Author Archive

May 16, 1935 Tigers 7, Senators 2 (11-12)

Tommy Bridges pretty much shut down the Senators as they didn’t touch him for a run until the ninth inning. In all, he gave up only six hits while striking out nine.

Hank Greenberg remained red hot as he went two for four with a double, a triple, and an RBI. The Tigers benefited from six errors by the Senators, three of which came in the second inning when the Tigers put their first two runs up on the board.

Sometimes it’s nice being ahead of the curve. While Tigerblog isn’t the longest blog running (heck, it isn’t even the longest Tigerblog running by a long shot), I do feel I sort of got in before baseball blogs, and blogs in general, really came into there own. This blog has been around for a little more then two years, and when I started, I remember having a lot fewer options as far as website links.

Now, blogs have basically gone mainstream and everyone has them. Whether it’s radio personalities (S&L in the Morning and Terry Foster) and now TV announcers Mario Impemba, it seems like blogs are everywhere.

So it’s interesting that guys like Billfer and Ryan Sosin paved the way for blogging in Detroit only to see the big boys (i.e. so called real media) come in and lay their own claim to their internet.

Tigerblog was mentioned in the Detroit Free Press today. A pretty interesting column on MLBlog’s new service, and Bleacher Guy, Billfer, and myself were all mentioned.

Hopefully everyone’s enjoying the three new writers for the site. While I’ll pipe in on occasion, this will allow me to get ahead on the diaries and work on a couple of other projects I’ve been trying to get started on.

This was one of those rare weekend days where I didn’t have anything going on, so I got to spend some quality time with my son with the TV on in the background. I got to see the last few innings of the Tigers game, some of the Pistons game, and also the end of Phantom Menance. Any day that involves watching baseball with my kid is a good one.

Unfortunately the Tigers lost, and they left the game pretty dinged up. It’s interesting to see how the outfield situation has evolved. At the beginning of the spring, we were looking at an outfield of White/Sanchez/Ordonez and only one of those guys have really played. Pudge left the game with a bruised toe, and Dmitri Young left later in the game with a twisted ankle. Fortunately x-rays were negative on both, but even if they both miss a couple of games, they’ll leave large holes to fill.

Tampa Bay rolls into town on Tuesday. In the meantime, hopefully the Tigers can lick their wounds on during the off day, and a complete lineup out there to win two of three.

May 15, 1935 Yankees 4, Tigers 0 (10-12)

Hall of Famer Red Ruffing held the Tigers to six hits in one of his two shutouts of the season. Charlie Gehringer tagged him for two of the Tigers six singles.

Joe Sullivan threw seven quality innings but took his first loss of the season.

May 14, 1935 Tigers 10, Yankees 4 (10-11)

Hank Greenberg homered and drove in four, while Charlie Gehringer had three hits, scored twice, and drove in two as the Tigers pummelled the Yankees.

General Crowder didn’t throw his best game, but thankfully he had enough run support. He gave up four runs, ten hits and five walks while striking out only one Yank.

For the first time since starting the season 2-3, the Tigers had pulled themselves to within a game of the .500 mark.

We went to Ridley’s Comedy Castle in Royal Oak tonight and saw Mike Green. To say the guy was funny would be a huge understatement, because the guy was really hilarious. He had a very unique style, and there was very little downtime between laughs.

And the guy has his own webpage. Be sure to check him out at Oreoman.com . He has a live CD that’s highly recommended that’s highly recommended (if you want to laugh..

May 13, 1935 Tigers 3, Yankees 0 (9-11)

By far the best start of the season for Rowe, he went the distance and gave up only four hits and a walk, while striking out five.

Gee Walker hit a solo shot and Charlie Gehringer drove in a run with a double as the Tigers inched closer and closer to the .500 mark. They still had a long way to go as they already had a five game deficit behing the league leading White Sox.

Okay, I’ve been having some problems with some of my prewritten entries, so I’m going to have to play catchup this weekend. I’m sorry for not being current. I did a better job last year (pre-kid) keeping up with the diary.

May 11, 1935 Senators 10, Tigers 7 (8-11)

The Tigers took a 5-3 lead into the eighth inning, only to see the Senators tie it up in the eighth, and then put two more runs on the board in the ninth. The Tigers came back, and tied the game up with the critical run being Jo Jo White’s steal of home, only to see the Senators score three times in the twelth to win the game.

Hank Greenberg hit another three run homer, and Charlie Gehringer drove in two runs in the Tigers loss.

With my kid being sick, I couldn’t get this up sooner, but I’m going to be on the radio in like a half hour (7:40 Detroit time). You can hear me at KRMS Radio. They have a link that lets you listen in. The Hardball Times has had someone on every Wed for a short bit, and it’s my turn.

May 10, 1935 Tigers 8, Senators 4 (8-10)

Since starting 2-9, the Tigers had won six out of their last seven games. In three of those wins, rookie Joe Sullivan brought home the win as he tried to single handedly get the Tigers back in contention for the pennant. Sullivan gave up four runs on seven hits, but two of those runs were given up in the ninth when the game was out of reach.

Hank Greenberg had the big blast of the day as he hit a three run homer. Sullivan helped out his own cause with two hits and two RBIs, and Gee Walker scored twice.

While I always like to hear what Will Carroll has to say about any injury, for now I’ll have to accept the vague mainstream reports that call it “some kind of forearm injury.”

While 3.65 is hardly a good ERA for a closer, it was coming down after topping out well above five for most of April. It’s too bad that the Tigers “other” big free agent acquisition has also gone down with an injury. The officlal report is putting him out for 4-6 weeks.

In the meantime, Urbina will close. Chris Spurling was called up to fill Percival’s roster spot.

And if you’re don’t subscribe to Baseball Prospectus’ premium content, Will Carroll’s injury report, Under the Knife, is well worth the subscription by itself. Be sure to check it out.

May 8, 1935 Athletics 7, Tigers 6 (7-10)

Schoolboy Rowe had leads of 4-0 and 6-2 before giving up three runs in the eighth and two in the ninth as the Philadelphia Athletics handed the Tigers their tenth loss of the season. In all, he gave up fourteen hits and seven runs over 8 1/3 innings.

Hank Greenberg hit a homer as the Tigers drew nine walks. Unfortunately the Greenberg homer was one of only four hits.

May 7, 1935 Tigers 5, Athletics 3 (7-9)

After a very rough 2-9 start, the Tigers have bounced back and won their fifth in a row as they inch closer to the .500 mark. Tommy Bridges was very solid in his third win of the season as he went the distance and gave up only three runs on five hits while striking out five.

Billy Rogell had a big game as he went three for four with two RBIs. Gee Walker also drove in two runs.

For the second straight series, the Tigers won the first game, only to lose all of the remaining games. Jeremy Bonderman came through on Monday with a gutsy performance (i.e. he struggled but still held on to win), but since then, the Tigers have lost three straight.

And the schedule doesn’t get easier. The Tigers get to travel to Anaheim to play the Angels this weekend. The Angels have been hot as of late, so we’ll see how the Tigers can do.

Yesterday’s game was particularly disappointing. Jason Johnson threw his best game of the season (7 innings, one run, eight hits) only to see the Tigers’ bats go dormant. Urbina lost his third game of the season, and the Tigers could only manage three hits.

And with the White Sox on fire, the Tigers already find themselves 8 1/2 games back of first place. The time to win is now, so hopefully we’ll be able to take 2 of 3 against the Angels.

May 4, 1935 Tigers 5, Red Sox 2 (6-9)

The Tigers won their fourth straight, and have inched their way back up towards the .500 mark. After three straight rain outs, the Tigers were happy to get back onto the field. Rookie Joe Sullivan did a nice job shutting down the Red Sox as he went the distance and gave up only two runs on eight hits and a walk.

Backup outfielder Gee Walker had a big day as he went two for four with two doubles and two RBIs. Three other Tigers had two hits off of four time 20 game winner Wes Ferrell.

I know it’s pretty easy to start your own blog these days, but I’m looking for people who’d be willing to write for the site. I’ve tried this in the past with mixed results. While it doesn’t have to be completely Tiger specific, it should have a definite Tiger slant (so an AL Central weekly round up would be something along these lines).

I have a few ideas in mind, but I’m limiting myself to them, so if you’re interested in devoting at least one column a week, drop me a line at brianbor@yahoo.com .

Things really looked like they were falling into place. The Tigers had won five in a row, and they had a nice two run lead on Saturday. The White Sox came from behind to take that game, then Jon Garland threw his second four hitter of the week today as the Sox destroyed the Tigers 8-0.

Now the Tigers are riding two straight losses and they have the struggling Red Sox coming to town looking to get their footing back. Fortunately Curt Schilling is on the DL, so we won’t see him. And Matt Clement threw today. Bonderman is throwing tomorrow, but according to Yahoo, both he and Maroth are facing John Halama the next two days. Not sure who will get him, but the Tigers should have their top two guys throwing against pitchers they should be able to hit.

With the word “should” being the operative word. It’s encouraging that we’re playing them at home, because Fenway is always a tough place to play. At this point, splitting the two game series would be acceptable, but with the pitching woes of the Red Sox, you can always hope to take three of four.

April 30, 1935 Tigers 11, Browns 3 (5-9)

Goose Goslin homered and four different Tigers scored two runs in another rout over the St. Louis Browns. The game was tight (3-2) until the Tigers opened it up in the seventh with six runs.

Alvin Crowder threw nine solid innings, giving up nine hits, three walks and three runs, while striking out four. It was his first win of the season.

That’s not a pretty bad stat line, for a hitter. But for a closer, it’s pretty shoddy. And unfortunately Troy Percival has saved two games, but he’s done it in five high pressure situations. I know he’s two for four in save opportunities, but the run he gave up April 12 lost the game, so I’m counting it.

Typically, your closer is considered your best relief pitcher, and Percival isn’t pitching like he’s the best. Probably most concerning is his 5/5 strikeout to walk ratio. And while his WHIP isn’t bad (1.26), it’s not in line with what you’d expect from even a middle tier closer.

At the start of the season, the bullpen moves that the Tigers made were praised. But to date, the pen has been rather mediocre. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks, they’ll get their stuff together and start winning us ballgames, instead of costing us.

Lost in this is the fact that the Tigers won last night. They’re riding a five game winning streak and that they’re only three games back of the White Sox in the loss column. Nate Robertson had his best outing of the season, and tonight it will be Jason Johnson vs. Orlando Hernandez. Let’s make it six in a row.

« Previous Entries | Next Entries »

Powered by
WordPress

Click to advertise

http://every1bets.com