Happy New Year!

I apologize to anyone whose actually read my blog about my lax in posting toward the end of the last season. I can assure you it wasn't because the Tigers were doing poorly, but I got very busy and was forced to suspend my blogitude.

Ah, the New Year, awash with possibilities. So far, 2009 is shaping up to look pretty good for me, despite the current economic crisis. I'm about to start my last semester of my Bachelor's degree. I plan to start on my Master's by January of 2010. All of my friends and Family members are well and my relationships are all on good terms...but who cares about all that, let's talk baseball!

I'm very excited, because this season I'm getting a ticket package! 27 games. I'm probably going to about 15 or 16 and sell the rest, but it's a major upgrade for me (I went to seven last year). I have a really good feeling about this season, too, though I'm not going to start channeling Cubs fans any time soon (THIS IS OUR YEAR!), because that will get me nowhere. I will, however, say that everyone-EVERYONE-has been telling me that I'm crazy for a getting a ticket package this year. To them I say HA! You obviously have no true love for the game, my friend. I'm not going because I want to see them win (though that would certainly be nice) I'm going to watch a baseball game! At least a dozen of them! hahahahahahahah

Ahem...sorry. I got a little carried away.

 

Spain is having a very good year...

I haven't been watching the baseball games the last couple of days, since the Olympics have started. The Tigers did win last night, though. Cabrera, who has become the new star of the team, methinks, hit two home runs, good for 4 RBI. He's a powerhouse, that's for sure. In the 7th, down 3-2, the A's intentionally walked Maggs after a single and a sac bunt got Grandy into scoring position. I'm thinking that pitchers will realize real fast that walking Maggs to get to Cabby isn't such a good idea. His second homer of the night made it 6-2. Sheffield finally hit the ball and he hit it out of the park, though that doesn't really change my opinion of him. Galarraga fell one out short of a quality start, though he only allowed 2 runs. Bobby Seay came in during the sixth with the bases loaded and two out and actually did what a reliever is supposed to do: got the final out without giving up a game tying hit. He then pitched a 1-2-3 7th inning, and Zumaya and Farnsworth both pitched scoreless innings as well. A nice 8th inning added 4 more insurance runs, which were all on singles and doubles. I like that. It's nice to think that even if they don't hit a home run, they can still manufacture a score. Not that they're having any problems hitting home runs. Almost everyone, including slumping Thames, Sheffield, and Renteria, have hit home runs since the road trip started. Even Inge has hit two. Still, 10-2 is always nicer than 6-2. :-P

Now, I know this has nothing to do with baseball, but has anyone noticed that there's a new power emerging on the international sports scene? Spain, known for always having plenty of talent but very poor results (sound familiar?), has had a 2008 for the ages. First, Rafael Nadal spoiled Swiss superstar Roger Federer's hopes for a grand slam (meaning a win at the Austrailian Open, French Open, Wimbeldon, and the U.S. Open) by defeating him in the French Open. He then beat him at Wimbeldon and is on pace to dethrone him as the #1 player in the world. The Spain national football (soccer) team not only won the European Championship, but won (meaning no lossses or draws) EVERY qualifying match and every single match in the tournament. As of last week, FIFA's  updated rankings shows that they've taken over the number one spot. Meaning, they're the best team in the world.  A Spaniard won the Tour de France. Finally, a different spaniard, Samuel Sanchez, won the Men's Cycling road race in Beijing, netting Spain her FIRST EVER Olympic Gold Medal. Talk about a good year.

KeepitWrigley.com - Cub fans unite to speak their mind!

I'm not a Cubs fan, but I do agree with their message. I realize that commercialism and Sports have become hopelessly intertwined. I don't mind the countless billboards, the endless merchandising (ok, I like the merchandise) or the "so and so presents" every time someone moves. At least it's not like soccer, where the players themselves have brand names plastered across their chests. However, the recent trend of selling the naming rights of stadiums is really starting to get to me. Stadiums' names used to mean something. They were named for the team, the city, or at the very least the owner of the team.Our ballpark is called Comerica Park. Oh, yeah, that screams baseball. The best part is, Comerica Bank isn't even based in Michigan anymore. They left because they felt the economic situation was harmful to them. My mom, who used to work for Comerica and whose father worked there for 30 years, compares them to "rats deserting a sinking ship". Anyway, I don't mind say, Ford Field (where the Detroit Lions play) because William Clay Ford owns the team. Also, the history of the Ford Motor Company is so much a part of the history of the city of Detroit.

Not only do these names mean absolutely nothing, but they often just sound dumb. The Tigers just finished a three game series against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular field. What? Even worse, the Padres play in Petco Park. Petco? Like, where I buy my dog's food?

Not all teams have given in. The Yankees are keeping the name "Yakee Stadium" for their new park (there might be a riot if they didn't). The Rangers actually terminated their naming rights agreement with Ameriquest, a mortage company, and renamed their field "Rangers Park at Arlington". Now, one of the oldest and most recognized ballparks in the country, Wrigley Field, is in danger of losing it's name to a coporate naming agreement. The website linked below is a petition to keep this from happening. Even if you're a Cardinals fan, you can appriciate that this is more about taking back baseball, even just a little, than it is about the Cubbies. Please sign. Thanks.  

http://www.keepitwrigley.com/

A Small Rant...

Was I not watching the same game that everyone else was last night? We did win, correct? 8 runs on 11 hits with one error while holding the first place division team to 3 runs on 7? So why, I ask you, do I read the comments this morning in the Tigers' pro blog (Beck's Blog) and see a sea of negativity and complaints. We WON THE GAME PEOPLE! Be happy for that, because the way that we've been playing on this road trip we could have easily been swept by both the Rays and the Sox. I'm not getting tired of watching this team, even if they do lose, but I am getting tired of the fair-weather fans who claim to "love" this team and the game of baseball, but do nothing but complain. I admit to being disappointed by the outcome of a lot of the games this season. I've even called out certain players who I felt blew the game. However, that doesn't mean that I think the whole team sucks. Look, I realize that all that matters is the W or the L in Baseball and that expectations for this season were very high. I know that at this point, a expectation of the Tigers playing in October is highly optimistic, but people saying that they're worse than Tigers teams that languished at around 100 losses in the last decade is just ridiculous. They're in third place in the division, 6th in the wild card race
(where did Toronto come from?). They don't have a double digit game deficit in either one. This is a long way from the '90's and early 2000's when they were eliminated 'round about June.

My biggest pet peeve is self-proclaimed experts who claim that they could manage the ballclub better than Jim Leyland. How wonderful it must be to have infallible insight into the game. Too bad it always comes after the game. I feel sorry for Leyland. Good Lord, we've had 10 players on the disabled list since the beginning of the season. Joel Zumaya, Fernando Rodney, Curtis Granderson, Gary Sheffield, Brandon Inge, Magglio Ordonez, Jeremey Bonderman, Ramon Santiago, Dontrelle Willis, and now Todd Jones. Did I miss anybody? Not to mention the "day-to-day" scares we've had with Edgar Renteria and Miguel Cabrera. Bonderman is out for the season, as is Dontrelle Willis. Todd Jones made a mess of things before he admitted he was hurting. Curtis Granderson, Brandon Inge, and Magglio have all performed well since coming back from the DL, but everyone else either hasn't come back at all or hasn't come back to full form. How are you supposed to choose which reliever to send out when none of them have been particularly reliable? What are you supposed to do when a career .300 hitter has a season average of .220 and then blaming bad calls for it?  Do people think that because they play fantasy baseball they could handle real world situations? Grow up.

I haven't given up on this season, but even if they don't make the postseason this year; there's always next year. That's the beauty of sports. Let's look at the Chicago White Sox, for example. In 2003, they finished the season 10 games over .500, losing the division to Minnesota by four games and 9 games behind Boston in the wild card race. Ok, not bad, right? They were in the race. In 2004, they finish 9 games back, but still had a winning record. In 2005, they won the world series. In 2006, they were 6 games back, but kinda lost in the intense battle between the always dangerous Minnesota and the 2006 Miracle Tigers. In 2007, however, they crashed, finishing a dismal 24 games behind the surprise of the century Cleaveland Indians with a  72-90 record (that's .444). Now they're in first place again. It's not the end of the world. Heck, it's not even the end of the season. There's no E next to their name in the standings. So, stop complaining and enjoy the game. It's supposed to be entertainment.

Now, back to last night:

Winners: Miguel Cabrera hit a 2-run home run in 3rd, giving him sole possesion of team lead with 21 on the season. He also has 85 RBI. Curtis Granderson hit a solo home run in the 7th to add some insurance. Carlos Guillen had had an RBI double. Magglio got his first triple of the year to add two runs. Matt Joyce got his 11th double of the season for an RBI. Fernando Rodney had another solid outing, allowing only one hit. Zumaya had a good inning as well, walking one but not allowing him to score. Last but not least, Zach Miner had his fourth straight  quality start, giving up two runs, only one earned with 3 strikeouts and not a single walk. Ryan Rayburn made a game saving catch in the eighth when Rodney came in and almost allowed the two men that had been left by Bobby Seay with what surely would have been a double if Rayburn hadn't sprawled out and made the play.

Losers: Not many in this one, everyone played fairly well. Ramon Santiago's throwing error allowed a run to score. Marcus Thames went 0-3, dropping his average to .239. He also lost his tie for team lead in home runs. Bobby Seay gave up a home run and got himself into a jam, forcing Leyland to take him out of the game after just .2 innings, but he's been pitching so well lately that we can forgive him a bad inning. Besides, we won the game!
 

Holding Each Other Up...

First let me say that I wasn't particularly upset by the loss last night. Losses like that happen; sometimes pitchers just have the numbers of the offense of a team and they can't beat them. The problem is, that the Tigers pitchers aren't giving the offense any room to have a bad night. The games on Sunday and Tuesday would have put us at 4-5 instead of 2-7 going into tonight's game, which would probably have done some good all around. Instead, the Tigers have to play every game as if their lives depend on it. 7 2/3 innings wasn't long enough for Verlander, even though he threw 130 pitches (which is a new career high) and had eight strikeouts. He almost had an official quality start. However, the reliever came out and provided absolutely no relief whatsoever.

Again.

Now, I realize that we probably wouldn't have won the game even if it had stayed 3-1 and in the end, the only thing that matters is the W or the L. That's not my point. My point is that I've heard the words "And that run will be charged to [insert starter's name here]" way too often this season. I admit that I don't know a ton about baseball yet, but isn't the point of taking the starting pitcher out of the game when he gets tired and starts messing up to prevent runs from being scored? Aren't the relievers supposed to come in and shut the door? I can count on one hand the number of times that's happened this year. I have a feeling that if the rules were different, if the relievers were responsible for the inherited runners that they allow to score, that the bullpen ERA would be around 50. Ok, maybe that's exxagerating, but the Tigers have no chance of pulling off a late run if the bullpen doesn't shape up somehow. I'm just not sure how they even can shape up. I feel for Leyland, I do. It must be so frustrating to sit there and say, "Hmm. Who should I send in to blow this game?"

The Tigers could have finished this road trip at 5-5 or even 6-5 (if they win tonight) which is pretty darn good for any road trip, much less one against division rivals and leaders. Instead tonight is a must win for dignity situation. After all, getting swept once is bad, getting swept twice is just humiliating. The Tigers need a little breathing room, but unfortunately they aren't getting any relief.

A little redemption for Rodney, but not much else...

The Tigers' offense gave their starting pitcher Nate Robertson a 6-1 lead to work with at one point. He was knocked out the game when he let that lead slip to 6-4. However, for the second time in two games, the Tigers' bullpen was given a lead and they,collectively, blew the save, turning what should have been a nine inning confidence booster into a 14-inning heartbreaker. *sigh* Oh, well. I'm an optimistic fan, but this is getting a little ridiculous. However, I don't like negativity, so I'm going to focus on my favorite moments of the game.

1. Orlando Cabrera's audition for the Joffery Ballet
2. A very nice 4-5-3 double play executed perfectly by Polanco, Guillen, and Miguel Cabrera.
3. A Sox fan heckling Gary Sheffield, repeatingly calling him "Old Man" through his first two at bats, only to yell "I'm still here....Old Man!" when he came up for a third time.


Winners: Placido Polanco hit two two-run home runs. That's pretty darn good for a guy who only has 6 on the season. Ryan Rayburn went 4-6 with an RBI, which came at the end of an impressive marathon at bat in which he fouled off 6 straight pitches with 2 strikes to stay alive long enough to get the hit. Curtis Granderson went 1-6 with a walk, but the one hit was a two-run homer, so he wins. That also extends his hitting streak to 14 games. Finally, Fernando Rodney pitched three scoreless innings while striking out five and walking only one.

Losers: Kyle Farnsworth has given up three homeruns in two outings after going 1-2-3 in his first appearance as a Tiger. He's fitting in nicely with the rest of the bullpen, unfortunately. Nate Robertson hasn't recorded a win since June. He looked promising early; he even struck out Ken Griffey Jr. twice, but he couldn't make it past the fifth inning. Better than the third inning, but not good enough. Gary Sheffield went 0-6 last night. He's now batting .226 with nine HR and 31 RBI. Miguel Cabrera also went 0-6, but everyone has a bad night. Gary's having a bad season and he's making 20 million dollars. Edgar Renteria has improved offensively slightly lately, but he's still not coming thru in big situations. He had poor Rayburn on base twice and couldn't bring him in. He also made a nice defensive play, but that was erased in the 14th when his fielding error kept the winning run on base. Nick Swisher wouldn't have even come up to bat if he had fielded that ball cleanly. Of course, you can talk all you want about what could have happened before-hand, but the fact is that Joel Zumaya blew the save. What is it about the words "save situation" that seem to make the Tigers forget how to pitch?

Anyway, the worst thing about this whole thing is that there are a couple of guys who are doing everything possible to make this ballclub win, but they are a lonely few. Granderson has a 14 game winning streak and has homered twice in two games. Polanco is batting well over .300 and half of his season home runs have come in the last two games. Miguel Cabrera, despite a hiccup last night, was actually named A.L. player of the month for July and nearly poked a hole in the roof of the trop on Sunday with a homer. He also had a diving-throw-from-the-knees double play that was the number one web gem on Baseball tonight. Miner has had three straight quality starts and Galarraga has pitched two near perfect 6 inning games. However, here we are, having lost five straight games, watching the post-season get farther and farther away.

Mikhail Baryshnikov is playing shortstop for the White Sox

Orlando Cabrera was going for the highlight reel. He leaped in the air, caught the ball, spun while airborne and threw towards first. The problem is that Ryan Raburn had made it to first base while he was in the air. Spectacular plays are only spectacular if there's actually a play. Good effort though.

For Love of the Game

Being that this is my first entry, I feel that I should lay down my baseball philosophy.

I didn't attend a major league baseball game until I was 16. It was 2003, the year that the Tigers set a new team record...for losses. I was there with about a dozen senior citizens from the Saint Clair Shores Cruisers Club (no joke, that's what they're called), of which my grandmother is an avid and active member. She asked my brother and I if we wanted to go along to see the "new" ballpark (which opened in 2000...seniors are slow). We agreed. Little did we know that we had the worst seats possible, which was an accomplishment back when they averaged about 11,000 fans per game. I don't remember who was playing, nor what the score was. I do remember that the Tigers lost. It was not exactly a magical "first game" experience.

I didn't go again until 2007. My friend decided to take me for my birthday. I do remember that game. We lost 3-0 to the New York Mets. Five days later Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Life's all about timing.

I went to another game in 2008, then another, then another. I'm not sure why, but for some reason an outing to see our boys lose to the Angels 3-4 got me hooked. I think it was because it was a close game...they're much more exciting.

I know that my status as a "new fan" might make some lose a certain amount of respect. Some may even call me a...gulp...bandwagoner. However, I assure that though I arrived late to the Tigers party, I'm not leaving anytime soon. I believe in this team. I believe in this city. I go to baseball games to watch baseball and I don't leave until the last pitch is thrown ( in the interest of full disclosure, I did leave early once, but it was 100 degrees and I was physically ill). I'm a lifelong Tigers fan, who just happened to be "born" at 22.