Cleveland 7, Detroit 4

The Tigers dropped another game, giving up four home runs along the way. I hesitate to really call this the final nail in the Tigers’ coffin. There’s probably other nails. Maybe even a nail in the final game of the Cleveland series. In any case, what we know if the hometown nine is toasted. These game threads take on less and less importance as the games mean less and there’s not enough season left to really analyze anything but what went on. I’ll do that and more in October. But until then, I’ll keep up with game threads as much as possible.

Detroit led 1-0. Then 4-1. Then never again. Every inning Detroit got on the board, Cleveland duplicated the number in the lower half of it. All seven runs were charged to Verlander.

Bright spots? I guess. Ramon Santiago (starting SS next year? Who knows. I’ll discuss that too!) had three hits and a stolen base. He also had a two-out RBI. Placi and Sheffield had two hits.

Carlos Guillen was caught stealing for the 8th time. Just interesting to note. Pudge left six runners on base. Grandy left five. The Tigers stranded 11. Adding up individually though, the player left 20. Contrast this with Cleveland stranding 5 if you wish.

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Cleveland 6, Tigers 5 (11)

Detroit blew a four run lead. Three of those runs were blown in the 8th inning by Joel Zumaya. By the 11th, if the Tigers couldn’t score, I really had no hope they were going to so Zach Miner just happened to take the L.

Bilfer summed it up:

Crushed. Me, the team, the season, the postseason hopes. Crushed.

That’s about the size of it.

Therefore I fully expect the Tigers to bounce back to keep stringing folks along.

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Tigers 4, Twins 3 Saturday; Tigers 6, Twins 4 Sunday

(AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

We have a pennant race! So many things to mention from Sunday.

1. Sweeping. With the victory for the sweep Sunday, the Tigers won seven straight games against the Twins and six straight in the Metrodome.
2. Todd Jones is Mr. 300. The save Sunday — his third in three days — seemingly was a microcosm of Jones’ time in Detroit. It was interesting, as Jones came into a three-run game and gave up a leadoff triple. It was ugly, as eight batters came to the plate. It made you more nervous than you should be, as the bases were loaded. But ultimately, it was a save. ESPN.com says Jones is the 21st pitcher to reach 300 saves.
3. Jair Jurrjens was (nearly) unhittable. Jurrjens took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He only got one out and allowed a run, but throwing mostly fast balls and with still concern over his shoulder, he sent 11 Twins back to the plate unsuccessfully.
4. Grandy was grand. Minnesota’s Torii Hunter picked Granderson as the center fielder he’d want on his team. Grandy didn’t let that assessment down, as he hit a leadoff homer than flew way above the “baggy” fence, whumping the wall. He scored his 115th run for the year.
5. The Indians lost. I don’t know if they can be caught. Odds say no. But the Indians are 4-1/2 games ahead of Detroit with a 3-game series starting Monday. Should Detroit sweep, it’s 1-1/2 games with about 10 days to go. This makes for some pretty compelling baseball.
6. Yanks aren’t perfect. New York may not have lost Friday, but it did Saturday, and it’s trailing Sunday. That’s definitely a playoff race. (Yanks won)

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Well, we’ll bring something fresh today. Saw this linked at The Cutoff Man and just have to respond. It’s a column by MSNBC’s Tony DeMarco, who I believe in the past I have also ignored because he’s clueless (2005 Fire Joe Morgan headline: Good news! Found new moron). As a FJM reader, let me try my hand at fisking Mr. DeMarco.

Tigers’ collapse is disappointing, could close championship window

In the midst of one of the worst collapses in recent memory, Detroit Tigers owner Mike Ilitch delivered a state-of-the-franchise address complete with the lofty goal of his team contending every year.

He has a short memory. Or poor one. Or he’s clueless about another truly historic collapse. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times writes: “Seattle has become the first team in modern baseball history, dating back to at least 1901, to drop 13 of 14 games after being at least 20 games over .500 as late as the Mariners were this season. There have been quite a few 1-13 records down the stretch in recent years, but not by a team at least 20 games over .500 after the 126-game mark of a season.”

Not to mention the article was posted (and likely written) in the midst of the Tigers winning 7 of 10 (now 8 of 10). So, he’s really struggling with that point.

The team already has drawn three million this season for the first time in its history. Ilitch has placed no hard cap on his payroll, which is 9th overall at more than $95 million. And he has shown a willingness to buck Commissioner Bud Selig’s salary-slotting edict when it comes to the amateur draft by spending big to sign Andrew Miller in 2006 and this year’s top pick, Rick Porcello.

Yes. It sounds good to me. High attendance. Owner willing to spend money. One of the top center fielders in the game in Curtis Granderson, in just his second full season in the MLB. Justin Verlander wins 17 games back to back in his first two seasons. Young pitchers like Andrew Miller and the ability to sign unsignable minor leaguers like Rick Porcello. It’s a good time to be a Detroiter.

All that said, there’s no getting around the ugly embarrassment of what has occurred in the second half of this season. …

But the Tigers head into this weekend with a 4.66 ERA, ninth in the league and 20th in the majors, after an extended stretch during which the team mark has been around 5.00. Just this week, they allowed seven home runs in a 13-6 loss to Texas, tying a franchise worst.

So the Tigers pitching was great. And then it sucked. I wonder if there’s any reasons for that. Probably just an all time collapse job or something.

We could probably also note here these are the same Rangers who scored 30 runs in a single game. So it’s not like Detroit offered up the dingers to least-scoring team in the league.

Injuries certainly have been a factor. Joel Zumaya, Fernando Rodney and Kenny Rogers have missed big chunks of the season. But all three have returned in the second half, and their presences haven’t stopped the losing

Already he’s getting wishy-washy. “Worse collapse ever! No hope in the future! Wait. There’s a reason for it? Naw, ruins the headline! Keep it!”

And then he says Rogers was back in the second half. Yes. For about what, 3 games, before going back on the DL with an injured elbow. I wonder if that might affect his effectiveness. NAW! And of course, we should expect Zumaya to come off a very serious injury and throw 103 just like last year, right? Afraid it doesn’t work that way.

But guess what? By September with most pitchers not named Bonderman back, most things are going fine again. Detroit trails just Chicago, Cleveland and New York in ERA in the AL this month.

And Bonderman, pitching with pain in his elbow since July, maybe had an effect on second half ERA?

Nobody in the game has fallen harder than Jeremy Bonderman, and an elbow injury appears to be the main reason why. Bonderman was 1-8 with an 8.23 ERA in his last 10 starts before being shut down this week. On July 13th, when he won his first start of the second half, he was 10-1 with a 3.50 ERA.

Oh. Hey. Good timing! and more wishy-washy! Way to make a stand.

Well OK, I’m getting bored with the whole exercise as he shouts “THE SKY IS FALLING” and follows it with an explanation for why the sky might not fall next year.

Ilitch’s goal is legitimate and reachable, but the championship window for this veteran-filled roster might not be as long as he’d like to think. And that makes this season even tougher to swallow for the Tigers and their fans.

It’s too bad the Tigers aren’t allowed to sign someone not playing for another team who can help fill in the gaps. What do you call those guys? The other sports have them. Free agents or something? Yeah, baseball should really get that.

Oh. Wait. They have that.

Well it’s too bad the Tigers never use that system.

Oh wait. They do.

Side note: Much props to the guys at FJM, that’s not as easy as it looks!

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Detroit 4, Twins 2

A few interesting points about a fine victory at the HHH Dome.

1. Pudge walked.
2. Pudge walked.
3. Pudge walked.

OK. He only walked once. But you can forgive me for mentioning it three times, because it’s not like a) it happens often, or b) you could have expected him to do it.

At work, I glanced at the TV, saw three yellow squares on the bases, and then saw Pudge. And worse, two outs. Well, one does not expect that to turn out well very often. So I went back to what I was doing and before you know it, Pudge is standing on first base. He didn’t get a hit. He took a walk. A WALK. PUDGE! He has, let me count, 1…2…3… … 9 walks this year. Didn’t even take me two hands. But this walk tied a (presumably) important game 2-2. Timo Perez added a pair more with a single, and suddenly it’s 4-2 Tigers. The bullpen held on.

Unfortunately for Detroit, the putrid Red Sox’ bullpen did not. Our choking friends from the east gave up six runs in the eighth and eventually the victory. So the Tigers — 8-2 in the last 10 games — did not gain a single game on the Yanks during that time period when the Red Sox blew a five-run lead.

Thanks, Boston. You’ll still make the playoffs as a wild card even if you choke. But everyone will remember the hack job you did as the Evil Empire ran up on you from what, 14-1/2 game back?  So, you’d better take the next two games from them and put them away, OK?  Glad we agree.

The Indians, too, came from behind to win.

Detroit clinched a .500 season.

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Some notes from around the Tigers lately.

• Jim Leyland announced the rotation for the rest of the season.

Jason Beck notes:

This Fri-Sun at Minnesota: Robertson, Bazardo and Jurrjens
Next Mon-Wed at Cleveland: Rogers, Verlander and Robertson
Next Fri-Sun vs. KC: Jurrjens, Rogers, Verlander
Sept. 24-26 vs. Minnesota: Robertson, TBA, Jurrjens
Sept. 28-30 at Chicago: Rogers, Verlander, Robertson

So, that’s not too bad a rotation against the Indians. The rotation against the Twins the first time around, well, we’ll see.

• Mike Illitch will spend money.

We just don’t know how yet. He’s not really sure either. It’s not really a concern to him. He just wants to win, win, win, win. Basically, he wants what we want. The key quotes:

“I look at it as I finally got to the higher level,” Ilitch said on Wednesday, “and you’re learning now, like I learned with [hockey], how to stay up there and some of the things you have to do in baseball to make sure that you’re keeping your eye on to make sure the team’s going to stay up. That’s going to be the secret now, to keep the club contending every single year. That’s my objective.

“I just have to prepare myself. Regardless of what happens, I wouldn’t be happy if I can’t contend every year now.”

•  The bloggers gathered at Comerica Park Tuesday.

Samara doesn’t have photos yet, but promises them soon. There’s been no real blog postings about it yet, but I’m sure we’ll get something soon.

• Curtis Granderson likes Kanye West

I don’t like to Grandy’s blog all the time, because, hey, you know where to find it. Hopefully you don’t need the reminder. But from time to time, doesn’t hurt to point it out. Anyway, he picked Kanye West in the 50 cent vs. Kanye West debate for album releases. For the record, he’s completely right. Then again, I don’t listen to 50, but I do listen to Kanye, so what else am I going to say? Of course, for some reason, I get get the page to load to link to his exact post.

• Just enjoy September

That’s what I thin. John Milton at The Daily Fungo agreed.

I do hope September is not the last month of baseball for the Tigers, but if it is, we still have some things this month we have enjoyed.

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Tigers 5, Rangers 1

Did you see the ninth inning? Did you pass out in shock? No? Good.

Todd Jones struck out the side. It was another relaxing game in Tigertown. With 7 wins in the past 10 games, this team seems to be back to the easy-to-watch, fun team it was for much of the season.

Gary Sheffield, who finally broke his hitless streak yesterday, added a home run to his total with a left field shot that landed just over the bullpen.

Importantly, a) Justin Verlander added win No. 17. That’s nice for him. I’ve heard some rumblings about Cy Young, but I don’t think he’ll get it. With the seasons by CC Sabathia, Johan Santana (don’t look at W-L, look at the rest) and Dan Haren (ditto), even with a no hitter, it’s hard to make a good argument for Justin. But win No. 17! It’s good for Cy Young of the Tigers anyway.

Good news, the Indians lost. Bad news, the Yankees didn’t. So the Tigers have been 7-3 in the last 10, but the Indians are 7-3 and the Yankees are 8-2. Hard to make the playoffs in September when your opponents are doing that. But nonetheless, we had another good baseball game to watch, so I’m happy for that.

Update: Jason Beck blogged about the rare feat of back-to-back 17-win seasons by Verlander. Without quoting his whole post, the last Tiger was Jack Morris and the last rookie-sophomore was Doc Gooden. So we’re talking 80s!

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Texas 13, Tigers 6
Tigers  4, Texas 1

Too little, too late? This seems to be the case for the Tigers both Tuesday, and in September.  They rallied against the Rangers in the opening game of the day-night double header after trailing, 11-0. The Rangers brought their power bats for the game, hit seven(!) home runs, multiple triples and doubles, and blazed against Chad Durbin, Jose Capellan and Yorman Bazardo. Detroit scored five runs in the eighth inning, but Clay Rapada gave a pair back. To be honest, Detroit probably wasn’t going to rally back that late. Most starters were already resting for the night game.

Jair Jurrjens stopped Texas cold in the night game, got some help from his bullpen and won 4-1. Jurrjens is always a pleasure to watch. Hopefully our blogging friends enjoyed their game.  He seemed to break a bat an inning, something the FSN guys latched on to and enjoyed.

Three runs came in the first inning, giving Jurrjens all the runs he’d need to earn his second win as a major leaguer.  Curtis Granderson helped in this, as he put up two more stolen bases. Pudge had three hits.

But, as I said, it was a case of too little, too late. The Tigers rallied too late in the opener and lost. The Tigers won the second game, only to go .500 on the day and see both opponents ahead of them (Cleveland and New York) for playoff spots win. So the Tigers actually lost ground — 1/2 game.  And Detroit has won 6 out of the last 8 (which also makes 6 of the last 9). But both New York and Cleveland has won 7 of 9. The Tigers really needed to pick up more wins in August so the stretch run in September isn’t so uphill. Unfortunately, a split just wasn’t good enough for the standings.

Detroit’s two wins from clinching .500 for the season. That used to be the goal. Now, it’s empty. So, that’s improvement in our baseball lives, for whatever it’s worth.

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Tigers 5, Blue Jays 4

You’d just like to capture the celebration afterwards, save it and enjoy it for awhile. Detroit rallied from three runs down with two outs and no baserunners to win the game in walkoff fashion, and Jim Leyland was the second man up the steps of the dugout.  He was jumping up and down in the celebration huddle; he was giddy like a little kid. And weren’t we all?

This game was left for dead. It was over. Roy Halladay owned the Tigers, and Kenny Rogers’ two allowed runs were going to be the only ones the Blue Jays needed, even if they did add two more.  Joel Zumaya left the game holding his hand — giving instant fear and relief that it was “only” a finger nail. Pudge left the game with dizzyness. Jeremy Bonderman learned he probably wouldn’t be back this year. The season was left for dead, just as the game. But the Tigers didn’t see it that way.

Two outs. A hit and a double play. That’s how it started. Four straight hits. A walk. And a walkoff single by Magglio Ordonez between first and second base that made me leap from dread the second baseman would glove it to celebration for the victory. And I was happy, but I was no Jim Leyland.

There was a lot of postgame talk and maybe some people think the same. If the Tigers make the post season, you can look back at the ninth inning of this game and point to that.

And I suppose that’s fine. Maybe even true.  And yet, a line we have heard so many times before, I’m kinda tired of it.

I’m just going to enjoy this improbably comeback for what it is. And that’s an incredibly fun moment after all the dread we’ve experienced.  Even if the Tigers may be out of the playoff hunt — in all likelyhood — you can’t let that get you down. It’s still a fun game that grabs you and makes you a little kid for a few minutes, despite everything.

Inning 9

Box

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Tigers media is reporting no structural damage in Jeremy Bonderman’s elbow, just pinched cartilage. That’s a good thing. It’s possible he could return, but he may be shut down for the season. Unless, of course, the season is still alive in October.

Probably a good idea not to bother, given I hold little hope for 2007 and a not-healthy Bonderman is most certainly one who can’t contribute positively to 2007 anyway. Best to get him ready for 08.

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