2010 Detroit Tigers

**smogboy** · May-20-10, 09:16 PM

In my best Jed Clampett impersonation...

Wooo Doggee... we're tied with the Twins alluva sudden!

Thanks to the BoSox for taking the Twins to task the last two games. And more importantly, rather than worry about what's going on in someone else's yard- I'm more pleased to see how our own guys are doing. Bonderman pitched a gem today by striking out eight. Guys like Magglio & Cabrera have been more than up to task on the west coast trip so far and have put up some digits to help the team with some timely hits. And maybe it was me kvetching [[doubtful) but it was also nice to see Avila go 2 for 4 today too; if he starts heating up, I can see Laird sitting more.

We're neck & neck in first. Let's string a few together, sweep a few more series, and who knows what can happen. Granted the upcoming Dodgers series won't be a cakewalk by any stretch; the Dodgers have probably been the hottest team in MLB. But they should be able to take care of Seattle relatively easily [[they've been miserable this year).

Optimism reigns supreme here for awhile. Until they start taking the gas pipe for an extended period, I'm not one to start complaining... just yet.

**smogboy** · May-22-10, 12:55 AM

I knew it wasn't gonna be easy. Dontrelle was smoking hot for a good chunk of three innings. And then the wheels came off after he hit a player. And it wasn't that insurmountable of a lead that the Dodgers had either; our bats just went cold and we couldn't get a person on base to save our lives.

Back to one behind the Twins again. The chase is afoot once more.

Ravine · May-22-10, 06:55 AM

Yeah, Baron von Smoggenpfeffer, that was a dead-ass team that took the field at Chavez *ahem* Ravine. I don't think we would have beaten anyone, yesterday.
The previous game, Bondo's start vs. Oakland, was much more satisfying. No pyrotechnics or mega-watt rallies; just took care of business, didn't "beat ourselves," and put in a solid day's work.
Plus, Cabrera was about due for another HR, so he turned that hour-glass over.

**smogboy** · May-23-10, 02:42 AM

Can't count on the Brewers to do much for us. They took it to the Twins and still end up losing it. So much for trying to make up ground on the folks from Minnesota.

And us taking on the Dodgers? Meh. It was at least a little more spirited of a game earlier. Nice to see we were the national game too. I seriously thought that we were going to get some late inning heroics again, only to have them dashed. Highlights were Brennan Boesch getting some hits in front of his family; that must've been a cool thrill for all involved. I just wish the rest of the team had some decent hacks at the ball like he had.

My scary moment of the night was obviously seeing Jackson get cranked on the noggin. Man- that noise of 95 MPH heat hitting the lid was not pretty. Seeing him collapse faster than an Ilitch abandoned property was not good. Thank goodness all results afterwards were that he's going to be okay. He's gonna have an Excedrin headache for awhile though. I do hate headshots and always admire the guys for having the guts to step back into the box the next time.

Let's hope we can make up some ground on the Twins this weekend. Sure the Dodgers are hotter than Skylab upon re-entry, but let's at least feast on the NL like we did the last few seasons.

And also good to see Ravine back chiming in on the boys of summer too.

Ravine · May-24-10, 05:40 AM

I was glad as hell to see us get one of those games in LA. I smelled a sweep.
Best part, other than Leyland's stunt involving Willis going to the on-deck circle, was Rick Porcello managing to maintain a stoic look while walking to the dugout after having successfully gotten pinch-hitting Manny Ramirez to go after his first pitch-- one which, apparently, looked good to Manny on the way in, but moved at the last second-- and suffocate a bases-loaded, two-out powder keg situation.
Rick was priceless, looking as though he didn't even know who that was, or what he just did.

**smogboy** · May-24-10, 04:46 PM

Ravine, I seriously didn't think sweep.

The reason being is that I had faith in Porcello and his emergence. In LA, I was honestly hoping that we'd steal one for Galaragga or even Willis, but that fantasy got shattered like cheap glassware at a Jewish wedding. Porcello really is coming into his own after a shaky start this year. I thought for a split second that he might have to make the southbound trek to Toledo for a spell if he was going to continue, but either through Knapp and/or Porcello working things out, he's seemingly righted the ship.

And yes, what he did to ManRam was well worth it.

**smogboy** · May-26-10, 03:10 PM

Topic I was mulling over last night with the Verlander game. Should Leyland have yanked his horse in the 8th inning? Should Jim Leyland have gone to the bullpen and called out another arm to take on the likes of Gutierrez & bradley who had hit JV pretty well earlier? Sure in hindsight, maybe he should've but how can one yank out the hottest pitcher in the month of May when he had a relatively low pitch count? Such the dilemma to mull over for a split second the day after.

And Verlander's bare handed toss to first was just [[as Rod Allen would say) plain SICK! I believe it made an ESPN highlight too.

**smogboy** · May-27-10, 12:29 AM

This last game versus the lowly Mariners was one where Leyland just needed to go into the clubhouse, load up a handful of oranges into a sweatsock and club the young Mr. Perry for giving away the game in the 8th inning. It was so painful to watch... SO bloody painful especially since Bonderman was masterful for so long. Bondo hasn't been this good in a LONG while and his effort was squandered. Talk about a dagger to the heart. It was tough enough losing the night before with Verlander on the bump, but that can be expected to a certain degree. The M's got used to JV's throws, he might've fatigued a little bit or whatever but doggonit- Perry was a member of the much vaunted and revived Detroit bullpen! We had a comfortable lead too. And to lose it on a night that we could've made up ground doubly sucks.

Darn good effort... wasted.

**jefferson78** · May-27-10, 11:51 AM

I agree, I like Leyland as a manager but one glaring fault is that he takes too long to pull a pitcher who is obviously struggling. Did he see something we didn't? Perry was getting lit up by almost every batter he was facing and when it came down to giving up the lead or getting out of the inning, Leyland decides to keep him in and he promptly blows up. This is when Zumaya and Coke were warmed up and ready to come in to stop the bleeding. So when Coke does finally get in he shuts them down, but it's too late. The damage had already been done. If I was Bondo I would be major pissed. This hurts even more because the Twinkies lost 2 to the Yanks. Brutal loss and to a bad team at that.
Speaking of Jeremy B. I think he has been the single biggest surprise of this season so far. I admit I did not think he would ever be a regular starter again but he has changed his approach and it has worked out for him. You know he has to be steaming today.

**smogboy** · May-27-10, 11:09 PM

jefferson78, I think we have the advantage of hindsight when it comes to situations like this. Leyland gets paid to make these hard decisions. Would we have made the same mistake given the same timing and scenario? He's got to be able to make that snap decision to keep the guy in or yank him; see my questioning of keeping Verlander in too long the other night. I'm sure sometimes it's a gut call or sometimes it's based upon known facts [[the guy pitched X innings the night before, the guy's got a slight injury, etc.), but it's his call to make. I'd like to think that he makes his calls based upon his years of experience as a baseball man. He's obviously seen and studied more footage than any of us here.

I hate the fact that we lost that game because Perry imploded. I hated the fact that Verlander botched one inning and lost that game. Ultimately I guess we can always blame Leyland for keeping the guy in too long/ not yanking them out soon enough. But we have the oh-so plush luxury of hindsight again.

I'd like to think that in the overall picture, because of Leyland's guidance and expertise- he's probably won more games for us than he's lost with these hard decisions. And as fans, we probably deep down expect him to win games for us. When he does, we don't say much about the manager- but woe befalls Leyland when he makes a move like this and blows a victory.

In the big picture I don't think it affects Leyland, Verlander, Perry or Bonderman negatively or positively- they're consummate professionals and know it's a long season. I'm sure they've already filed these past few games away and will prepare for the next series.

**jefferson78** · May-28-10, 07:06 AM

While I don't disagree with you Smogboy, my feeling is that you never want to throw away a game. The Tigers will be fighting with the Twins all season for first place, forget the wild card. And how many times has it come down to the end of the season, you're in a close race, so you look back at those few games that you know you should have won and it ends up being the difference between playing in the postseason or going home? Last year was a prime example. It never should have come down to that "extra" game. I know it's a long season but you want to get all the wins you can. And you definitely do not want to give away sure wins.
With that said, I'll give Leyland the benefit of the doubt. I like how he handles his players and it seems that they respect him. I just wish he would realize that so far this season the bullpen has been this team's strength and thus allows you the ability to be more liberal with your entire pen instead of going "all in" with one who is obviously not at his best in that game.

**smogboy** · May-28-10, 08:49 AM

Originally Posted by jefferson78

I just wish he would realize that so far this season the bullpen has been this team's strength and thus allows you the ability to be more liberal with your entire pen instead of going "all in" with one who is obviously not at his best in that game.

This is where Leyland conundrum lies. Based upon everything that he knew about Perry the other night, he had been spectacular and lights out up to that point. Leyland had no issues whatsoever with the bullpen and I agree 120% that it has been our strength. He trusted Perry and even went out and talked to the young man when it seemed as though he might've had some issues; they still had the lead at that point. Obviously something was discussed at that point where Leyland felt comfortable and confident enough in leaving him in there.

Until disaster struck that night for us.

It's always going to be a fine line as to when to yank a guy off of the mound- regardless if he's the starter, the pitch count. the 104 MPH fastball, or has a dominating ERA. We gambled the other night and lost. Sometimes the gambles pay off.

**smogboy** · May-29-10, 11:07 PM

Lifeless.

That's the only word I can use to describe our team at this point. In the meantime, Minnesota's seeing an opportunity to pull away from the pack. Outside of Cabrera hitting the hat trick of homeruns, we really haven't had much to cheer about.

Maybe, just maybe the dismissal of Willis will shake up the team. That's a tragedy unto itself too. I've heard him speak and he sounds like a super engaging bright young man- but an engaging young man who couldn't stitch together his baseball acumen to remain up here in the bigs. We wish him well wherever he lands and this will always be a stain on the Dombrowski era too.

**smogboy** · May-30-10, 05:45 PM

Wow... maybe the cutting of Dontrelle Willis to get Max Scherzer into the rotation was something. That was an amazing performance on the mound today by Scherzer. He absolutely made the A's look pathetic at the plate. It was truly dominant to behold and I think Leyand knew it was time to go out there and give the guy a fair departure in front of all the appreciative fans.

Along with Bonderman's pretty darn good performance last time around, the number three & four slots in the rotation suddenly look that much sharper. Given your horses with Verlander and Porcello, these two guys will round out nicely. Give Armando Galaragga a spot start here and there and it could turn out very well down the stretch for this team pitching wise.

We just need to hit a little more consistently. We can't count on Cabrera to go yard to rescue us every time we're in a pinch. It was nice to see Inge & Laird do some damage with the stick for once too. We've counted far too much on the middle third of our line-up to carry this team. Like I've ranted before- we just need better production from the bottom third.

**smogboy** · June-02-10, 10:56 PM

88 pitches + Galaragga

What more can be said for the game? Never has an imperfect game shown its true colors tonight.

**ggores** · June-03-10, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by smogboy

88 pitches + Galaragga

What more can be said for the game? Never has an imperfect game shown its true colors tonight.

Well put, Smog.
A quick reference to the rule book says that when a call is made when the ball is in play in the infield.... the call on the field stands.

Tigers avoid slumping to the level of mediocrity called .500 ball, which unfortunately, Tiger fans seem to be comfortable with year-over-year, and at near mid-point of the marathon, they still have a pulse. I wanna pennant.

**firstandten** · June-03-10, 07:34 AM

Maybe its time to have instant replay on all baseball calls. A system could be developed where the teams could have 1 or 2 appeals on calls per game.

Hopefully this ump doesn't get fined by MLB for coming out and admitting that he made a mistake. There are plenty of bang-bang plays in baseball and sometimes the umps get it wrong. We have the technology why not use it?

**jefferson78** · June-03-10, 09:02 AM

I was watching that game last night with my wife and son and we were so geeked and ready to celebrate when that unfortunate ending occurred.
I know we all feel sick about what happened, but it is history and everyone who watched knows that Galarraga legitimately pitched a perfect game. Changing the outcome now does nothing to take away the bad taste in my mouth. It really doesn't matter to me if they change it, which I doubt they will. It is what it is.
I actually feel sorry for the ump because he has to live with this. He knows he made a mistake, and he is suffering because of it. We are all human and thus imperfect. How many times have you wished you could go back and do something different? It doesn't work that way, you live your life and you learn from your failures. Yes, we were robbed of a special moment but after some reflection I cannot but help feeling selfish that things did not work out the way I would have liked.
I think the best thing we can do is give Armando the profs he deserves, celebrate the amazing catch by Austin Jackson and hope that this event is the catalyst for getting this team going again. A nice 10 game win streak would make me feel a lot better. As a Christian, I am taught to forgive and I feel no need to pile on the umpire because we have no idea of the amount of grief he is taking for his act. I just heard him on Drew and Mike and he sounds like a man who is sincerely sorry and horribly depressed.
I believe and trust that in the end something positive will come of this.

**smogboy** · June-03-10, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by firstandten

Maybe its time to have instant replay on all baseball calls. A system could be developed where the teams could have 1 or 2 appeals on calls per game.

Hopefully this ump doesn't get fined by MLB for coming out and admitting that he made a mistake. There are plenty of bang-bang plays in baseball and sometimes the umps get it wrong. We have the technology why not use it?

I couldn't agree more. Involve the coaches and management with this call for replays. Let the coaches and teams use it judiciously.

So far it's worked in the NFL so why not use this for MLB. I would be willing to contend that on most nights, their challenges won't even get used, but in an instance like this I'm sure we would've seen Leyland toss the red flag and things would've been corrected.

I wouldn't mind seeing the umpires themselves have more confabs and discuss amongst themselves to make the correct call as opposed to just having trust in one another like that. They've been instilled with the trust to make the right call. They have the technology and the capability to do so. And not meaning to drag other major league sports into it but look at how crucial and critical other sports utilize these to make the correct call.

-the NBA referees will rewind video footage over and over again and regularly put back tenths of a second back on the clock to make sure it's correct.

-the NHL will have multiple reviews to make sure the puck crosses or doesn't cross that line. All the on ice and off ice officials are rounded up and they will even go to Toronto to their HQ to watch video replay to make the correct call [[it happened last night in the Flyers/ Blackhawks game on a disputed OT goal)

MLB needs to pull their collective heads out of the sand and leave the dark ages behind. What happened last night will probably [[and hopefully) go into the books as an asterisked perfect game. It could also serve to be the watershed moment where it drags Bud Selig out of his ivory tower to make things right so another player AND umpire will never ever have to go through the indignity of this gaffe.

What happened last night not only infuriated Tigers fans who were there, those of us watching at home, but it also put a huge black eye onto a great performance put in by a very classy young man in Armando Galaragga. How he didn't climb out of his skin and go over and chew Joyce out a new rectum was beyond me. Emotions were high last night and I'm glad that Leyland fired out of the dugout as well as the rest of the team to go support their teammate who made history last night. It was a travesty by every measure of justice. Having Joyce admit to the mistake immediately after helps soothe things a little bit, but it's moments like this that come up far too few for the fans and the game itself.

Instead of talking about how to revamp the entire game this morning, we should've been basking in the glow of a great pitching performance by Galaragga. We should be running footage of Austin Jackson's great Willie Mayes-esque catch. We should be marveling at the great Brandon Inge ricochet toss over to first. It's disheartening and maddening to say the least that we should even be discussing what should be an invisible element in the game.

As a Tigers fan, I hope this galvanizes the team and helps energize them for the rest of the year. Armando Galaragga deserved better as should we fans of the game, the Tigers organization, and all of baseball... including Jim Joyce who will forever be questioned and haunted with this call.

**smogboy** · June-03-10, 09:19 AM

Originally Posted by jefferson78

I believe and trust that in the end something positive will come of this.

Some sort of intelligent instant replay policy would go a long way right now.

**firstandten** · June-03-10, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by smogboy

I couldn't agree more. Involve the coaches and management with this call for replays. Let the coaches and teams use it judiciously.

So far it's worked in the NFL so why not use this for MLB. I would be willing to contend that on most nights, their challenges won't even get used, but in an instance like this I'm sure we would've seen Leyland toss the red flag and things would've been corrected.

I wouldn't mind seeing the umpires themselves have more confabs and discuss amongst themselves to make the correct call as opposed to just having trust in one another like that. They've been instilled with the trust to make the right call. They have the technology and the capability to do so. And not meaning to drag other major league sports into it but look at how crucial and critical other sports utilize these to make the correct call.

-the NBA referees will rewind video footage over and over again and regularly put back tenths of a second back on the clock to make sure it's correct.

-the NHL will have multiple reviews to make sure the puck crosses or doesn't cross that line. All the on ice and off ice officials are rounded up and they will even go to Toronto to their HQ to watch video replay to make the correct call [[it happened last night in the Flyers/ Blackhawks game on a disputed OT goal)

MLB needs to pull their collective heads out of the sand and leave the dark ages behind. What happened last night will probably [[and hopefully) go into the books as an asterisked perfect game. It could also serve to be the watershed moment where it drags Bud Selig out of his ivory tower to make things right so another player AND umpire will never ever have to go through the indignity of this gaffe.

What happened last night not only infuriated Tigers fans who were there, those of us watching at home, but it also put a huge black eye onto a great performance put in by a very classy young man in Armando Galaragga. How he didn't climb out of his skin and go over and chew Joyce out a new rectum was beyond me. Emotions were high last night and I'm glad that Leyland fired out of the dugout as well as the rest of the team to go support their teammate who made history last night. It was a travesty by every measure of justice. Having Joyce admit to the mistake immediately after helps soothe things a little bit, but it's moments like this that come up far too few for the fans and the game itself.

Instead of talking about how to revamp the entire game this morning, we should've been basking in the glow of a great pitching performance by Galaragga. We should be running footage of Austin Jackson's great Willie Mayes-esque catch. We should be marveling at the great Brandon Inge ricochet toss over to first. It's disheartening and maddening to say the least that we should even be discussing what should be an invisible element in the game.

As a Tigers fan, I hope this galvanizes the team and helps energize them for the rest of the year. Armando Galaragga deserved better as should we fans of the game, the Tigers organization, and all of baseball... including Jim Joyce who will forever be questioned and haunted with this call.

Great post !

lilpup · June-03-10, 06:46 PM

Very classy for Tigers fans to applaud Joyce at the start of the next game. You know that wouldn't have happened in some other cities.

"When I walked out of the tunnel and got applause from the Tigers fans, I had to wipe the eyes." -- Umpire Jim Joyce, a day after the missed call.

"That was certainly the best three hours and 20 minutes that I've spent in the last 24 hours. After the second inning, I could finally spit, and by the fifth or sixth inning, I felt normal again." -- Joyce.

"There's no doubt he feels bad and terrible. I have a lot of respect for the man. It takes a lot to say you're sorry and to say in interviews he made a mistake." -- Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga.

**smogboy** · June-04-10, 02:48 AM

Originally Posted by firstandten

Great post !

Thanks for the kind words. I somehow knew all of those high school journalism classes would some day pay off in some odd way.

But after much thought and hearing debate upon debate about this situation for Galaragga/ Joyce/ the Tigers/ Leyland and such, I couldn't help but feel an immense sense of pride for these people. They showed what class can be in an emotional powder keg.

And y'know what? If Bud Selig chooses never to correct this particular injustice, I think I'm okay with it as long as it starts up some form of instant replay for MLB. I think because of the actions that played out Wednesday night- this perfect game will be one for the ages. I'm not taking anything away from the Halladay & Braden perfect games that happened earlier this season [[nor the 18 prior to), but this game is special. While the Phillies & Athletics celebrated their respective pitchers' accomplishments, the rest of the sportsnation only whooped it up for an evening's worth of ESPN highlights. The Galaragga Perfect Game was hotly discussed all across the country the day after- it was more than just a regional game, it was national.

What also made this game special for so many people was how Galaragga handled himself before, during and after. Dignity and class all the way. And for Jim Joyce underneath all of that media scrutiny to be man enough to admit his error immediately after only was another fine bout of class. I also want to note how the team [[in particular Cabrera and Laird) went to the defense of Galaragga immediately after the game too. I sincerely think that this game brought this group of guys closer. Seeing them the day after celebrating GM's presentation of the Corvette to Galaragga made up for the celebration that should've happened the night before. In so many ways, this day after event was much more heartfelt and a true celebration of what Armando Galaragga is. He finally got a chance to celebrate which was nice to see.

Long after he hangs up his cleats, I think he'll be forever enshrined as a pivotal figure in baseball history regardless of his ERA, strikeout totals, BBs, and other stats. Borne of a horrific injustice, all of the key figures in this [[Galaragga & Joyce) came out of it displaying some of the best virtues of being a human being.

**smogboy** · June-04-10, 03:09 AM

Meanwhile back to the regularly scheduled programming, it was nice to see lowly Seattle [[so low they kicked our butts on the West Coast trip) kick the Twins to the curb tonight. Sure we're playing the pathetic Tribe, but we're doing what we need to do in order to climb back into the thick of things.

A few things that struck me as far as good to see were:

-the emergence of Austin Jackson defensively. In that big cow pasture that's also known as Comerica Park's centerfield, he seems to be mastering it well. Jackson for the last two games has had some top notch defensive gems out there. He seems to get a really good bead on the ball and has a great first step towards finding the range on those balls. Swinging a hot stick [[4 for 6) with two runs scored didn't hurt either.

-Ordonez, Cabrera, & Boesch have seemed to be the hottest three guys in the line-up as late. These guys just have the eye and some amazing bat speed to seriously crush the ball. Since all three have been playing so well opposing teams just can't pitch around them any more. Their combined power has really made it a headache for the opposing teams now.

-Has anyone noticed how Brandon Inge is starting to heat up? Maybe it's just feeble Indians pitching but either way, it's good to see him get some timely hits. I'm hoping his confidence takes a step forward with this series.

-Valverde's been untouchable. Have we finally gotten off of the Todd Jones/ Fernando Rodney cardiac inducing roller coaster?

-Joel Zumaya has finally matured. For whatever reason, he's been throwing the triple digit heat and it's actually finding its spot. No longer is it just thrown hard, but he's locating it well and mix it up with an 80 MPH change-up? Very impressive indeed as his ERA drops faster than Leyland's cigarette ashes.