Sheffield strikes out looking

The Chicago White Sox bested the Tigers today 5-4. Chad Durbin gave up 4 runs (including 2 HRs) in 5 innings. Okay Leyland, anytime now... we need to give someone else an opportunity to start because Durbin isn't cutting it. We can't afford to throw away 1 out of every 5 games.

Jose Mesa was placed on the 15 day DL and Aquilino Lopez was brought up from AAA Toledo to fill his bullpen spot. Lopez went directly to work and looked impressive - he held the White Sox to only 1 hit over 2 innings.

Brandon Inge hit his 3rd HR on the season. Sheffield came up in the bottom of the 9th with the perfect RBI opportunity and failed to cash in. He's probably just a couple of days away from being booed. Polanco went 2 for 5 - his average is a team best .382.

Tigers record: 9-7, 2nd place

The return of the rollercoaster

Todd Jones entered today's game as the Major League leader in saves. He had a perfect record and a 0.00 ERA. Tigers fans knew it wouldn't last, though, as he has a history that earned him the Ernie Harwell given nickname of The Rollercoaster. Today Jones came into the bottom of the 9th against the Kansas City Royals with the Tigers up 3-1. By the end of the inning Jeremy Bonderman's fantastic outing (7 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 6 strikeouts, 0 walks) was erased leaving him still looking for his first win on the season. After the 10th inning the Royals won 4-3 on a John Buck HR hit against Fernando Rodney.

Tigers record: 9-6

The Weaver brothers struggle on

Jeff Weaver started for the Seattle Mariners last night. Hurling against the Minnesota Twins he gave up 2 runs quickly but then settled down and pitched 4 straight innings without allowing another run. In the 6th inning, with the score 2-1 in favor of the Twins he lost command of his pitches again and gave up 5 more runs. His final line was 6 innings pitched, 10 hits (including 1 HR), 7 runs, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. He gave up the same amount of runs that he did in his last start but at least this time he made it to the 6th inning. My question for Mariners management is this: when he got you through 5 innings with only 2 runs allowed why did you leave him in during the 6th when he started to struggle? And why would you continue to leave him in until that inning ended? There's a lot to be said for confidence and the Mariners do not seem very interested in helping the elder Weaver recover his. Seattle lost 11-2.

Jered Weaver made his first Major League start of the season last night after a successful rehab stint in the minors. He started for the Los Angeles Angels against the Oakland A's. He also pitched for 6 innings and although he had a better ending line than his older brother the result was the same - a loss for his team. In 6 innings he gave up 4 hits (including 1 HR), 4 runs (3 of them earned) and 2 walks. He picked up 4 strikeouts. The Angels lost 4-1. All of Oakland's runs were scored in the 4th inning.

Does anyone know how many other times in baseball history two brothers have started on the same night and lost?

The Royals should not score this many runs...

The Tigers won today against the Kansas City Royals but it was by the score of 7-6. The Royals should not be hitting our pitching so well. Maroth started and went 5.2 innings giving up 7 hits and 4 of the runs. Jones picked up yet another consecutive save. Ordonez was 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs and Polanco picked up 2 RBIs.

The Royals have now lost 6 in a row and we're looking to pick up the sweep tomorrow.

Tigers record: 9-5

Tigers win it in Grand fashion

The Tigers beat up on the Royals today 12-5. Pudge Rodriguez hit a grand slam that helped to drive off the Royals starter (Greinke) in the 1st inning. This was Rodriguez's 1st Tigers grand slam and was the 3rd that the team has hit this season. Last year they only combined for 2.

Pudge picked up 6 RBIs and Guillen picked up 4. Verlander went 6 innings and gave up his first 3 runs of the season. He struck out 6 and allowed no walks. Jose Mesa gave up the other 2 hits in a third of an inning - I am very unimpressed by him so far.

Tigers record: 8-5

Split Series

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the day when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier - in honor of this players all over baseball are wearing his number. Several Tigers players took the field with the number 42 on their backs and they found that their bats had once again grown cold. Nate Roberston pitched another 7 solid innings giving up 2 runs, 2 walks and 7 hits while picking up 5 K's but it wasn't enough - the Tigers fell to the Blue Jays 2-1 and split the 4 game series.

The Tigers lone run came as the result of a pickoff error by Jays starter Josh Towers.

This first and very long road trip has wrapped up - the Tigers went 6-4 and are finally heading back home to Comerica Park where they will take on Zach Greinke and the Kansas City Royals, starting tomorrow night at 7:05 pm.

Tigers record: 7-5

The Blue Jays wish they could take the 9th inning back

Early on in today's game it seemed like the Blue Jays would walk off with an easy victory. Chad Durbin was not sharp giving up 6 runs, 8 hits (including 2 HRs) and a walk in 4 innings. The Tigers need to find a better solution to the spot vacated by Kenny Rogers' injury - after two starts Durbin has a 12.46 ERA. Fortunately the Tigers bats woke up and they kept pressing the Jays. It was enough to get them back in the game after being down 4-0 and then to propel them into the lead in the 9th when the pressure got to the Jays and they began to exhibit sloppy play. The Tigers took advantage and the win 10-7.

Todd Jones picked up his 6th save in 6 chances and still has a 0.00 ERA. Inge picked up 2 more hits and stole 2 bases - his average is now higher than Sheffield's which still isn't saying much as Gary's average is a lowly .132. Jason Grilli had his first positive outing of the season lasting 3 innings in long relief without giving up any hits.

Tigers record: 7-4

So Much for the Offense

When you pitch 9 innings during which you strike out 4, give up 6 hits and only allow 1 run (from a HR) you pretty much expect to get the win - unfortunately for Jeremy Bonderman the one pitch that he would take back was enough to deny him a victory. The Tigers dropped today's game to the Toronto Blue Jays in 10 innings by the score of 2-1. All of the Tigers offensive production came from a Magglio Ordonez HR hit in the 2nd inning. The team combined for 6 hits and only 2 strikeouts but they left 4 runners on base.

The Tigers and the Blue Jays seem pretty evenly matched thus far this season - this may help to reignite the rivalry of old that the two teams enjoyed back in the 80's and 90's.

Tigers Record: 6-4

Inge Proves to be Cruicial to Offensive Cog

All it took to get the beleaguered Tigers offense going was a big night from their formerly struggling 3rd baseman - Brandon Inge went 2 for 3 today with 3 RBIs and a run in the Tigers 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Mike Maroth picked up his 2nd victory of the season. He pitched in a lot of tough spots but only gave up 2 runs over 6 innings. He also gave up 9 hits (1 a HR) and 2 walks which goes to show just how many jams he pitched out of. Maroth also notched 2 strikeouts.

Mike Rabelo made his Major League debut tonight. He went 0-4.

Tigers record: 6-3

Charter is terrible

After the inDemand digital cable deal was signed with MLB extra innings I called my local cable provider (Charter) to order the package. They have channels designated for it and they show on the listings which games are playing on what channels. But guess what? They are not currently offering the package. They don't know if or when they will be and they won't even be nice enough to contact me if it becomes available.

In other anti-Charter news they are not carrying FSN+ in my area. So today for the 2nd day in a row I'm missing out on Tigers baseball. So much for getting to see all but one game on TV this season...

12th inning grand slam

Today's Tigers vs. Orioles game was a long one - it took 12 innings before either side scored. By the time Craig Monroe hit a grand slam it seemed like another day had passed since Justin Verlander's outstanding outing - he pitched for 7 innings giving up only 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5. Unfortunately his valiant pitching effort ended in a no decision.

Brandon Inge was back in the starting lineup and he collected his first hit of the season. He went 1 for 5 with a walk. The boys faced off against former teammate Jamie Walker who pitched a scoreless inning and struck out 2.

The Orioles tried to battle back in the bottom of the 12th - they picked up 1 run leaving a final score of 4-1.

Tigers record: 5-3

Nate Robertson: An Unheralded Ace

Nate Robertson pitched a gem against the Baltimore Orioles today. In 7.1 shutout innings he yielded only 4 hits and a walk. He struck out 5.

Curtis Granderson went 2 for 3 with 2 runs. Neifi Perez got the start in place of the slumping Brandon Inge but was replaced by Inge in the later innings for defensive reasons. The Orioles lone run in the 3-1 Tigers victory was collected on a Corey Patterson HR hit in the 8th inning off a 100mph fastball from Joel Zumaya.

Although the scoring wasn't high this was a much better effort from the Tigers and is hopefully a sign of things to come.

Tigers record: 4-3

As predicted - Weaver's first outing was a rough one

During Spring Training I went on record and said that Jeff Weaver's first start or two of the regular season would be rough ones as he became acclimated to his new team and new environment. Calling today's outing rough would be an understatement - he lasted for only 2 innings and gave up 7 hits (including one HR), 7 runs and 2 walks. He picked up 1 strikeout.

I'm not sure that this outing can really be blamed on Weaver, though - or on any of the Seattle team that looks completely over matched by the Boston Red Sox this afternoon. As of this writing it's the 5th inning and the score is 11-1. Seattle hasn't played since the farcical Friday in Cleveland when the Indians home opener was put on hold only one strike away from being ruled an official game. Weaver was supposed to start on Saturday in one of the double header games. Those games were postponed and a double header was scheduled for Sunday. Those games were also postponed. Of course when Monday came the games were postponed again and MLB announced that the Indians would be taking to the road to start their "home" season as there was doubt about just when Cleveland would be conducive to baseball games again.

All of these postponements and the passing of so many days can be easily used to explain Weaver's poor performance - pitchers have routines for a reason and his was more disturbed than any other pitcher's in recent memory.

We miss you Kenny Rogers

Chad Durbin had his first regular season start in place of Kenny Rogers today against the Baltimore Orioles during their home opener. He went for 4.2 innings giving up 9 hits, 6 runs and a walk. The one plus was that he also struck out 5.

The Tigers lost 6-2. Our offense is just not clicking at all right now. It's okay to have a bit of a slow start but the Central division is very tough and if the boys are going to have any chance of getting back into the post season they need to turn things around in a hurry. Their current record is .500 and the fans of Detroit are no longer satisfied with merely having a winning season.

Tigers record: 3-3

The bats need to wake up

The Tigers offense was anemic today until the 9th inning when Pudge hit a 3 run HR - these were the only runs of the game but they were enough to best the Royals 3-2.

Bonderman looks to be this year's tough luck pitcher. He has had 2 quality starts but has not picked up a win. He looked better in today's game than he did during the home opener - today he notched 8 strikeouts and gave up 7 hits (including a HR) and 1 walk along with 2 runs.

Granderson's hot start came to an end with an 0-4 day. Inge is still looking for the elusive first hit. Bobby Seay got into the action for an inning and gave up 1 walk.

Tigers record: 3-2

Maroth gets the win

It wasn't an easy outing for Mike Maroth - he gave up 4 runs and 6 hits (including a HR) - but he did pick up his first victory since early last year when he was forced into elbow surgery. The Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-5 in what should be the only non-televised game of the season if all of the pre-season television talk comes to fruition.

Curtis Granderson continued his hot start with 2 more hits, 2 more runs and 2 more RBIs. Gary Sheffield also chipped in with 2 hits, 2 RBIs and 1 run. Both Sheffield and Granderson hit home runs.

Tigers record: 2-2

Tigers fall to the Royals

Justin Verlander gave up 5 walks today but he managed to strand each of them. After 6 innings he had given up 0 earned runs, 1 run, 5 walks, 2 hits and had recorded 4 strikeouts. This should be enough to win a game but unfortunately the offense fell flat, collecting only 5 hits and 1 run. Jose Mesa continued to not impress me when he gave up two runs in a 0.1 innings - his ERA is 54.00 after today's regular season debut in a Tigers uniform.

It was a very cold day and neither team was producing much offense, however, the Royals capitalized on their few hits and one Tigers error.

Tigers record: 1-2

Pitching from both sides

Pat Venditte, Jr. is a middle reliever in his sophomore year at Creighton. He is a soft tosser, throwing between 80 and 85 mph who practically begged for a spot on the team. Currently he's got two ERAs - 2.36 as a righty and 2.92 as a lefty. Yes, that's right - Venditte is ambidextrous and has similar ability with both arms. Like a switch hitter he can switch arms at will throughout the game as long as he sticks to one arm for an entire opponents at bat.

He describes himself as having average skill and needing the edge that switching arms gives him. His coach says that his talent level shouldn't allow him to be as successful as he has been. None of this is deterring big league scouts who see him as a possible late pick in the next draft and understandably so. He has the potential to be able to pitch twice as many innings as the average pitcher so even in a mop-up roll he could be quite useful.

Cold Weather Postponement

The last game of the current series vs. the Toronto Blue Jays was cancelled today due to cold weather - it would have been 32 degrees with flurries at first pitch. The game has been rescheduled for September 10th and helps to alleviate some of the frustration that fans had over a 2007 schedule that had the Tigers and Blue Jays only facing off during the month of April.

I have mixed feelings about this move. While it's certainly understandable to want to avoid risking any one's health there have been several baseball games played in similar weather. The reschedule date may make the game very important in the playoff race and will most certainly put stress on the Tigers as that will be one less day that they will have off going into the final weeks. If we are playoff bound we might end up regretting the decision. That being said I am glad that Justin Verlander didn't have to start today - there is still some concern regarding his arm strength for this year and throwing in such cold temperatures would not have helped.

Random Pictures from Opening Day 2007 at Comerica Park

Close Call

The Tigers received their AL Championship rings this afternoon on a dreary, cold day with few fans in the stands to enjoy it. Current minor league players who were with the club last year were on hand as was Matt Stairs who is currently with the Blue Jays. The rings are huge!

Nate Robertson had a good outing tossing for 5.2 innings with 2 runs allowed. Curtis Granderson had a career day - he hit his first Grand Slam and also got an RBI triple - his line on the day was 2 for 5 with 5 RBIs, 2 runs, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Craig Monroe and Brandon Inge are the only starters who are still at a .000 average on the season but they did both score 1 run today.

The Tigers vaunted bullpen almost gave up what should have been an easy win when Grilli and Rodney combined to give up 7 runs in the 8th inning.

Tigers record: 1-1

Opening Day 2007

The Tigers played very poorly today in their first game of the season in a 10th inning, 5-3 loss against the Toronto Blue Jays. Jeremy Bonderman gave up 3 runs, all in the 1st inning but he should have only been charged with 2 runs as the lackadaisical outfielders allowed a ball to drop between them resulting in the 3rd run.

Bondo settled down after the 1st inning and the boys came back to tie. Rodney pitched terribly in the 10th, though, and that was basically it.

Here's a look at the day:




Mike Maroth threw a bullpen session.


First pitch.


Brandon Inge taking second.


Gary Sheffield hitting a sac fly.


Zumaya hit 100mph today but he also had control problems.


There are more pictures and comments on today's fan experience over at my regular blog.

I won't be going to another game until the 18th so I will also post some more Opening Day pictures over the next two weeks.

Tigers record: 0-1

Tigers Opening Day Lineup

Tomorrow when the Comerica Park announcer takes the mike and says "And now, the starting lineup for your 2007 defending American League Champion Detroit Tigers!" this is the order that he will announce:

Curtis Granderson, cf
Placido Polanco, 2b
Gary Sheffield, dh
Magglio Ordonez, rf
Carlos Guillen, ss
Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, c
Sean Casey, 1b
Craig Monroe, lf
Brandon Inge, 3b

..."And starting on the mound for your Tigers, Jeremy Bonderman!"

Bondo

In honor of Jeremy Bonderman getting the start tomorrow here is a picture of him from the last game of the ALCS. If you'd like to see more of my pictures from the playoffs (along with some other baseball photos) click here.

.677 - What can we infer from Spring Training?

The Tigers took 1st place in the Grapefruit league with a 2 game advantage. They had a .677 winning percentage which was also higher than the winner of the Cactus League (the Arizona Diamondbacks). The only other AL Central team to finish Spring Training with a winning record was the Cleveland Indians. If we could infer that these results really mean something (which they don't) we might predict the Central would end up like this:

Detroit
Cleveland
Minnesota
Kansas City
Chicago

Obviously I don't believe that the Royals will pull off a 4th place finish - as much as I've love to see the White Sox drop into last place there is no reason to believe this will actually happen. I do think it's possible for the last two spots to flip, though, and for the rest of this to be what may actually happen. It is interesting to note that the White Sox came in last in the entire Grapefruit league... with the Royals in 2nd to last place with a 2 1/2 game advantage. Spring Training records may not count but it still can't be comfortable to be the White Sox going into the regular season with a .313 win percentage.

The thing that stands out the most from this spring for the Tigers is that it showcased how deep our organization is in most positions. Catching is a weakness for us beyond the Major League level and needs to be addressed but most other positions look good right now, especially pitching. Many of these games were played by our organization players who are years away and they made a good showing. Most exciting was Cameron Maybin who promises to be a mainstay in our lineup in the somewhat near future.

Our minor league teams are stacked to repeat their success of last year just as much as the parent club is. 2007 will be a good year to be affiliated with the Tigers.

Weaver pitches 6 scoreless innings

Jeff Weaver ended Spring Training on a high note in the Mariners 2-1 victory against the Chicago Cubs. In a somewhat unconventional move Weaver pitched the final 6 innings of the game instead of the first 6. He scattered 5 hits and collected 4 strikeouts. He pitched efficiently needing only 71 pitches to get the victory. In a regular season game this pace would have left him easily poised to pitch into the 8th or even the 9th inning.

He ends the spring with a 5.68 ERA. Weaver is probably not going to be the stud pitcher that he was in the World Series throughout the entire season but the Mariners can expect solid outings from him. He will have the occasional game where he implodes (thanks to the curse of the HR) but I predict 12 victories from him (it would be 14 if the Mariners were any good) and an ERA of around 4.50. He will put in his typical workhorse season logging over 200 innings and collecting a higher than league average amount of strikeouts. He will also most likely lead the league in HRs allowed.

Tigers end Spring Training with a tie

The Tigers and the Yankees tied at 3 today for their last game of spring training. Mike Maroth tossed for 4 innings against the starting Yankees lineup giving up 3 runs and 7 hits. He also recorded 4 strikeouts.

So how did the Tigers regulars finish the spring? Here's a look at the ending averages of the probable starting lineup for Opening Day:

Granderson .314
Polanco .491
Sheffield .312
Guillen .236
Ordonez .283
Guillen .236
Rodriguez .394
Casey .278
Monroe .333
Inge .258

This team can hit and if they fail to repeat as AL champions it will not be for a lack of hitting (although it may be for a lack of clutch hitting). Guillen's numbers are really low but now that he's signed through 2011 and no longer has that distraction hanging over his head I'm sure that he'll turn things up a notch.

My prediction for 2007 - the Tigers will win the Central with 92 victories. The top 4 spots will be very close - this is going to be a dogfight all year and Tigers fans are going to have to hang in there as the Tigers will not be in first place for as long as they were in 2006. It will bounce back and forth. 1st-4th place will be divided by no more than 15 games in the Central and may even be as close as 7. 5th place, the Royals, will be blown out but not as badly as last year. They will be the team that decides how 1st-4th fall thanks to the lopsided schedule.