18th
March
2008
A few thoughts on today’s game
posted in 2008 Spring Training |Not much time to blog today. I didn’t even get to see the whole game on replay
- It was great to see Renteria at the top of the order against lefties. I find that much better than Pudge Rodriguez, despite his having a good spring so far. I just feel like he needs to walk more. or take a pitch.
- It was funny to see Miguel Cabrera pitched around — kinda — in the first inning with the bases loaded. He walked. How often will that happen this season? Maybe not as much with the protection behind him.
- I was glad to see Denny Bautista pitch, finally. Skinny lil fella, his uniform looked a size or two too big. After an error kept the inning alive on him, he managed to pitch out of it with a strikeout and preserve his scoreless spring. If he can continue this in the regular season, he’s going to be just what the bullpen asked for: somebody to step up and get some outs and strikeouts. Maybe he’ll never be great, but he just need be good enough.
- But on the flip side, Todd Jones? Yes, spring stats and all that. And yet, for the first time Tigers fans saw him on TV this year, not really a good first impression. Classic Jones performance: Can’t get the key out because he has no stuff. And he took the loss. His spring ERA is 14.85, according to Tigers.com.
- It was unfortunate to see 25-year-old AAA-Toledo infielder Michael Hollimon dislocate his shoulder diving for a ball in the eighth inning. Jason Beck reports it’s possible Hollimon will lose his entire season to the injury. That’s bad for a guy who had a shot to make the 25-man roster at some point this season.
- But on the all, it was just nice to have a little Tigers baseball today. And it was nice to get to see several of the new guys I’ve been writing about actually perform. Plus, of course, it was great to see Cabrera in a Tigers uniform — complete with green hat for St. Patrick’s Day.
