SB Nation User Blog: MackAveKurt

Andy Van Slyke and Miguel Cabrera goof off. Saw this at the Det News.

MackAveKurt — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:01:04 -0000

Andy Van Slyke and Miguel Cabrera goof off.

Saw this at the Det News.

Game 68 Overflow: Brewers at Tigers

MackAveKurt — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:51:47 -0000

Tigers lead 9-4 in the 8th!

Clete Culties' prayers work: Tigers 9, Twins 0

MackAveKurt — Wed, 06 May 2009 01:16:19 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

Even Miguel Cabrera, left, wants to join the Cult of Clete.

Browse more photos »

The Cult of Clete can rejoice! Not only did the Tigers announce earlier today that outfielder Clete Thomas was called up from Triple-A Toledo -- having made his way back to the majors after Tommy John surgery -- but the Bless You Boys fan favorite batted third and very nearly hit for the cycle. The Tigers and Jim Leyland both shook things up. Detroit made a couple roster moves, calling up Thomas and infielder Jeff Larish from Toledo, while sending lefty reliever Clay Rapada back to Toledo and placing Carlos Guillen on the disabled list with a sore shoulder. Thomas was said to be surprised when he looked at the lineup card and saw his name next to the third slot, but Leyland said he was trying to mix things up a bit in an attempt to spark what has become a low-scoring team recently.

It obviously worked, not the least because of Thomas. In his first three at-bats, he hit a double, a triple and a single to set up the attempt at the cycle. He grounded out and walked in his final two at-bats of the game to fall short, but helped the Tigers jump out to a 6-0 lead after two innings and 9-0 lead after four.

Almost lost is the stellar showing by Tigers rookie Rick Porcello. He pitched what you expect to be a typical Porcello outing when he settles into his career. The sinkerballer forced 14 ground balls -- resulting in three double plays -- and struck out three for his first win in front of the Comerica Park fans. He bounced back beautifully from a pair of downright ugly games.He dropped his ERA to 4.71 from 6.23.

With the win, the Tigers avoided the two-game sweep, and leave for an eight-game road trip that begins in Chicago, then continues in Cleveland and Minnesota.

Roar

There are so many details in today's game, as you'd expect. Two more to note: Miguel Cabrera hit a 440-foot "moon shot" to left field for two runs. He came a triple away from the cycle. Unlike Thomas, he never came to bat in the eighth inning, because Leyland chose to pinch hit Larish. ... Curtis Granderson, debuting in the fifth batting slot, hit a home run as well, his ninth. Grandy is now tied for second in the AL in home runs, two behind former Tiger Carlos Pena with 11. ... This is the Tigers' third shutout of the season and second by a 9-0 score.

Whimper

I can't find any whimper for the Tigers, so I'll whimper for the Twins tonight. They played defense uncharacteristic of a team with such good fundamental. They were charged with three errors and made multiple miscues on balls that fell in for hits as well. It was refreshing to see a team do what the Tigers have typically done this year: looked ugly in the field and gave up the crooked inning to get knocked out of the game. Two errors in the second helped Detroit score five in the frame.

Turning point

Tigers catcher Gerald Laird walked with two outs in the second inning to start it all. The Tigers scored five runs. Ramon Santiago's double, Josh Anderson's single, Thomas' triple and Cabrera's single all knocked in runs.

Comment of the night

The culties were all happy with Clete's play today. wepri31 said it first:

The cult rejoices!

Ian will be back Wednesday! Now..

LET'S GO WINGS!

Kurt of Mack Avenue Tigers served as your guest blogger while Ian was in Seattle.

Game 26: Twins at Tigers

MackAveKurt — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:50:30 -0000

Next Game

Minnesota Twins
@ Detroit Tigers

Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 7:05 PM EDT
Comerica Park

Nick Blackburn (2-1, 4.02 ERA) vs Rick Porcello (1-3, 6.23)

Partly cloudy. Game time temperature around 65.

Complete Coverage >

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Rick Porcello	1-3	4	4	0	0	0	0	21.2	24	16	15	6	6	12	6.23	1.38

VS.

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Nick Blackburn	2-1	5	5	0	0	0	0	31.1	36	15	14	1	7	12	4.02	1.37

Tigers rookie Rick Porcello will take the rubber tonight looking for his first win since April 19 (and the second of his career.) He's allowed 10 earned runs, five walks and three home runs over the past two games, so he'll need to turn all of those storylines around if he wants to keep the Tigers from being "swept" in this two-game series with the Twins.

Toeing the rubber for the Twins will be Nick Blackburn, who doesn't miss a lot of bats but doesn't miss the strikezone much, either. How's he win? Keeps the ball in the park, for one, having allowed just one home run in about 31 innings of work.

Finally, Ian will be returning to the Great Lakes State tonight, and will be back blogging here Wednesday. I've enjoyed my time guest-blogging. Hope you've all enjoyed it, too!

Lineup

Minnesota Twins @ Detroit Tigers

05/05/09 7:05 PM EDT

Minnesota Twins	Detroit Tigers
Denard Span - CF	Josh Anderson - LF
Alexi Casilla - 2B	Placido Polanco - 2B
Joe Mauer - C	Clete Thomas - RF
Justin Morneau - 1B	Miguel Cabrera - 1B
Jason Kubel - DH	Curtis Granderson - CF
Joe Crede - 3B	Magglio Ordonez - DH
Michael Cuddyer - RF	Brandon Inge - 3B
Delmon Young - LF	Gerald Laird - C
Nick Punto - SS	Ramon Santiago - SS

Kurt of Mack Avenue Tigers is guest-blogging while Ian is in Seattle.

Leyland makes moves, unveils new lineup

MackAveKurt — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:39:43 -0000

As I mentioned earlier, the Tigers made some shuffling in their 25-man roster today to address some key problems -- notable outfield defense being horrible, and Carlos Guillen being sore. So the moves today:

Carlos Guillen to the 15-day DL
Clay Rapada optioned back to Triple-A Toledo
Left-handed infielder Jeff Larish recalled from Toledo
Left-handed outfielder Clete Thomas called up from Toledo.

The lineup has been shaken up as well. I think this was a good idea by Leyland. Although we know your leadoff batter being able to hit home runs is no problem -- and we saw Curtis Granderson's Cleveland counterpart, Grady Sizemore, is leadoff as well. We know Tigers superslugger Miguel Cabrera wasn't getting enough protection as the cleanup batter, as he could be pitched around to, to get to the injured Guillen, who very well might hit into a double play.

Leyland told reporters:

“We’re trying to shake it up, trying to get something going," Leyland said. "I, obviously, tried to get a little speed up top. One thing I know, there is some energy (at the top). They might run into some outs, but it will be because they’re running.”

Tonight's lineup looks something like this, though I imagine the day-to-day lineup would involve Adam Everett playing at shortstop, rather than Ramon Santiago. What I like about this is the improved defense in the corner outfield spots. Thomas has always been a solid outfielder. What I don't like isThomas batting third, as he has never been real exciting with the bat. I assume Leyland did this to keep the pitcher looking at different sides of the plate, as he's mentioned that as a desire in the past.

Anderson lf (LH)
Polanco 2b (RH)
Thomas rf (LH)
Cabrera 1b (RH)
Granderson cf (LH)
Ordonez dh (RH)
Inge 3b (RH)
Laird c (RH)
Santiago ss (S)

More reading:

Oakland Press beat writer Jim Hawkins' blog (This has the most information and quotes)
Beck's blog
John Lowe at the Freep
Billfer at Detroit Tigers Weblog

So does this stink of desperation to you? Does it make sense? Do you have a better idea? Let's here it.

Guillen ailing, DL next? Answer: yes

MackAveKurt — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:32:08 -0000

Updated 4:35, quoting MLB.com beat writer Jason Beck's tweet:

Carlos Guillen to DL with right shoulder inflammation. Larish, Clete Thomas up. Rapada sent down.

MLB.com's Jason Beck reported last night that Carlos Guillen is not just battling a sore right Achilles tendon in his ankle, he's also got an aching left shoulder to go with it. He has obviously not been himself this season -- whatever "himself" is any more. He's batting .200 with a .244 SLG, while getting on base just 26.7 percent of the time. In left field, he looks hideous. (But how hideous does Ryan Raburn look that Jim Leyland is playing Guillen out there?)

Beck reports Guillen said he will be examined "soon." But soon enough? And Leyland will try to get him some rest. But can he? The Tigers are already riding a short bench. And on this bench is Raburn, backup catcher Dane Sardinha, as well as everyone's favorite ~~backup quarterback~~ Tigers hero Ramon Santiago.

Beck:

If Guillen did need to rest more than a few games, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Tigers in a roster squeeze, possibly forced to either put Guillen on the disabled list for roster flexibility or to go to seven relievers and call up another position player. It would give the Tigers the extra bat, but it would also allow them to bring up another bat from Triple-A Toledo to plug into the lineup that might give a spark.

And right now, that looks like the best solution to me. With Guillen aching and not producing, how does it help the team to keep him in Detroit, unless you think that little of the alternativve in Toledo? I assume OF Clete Thomas would be first in line for the callup, but OF Wilkin Ramirez has been doing pretty well, too.

Stop me if you've heard this... Twins 7, Tigers 2

MackAveKurt — Tue, 05 May 2009 01:36:06 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

Kick the ball, Guillen-san.

Browse more photos »

Fixed the headline. That'll teach me to start the post before the game ends!

After another game where the Tigers gave up a big inning late, as they were unable to stop the bleeding, the only question on the minds of Tigers fans and broadcasters for a game out of reach: Can Brandon Inge extend his on base streak to 25? The answer? No. He struck out in his final at bat. So on 80s-night in Detroit, the Tigers looked more like the '89 version than the '84.

The Tigers closer their homestand tomorrow when they host the Twins in the back end of this quick two-game series. The good news for optimists? The Tigers haven't been swept this year and seem rally back after losing a lot of series openers.

Roar

Edwin Jackson finished the night with seven strikeouts in six innings. (But he did allow seven hits and two walks.) Miguel Cabrera hit a home run into the Twins' bullpen, for his sixth home run and 18th RBI of the season. And that's about it.

Whimper

The Tigers couldn't keep their opponent from having a crooked inning, yet again. At some point, the pitchers, or the manager, will have to learn how to stop a team from that one big inning, right? Because the way they're doing things, innings that start bad tend to end worse. This is depressingly becoming a signature of the team. ... Also the Tigers managed just four hits and two runs in 7-1/3 innings against Francisco Liriano. He struck out nine. Liriano is good, but he entered the game with a 6.05 ERA. For some reason, Detroit has helped a lot of pitchers with high ERAs turn things around this season.

Turning point

After Cabrera hit a home run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 1-1 and give the Tigers hope, Jackson allowed the first two twins to bat in the seventh on base, one by single, one by walk. Then the next two who came up to bat -- Joe Crede and Michael Cuddyer -- hit a double and a triple, respectively. This is before there was a single out.

Comment of the game

I know this is how I feel, SabreRoseTiger said:

For what it's worth...

One of the things I have to study for for my Pharmaceutics final is rectal suppositories. Kinda fitting.

Evening prowl: Regrets, he names a few

MackAveKurt — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:21:07 -0000

More photos » by Carlos Osorio - AP

The Tigers don't regret trading for starting pitcher Edwin Jackson, but how do the Rays feel?

Browse more photos »

It wouldn't take long to think of some offseason mistakes teams made. Oakland trading for Matt Holliday pops into my head. (That 0-for-7 Sunday was regretful.) And Tigers fans still will not let the trade of Jair Jurrjens to Atlanta for Edgar Renteria a season earlier go.) Boston Globe baseball writer Nick Cafardo wondered in his baseball notes column Sunday what offseason moves some teams might be regretting now that we're a month into the season. There's no regrets in Detroit, however, for the move that brought Edwin Jackson to the mound. But how might they feel in Tampa?

Cafardo:

Rays trade Edwin Jackson to Tigers for Matt Joyce: Tampa has a good rotation, but the feeling is that Jackson could have been incorporated into the bullpen. It was a move similar to the Red Sox dealing Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Peña - you think you have extra pitching, so you take a chance on an outfielder with upside. Note that the Sox have not made such a move since then.

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman mentioned Justin Verlander in his column today. (He also mentioned the Royals are contenders, not pretenders.)

Tigers ace Justin Verlander is showing signs of getting it back together. After Verlander was hit hard by the Angels earlier this year, one executive said, "The guy throws 97 and has a wicked hook. He has the best stuff in the league. He should be better than this." Tigers insiders say Verlander tends to take a know-it-all position and is resistant to suggestion. But he is no dummy and perhaps he is learning.

Long as we're talking about Verlander, Jim Hawkins blogs about the ace's relationship with the manager. The quote is too good not to share.

“He’s bull-headed, and I’m bull-headed,” Leyland said. “There’s nothing wrong with that. Some married people are bull-headed, too, and they still love each other.
“I don’t love the guy but I love having him on my team. He has the best overall stuff of any pitcher I’ve ever managed. He’s one of the best players I’ve ever had. The sky’s the limit for this guy.

Is Matt Treanor really out for the season? After the Tigers told beat writers they suspected Treanor's season was over, the backup catcher returned to the Tigers clubhouse on crutches today. MLB.com's Jason Beck says Treanor believes he'll work his way back.

"I'm going to go about it as if I have an opportunity to play again this season," Treanor said.

Treanor said he talked after the surgery with the specialist, Dr. Bryan Kelly. He's going to get some opinions on the timetable coming up. If it sounds certain that he'll miss the season, he'll probably go home to rehab, but that he'd like to stick around Detroit when the team's in town if he has a shot at a comeback.

Fox Sports Detroit Tigers play-by-play man Mario Impemba wants to help those serving in the armed forces away from Michigan to have a little piece of the Opening Day enjoyment. He, along with Major League Baseball and the Tigers will be providing 3-hour DVDs of the opening day broadcast. Detroit Tigers Weblog has more information.
Finally tonight, your guest blogger reviewed the Tigers' latest week of action at Mack Avenue Tigers.

Game 25: Twins at Tigers

MackAveKurt — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:37:15 -0000

Current Series

2 game series vs Twins @ Comerica Park

Minnesota Twins Twinkie Town @ Detroit Tigers Bless You Boys 7:05 PM EDT Monday Comerica Park Francisco Liriano (0-4) 6.04 ERA vs Edwin Jackson (1-1) 2.25 ERA Partly cloudy. Game time temperature around 65. Complete Coverage >
Rick Porcello vs. Nick Blakcburn		7:05 PM EDT Tuesday

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Edwin Jackson	1-1	5	5	0	0	0	0	32.0	25	12	8	4	8	21	2.25	1.03

VS.

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Francisco Liriano	0-4	5	5	0	0	0	0	28.1	28	20	19	3	11	20	6.04	1.38

I was all set to type out, "We have another brilliant pitching matchup," when I noticed maybe we don't. How is Francisco Liriano 0-4? I remember how dominating he used to be before having surgery on his elbow. I think it took a bit out of his slider. So here we are looking at a guy with a 6.04 ERA and 11 walks. Still, I wouldn't expect the worst out of Liriano.

Detroit has the best winning percentage against Central Division opponents so far, at .625, but also the fewest games against Central Division opponents. Edwin Jackson takes the mound today with the Tigers best ERA (2.25) and a low-low 1.03 WHIP. His last outing, the Tigers lost 11-0 to New York after he threw six innings of four-hit shutout ball.

As for the Twins, they are just 3-5 this season when they leave the cozy baggies and homer hankies of the Metrodome behind. Strange as it may sound, the team known for its pitching has allowed nearly as many runs as the Cleveland Indians this season, while scoring the second fewest in the division. Of course, now they have Joe Mauer back, who hit a home run in his first at-bat of the season Friday. So it's hard to judge much based on their record quite yet. They are coming off of a weekend during which they lost two of fhree to Kansas City. Your SBNation Twins blog for this short two-game series is Twinkie Town.

Lineup

Minnesota Twins @ Detroit Tigers

05/04/09 7:05 PM EDT

Minnesota Twins	Detroit Tigers
Denard Span - CF	Curtis Granderson - CF
Alexi Casilla - 2B	Placido Polanco - 2B
Joe Mauer - C	Magglio Ordonez - RF
Justin Morneau - 1B	Miguel Cabrera - 1B
Jason Kubel - DH	Carlos Guillen - LF
Joe Crede - 3B	Gerald Laird - C
Michael Cuddyer - RF	Brandon Inge - 3B
Delmon Young - LF	Ryan Raburn - DH
Nick Punto - SS	Adam Everett - SS

Ace-ability! Tigers 3, Indians 1

MackAveKurt — Sun, 03 May 2009 19:51:03 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

The Ace comes through for the Tigers, as Justin Verlander escaped bases loaded with no outs by holding Cleveland off the board in a 1-1 game. The Tigers won, 3-1.

Browse more photos »

In a battle of ace pitchers, the Tigers found a game-defining moment in Justin Verlander in the seventh inning and rode the momentum to a much-needed series victory over Cleveland. (More on that later.) The Tigers needed that, because today's game was a nice opportunity to show to themselves and others this 2009 edition of the Tigers is vastly improved over the past season -- not just physically, but mentally. Cleveland has been a stick in the Tigers' craw year after year after year.

Friday's victory by the Indians gave the Tribe an eighth consecutive victory over a Tigers team that had struggled against in-division teams. But Detroit survived the mental kick in the stomach on Saturday after blowing a 5-0 lead only to be trailing in the eighth inning. They held strong again today when the Indians loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh inning.

And now, they have defended Comerica Park in a series they very well could have lost after dropping Friday's game, and rallied to a 5-3 record against the Central in this early season. All indications are positive.

Roar

With a home run in the second inning, Brandon Inge extended his on-base streak to start the season to 24 games. The Tigers' record of 30 was set by Ron LeFlore in 1976. ... Verlander struck out 11 batters -- including recording seven outs in a row by strikeout from the second to the fourth innings. ... Miguel Cabrera went 3-for-4, and the top four in the order combined for eight hits.... Bobby Seay and Joel Zumaya kept the Indians off the board in the eighth, and Fernando Rodney earned his sixth save in the ninth. The Tigers "winning" bullpen arms this season mean most late leads are safe ... Tigers pitching held Cleveland to three hits in 30 at-bats.

Whimper

Carlos Guillen went 0-for-4 with four fly balls to right field, leaving seven on base. ... Tigers DH Ryan Raburn went 0-for-4, leaving four on base.

Turning point

A walk of Shin-Soo Choo to open the seventh inning was a bad start for Verlander. Mark DeRosa doubled. Then Tigers manager Jim Leyland ordered an intentional walk to the left-handed ~~Kelly Shoppach~~ David Dellucci to get to the 7-8-9 batters. Even the ace was going to have troubles getting out of this one! But Verlander induced a shallow fly to right field and then struck out Indians rookie Matt LaPorta, who was making his big league debut. Now the Tigers just had to worry about the No. 9 batter, and Luis Valbuena grounded out weakly. Wow!

The Tigers rode that momentum into the bottom half of the inning, and back to back doubles by the first two batters, backup catcher Dane Sardinha and center fielder Curtis Granderson, gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead and put Verlander on-line for the victory.

Comment of the game

The Walrus9 shamelessly nominated this, but I think it sums thing up pretty well

I think I'm falling in love with this 2009 Tigers team

so much more heart and determination than last year’s team. Last year’s team folds when JV loads the bases. Last year’s team doesn’t get a couple runs to back up JV after he manages that Houdini act.

Kurt of Mack Avenue Tigers is guest blogging while Ian is in Seattle.