OT - Tigers/Nationals matinee and MLB Trade Deadline open thread
First pitch 1:08, Verlander vs. Gio Gonzalez. I'm desparately hoping this is the start where JV looks like JV again and strikes out more than 5 guys for the first time in a month.
Go Tigs!
i was at the game last night. I liked what I saw from Jose Veras.
Me and my fantasy team both hope so!
I also have Harper and Desmond, so I'm hoping the Tigers jump out to a huge early lead, JV cruises through 7 innings, then Harper and Desmond go nuts in the last two innings.
Probably should have sat him this week. The Tigers own the NL East.
I'd expect JV's numbers to start looking better just as a result of the competition over this second half of the season. Not sure about today, individually. I'm just glad my boss lets me have it up at work!
Giving up a first up walk is not a great sign
EDIT: and a single on the next guy
EDIT: and another walk....what else is on TV! uurrgghh
This is so incredibly frustrating. C'mon Justin, snap out of it!
We are blessed that his off year he is still sub 4.00 ERA (barely at 3.99). In addition we have the luxory of sliding him back in the rotation if necesary and roll out Max and Sanchez as a 1-2. It is good to be a Tigers fan.
It's not going to be under 4 if he pitches the last two months like he did July. It'll be closer to 5 probably. Not good.
They're all still pitching every 5 days anyways
Go Verlander! I am so waiting for him to be his old self.
It's pretty weird that he scores the big contract then suddenly falls off. Has the money made him lose his drive? Did Kate really have something to do with it?
It's pretty much a quality 5 deep starting rotation now but when JV gets back to his normal performance level it's the best rotation in baseball.
Ugh. Bases loaded, nobody out. Come on JV, this isn't how you want to get started.
JV off to another rip-roaring start. Better figure out a way to stop wasting all that money, because his ERA is barely better than Rick Porcello's right now.
His location is no where close. Not sure he's going to be in this game long. Leyland is starting to pace already!
Alright, that's ok. Just gotta limit the damage here. A groundball and he's out of it.
Limited damage there. Let's hope we can come back now. Last 2 batters he looked solid
That was a wicked pitch to get Laroche. I still cringe to see a breaking ball up in the zone like that, but it worked there. Just need one more out. This will be big!
Nice. That's the sign of an ace right there. You work yourself into a hole, but get right out of it with only 1 run given up. Just gotta keep up the momentum now.
not that hard considering the Nationals are one fo the worst hitting teams in the NL.
Don't care. Working out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam with only 1 run given up is a major win for the pitcher.
I do. The level of difficulty of the situation does not compare to say the A's or the Indians. If it was the Indians, JV would have given up at least two more earned runs. The OBP and BABIP of the Nat is pretty pathetic, especially the middle part of the lineup.
When I see JV back with fastball command against a decent team, then I will start getting excited.
I am actually not that worried if this becomes a bullpen game. For the first time this season I have more confidence in the pen than in Verlander.
In case you're interested, I'm not the one negging you...
But I still don't care. I see it more from the angle of, JV needs to build confidence. Working out of a tight jam like he did can help build confidence. When JV is rolling, he can blow away any team, I don't care how good their offense is. I know he also needs to show better fastball command, I won't deny that, but I think it's a chicken/egg thing. Are pitchers good because they're confident in their stuff, or is their stuff good because they're confident in their ability to execute a pitch?
i stopped caring about mgopoints when I realized I can't deposit them into my retirement fund.
I don't deny confidence is key for a pitcher. However, I am just tempering my confidence in JV until he performs a quality start against a team that is not a complete tire fire. Last week's start against the White Sox was when my confidence in JV hit rock bottom.
not have much of a team behind him today either, so if he gives up too many its over early.
this is absolutely the comment of the day. Well done.
OP you could turn this into a trade deadline thread too if you wanted. The Tigers are said to be in the market for another reliever still and the Tribe are looking for a starting pitcher.
According to MLB Trade Rumors, DD has been looking into Javier Lopez of the Giants, and also Darren Oliver of the Jays.
Great inning. He was working ahead and hitting his spots. Keep it up JV.
...sounds like something this guy would say:
we could use a banger in the mouth
This is America. We call them sausages.
I say the tigers are off to a
Silly me, I forgot I was driving in the colonies
Boy that sure looked like a HR off the bat, Jhonny making his mark before he gets suspended.
I'm looking forward to seeing Iglesias' defensive skills..but man, how many times is he going to rip one off the wall like that?
There ya go Ramon!!!
BABIP double from Ramon and just like that we have the lead and another runner in scoring position.
Avila!! Attaboy!! He's got such an effortless swing, I love it!
Wow Avila seems pissed off now! He's tearing it up!
Avila heating up!! Off a tough lefty nonetheless, if his bat continues to heat up then the Iglesias trade looks even better.
Hunter getting in on it! He smoked that!
BP off Gio Gonzalez right now, the Tigers are playing some good baseball recently.