So its not over. I thought it was over. 1 pitch mistake and we hang Leyland, that's the way the ball rotates. If Sabathia wins and Justin doesn't pitch, Leyland hangs til noon the next day.
I've been pleased with the decisions that Leyland made during this series. I will say for the record that his lineups and rotations [STRIKE]have met with my approval[/STRIKE] have been thoughtful and logical during this series and I will give him an "A" for effort. If the team woulda lost this series...his grade woulda been the same... On the other hand...the NY manager seemed to be having "auditions" for pitchers to become starters for next season, instead of prudently planning. 7 pitchers used when 3 runs have been surrendered by your staff...yikes..
Well the game didn't get away from him. His bats didn't come thru, that's not that unusual. Tigers took it.
The rains almost cost the Tigers this series, but as you see in the picture ~ Sparky and the rainbow were looking over this team... We are back on the road again in Texas where the Tigers had a 6-3 advantage over the Rangers, so taking game one will immediately give us the home field advantage. Those bats have to wake up to so that we can win in six, cause we need a fresh Verlander for game 1 of the world series which will also be on the road.
We beat the Yankees even with one Verlander Start tied behind our backs..... Hopefully, we take these guys in 5-6.... Go Tigers.............
Congrats Tigers!!! You are loved by the other half of New Yorkers that simply hate the Yankees. Job well done.
Well almost same scenario as game 1 of the ALDS, JV starts and we lose the game 1 and the rains possibly affect the series outcome despite the horrible batting of our so called hitters who despite having the 3rd or 4th highest batting average in the AL this season, have looked like little leagers out there with no patience and no eye for the strike zone and left a combined 19 men on base. Tiger batters struck out 14 times including seven strike outs in their last nine at bats from the 7th to 9th inning by the Ranger relievers. CJ also struck out the side in the 4th inning. To cap matters, Ordonez and VMart grounded into double plays, none bigger than the one in the first inning where Maggs could not get it out of the infield where a basehit or SF fly would given one or more run in the first. To make matters even worse, it appears that we had a potential big inning in the 5th when the second rain delay came and cool any thoughts of the Tigers comeback. After a 69 minute delay, Avila came back feeling good and ground out to second to end the Tigers threat literally for the rest of the long night. Porcello did a good relief work, but that triple to Napoli and then GW HR by Cruz did Verlander in. Still only one game so if we take game 2, we take HF advantage. JL has been a great manager down the stretch, but wondering if he should move Ajax to the back of the order and either have Santiago or Raburn lead off. Although AJ knocked in a run and scored the other on one of two Tiger extra base hits, he still embarrass himself and the Tiger hitting coaches with 3 more strikeouts Boy they miss Young and Boesh...and it appears with their inability to sustain a rally, they need to long ball to get the job done.
I saw a low hitting game by both teams. 7 hits for the Tigers, 6 for the Rangers. Both relief staffs did a fine job. Avila had to try, cold, to gain a hit. Interesting how relievers get to warm up. It would be nice if the hitters could redo some cage work. This time...we were on the short end of a 3-2 score... Still..a rather well played even game... JV pitched fine. I'll always accept 3 or less runs by my starter... Remember...this was just a set up for another Sunday of Tiger / Lion successful wins....or Since the Lions play Monday...and MSU is off...everything is thrown off kilter...
JV was 14-0 this season when the Tigers scored 3 or more runs for him. They fell a run or two short. The Texas relievers look good so if anything the Tigers have to get their starters early and allow our starter pitch with a lead.
Verlander gave up 3, but only through 4 innings. Great job by our bullpen to give us a chance in this one. Again, a super clutch bunt made it interesting for us in the 9th. But... man did Texas roll out a steady string of relievers with a 2.0ish ERA. It looked like they had a healthy Zumaya out there to close us out. All in all, a very exciting game where we fell just short.
Oh man, Maggs is out for the year? Starting to add up. He's been hitting pretty nicely for more than a month.
Now we may have a chance, since the game is postponed until Monday night...Tigers and Lions have a chance to win again...it's Detroit's night!! Maggs done for the post season, but did I hear the Fox announcers indicate that the Tigers may be able to bring back Delmon Young for this series if he [STRIKE]feels[/STRIKE] heals better?
