanShots on Bless You Boys
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- WANT: The Sid Bream sliding bobblehead (complete with Mike LaValliere and Randy Marsh!)
- Adrian Gonzalez is going to hit a home run Thursday night, according to Adrian Gonzalez
- Rich Thompson, the modern-day Moonlight Graham, gets another shot with the Rays
- Gary Sinise’s first pitch was not worthy of an Oscar
- Photo: Yu Darvish gets a big head, lowers his ERA to 2.60
