Playoff Prowl: On baseball's stupidness, Andy Dirks, big boppers and more
by Kurt Mensching on Oct 11, 2011 10:41 AM EDT
in Detroit Tigers Links
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PrintThe morning slog. It's always a slog after a loss.
DesigNate Robertson: Baseball Is Stupid
The headline says it all.
Tiger Tales: A Detroit Tigers Blog: Middle of Order Failing Tigers
Lee agrees with my take: the Folks who hit the ball all season better break out of their funks soon or the Rangers will be celebrating at Comerica Park.
Avila, Tigers falling flat with the bats | The Detroit News
Tony Paul on Alex Avila, the middle hitters, Omir Santos, Max Scherzer and the Lamontroversy.
Andy Dirks is not to blame for Game 2 loss -- The Detroit News
Seriously, who was blaming Andy Dirks? I've seen a lot of pissed off Tigers fans. I've seen anger at Gene Lamont for not sending Ramon Santiago home. I've seen anger at Jim Leyland for, well, pretty much everything last night. I've even seen the regular Perry hatred that seems to show up whenever he pitches. (To be fair, there's really not much of it going around today.) But Dirks? Have not seen anyone blame him.
Detroit Tigers' Andy Dirks: I put Ryan Perry in tough spot with dropped fly ball -- MLive
Dirks does think the ball should have been caught, however. Can't really argue. But by the time the game reached the 11th inning I think most Tigers fans knew how it was going to end up.
Not a miraculous recovery for Tigers' Delmon Young -- Detroit Free Press
Kevin Rand says Delmon Young recovered on about the timetable he expected. However, he declined to comment on how he felt after the game, and Jim Leyland isn't sure who's going to be in tonight's lineup.
Out of Left Field: Rangers pitching very carefully around Cabrera
Of course, Cabrera won't be given much chance to beat the Rangers, RonWash says. So it's going to be up to Martinez, Peralta and Avila.
Out of Left Field: Leyland explains dispute of third-inning ruling from umpires
Leyland wasn't questioning whether Martinez got hit -- impossible to tell at regular speed and he sold it by overacting that his back foot was hit -- he was questioning the process of the umpires.
the Tigers win at injuries | Roar of the Tigers
A sad "terrible cartoon" from Samara as Magglio Ordonez limps off into the sunset
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I don't blame Dirks one bit
we should have won that game AT LEAST 6-3 in 9 innings…
No longer the Founder, President and CEO of the Ryan Raburn Fan Club
it is ridiculous to blame Dirks for anything.
blame it on offense. NO blame on coaches, pitching, pitchers etc.
SLOG is a good way of describing these links...
I gotta stop reading this stuff and listening to commentators. They make me want to scream louder than I used to scream at Leyland’s bullpen management! The Tigers are down 2-0. There will be plenty of blame to pass around if the boys don’t rally to beat Texas, but we can write those blogs (if we need to) in November rather than now.
There are still 5 games to go. The way many fans are reacting you would think that we lost game 4 and are going home for the winter. I’m not ready for baseball to be over and I don’t think the Tigers are either. The worse part of the losses for me was the realization that when the Tigers celebrate it will be in another teams visiting locker room.
Tiger fans deserve a clinching party at Comerica! Now we have to wait for game 5 of the World Series when Valverde strikes out Fielder to end the game, the series and Princes’ Milwaukee career..
I know that as fans we have been through a ton of crap starting as far back as the collapse in 67 and culminating with the horror that was game 163 in 2009.
The final chapter on the 2011 Tigers still has pages to be written. I think it will read like 1968 instead of 1987
Don’t fear the next two nights enjoy the Hell out of the ride.
I know I will.
I love 2nd half Ryan Raburn
I’m loving Don Kelly too! What an excellent post-season he is having. Almost have to say he’s been our MVP. Got to get Raburn and Kelly more AB’s.
the role players are doing their jobs
the big boys need to do theirs.
I DID MY JOB! I GOT MY SECTION FIRED UP!
Dirks
It’s kinda funny how that play would seem to be an easy target to get on the guy. The thought never crossed my mind to really blame him at all. They didn’t catch it, but they kept the game from ending.
Fan of the Detroit Tigers, Lions and Red Wings.
As already said the roll players are doing their job
and the starters are doing their best too. The pen is doing what they can but they can only hold on for so long.
Once again we’ve failed to score more than 3 runs in a game. It certainly seems like that Yankees blow out took some wind out of our sails.
by Anthony Steven Lewis on Oct 11, 2011 1:13 PM EDT reply actions
Dirks not a bad fielder, should be in line-up tonight against Colby
Colby splits against lefties is not great but he can be lights out against righties.
Your wish is my command.
"You, on the other hand, make Eeyore look like Rainbow Brite." -johnmoz
"I think of you more as the blue book style essay of sports journalism."-Kurt Mensching
Contributor, Bless You Boys
by David Tokarz on Oct 11, 2011 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions
The Tigers hit just as much as the Rangers did
until the eleventh inning. The teams had seven hits apiece going into the eleventh inning. The Tigers had six BB’s and the Rangers three. They scored three runs apiece. The Rangers twice had the bases loaded with no outs, and they failed to score in the ninth inning. Both teams squandered chances. The Rangers actually were fortunate that their first half a dozen fly balls fell in for hits, while the Tigers hits went right at Texas players. Pure chance and timing, until Perry started serving up batting practice.
The lack of timely hitting was definitely the big issue yesterday, but it was the problem for both teams until Texas finally strung four hits together in a row- and it took four of them to score a run. The Tigers will hit and they will score runs. They have done so all year. They need to start doing it immediately, before it’s too late.
The other problem that can not be ignored is that the Tigers’ middle relievers once again let us down. Any relief pitcher not named Valverde, Benoit, or sometimes Coke, is as likely as not to implode at a moment’s notice. Perry served up three base hits, and three meat balls to Cruz before he finally straightened one out. If not Cruz, the next guy, or the next guy, would surely have tagged Perry with the batting practice that he was serving up. Once Valverde was done, so were the Tigers, even if they scored in the top of the eleventh inning.
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
agreed, especially re: bullpen
Once Benoit and Valverde were done, my internal Win Probability calculator imploded. I wasn’t following the thread at the time, and would have loved to see the discussion as to whom to bring in next. There really were no good options.
In my heart and mind, I was hoping to see Penny get a shot. Yes, Penny. Gentle, calming, veteran Brad Penny. I mean, why not? I know Perry had just come off a (rare) good outing, but his chances of a clean inning weren’t any better than….well, in fairness, anybody.
"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it was the other way around..." Jim Bouton
by JimWalewander on Oct 11, 2011 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions
people would have FREAKED out
but honestly… might not have been a terrible idea to try to get him to eat a few innings. and if it had ended up badly for Penny? well, ended bad for Perry too
No longer the Founder, President and CEO of the Ryan Raburn Fan Club
Leyland was never gonna do that, of course
just like he’s never gonna move Jackson out of the leadoff spot (this year, anyway).
And that’s not to say he’s stubborn or foolish, just that he has his reasons and they are of course way more valid than ours/mine.
"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it was the other way around..." Jim Bouton
by JimWalewander on Oct 11, 2011 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions
oh absolutely
I know he wasn’t or wouldn’t… just in hindsight I guess
No longer the Founder, President and CEO of the Ryan Raburn Fan Club
Penny got up and threw in the pen in about the fourth inning, while Max was still going good
and people on here freaked. All in good fun, to be honest, knowing that Max wasn’t going anywhere for a while, but the mere sight of Brad Penny sent horrors through the game thread.
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
Whatever happens this series, it makes the offseason even more interesting.
Our needs were more or less obvious all year, but those aren’t the ones that have been exposed in the postseason. That’s why I approach every game with such trepidation; for example, just because we’ve beaten up on Colby Lewis doesn’t mean we will tonight. Who foresaw anything less than brilliance from Verlander? Who foresaw Cabrera barely besting A-Rod, not to mention how little production we’d get from a damaged Avila and Martinez? This is our core, though, and if nothing else it reminds one that what happens over a 162 season is hardly ever a reliable benchmark in the postseason. It also reminds me how hard it was to get here.
So, anyway, the offseason to do list even more interesting. We always shop for relief, but I wonder who will be on the way out. How long is Perry’s rope? We knew we needed a second and third baseman, but, saying that, are we really set in center field too? Can’t wait to see how the 2012 team takes shape…and hope like crazy the 2011 squad digs deep and gets back in this thing.
"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it was the other way around..." Jim Bouton
by JimWalewander on Oct 11, 2011 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions
I think center field is set fine.
Austin Jackson is very good defensively, just not a good hitter. Have someone else fill that spot in the lineup so he can be moved down to a more appropriate spot and that issue isn’t a worry any more.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
Three spons in the lineup- 1, 2, and 3
But only really two spots needed in the field, 2nd and 3rd.
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
If we replace AJax in CF I'm going to cut a b*tch
"You, on the other hand, make Eeyore look like Rainbow Brite." -johnmoz
"I think of you more as the blue book style essay of sports journalism."-Kurt Mensching
Contributor, Bless You Boys
by David Tokarz on Oct 11, 2011 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I can't see that happening
at most, he gets moved down the lineup.
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
that's what I think
The problem isn’t AJax in center, it’s AJax leading off. the way to fix it isn’t to put someone else in CF and to lead off, but just have someone else lead off and move him down in the lineup.
Comerica needs a CF who can get to pretty much everything or the team will be screwed nine ways from Sunday. He’s excellent roaming center.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
I thought Tito
was a major upgrade over the gasbag McCarver. I hope he stays and they tell McCarver, “hey, isn’t that a rabbit over there?” and move him on out.
Baseball: It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart.
by House by the Side of the Road on Oct 11, 2011 1:56 PM EDT reply actions
I think Terry Francona is great
Just a wealth of baseball knowledge.
They need to fix this in the free agency market
Add a great 7th inning guy and keep developing AA and others.
It's kilely going to take trades
The upcoming FA class isn’t exactly loaded at the positions the Tigers are looking to improve.
I'm owner/editor of The Wayne Fontes Experience a deputy editor at Bless You Boys, host the Bless You Boys Podcast and co-host The Knee Jerks podcast.
Very true, but DD prefers trading anyway
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
I bet Porcello goes for a 2B and the Tigers add a SP
"You, on the other hand, make Eeyore look like Rainbow Brite." -johnmoz
"I think of you more as the blue book style essay of sports journalism."-Kurt Mensching
Contributor, Bless You Boys
by David Tokarz on Oct 11, 2011 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Pretty sure that Leyland & Dombrowski
Sees Coke as our 7th inning guy, with AlAl joining him to a greater or lesser extent.
"Virtually all tactical ploys—the sacrifice bunt, the stolen base, the hit-and-run—operate on average to reduce run scoring." -- Eric Walker
Don't forget Zumaya!
"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it was the other way around..." Jim Bouton
by JimWalewander on Oct 11, 2011 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Can someone please the scouting report on Cruz
After is he only hit 260 with half of those games in a hitter park.
a TON of power (obviously) and cannon for an arm
can hit for average but sometimes isn’t that consistent. decent speed on the bases, although he has been slowed by quad and hamstring injuries.
I gotta be honest… last night hurt even more for me because Nelson Cruz is my favorite player in the MLB who isn’t on the Tigers. Just had to be him huh…
No longer the Founder, President and CEO of the Ryan Raburn Fan Club
Not blaming dirks for loss but
That miss was a big deal. The ball wasn’t So deep that young would have made it to third on a tag without a play. Sure, Perry still has his gas can with him on the mound, but first and third (or second) with one out gives you hope. Bases loaded and no one out gives you despair. But, if Nelson Cruz is going to hit a ball 500 feet none of it matters.
by TigerFaninDC on Oct 11, 2011 2:38 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Win game three and the Tigers are right back in this series.
Not dead yet.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
i blame lamont
i don’t know if he should have sent the runner or not, i just know that he’s usually wrong and i’m willing to draw a conclusion from that
(part joke, not really that sarcastic though)
they said after the game
That the ball bounced right back to the fielder. Runner would have been dead meat at the plate. If it had bounced more away from him so he had to chase, even a bit, they would have sent the runner.
Game of inches and the inches didn’t favor the Tigers this time.
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
Who said that? People keep saying that it was said, but I haven’t seen anyone actually saying it.
by SpartanBoiler on Oct 11, 2011 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Matthew Mowery tweeted the quote from Leyland after the game.
He probably also wrote it in an article, but he usually tweets some relevant quotes directly after the game is over.
Here’s the tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/matthewbmowery/status/123598849179783168
Random nonsense at @Baroque97
"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
Not to be obtuse
but the replay clearly shows a direct carom at 90 degrees to Cruz. Normally a guy gets lost in that corner and he never went to the corner. He was on his way and the ball just ‘happened’ to go right straight at him.
Baseball: It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart.
by House by the Side of the Road on Oct 11, 2011 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions
That's what I saw, an unlucky bounce right to the RF
Santiago was going to be dead to rights.
I'm owner/editor of The Wayne Fontes Experience a deputy editor at Bless You Boys, host the Bless You Boys Podcast and co-host The Knee Jerks podcast.
yeah i kinda think he'd have been out too
but still, lamont is rarely right =)
by redwingxviii on Oct 11, 2011 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions
I kinda had the feeling that it wouldn't be close
But I’m surprised we didn’t get a split screen from FOX showing Santiago around the bases along with the ball being fielded.
Fan of the Detroit Tigers, Lions and Red Wings.
Nelson Cruz
has one of the best arms in baseball, if not the best, that had to play a lot into LaMont’s decision
Tonight's new lineup:
Jackson 8, Santiago 4, Cabrera 3, Martinez dh, Kelly 5, Peralta 6, Avila 2, Raburn 7, Dirks 9.
Delmon a scratch……Kelly batting fifth. Desparate times…desparate measures.
"i think it will be mostly feast the rest of the year,"
As long as Kelly is playing
I’m cool with it
+1000
I like him out there now. He is not impressed with pressure.
Baseball: It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart.
by House by the Side of the Road on Oct 11, 2011 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions
from one of my friends who lives in Texas
and is a huge Rangers fan:
“Trust me, we will lose in Comerica…we’ve sucked there since the dawn of time”
No longer the Founder, President and CEO of the Ryan Raburn Fan Club
Hey, I live in Texas
and I watch the Rangers along side the Tigers; have season tix to the Rangers. I hope it comes back here just so I don’t have to hear/read my dear friend (who grew up with the Tigers right with me) write (again) on Facebook: “That was the greatest game I’ve ever been apart of! Go Rangers!”
My other friend wrote right away: “Sweet, what position did you play?”
I wrote, “The only thing great about that was is ineptness”
I know it was a good game and looking back on both games (and the previous series) high drama.
I almost went last night, didn’t have a good feeling and am I glad I didn’t. He texted throughout the game to ask about various calls and then texted at the end: “WOW!”.
I texted back: “Whatever. The Tigers sucked tonight”. I am a joy sucker.
Baseball: It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart.
by House by the Side of the Road on Oct 11, 2011 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Lewis is the one Texas starter that’s a righty.
Maybe they’re just being cautious and are holding Delmon out for the 2 leftys the next 2 days.
"i think it will be mostly feast the rest of the year,"
I would certainly hope this is the case
But he was originally in the lineup, so I don’t know. His swings looked good yesterday, though. Had some hard hit balls.
They said his swinging was not an issue
getting something on the throw was the issue. Who knows?
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
From what I'm reading
Delmon is real sore today. Don’t know if he will be out the rest of the series, but Lewis can get after righties so maybe a good day off and hopefully he’s back later
I dont care if Cy young is pitching tonite.
score some runs.
by spartynation on Oct 11, 2011 6:54 PM EDT up reply actions
i started laughing at animal house analogy.
luv it…i plan on watching it again and again to release stress during the game.
by spartynation on Oct 11, 2011 6:55 PM EDT up reply actions
I blame the team for their loss.
President of the "Start Ramon Santiago" Campaign
by okie for michigan on Oct 11, 2011 6:27 PM EDT reply actions
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