All Star Brandon Inge

Posted on July 13, 2009 by mlblogsskiponsecond

I have to say that Detroit Tigers fans are some of the most loyal, dedicated fans in baseball. Through a fan vote on the internet, Brandon Inge was selected for the final All-Star spot. Upon hearing that fans had successfully voted him in with a record setting 68.6 million votes cast, Brandon Inge remarked,

Probably, the best thing that would ever happen to me in baseball. I’ve been thinking about this since I was a little kid.

Not only will he be attending the All-Star game with three of his team mates, he will also participate in this years home run derby. Congratulations, Brandon!

DETROIT TAKES TWO FROM CLEVELAND

The Tigers ended the first half of their season by taking two out of three games from the Indians. On Sunday the bats came alive, in a big way, as Justin Verlander notched win number ten in his belt. The Tigers came through winning 10-1. Brandon Inge, seemingly preparing for the Home Run Derby, hit two home runs in the game!

The Tigers will get a four day rest. They will face The New York Yankees for a weekend series beginning on Friday.

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All-Star Detroit Tigers

Posted on July 5, 2009 by mlblogsskiponsecond

I want to congratulate the All-Star selections that were announced today, especially the three players from the Detroit Tigers.

Curtis Granderson, Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson.

One more player can still be selected with your vote. Obviously, you
are free to choose whomever you would like, but I would urge you to
vote for Detroit Tiger’s 3rd baseman, Brandon Inge. He certainly
deserves it. He is having a career year, and defensively he has shown
tremendous agility and skill. Inge is hitting .267 with 18 home runs
and 52 RBI’s. At third base, he has 59 putouts, and 154 assists in 79
games. He has committed eight errors.

Make your vote today!
http://www.mlb.com/

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The Tigers Win In 16 Innings!

Posted on July 4, 2009 by mlblogsskiponsecond

350px-Surrender_of_General_Burgoyne.jpg

When this country began its quest for sovereignty, many doubted that
the small group of colonies could be victorious in its fight against a
formidable power such as Great Britain. When the Continental Army
captured a British Army in 1777, France entered the war, siding with
the Americans. Eventually, it was the signing of the Treaty of Paris,
that ended hostilities, and recognized the United States of America as
a sovereign nation.

So it is fitting that one day prior to the
celebration of Independence Day 2009, it was a guy named French who led
a long, protracted battle in the Tigers fight to retain the AL Central
lead.

Rookie Luke French, who hadn’t started a major league
ballgame since May, was fairly impressive during the 4.2 innings that
he pitched. He allowed six hits and two runs, one of them, a homer off
of the bat of Delmon Young. When he was relieved by Zach Miner in the
fifth, he had a 7-2 lead.

It was reassuring to get such a performance
from French.

Afterward, the game went back and forth, as the
Tigers saw that lead slowly eaten away by a hungry Twins team. By the
end of the sixth, Minnesota had tied the game at 7. It stayed that way
until the 14th inning when Gerald Laird was able to score off of a
Polanco single. Minnesota came back in the bottom of the inning to once
again tie it up. Eventually, the Tigers were able to pull away for
good in the top of the 16th.

The game took 5 hours and 7 minutes to complete.

I’m happy that we were able to come out on the winning side of this
one. I mentioned in yesterday’s post this was a must win game for the
Tigers. Minnesota is four games behind the Tigers. But, they may be
not be the ones who cause us the most grief this weekend.

After getting
their seventh straight win last night, the Chicago White Sox are still
sitting 2.5 games behind Detroit.

Game two of the series will feature Edwin Jackson (6-4 2.49 ERA) for Detroit. Francisco Liriano (4-8 5.62 ERA) will be on the hill for the Twins.

As you know, Jackson has
pitched brilliantly, but hasn’t seen much run support from his
teammates. The bats picked up last night, and I would like to see that momentum will
continue to swing in our favor.

It would be nice to enjoy some burgers off of the grill along with another win.

Happy 4th of July!

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The Tigers, Minnesota and Chicago

Posted on July 3, 2009 by mlblogsskiponsecond

There isn’t another way to phrase it.

THIS is a make it, or break it weekend, for the Detroit Tigers.

A series against the Minnesota Twins looms larges in the not too distant future, and along with it, the possibility of falling off the top of the AL Central heap.

The Tigers, although doing well at home, are 20-24 while on the road in 2009.

Typically, they don’t fare well against the Twins, and this weekend, they will play on the Twins home turf.

As they play ball, the question will be, is the deck stacked against the Tigers?

Tonight, rookie Luke French will get the start. The Tigers purchased his contract from Triple A Toledo, when Nate Robertson went on the DL in May. The last time we saw him in a major league uniform was on May 17. He came on to relieve of Zach Miner in Detroit, against Oakland. He pitched two innings, struck out two, but walked three batters.

Undoubtedly, the Tigers are looking to see some good things out of French, and tonight he can show his worth. It is essential that the Tigers win this game. They must take any momentum away from the Twins, tonight!

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

While most of the talk has been about the Twins, let’s not forget about the Chicago White Sox. We won’t see them until the 24th, but they have quietly snuck up on first place, and are 2 1/2 games behind the Tigers.

This weekend, the White Sox will be playing the Royals. Chicago is on a roll, having won six in a row, and 10 of their last 12 games. They are hitting .351 against their opponents.

A possible bright spot for the Tigers in the Chicago/Kansas City scenario, is that tonight Chicago will face Zach Greinke. Greinke is hot. He could stop them in their pursuance of first place. Certainly. But, let me cautiously remind you that Greinke – lifetime – is 5-8 with a 4.17 ERA against them.

A MUST WIN FOR DETROIT

The bottom line in all of this, is that the Tigers have an opportunity to show what they are REALLY made of. I know that has been said a number of times this season, and each time they have shown their legitimacy. But, this fourth of July weekend, as fireworks fill the skies of every major city across America, in Minnesota, the Tigers bats need to be explosive, too!

Additionally, the pitching needs to be(absolutely MUST be), top notch. The Tigers should spoil any celebrations the people or Minneapolis might be thinking of having.

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Tigers Out West In Oakland

Posted on June 29, 2009 by mlblogsskiponsecond

Well, it has been a while since I have posted anything for Skip On
Second. Of course – just as the baseball season was getting underway –
my home computer crashed. I was reluctant to purchase a new computer,
solely because I would have to purchase one with Windows Vista (which I
have done anyhow). Through many channels, I had heard horror stories
about the Vista operating system. My original intention was to wait
until the roll-out of Windows 7 on October 22. I decided to buy now –
only after hearing that Microsoft will give Vista users free updates to
the new OS as soon as it becomes available.

So there, a short story long! But, nonetheless the reason for my blogging absence.

I didn’t quite disappear though. While there was
a lack of blogging during the last few weeks, micro-blogging – on
Twitter – took on increased importance. Mobile, with a BlackBerry, I
was able to express my thoughts about baseball – in realtime. Not only
did the “tweets” reach you, but you responded, and we were able to
carry on a conversation during many ballgames.

I like the immediacy of Twitter, and I would like to invite you to follow me at https://twitter.com/skipsamo.

TIGERS/ASTROS

Going
into the weekend series with the Houston Astros, the Detroit Tigers had
a seven game win streak. By the end of the weekend, the Astros had
taken two out of three games. Houston was well on the way to winning
Sunday’s game, but with a two out, two strike count in the ninth
inning, the Tigers managed some clutch heroics from Marcus Thames, and
a two run homer off of the bat of Brandon Inge.

I
noticed he walked Marcus with a split-finger (fastball), and threw me a
first-pitch split-finger,” Inge said. “I thought, I don’t think he
wants to fall behind both guys.’ I just tried to stay on the fastball
and be aggressive with it.

Fernando Rodney was able to get his 17th save in the Tigers 4-3 victory.

Tonight,
the Tigers begin a three game set against the Oakland Athletics. Rick
Porcello is on the hill for Detroit, while Brett Anderson will throw
for the Athletics.

The Tigers will wrap up the week of baseball in Minnesota.

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Tigers Beat The Royals 13-1

Posted on May 26, 2009 by mlblogsskiponsecond

The Tigers extended their win streak to seven games when they played the Colorado Rockies on Friday night. Then, they weren’t able to come up with a win on Saturday, or Sunday.

But, in yesterday’s Memorial Day game at Kauffman Stadium, they were able to make up for the weekend losses in one fell swoop.

The Kansas City Royals put their best foot forward for game one of the series by placing Gil Meche on the mound. Meche didn’t make it through three innings. The Tiger bats were alive and hitting!

Justin Verlander didn’t allow a base runner until the fourth. He pitched a shut-out through seven, and struck out eight batters en route to his fifth win of the season.

“One thing that strikes me in his last few games is when we take a lead, he goes out and shuts them down immediately,” bullpen coach Jeff Jones said. “And that’s huge. It seems like every time we take a lead and he’s on the mound, he has a very quick inning the next time. It really helps break their spirit and helps you get back in the dugout.”

Although his pitching was exceptional, as Tigers pitching has been of late, he was given ample run support in this one. The offense tallied 13 times on 19 hits.

Tonight, the Royals will send Zack Grienke (0.82 ERA) to pitch against Edwin Jackson (2.55 ERA).

DOUBLE DIGIT FUN

Did you notice the numerous games where double digit runs were scored, yesterday? In addition to the Tigers game (13-1), the other double digit results were…

NYY 11
TEX 1

TB 11
CLE 10

CWS 17
LAA 3

PIT 10
CHC 8

LAD 16
COL 6

Interesting, huh?

 
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Dontrelle Willis Shines

Posted on May 20, 2009 by mlblogsskiponsecond

Wow!

At times we weren’t sure it was ever going to happen. There were the occasional flashes that made us think maybe we were wrong.

Then there were the complete breakdowns.

Last night – no doubts.

Last night – no maybe’s.

Last night – was spectacular!

Dontrelle Willis showed the hometown folks the real Dontrelle. The guy was great. 

Willis picked up his first win as a Detroit Tiger by beating a red hot Texas Rangers ball club 4-0. Willis allowed only one hit over the 6 1/3 innings that he pitched. He retired 17 batters in a row, walked only two and struck out five.

At one point, after a strike out, he thumped his chest with the confidence we wanted – for so long – to see in him.

And, when Jim Leyland changed pitchers in the seventh, Dontrelle exited to a standing ovation from an appreciative crowd, and then gratefully acknowledged the support.

Everyone was talking about it. Twitter was abuzz with Tweets about his performance, and the local news and national news media beamed when reporting the story.

In an after game interview with FSDetroit, he thanked the city for staying behind him through all of his troubles, and reiterated that he was excited to have the opportunity to play ball in Detroit.

Toward the end of the 2008 season, I had been critical of him. That was until I saw how hard he was working to turn things around. Mostly what stood out for me, was that during this time I never heard a negative word come from him. No gripes or excuses – just an honest desire to be the pitcher that he was when the Tigers picked him up from the Marlins.

It speaks to this man’s character.

This has a real rags to riches feel to it. The leap from desperation to destination had been a difficult one for Willis, but the Tigers stood by him. Detroit stood by him.

Welcome back, Dontrelle, and please – enjoy your stay in the D!

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Bats Are Hot Against Oakland

Posted on May 19, 2009 by mlblogsskiponsecond

I was frustrated after watching last week’s series with The Minnesota Twins.

Many Detroit fans were.

It seemed we had found our groove, cruising along nicely, and then WHAM – we hit a brick wall…

… and then we climbed over it –

and banged up the Oakland Athletics!

The Tigers bats burst like the clouds above the city that held the start of the game at bay for 61 minutes. Subsequently, another burst from the heavens would keep us waiting for another 73 minutes. On a night like that, THAT usually is the story.

But the bats turned out to be the bigger tale Friday night. Enroute to a 14-1 win, Ryan Raburn hit a grand slam, as did Brandon Inge.

The last time two grand slams happened in a game was on June 24, 1968.

Jim Northrup was the man that night. (A little Tigers karma from the past can be good for everyone!)

But, we weren’t done yet! The bats continued screaming on Saturday, as the Tigers posted a 9-1 win, and again on Sunday – when they won it 11-7!

It was a good series for us. One they could use to cement confidence in themselves. It gave the fans confidence in the wake of the Twins debacle.

Next, the Texas Rangers are in town. The SMOKIN’ HOT  Texas Rangers. They have won seven in a row, and are atop the AL West.

The story will be completed on Dontrelle Willis tonight, or just beginning.

In his debut last week, he allowed four runs in a game that Detroit would lose. He lasted only 4 2/3 innings. Tonight must be better. It has to be.

Jeremy Bonderman will see his next rehab assignment in Toledo on Thursday. He feels he is only one or two rehab stints away from re-joining the Tigers. If Willis performs poorly, it could be be sooner. But, no time table has been set for his return.

Magglio is out on breavement, attending to personal matters, for the next two games.

Wilkin Ramirez has been called up, and will start as the DH on Wednesday.

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Willis Makes His Season Debut Tonight

Posted on May 13, 2009 by mlblogsskiponsecond

DTRAIN.jpg

The time has arrived.

The question to be answered – is it the beginning or the end for The D-Train?

Tonight, Dontrelle Willis will get the start, his first this season, against the Minnesota Twins.

Much has been said about his trip to the DL, brought about due to anxiety disorder. Through my previous posts about Willis, I have been harsh. But, he has shown a sincere effort to get his stuff back, and get himself back on track. For that he should be applauded, and given this opportunity with our full support.

“It’s been a traveling circus,” Willis said. “I’ve been everywhere. Trust me, it’s not as bad as what it seems, but I want to be a traveling circus in that big league uniform, like everybody else.”

If there is any precedent that has been set regarding a positive outcome, one need look no further than Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals.

From Wikipedia,

Greinke left the Royals spring training camp for personal reasons in late February, 2006.[1] It was later revealed that he was suffering from social anxiety disorder and depression.[2] He reported back to the Royals’ spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona, on April 17, where he underwent ongoing pitching sessions. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list due to psychological issues and took time away from baseball entirely until returning on a rehab assignment with Wichita.

Currently, Greinke has a 0.51 ERA, and is arguably the best pitcher in Major League Baseball.

When all is said and done, Willis may not be the best, but he can get back to the form he had when he was with the Marlins.

“Whatever the outcome may be, I’m going to really go out here and enjoy this game of baseball,” Willis said. “Only a few of us to get to play until we’re 35, and I’m not Tom Glavine, so I’m going to enjoy this.”

To make room on the 25 man roster for Dontrelle, Juan Rincon has been designated for assignment.

 
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Tigers Sweep Indians

Posted on May 11, 2009 by mlblogsskiponsecond

Back to back shutouts. The last time it happened in Cleveland was in 1908.

The Tigers completed a three game sweep of the Indians over the weekend, and are sitting atop the American League Central tied with the Royals.

This season is getting better all the time!

How about the catch by Curtis Granderson Friday night? Everyone is still talking about that one three days later. It doesn’t get any better than this one!

In case you missed it, check out The Grandstand.

Once again, Justin Verlander was tremendous. Over nine innings he only allowed 2 hits, and struck out eleven! It’s obvious that JV’s back, and is a better JV, too!

On Saturday, Edwin Jackson didn’t let the lack of run support get the better part of him. He continued to do what he does best until the Tigers kicked it up in the seventh and eighth innings, posting runs, and ultimately the win for Jackson.

Zumaya’s arm is better and it showed Saturday.

Finally, on Sunday Rick Porcello allowed only one run on five hits over his five innings. He continues to improve as time goes on.

It just keeps getting better!

ODDS AND ENDS

While checking the newspaper (which I like to do at lunch), I ran across a couple of things that I found interesting. I’ve provided the links below.

Granderson likes to watch Nick At Nite!

Ryan Strieby’s path to Detroit.

The Tigers have an off night tonight. Tomorrow they will play Minnesota at the Metrodome.

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