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The Tigers had a chance to stay in a virtual tie for first place with the Twins yesterday but a rough outing by the bullpen combined with some pretty weak hitting turned what was a nice outing by Max Scherzer into a loss.  The Tigers managed just three hits in this one and they didn’t score their second run until Carlos Guillen hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning.    They scored another of their runs on a Miguel Cabrera ground out and then their third run in the 4-3 loss came on a bases loaded walk.    Austin Jackson and Ramon Santiago had the other two hits.

Scherzer had his struggles but he didn’t allow a run in 5 2/3 innings.  He struck out eight and that helped to offset the four walks and one hit batter that he gave up.  He also got some help in the sixth from Joel Zumaya when he left two man on with two outs.  Scherzer had just struck out Eric Hinske for that second out so it was interesting to see Leyland go to the pen.  Wasn’t sure if it was going over 100 pitches or not.

Of course Zumaya then got into his own trouble in the seventh inning and he gave up the deal breaker.  He walked two batters then he gave up a three run shot to Chipper Jones.  Eric Hinske doubled home a run off of Enrique Gonzalez in the eighth and that set things up for the Tigers as they headed into their ninth inning down 4-1.

As far as the former Tigers watch, Omar Infante got in to pinch hit.  He’s found a nice little role for the Braves since he went over there.  He’s consistently hit over .290 without much punch in a reserve infielder/pinch hitter role.

Overall, it was a tough loss.  You’re not going to win many games when you walk eight batters and while Scherzer got away without giving up a run after half of those walks, they finally came back to haunt the team.  This afternoon the Tigers try to avoid the sweep in a solid pitching match up between Justin Verlander and Tommy Hanson.  Then it’s off to Minnesota for a big showdown against the Twins.

I had a chance to meet former Tigers’ announcer Paul Carey yesterday and that was a special treat.  He and Ernie Harwell worked in the booth for most of my childhood and I have fond memories of listening to them both on the radio.  Ernie is a pro no doubt but I’ve always thought that Paul Carey was vastly underrated and I know at one point, Billfer was making a push to get him on the Frick Award ballot.  He was a nice guy and he gave a great speech about working with Ernie at our SABR chapter meeting yesterday.

This has been an “interesting” year for me and unfortunately, Tigerblog hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves.  Between some personal issues and a heavy workload things have been tough and while I can’t make any promises, the writing bug is coming back.  It also helps that the Tigers are in the mix for the division title.  At this point, if you rolled the magic eight ball, the answer that most applies to me is “the future is unclear.”  So while I’d love to write everyday, there’s going to be weeks where you don’t hear too much from me.   Thanks a lot for your patience along the way.

Rick Porcello had a rough start but he walked away with the win because the Tigers put 10 runs on the board.  The Tigers hit three home runs in an eight run fourth inning.  Gerald Laird belted a two run shot, Scott Sizemore had a solo home run and then Brennan Boesch hit a grand slam to finish up the damage.  For Boesch and Sizemore, it was his first career home run.

Austin Jackson went five for five with two runs and his fifth stolen base.  The last time a Tiger had five hits in a game was Curtis Granderson on 7/30/2008.  The last time a player went five for five was Placido Polanco on 7/27/2007 so it’s been a few years. 

The only Tiger starter who didn’t have a hit was Magglio Ordonez and he only played half the game.  Johnny Damon also had a nice game and he went three for four with a double, a triple, two runs and two RBIs.

Rick Porcello gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings and while he continues to struggle, he evened his record to 2-2.  It’s Porcello’s third straight rough start.  I didn’t get to watch much of the game so I’m not sure what the problems are but he’s still keeping the ball down (11 ground ball outs to three fly ball outs).  Ryan Perry helped Porcello out in the sixth and he struck out three in 1 2/3 shutout innings.  Jose Valverde pitched a perfect ninth in a non-save situation.

Heading into the game, the Tigers bullpen ERA was 2.22 which is best in the American League.  They’re holding the opposition to a .614 OPS although I was a little surprised that the strikeout rate wasn’t a bit better.  Then again, guys like Brad Thomas and Eddie Bonine don’t strike out a lot of guys and they counter balance guys like Fu-Te Ni and Joel Zumaya.

Speaking of Zumaya, he had another nice outing yesterday (two shutout innings) after an outing in which he gave up his first earned runs.  He still hasn’t walked a batter, which is phenomonal.  In 55 plate appearances, he’s only gone to three balls eleven times and he’s gone to a full count nine times. 

And what’s gotten into Fu-Ten Ni.  He has 14 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings this year.  Last year, he had 21 strikeouts in 31 innings.  Unfortunately, his walk rate is up as well.  Still, he’s been effective although his 1.69 ERA is a bit deceiving when you look at his 1.500 ERA.

The Twins won so the Tigers sit a game and a half back of first.  Still, a 14-10 April isn’t anything to scoff at.  They’ve done well in their division which is big and while they had the rough stretch, they’ve bounced back and are playing some good baseball.  Tomorrow afternoon, it’ll be Scott Kazmir against Jeremy Bonderman.  Bonderman’s had two mediocre outings, one good one and one really bad so we’ll see which Bonderman we’ll see tomorrow.

The Tigers have now gone through all five of their starters and it’s been so far, so good as all five have gone at least five innings. The latest was Jeremy Bonderman, who needed 92 pitches to get through five innings just five innings. Fortunately it was enough to get him his first win in almost two years. He gave up a run on one hit and two walks with five strikeouts. He was consistently in the low 90s for the first few innings with quite a few 93 mph fastballs. It’s not the Bonderman of old because he also mixed a lot of changeups in there but it’s nice to see him have some success. A big concern was by the fifth inning, Bonderman’s velocity was down and he was having a hard time even touching 90. Something to keep an eye on in future starts.

Brad Thomas gave up a run in two innings of relief. Fu-Ten Ni struck out one in two thirds of an inning while Ryan Perry got the final four batters out to pick up his first career save (first of many?).

Magglio Ordonez had the big hit with a first inning two run home run. It was his second long ball of the season and it’s half of his 2008 first half total (4). He and Miguel Cabrera have punished pitchers so far this season and hopefully they can keep it up. Brandon Inge also had a nice game and he went two for three with a walk and an RBI.

The Tigers go for the sweep this afternoon with Justin Verlander going for his first win of the season. Jake Westbrook throws for the Indians. The ESPN game tonight has the Cardinals against the Brewers and the Sunday afternoon game on TBS has the Yankees and Rays (unfortunately, it confilicts with the Tigers).

Mike Cassidy is covering the Tigers minor league system for the fourth straight year. The Tigers four full season affiliates kicked off their seasons yesterday. Unfortunately, all four lost.

It wasn’t the pitcher’s duel that everyone thought and while Justin Verlander didn’t have his best stuff, the Tigers still walked away with an 8-4 win over the Royals this afternoon. The Tigers were down most of the game but then they rallied for six runs in the seventh inning (once Greinke was out of there) to pull away with the win. Johnny Damon made a pretty big impact in his first game as a Tiger and his two run double drove home the tying and go ahead runs in this one.

Austin Jackson picked up his first major league hit. He doubled and drove in a run in the big seventh inning and he later scored on Damon’s double. Miguel Cabrera singled twice and drove in a pair while Damon also finished with two runs in the contest.

On the pitching side, Verlander needed 93 pitches to get through five inings. He gave up four runs on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts. Joel Zumaya struck out one and gave up a hit in a shutout sixth inning and he picked up the win. Phil Coke (2/3 of an inning), Ryan Perry (1 1/3 innings) and Jose Valverde all pitched in to shutout the Royals in the final four frames. Valverde got into trouble in the ninth when he walked Jason Kendall and then had a second runner get on after Ramon Santiago’s fielding error but he pitched out of it in the non-save situation.

I was hoping to dig into the Gameday data but it looks like MLB.com is bogged down (too many people stopping by?). The WPA graph on this is pretty interesting so I’ll touch on that. Things peaked for the Royals after Billy Butler made it 4-1 (giving the Royals a 87.6% chance of winning). Austin Jackson’s RBI double was actually worth more (.189) then Damon’s two run double (.175). It was actually Cabrera who led the team in WPA (.206) and Ryan Perry led the pitchers (.067).

The Tigers are off tomorrow and then it’s Max Scherzer against Luke Hochevar in the Tigers first night game of the season. Scherzer makes his Tigers debut in a battle of 2006 first round draft picks.

The Tigers first spring telecast is today.  Fortunately I’ll be home most of the day so I should be able to catch most of the game.  Even better, there’s four night games (including two 10 pm games) on MLB.TV so hypothetically, you could start watching the Tigers at one pm and watch pretty much non-stop baseball until 1 am or so.  The internet is wonderful thing.

MLB Trade Rumors brought up an interesting discussion today.  Should Justin Verlander make more then Felix Hernandez?  Jon Paul Morosi seems to think so but Dierkes brings up some great points as to why this might not be the case.

Last week, I talked about my confusion regarding the direction, or lack of, that the Tigers are taking.  Well, I’m still thinking about it and I think one of the big missing pieces is how the Tigers are going to look after the 2010 season and not before.  If I take a look at the the Tigers coming off of the payroll after 2010 (thanks to Cot’s Baseball Contracts), it’s safe to say that the 2011 Tigers are going to be a much different team then what we’ve seen the past couple of years.  Here are the contracts that end:

1)  Magglio Ordonez $15 million? – I put a question mark here because the Tigers have an option that vests, much like last season, if he gets 540 plate appearances (or 135 starts) in 2010 or a combined 1080 plate appearances or 270 starts combined in 2009 and 2010.  The Tigers let this option kick in for 2010 and I don’t see it happening again. I think the team’s announcement that Ryan Raburn will be playing most everyday in the outfield is going to be the Tigers insurance policy because my bet is he’ll be spelling Ordonez more then the other two outfield positions.  Of course Ordonez could call the Tigers hand if he comes anywhere close to his 2008 (or even better, 2007).
2)  Jeremy Bonderman $12.5 million – Nothing like a little pressure, but Bonderman’s fate could be decided in 2010.  He’s been penciled in as the fourth starter and if he performs, I can see the Tigers signing him again but unless he’s lights out, he’s not going to be making the $12.5 he made in 2009 and that he’ll make in 2010.
3)  Dontrelle Willis $12 million – I’m not going to touch this one.  Willis has already begun talking about how his anxiety disorder was misdiaganosed.  He’ll get a look in spring training but I think the Tigers cut him loose before the 2010 season just so the Tigers aren’t tempted to ride the D-Train one last time.  It’s too bad because everything I’ve heard is that Willis is a top notch guy, he just lost his game.
4)  Nate Robertson $10 million – My bet is Robertson comes out of spring training as the fifth starter just so the Tigers can use him as trade bait.  Robertson’s been one of the guys I’ve liked (being a southpaw myself) but he just hasn’t gotten it done the past couple of years. If he’s back with the Tigers in 2011, it’ll be at a much lower price then what he’s made the past couple of years.
5)  Brandon Inge $6.6 million – If he plays like he played in the first half last year, he might make more money but I don’t see it happening especially with Inge coming off an injury.  Maybe the Tigers will try getting Larish a full season at Triple A at third base so he can play everday their in 2011.  Third base would also be a spot the Tigers could fill in the off-season next year.
6)  Gerald Laird $3.95 million – A lot depends on how Al Avila develops.  With the trade rumors surrounding Laird around the winter meetings, I don’t see him in a Tiger uniform next year.
7)  Bobby Seay $2.475 million – The Tigers have some arms coming up in the system so Seay could be gone as well.
8)  Adam Everett $1.55 million – Gustavo Nunez’s development this year will determine what happens with Everett.  A resurgance by Cale Iorg could also push Everett out of town.

There’s a few more guys (like Zach Miner and Joel Zumaya) but they make less then a million.  So if the Tigers clean the slate, they’ll have close to $65 million coming off of the payroll after 2010.  Some of that money is going to go towards Verlander’s long term deal (yes, I’m optimistic) and that will also free up some money for Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello, who should also anchor the Tigers rotation for years to come.  It just probably means we’ll be throwing away (as in, we’ll do just enough to contend in a weak AL Central but little else) 2010 and potentially 2011 to get to where we need to be.  Of course the Tigers may not be done and that could fill in some blanks so as always, we’ll see.

Bob Nightengale at the USA Today has reported that the Tigers are close to a deal to trade Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson is still being shopped.  So much for the “no fire sale” comment from Jim Leyland.  I knew this was going to crazy week but the back and forth on the Tigers has been pretty interesting.

It looks like Gary Sheffield wants to make one more run.  I think the whole thing about him reaching 3,000 hits and 25 home runs (much less 40) is a stretch but he did have a decent season last year while also playing in the outfield.  An .823 OPS, even in limited time (268 at bats) isn’t anything to scoff at but he did struggle after the All Star Break (0 home runs, versus 10 prior to the break).

One thing the story didn’t mention was that he now appears to be more open to being a designated hitter. It’s funny how when your back is against the wall, you’re willing to make concessions.  I just hope whoever signs him calls the Tigers front office before hand because I think I’ve heard the whole “I’m willing to play DH” thing before.

Since winning six straight a week and a half ago, the Tigers have now lost seven of their last ten.  The Twins have been winning but not enough so the Tigers enter their three game set in Minnesota with a four game lead.  If the Tigers can win two of three, it’ll put their magic number into single digits.  If they can pull off a sweep, they can pretty much put the division away.  Conversely, if they play like they’ve played the last week and a half, things are probably going to go down to the wire.

The Tigers failed to pick up their half game this afternoon as they were dismantled, again, by the Royals.  Edwin Jackson was roughed up and Zach Greinke pitched like he has all season in the 9-2 loss.  Jackson fell to 12-7 and he gave up five runs on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts in five innings.  Armando Galarraga was also roughed up and he gave up three runs in just 1/3 of an inning.  The only pitcher to escape unscathed was Jeremy Bonderman, who pitched 1 2/3 innings to close out the game.

Miguel Cabrera belted his 30th home run of the season and he became the first Tiger since Tony Clark in 1998 and 1999 to hit 30 home runs in back to back seasons.  He also brought his season RBI total up to 91 with the two run shot.  Aubrey Huff was the lone Tiger with a multi-hit game with his two singles.

The Tiger and Twins kick things off tomorrow night and it’ll be Rick Porcello against Brian Duensing.  Duensing has won three straight decisions and in his last outing against the A’s, he threw seven shutout innings.  Game two is on FOX at 4 pm on Saturday and then Sunday’s game is a typical afternoon affair.

Jarrod Washburn had his second best start since joining the Tigers.  Unfortunately, he still gave up three runs in five innings and he needed 105 pitches to get through the five frames.  He yielded to Zach Miner out out of the pen and Miner gave up three runs combined in the sixth and seventh in the 7-4 loss.  Miner took the loss and he fell to 6-5.  Eddie Bonine gave up a run in two innings and he Fe-Tu Ni was the lone Tiger not to give up a run but he pitched to just one batter and walked him.

The Tigers racked up 15 hits but managed just four runs as they left ten guys on base in this one.  Every Tiger regular had at least one hit and Magglio Ordonez went three for four with a walk.  Wilkin Ramirez went two for three with two runs and an RBI.

The Twins also lost so that helped.  Not the come home to play three against the Jays.  Back in the day, the Tigers and Jays were a hot ticket.  Now they play each other 6-8 times a year and rarely does it mean anything.  This is a wrap around series but Monday’s game is at night.  In fact the lone day game is on Sunday.

Another test.

Just trying to fix this, seeing if what I did worked.

Looks like my usual fix for the RSS feed didn’t work so I’ll have to try something else.  At times, WordPress (the program I use) can be very cool but it’s times like these where it gets annoying.  Anyway….

The Tigers won their 70th game of the season last night.  Edwin Jackson got some unusual run support and it was good for his eleventh win as the Tigers shot out of the game with four runs in the first.  By the end of the fourth, it was 8-1 and while the Indians chipped away at the lead and made things pretty interesting, the Tigers walked away with an 8-5 win.

Aubrey Huff showed his thing finally as he put together a nice game.  He went two for two with a home run, three RBIs and two walks.  Placido Polanco, Brandon Inge and Carlos Guillen also went yard in the win.  Every Tiger hitter had a hit in this game by the end of the third inning (Adam Everett was the last). 

Three Tigers have 25 home runs on the season.  The last time three Tigers had more then 25 was 2006.  The last and only time three Tigers hit 30 was 1992 when Cecil Fielder, Mickey Tettleton and Rob Deer all hit more then 30.  That would be impressive in that the Tigers have only had two 30 home run seasons in the 2000′s (Bobby Higginson in 2000 and Miguel Cabrera last year).

Edwin Jackson improved to 11-6.  He gave up four runs on nine hits and two walks with six strikeouts in five innings.  Bobby Seay threw 1 1/3 shutout innings and Fernando Rodney threw a shutout ninth for save number 30.

The Twins beat the White Sox again and we just can’t shake them.  The Tigers lead is still 3 1/2 games although it is four in the loss column.  The Tigers still have seven games against the Twins so a lot will come down to that.  It’ll be Rick Porcello against Aaron Laffey.  The Twins and White Sox wrap up their series this afternoon.

Jarod Washburn hadn’t been very effective since he put on a Tigers uniform and now this deal looks like a big time bust unless Washburn can turn things around in a hurry.  He had his worst start of the season and the only good thing you can say about it is he did pitch into the sixth inning even after giving up six runs in the top of the first inning.  He then threw three shutout innings before giving up a run each in the fifth and sixth.   He’s seen his ERA baloon from 2.64 to 3.55 since he’s joined the Tigers and that’s tough to accomplish this late in the season.

Ryan Perry didn’t fare much better and he gave up three in 2 1/3 innings.  The only pitcher to escape unscathed was Fu-Te Ni, who threw a shutout ninth.  I was at work (I’m back to work) so I didn’t get a chance to see this train wreck.

Carlos Guillen provided the bulk of the offense with a pair of home runs, three runs and four RBIs.  He finished four for five.  Curtis Granderson didn’t pick up a hit or a walk but he scored two runs.  Placido Polanco went two for three and he scored a run.

The White Sox and Twins kick off a three game series beginning tonight in Minnesota.  I’ll probably turn this one on tonight.  At least for today, I’ll be rooting for the White Sox.  It’s be nice if they took two of three.  The Tigers host Cleveland beginning tomorrow and it’ll be Edwin Jackson against Carlos Carrasco, who will be making his major league debut.

The Tigers hit a bit of a tough stretch in Arlington earlier this week.  I’ve been up in Tawas since Saturday with a crappy wireless connection so most of my news has come mid-day (and late) via MLB.com.  I was glad to see Cliff Lee depart from the division and it’ll be interesting to see where Roy Halladay lands.  My guess is still the Dodgers despite the Rangers throwing their names in the hat but as always, it’ll be an interesting trade deadline tomorrow. 

Being up north was relaxing most of the time (at least as relaxing as it can get with a five year old) and of course the downside to taking several days off is the work doesn’t go away.  Throw in the fact that my clients have put off getting me stuff until now and it’ll make for an interesting next couple of weeks.  I always manage to get through it, there’s just the pain that goes with it. 

Tawas was fun. I got to spend an extended amount of time with my family which was nice.  My son had a blast and it was all low key, leisurely stuff.  Let’s just say, it’s going to be tough getting up tomorrow morning and cranking out some work.

Which gets us to the Tigers.  They lost two of three to the Rangers but they still have a two game lead in the division.  Oddly, it’s no longer with the White Sox, it’s with the red hot Twins who sweeped said White Sox while the Tigers were struggling against the Rangers.  This is shaping up to be an interesting race and so far, none of the three teams have made a monve of consequence.  I was a little surprised Josh Anderson was sent to the pasture (at least we got some cash for him) but with Carlos Guillen back  it made him expendable.  Anderson got off to the good start but he’s lost a lot of time to guys like Clete Thomas and now Guillen and when you combine that with his current struggles, he was the odd man out.

Tomorrow, the Tigers kick off a road series against the Indians.  Game one will have Edwin Jackson going up against Fausto Carmona.  Fausto has been kicking it down in the minors for the past two months and it looks like he’s coming back up to fill Cliff Lee’s role.  Hopefully the Tigers will be patient at the plate because one of Carmona’s big problems this year has been finding the strike zone.  He’s not in Dontrelle’s class,  but 41 walks in 60 2/3 innings for a guy who doesn’t strike out a ton of batters isn’t good.

Just making sure this morning’s changes stuck.

The Indian in the Cupboard dvdrip

Tart release

• Cold Mountain download

My RSS Feed was hacked so if you get this via Google Reader, you’re getting a bunch of text link ads.  I’m experimenting to get rid of it and this is my first test.

Meet Wally Sparks download

Rising Damp on dvd

• Freaky Friday

***UPDATE***

Be Cool Reservoir Dogs download

Looks like I got it to work.  Thanks for your patience on this.  For someone who has a ton of domains registered under his name, I’m woefully of short of skills when it comes to this kind of stuff.

More to Love dvdrip

Not too shabby.  The first place Brewers (at the time) rolled into town for a three game series and they left with three losses as the Tigers took care of business in a 3-2 win this afternoon.  Brandon Inge had the big hit with a three run blast and that was all the Tigers needed (or would get) in the game.  It was Inge’s 16th of the season and that ties him for the second highest season total of his career.

Justin Verlander had another nice start and he improved to 8-3.  He gave up two runs on five hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.  Bobby Seay got the final out in the eighth and then Fernando Rodney didn’t allow a baserunner in the ninth to pick up his 14th save of the season.  Rodney needed just eleven pitches, and eight of them were for strikes.

I’ve been told I’m having problems with my RSS feed.  At this point, I’m working on it as best I can, I just don’t really know how to fix so please bear with me until I get some help.

The Pearl of Death hd The win gave the Tigers a four game lead.  Next up are the Cubs after a day off.  Edwin Jackson gets the nod and it’ll be Carlos Zambrano who’ll be throwing for the Cubs.

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