OT: Tigers = Comeback Kids?
You type faster than me.
I really get annoyed in April with so many day games during so many classes and god damn baseball charging to watch and listen (WTF?!?) to games online. So of course I am left to pump my fist quietly in the back of my class as I watch ESPN's gamecast of the game. Good to see them rally against teams they should not be losing too.
GO TIGERS
Yeah! screw MLB for trying to make money off it it's own product!
/sarcasm
I hope we don't hear the "cardiac cats" mantra year long....
... don't jinx it.
PS: how can you guys pay attention in class? I had to read the Michigan Daily in the back row when it was published on dead trees.
And Perry gets out of the eighth.
I agree they can't continue to get shut down by bums like Luke Hochevar and Brian Bannister and expect to win.
Edit: Maybe KC's bullpen is having these issues:
Hochevar hasn't ever really put it together in the pro's, but he's got a good deal of talent, and Bannister is less than awful, he had a very promising rookie season and has sort of fallen off since then. They certainly aren't ace's, and I'd hope the Tiger's would hit them better, but I wouldn't call them bums.
Hochevar might not be a bum per se, but at this point in his career he is still a below average major league pitcher.
Bannister, however, is totally a bum. I actually kind of like the guy because he is a sabermetrics freak and uses it to attempt to improve himself as a pitcher, but it's those very numbers that expose him as a far below average pitcher (FIP, xFIP are garbage).
I know we have played some shitty teams so far, but I am a little reminded of 2006 with this team. Lots of late comebacks already and low expectations. Recipe for overachievement!!
I'd feel a little better getting at least another run here to give Valverde some breathing room.
Yea man KC is giving Detroit a lot of problems. Maybe KC is better than we thought? As long as Detroit keeps pulling out the W's.
And my week one observations. Man the Twins can hit! The White Sox cannot. Oh and Peavy has struggled so far, Chicago media blaming it on the cold weather.
Its only week 2 but looks like it'll be Minn and Detroit scrapping for the division.
In all fairness Mario and Rod blamed the cold weather for Miguel's struggles when he first got here.
True. Im not saying which way it is, just sayin the media blaming it on the cold.
... we have to find one starter to pitch more than 5 innings.
We'll burn this bullpen out by then end of the month. And we start to play some good teams at the end of April and into May.
We need to go at least 2-1 against the cellar-dwellers.
PS: KC goes below the Mendoza line with their latest reliever.
True but I read that Leyland was trying to keep the pitch count low for the starters the first couple of starts anyways. I like Zumaya, Coke, and Perry out the pen. Brad Thomas has been stinkin it up, how long until he's sent down to Toledo? Miner and Galarraga are down in the minors who could be serviceable guys in the pen to throw when a starter gets lit up early.
One more at home against KC then a long road trip vs Sea, LAA, and Texas.
I'd say Thomas is up here only until Seay gets healthy. At the moment I'd view Galarraga as starter insurance for either Willis or Bonderman, against injury for another starter, or long relief (Bonine's current position). Miner is probably insurance for long relief and behind Galarraga in the possibilities for replacement starters. In other words if Thomas continues to stink it up and Seay isnt healthy, I'm thinking that Tigers may look elsewhere in the farm system for relief pitching help than say throw in Galarraga or Miner in Thomas' position. Schlereth would be first in my opinion, especially if he hits the strike zone on a regular basis.
You always want to keep pitch counts relatively low in the first couple starts.....when your starters are only throwing 50-60 pitches all spring training there usually needs to be a progression, especially for the younger guys Porcello and Scherzer. Probably Bonderman too coming off of an injury.
live look-in here:
http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=det
Update:
It's over (they last about 5 mins; no way to predict timing..)
I'm impressed by the youngster Austin Jackson. The kid looks like a player.
That Austin keeid is some kind of special, Mario.
This has largely been because the Royals still think Roman Colon is a major league pitcher.
Valverde 1-2-3 in the ninth.
Tigers go to 6-2.
GO TIGERS!
PS: Now go back to the Econ 101 lecture...
KC's bullpen is at the point of diminishing returns
World Series bound and pickin' up steam, Go get 'em Tigers.
There will be joy in Tiger town, we'll sing you songs, when the Bengals bring the pennant home where it belongs
I was almost ready to stop watching/following after the 5th, but its nice to know that this team has some fight in them. A 6 run inning was nice. Also, Perry is looking good.
I'm excited about the team, but I hope they can keep it up against teams better than (i.e. virtually all the teams in the A.L.) the Indians and the Royals.
have really benifited from an easy schedule. Will all AL teams have a bad bullpen like the Royals? I'm willing to guess not and then they'll still be stuck with a lineup thats subpar 6-9 and scratching for wins from 3-5 on the staff.
This is a pretty realistic viewpoint. Detroit has played 2 of the worst teams in the AL so far this season, and has had to claw back for wins late in games against said teams' lousy relief pitching.
That having been said, I think Bonderman will return to form in that he can be a good 4th starter, and Verlander will surely get back on track. A top 4 of JV, Kid Rick, Scherz, and Bondo could be very good. And we've seen excellent things from the pen so far.
This the second game in a row that Guillen has come up big for the Tigers. I'm really liking his bat behind Cabrera and Ordonez this year. Also, it is nice to see that Sizemore is starting to feel comfortable and his getting some nice hits. Keep it up boys! Lets go Tigers!
Have no idea what his numbers are but I am always confident when Guillen is up in a pressure situation. If he is healthy; he will hit.
To be fair, the 'pens of the Royals and Indians are terrible. The same guy (Colon) has now blown 2 games to the Tigers this year. The Indians as a team are actually OK, but these bullpens that the Tigers are feasting on are terrible.