A bit of breaking news before we move on to writing recaps and such: The Tigers relieved Rick Knapp of his duties as the Tigers pitching coach. Bullpen coach Jeff Jones will take over the job.
I guess that goes to show that just because you try to act like the Minnesota Twins and sign their coaches, you still can't be the Minnesota Twins.
More later.
Update:
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski spoke briefly to the press after the game. He told them:
We just felt our pitching staff has been in a position where we haven't quite got out of it what we would have liked. We think that making a change will be beneficial with us. Jeff Jones has been part of the organization for a long time. Very knowledgeable. Knows all our pitchers.He's in a position where he's been a loyal employee for a long time and we think he'll step up and do a solid job for us.
Knapp may have been a scape goat. He may not have. Fans are always quick to turn on coaches when times get tough, I think. And the Tigers' pitching staff definitely did not live up to expectations for the past week or two. However, we don't necessarily have a clue what went on behind closed doors. So I hesitate to speculate either way.
I wasn't in favor of making a change, but at this point it couldn't hurt either. The Tigers are struggling when it comes to ERA. And they were just down right embarrassed several times during interleague. Heck, Don Kelly had to pitch. The Mets scored 30 runs in two days. The Giants -- not known for their offense -- looked like they might do that in one game. Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello have taken turns struggling. Phil Coke lost his job in the rotation. Things really are a mess.
Given all the changes lately, at least we can say the front office isn't being complacent.