Tigers Weekly 2007 Season

Week 17: 8/17/07 - 8/23/07

The magic of 2006 is feeling more and more fleeting,
and I've got a tired arm rubbing this bottle of
Labbatt's (official import beer of the Tigers) trying
to get an extra wish from the Baseball Genie.  Every
time it looks like the Tigers are about to bust out of
this slump they find a way to lose a game.  They still
have not won a series since mid-July, and they are
just 16-25 since the break.  The two-week trial with
the Indians and Yankees will end this Monday.  So far
the opposition is ahead 6-3.  Tigers lead the Yankees
tonight, and with the Indians' loss to the Royals, the
Tigers could get back to within a game and a half. 
The Wild Card is becoming less and less of an option
(though the Tigers, if they get hot, should be back in
that race as well) and so the distance between Detroit
and Cleveland is of the most importance.  

New Subscriber...

Charles "Sadaharu" O'Hanesian 

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Week of 8/17 - 8/23

Record:  1-5  LLL-WLL

Undy-Five-Hundy:  Just kidding.  Things aren't that
bad... yet.

Up Next for the Tigers...

August 24-27  New York Yankees
August 28-30  @ Kansas City

AL Central Standings

CLE  70 57 -
DET  68 59 2     *** still playing ***
MIN  65 63 5.5
KCR  57 70 13
CWS  56 72 14.5

Tigers Division

BOS  78 51 -
|
CLE  70 57 7
SDP  69 58 8
DET  68 59 9     *** still playing ***
PHI  66 61 11
CHC  66 61 11
ATL  67 62 11

Tigers News and Notes:  The Tigers parted ways with
Craig Monroe this week (more on that below). 
Replacing Craig in the outfield is 2005 top draft
choice Cameron Maybin.  Ramon Santiago replaced Omar
Infante on the roster, and Zach Miner was sent to
Toledo to accommodate the return of Andrew Miller. 
Jair Jurrjens' two good starts has earned him some
more opportunities.  He will pitch again this Monday
in the finale with the Yankess.  Gary Sheffield is
listed as "out indefinitely" with a bum shoulder. 

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Tiger of the Week...
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Nate Robertson was pretty much written off by this writer as a reliable starter for the Tigers. This week Nate took a big step back to dependability with two nice starts. His first, against New York, doesn't look good on paper, but he pitched better than the stats would have you believe. On Thursday he was absolutely outstanding, giving the Tigers a great chance to win their series with the Yankees. Nate went 8.2 innings giving up no runs, but the bats were silent and he received a no-decision. The quality of the starting pitching is improving, and if the Tigers continue to get performances like this the wins will come. There is still over a month to play, and the deficit which the Tigers currnently face is oh so slim. Good job Nate, in getting some of your groove back.

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No Mo C-Mo...
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Surprisingly, the moves this week involved Craig
Monroe being designated for assignment.  This means
that Craig can either accept his demotion to Toledo or
become a free agent.  He is also available for some
other team to claim him off waivers.  

Last season Monroe was one of the Tigers' most clutch
hitters.  He had five home runs in the post-season,
which tied him for most all-time in Tigers history.  

Monroe was only signed through the end of this season,
so the Tigers will not have to eat a contract for a
long time a la Damion Easley.  

I'm sort of mixed about the move.  Monroe was
obviously struggling big-time this year, and he just
turned 30 years old.  Monroe joins Mike Maroth as
another member of the 2003 squad that has been
jettisoned from the organization this season.  I guess
it's the nature of the business.

Update:  Monroe was since traded to the Cubs for a
player to be named later.  In his first at-bat for the
Cubs, Monroe got a pinch-hit infield single.

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Poll Question...
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What do you think about the moves: getting rid of
Craig Monroe and bringing up Cameron Maybin so soon? 
Will these be the best moves for the organization in
the short term?  in the long run?  

Bonus Question:  What is your favorite C-Mo memory?

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Game Linescores...
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August 17:  Detroit 1 - New York Yankees 6
Starters:  DET: Robertson 6IP - NYY: Pettitte 8IP
DET  001 000 000  1  6 0
NYY  002 102 01X  6 12 0
W: Pettitte  (10-7)
L: Robertson (7-10)

August 18:  Detroit 2 - New York Yankees 5
Starters:  DET: Durbin 5IP - NYY: Clemens 6IP
DET  000 110 000  2 11 0
NYY  010 004 00X  5 10 0
W: Clemens (5-5)
L: Durbin  (7-6)
S: Rivera  (20)

August 19:  Detroit 3 - New York Yankees 9
Starters:  DET: Bonderman 6IP - NYY: Wang 6IP
DET  000 120 000  3  9 1
NYY  101 011 23X  9 13 0
W: Wang      (14-6)
L: Bonderman (10-6)
S: Ramirez   (1)

August 20:  no game scheduled...

August 21:  Cleveland 1 - Detroit 2
Starters:  CLE: Carmona 8IP - DET: Jurrjens 6.2IP
CLE  000 001 000  1 1 0
DET  000 020 00X  2 3 0
W: Jurrjens (1-1)
L: Carmona  (14-8)
S: Jones    (32)

August 22:  Cleveland 11 - Detroit 8
Starters:  CLE: Byrd 5.1IP - DET: Verlander 4IP
CLE  100 430 030  11 16 0
DET  300 003 002   8 12 1
W: Byrd      (12-5)
L: Verlander (13-5)
S: Borowski  (35)

---

Toolie Sees a Ball Game:  After taking my
comprehensive exam on Monday I was very pleased to be
seeing the Tigers, especially such a big divisional
matchup.  Eight of us traveled from East Lansing to
see this sellout.  Though the Tigers would lose, it
was one of the most fun games I've been present for in
a while.  

Getting to Detroit was rather easy, and we were early
enough where we could have dinner at Hella's in
Greektown.  We made it into the stadium in the top of
the first, and went nuts for Guillen's three-run homer
to give the Tigs a 3-1 lead.  In the fourth I was
getting concessions as the Indians scored four runs
all with two outs.  Next inning Verlander allowed the
first two runners to reach and Zach Miner was
summoned.  It wasn't long before it was 8-3 Tribe. 
The Tigers tried to come back, hitting a pair of
homers to pull to within two.  They had a good chance
for runs in the seventh but couldn't score, and then
the Indians seemed to ice the game with three in the
eighth.  The ninth inning provided excitement as the
Tigers plated two with one out.  Carlos Guillen made a
bid for his second homer of the night, which would
have tied the game, but it died on the warning track. 
Pudge struck out to end the game.  

I'm now 2-3 on the year with each loss coming to a
division opponent.  I'm slated to see the Tigers play
the White Sox in Chicago on the last weekend of the
season.  If the game is important I'll be tempted not
to go.  "The Original" Dashing Donut won the race.  

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August 23:  Cleveland 3 - Detroit 1  F/10 
Starters:  CLE: Westbrook 8IP - DET: Robertson 8.2IP
CLE  000 000 000 3  3 7 0
DET  000 000 000 1  1 9 0
W: Perez    (1-1)
L: Zumaya   (1-2)
S: Borowski (36)

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Gilby Sees a Ball Game:

Well I had great outlooks for the game up until
Tuesday night when I discovered that I had left my
tickets for the game (which I was forced to buy on
Stubhub since the game was sold out 1 month ago ((I
hate scalpers and ticket brokers who take away all the
tickets from the fans)) ) in Kalamazoo and I was in
Detroit for the week.  So I was forced to make a 5 hr
detour to go back and get the tickets.  After waking
up early, Lindsay and I made the journey from
Kalamazoo to good ole Comerica Park.

The game went from being a hitters pre matchup to a
classic pitchers duel.  Nate Robertson looked like he
lost about 10 years and was pitching in high school
again.  He cruised through the game until he was
pulled (thanks mainly to an inside pitch strike zone
that became obsolete in the late innings).

Things looked good for the Tigers in the 2nd, 3rd,
5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, and even the 10th with men in
scoring position.  Yet it was not till the 10th that
they could even put anything together and by then it
was too late.  And to make matters worse, through 7
2/3 Robertson had faced the minimum number of batters
and noone got to 2B till the double in the 8th.

In the 3rd Casey popped out with 1 out and runners at
the corners, which did not score the run obviously. 
Westbrook then gloved a weak grounder up the middle to
get Ordonez and end the threat.

In the 5th, Inge was at 2nd and 1 out when Granderson
hit one a mile to deep right.  Only it was caught at
the wall and Inge never even looked to see where it
was hit.  He was doubled off of 2B as he had already
rounded 3B and was half-way home when the BALL WAS
CAUGHT.  That ended another potential winning run.

And then things get really interesting starting with
the top of the ninth.  Granderson ended Robertson's
unbelievable day.  A single was hit weakly to
Granderson in center by Sizemore.  Instead of stopping
at 1B, Sizemore kept running.  Granderson fielded the
ball and literally 5-HOPPPED THE BALL to Polanco about
10 feet from the bag.  Had he even remotely threw the
ball like a MLB player, Sizemore would have been
thrown out by a land slide.  It was the worst throw I
have ever seen by a MLB player.  Luckily that runner
did not cross home.

In the bottom of the ninth with noone out and
Betancourt just entering the game, Thames connected on
the 1st pitch and put it 400+ feet down the left field
line.  Only it went about 2 feet foul.  That was the
potential winning run and it just was not meant to be
I guess.  It would have made it almost to the
scoreboard had it been fair.  Later in the inning with
2 on and 2 out, Granderson struck out swinging in
which all three strikes were change-ups in the dirt
that were not even close.  That sent us to extra
innings with the Tigers having blown chance after
chance after chance.

Zumaya got the last batter in the 9th and was on again
in the 10th.  Normally I would feel good, but he was
only 2 games removed from 3+ months on the DL.  2B,
IBB, FC, BB, K, 1 RBI infield single , 2 RBI PH single
up the middle by Kenny Lofton of all people, and a K
looking put the Tribe up 3-0.  The 10th inning looked
like a volleyball match for the Indians as the had 7
change of positions, PH, and PRs.  That alone was a
site to see and a misery for the scorekeeper.  I know
I didnt try to score it all.

In the bottom of the 10th things did not look good as
Polanco and Casey went 1-2.  But then Magglio doubled,
Guillen singled, and Thames doubled to pull the Tigers
with 2 at 3-1 and having runners at 2nd and 3rd with
two out and Pudge at the plate who had just come in in
the 9th to PR.  Instead of tieing it up like countless
times last year, he hit a pop-up to center and ended
the game and take a lot of hope out of the Tiger
faithful.

I have included a fan report in this edition of the 
ballgame.  A gentleman was sitting a section from us
and had the following chant right after Zumaya was
pulled and the Tigers were down 3-0 with 2 runners on
base, " OK BOBBY SEAY, SET US FREE!"  I found it
rather funny I guess.

Gilby 2-3 on the year now.  And to make matters worse,
I am 0-5 in Dunkin Donut races this year.

Stat of the game #1:  Men Left on Base
Team:
Cleveland 4
Detroit 12

Individual:
Granderson 4, Polanco 0, Casey 3, Ordonez 2, Guillen
2, Thames 2, Rabelo/Rodriguez 0/2, Inge 2, Santiago 2

Stat of the game #2:  Nate Robertson
8 2/3 IP, 91 total pitches, 0 BB

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Toolie's Trashtalk...

So the Tigers game tonight was delayed, causing a
start time of roughly 11PM.  Holy smokes!  I decided
to write tonight since the game would keep me awake
and thinking about the Tigers.  Neither Andrew Miller
or Roger Clemens will factor in the decision.  Clemens
got paid a ton of money to pitch tonight... and he
gave up six runs.  Money well spent.

OK, I really believe it's about to turn around.  The
Tigers' pitching looks more consistent each week.  One
of these teams, Cleveland or Detroit, will have to
wake up sometime.  Minnesota is just 5.5 games back,
so if the top two teams don't pick it up, Minnesota
could make a run at defending their division crown.  

If you weren't paying attention this week, you may
have missed that the Orioles surrendered thirty... yes
thirty... runs to the Rangers on Wednesday.  The best
part?  that was in the first game of a
double-header... in Baltimore!  Can you imagine
sticking around for that game?  To make things worse
for the fans, the Rangers won the nightcap as well. 
It's been tough times in Baltimore.  

Brandon Inge needs to pick things up a bit.  I know
he's great at third base, but you can't tell me that
you'd prefer the Inge we've been seeing to Ryan
Raburn, who looks more than comfortable at the plate. 
Don't get me wrong, I think Inge has really earned his
stripes.  But with the division on the line, the
Tigers need someone who can put the bat on the ball.  

Tigers and Yankees are playing late.  6-6 in the
eighth.  By the time you read this you should know the
outcome.  I hope it's a good one.

Editor's Update: TIGERS WIN TIGERS WIN
At 3:30 in the morning, Carlos Guillen hits a 3-run
home run to win it for the Tigers 9-6 in 11 innings.
Rain Delay: 4 hrs 1 min
Game Time: 4 hrs 24 minutes

I'm out.
 





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