OT: Best sports moment today - Verlander and Cabrera, one last time.
Justin Verlander on the mound in Detroit. Miguel Cabrera comes to bat.
They tip their caps to each other.
Don't be sad that it's over. Be happy that it happened.
August 27th, 2023 at 10:47 PM ^
I'm not crying, you're crying.
So what happened? Please don't tell me Miggy grounded out to first and Verlander covered first base, tagged the base and then patted Miggy's ass afterward. Then I'll really lose it!
August 27th, 2023 at 10:53 PM ^
I didn't watch the game but looked at the box score. Final was 17-4, Astros win. Yikes. I have no idea what happened after this exchange.
August 27th, 2023 at 11:05 PM ^
I liked that Miggy gave him the subtle wink and nod when he set himself into the box. Miggy struck out on a high inside curveball that might’ve gotten the top of the zone. JV went 5 strong, got thru a couple bases loaded situations without giving up any runs and only gave up 2 hits. But had 3 HBP and a few walks hence the couple tense situations.
Miggy would later hit his 3rd HR of the season in the 7th I believe.
August 28th, 2023 at 1:05 AM ^
"3rd HR of the season"...now I am crying.
August 28th, 2023 at 2:37 AM ^
Yeah, Miggy no longer can hit the long ball (although two of his 3 HRs have been in his last half dozen games or so, and he did get robbed of another HR by a leaping catch earlier this week.). With today's dinger, Cabrera passed Gary Sheffield in all time homers---he now has sole possession of 26th place @510. Next one (if he does hit any more out) ties him with Mel Ott.
Miggy had a gawd-awful start this season, I believe his BA was around .170 in late May when suddenly he started spraying the ball to all fields. From Memorial Day thru about a week ago they mentioned he had been hitting.320---not bad for an old guy who hasn't legged out an infield base hit in probably a decade.
August 28th, 2023 at 7:44 AM ^
LOL! Legging out infield hits has never been Miggy's game! Next thing we know, you're going to be telling us that he's had a harder time stealing bases as he ages... :)
August 28th, 2023 at 9:14 AM ^
One of the best ever. Miggy getting a full swan song he deserves. In what was probably the last time I will see him play in person his last at bat in a game they got crushed he hit an opposit field double.
Clearly time for him to hang em up, but I will miss him and the good times he brought to Detroit.
August 28th, 2023 at 11:05 AM ^
Don't forget, Miggy had enough athleticism, quickness and even speed to play 3rd base the first part of his career. Even had as many as 9 stolen bases (2006) while a Florida Marlin. But that was approximately 50+ lbs ago.
He hasn't always moved at a snails pace.
August 27th, 2023 at 10:47 PM ^
still blows my mind we couldn’t get WS title with these two, fister, scherzer etc.
best pure hitter I have ever seen and one of the best pitchers of all time
August 27th, 2023 at 10:51 PM ^
Yep. If there's anything to cry about, ^^^ this is it.
August 27th, 2023 at 10:52 PM ^
I agree, the Tigers were stacked those years, only the bullpen was so-so. They just couldn't deliver in the playoffs. Inexplicable things always seemed to happen. Such is life as a Tigers fan.
August 28th, 2023 at 4:10 AM ^
Their relief pitching during that stretch probably took years off my life. That series against Red Sox (those late inning Ortiz performances) ripped my goddamn soul out. Two WS runs ain’t nothing to sneeze at, though.
Have always been nothing more than a casual baseball fan, but that team had me extremely invested (checking box scores every game, actually watching regular season games, etc). One of my favorite teams ever. Provided some great moments…
August 28th, 2023 at 9:15 AM ^
Too soon. How you throw a first pitch fast ball to Ortiz when you know he is sitting dead red in that situation with the bases loaded.
August 28th, 2023 at 8:34 AM ^
IT was that God For-saken bullpen. Dombrowski did plenty correct, but that bullpen....
I still shake my head thinking about that....
August 28th, 2023 at 1:38 PM ^
It was the tigers luck that we never had any bullpen, yet had Fernando Rodney as a starter, he goes to the Rays, they move him to the Bullpen, instant all star, cy young nominee, leads the league in saves.
August 28th, 2023 at 7:51 PM ^
This is incorrect, Rodney was not a starter for the Tigers, in fact he has never started a single game with any MLB team. He had a decent year out of the pen in 2006 but otherwise was highly volatile and inconsistent out of the Tigers pen in his time here.
August 28th, 2023 at 1:52 PM ^
Double post. Take a drink.
August 28th, 2023 at 8:58 AM ^
I looked those teams up just last week. Yes, the bullpen was iffy at best, but the outfield was worse in my opinion. It best player was Austin Jackson - a decent fielder but a .250 hitter. Andy Dirks and Brennan Bosch were not up to snuff on a team of that caliber. We had far too many easy outs in the outfield to make a consistently dangerous lineup.
August 28th, 2023 at 8:03 PM ^
You are forgetting about JD Martinez and Torii Hunter in the later years as well Magglio Ordonez and Granderson on the earlier teams. So you are missing a huge chunk of offensive production there in the outfield for those teams. I am not sure how you can say the lineups weren't dangerous when the ones who got deep in the playoffs all finished top 6 or so in runs scored in the league. Even 2014 was a great lineup that simply got derailed by an awful bullpen.
August 28th, 2023 at 10:38 AM ^
In 2014, the Tigers won the division and had the following players:
Starting Pitchers:
Rick Porcello (Would win a Cy Young later his in career - 2016)
Max Scherzer (Cy Young Winner 2013)
Justin Verlander (Cy Young Winner 2011)
David Price (Cy Young winner 2012)
Anibal Sanchez
Batters:
Ian Kinsler
VMart
Miggy
JD Martinez
Torii Hunter
Nick Castellanos
Alex Avila
Rajai Davis
......And didn't even win a singular playoff GAME. One of the most dumbfounding 3 game sweeps I have ever witnessed. Not surprising that the Tigers organization slowly went into the pit following that.
August 28th, 2023 at 7:53 PM ^
Now that team was completely derailed by the bullpen. The Tigers pen was never the strength of the team in any of their contending years but 2014 was the one year it was a complete and unmitigated disaster that ruined what was otherwise a tremendous roster.
August 27th, 2023 at 11:29 PM ^
If only they had won a World Series together...
August 28th, 2023 at 12:10 AM ^
Please someone identify the song she is singing. I need? Want to know.
August 28th, 2023 at 1:04 AM ^
August 29th, 2023 at 3:23 PM ^
It was "The Dougie." It's on YouTube.
August 28th, 2023 at 12:08 AM ^
I don’t like Silverados, am an F-150 guy but do find his wife easy on the eyes. Ying and Yang
August 28th, 2023 at 12:21 AM ^
Best "Michigan" sports moment of the day - agreed. I thought the 3rd called strike in Miggys 1st at bat was high, the Ump should have let him at least go full count since it was marginal. Crowd wanted that.
Best sports moment of the day overall is Simon Biles winning her 8th national championship. The floor routine & bars routine were so powerful...just amazing.
August 28th, 2023 at 1:18 AM ^
Wish JV had never become an Astro:/
August 28th, 2023 at 5:01 AM ^
You can blame the Tigers on that. They traded Verlander for Franklin Perez, Jake Rogers, and Daz Cameron.
August 28th, 2023 at 7:53 AM ^
Now I'm crying again. Thanks, Avila.
August 28th, 2023 at 9:19 AM ^
I have mixed feelings about JV going to Houston. Can't say he did not give everything he had to the Tigers and happy he got a title, but man he struggled in the both WS the Tigers made it to with him.
Unlike Stafford and the Lions, the Tigers built a team that could have won it all (and really should have)
August 28th, 2023 at 11:37 AM ^
2012 was tough. The Giants (particularly Sandoval) played off their skulls.
Sandoval hit three home runs against Verlander in Game 1! One was a high fast ball that I've never seen anyone hit off of JV before or since.
You're not going to win when that kind of stuff is happening.
August 28th, 2023 at 9:30 AM ^
That's poke your own eyes out and gnash what's left of your teeth stuff right there, bwoy. . .
August 28th, 2023 at 2:42 AM ^
OT season is over bro
August 28th, 2023 at 3:29 AM ^
This is a Michigan sports board and as LASClassOf2000 noted OT season ended last weekend. However, he also noted that it is more accurately a "significant narrowing of scope."
This is OT but it is Michigan sports news and very interesting to me, so within scope IMHO. Now if it were a discussion about Verlander's wife, that might be a step too far, but then again I always find seeing that beauty worthy. :)
August 28th, 2023 at 6:54 AM ^
Overruled.
August 28th, 2023 at 6:18 AM ^
Pretty cool!
August 28th, 2023 at 8:58 AM ^
One last time. Relax, have a drink with me one last time. And then we'll teach em how to say goodbye
August 28th, 2023 at 9:18 AM ^
Miggy sure has matured nicely over his long career in Detroit.
August 28th, 2023 at 10:25 AM ^
Miggy made the bigs in 2003, JV in 2005...
crazy that JV is still at the top of his game 18 seasons in.
Two true legends.
August 28th, 2023 at 9:32 AM ^
I'm laughing because it looks like JV tries to tip his cap to Miggy like 3 times during the walkup before he actually has Miggy's attention. Or maybe he has dandruff.
August 28th, 2023 at 11:33 AM ^
To be fair, there appears to be a thin line between 'randomly touching my hat' and 'tipping my cap' in Justin Verlander's mind.
August 28th, 2023 at 9:34 AM ^
This one definitely hit me in the feels. It was an honor watch these guys play over the years. Two of the all-time greats.
August 28th, 2023 at 10:08 AM ^
I was there!
August 28th, 2023 at 10:23 AM ^
Cool pic!
August 28th, 2023 at 11:10 AM ^
...Bro!
August 28th, 2023 at 10:10 AM ^
We were at Fenway earlier this month to watch the Tigers embarass themselves vs. the Sox. Miggy got a standing ovation on his final at bat there.... yeah, it was emotional, but not the only reason a Tiger's fan had a tear in his eye....
Watching Green get thrown out at third, try stretching a double into a triple, when they were down by 2 runs and no one out..... only to have the next batter single to right, which would have easily scored him from second.
Baddoo watch a routine fly ball into the sun, instead of being the 3rd out, it gave Duvall an AB with two on.... which he promptly hit over the Green Monster.....
August 28th, 2023 at 10:25 AM ^
They do struggle with the playing of the baseball game.
August 28th, 2023 at 12:45 PM ^
its maddening..... i commented not too long ago, about the lack of fundamentals in professional sports today. There were two perfect examples in one game. BTW.... the tigers lost 6-3... had Green stayed on 2nd and scored, Tigers had 4 runs.
If Baddoo shielded the sun with his glove, or even called for CF Green to take the fly ball (Green was 2/3 of the way there) Sox scored 3 less.