T1B

And right after I praised the Tigers 'pen yesterday, Valverde pisses down his leg. Verlander was killer today though...midseason form already. What I liked seeing was Lester pitching around Cabrera and Fielder but it was guys like Jackson, Avila and Peralta that swing the bats today.

On the flip side, the Sox pen looks like crap now with Bailey hurt...meanwhile, Papelbon throws a perfect 9th to close out Halladay's gem against the Pirates.

Fuck Valverde. Bitch.

Sudden Sam wrote:Verlander threw a helluva game.

Another day at the office, really. Dude is ridiculous.

Screw_Michigan wrote:Fuck Valverde. Bitch.

Wasn't he 49 for 49 last year?

Screw doesn't like Valverde because he "takes too long" between pitches.

I actually think Valverde will get exposed big time this year. It was nothing short of a miracle dude that dude didn't blow a single save last year. Letting on a runner or two before the gripping final out seemed to be standard operating procedure. We see flash-in-the-pan closers like this come and go all the time, where they have the season of a lifetime then soon fade into obscurity. I fear Valverde is that guy.

But the fact that a guy who went 49-for-49 in save opportunities last year is my biggest question mark for the team this year might not be such a terrible thing. Don't think he'll be needed as much anyway since the Tigers *should* be putting more runs on the board.

Uhm. I don't know if you can call someone with close to 200 saves over the last 5 seasons a flash in the pan. However, for a closer he's certainly... mature at 34 years old.



Screwey must really hate Josh Beckett then. He takes a good 30-40 seconds in between pitches. In fact, his current manager called him out on it last year on Baseball Tonight.

Tiger fans will know what I'm talking about with respect to "Papa Grande." Dude was all smoke & mirrors last year, and will be lucky to even sniff that level of production this year. I just don't think his role will be as important, in any event.

I can see that knock against Beckett since he's a starter. But I'd say those annoying chin pubes are his biggest offense to date.

valverde will be fine this year, though i only say so because the closers during this era of relevance - jones, rodney, fat boy - have all stuck to the same same script: getting shelled in non-save situations; spotting a couple runners before finally dropping the hammer.