T1B

part of the tigers' problem this year has been getting good hitting and pitching in the same game. granted, both were abysmal at the start of the year, but the hitting was at least either on or off; the pitching was just a fat fucking joke. rogers and verlander each have well below a 3.00 era the last six or seven games, but they probably only have one or two wins between them to show for it. [i saw a line where rogers' win against sf was in first in the last seven and i imagine verlander doesn't have many more.]

los tigres need to take advantage of this stretch of inter-league play considering they can't beat anyone in their own division. if they continue to dominate the nl like they have recently than they should be at .500 and ready to turn over a new leaf against the twins.

i'm also pretty pumped about catching a game in detroit. i'll be there in august.

Another series win...that's about all you can hope for. You can't expect sweeps and games like Monday will happen.

As I mentioned before with Padres series...no Peavy and no Young either since he's on DL. Bonine gets another start on Friday in the series opener. It wasn't a great debut by any means but the bats picked him up on Saturday and got after Penny. He just needs to keep it simple. I've noticed the starting pitchers have relaxed in the last few turns through the rotation and have thrown a lot better and have tried not to win the game themselves.

White Sox and pretty much every team in this division have been very good in interleague play in recent years so I don't expect the Tigers to make up that much ground even if they continue to win on a consistent basis. I think getting back to .500 should be their first goal and they're back to just 4 games under.

Shoalzie wrote:I think they can very easily take 2 of 3 in each series before returning home for a couple tough series with the Cardinals and Rockies.

good call.

it's quite the luxury to have the best 4-9 starter in all of beisbol.

Maybe if Rodney could throw a friggin' strike on Friday, they could've taken that one as well. Bonine threw a really nice game in the opener and held his own with a future Hall of Famer. The Cubs are helping out with beating up on the Sox. Twins are on a nice run right now as well and could be only 1-1/2 back of Chicago after tonight.

Interesting series coming up with those plucky Cardinals sans Pujols. Rogers vs. Looper on Tuesday, Galarraga vs. Wellemeyer on Wednesday and Bonine vs. Lohse on Thursday. Rogers has had 5 straight quality starts but has only one decision in those games...the win against the Giants. Galarraga has won his last 3 starts and have 4 game winning streak going. If I'd worry about losing a game in that series...it's the Thursday game with Bonine going against the red hot Kyle Lohse. He's won his last 6 starts. I'd be happy with another 2 of 3 to keep the positive mojo going.

Well, the climb back to .500 is happening faster than I thought. Only 2 games under after another series win and they're now just 5 games behind the White Sox. The Tigers aren't quite as hot as the Twins but they're playing by far their best ball of the year in the last three weeks by winning 14 of their last 18 games.

Early on in the year when the bats were quiet, it seemed like all the stars were in a slump at the same time but now, it's been the story of a different guy coming up big in a different game or series. Thames was the star in San Francisco, Ordonez was the key guy in San Diego and Sheffield in his return from the DL came up with the game-tying homer today to force extra innings. However Pujols in his first game back today was almost the hero with a 4-for-4 afternoon and had driven in the go-ahead run in the 9th.

I don't want to look past this upcoming series with the Rockies but those 7 games coming up with the Twins before the break is going to very interesting in the battle for second and quite possibly first place in the Central...the Twins are breathing down Chicago's collective necks with the 9-game run they're on. The Rockies did take 2-of-3 from Chicago earlier so this weekend's series won't be easy. Luckily, they avoid Aaron Cook this weekend.

.500 watch is over. hopefully they stay hot a few more games to give themselves a margin of error to work with. now i actually have to start paying attention to the sox and twins now that the tigers are chasing them. my sole focus before was winning more games than they lose. that's out of the way...

Last night was such a satisfying win with how they just gutted it out and chipped away in the late innings and got enough out their pen to hang on. With Maggs hurt already, the last thing I wanted to see was Miggy get dinged up again. With those two out, you saw a guy like Joyce step up with a huge pinch hit to bring in the tying run. Granderson continues to swing a hot bat...he's starting to look like he did last year.

A nice couple days for the Tigers...picked up a game and a half on the Twins. The timing of the Sabathia deal couldn't have been better considering they were rolling into town and he was slated to start last night. Instead, the Tigers bats pounded on Jeremy Sowers.

Tigers signed their first round pick Ryan Perry...could be up with the team in September. They could definitely use another big arm out of the bullpen late in the game. Perry was one of the best closers in college baseball last year.

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Bittersweet day yesterday...great comeback win with the dramatic walkoff home run by Cabrera but yesterday also was the beginning the demolition of Tiger Stadium.



This day was going to come eventually and it's tough to see it go but it's been almost a decade since they stopped playing there and the franchise most certainly moved on. What could've been done with it anyways? I think the city was right in finally pulling the plug on the old girl and hopefully that land can be used for something beneficial.

I was a wee lad when they won in '84 and was still a bit too young to enjoy the run in '87. My memories are of the '90s...Cecil's 51 home run year and him putting it on the roof. They had a couple of okay years but hadn't made the postseason since '87 until they made it in '05. I remember the atmosphere more than anything. Real tight quarters...you sat right on top of the field. I wish I had the chance to go more often...I think I went only a handful of times in all.

It was my freshman year at GVSU when they played the final year and the final game there. I can remember hurrying back from criminal justice class to catch the tail end of it and seeing Robert Fick's grand slam and then the closing ceremonies. I had taped the game and I still have it somewhere among the other old game I've recorded. I might need to dig that bad boy out sometime. I think I've only watched it once since then.

The final game was a great tribute for the park and I think that day along with the championships won there will always be remembered by any TigerFan.

R.I.P. 'The Corner'

Shoalzie wrote:I think the city was right in finally pulling the plug on the old girl and hopefully that land can be used for something beneficial.

as if the city needs any more open space. you'd be surprised how many open acres of land there are within city limits. that's once you add up the empty lots of course. i know there's always rumor of corktown being developed pretty handsomely, but everytime i'm back for a visit it looks like the same string of liquor stores and used car lots that have always been there. the fact that the demolition company is actually paying the city for the right to knock it down might have something to do with it. if detroit had any sort of economic development plan other than staging a football game between kwame's black college and some other school i've never heard of, they could've really used the stadium as an actual catalyst for growth. unless america suddenly becomes obsessed with soccer or jai lai, it's going to be quite sometime before they can justify another one-off like a stadium. they need to blow city hall up and then worry about tearing tiger stadium down.

i really made good use of the bleachers after the strike year. i don't think tickets ever went past $2.50 between the strike and when they closed the old girl down. i think those fuckers were $1 the year after and $0.90 of that was a city tax. in 98 i found a parking spot just over the 75 footbridge, a block down, and a block over. it was along a side street next to some boarded-up looking middle school. it was seriously a two-minute walk to the stadium from there and, since nothing's ever too good to be true, i fully expected my tires to be gone, along with my doors, once i returned after the game. as it was, i had free parking for the eight or so games i caught there that year. one of those games was when the cardinals came through with mcgwire chasing maris. it was good to see the stadium nearly full again.

my first game was 84. the only thing i really remember was hanging upside down from one of the aisle railings. that and the tigers beat the sox, which doesn't happen much anymore. i also remember going to a game in 87 when everyone wanted to be matt nokes. lou whitaker hit a home run late in the game and the tigers beat the angels. that, too, doesn't happen much anymore.

I was up for the tuesday game vs. the Indians and coincidently drove past "the corner" and stopped to bid my farewell to Tiger Stadium. I didn't know the demo was to start the next day, a sad time indeed, but it has been sadder yet to watch the old girl rot and fall into disrepair. Since they filmed much ot the movie "61" there, the place has bareley been used. I know they hosted some big party there during the super bowl but that was about it. Better to take it down and remember the place in it's glory then to watch it decay. Hell, Yankee Stadium is supposed to be down before opening day next year.

As for the current Tigers.....they just can't seem to win in their own division. Minnie, ChiSox, and KC all give this team fits. The bats were booming vs. the Tribe and go cold when there is a chance to gain ground on the Twinkies. I don't get it. Maggs being out does create a soft bottom third of the lineup, and Rentaria is in a lengthy slump. That being said Miggy is coming on, Grandy is above .300 not only overall but against lefties as well, Thames is enjoying success as a full timer, the front of the rotation is alot more solid.

I look for the Tigers to stay in the conversation at least until the final month, they will need to get real hot and hope Chicago comes back to the pack and Minnie uses up their smoke and mirrors.

The Tigers absolutely piss away a great chance to pick up a game on the White Sox last night. They jump out to a 6-0 lead after their half of the first but blow that lead as well as Zumaya giving up the tying home run in the 9th to Hernandez. It's a game like last night that puts more and more doubts in my head that these guys will never be consistent enough to close on Chicago and Minnesota. I knew they still a large hill to climb to reach those two but they can't keep giving away chances like last night.

They had to catch fire just to get to .500 and now all they is bounce between being a couple games over and a couple games below...no more, no less. You aren't going to make the playoffs with a .500 record unless you're in NL West. You definitely aren't going to make the postseason when you're 10 games below .500 against your division either. They wouldn't be anywhere near Chicago and Minnesota had it not been for interleague play. They have better than a .500 record against 4 teams in the AL...the only one in the division is Cleveland.

With 65 games left and they sit at 48 wins...it's a tall order to get to the 90-95 win mark to give them a good shot at making the postseason. They'd have to play .646 ball the rest of the way just to get to 90 wins. Considering who is left on their schedule, it's next to impossible. They have only 3 games left with the Twins, who have a 10-5 record against them this season...it doesn't give them many more chances to make up ground on them considering they're just a 1/2 game behind Chicago entering today's action. The only team they haven't played up to this point is Tampa Bay and they've got 7 games with them. Of the teams the Tigers have a better than a .500 record against...the Yankees, Rangers, Mariners and Indians...they have just 17 games left with those clubs. They're done with the Mariners and they have a single makeup game with the Yankees on Labor Day...so the other 16 are against Texas and Cleveland.

To me, the most crucial games remaining in their season will be with Chicago and Kansas City. They're 4-11 combined against those two and they've got 21 games remaining with them. If they can't break .500 in those 21, they'd pretty much have to win 3 out of every 4 games in the other 44 games left on the schedule to get to 90 wins. And there's no real guarantee that 90 wins will even be enough. There are 5 team in the AL on pace to win at least 90 games. Minnesota and Chicago project out to win 91-93 wins if they keep up their present winning percentage. To get to 93 wins for the Tigers, they'd have to finish the season 45-20 in these last 65 games...nearly a 70% winning percentage. Considering how consistently inconsistent they've been...they're look more like a team that will finish around .500. This team is the definition of mediocre.

At least there was some cool news in the Tigers organization yesterday...Rick Porcello combines on a no-hitter for Class A Lakeland.

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I was at the game today. My USB reader thing is fucked up, so I can't post any pics. Went with a fliend from GR. Verlander was nails all day and Inge had the play of the day for the final out. From his god damn ass.

Shoalzie wrote:To me, the most crucial games remaining in their season will be with Chicago and Kansas City. They're 4-11 combined against those two and they've got 21 games remaining with them.

KC just took care of the ChiSox, winning a series there for the first time in five fucking years.

They've owned Detroit thus far this season, going 6-0, but those smoke and mirrors probably won't last... or maybe they will. The Royals are playing some good baseball right now, but it's all predicated on starting pitching.

Welcome to KC in late July for the next 3 gamer, Tigersfan. It's fucking HOT. Which team will wilt in the heat?

For some reason, the Royals play better on the road than they do at home. But I think they tend to get up for the overhyped, overpaid Tiggers, so pack a lunch.

Thank you for your help in the matter, by the way. I talked about gloom and doom after Saturday's loss and then they turn around get a very nice performance from Verlander and they earn a key split in that series. There's still a lot of work to do but that is the type of game they can expect from their ace. That was his 6th straight win and the Tigers haven't lost in his last 8 starts. It's been a huge turnaround after his rough start to the season but I think a big help for him has been actually getting run support. If you can score 4 or 5 runs for him, he'll give you a quality start and a chance to win. I don't think this team will go winless through an entire turn through the rotation the rest of the year with the way he's been pitching.

Interesting game tonight Zach Miner sliding into the 5th spot in the rotation and getting his first start in quite a while...probably not since his first year with the team. It sure would be nice to get at least one win against the Royals in this series...I'm not bold enough to talk about going to Kauffman and taking 2 of 3. The White Sox get Texas and the Twins face the Yankees...there is an opportunity to make up some ground before the Sox come to town this weekend.

Ouch.

This is like the Mother of all Beatdowns... and not surprising or unexpected.

There will be another game tomorrow.

Still...

For the sheer hilarity of watching Tony Pena Jr. pitching the 9th inning and striking out Fudge, this game will be memorable.

I'm happy about beating on the Royals but the big thing was picking up another game on the Sox and Twins. The bats definitely came alive and that's with Ordonez on the bench. 3-6 in the order were absolute machines...Guillen, Cabrera, Joyce and Sheffield went 13 for 21 with 2 homers, 3 doubles, a triple, 11 runs scored and 16 RBI.

The big thing with the Tigers is how do you follow up an explosion like that? With the way this season has gone...they'll probably be held in check and lose tonight. I definitely can't expect the Twins and Sox to continue their struggles of the last few days either...both will probably break out tonight as well.

The only way they can continue to chip away at their deficit in the division is if they have many more highs than lows along the way. They're capable of putting up big numbers offensively as well as get well-pitched games. It's been a case of either, neither or both throughout the season. I'd love to see a good month of consistent play.

they're losing 6-1 tonight. call it a hunch, er, a pattern.

Good call, Mclub.

My daughter's going to the game tonight with her friends, and they never lose when she attends. She brings the Royals good karma.

Now watch it rain.

that was as big a win as any. granted, it's kc, but until yesterday the tigers couldn't beat them, and they also followed up the first game's outburst with some production rather than mailing it in for four games afterward like they usually do. the next four games are obviously huge. first, they have to finish up the sweep and then make a serious stand against the white sox. they need to take two of those three. it's too late in the season not to.

Should be interesting with the matinee game today following the late finish last night. They do have the day off tomorrow before the start of the Sox series at least. They've had only one other 3-game road sweep this year...the series against the Yankees at THE Stadium back in late April. The finales for the Sox-Rangers and Twins-Yankees series will be this afternoon also so it'll be fun to scoreboard watch while I follow the Tigers game.

War Wagon wrote:Now watch it rain.

I guess the daughter didn't make it out.

The Sox rally late against the Rangers and they maintained their 5-1/2 game lead on the Tigers and now have a 2-1/2 game cushion on the Twins.

This weekend's probables vs. Chicago:
Friday--Robertson vs. Floyd
Saturday--Verlander vs. Danks
Sunday--Miner vs. Vazquez

The Friday matchup goes very much in favor in Chicago considering Floyd has probably been the Sox most consistent pitcher while Robertson has been the Tigers least consistent. Saturday leans towards the Tigers with how hot Verlander has been. Sunday is a toss up because Vazquez has been up and down and this will be only Miner's second start since moving back into the rotation...not sure what to expect from him after his solid effort on Monday against the Royals. To hope for 2 out of 3 is fair...I think the Sox will have some revenge on their mind after being swept the last time they faced the Tigers and they have them breathing down their necks. A sweep could cut the lead down to just 2-1/2 games. To win the series and pick up a game would be the goal...a Sox sweep would be distastrous.

Fucking Farnsworth.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:Fucking Farnsworth.

I'd also like to add...Fucking Rodney

A small part of me wants to see the bullpen blow more games down the stretch so it makes it more and more obvious that Dombo needs to spend money on the bullpen this winter as well as pick up another starter.

Tampa is a legit team but this was still a disappointing loss...especially after seeing Granderson tie it in the 9th and then Cabrera hit one that would still be flying if they weren't playing indoors. It's one thing if you lose when a team hits your best stuff but in Rodney's case, he could throw a strike and all those baserunners came from only one hit.

The Sox took one on the chin and now the Twins take over first place after a solid return by Liriano. Tuesday marks the make or break series for the Tigers...have to take two of three to hang around. Lose anymore ground (ie--lose the series) and I think you can start shoveling dirt on them. They need some wins against the Sox just to shake off this sweep in Tampa but it also means a lot in the division race...which they are now 7 games out of first place with the Twins win to pull ahead.

Did Rodney blow it with a one run lead? Figures. I had to step out when the Tigers had a one run lead in extra innings, so didn't see the end and ignorantly assumed they'd get the W.

Buwahahahahahahaha

Fuck the tigers.

i was sitting at a coffee shop reading while occasionally texting google for updates. all i get is runs by inning, so without seeing a recap i knew rodney blew another one. two hit batters? it felt good to see jones finally get demoted, but it took four seconds to feel nostalgic for a time he was closing instead of rodney. i loved leyland's comments today about mailing it in and letting younger players get their chance if you really don't care. why does that douche keep running rodney out there then? fuck it, pull verlander from the starting rotation and let him handle the late innings. even if he pitches the tigers into a late-inning lead leyland's just going to let rodney walk in however many runs it takes to lose. loser.

season. done. seriously, can these wankers find any other way to lose? rodney throws three great innings and the best the offense can do is swing at every single first pitch they see? renteria finally learns how to hit but forgets how to field, which is the only reason we gave atlanta one of our only pitchers who can actually pitch? polanco puts in about 75% of his yearly hr production and nick swisher [nick swisher?] upends him? i wish they'd send this whole fucking team to the minors. better yet, to the national league.

Same shit, different pitcher...but then again, Renteria deserves some heat as well because he boots a routine grounder that cost them a sure out and Zumaya had struck out Thome, which should've been the third out and a win for the Tigers. I talked about how disappointed that I was in Rodney's control on Sunday and how he pretty much gave the Rays that game. Tonight, Zumaya was throwing strikes but he left the ball up a few times and he got knocked around and promptly lost the game.

A topsy-turvy hour or so...between the Tigers going ahead in the top of the 14th with the Twins behind Seattle. Then, the Twins jump on top of the Mariners in the 8th as Zumaya comes in to close out the game (snickers). The Sox battle back and win on a walkover homer and meanwhile, the Mariners went back on top in the bottom half of the 8th. Blowing games isn't just for Tiger relievers because Joe Nathan was the one on the mound in that inning that gave up the lead.

So in that period of time, it went from the Tigers looking like they'd gain a game on both the Sox and Twins. Then the Twins looked like they'd be picking up a game on the Sox and taking first place outright. And then, the Sox pull out the win and knock the Tigers further behind and will end the night still tied for first but only for a reliable closer like Nathan to blow the lead for the Twins and the Sox end up back in first place.

Just another crazy night in a simply confusing and frustrating season. The tagline of this year's team is "No Lead Is Safe". Their offense is capable of making a comeback from pretty much any deficit but then again, the bullpen is just capable of blowing a late inning lead. What a waste it is to have quality hitters in that lineup when all the work they do to put them in a position to win just gets pissed away by a guy that can't get three guys out. Who say closers are overrated? Well, only when they do their jobs right. When you have nobody that can do the job, you wish you had someone reliable to call upon.

Mclub stole my thunder.......SEASON OVER!!!

PITCHING PLEASE....Starters and relievers please.......a closer would be nice.


Get to work DD.

Tigers sign Freddy Garcia to a minor league contract

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10929063" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What a disgusting season.

Over 3 million fans bilked out of big money to watch a last placed team.

This team needs a major overhaul.

Untouchables
-Granderson
-Cabrera
-Ordonez
-Verlander

Players who will have to stay because of shit contracts
-Robertson
-Willis
-Inge

Other than these guys I would turn over as much of the roster as feasible. Jones is retiring (thank God). Rogers is ancient. Bonderman's noodle is questionable, Rodney, Zumaya, young but don't seem to have the mental toughness to handle the pressure of set up and/or closer. Guillen is getting old, Rentereia lacks range and can't seem to hit AL pitching. Polanco may have a year left in the tank but his range is limited as well. Catcher and left field are huge voids right now.

I love the gutsy year Gallaraga has had but I can't put him on the untouchable list.

I wouldn't consider Ordonez untouchable...maybe you can snag some pitching for him and it would be great to spend all that money on other needs. As much as I love Maggs, another team like the Mets or Yankees perhaps could take his contract and the Tigers can parlay it into some pitching.

Granderson and Cabrera are the faces of this franchise moving forward and you've got an underrated guy like Polanco as well but he's not young and exciting like the other two. I'm losing faith in Verlander and I think Zumaya had his Fidrych moment when he came in...he'll never be what he was in his rookie year. You have two great pieces to build around but Dombrowski has some major work to do.

I put Maggs on the list because he's good gate, hits for high average, and he hit the shot to send us to the WS.

I don't think his value will ever be as high as it is now, but for me a trade involving him would have to involve a Big league SP or regular and a couple of highly regarded prospects.

How fitting - Bitchslapped to start the season, and now bitchslapped to end it... by the Royals, no less.

Enjoy last place, 127m payroll Tiggertard. I know I'm enjoying being out of it, for what that's worth...

War Wagon wrote:How fitting - Bitchslapped to start the season, and now bitchslapped to end it... by the Royals, no less.

Enjoy last place, 127m payroll Tiggertard. I know I'm enjoying being out of it, for what that's worth...

The Tigs deserve the indignity of last place. They've mailed in the last 5 or 6 weeks of the season. It's horrible to see a team quit on the field. It's been announced that Leyland will be back next year. I'm a fan because of where he took us in 06, but I don't want to see a lackluster team on the field again next year.

Had this team missed the playoffs by a couple games and competed to the end of the season, most guys would've gotten a pass. With the way this has spiraled into a last place team...I think someone needs to fall on the sword. This month has been disgusting to watch with the exception of watching Cabrera, Ordonez and Granderson post their numbers. I had this team getting the wild card this year, finishing second the Tribe in the division...no one in their wildest dreams imagined it would go this bad and they would finish last in the division and with one of the worst records in baseball. I almost want the Rays to sweep them and bury them in the basement and send a loud message that several things need to be fixed going into next year.