16th
April
2009
Game 9: Tigers whup White Sox - finally
posted in 2009 season |Tigers 9, White Sox 0 (box)
Record: 5-4 (first place tie)
I only saw the first half of this one, so I missed most of the Tigers’ runs, unfortunately. In short, Armando Galarraga spun another gem and continues to be the Tigers’ most consistent pitcher. Brandon Inge made a terrific web-gem of a play behind third base. Ramon Santiago drove in a couple runs — all the scoring Detroit would need — and Placido Polanco knocked in three runs. Miguel Cabrera had a solo home run and two RBIs, too. I’ll blog more about the Tigers’ place in the world Thursday, but for now here are a few quick game-driven thoughts.
- Galarraga — In reality, he’s turning into the ace of the staff. Don’t confuse that with me saying he has ace stuff. Because he doesn’t. But for now, he has ace results. He seems to be a Pitcher with a capital P, rather than a talented thrower. Each start I watch makes me think he can continue some level of success. What level? I’m not sure. But watching him pitch, I just don’t see a massive regression coming.
- Ramon Santiago — Detroit loves a good quarterback controversy. It likes a good goalie controversy. And now, I think we’re starting to hear the rumbles of a shortstop controversy. Adam Everett didn’t get off to a great start in the Tigers uniform. In Toronto, he made some mistakes and failed to do much of anything with the bat in his hands. In Detroit, I think he turned the corner some. He’s batting better. He’s scoring some important runs. He’s playing a part in the victories. And yet he’s still not as good as we were led to believe at defense. But it’s only been nine games, I’m not about to judge him based on that. I think he’s settling in fine. Santiago is the backup infielder. He put up nice numbers at the plate in 2008 (.411 OPB, .460 SLG), leading some to assume he would be the Tigers’ everyday shortstop in 2009. But then they signed Everett. And now Santiago is still putting up good numbers, and driving in some runs. How long before people are calling for Santiago start? Or are they already? I like Santiago best as a guy who can get a lot of games backing up all over the place. He’s a real valuable asset to the team. But I’d prefer Everett continue to start.
- Ryan Perry — I didn’t see him pitch today. So I missed the little run in with Josh Fields. The results are good but the continued wildness still concerns me. He really needs more time to work on his location, but the Tigers can’t afford to give him that time right now. Maybe if Joel Zumaya gets back to Detroit. If he has his control… So Perry might stick around for awhile. But it’s worrysome.
