The Tigers failed to capitalize on both their sweep over the Mariners and their 19 run outburst last night as they dropped the rubber game to the Twins.  You have to feel for Justin Verlander in this one because he threw another nice game.  Then he had to watch Francisco Cruceta give up a grand slam to Jason Kubel.  Cruceta now has seen his ERA baloon from 1.86 to 5.06 in the course of one bad inning.  Todd Jones also gave up a run but by that time, this one was pretty much over with.

Of course it didn’t matter all that much because the offense laid another egg.  If it weren’t for Carlos Guillen’s solo homer, this one might have been another shutout.  Guillen was three for four and he was a triple short of the cycle.  Gary Sheffield had a pair of hits and that put him further above the Mendoza line.

I’m not sure who I feel more for.  The Tigers have to hit the road and fly to Anaheim for a game with the Angels tomorrow night.  On the other hand, while the Angels will be flying home, they’ll be doing it in the middle of the night because they’re playing a night game as we speak (it’s 2-2, extra innings would be nice).  We’ll be missing John Lackey, which is nice because he’s looked sharp since coming back from the disabled list.  Tomorrow, it’ll be Kenny Rogers going up against Jon Garland.  The Tigers know Garland well and he’s 13-6 against Detroit. 

Memorial Day at one point in time was a huge baseball day.  When the season started in mid-April, Memorial Day usually signified the quarter point of the season and you usually had doubleheaders across the league.  Now, you have a bunch of teams not even playing on the holiday.  ESPN used to have games all day as well, but it looks like this year, you’ve got high profile sports like college Lacrosse and the Best of Mike and Mike in the Morning instead.  It’s just as well because I’ll be out in the yard most of the day.  The Tigers don’t start until 9 pm.

Permalink | Posted in 2008 Tigers