Game 1
Game 2
Today started with a 2-0 roar, and ended with an 8-0 whimper.
The Tigers split their day/night doubleheader with the Evil Empire, the leaders of the east coast axis of evil, the New York Yankees. To be honest, I'm just fine with it.
Doubleheaders, as fun as they are for the fans (Hey, more baseball is fine by me...though I miss the demise of the true doubleheader, especially the twi-nighter.), it's not exactly good for the team. Doubleheaders tax pitching staffs (I'm sure Ryan Raburn wasn't happy to be sent down so the Tigers could bring up Alfredo Figaro to bolster the pitching staff), and expose the a lack of depth in a team's roster (The bottom 4 in the Tigers' batting order was an ugly 2-23 on the day).
To gain a split from one of the best teams in baseball is about as good as we could have hoped .
Rather than try to recap each game, let's just break down the good and bad from what was a long day of baseball.
The good:
Rick Porcello: Easily pitched his best game of the season. I can admit in the back of my mind, I was concerned over Porcello's performance thus far in '10. After watching Kid Rick toss 7 strong shutout innings, I'm beginning to feel better about the the Tigers' still very young, but defacto number 2 starter.
Jeremy Bonderman: Bonderman also pitched 7 strong innings, allowing only 2 runs and striking out 7, a season high. Bonderman is now winless in his last 5 starts, but he deserved better against the Yankees. Much better. Bondo got absolutely no run support from the Tigers' bats.
Starting pitching: Overall, the starting pitching has been excellent in this series. As I mentioned, Porcello and Bonderman were on their games. Hell, I'll even include Brad Thomas, who was an emergency starter on Monday night. He kept the Tigers in the game, which is all you can ask for out of the last man on the pitching staff.
Brennan Boesch: The Boesch Bus is getting crowded! A 3 hit day has the young slugger's BA up to .352, and he also raised his RBI total to 15. He's now tied for 3rd on the Tigers in RBI, yet has played in only 15 games. FSD has the best description of Boesch's approach at the plate, via Brandon Inge. He compared Boesch to a caveman. "Boesch see ball, Boesch hit ball." Let me add, Boesch hit ball HARD.
Don Kelly: Last week, Kurt posted a survey asking who would be the odd man out when Glass Joe Carlos Guillen was able to come off the DL. The winner? Don Kelly, and it wasn't even close. Well, Kelly showed why he will likely remain on the team. Starting for Inge in game 2, Kelly did his best Brooks Robinson imitation, making a diving stop behind the bag, then throwing out the runner from his knees. He had another nice defensive play later in the game, and also had a base hit. Not a bad game from the 25th man on the roster.
The standings: Even though the Tigers are only playing .500 ball over the past 10 games, with a rainout and a doubleheader thrown in, they remain only 3 games behind those damned Twins.
The bad:
The Tigers offense: They struggled to score 2 runs total on the day. What we saw today was the offense we expected to see this season. Let's hope it was just an anomaly...though with the offensive black hole that is the bottom of the order, we may see more games like today's.
Alex Avila: Another hitless game dropped his BA to a woeful .152. He also stuck out with 1 out and the bases loaded in game 2, while the result was still in doubt. Sure, Kelly didn't come through either, but he's not on the team solely for his bat...unlike Avila.
Magglio Ordonez: Ordonez was 1-8 in the 2 games against the evil empire. I think it's safe to say the Tigers' number 3 hitter is in a bit of a slump. He's been getting on base (.381 OBP going into Wednesday), but his power has, once again, disappeared. His 2 doubles in the series finale against the Indians have been his only extra base hits over the past 10 days. He hasn't homered in nearly a month (April 17th, to be exact) The Tigers need Ordonez to hit the ball with authority, at least show some gap power. He's not being paid $18 million to be a singles hitter. (Well, when you think about it...he is!)
FSD: Jay-Z and Eminem in the booth during the 2nd game. I want Mario and Rod to call the game, not interview a couple of well-known rappers who have better things to do...like watch the game! Fox Sports Detroit should know in-game interviews never work out well. Haven't they seen some of the ludicrous interviews on Monday Night Football?
Bullets!:
Dontrelle Willis is still under the weather with what's being called a severe sinus infection. As long has he doesn't come down with another case of Steve Blass Disease...
Thursday is a getaway day for the Yankees, so it's a 1:05 start, folks!
The Tigers bullpen collapsed in the 9th inning of game 2, with Phil Coke and the just brought up Figaro allowing 6 runs. I hope it was only an aberration, as the pen has been the Tigers' savior this season.
Pitching dominated on the day. Jim Leyland summed it up thusly: "Vazquez was really good in the game; Porcello was a little better," Leyland said. "Bondo was really good in the second game; Hughes was just a little better. It worked out that way for both teams."
Comment of the Night:
This isn't about baseball per se, but it made me laugh all the same. In a conversation about allikazoo's Roku set top box acting up, it turns out there's a Luddite here at BYB...one 13194013.
I just stare into a fire.
13194013 is living a real life version of Clan of the Cave Bear.