Game 11 Detroit 2- Seattle 0
Edwin Jackson pitched just over 7 innings and allowed only 2 runs on Saturday while pitching through the flu. Just an amazing performance all around by Jackson. Rodney finished it out for his 3rd save in 3 opportunities. (I must admit, I am becoming a believer in Rodney).
Brandon Inge continued hit greatly improved hitting with 2 more hits and another RBI. His single actually accounted for both runs when Ichiro threw high to home plate, allowing Laird and Cabrerra to score.
Game 12 Detroit 8- Seattle 2
Porcello also had a great day on Sunday as the Tigers took the series from the Mariners at Safeco Park. Porcello was not as dominating with K's as Jackson was on Saturday, but he went 7 innings and only allowed on solo home run to score. From what I saw it looked like mostly ground outs from him today.
He ended up getting a ton of run support from the 4,5,6 & 7 slots in the line up today. Inge had ANOTHER RBI for 11 on the year, almost one per game. The only Tiger to not get a hit was Trenor (the back up catcher).
I must admit, after only 12 games I am pretty excited about this team:
They have a winning record (7-5).
They just took 2 games at home from the team that was the best in the AL when the weekend started.
In the last 5 games the Bullpen has allowed only 3 runs over 12 1/3 innings with 11 appearances. That seems to be a pretty good streak so far.
Just like in 2006 the bottom half of the lineup is making significant contributions to the wins.
The only starting pitcher I see trouble with is Verlander (with his 7.88 ERA).
They are in 1st place (along with the White Sox and the Royals).
Showing posts with label first. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first. Show all posts
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Spring Training Opener ATL vs DET
Braves 4, Tigers 5
Finally, they play some ball!
If you missed it the Tigers and Braves started out the first game of 2009 Spring Training. Justin Verlander got the start against our old friend Jurrjens. Since it is so early in the year no pitcher was allowed to stay in for very long, so we got to see something from: Miner, Lyon, Seay, Bonine, Ni, and Bloom.
Verlander gave up an unearned run on one hit and 2 walks in 2 innings. Minor gave up 2 hits with 2 K's in 2 innings. Lyon gave up 3 runs (all unearned) on a walk and 2 hits and an error by Inge. Ni got the win and Bloom the save.
Batting went well- 11 hits with our new catcher Laird getting a double and a triple. Inge had 2 singles and so did Santiago. It's ironic that 3 of the "no hitting bunch" end up with over half of the hits and 3 of the runs.
Overall it was a good start. I was happy because Detroit went ahead by scoring a run in 3 different innings. Then, after giving up the lead in the 5th and then falling behind in the 7th they tied it up in the 7th and in the 8th took the lead.
It's super early, so it only means that they won a ST game, but it's good to see.
And it is great to have a game on to follow.
Finally, they play some ball!
If you missed it the Tigers and Braves started out the first game of 2009 Spring Training. Justin Verlander got the start against our old friend Jurrjens. Since it is so early in the year no pitcher was allowed to stay in for very long, so we got to see something from: Miner, Lyon, Seay, Bonine, Ni, and Bloom.
Verlander gave up an unearned run on one hit and 2 walks in 2 innings. Minor gave up 2 hits with 2 K's in 2 innings. Lyon gave up 3 runs (all unearned) on a walk and 2 hits and an error by Inge. Ni got the win and Bloom the save.
Batting went well- 11 hits with our new catcher Laird getting a double and a triple. Inge had 2 singles and so did Santiago. It's ironic that 3 of the "no hitting bunch" end up with over half of the hits and 3 of the runs.
Overall it was a good start. I was happy because Detroit went ahead by scoring a run in 3 different innings. Then, after giving up the lead in the 5th and then falling behind in the 7th they tied it up in the 7th and in the 8th took the lead.
It's super early, so it only means that they won a ST game, but it's good to see.
And it is great to have a game on to follow.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
5 in a row!
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!!
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!!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Here we go...
Section148's Manifesto-
This blog is focused on Major League Baseball. Even more, it is focused on the Detroit Tigers. Maybe "focused" is too strong of a word, we may go in other directions too- as long as I can make some nebulous link to the Tigers (or at least MLB)than anything is fair game.
I love baseball as a professional sport. In my eyes baseball has many of the same challenges as life:
For example- baseball shows that perfection is not necessary! A couple of weeks ago the New England Patriots came very close to achieving the goal of a perfect season, only losing the Super Bowl in the final seconds of the game. I don't know about where you work, but perfection like that is probably beyond our organization's abilities. In baseball, however, the best teams ever win 6 or 7 games out of 10 over the course of a season. To me such an accomplishment seems more like life. If our organizations/ businesses/ whatever succeed 6 days out of 10 then we are on a solid path and should feel good about it! That's 3 good days out of a normal work week if you break it down. How does that compare to your week?
People make the difference in baseball. Different people bring different skills to the game every day, and nothing is for sure on any day. Again the basis for success is pretty lifelike. A MLB batter is doing well if he can hit the ball 3 out of 10 times he is at the plate. Just making in on base happens only 4 out of 10 times for the best players in the game. Of course hitting a 3" ball thrown by a guy who gets paid millions of dollars to keep you from hitting it is why the batter also gets paid millions (if he can do it well.) But in the workforce we also have to deal with "fastballs" and "curveballs" being thrown at us many times, so the comparisons survive. Even on defense the Game mimics life. Placido Polanco committed no errors in 2007 in 683 plays, that is perfection! Brandon Inge committed 18 errors in 434 plays but is considered an extremely good 3rd baseman because he makes more attempts than many 3rd basemen. Sometimes the fact that you try means you'll drop the ball, but at least you tried! Maybe you kept a runner from going to 2nd or 3rd on a ball you dropped. That's what it is about.
So it is February in West Michigan. The thermometer has risen to 5 above zero today. The wind is at 13 mph and nobody wants to go outside, but in just 4 days the pitchers and catchers for the Detroit Tigers will be starting Spring Training in Lakeland, FL and preparing for another 162 games (and hopefully a few more in the Post-Season!). I plan to follow them very closely and keep this going a few times per week as the 2008 MLB Season goes on. The blog may get a little bumpy, but hopefully the Tigers' season will be less so. I also read the blogs of many other Tiger and baseball bloggers daily and will be linking to them frequently. Once I figure out how, I'll put links to them in sidebar of this page.
Next time a prediction for the American League and some other thoughts.
This blog is focused on Major League Baseball. Even more, it is focused on the Detroit Tigers. Maybe "focused" is too strong of a word, we may go in other directions too- as long as I can make some nebulous link to the Tigers (or at least MLB)than anything is fair game.
I love baseball as a professional sport. In my eyes baseball has many of the same challenges as life:
For example- baseball shows that perfection is not necessary! A couple of weeks ago the New England Patriots came very close to achieving the goal of a perfect season, only losing the Super Bowl in the final seconds of the game. I don't know about where you work, but perfection like that is probably beyond our organization's abilities. In baseball, however, the best teams ever win 6 or 7 games out of 10 over the course of a season. To me such an accomplishment seems more like life. If our organizations/ businesses/ whatever succeed 6 days out of 10 then we are on a solid path and should feel good about it! That's 3 good days out of a normal work week if you break it down. How does that compare to your week?
People make the difference in baseball. Different people bring different skills to the game every day, and nothing is for sure on any day. Again the basis for success is pretty lifelike. A MLB batter is doing well if he can hit the ball 3 out of 10 times he is at the plate. Just making in on base happens only 4 out of 10 times for the best players in the game. Of course hitting a 3" ball thrown by a guy who gets paid millions of dollars to keep you from hitting it is why the batter also gets paid millions (if he can do it well.) But in the workforce we also have to deal with "fastballs" and "curveballs" being thrown at us many times, so the comparisons survive. Even on defense the Game mimics life. Placido Polanco committed no errors in 2007 in 683 plays, that is perfection! Brandon Inge committed 18 errors in 434 plays but is considered an extremely good 3rd baseman because he makes more attempts than many 3rd basemen. Sometimes the fact that you try means you'll drop the ball, but at least you tried! Maybe you kept a runner from going to 2nd or 3rd on a ball you dropped. That's what it is about.
So it is February in West Michigan. The thermometer has risen to 5 above zero today. The wind is at 13 mph and nobody wants to go outside, but in just 4 days the pitchers and catchers for the Detroit Tigers will be starting Spring Training in Lakeland, FL and preparing for another 162 games (and hopefully a few more in the Post-Season!). I plan to follow them very closely and keep this going a few times per week as the 2008 MLB Season goes on. The blog may get a little bumpy, but hopefully the Tigers' season will be less so. I also read the blogs of many other Tiger and baseball bloggers daily and will be linking to them frequently. Once I figure out how, I'll put links to them in sidebar of this page.
Next time a prediction for the American League and some other thoughts.
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