A guy who hits two home runs in a game, and has given the Tigers the best play they've gotten in left field through most of the season (though Jim Leyland isn't giving him anything) really deserves a good nickname by now. And here at BYB we've tried to help Matt Joyce out with that, but nothing seemed to stick.
"Re-Joyce"? Decent headline, good exclamation, but not so much of a nickname. "The Big Kitten"? Amusing, but lacks sizzle. But in tonight's GameThread, we were reminded of one that probably should've stuck before, but gained new life after Joyce's impressive feats of strength tonight versus the Texas Rangers.
From this day forth, let Matt Joyce, outfielder for the Detroit Tigers, be known as... Thundercat!
Oh, has the Thundercat been roaring in Arlington. The Texas heat must remind the beast of his familiar jungle climate. In the first two games of this series, Joyce has hit 4-for-8 with two home runs and four RBIs. And he arguably drove in three more runs, but Brandon Boggs and Josh Hamilton misplayed his flyball to left-center so badly that the official scorer had no choice but to rule an error. (That went to Boggs, though it sure looked like Hamilton is the one who should've made the catch.)
Joyce's big stick helped The Little Cat, Armando Galarraga, accomplish his goal of reminding the Rangers that they made a mistake in trading him away. It briefly looked, however, as if Galarraga would have to eat that sentiment in the sixth when Chris Davis crushed an opposite-field, three-run homer. But that lead only lasted until Joyce's at-bat in the next inning.
And from there? Well, it turns out there's at least one team with a bullpen that might be worse than the Tigers'.
Roll Call
For the nickname alone, tonight's GameThread was memorable. But enjoying a rare Tigers blowout was fun, too.
A hearty "Thundercats - Ho!" to ashmark, PBURGTIGER, ThaWalrus9, Zappatista, TFerg1103, wepri31, rock n rye, gf206, explosivo2k2, Juskimo, densogirl, ahtrap, dettigionswings'stons, and Rogo for stopping in and keeping it lively.