OT: Tigers vs Royals 8-7-11
Slow day here today, the Barwis article has been at the top of the list almost all day, so figured I'd start a Tigers thread so there is something else to talk about as we await Tom's weekly update.
Currently middle of the 4th, scoreless, with Sherzer on the mound against Chen.
Victor is out with the sprain he got while trying to shake and bake at the plate yesterday.
Looks like we're going to need to get the bats going! And Austin ALMOST had that!
Bruce chen is a true tiger killer
I'd argue Giavotella is a true tiger killer.
He's hitting .500 against Detroit. Not a bad debut.
Chen has kept us off the scoreboard numerous times...the guy who has played in 3 games, although he has played well, does not mean he is a tiger killer
Ain't cutting it. C'mon guys! Bruce Chen? Really?
Actually, though, Chen has saved his MLB career in the past couple of years -- I remember him on the Orioles in 2006 when the wheels fell off after posting a couple very solid years in a row. Still...I think this guy has a career ERA right around 5.
Nice start to the sixth, but then Jackson (again) can't get a sacrifice bunt down. That's pretty bad for our lead off hitter, though his average has been slowly rising lately.
And then Jackson fouls off 7 before an RBI double. Nicely done!
Jackson is not a good bunter. Doesn't seem to matter to Leyland.
Well, 4-2 Royals. Tigers have Jackson on 2nd, no outs in top of 6. Currently in rain delay. I like our chances to come back in this one. Should be able to get Jackson in, and then all we need is to put across one on their bullpen.
should have baseball again soon.
What a throw....Wow..haven't seen many better throws period!
Sorry to see it against us, but it was an amazing throw.
Ryan Raburn (2011 OBP: .266, career fielding percentage at 3B: .841) is batting third and starting at the hot corner today.
Anybody want to step up and defend that?
Its Sunday. Anything Jim Leyland does with his damn sunday lineups is indefensible.
Raburn is hitting .454 in the last week, .348 in the last two weeks, and .366 in the last month.
I have no problem with him batting third in place of Magglio.
Going to subtly harp on Leyland without doing any research some more?
I am surprised he didn't bitch about Inge too
When I say his "sunday lineups" I mean over the course of his tenure Leyland is known for resting for 2-3 starters on sunday for no reason.
Hmm... no reason eh? All right then. I guess he moved Raburn to 3rd for no reason.
Catcher almost always rests on Sunday. Usually Sunday is a good day to rest anybody because:
A: It's a day game after a night game.
B: Often you have monday off, so it's really two days off, giving the body extra time to really heal itself.
This stuff is common practice around the big leagues with older players. The Tigers simply have a lot of older players with track records of injury (Guillen, Ordonez).
But if you have already won the first two games and you have an off day Monday or Thursday, why not play our regular lineup and go for a sweep?
Why not give guys rest and go for a sweep? Why do football coaches rotate in their third and fourth DTs? Why don't basketball coaches let their starters play 38+ minutes?
You rest guys when you can. A reserve that has a killer record against a pitcher is an opportunity to give a starter a rest (see Santiago starting last Wednesay(?) against Ogando). If you can find opportunities to do it before a day off, even better because that will maximize the rest.
"Going for a sweep" is a false argument anyway. You're always trying to win the game. Is a 2-1 series win any different if you lose the first, second, or third game?
Research?! I provided numbers, you twit.
Your "research" represents a comically small sample size. A batting average over one week for a dude who's not even an everyday player - that's what you're going with? Pathetic!
Raburn has looked better as of late, but that merely justifies his occassional presence in the lineup, not batting THIRD.
You threw up the season batting average of a guy who's notoriously a second half player. His stats, if you bother to look them up, show that is still the case. He's one of the Tiger's hottest hitters. But whatever, try to find ways to get pissed off about Leyland because you want something to be pissed off about.
I listed his on-base percentage.
Again, there is a difference between playing him (even if you're fielding him at a position he has no business playing) and putting him third in the lineup.
Ryan Raburn. THIRD. You don't think that's a problem.
Ya can't make this stuff up, folks...
Batting AVG in August
Boesch-.263 with 1 Hr
Martinez-0.444 with 3Hr but sat out due to Injury
Cabrera-Hitting 391 with 2 Hr and is obvious clean-up hitter
Avila-0.462 and 3Hr-I can see an argument for Avila, but as a young catcher who has found his niche, there really is no need to disturb it
Ordonez-.214 and 0
Guillen-0.000 in 15 Abs
Dirks-0.250 and 0
Peralta-.222 and 0 Hr
Kelly-0.167 and 0
Jackson-0.200 and 0
Betemit-0.308-no Hr
Rayburn-0.455 with 1 Hr (hitting 0.375 since the All star Break)
Rayburn can be a great hitter as last year, he hit 0.280 with 15H4 and in 2009, he hit 0.291 with 16 Hr. Yes he has had a horrible year, but he is a notable second half player who is heating up…I don’t see any problems when you look at the stats and with V-Mart out.
The answer is simple if you have been paying any attention
Stats from August
hitting .455 with a HR and 3 RBIs
He is hitting .375 since the All star game
You've seen his second halves the last three years, I assume?
Good outing by Below, that's promising.
yup. just talked to him. he is focused and pumped.
yup. just talked to him. he is focused and pumped.
Eh, almost a nice comeback. Chen seems to have the Tigers' number. A road series win is a road series win. On to Cleveland!
Early reports are the Tigers will skip Penny's next start and go with Fister/Porcello/Verlander against the tribe.
A smart move, but I was hoping to go to the Friday Baltimore game to see JV :/
Slap it up, Tom. This team hasn't had a road sweep against the bottom-feeding Royals since early 2007.
They didn't lose today because of the ridiculous decision to hit Raburn third, but it represents Leyland's mentality. The man has absolutely no killer instinct and it matriculates to his squad, thus the late collapses.
Slap it up, Tom. This team hasn't had a road sweep against the bottom-feeding Royals since early 2007.
They didn't lose today because of the ridiculous decision to hit Raburn third, but it represents Leyland's mentality. The man has absolutely no killer instinct and it has matriculates to his squad, thus the late collapses.
You've yet to suggest an alternate decision to hitting Raburn third.
V-Mart was unavailable. So instead of messing with the order a ton and moving everybody up a spot, Leyland moved Raburn - the team's hottest hitter, a guy with some pop - into the three hole. Cabrea still had protection behind him and you keep Peralta behind guys that get on base, which is what you want with his success with RISP this year.
You're way off base on this one.
He has no killer instict and it matriculates to his squads? Really? This is the big leagues, not freaking tee ball.
EDIT: And even if you want to make the ridiculous "killer instict" argument, isn't putting your most offensive lineup on the field (Raburn at third instead of Kelley) an aggressive, "killer instinct" move?
Sweeping on the road is difficult, even against poor teams.
Well we have an all-star catcher in Avila who bats 8th with a line .288/.373/495. I'm not saying bat him third but at least move him up somewhere
Why?
There's no reason. He protects Peralta. Move him and Peralta's ABs become much more difficult. Also, moving Avila to third results in two leftys before Cabrera. You don't want that in the second half of a game when the opposing manager can bring in a lefty specialist and suddenly Cabrera bats with nobody on.
I swear, so people are so caught up in "the lineup" that they don't ever think to look past the slash line and where the batter is in the order.
If you move down Ordonez and bat Boesch third you don't have that problem.
They did move down Ordonez. Who's batting second? If it's a lefty you have the same problem. I'm not opposed to Boesch batting third, though he's done outstanding in the two hole and I'd be worried with messing with that.
I love Avila batting eighth. It helps us prevent the ninth hitter from leading off an inning and he provides a balanced lineup that gives support to Peralta. He's batting .288, not .388. The fact that he was an All-Star is inconsequential to his current place in the lineup.
The only thing I think that you could make an argument for is swapping him for Guillen. But when VMart is in the lineup at 5 this makes less sense.