LA Dodgers 7, Tigers 12
The air is starting to get a little thin way up here, it's hard to catch your breath.
We are seeing some things that we have not seen much of this year. This afternoon the Tigers beat the Dodgers for their 5th win and 2nd series victory in a row. The game was really sloppy defensively (3 Tiger errors, 1 Dodger error) and neither starting pitcher did well- but Eddie Bonine didn't pitch as badly as Brad Penny did. One of the things we are starting to see is that the Tigers' line up seems to really enjoy weak pitching. I mean "enjoy" in the way that Tigers enjoy small, weak deer. Getting 12 runs on 15 hits and 6 walks makes it a whole lot easier for your pitcher to not be too hot, but still get a victory in their first major league game (congratulations to Eddie on striking out the first batter he faced in his Major League career).
The hitters had 27 total bases today. They had 18 last night. In fact they have averaged 15.8 total bases for this week (6/8-6/14/08). That is good enough for a Slugging % of .470 and 5.3 runs per game! More importantly, that was good enough for a 6 and 1 record this past week- by far their best week this year. Hopefully this is an awakening, a realization by the hitters that they can hit the ball and score runs on a consistent basis. Today there were 2 doubles (Larish and Ordonez) and 2 triples (Granderson and Polanco) as well as 2 homeruns (Thames and Cabrera). The only starter to not get at least a single today was Carlos Guillen.
The starters are really pulling things together. Even with Willis' 8 runs allowed in 1.1 innings earlier this week and Bonines 6 runs in 5.1 innings today the starters only allowed 21 earned runs this week for an ERA of 4.55 (by my figures). So let's see, the Starters allowed 4.55 runs per 9 innings and the Hitters scored an average of 5.3 runs per game- let me do some math here..... result = 6 wins and 1 loss!
Sunday (Fathers' Day) the Tigers attempt to complete a sweep of the Dodgers. Then they fly to San Fransisco to take on the Giants. I can finally say that I am getting excited again about this team's chances to make it exciting this year. I almost feel wrong saying this, but since the White Sox lost again today the Tigers are "only" 7 games out of first place.
Go Tigers!!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Don't pinch me, I do not want to wake up!
White Sox 1, Tigers 2
SWEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not only a sweep, but of the White Sox- the reviled and 1st place White Sox. (BTW, if you don't already read it daily you should read Roar of the Tigers. Whether the Tigers win or lose, this is pure Tiger joy and frivolity that you should not miss.)
I was at work during this afternoon's game, so I had only Gameday to follow but I don't think that took away any excitement. Kenny Rogers threw another outstanding game. That makes 4 quality starts in a row for him and in those four starts opponents have scored 4 runs (yup, four runs. You can count them on one hand and still hitch a ride to the next game with the thumb you have left over). In fact he has allowed 2 runs (or fewer) in 8 of his 14 starts. Unfortunately the hitters have not even been able to come up with 3 runs in 3 of those 8 games. Try to wrap your brain around that....
Today Rogers allowed only 4 hits in 8 full innings of work. Todd Jones finished the game off with 1 hit and no runs allowed, picking up the win because....
MIGUEL CABRERA HITS A WALK OFF HOME RUN!!!! I saw on MLB.com's highlight reel that this was only his 2nd walk off home run. That seems hard to believe with the power he has, but why would they lie and why would I doubt them? MLB.com reports that this is the first walk off home run since August 25th, 2007. They also say that this is the first time the Tigers have swept the White Sox since 2003 (that doesn't seem so hard to believe, the CWS always seem to have Detroit's number).
Again, pitching makes the day. Cabrera gets the homer, but Rogers gets the credit (if not the win). Looking quickly at my handy, dandy spreadsheet it appears that the only starter to give up more than 2 runs per game lately is Nate Robertson (who gives up 4 runs as a matter of habit). If this keeps going the way it has been lately I see good things coming. Runs allowed per game is back to where it was last season (4.94). This may be something beautiful in the offing, we'll see.
But now- it's time to mow the lawn.
SWEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not only a sweep, but of the White Sox- the reviled and 1st place White Sox. (BTW, if you don't already read it daily you should read Roar of the Tigers. Whether the Tigers win or lose, this is pure Tiger joy and frivolity that you should not miss.)
I was at work during this afternoon's game, so I had only Gameday to follow but I don't think that took away any excitement. Kenny Rogers threw another outstanding game. That makes 4 quality starts in a row for him and in those four starts opponents have scored 4 runs (yup, four runs. You can count them on one hand and still hitch a ride to the next game with the thumb you have left over). In fact he has allowed 2 runs (or fewer) in 8 of his 14 starts. Unfortunately the hitters have not even been able to come up with 3 runs in 3 of those 8 games. Try to wrap your brain around that....
Today Rogers allowed only 4 hits in 8 full innings of work. Todd Jones finished the game off with 1 hit and no runs allowed, picking up the win because....
MIGUEL CABRERA HITS A WALK OFF HOME RUN!!!! I saw on MLB.com's highlight reel that this was only his 2nd walk off home run. That seems hard to believe with the power he has, but why would they lie and why would I doubt them? MLB.com reports that this is the first walk off home run since August 25th, 2007. They also say that this is the first time the Tigers have swept the White Sox since 2003 (that doesn't seem so hard to believe, the CWS always seem to have Detroit's number).
Again, pitching makes the day. Cabrera gets the homer, but Rogers gets the credit (if not the win). Looking quickly at my handy, dandy spreadsheet it appears that the only starter to give up more than 2 runs per game lately is Nate Robertson (who gives up 4 runs as a matter of habit). If this keeps going the way it has been lately I see good things coming. Runs allowed per game is back to where it was last season (4.94). This may be something beautiful in the offing, we'll see.
But now- it's time to mow the lawn.
The Sleepers awake?!
Can this be for real? Do we dare hope? Can we handle more ups and downs from these 2008 Tigers?
I don't pretend to know all of the answers, but let's look at the numbers and see what they say?
I've said before that although the hitting hasn't been that great this year it is really the defense and pitching that are hurting the Tigers, so how is that working out lately?
In Weeks 1 through 3 the ERA for the Starting Rotation was just north of 6 (6.17 by my figures) and they were facing an average of 4.67 batters per inning (BPI). During that stretch the Tigers' record was 5 and 13.
Compare that to Weeks 9 through 11 (we are finishing up Week 11 now)- ERA for Starters is 3.66. That number includes both Dontrelle Willis' terrible night Monday against Cleveland and Justin Verlander's amazing night on Wednesday against Chicago. Not giving up over two runs per game is huge! The Starters are also facing fewer batters per inning, only 4.21 since June 1 so they are staying in the game longer with lower ERA's.
Now to that hitting thing...
In the first two weeks the lineup scored 33 runs (3 runs per game). For this week and last week they have scored 43 runs (4.3 runs per game). Their Batting Average was .246 at the beginning. In the last two weeks is has been .254. Their slugging percentage (total bases/ at bats) was .356 in the early weeks and has been .375 in the last two.
All of these trends are in the right direction! In the first 3 weeks of the year their record was 6 and 12 (.333). In the last 3 weeks it has been 7 and 9 (with 3 games to play yet this week). If the Starting pitching continues at this rate and the batters continue to score runs there is still hope that they can make this race exciting for Tigers' fans.
I don't pretend to know all of the answers, but let's look at the numbers and see what they say?
I've said before that although the hitting hasn't been that great this year it is really the defense and pitching that are hurting the Tigers, so how is that working out lately?
In Weeks 1 through 3 the ERA for the Starting Rotation was just north of 6 (6.17 by my figures) and they were facing an average of 4.67 batters per inning (BPI). During that stretch the Tigers' record was 5 and 13.
Compare that to Weeks 9 through 11 (we are finishing up Week 11 now)- ERA for Starters is 3.66. That number includes both Dontrelle Willis' terrible night Monday against Cleveland and Justin Verlander's amazing night on Wednesday against Chicago. Not giving up over two runs per game is huge! The Starters are also facing fewer batters per inning, only 4.21 since June 1 so they are staying in the game longer with lower ERA's.
Now to that hitting thing...
In the first two weeks the lineup scored 33 runs (3 runs per game). For this week and last week they have scored 43 runs (4.3 runs per game). Their Batting Average was .246 at the beginning. In the last two weeks is has been .254. Their slugging percentage (total bases/ at bats) was .356 in the early weeks and has been .375 in the last two.
All of these trends are in the right direction! In the first 3 weeks of the year their record was 6 and 12 (.333). In the last 3 weeks it has been 7 and 9 (with 3 games to play yet this week). If the Starting pitching continues at this rate and the batters continue to score runs there is still hope that they can make this race exciting for Tigers' fans.
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