Tiger Geist

Nothing against Monday night’s game, but winning trumps losing, so I probably had more fun last night at AT&T park.  Today we go for a day game and a series victory.  My father, Scott, & Laura were all on hand for the festivities.

We’ll do a seven nation army roll call this morning on the top players last night (no real order):

1. Kenny Rogers.  Can’t deny what he did and how impressive he was.  Jonathan Sanchez, for the Giants, was fantastic as well, but he’s not 43.
2. Ryan Raburn.  He turned things around with his blast in the seventh.  As impressive as Thames’ home run was in the ninth… Raburn hit the ball where few have hit it in the bleachers.
3. Marcus Thames.  Easy call here — moonshot to center field.  AT&T / SBC / PacBell park is not a home run park (for those not named ‘Bonds’), and Thames dropped on in 450 feet from home plate.  Interestingly, Thames got into a little tiff with the home plate umpire before the hit;  he thought he had drawn a walk.
4. Edgar Renteria.  Impressive with his leading off (two walks and a single).  Very good defense.
5. Carlos Guillen.  Great fielding night.  He also provided us with some solid comic relief in the ninth inning — see below.
6. Zach Miner.  Solid with the hold.  I wish he was better with inherited runners, but he’s sound when he starts the inning.
7. Brent Clevlen.  Plays half of an inning and helped save the game — Thames wouldn’t have gotten to that short fly to left.  He was helped by having Captain Slow (Not James May — Bengie Molina) at third at the time.

No points to Todd Jones, who did his best Fernando Rodney impression in the ninth.  To his credit, only Molina had a decent hit off of him, but when you bring the tying run at the plate with NO OUTS, including the previous night’s hero… not good.
Our seats were about 30 rows behind the on-deck circle.  In the ninth, Laura noticed something wasn’t right about Carlos Guillen… she said “hey… um.. do all ball players do that?”.  Luckily she had a camera:

Other Notes:

This morning I’ve had a steady diet of Raw Power, looking for the series victory.  Hopefully I remember the sun block.

The wife has some Raconteurs on this morning so we’ll go that direction, with some more random thoughts from last night’s game:

• Verlander and Lincecum both work very very fast.  If their pitch count was lower, we might have been out of there in an hour and a half
• Lincecum’s scoreboard picture looks like a 12 year old school girl.  You’d think they’d photoshop a mustache on or something.  Or pull in R Lee Ermey for the picture to help out… “You got a war face! AHHHHHHHHHHH! That’s a war face, let me see your war face!”
• Verlander seemed to be throwing 70% strikes.  He was close to the plate all day
• In between innings where Pudge was still putting his gear on, Raburn and Inge split duty warming up the pitcher.
• ‘Specialty’ beers ran $8.75.  I don’t know why they don’t just make it $10 so the lines go faster.
• Cold day last night (welcome to san francisco)… Scott scored our $40 tickets for $20 each on craigslist.  Thirty rows right behind Detroit’s dugout.
• Cabrera seems to joke around a lot;  it looks like he has fun out there.  He also crushed a long single off of the park’s high right field wall.
• Great at-bats in the ninth.  The team didn’t quit and were patient as Brian Wilson had some control issues.
• Hollimon doesn’t look comfortable at short, with two bad throws (one for an error) to second.

All headings this week will be based on songs from detroit bands (bonus points to whomever states the band from the last post).

Attending the game with Scotty, we were encouraged at Thames’ continued onslaught on the rest of the league with two monster shots.  The ninth provided more potential to get close… but no ah ah.

Overall, its a tough loss in a game I didn’t expect to win.  Verlander (again) pitched well enough for the victory.  However, I wonder if Leyland out-thought himself tonight.  He replaced Freddy Dolsi (any reason its not Fred Dolsi?  its always Freddy… no idea why that is…) with Fernando Rodney, who self destructed.  Most of his pitches were for strikes, which i guess is a good sign.  I don’t question replacing Dolsi, but I wonder why he replaced a right hander against a left hander with another right hander… Leyland seems to love matchups so much that I don’t know why Fossum or Seay weren’t warming up at the same time — Bowker is a rookie who has shown decent power so far this season.  It was a frustrating loss, but if the team is to win, Rodney needs to be solid, so to me its an acceptable loss.  Also, Giants fans are much easier going then Oakland fans, so Scotty & I could walk out of there without being threatened with our lives (see playoffs, 2006 for a reference).

Interesting subplot:  The first 6 or so players in detroit’s lineup seemed to make huge gestures to Bengie Molina; most likely in reference to his brother Yadier getting blown up last weekend.  The best part was the awkward hug that wasn’t to be between Polanco and Molina.  Either way, hopefully Yadier is doing alright.

Interesting subplot #2:  tomorrow my father visits Pacbell (or whatever the hell they call it these days) park for the first time.  I’ve been telling him that CoPa, while a fantastic stadium, doesn’t compare at all to pacbell for years… tomorrow and Wednesday he’ll be able to visit it first hand.

Interesting subplot #3:  Though i didn’t expect to win tonight’s game, we should have won.  I’m pissed.  Not happy at all.  Its hard to keep a straight head when you can take a train to and from the game (I live 3 miles from the stadium) and sneak a flask into the game… but still… this was a tough one.  The last inning was interesting at least, with SF’s closer (a capable Brian Wilson) throwing 30+ pitches to get out of a four run lead, escaping with a two run victory.  Kudos for Detroit not giving up.  Kudos for Sf’s fans not killing me — on the train home, they merely pointed out that pudge was probably out at home, with casual conversation about ernie harwell.  To be continued tomorrow.

Its an exciting feeling at the tigergeist household. Detroit makes its first trip to San Francisco… ever. (I think). Sure they visit Oakland every year.. but thats different. Oakland is way over there… across that bridge thingie. Sure the stadiums are only about..15 miles apart. But this morning has a different feel to it. The wife & I have been listening to a steady diet of White Stripes and the MC5 this morning; tomorrow we’ll pull out a little Iggy & the Stooges (Sorry Ted Nugent… you’re the motor city madman but a giant douche so you get no love). To top it off, my father is coming out to the city for work, and we’re sneaking him out to tuesday and wednesday’s game.

Its a good time for a road trip.. Detroit is hot and the NL West is not. However, they run into some stiff pitching competition… tonight is Tim Lincecum. He’s 9-1, strikes out a lot, has a funky delivery… and he’s the MAN around here. With SF’s weak team, they don’t advertise Giants games. They advertise TIM LINCECUM games. Check out craigslist in the bay area, and thats how all the tickets are listed. Its almost a Mark Fidrych, without the sesame street references. So if Justin Verlander wants to be an elite pitcher, tonight’s his night to outshine the NL’s best young pitcher.

For the series, I see a hard-fought, low scoring one. SF doesn’t score a lot of runs, but they have some excellent pitching, both starters and relievers***. I also LOVE national league games.. the strategy behind the double switches, run generators (bunts, hit and run, etc) makes the game more interesting. Something that helps detroit is they’ve started their winning streak by playing a lot of different players, so i imagine nearly the entire roster will get significant innings this week. Jeff Larish might see a start at first against a right hander even… the horror!!

For the team, its exciting to see how well they’re playing. Everyone seems to be making contributions — Thames apparently enjoys making me look bad and continues to crush the ball; Clevelen is hitting mediocre but making up for it with excellent defense; Guillen is settling in at third; Cabrera is settling in while in the batter’s box; Inge is settling in behind the plate; the pitchers are learning how to throw strikes again.

In the long run, a split of this road trip would keep them at 5 games under .500, and keep them in excellent position to get to .500 by the all star break. If that happens, it’ll be an exciting August.

*** Wednesday Detroit goes up against Barry Zito. They might score 15 runs against him.

Another note: I wasn’t going to tonight’s game at first, but I realized I couldn’t miss Verlander and Lincecum, both capable of tossing a no-no. Its almost the anniversary of Justin’s no-hitter game… a game where a little part of me dies inside every time I think about it. Read about it here.

In case you missed it, apparently the Dontrelle Willis contract-extension was a bad idea.  Why?  Because after an awful spring training, a few bad outings, some awful re-hab outings, a failed bullpen stint, and one of the worst starts in MLB history… and one of the biggest demotions in recent memory… Rob Parker said that the Willis deal makes no sense.  I knew something was fishy about the Willis trade, but it wasn’t until right now, after everything has happened, Mr Parker decided an article should be written letting the public know that the extension was a bad idea.

In other articles, Rob is quick to point out that consuming too much alcohol can make you drunk.  Not sure if Rob had input in this article, but apparently wearing flip-flops can cause skin cancer on your feet.  You know.. because you’re not wearing any socks.

Sorry for the sarcasm… but i read the headline on detnews.com and i said “i bet Rob Parker wrote that”.. and i was right.  Similar to any headline on the freep.com that says “X superstar is an uplifting person and a tribute to society” was probably written by Mitch Albom (my former hero who has dropped to the dredges of fluff writing).

Broom.  Against the division leader, bringing detroit oh so close… wait… ok… 8 games from the division lead.  Still, great game.  Excellent pitching (Rogers is getting better and better this year), and one timely hit.  Probably a good sign for Cabrera to hit that one, at home, in front of the sold out crowd.  Who knows, maybe he doesn’t care.

While at work I was only able to watch the MLB gameday highlights, so I didn’t know how close Magglio came to winning the game in the second to last at-bat.  But it does give you a thrill, even watching play by play updates… as it spits out “Ball in play… run(s)”… and you know that no one else is on.

Let’s pray this ‘momentum’ thing carries over to the weekend series.. and, more importantly, into San Francisco next week.

NOTE:  Pudge, 1-2 with a walk (2 BB’s more then all of last year).  So far, with a small data set… I’m liking the catching rotation.

Here’s the big question going into today’s day game against the white sox:  Can the Tigers take care of business?  Kenny Rogers has been solid in recent weeks, and the hitting enjoys left handed pitchers a little more.  This would be a good start to turning the season around.  Or, just another step to pissing everyone off.

Kudos to Marcus Thames, who continues to do well in games after I state how worthless I think he is.  Magglio is scheduled to DH today.  Most likely that gives us a Thames / Granderson / Clevelen outfield, unless Curtis gets a day off (shifting Clevelen to center and Raburn in right).  With closer games and an emphasis on defense, these matchups become a little more interesting.  Also, with the next off-day a week away, and a cross-country trip sunday evening, Hollimon should be seeing his first start soon.

Other thoughts:

• Verlander’s best game of the year;  didn’t walk anyone.
• Brandon Inge’s best catching job of the year.
• Catching rotation, in its short stint, seems to have produced solid offensive numbers
• Cabrera might be coming around.  What a great at-bat (14 pitch walk).

Here’s 10 bold predictions that I’ll make for no other reason then I’m procrastinating at work:

1 ) Clap Rapada and Freddy Dolsi will be sent to the minors upon the return of Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney.

– This makes sense since they both have options. This protects against further bullpen injuries, including possible arm issues with Zumaya and Rodney. Not that I have tons of confidence in Aquilino Lopez or Casey Fossum, but i think it makes sense because:

2 ) Detroit will trade Bobby Seay and Todd Jones by the deadline

– I like both guys, but they are both expendable on a team struggling to get to .500, let alone the playoffs. Both would go to contenders and hopefully bring a prospect in return. Jones is the most likely, though he is strictly a closer at this point in his career, and i’m not sure what teams need one. If I had my choice, I’d trade Fossum and keep Seay, but i can’t see how Fossum has any value. Rapada and Dolsi would be the logical choice to return to the team.

3 ) Brent Clevelen and Jeff Larish will remain with the club for a while

– Clevelen’s too good defensively, and he can hit. I think he’ll hit well for a few weeks, prompting either Clete Thomas or Ryan Raburn to return to Toledo (upon Thomas’ return from the DL). I think Leyland will prefer a left handed power hitter (Larish) over an excellent left handed outfielder (Thomas). Larish could probably use more at-bats, but Leyland is about matchups.

4 ) The team will attempt to move Ivan Rodriguez, Marcus Thames, and Edgar Renteria

– None have a place on the team for next year. Renteria is the least likely, but he might have the most value… his contract option will not be picked up following this season. Vance Wilson’s status has little to do with Pudge.. I think they’d be happy to deal Pudge no matter what their other options are. With an abundance of up and coming outfielders who can play almost every position, have speed, and some pop in their bat.. keeping Thames doesn’t make Detroit a better team.

5 ) Brandon Inge behind the plate has more to do with creating value for a trade then for finding him a spot on next year’s team

– This either involves keeping Pudge healthy and productive for a potential suitor, or a way to offload Inge’s contract to a team that likes his versatility. I don’t see how Inge has any more value behind the plate as a solid defender who can’t hit then every other catcher prospect in the league. Inge’s value to Detroit is as a third baseman.

6 ) Nate Robertson will not be moved this year

– With the injury to Bonderman and the issues with Willis, Detroit does not have the luxury of moving Robertson… UNLESS some top rated prospects are included. That won’t happen. Detroit was rumored to be shopping Robertson earlier this year.

7 ) Kenny Rogers is available, though not actively being shopped

– He’s pitching well, we don’t have a lot of depth, but he won’t be on the team next year.

8 ) No firesale will happen to shed salary; Detroit will look for Dan Haren-type deals to restock the farm system.

– Young arms that could pitch next year would be involved. Of course, Detroit doesn’t have any Dan Haren type talent to trade, so they’d have to find a team with an incompetent GM. Detroit has the money and the ticket sales for this year to deal with their current payroll. They need more pitching talent to contend for next year, and have to be smarter then buying up free-agent pitchers next winter.

9 ) One of the following will not be on the team next year: Magglio Ordonez, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Guillen

– Mags can still play everyday and hit… Guillen is becoming a solid DH type player who can field when necessary… Sheffield is a monster when healthy (which hasn’t happened in close to a year).

10 ) Detroit trades for Rich Harden

– Ok, through that one in there to get to 10. No reason to think it actually would happen.

From Buster Olney:

Some scouts who have seen Willis believe that part of his problem is that he simply has gotten too big to maintain his complicated delivery, and unless he drops some weight, he will not be able to repeat his mechanics with any consistency.

He also hints at further conditioning required for Miguel Cabrera to turn the corner may be in order.

The Tigers probably wanted to do this a long time ago, but they needed a complete melt-down to pull it off successfully.  This afternoon they optioned Dontrelle Willis to Lakeland;  Donetrelle agreed (or declined his right of refusal).  This is a win for both sides.

For Detroit:

• They have a chance at winning every fifth start, which couldn’t happen with Willis on the mound
• They won’t kill their bullpen arms, especially with the fragile Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya returning soon
• They won’t piss off their fan base — who would pay to see Willis pitch right now?
• They won’t piss off the team.  Nothing says “we don’t care about winning” by trying to hide a player who everyone knows can’t play.  If the return of Zumaya can help ’spark’ a team, having Dontrelle sit near them can’t be good.  In a league full of superstitious players.. Dontrelle is not a guy to have around

Why its good for Dontrelle:

• He’s out of the spotlight.  He’s had issues over the last year or two; now he can get them worked out on his own time.  He’ll be rich either way.
• Detroit has $29million reasons to help him out and support him.  No other team would care.  They would sign him, give him a chance, and spit him out when it didn’t work.  Detroit has world class facilities in Lakeland, and every reason to let him work there every day for the next three years.

Its sad, but it had to happen.  If Dontrelle was the only problem with Detroit this year, we’d be in good shape.  Now we just have to tackle the other roster issues (zoom in on Gary Sheffield…)