  Ggores Member Username: Ggores Post Number: 185 Registered: 10-2007 |
Gg - "So, pops, whaddya think?" Ggores Pop - "Ehhhhh, they aint goin' anywhere." Assessment from Gg - Never argue with Pops. I DO, though! "Will you stop it! The ChiSox can implode and Minnesota CAN be beat" (how, I have no idea). For some reason, Pops keeps on saying that "that team from Florida, The Marlins, I don't think they're going anywhere either." Gg - "Well no shit. What's THAT got to do with anything anyways?" And THEN he goes on to say that "Cleveland has the Tigers' number." WTF!? Unfortunately, Pops is 99% correct, always, almost most of the time. And I just don't get it. I will retract previous statements and say that I think that Tigers DO need to take the AL Central Division because of the ruckus ensuing over in the East. The new season begins with the Tiggers down and behind a handful of critical games. And that make-up game with the Yankees... I'm tellin' ya... I have a feeling that it WILL be make-or-break. :-) | ||
Ravine Member Username: Ravine Post Number: 2464 Registered: 01-2006 |
I haven't dropped in on this thread, lately, because I don't have much to say. The Tigers piss me off. They got their act together just strongly enough to rise slightly above .500, and within striking distance of the first-place White Sox, got folks thinking Hey! We're back in the race!, and then go limp, getting slapped around by the likes of Denard Span, Alexi Casilla, Glen Perkins, Brian Buscher, and Brendan Harris. I mean no disrespect toward those players; in fact, I'm anticipating a bright future for a couple of them. But damn! If you add up the combined major-league experience of that group, you get a pretty goddam small number, and most of it belongs to Harris. The Tigers, on the other side, with two Hall-of-Famers (I'm counting Sheffield) and numerous All-Star-level players, again are literally "schooled"-- in their own yard!-- on the art of Good, Sound, Fundamental Baseball and Doing The Little Things Right by a Twins team full of players who most folks HAVE NEVER FUCKING HEARD OF. (I know who they are, but hell, I'm a baseball geek.) It's disgusting and atrocious, and there is no reasonable excuse for it. Oh, Leyland likes to say that it's pretty simple: "If our guy pitches better than their guy, we'll probably win the ballgame." Oh yeah? BULLSHIT. It's more like: If your game plan depends on your pitchers striking people out and your batters hitting Home Runs, and the other team PLAYS LIKE IT KNOWS WHAT THE FUCK IT'S DOING AND TRULY WANTS TO WIN, you'll probably get the shit beaten out of you. I'm not giving up on the team or the season, but I'll repeat what I wrote, earlier this season: If the guys wearing the uniform don't care, then fuck it, neither do I. | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 8425 Registered: 11-2004 |
Easy easy there Ravine! I don't need you to burst a blood vessel just yet. And most definitely not over sports- regardless of how big a fan you are. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale... repeat often now. Yes, the Tigers have been extremely frustrating this year (especially early on). I agree wholeheartedly. They've played with some amazing tenacity for awhile and for the month of June, they had one of the best records in all of MLB- but Chicago & Minnesota kept pace, and we barely made a dent into their leads. Have some faith though- they've gone on hot streaks before and I'm hopeful they can do it again (SOON please). It makes me wonder if this Tigers team is like the current Pistons- amazingly talented. They almost have a switch that they could (and should) flip on and blow most folks away... and yet don't for whatever reason. Do they think they're that good that they've become complacent? Because if that's the case- let me keep Matt Joyce, Clete Thomas, and a host of other hungry youngsters in the line up then. Ravine, I think you've hit on a very solid point when it comes to the team's hunger to win. Have we lost some of it? Does it take the likes of something adverse like the loss of a Magglio Ordonez or some other motivation to help get this team over that imaginary hump? Yeah, we're dealing with pro ball players here that shouldn't need motivation to bust ass every day, but then maybe they do. Rant. Get it out of your system. It's understandable. We SHOULD be doing much better than we are. Let's hope that they'll continue to figure out some magic combination of youth, hunger and some veteran experience to really make a run at the divisional lead before it gets too late. | ||
Ggores Member Username: Ggores Post Number: 188 Registered: 10-2007 |
Heh heh heh, oh boy, ^^ chuckle chuckle chuckle, I am throned by that "I'm gonna go apeshit on they ass" rant. Heh heh heh. Now, I am not the best at the stats, or even the names, everyone has their own angle on Tiger Baseball. I completely agree with smog, and no doubt it is what any rational (heh heh heh) thinking person wants to see is just some desire, some get 'em, some hustle. And where's that come from? Of course! The youngsters. Personally I am disgusted with Pudge, and Polanco, I haven't liked Cabrera from Day One, and I still like Sheff, so it goes to show how good I would do as manager. Chemistry is lacking in a big way, and I am very interested in how ya'll would fix that. Yeah! Ing! You scoundrel, Tigers in the lead now. | ||
Flanders_field Member Username: Flanders_field Post Number: 716 Registered: 01-2008 |
Country Strong Marcus Maximus muscles one out!! | ||
Flanders_field Member Username: Flanders_field Post Number: 717 Registered: 01-2008 |
Its.............. Roller Coaster time!! | ||
Flanders_field Member Username: Flanders_field Post Number: 718 Registered: 01-2008 |
Jones rarely fails to make a save a stressful ordeal. | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 8438 Registered: 11-2004 |
My heart stopper of the night was actually the final out. That oh-so-casual toss from Inge to Cabrera had the earmarks of a guy being able to slide in underneath the tag. Thank goodness, for a big man, Cabrera was nimble enough to snag the ball and apply the tag. | ||
401don Member Username: 401don Post Number: 652 Registered: 11-2007 |
I think Jones got a way with too many saves that should have been blown the 1st half of the season and things will have a way of evening out in the 2nd half. You just can't keep closing with a .300 opponents batting avg. and no strikeouts. Anyone hear why Guillen missed the game? I know his wife had a baby a couple of wks ago. Hope it's okay. | ||
Focusonthed Member Username: Focusonthed Post Number: 1937 Registered: 02-2006 |
I've been a Jones backer, but this is starting to get ridiculous. You give up 1, 2 hits, okay. But you cannot be loading the bases or walking people as a closer. | ||
Flanders_field Member Username: Flanders_field Post Number: 719 Registered: 01-2008 |
Odds are obviously very good that Todd will blow at least a few more saves than pre-ASB, lets just hope that most of them happen at home, so that the Tigers will still have a chance to win. | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 8441 Registered: 11-2004 |
I can almost guarantee that Jones will give us all another bout of angina before the end of this season. That being said, I'm wondering if we fans are just focusing a bit too much on the closer's role- like the way we focus in on the Red Wings' starting goalie situation or the Lions' QB. Does it get much more scrutiny than it deserves? In the span of any of those games, their roles are important ONLY if they blow it and then the attacks begin (anyone care to look up what these threads looked like last year around this time when Jones took several on the chin and in a row?). I'm not downplaying their role- yes they need to perform, and yes we fans demand a lot of them; but sometimes I force myself to step back and try to look at the WHOLE game. If only the Tigers had scored five more runs in support, if Renteria hadn't made that costly error, if Granderson could've only stretched his double into a triple, if only Verlander had struck out two more batters, if only Zumaya hadn't walked that one extra batter, etc., etc..... all of these things come into play and they're no more or no less important than what Todd Jones has to do in the ninth. It makes me wonder if we as baseball fans tend to focus in on very VERY particular aspects or plays of a game (I catch myself doing it), rather than the whole game or the runs total at the very end. Judging from my own experience of watching baseball over the years and seeing how the conversations here run, I'm really tempted to say so that we all run little ESPN film snippets of games. | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 8453 Registered: 11-2004 |
Another golden opportunity squandered. ChiSox mail it in and we lose it in ten. Maddening I say! Maddening!•• | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 671 Registered: 11-2006 |
What was Leyland thinking last night: Game tied, late in the game. Renteria (badly hurting) on 1st, no outs, Inge at bat. Perfect time for a bunt. what happens: hit and run fails and Renteria out by a mile (bad hammy and can't run). Leyland how about some bunts.  | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 672 Registered: 11-2006 |
Different Tig topic: CoPa is younger then Orioles Park. CoPa's video board is awful compared to the one at Orioles Park. Please Ilitch upgrade/update that scoreboard. I took photos of the O's scoreboard. Nice. | ||
Ggores Member Username: Ggores Post Number: 192 Registered: 10-2007 |
Just what is the weird tie with Baltimore? I heard lots of "let's go Tigers" in the crowd. One of the first games I went to, back in like '71, I remember practically the whole stadium cheering for the O's, and I mean at Tiger Stadium! Anyways, nice to see us off to yet another disappointing start to Season #2. Yeah, slightly facetious there. But let's turn our heads to a real barn-burner of a game of Electronic Battleship: It was the bottom of the tenth, only two vessels remain - my Destroyer, and they Patrol Boat - the most difficult craft to nail. The board was full of red and white pegs, we stared each other down. As Commander of Task Force One, I had to take a chance. I was going to put on "The Squeeze" play, you know, throw a little mustard on the release. I press "H1" and let 'er rip. The place was dead silent as the bomb fell from high above. Somewhere... a dog barked... somewhere, Leyland was sitting in the visitor's Mgr. office smoking a stogy and saying something to the effect of, "blah blah well you know we aint gonna win by losing and we can't lose by winning...." KA-BAM!••• A direct hit! The counter-attack was ill-effective and I successfully closed out the game with a second deadly bomb-drop. Task Force #1 was victorious. Task Force #2 was barely defeated. Tigers blew it - again. :-) | ||
401don Member Username: 401don Post Number: 653 Registered: 11-2007 |
Last 2 nights showed why we're definitely pretenders and not contenders this yr. A .500 record seems about right with this pitching staff. Time to just enjoy the games and not freak out over every loss. If Renteria is going to play when he can't move then Leyland better stop his "I'm going to put the guys out there that give us the best chance to win" crap. I pray LA picks up Renteria at the deadline, giving Santiago enough AB's to see if he can be our everyday SS next yr. After 3 yrs of weak hitting he's driving the ball with authority. He's a switch hitter who can bunt, run and play great defense. Joyce seems like the real deal. It's more fun to watch talented youngsters than over the hill vets any day. | ||
Flanders_field Member Username: Flanders_field Post Number: 736 Registered: 01-2008 |
Nice move by Leyland taking JV out of the game today with a 4 run lead, 2 outs in the 9th and a runner on first, my jaw dropped when Leyland called for Jones and JV looked incredulous. Jones promptly walks the next batter, and both he and Leyland were lucky that Inge made a web gem worthy stop of a certain RBI double to end the game. | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 8457 Registered: 11-2004 |
Verlander did walk Roberts and Mora in the 9th, so maybe Leyland saw something he didn't like... so it wasn't like Verlander was cruising without some hiccups. He had pitched 105 pitches and for whatever reason, anything over 100 pitches seems like a magical number to be wary of for managers. Maybe it was the 96 degree heat in Baltimore?? I'm not saying I agree with Leyland but it is his call to make. I can completely understand Verlander possibly being a little miffed and being incredulous too- he's a competitor. We won. The Twins took a tough one by losing 0-1 and the division leading White Sox also dropped one against the Royals. We made up some ground at least! | ||
401don Member Username: 401don Post Number: 657 Registered: 11-2007 |
Yeah, Verlander had that "this is too funny to be mad about" look on his face when Leyland came out. Give him at least one more batter. Or is Leyland thinking "Well I know Jones will likely give up 3 hits before he gets an out so he'll need the cushion." | ||
Ggores Member Username: Ggores Post Number: 194 Registered: 10-2007 |
^^Exactly, there is "the game within the game". I mean, a guy could scratch his left eyebrow while in the batter's box and to you and me it means nothing, but to these Major Leaguer's, it can mean the difference between life and death. It is a world which I prefer to not live in, as the one in which I DO live in is bad enough. But anyway, Verlander handled himself with admirable grace. Hat's off! Jones? WTF? It WAS 96 degrees at playtime. He was sweatin' the load after three pitches, and threw a 6-1 count to follow. Awesome! | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 673 Registered: 11-2006 |
http://redbandsports.com/Balti more_Orioles/Video_Orioles_Sco reboard_Ready_For_Opening_Day. 1mk2r4.d This is what 5M will buy for a scoreboard. Please Mr. Ilitch. Thanks, | ||
D_mcc Member Username: D_mcc Post Number: 1016 Registered: 12-2007 |
Apparently...Mr. Leylands Mustache is angry: http://www.theonion.com/conten t/from_print/angry_jim_leyland s_mustache | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 8464 Registered: 11-2004 |
And if Mr. Leyland's Mustache is angry, the rest will follow. I sure as heck wouldn't want that man cheesed at me. He's serious old school and could probably still mop the deck with these youngsters. | ||
D_mcc Member Username: D_mcc Post Number: 1021 Registered: 12-2007 |
then why doesn't he ask Dombrowski to get rid of sheff and rent??? | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 7684 Registered: 10-2003 |
I don't get pulling Verlander out when he's one out from a complete game. We weren't in trouble. Had a guy on 1st, big deal. Jones comes out and promptly gives us all heart conditions, and thank GOD Inge was on third and not Guillen or we would have lost that game. | ||
Zitro Member Username: Zitro Post Number: 1134 Registered: 04-2008 |
This is ridiculous to keep playing Renteria. He had little or no range when he was healthy, now he can't get to anything. We already have one runner in Cabrerra clogging the bases (accepted) and now we have 2 guys who are automatic outs on ground balls. Sit him down or DL him until he's at least back to his version of normal and bring up Holiman to back up Santiago. We play so much better when we have at least some athleticism on the field. | ||
401don Member Username: 401don Post Number: 664 Registered: 11-2007 |
I bet they would love to move Renteria by the July 31 deadline but there's little chance since hamstring injuries tend to be chronic. The Tigers would probably have to pick up his $3 million buyout even if he suddenly gets healthy in the next 10 days. | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 8478 Registered: 11-2004 |
Wow... a 19-4 shellacking of the Royals, whom for whatever reason has given our team fits all season long. Cabrera was an animal at the plate tonight. And the fact that Minnesota AND the Sox lost tonight means that we gain a little more on both of them. In the great words of Montgomery Burns... "Excellent!" | ||
Ravine Member Username: Ravine Post Number: 2474 Registered: 01-2006 |
I feel much more comfortable about our chances of winning a game when I see My Boy Inge at 3B. I don't even care if he hits only .239, .218, or whatever. With as many great hitters as we have in our line-up, we should be able to carry the best 3Bman we've seen since the amazing Aurelio Rodriguez. I'm sick of all the bullshit we've tried since impetuously snatching up Renteria and Cabrera. I'm not mad at Dombrowski about it, but during this past off-season, we got ourselves into a tangly mess, and one of the reasons why Leyland was so pissed about what Grilli said is that Grilli was absolutely correct. The chemistry (you know, the thing which Leyland, who either doesn't know what the fuck he is talking about, or is lying, says he doesn't put any stock in) got fucked up and a guy who, despite his generally anemic bat, knows, as well or better than anyone else on the squad, HOW TO PLAY THE GODDAM GAME got bumped out of his spot, which was a grievous mistake FROM DAY ONE. (Please excuse the hollering; truly, I can't help it.) Y'know what? Give me Inge back at 3B, Guillen (whose legs seem to have come back to life) back at SS, Polanco at 2B, and Cabrera-- who has seemed to learn the position pretty quickly-- at 1B. Renteria? I'm not blaming him for anything, but Renteria can go slouch in the dugout until we figure out how to get fucking rid of him. |
