RSS
Thoughts after 6 2-3 innings, Tigers, Red Sox ALCS Game 6
- What a terrible pitch by Jose Veras. Willie Hernandez used to called pitches like that "a hanging booger." Shane Victorino wasn't going to hit his fastball. It's not like he doesn't have a good one. The guy throws gas in the mid-90s. Yet, he might as well have just screamed before Victorino hit the grand slam, "Here comes the curveball."
- Sometimes you'd settle for steady rather than flashy. See Jose Iglesias in the seventh inning. That should have been a double play.
- Hey, Phil Coke did his job getting David Ortiz out, again. Small consolation, eh?
- The Tigers' mental errors on the bases is a genuine flaw. Not only are they painfully slow overall, but not smart. Prince Fielder running to the double play turned a big frame into a two-run inning a sigh of relief by the Red Sox. The seventh inning would have proven to be a lot more damaging had Austin Jackson not gotten picked off first base. Those type of things are usually deadly.
- Nobody in this town would ever dispute whether Victor Martinez is a terrific hitter, but his status in this town has risen even higher with this postseason. There is nobody in the world you'd have up in a clutch situation than VMart right now. What a pro.
- You can't say the baseball gods have not been on the Tigers' side so far tonight. Dustin Pedroia's foul ball just missed being a 3-run home run, Jonny Gomes should have had a home run. That ball was inches from the top of the wall. This game could very easily have been out of hand the Red Sox way before it did. Tigers were fortunate it didn't
- I wasn't sure about Jim Leyland's decision to pull Jhonny Peralta for a pinch runner so early, but it was a lot more comforting when Don Kelly was in left field than Peralta when David Ortiz flipped that fly ball to left field in the sixth. Now, though, they could sure use Peralta's bat. One of those damned if you do, damned if you don't things.
- Sometimes you'd settle for steady rather than flashy. See Jose Iglesias in the seventh inning. That should have been a double play.
- Hey, Phil Coke did his job getting David Ortiz out, again. Small consolation, eh?
- The Tigers' mental errors on the bases is a genuine flaw. Not only are they painfully slow overall, but not smart. Prince Fielder running to the double play turned a big frame into a two-run inning a sigh of relief by the Red Sox. The seventh inning would have proven to be a lot more damaging had Austin Jackson not gotten picked off first base. Those type of things are usually deadly.
- Nobody in this town would ever dispute whether Victor Martinez is a terrific hitter, but his status in this town has risen even higher with this postseason. There is nobody in the world you'd have up in a clutch situation than VMart right now. What a pro.
- You can't say the baseball gods have not been on the Tigers' side so far tonight. Dustin Pedroia's foul ball just missed being a 3-run home run, Jonny Gomes should have had a home run. That ball was inches from the top of the wall. This game could very easily have been out of hand the Red Sox way before it did. Tigers were fortunate it didn't
- I wasn't sure about Jim Leyland's decision to pull Jhonny Peralta for a pinch runner so early, but it was a lot more comforting when Don Kelly was in left field than Peralta when David Ortiz flipped that fly ball to left field in the sixth. Now, though, they could sure use Peralta's bat. One of those damned if you do, damned if you don't things.
posted by Pat Caputo at
11:32 PM
2 Comments:
Pat, if you are going to throw three breaking balls in a row it better be a good one. This is the Tigers mentality, you would think a fastball would have gotten Victorino. I hope they make two moves, is doable, and trade Prince. His track record in the post season is killing the Tigers. Remember he is a cleanup hitter. Why is it doable, Mets, Rangers and Mariners need a first basemen and there is not much in free agency. Then sign Beltran to play LF.
The thing about baseball is that it is a "perfect game" that eventually exposes weaknesses and fast.
The Tigers were slow, have an average bullpen and catcher (WAR is 0.8) and were not good at base running. Also they showed that could not score runs for entire games and then score 9 runs the next game.
The Tigers were NOT a World Series winner.
The great news is that they have an exemplary starting pitching staff, the hardest in MLB to establish.
There's some work to do but good year!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home