Farnsworth trade pays dividends; Jones earns save(!)
posted in Toronto Blue Jays |
I didn’t see or hear this one. The Tigers won 5-3 but still had some drama, so it’s probably a good thing anyway. Just glancing at the box score tells us a few things. First, Zach Miner must have felt a lot more comfortable today than his previous start against the Red Sox. Two hits, two walks, two runs, six innings. That’s pretty good. The lineup in Toronto is more fierce, too.
The second is that trade of Jeff Farnsworth for Miner and Roman Colon may not have been all that bad an idea. Colon threw two innings today. So the other side of the Farnsworth trade accounted for eight innings. I really must credit Kyle J in the Detroit Tigers Weblog comments for noticing that fact first.
Todd Jones returned to his roller coaster ways. With a two run lead and two outs, he gave up a single and a walk — thus giving all Tigers fans a chance to say “Oh no, not this again!” — before getting the final out. Yeah, we could have done without that. But it looks like Leyland still has faith in Jones. I still don’t.
“I guess I’m a glutton for punishment,” Jones said (in Jason Beck’s game story). “It’s important that I show to my teammates that I’m not rattled, because we’re a better team if I’m in the mix and pitching and pitching well. It was good for me to get back out there for sure.”
And the third is Ted Lilly probably almost didn’t deserve to lose this game. 12 strikeouts. 3 hits allowed. And he loses 5-3? But that’s more of the Tigers doing and his own mistakes. A 3-run homer by Brandon Inge and a two-run shot by Marcus Thames — now his 12th! — accounted for the runs. The was one runner left on base. So Detroit made the best of its chances, and not only that, hit multiple-run homers. Both have been oddities as of late. Mario Impemba noticed Thames on his blog today.
So, a good win? A minor win? Hey, at least it’s a win. Congrats to Zach Miner for getting his first one and for the Tigers to responding after an awful showing Friday. One more to go against Toronto, and Nate Robertson’s on the mound. Maybe Detroit can finally take a series? I’m not holding my breath, but at least the chance is there.
Meanwhile, Jim Leyland likes losing. Or at least, he likes testing his players to see how they’ll respond, Jason Beck writes.
Sphere It“It’s one of my favorite times because I know that that’s when you’re supposed to do your job,” Leyland continued. “Everybody’s on the bandwagon when things are going good. But the manager’s got to be there for when [it] hits the fan. The manager has to take responsibility. And I will take total responsibility for this team’s performance. I’m not going to be there like a bandwagon when things are going good, and all of a sudden jump ship on these guys when things happen. I’m the manager, and I’ll be there for them — win, lose or draw — as long as the effort’s there. And the effort’s there, and I have no complaints.”
Google preved rodnoy!
apcservicder