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June 14, 1935 Red Sox 10, Tigers 8 (26-23)

From May 30 through June 30, the Tigers played eight doubleheaders, so at times, manager Mickey Cochrane had to get creative. He did that in this game by starting rookie Clyde Hatter, who only lasted 3 1/3 innings. The Red Sox jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth only to see the Tigers move in front 8-7 with a four run seventh. But two runs in the eighth and a run in the ninth put this game away.

The Tigers lost the game despite racking up seventeen hits. Hank Greenberg and Goose Goslin both had three hits and Pete Fox hit a homerun.

Thankfully, Retrosheet is back online. You never realize how much you miss something until it’s gone.

And if you haven’t checked out their huge new update, be sure to stop by.

June 13, 1935 Tigers 6, Red Sox 1 (25-22)

Tommy Bridges pitched a gem but he also helped himself out with the bat. Bridges went two for four with a double and two runs scored with the bat. On the mound, he gave up one run on eight hits and he struck out three.

The Tigers were actually down for most of this game until they put four runs on the board in the seventh. They added a pair of runs in the eighth to give Bridges some insurance. Hank Greenberg hit another homer he had two RBIs. Pete Fox and Mickey Cochrane also drove in a pair of runs.

I know this happens to everyone, but some days I just feel like someone’s testing me. And then there’s the really bad times when things happen over a prolonged period of time.

The previous week was interesting. First off, I know I’m behind on the 1935 Tigers diary (and the 1975 diary over at Blade’s site). I hope to get caught up here soon, but between my son’s first birthday party (more on that in a minute) and retrosheet being down, I just haven’t been able to get it done.

How did the party go?? Well, Friday was one of those “testing” days. I got to my wife’s parent’s house at about 3 pm. The tent people (who will remain unnamed for now) were supposed to deliver 80 chairs and 11 tables, as well as a tent, which they were supposed to put up. By 4:30, my wife called, and the woman told her they were behind schedule and they’d be there in about an hour. An hour came and went, and my wife called again only to find out that they went to my our house and not to my inlaws. They tried to talk my wife into delivering the tent on Saturday, but she held fast and the guy finally showed up at around 6:30 or so. And when I say guy, I mean one guy. To put up this big tent and deliver all of the tables and chairs.

The guy was extremely careless, and ended up doing substantial damage to my inlaw’s house. So after putting everything up, the guy wanted me to sign off on the delivery, but the contract included a waiver clause, so I politely said I couldn’t sign it as is, and that they’d need to amend that section in some fashion.

Now here’s where it really gets interesting. The manager (who really manages no one, including himself) called his owner, and I guess they decided to play hard ball. They told me to sign it as is, or they’d take the stuff down. I told the manager to get the owner on the phone, and after being cut off and told the same thing in ultimatum fashion, I told him he was ruining my kid’s first birthday, and explained to him what I wanted done. At this point, the F-bombs were flying out of my mouth, because I had finally lost my patience.

I went back in the house, and the owner eventually showed up and he and his lackey began taking the stuff down. At my wife’s suggestion, I called the police, who arrived promptly and were very professional. I guess the owner decided to transfer the blame on me, and told the police he felt I talked to him a little too harshly, and that he wouldn’t do business with me.

With the police being unable to really do anything (we wanted them there to verify what took place and knew they wouldn’t be able to stop the guy) they left with their tent, tables and chairs. The lawsuit will be filed very soon. Fortunately we were able to find a very helpful company that got us what we needed on very short notice (and I’ll be posting their information when I get home, they were very accomodating and helped us out tremendously).

The party went well. The weather wasn’t great, but it didn’t dampen things at all. So all in all, outside of the events that took place on Friday, I’d say we did pretty well.

June 12, 1935 Tigers 4, Red Sox 1 (25-22)

Schoolboy Rowe gave up a single run in the first inning, and was practically unhittable for the rest of the game. He gave up only three hits, one walk, and he struck out five batters to notch himself another win.

Once again, Hank Greenberg had a big game. He went two for four with a double and two RBIs. Charlie Gehringer had two hits and he scored once, and Mickey Cochrane drove in a run.

June 11, 1935 Red Sox 3, Tigers 1 (24-21)

Once again, a solid start by left handed rookie Joe Sullivan went to waste as he was outpitched by Lefty Grove. Sullivan gave up only six hits, but he walked five and gave up three runs. He would have needed a shutout to best Grove.

Backup catcher Ray Hayworth drove in the lone run of the game, and he was also the only Tiger with two hits.

June 11, 1935 Red Sox 5, Tigers 2 (24-22)

For the second straight game, the Tigers only managed five hits as the box score showed a bunch of zeroes. Charlie Gehringer and Hub Walker drove in the two Tiger runs, and Walker’s double was the only extra base hit.

General Crowder took the loss. He gave up four runs in six innings of work.

My son turns one today. I love you buddy.

June 9, 1935 Tigers 4, White Sox 1 (24-20)

Tommy Bridges threw another fine game for the Tigers as he continued his winning streak. In nine innings of work, Bridges gave up one run on five hits. He did walk seven, but he struck out six.

Once again, Hank Greenberg came up big. He hit his thirteenth homer of the seaon, a two run shot.

I’m still a little baffled by this deal. First off, without a workhorse like Urbina, I can see the whole bullpen falling apart in what would be a worst case scenario. Percival can’t handle the innings, and I see another stint on the DL for him. As for guys like Farnsworth and German, I really hope they’re up for the task.

And for all intents and purposes, Martinez was a throw in, so I’ll be pretty much keeping him out of the analysis. I guess we can call him the tie breaker.

I’m also a little surprised they gave up on Infante so quickly. If I look at the VORP figures through yesterdays game, Polanco (11) has about a 15 run edge over Infante (-4). Of course the Phillies lose little, because Chase Utley has them both topped with 19.4 (second best second baseman only to Jeff Kent). So on the face of things, we’re getting an upgrade.

Now if we compare Urbina and Polanco, we have close to wash. Urbina has been good for 16 pitching runs above replacement so far, while Polanco has been good for 22 (8 hitting and 14 fielding). That six run differential is about half of a win, so that explains why we threw Martinez into the deal.

But numbers aside, through the end of May last year, Omar Infante had three homers. This year, he also had three homers. So if he went on a run, he could easily get himself closer to where he was last year. Polanco has only ten extra base hits, while Infante has 16. And Omar’s eight fielding runs above replacement is a mere six runs less then the slick fielding Polanco (which explains a lot of the differential between the two).

So I just don’t see what we’re getting here. Our pen definitely gets worse, and while Polanco might get an extra single here or there, it’s Infante that can mash the ball if can return to form. And throw in the fact that Polanco has only a one year contract, and it makes the thing even more befuddling.

I really thought we’d be able to get some front line prospects from, well someone, for Urbina. While I’ll never count the Tigers out this early, an eleven game deficit is really tough to come back from so making a move to short things up this year seems somewhat fruitless. And when you throw in the fact that the Indians could pass them if the Tigers falter, it makes things look even more dicey.

June 8, 1935 White Sox 3, Tigers 2 (23-20)

The Tigers only managed five hits against the White Sox, who continue to take it to the Tigers like they have all season. This is the tenth time they’ve met so far, and the White Sox lead the season series 8-2.

All three of the White Sox runs came in the second inning against starter Elden Auker, who’s solid game went to waste. Hank Greenberg and Marv Owen both hit solo shots to give the Tigers their two runs.

Check back later tonight, because I’ll analyze this deal. Although my initial reaction is that we didn’t get enough. I envisioned us getting a prospect or two, not a 30 year old infielder. A couple of teams were rumored to be interested in Polanco, so I wonder if we’ll be turning around and dealing him to someone else soon.

It appears Omar Infante’s starting job is justifiably in jeopardy, as Polanco has played mostly second base the last couple of years.

June 7, 1935 White Sox 9, Tigers 8 (23-19)

A five run second inning put the White Sox in front, and despite tying the game in the fifth, the White Sox pulled away and edged the Tigers 9-8. General Crowder took the loss and bore the brunt of the sixteen White Sox hits.

Gee Walker had a huge game as he homered twice and drove in three runs. Pete Fox also hit a homer for the Tigers and Hank Greenberg went three for four.

June 6, 1935 Tigers 10, Indians 9 (23-18)

If you’re into hitting, you’d love this game. The Tigers took a seven run lead into the seventh inning, only to see the Indians score six in the seventh off of starter Schoolboy Rowe, and three in the eighth off of reliever Chief Hogsett to take the lead 9-7. The Tigers scored two in the bottom half of the eighth to tie it, then they won it in the tenth. A second game was supposed to be played, but it was called on account of rain, and the win put the Tigers in a tie for third with the Indians.

Goose Goslin had a monster game, going four for six with a triple, five RBIs and a run scored. Gee Walker homered, scored three times and drove in a run. In all, five Tigers had more then two hits, and rookie Joe Sullivan walked away with a win by pitching a shutout ninth and tenth inning.

June 5, 1935 Tigers 5, Indians 4 (22-18)

Tommy Bridges did it all in the game. Not only did he pitch great, but with the scored tied at 4-4, he doubled in the bottom of the ninth to set up the winning run. He did give up four runs on ten hits in his nine innings of work, but he struck out eight to earn his seventh victory of the season. Mickey Cochrane and Billy Rogell both had two hits in the game.

June 5, 1935 Tigers 4, Indians 4 (22-18)

After six innings of play, this game was cut short because of darkness. Mickey Cochrane hit a solo homer and Hank Greenberg went two for three with two RBIs.

I really had high hopes for Ledezma. High enough to make him a late round pick in one of my fantasy leagues. But since having a couple of good starts at the end of spring, he has been very effective.

The guys to replace him in the rotation would probably be Ginter (although he hasn’t thrown much) and Spurling. Percival is set to come of the DL, so it will be interesting to see how the pen readjusts to having their closer back.

Yesterdays game was a disappointment. Not the kind of way to end a nice winning streak.

There’s a new Mets blog in town, so be sure to check out the Tom Seaver Fan Club. I’ve been working with Jon because he’s been contemplating doing a 1986 Mets diary similar to the one I’ve done for the 1984 Tigers, 1935 Tigers, and 1975 Reds.

Be sure to stop by and say hello.

June 2, 1935 Tigers 10, White Sox 5 (21-18)

Manager Mickey Cochrane had a big game for the Tigers as they split their two game series with the White Sox. He went three for three with two doubles, two RBIs, and a run scored. Charlie Gehringer drove in three and homered, and even General Crowder helped out his own cause with a two run single.

Crowder went the distance but tooks his lumps along the way. Fortunately the Tigers put up seven runs in the third inning to give him plenty of cushion. He gave up five runs on ten hits, and he walked six batters.

The win once again put the Tigers in the top half of the league. They were only four games out, but they had three teams in front of them, including the first place Yankees.

Jason Smith was sent. I like this move.

Tony Giarratano made the most of his first major league game. He really caught Tram’s eye by having a great spring training, and after going a rather mediocre .253/.330/.388 for the Erie Seawolves, Giarratano went two for three and he drove in the tying run with a single. He’d later score the go ahead run on a Brandon Inge single.

Jeremy Bonderman improved to 6-3 with a decent outing. These two teams square off tomorrow in the rubber game in a go away day game.

June 1, 1935 White Sox 5, Tigers 4 (20-18)

A three run first gave the White Sox an early lead over the Tigers and starter Schoolboy Rowe. The Tigers tied it up in the fourth with three runs of their own, but they could never get the lead. The White Sox added runs in the sixth and eighth innings and never looked back.

Rowe went the distance, giving up five runs and ten hits. He struck out two and walked five. Charlie Gehringer had three hits and Gee Walker drove in two runs.

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