Always A Tiger

[mfbmike]

Yeah dude, this one barely made it over too. As you see in the video he stopped at 1st. I jumped up when it went over. It's funny too because I had Miggy at 2nd, and Maggs at 3rd. Guillen came up to bat and they intentionally walked him. (Guillen hasn't gotten a base hit so far in the 1st two games) lol? So Thames comes up and drills one to left center. At first I didn't think it was going to make it but it cleared his glove and the wall. Was bad ass. Wish it could've been at Comerica. Crowd would've went ape shit.

 

[Vinsane]

Good shit Mike, get this thing rolling!

 

[mfbmike]

Tigers Defense Out In Full Force Early On

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Magglio Ordonez throws out two potential runs at home plate in the Tigers win at the Rogers Centre lastnight.

While Marcus Thames' 8th inning grand slam was undoubtedly the exclamation point in the Tigers last win against the Blue Jays, the Tigers defense is one aspect of this year's Tigers squad that cannot be overlooked.

Everyone knew bringing in Adam Everett and Adam Laird this season would possibly decrease the offensive potential of this year's Tigers lineup but defensively, Laird and Everett immediately improve their respective positions.

The Tigers have yet to throw an error in their first two games this season and their defense was out in full force in lastnight's win. The Tigers threw out 3 total potential runs at home plate, two of which came after line drives to right fielder Magglio Ordonez. On both occasions that balls were driven to Magglio, once by Vernon Wells and once by Scott Rolen, Magglio was able to field the ball, get it into home, and allow Laird to get the tag down fast enough.

The third runner thrown out at home was after a ground ball hit at Adam Everett.

"We won the game 6-3," explained Laird. "We threw out 3 potential runs at home plate. You do the math."

"Magglio's got a cannon," joked Cabrera about his fellow Venezuelan teammate.

With the Tigers pitching staff yet to look completely dominant out there on the mound, pitching into contact might just be the next best thing.​

 

[T.Dot]

Lucky bastard, I've played 100 odd games and never hit a Granny, good shit

 

[mfbmike]

Lopez Blows Lead In A Big Way, Tigers 9th Inning Rally Falls Short

(2-0)

@

(0-2)

Brandon Inge's solo shot in the top of the 7th put the Tigers out in front 3-2 before the bullpen blew it in the bottom of the inning.

Shoddy bullpen work torpedoed the Tigers as the Blue Jays got a come from behind win in this one. The Tigers were unable to slip past the Jays on the road tonight, suffering a 6-4 loss at the Rogers Centre. Coming into a 3-2 game in the 7th, Aquilino Lopez provided little relief out of the bullpen giving up 4 runs in the inning to blow the save and take the loss. The Tigers stared down a 6-3 deficit in the 9th but did manage to bring a run in to tighten the gap to 6-4. The Tigers would rally in the 9th and actually manage to get the bases loaded before Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan stopped the bleeding and made it out of this one with his first save of the season. Brandon Inge provided some solid offense in the loss, getting a pair of hits, including a solo home run in the top of the 7th that would've netted Zach Miner the win in relief of Jeremy Bonderman.

Placido Polanco achieved a personal milestone in the loss, picking up career-hit #1500.

The Tigers wrap up the series tomorrow afternoon with Rick Porcello (0-0 , 0.00 ERA) set to make his MLB debut against David Purcey (0-0 , 0.00 ERA) and the Blue Jays

Tigers Pitching:
Jeremy Bonderman 5IP | 9H | 2ER | 1BB | 6SO | 3.60 ERA
Zach Miner 1IP | 1H | 0ER | 0BB | 0SO | 0.00 ERA
Aquilino Lopez (L, 0-1) 1IP | 4H | 4ER | 0BB | 0SO | 36.00 ERA
Juan Rincon 1IP | 2H | 0ER | 0BB | 0SO | 0.00 ERA

Blue Jays Pitching:
Ricky Romero 6IP | 4H | 2ER | 1BB | 3SO | 3.00 ERA
Jason Frasor (W, 1-0) 2IP | 2H | 1ER | 0BB | 1SO | 3.00 ERA
B.J. Ryan (S, 1) 1IP | 4H | 1ER | 0BB | 1SO | 9.00 ERA

Tigers Lineup:
CF Curtis Granderson 2-5 | K
2B Placido Polanco 2-5
RF Magglio Ordonez 1-5
1B Miguel Cabrera 1-4 | K
LF Carlos Guillen 0-4
DH Marcus Thames 0-3 | BB
3B Brandon Inge 2-4 | K
C Gerald Laird 2-4 | K
SS Adam Everett 0-4 | K

2B: Cabrera (2)
HR: Inge (1) . Laird (1)
RBI: Inge (1) , Laird (1) , Granderson (2) , Thames (5)
R: Cabrera , Inge , Anderson , Laird

SB: Polanco (3)
CS: Granderson (1)

Blue Jays Lineup:
SS Marco Scutaro 0-4 | BB | K
2B Aaron Hill 3-5 | K
CF Vernon Wells 3-5 | K
DH Adam Lind 2-4
RF Alex Rios 2-4 | K
1B Lyle Overbay 2-4 | K
3B Scott Rolen 3-4
LF Travis Snider 0-4 | K
C Rod Barajas 1-4

2B: Rolen (1) , Hill (1) , Lind (1) , Rios (2) , Overbay 2 (3)
HR: Rolen (1)
RBI: Lind (1) , Rolen 2 (2) , Overbay 2 (2) , Wells (4)
R: Wells , Rios , Overbay , Rolen , Hill 2

E: Scutaro (1) , Rolen (1) , Hill (2)

Player Of The Game:

Scott Rolen

Rolen batted 3-4 with a double and a home run to help the Blue Jays to their first win of the season.​

 

[Justo]

dam tough loss

 

[chazmaniandevil]

ouch

 

[T.Dot]

Why can't Rolen do that for me issed:

 

[mfbmike]

Tigers Tie Game In Late Innings But Unable To Ground Blue Jays In Series Finale

(2-1)

@

(1-2)

Granderson's 3 run homer capped off a 4 run inning that brought this game right back into striking distance for the Tigers.

The Tigers gave the Blue Jays a tight game, but in the end Toronto pulled out a 6-4 win at Rogers Centre tonight. Edwin Jackson, who entered the game with the Tigers down 0-4, pitched a flawless 7th inning. The Tigers offense rallied in the top of the 8th, hitting 2 home runs and bringing in 4 runs to tie the game at 4 a piece. However, the Blue Jays would then counter with a 4 hit, 2 run bottom of the 8th and forcing Jackson to take the loss in relief of rookie Rick Porcello.

The Tigers begin a home series with the Texas Rangers tomorrow afternoon at Comerica Park, with Dontrelle Willis (0-0 , 0.00 ERA) going against Jason Jennings (0-0 , 0.00 ERA)

Tigers Pitching:
Rick Porcello 6IP | 10H | 4ER | 0BB | 4SO | 6.00 ERA
Edwin Jackson (L, 1-1) 2IP | 4H | 2ER | 0BB | 1SO | 6.00 ERA

Blue Jays Pitching:
David Purcey 7IP | 4H | 2ER | 2BB | 5SO | 2.57 ERA
Brandon League (W, 1-1) 1IP | 2H | 2ER | 0BB | 0SO | 27.00 ERA
B.J. Ryan (S, 2) 1IP | 1H | 0ER | 0BB | 1SO | 4.50 ERA

Tigers Lineup:
CF Curtis Granderson 1-4 | K
2B Placido Polanco 1-4
RF Magglio Ordonez 0-3 | BB | K
1B Miguel Cabrera 1-4 | K
LF Carlos Guillen 0-4 | 2K
DH Marcus Thames 2-4 | K
3B Brandon Inge 0-2 | BB
C Gerald Laird 2-3
SS Adam Everett 0-2

2B: Cabrera (2)
HR: Granderson (2) , Thames (2)
RBI: Granderson 3 (5) , Thames (6)
R: Granderson , Thames , Inge , Laird
SAC: Everett
GIDP: Thames

CS: Polanco (2)

Blue Jays Lineup:
SS Marco Scutaro 1-5 | K
2B Aaron Hill 1-4 | K
CF Vernon Wells 3-4
DH Adam Lind 1-4 | K
RF Alex Rios 3-4
1B Lyle Overbay 1-4
3B Scott Rolen 1-4
LF Travis Snider 1-4 | 2K
C Rod Barajas 2-4

2B: Rios (3) , Lind (2) , Sinder (2)
HR: Wells (2)
RBI: Rios (1) , Snider (1) , Barajas (2) , Rolen (3) , Wells 2 (6)
R: Scutaro , Wells, Lind , Mcdonald , Rios 2
GIDP: Hill

Player Of The Game:

Vernon Wells

Wells batted 3-4, hit his second homer of the season and brought in 2 runs allowing the Blue Jays to split the 4 game series with the Tigers.​

 

[mfbmike]

lol no kidding, that was brutal. Not only did Edwin Jackson allow Porcello to get off without the loss, but he ends up taking the loss himself. :rofl:

 

[mfbmike]

Series Review:

Things We Did Well:

- Marcus Thames has busted out of the gates this season, already connecting for 2 homers and bringing in 6 runs, including a grand slam this series. Thames is making the most of the opportunity after Gary Sheffield has left town.

- Guys are hitting the ball hard. 7 homers in 4 games. Curtis Granderson and Thames already with 2 a piece on the season. Detroit's getting into a serious love affair with the long ball.

- Defense is really coming through big. The Blue Jays hit for a significantly better average but still only manged to bring in 17 runs on the series, the same as the Tigers. Defense has helped our pitchers get out of jams early on and more importantly, protect leads.

Things We Didn't Do Well:

- Pitching was far from stellar. The Blue Jays now rank #1 in the league in batting average after holding a hit parade at the Rogers Centre after hitting .359 as a team. You can't let a team hit that well against you and expect to win many games.

- Carlos Guillen's bat nonexistant. He's an integral part of this offense but went 0-15 in the series and is not seeing the ball very well at all. Definitely a slow start out of him. Let's hope it's just early season jitters.​

 

[Vinsane]

A split with the blue jays is an improvement from being swept against them.

 

[mfbmike]

League Roundup:

- Placed SP Brandon Mccarthy on the 15-day disabled list. (Shoulder Tear)
- Recalled RP Derrick Turnbow from AAA Oklahoma City

- Placed 1B Russell Branyan on the 60-day disabled list. (Torn Hamstring)
- Recalled 1B Bryan Lahair from AAA Tacoma.
​

 

[mfbmike]

Series Preview:

(2-2 , 3rd in AL Central)

vs

(0-3 , 3rd in AL West)

Comerica Park in Detroit

Projected Matchups:

Game 1:

Dontrelle Willis 0-0 , 0.00 ERA | Jason Jennings 0-0 , 0.00 ERA

Game 2:

Justin Verlander 0-0 , 3.00 ERA | Matt Harrison 0-0 , 0.00 ERA

Game 3:

Armando Galarraga 0-0 , 3.00 ERA | Kevin Millwood 0-1 , 1.29 ERA

Rangers Lineup:

2B Ian Kinsler
3B Michael Young
CF Josh Hamilton
RF Nelson R. Cruz
1B Chris Davis
LF Marlon Byrd
DF Hank Blalock
C Jarrod Saltalamacchia
SS Elvis Andrus

Division Standings/Wild Card Race:

​

 

[Vinsane]

Good luck against The Texas Rangers!

 

[Justo]

Jason Jennings is so easy to hit off of

 

[T.Dot]

GL, should be an easy series

 

[mfbmike]

i hope willis does well

Same here lol.

Jason Jennings is so easy to hit off of

I hope so. Maybe Carlos Guillen can get his first base hit of the season. :fear:

I added the division standings and wild card race to the series preview. I'll be doing it from here on out as well so you guys can see where I stand in the division. Credit to GSW for the idea.

 

[goDawgs1433]

I was thinking about adding that in as well, but I think I'll wait til a little later in the season when the standings actually start to matter.

And please drill Jason Jennings, lmao.

 

[mfbmike]

Dontrelle Willis Has "Anxiety Disorder"

Dontrelle Willis had presented the Detroit Tigers with a major problem. Ever since signing a three-year, $29 million contract extension -- less than three weeks after Detroit acquired him and Miguel Cabrera from Florida -- Willis has not been able to throw strikes.

The problem continued into this spring, and now the Tigers are saying he's been diagnosed with an "anxiety disorder."

However, Willis is still being given a chance to prove himself this season with his 1st start of the season tonight in the Tigers home opener against the Rangers.

Willis had not exactly pitched well enough in spring training but is still being given a shot.

The only alternative (other than the DL) is to release him and eat $22 million. That's hard for anyone to swallow, especially in financially distressed Detroit.

Willis said the diagnosis came after follow-up blood tests showed something of concern. Doctors told him that the condition is treatable and that they'll start him on a regimen.

"This is not depression," Willis said. "This is something totally different. This is something where they saw something in my blood that they didn't like. I'm not crazy, though my teammates might think that I'm crazy."

Last year, Willis walked nine and struck out none in his first two starts, suffering a hyperextended knee in the second game. By June, he found himself demoted to Single-A to work on his delivery and didn't get back to the majors until rosters expanded in September.

This spring, he had a 12.46 ERA with 17 hits allowed and seven walks in 8 2/3 innings. It's been a mysterious and somewhat sad decline for someone who was an All-Star in 2003 and 2005.

Tigers hopefuls are hoping the regimen will turn Willis' career around and put him back in his All-Star form.

This might be the beginning of a grand revival for the 27-year-old former phenom. Before the diagnosis he appeared to be afraid of throwing strikes; now we know he's afraid of everything. That's way less damaging to his earning potential as a baseball player, since medication can work on that. A fear of throwing strikes remains sadly incurable, and psychological professionals recommend you examine the case files for one Rick Ankiel if you deny this medical fact. ​