White Sox 10, Tigers 6 (box)
Record: 4-4 (2nd place)

Wow. That was kind of a disgusting game, wasn’t it? Zach Miner was off, and more than a little off. Whenever it looked like the Tigers were going to keep this a game, Miner went out to the mound and gave it right back. The bullpen really didn’t help much, and the White Sox finished the day with four home runs, 16 hits and six walks. Detroit got as close at trailing 6-4 and later 8-6.

• Zach Miner – The line says it all, really. 3-1/3 innings, eight hits, eight runs, three home runs allowed. He just wasn’t locating all that well. It hurt because every time the Tigers scored, the White Sox got more runs back in the next half inning. He didn’t do his job.
• Misters 300 — Chicago’s Paul Konerko and Jermain Dye each hit the 300th home runs of their careers, and they came back-to-back in the second inning. So that’s admirable, I guess.
• Mr. 3-run homer? — Ramon Santiago showed a little power with a 3-run homer to right field. He went 3-for-5 and is hitting .385 this year in limited appearances.
• DeWayne Wise — It looked like the Tigers might just tie up the game on a Santiago hit to center field that seemed destined to plate a run, maybe two to tie the game, but the Sox center fielder somehow got to it for the catch — a sure web gem — and in the process separated his shoulder. So Chicago did earn this one at least.
• Juan Rincon — The Tigers “this game is a lost cause” reliever looked a bit shaky at times and maybe benefited from an umpire sick of standing in the cold, but in 3 innings, he struck out five and didn’t allow any runs. So that was good to see.
• Matt Treanor — played because catcher Gerald Laird was sick and a late scratch. I h0pe Laird’s feeling better Tuesday. At least Treanor didn’t strike out this time in going 0-3.

… And that strategy is to abuse Justin Verlander’s arm for no reason whatsoever as the team loses a sixth straight game and falls 8.5 games out of first place, effectively ending that fraud they pretended was a chance at winning the division.

White Sox 5
Tigers 1

• Just for the record, Verlander threw 130 pitches. … Why? I guess because the bullpen needed a rest after Tuesday night. But why would you do that to your star pitcher’s arm needlessly? It’s not like you’re in a pennant race or playoff game here. Use a reliever or two, call someone up. THIS SEASON DOESN’T MATTER ANY MORE.
• Verlander mostly did fine, of course. He gave up a 3-run home run in the first inning, which sealed the deal on the game. But soonafter he recorded 12 straight outs. He finished the night with eight strikeouts. Two of his runs scored with two outs in the eighth off Aquilino Lopez.
• The Tigers ran into a fine pitcher in John Danks, of course, but they also ran out a lineup featuring Ryan Raburn at leadoff, Dane Sardinha at catcher, and black holes Edgar Renteria and Gary Sheffield.
• Raburn was coming off a career night, but that doesn’t mean I want him leading off.
• And thanks for making those speeches about holding guys accountable, Leyland. We fans appreciate watching this crap continue to do nothing in games.
• OK, to be fair, Sheffield drove in the Tigers’ only run and had one of the team’s five hits. He also got caught in a double play on a popup hit to the shortstop.
• It’s sad when the team’s goals go from world series to playoffs to not finishing under .500. Well, they’re 3 games under .500 now.
• Hopefully they’ll avoid the sweep. … yeah.
• This team is incredibly hard to watch and when you get right down to it, not giving anyone a lot of reason to bother.

Update:

• Verlander leads baseball in the Baseball Prospectus’ statistic Pitcher Abuse Points, Bilfer pointed out. As you can imagine, this is not a good thing.

White Sox 6
Tigers 5

I hate being right. I hate knowing just how this is going to play out because I’ve seen this show, and it’s a rerun. Nate Robertson pitched, maybe not a gem, but a pretty darn good game. He left with a 4-1 lead and a pair of runners on. And the bullpen blew it for him. Todd Jones was a strike away from getting out of the game, and, whoops, in typical Jonesian style, he can’t get the out. He’s struggled mightily lately. The Tigers don’t have the luxary to give away games, and they gave one away. Zumaya’s as guilty as Jones. And Pudge’s boneheaded throw into left field didn’t help either. So, yes, it’s a team loss.

BUT

Todd Jones is an epic fail of a closer. Why he’s allowed to keep plying his wares, I have no clue. But I’m really getting sick of watching it.

Coming out of the all-star break, the Tigers had about 10 games or so to figure out whether they were buyers or sellers. Or not.

Dave Dombrowski claims the Tigers won’t be sellers, no matter what the standings look like at the trade deadline. Will they be buyers? He doesn’t expect to be. On the other hand, the Freep reports the Tigers were scouting the Orioles-Blue Jays series, possibly looking at a pitcher, because of Freddy Dolsi’s sore shoulder. (Injuries happen to every team, but they really seem to be chasing the Tigers harder than most these past two seasons…) But this series’ implications on the trade deadline is only one reason it’s big.

A sweep by either team is a 6-game swing. The Tigers could find themselves 2.5 games behind the White Sox by Sunday afternoon. Or they could be 8.5 games out. 8.5 games means they’re almost certainly out of the playoff hunt. 2.5 games means they’re certainly in the playoff hunt. So from that perspective, it’s kind of a big deal.

But how likely is a sweep? I’d have to say, it’s not. So is this series huge? I’d have to say it’s really big. But the most likely scenario is the Tigers finish off Sunday’s game either 4.5 or 6.5 games out. I think Jeeves at the White Sox blog Life in the Cell really sums it up best, so I’m going to borrow his analogy. This is more like a primary election. A landslide is unlikely. I think intuitively we know that. The Tigers aren’t going to be swept. They just won’t. The White Sox aren’t going to be swept. They’ll come away with at least one. So we’ll know a bit more when it’s overwith, but it’s by no means a decider of the division pennant. The race will either be a game tighter or a game looser after the series.

So it’s not HUGE yet. But it’s still pretty big.

My prediction?

• Nate Robertson wows us in an un-Nate performance Friday, but the bullpen blows it.
• Verlander continues his ace-itude Saturday. Tigers cruise until the ninth, where the bullpen frightens fans due to the importance of the game.
• Zach Miner is hittable, but the Tigers’ offense is roaring. Detroit wins Sunday in a barn-burner.

So the way I see it, the Tigers are 4.5 out Sunday afternoon and fully in the race.

Blake also previewed the series, and Big Al tells us just how big it is. Hint: hide the barber shears!

By the way, be sure to check out Life in the Cell for the White Sox side of things throughout the weekend.

Tigers 2
White Sox 1

Recap:

• The Tigers swept the White Sox.
• The Tigers.
• Swept.
• The White Sox!
• Yeah yeah, they’re still 8 games back and all that stuff. But given the incredible domination by Chicago in the series the past several years, I think we’re allowed to enjoy this one for a little while, right?
• Kenny Rogers deserved the win, but left the game after 8 innings with it tied 1-1. He gave up four hits.
• Todd Jones got the win for the ninth inning show. He deserved something. Like maybe a hold.
• And — and I might be burying the lede here — Miguel Cabrera hit a walkoff solo homer for the victory. It was his only hit of the game.
• Despite the fact the Tigers got 5 hits from the top third of the lineup, they only scored one run prior to that, No. 3 (Guillen) driving in No. 1 (Renteria).
• The Tigers left three runners in scoring position with two outs.
• Detroit has now taken 5 of 6 games (which is good, but also 5 of 7, and 5 of 10)

Analysis:

• If anything is the start of something good, taking 5 of 7 from Central Division rivals is.
• What’s led to the wins?
• Timely hitting. Not enough. But you don’t need a lot, just, well, timely hitting, like say a ninth inning homer. You can’t always rely on that, but hey, as Tigers fans know this year, Detroit has lost so many games that way, it had to balance eventually. And it has.
• And  why are the games so close?  PITCHING!
• Nice bullpen performances. Todd Jones remains stellar. Freddy Dolsi had some good showings this week.
• But, mainly, it’s starting pitching. The starters have set the game up so well. Three quality starts against the White Sox. Two pitchers who went 8 innings or more. Against the Indians, the Tigers had sorta a combined quality start. Armando Galarraga fell an out short of one, but the bullpen helped him out.
• And finally, the defense has been pretty good. Carlos Guillen has looked better at third, and Brent Clevlen has been a boost. (Ryan Raburn is kind of a boost too, but had an error Thursday that helped lead to Chicago’s run). Detroit will never be mistaken for having great defense, but the infield is starting to come together.
• Can they keep it up? Sure. I like the pitching, well enough anyway. And the bullpen will soon see Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya come back for a boost. And I think Miguel Cabrera is starting to hit a bit more and guys are more consistent at the plate.
• But will they keep it up? That’s been the question all year.
• Bilfer likes the upcoming schedule, as do I. Before the season, we all said if Detroit can survive the first two+ months, it’ll be in good position to win the division. They didn’t exactly survive the first two months of the year. And the Tigers aren’t in a good position to win the division.
• But they’re three games closer tonight than they were Monday night, and that counts for something with three and a half months to go.
• I’m not about to call myself an optimist at this point, but I am feeling better about the team overall.

Tigers 5
White Sox 1

Recap:

• For the first time since Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter, a Tiger threw a complete game. And lo’ and behold, it was no other than Justin Verlander who did it! weird huh?
• He got plenty of offense, which for Verlander this year is kinda odd. He struck out 3 and allowed four hits and walked none.
• Marcus Thames’ 3-run homer was all the offense Detroit needed. Miguel Cabrera opened the inning with a 14-pitch at-bat that resulted in a walk. He narrowly avoided getting out at second on an Edgar Renteria grounder to the second baseman, but the ball was dropped. Thames sent a laser no-doubter over the left field wall after that. It wasn’t a particularly long hit, but you could just tell.
• Curtis Grander and Placido Polanco both had two hits.
• Detroit has now won 4 of 5 since learning Jeremy Bonderman was lost for the year, and the loss came in the game Dontrelle Willis melted down.
• As promised, Brandon Inge was back at catcher, and Pudge will be back there Thursday.
• Maggs threw A.J. Pierzynski out when he tried to stretch a single into a double… but he did get an RBI so I guess he was OK with it.
• THE TIGERS WIN!

Analysis:

• Of course in this see-saw season anytime you try to get excited that things are turning around for the better at last, bad things happen. So I’m still concerned. And the Tigers are still 9 games out of first and 1.5 out of third.
• But hey, Detroit took the series from the red-hot White Sox. That alone is enough to be happy about.
• Verlander didn’t get many strikeouts but he really didn’t need them. He was in control the whole game. He’s just one of those guys who doesn’t need strikeouts I guess. After he got the first nine batters out without too many pitches, your mind had to at least entertain the thought that something special could happen. And hey, a complete game and a Tigers win, that kind of special is fine by me.
• Plus he proved that he’s the Tigers’ ace again and helped the bullpen get some extra rest after Monday’s game.
• The Tigers realy need to sweep the Sox and make us really feel good about this week. It’s Kenny Rogers vs. left-hander Mark Buehrle so the Tigers have a shot.

Tigers 6
White Sox 4

Recap:

• Nate Robertson had a quality start and kept it. He gave up 3 runs. The third came in the seventh inning after he left bases loaded for Freddy Dolsi, but the kid wasn’t sexy enough to handle it this time.
• Dolsi gave up a few hits and a walk balk for the fourth run in the eighth inning.
• Miguel Cabrera went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs, helping give the Tigers the lead.
• Not only did Pudge have a steal, but he threw out to runners trying to steal! And he had two hits.
• Polanco also had three hits, and Brent Clevlen added two.

Analysis:

• Tigers always respond to my writing them off by winning. I will write them off more often.
• Wait a minute. Wait just a cotton-pickin minute here. What if Leyland’s plan to play Pudge less actually works? It obviously did the first day, but we’ll have to see how he does Thursday, and Saturday, and Monday, and … this could take awhile.
• Like to see a few more games like this out of Cabrera.
• I think Dolsi did a decent job today. Coulda done without the balk, but not a bad day.
• It was fun to see them beat the White Sox anyway. Time to take the series!

Other stuff

• Hey Tigers, need a pitcher? Some guy named Wil Ledezma is suddenly available. Of course, unfortunately it sounds like he’s having as many problems as some other 2006 Tigers.

Detroit 13, Chicago 3

The Tigers picked up 18 hits in their final game of the season and nearly as many runs. The seven-run seventh broke a tie and helped Detroit to an 88th and final victory for the season. The most important 3 hits came from Magglio Ordonez, as he wrapped up the Tigers first batting title since Norm Cash in 1961. But 15 more — including three by a Curtis Granderson batting in the 2 hole and 2 by first baseman Carlos Guillen put the Tigers in a solid lead.

Nate Robertson pitched into the seventh, and Jason Grilli allowed just one hit and no runs for the final 2-1/3 innings.

White Sox 5, Detroit 2

Let’s play a game of what do we know.

• We know that a win or loss really didn’t mater unless you wanted 90 wins
• We know Detroit will win no more than 89 with the loss.
• We know Magglio went 2-for-4 virtually guaranteeing him of the batting title, which is pretty cool.
• We know Carlos Guillen is moving from shortstop to first base next season.
• We know the White Sox, in all their suckitude of 07,  still own the Tigers.

What don’t we know?

•  We don’t know if the starting pitcher, Kenny Rogers, played his last game in the Tigers uniform. I think not, but you can’t say for sure whether he and the team will come to an agreement. Right now, they’re both saying the right thing.
•  We don’t know who will play short stop, although Guillen thinks it will be a good player, which is why he made the move. We think.

What can we presume?

• We can presume that means there’s no chance of Sean Casey coming back, unless it’s as a backup or something.
• We can presume Chris Shelton has little future unless maybe he’s going to be Guillen’s backup.
• We know Guillen is pretty good at first base defensively, but he’s not overwhelming as a first-base style batter. Not that I think it matters as much as others think.

Tigers 3, White Sox 2

There are those who believed the Tigers had no heart. The final game of the three-game White Sox series was an interesting test of that theory. And yet somehow,  improbably as it would seem given recent evidence, the Tigers completed a second straight walkoff victory. What makes this even more improbable is that they trailed, 2-1, entering the ninth inning after giving up a pair of two-out runs in the eighth. But a ninth-inning rally off Bobby Jenks — who sent 40-something batters back to the dugout unsuccessfully earlier this season, tying a major league record — means the Tigers have heart, and they’re still in the race for the playoffs.

Fernando Rodney gave up a two-out, two-strike double with bases loaded for Chicago’s only runs. Brandon Inge homered earlier for the Tigers. In the ninth, Timo Perez singled, then moved to second on an error. Sean Casey knotted the game up after a sacrifice. Then, with two outs, Placido Polanco hit the game winner.

It’s easy to read too much into these things. Especially after two walkoff victories in two days has you all positive. If Detroit lost, they trailed the Mariners by 1/2 game and the Yankees by 3 1/2, as neither team played. So it wasn’t that big a difference in the standings. And who is to say whether the series proved Detroit has changed directions? And who is to say whether they can build on winning it? Certainly, we thought taking 3 of 4 from the Yankees meant good things, only to be slapped by reality.

But maybe the most important thing to remember is, it’s Sept. 7th and the Tigers are not dead yet. They’ve treaded water, more or less. Each potential meltdown was headed off. The Yankees may be good, but they’re not invincible. They haven’t pulled away. And the Tigers control their own destiny in grabbing sole position of second place in the wild card race, as the Mariners are coming to town for the weekend.

Can they get hot? Well, Kenny Rogers looked good a game ago. Chad Durbin gave a solid start. The bullpen is, more or less, fine. Gary Sheffield may not be fully healthy, and he may have been hitless, but he is still Gary Sheffield. He will draw walks and see good pitches with Magglio Ordonez behind him. The only inning I saw of the game, he launched a foul ball way gone in left field. So I’m pretty sure he can still straighten those out. In any case, I would say I’m cautiously… something. I wouldn’t say optimistic about the Tigers chances. They are still 3 games behind the Yankees.  But my diagnosis of the patient has been upgrade a notch.

And now we have a Really Big Weekend. That’s all I can say. Biggest so far, anyway. Let’s see how we feel Sunday.