School has once again started, so now I have something to do besides work and baseball (though obviously I will try my best to make time for the latter, as it is undoubtedly the most entertaining of the three, at least for the next two months and some change—hopefully). And if the back to school shopping is any indication, it’s bound to be a strange year. I went to Wal-Mart the other night for some last-minute supplies. They didn’t have half the stuff I was looking for, they were selling digital cameras in the back-to-school aisle, and there was a clown working one of the checkouts. WTF?

At any rate, here’s my schedule:

Monday

10:00-10:50: Introduction to Patient Care

11:00-11:50: Elementary Spanish II

12:00-12:50: Elementary Japanese I

3:00-3:50:     Functional Anatomy and Pathophysiology I

Tuesday

11:00-11:50: Elementary Spanish II

12:00-12:50: Elementary Japanese I

3:00-3:50:     Functional Anatomy and Pathophysiology I

Wednesday

12:00-12:50: Elementary Japanese I

3:00-3:50:     Functional Anatomy and Pathophysiology I

Thursday

10:00-10:50: Introduction to Patient Care

11:00-11:50: Elementary Spanish II

3:00-3:50:     Functional Anatomy and Pathophysiology I

Friday

11:00-11:50: Elementary Spanish II

12:00-12:50: Elementary Japanese I

As pathetic as it sounds, I’m now pretty glad I spent the summer watching (in part) those interviews with the likes of Magglio, Pudge, and Guillen. I’ve always had problems with understanding accents, but thanks to those soundbites, I’ve been getting better, and as it turns out, my Spanish professor is from Argentina. Granted, it’s not the exact same accent (not to mention the gender difference), but I think it’s close enough for my purposes. Now, those interviews won’t help me one bit with my Japanese professor, but you can’t have everything. There was one amusing/sad moment in Japanese yesterday, though. Our professor (or, I guess I should say “sensei”) had us all stand up, introduce ourselves, and tell the rest of the class why we chose to take Japanese. Far and away the most popular reason was “I like anime.”

With the Tigers being idle yesterday, out of curiosity I tuned into part of the Mud Hens game last night to check out Andrew Miller. He looked extremely sharp in his three innings. He threw a lot of strikes, racked up five strikeouts, gave up one hit and one run, but a decent showing nonetheless. The funny thing was that there were so many guys on the Mud Hens in this game that have been with the Tigers at some point or another (Miller, Infante, Hessman, Perez, Bazardo, Capellan) that at times it almost felt like a Tigers game (plus, Mud Hens catcher Dane Sardinha wears a catcher’s mask that looks exactly like Mike Rabelo’s). If you’re curious, in his first game back with the Mud Hens, Omar Infante was hitless, but he did have a walk, a stolen base, a sac fly, and an RBI (and he turned a nice double play). The Mud Hens would lose 6-3 in extra innings. There’s something else I’d like to say, and that is that Andrew Miller is another guy who should never wear the high socks. Ever. Though in his defense, he probably knows that. In case you don’t follow the Mud Hens (and I assume that would be most of you, and yes, I include myself in that category), the uniforms are designed so that all the players wear the high socks. They have no choice. Therefore, I’m willing to cut Miller some slack as long as he leaves that look in Toledo. The funny thing is that Omar Infante (who used to play with the Mud Hens several years ago) must’ve forgotten this, because during his first at-bat, he had his pantlegs down, but by the third inning he had adopted the same high-socks look as his teammates (and actually, Infante’s a guy who CAN pull off that look, though he chooses not to when he’s with the big club, and that’s fine). By the way, Joel Zumaya has officially been taken off the disabled list, and Aquilino Lopez has been sent back to Toledo to make room on the roster. Leyland has said that Joel will NOT pitch the eighth inning tonight, so let’s hope Rodney can get the job done, though that’s assuming the Tigers have a lead in the eighth inning, which I’m dearly hoping for.

One Year Ago: On August 21, 2006, the Tigers defeated the Chicago White Sox 7-1. After struggling mightily against the Sox for the entire season, Justin Verlander went seven strong innings and gave up only one run (a home run to Jermaine Dye). Meanwhile, Craig Monroe hit a two-run homer, and Sean Casey finished the night with three RBIs (the other two RBIs belonged to Pudge and Inge). One interesting thing I noticed is that in the box score, there is a double play credited to “Rodriguez-Guillen-Casey-Verlander.” Sounds kinda weird to me. Tadahito Iguchi was caught stealing in this game, so my guess is that someone struck out while Iguchi was on the move, and he got caught in a rundown.

2006 record: 80-45

2007 record: 67-57

UPDATE: Andrew Miller will start Friday for the Tigers. Chad Durbin will move to the bullpen, but Miller is not gonna be reinstated until then, so there's gonna be an extra arm in the bullpen for the next few days, so to speak. Meanwhile, Jason Beck has posted the lineup for tonight's game, although it's kind of early (around 4:30), so I suppose it could change. Anyways, it's your usual 1-7 guys (which means Polanco is back), Marcus Thames will be in left field, and Ryan Raburn will start at third base in place of Brandon Inge, who is apparently just getting a mental day off.

Once again, the Tigers have fallen back into that pattern that they were in with Bonderman’s games prior to the last one in Cleveland: Bonderman has bad first inning, settles down and pitches fairly well, then sometime in the middle innings, the offense squanders a golden scoring opportunity, after which Bonderman (and sometimes the bullpen) falls apart and gives up a bunch of runs. That’s exactly what happened yesterday. Bonderman wasn’t particularly sharp (he walked five and kept falling behind in counts), but he was able to limit the damage until late in the game, when everything kind of fell apart. A-Rod hit what should’ve been a double play ball, Inge had it go through his legs, the tying run would eventually score, Johnny Damon would hit a home run in the next inning, and the bullpen was unable to stop the bleeding, not that it mattered at that point.

For the second game in a row, clutch hitting was virtually nonexistent. Leyland’s actually more upset at the offense (or lack thereof) as opposed to the pitching. Once again, the Tigers had opportunities. After all, they had nine hits. They ended up leaving a runner at third base in two consecutive innings. Rabelo and Magglio had the only two RBIs of the game (that third run scored on a wild pitch). The number of strikeouts over the last two games have been unacceptably high. I mean, I know there are guys who are prone to striking out (Inge, Granderson), and I’m okay with that, but it’s starting to get a little ridiculous. And I know Joba Chamberlain has some wicked nasty stuff, so I can’t blame anyone for being blown away by him, but c’mon, nobody could muster so much as a hit against a guy who has an ERA of over seven? Sheffield never struck out, but he popped up almost every time he was at bat, which leads me to believe that his shoulder is bothering him again. Once guys got on base, the baserunning was really good, and that included a double steal that involved Magglio (Baseball can be so ironic. Magglio, who is not known as a guy who can run, has three stolen bases this year, at yet Pudge, who is a good runner, doesn’t have any). It’s a shame that no one was able to get them home more often. Mike Rabelo actually had a nice day at the plate, with three hits and an RBI (and I don’t think it has anything to do with him, but it’s kind of strange that the Tigers are .500 when he starts). Cameron Maybin had a rough time of it, and he ended up being one of the biggest culprits in stranding runners (the other being Sean Casey, although Robinson Cano took a hit away from him on one of those occasions). Curtis Granderson did get a hit, but continues to kind of be in a slump.

The Tigers are off today, but tomorrow begins a big homestand. First up are the Indians. Jair Jurrjens will make his second Major League start. He didn’t win in his first start (also against the Indians), but he pitched well enough to earn himself a spot on the rotation, for now. Everyone’s a little bit cautious concerning this start, because the Indians now have had a chance to scout him and figure out potential weaknesses, and you don’t wanna end up like Jordan Tata. Unfortunately for Jurrjens, he’s up against the same pitcher that outdueled him the first time around: Fausto Carmona. Due to the fact that the Indians have had about a million off-days in the past week, they’re currently working on a four-man rotation (God, I bet the Tigers miss Cliff Lee right about now). Carmona was really good the last time he faced Detroit. And I don’t blame the offense for anything. They weren’t stranding runners, primarily because most of the time, they didn’t have runners to strand. I’ll be at work during this one, so I’m only gonna be able to catch the late innings. All you can hope for is that Jurrjens is on top of his game, and that Carmona is not. And that the clutch hitting returns for the Tigers. By the way, tomorrow night’s game will also feature the return of Joel Zumaya, but it’s not gonna mean much if he doesn’t have a lead to protect. Though I do wonder who’s gonna get the heave-ho to make room for Joel on the roster…

One Year Ago: On August 20, 2006, the Tigers suffered a painful 7-6 loss to the Texas Rangers, which meant that the Rangers took three of four from the Tigers at Comerica. It’s painful because the Tigers put up six runs in the second inning and gave Jeremy Bonderman a 6-0 lead. However, Bonderman was not on top of his game and allowed the Rangers to chip away and eventually tie the game in the fifth inning (with two outs, mind you) before scoring the go-ahead run off Jason Grilli in the sixth. After the second inning, the Tigers couldn’t manage another extra-base hit. They nearly managed to tie the game back up in the seventh, but Magglio was called out on a play at the plate. Interestingly enough, this game featured errors by both Tigers catchers (although Pudge was playing first base and it was a fielding error on his part; Vance Wilson made a throwing error, though; one led to an unearned run on Bonderman, but I have no idea which one, and I’m too lazy to look at the play-by-play that closely).

2006 record: 79-45

2007 record: 67-57

This time the loss doesn’t sit quite as well as the last one, but still, it’s better than those losses we were facing a couple weeks ago, and the primary reason for that is that the pitching has been better. Chad Durbin was quite decent yesterday. I guess he just kinda ran out of steam in the sixth inning there. And there was a lot of bad luck involved with all the pitchers who gave up runs. Both of the home runs Durbin gave up were hit the opposite way, which is usually a difficult feat, and the one hit by Abreu just barely stayed fair (in fact, it hit the foul pole). With two outs, Byrdak gave up an infield single to Posada, and really, it’s hard to fault a pitcher for an infield single. That set up a run later on. Jason Grilli made the pitch he wanted to make, but Phillips was able to muscle it into the outfield for a bloop RBI single. Grilli and Bobby Seay both pitched well otherwise. I guess it was one of those days for the pitching.

Now the reason the loss doesn’t sit quite as well with me is because the offense did have their chances. They had eleven hits, for crying out loud, and they kept stranding runners left and right. The biggest culprits were Granderson (who seems to be in kind of a slump right now) and Magglio (who was probably just having an off-day, but he struck out three times). Of course, stuff like that weird double play didn’t help matters, but hey, I’ll give props to Clemens and Posada for that one. The only Tigers starter to not strike out at all was Guillen. Also, if you look at the box score, the hits weren’t exactly evenly distributed. A handful of Tigers had multiple hits, while most only had one or were held hitless. Sheffield, after going hitless for this entire series, went 3-for-5 with a double. Inge had two hits, one of the infield single variety. Pudge also had two hits but never made it beyond first base. After making a disappointing debut, Cameron Maybin got things going yesterday, getting his first Major League hit on a hit-and-run play. Then in his very next at-bat, he hit his first home run, and there was nothing cheap about it, cuz it went out to dead center (and he hit it off of Roger Clemens, so that’s something to tell the grandkids). My dad’s friend (the Yankees fan) said he cheered when he hit that home run, cuz he had felt bad for him the night before. Maybin was also hit by a pitch later on, so you could say he got the full experience.

Joel Zumaya made another rehab appearance with Toledo last night, and this time it didn’t go so well. He threw thirty pitches, nineteen for strikes, but he walked two and gave up two runs on two hits. Then again, the Mud Hens lost something like 8-0, and looking at the box score, it seemed that every Toledo pitcher got hammered last night. Also, Andrew Miller will make another start for the Mud Hens tomorrow night. However, he’ll be limited to only 50 pitches, because Jim Leyland “has a plan.” That’s led to some speculation that he’ll either be back pitching out of the bullpen or that by limiting him to 50 pitches, he’ll be able to rejoin the team in what was his spot in the rotation (which is now occupied by Chad Durbin) on Friday (which would mean short rest).

Well, my dad’s friend is convinced that the Tigers are gonna split this series with today’s game, but it’s a tall order. Jeremy Bonderman starts for the Tigers. He was very, very good his last time out, even though he picked up a no-decision. Let’s hope he can make it two good starts in a row. It’s going to be an uphill battle, because Chien-Ming Wang starts for the Yankees, and he’s got sparkling numbers against Detroit in his career. As far as the lineup goes, Polanco is expected to be back (FINALLY), and Pudge will probably get the day off. I’ll guess that Maybin will start in left field, but I’m not sure.

One Year Ago: On August 19, 2006, the Tigers lost to the Texas Rangers 3-1. Nate Robertson pitched exceptionally. He didn’t allow a baserunner until the fifth inning (when Mark Texiera homered), but just like this year, he didn’t get any run support, and an error by Omar Infante in the sixth led to two unearned runs, which were the difference. As for the offense, Craig Monroe hit a home run, but that was pretty much it. The Tigers were held to just five hits (three of which belonged to Carlos Guillen), so they didn’t really have many opportunities. By the way, that’s one of the strangest pictures of Pudge I have ever seen.

2006 record: 79-44

2007 record: 67-56

Meh, this is one of those “it happens” type of losses. I agree with what Jim Leyland said: Nate Robertson pitched better than the score indicates. For the most part, he was really good. He just happened to run into a ton of bad luck. Most of the runs he gave up had something to do with a couple of infield singles, a ground ball that took a weird hop over Guillen’s head, A-Rod’s double that just barely stayed fair, and a ball that Cameron Maybin may or may not have been able to catch (It’s tough to tell from the angle they showed). Aquilino Lopez pitched well for the most part, but I will say this: If you’re gonna give ‘em up, at least give ‘em up in spectacular fashion, and Jason Giambi’s solo shot into the upper deck was just that.

As per usual with Nate Robertson, the Tigers didn’t offer much in the way of run support. Andy Pettitte just didn’t let them start anything. Brandon Inge kept the extra-base hit streak alive with an RBI double, and Ryan Raburn was pretty much the only Tiger who had Pettitte figured out. Cameron Maybin went 0-for-4 in his Major League debut, including a couple of strikeouts, but I’m not gonna read anything deeper into it. A lot of the veterans couldn’t figure out Pettitte, either, so maybe he should try someone else. Hopefully it won’t take Maybin as long to get his first hit as it did Rabelo. Even the guys who had really good numbers against Pettitte coming in (Magglio and Pudge) weren’t able to come up with a whole lot. Maggs had nothing against him (he did single in the ninth inning against Chamberlain). Pudge managed a single, but nothing more, and he never advanced beyond second base. Plus, I now have another bone to pick with the FSN guys. When Pudge came to the plate for the first time last night, the play-by-play commentator said that Pudge has hit safely in his last four (make that five, now). However, about thirty seconds later he said, “It’d be nice if Pudge could get his bat going again.” Guys, you can’t have BOTH storylines.

Okay, now for your latest Tigers health report: Apparently Justin Verlander and Todd Jones are now feeling a lot better. It’s hard to tell with Guillen. Pudge looks a little better, but you can still tell he’s not feeling 100% just yet. Kenny Rogers felt good enough to play some catch yesterday, and he’s hoping to finally throw his side session today. Polanco finally made an appearance in the Tigers clubhouse, but he didn’t look up to much of anything to me (and the FSN guys kept saying that he should be back at the hotel). No word on Zach Miner, but apparently the newest victim of this flu is Fernando Rodney.

Game 3 of this series will be played under the cold and unforgiving eye of FOX Saturday Baseball, and on paper, it looks to be a total mismatch: Chad Durbin against Roger Clemens. Durbin’s gotta pitch better than he has been, that much is for sure, although last time his main problems were hanging breaking balls and getting ahead in the count but not being able to put hitters away. It’s tough to tell what you’re gonna get from Clemens in this day and age, but he was really good in his last start against Toronto. At least, until he hit Alex Rios and was suspended. As well as Ryan Raburn has performed over the past several days, I’m hoping Polanco is feeling well enough to play. In the meantime, Cameron Maybin is expected to start in left field once again. Meanwhile, I'm already dreading the thought of hearing the FOX Saturday Baseball commentators talk endlessly about Gary Sheffield.

One Year Ago: On August 18, 2006, the Tigers found themselves on the losing end of a pitching duel as they were defeated by the Texas Rangers 2-1. Zach Miner only gave up two earned runs, but all the Tigers could muster in terms of run support was a solo home run from Dmitri Young. Craig Monroe led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple, but no one was able to get him home.

2006 record: 79-43

2007 record: 67-55

Geez, can you imagine what these guys could’ve done if they were healthy? What a great effort by the whole team. I know it’s only the first game, and the Yankees could very well win the next three, but at least with this win, the Tigers will not be swept. The most impressive part is that at least five guys who appeared in this game are battling the flu (and I just came up with a pun that relates to the fact that Justin Verlander was Patient Zero in this epidemic, but it’s such a bad pun that I’m gonna refuse to type it), and all of them really stepped up and were key to this victory. Justin Verlander maybe didn’t last as long as you’d like him to (only 5 1/3 innings), but considering he was going up against the Yankees and he was not nearly at full strength, limiting them to only three runs is pretty good. He commanded his fastball a lot better than he has been, although it was all over the radar gun (ranging from 89 to about 98). Hopefully his next time out (which will be against Cleveland) he can consistently command the high-velocity fastball. Tim Byrdak, Zach Miner, and Fernando Rodney all turned in stellar performances and racked up a ton of strikeouts in the process (including Miner and Rodney both striking out the side). Todd Jones wasn’t as impressive (although he did have the double whammy of being sick and not being in a save situation), but he had enough margin for error to get the job done, and even the bloggers are forgiving him for this one. The only dark side to this is that Leyland had to use a lot of arms out of the bullpen. Byrdak only threw seven pitches, so he should be okay, but Miner and Rodney are both questionable, which means that, like him or not, we’ll probably see Jason Grilli in tonight’s game at some point.

As good as the pitching was, the performance by the offense (getting a big lead early, then tacking on runs later) was probably just as important, especially the timing. Every Tiger reached base, and Gary Sheffield was the only one not to get a hit (but he did have two walks and reached base on an error by A-Rod). And oddly enough, both Tigers to get two hits were the two who are under the weather, and with that in mind, I really wasn’t expecting much from either of them. Silly me. Carlos Guillen proved me wrong in the first inning by hitting the eighth grand slam by the Tigers this season (his third career grand slam, and his second at Yankee Stadium). Funny enough, before the game I was noting that Guillen had not hit a home run since before the All-Star Break, and was the only Tiger (with the exception of Mike Rabelo) that hadn’t hit one in the second half. He picked a nice time to break out of that drought. That was huge, because I think it really set the tone for the game. The Tigers never trailed at any point (and led by at least three runs at all times), and it gave the ailing Justin Verlander some margin for error). He also singled and scored a run later in the game. The other two-hit performance came from Pudge, and from his very first at-bat I could tell he was not really feeling good at all. He certainly looked sick. His eyes were watery, he had kind of a flushed look about him, that sort of thing. Once he hit his single (which was basically a slow roller that found a hole, and which may or may not have been on a hit-and-run), I figured that would be all he’d be able to muster, and I was okay with that. Once again, I was wrong, and once again, ironically, right before the seventh inning started, I had complained to my dad that Pudge had been stuck on fifty RBIs since the game I was at on my birthday, and lo and behold, on his very next at-bat, he gets number 51 by hitting one out to left field. Of course, this sent the FSN guys into the old “What-a-career-he’s-had” routine, which even I’m starting to get tired of, but I did find out something interesting: Barring injury, he’ll be the first catcher to get to 2500 hits.  

A few random observations about last night’s game: First, it seemed that 35 was the magic number. Both starting pitchers wore the number 35, and both catchers are 35 years old (and here’s a fun fact: Mike Rabelo is the only catcher in this series who is NOT Puerto Rican). Second, there were a couple of wardrobe issues going on with the Tigers, but not the kind that I’m prone to complain about. Fernando Rodney decided he had to tuck in his jersey in the middle of the eighth inning, and took a long time to do so. In the first inning, Pudge had some sort of malfunction with his catcher’s gear, and for some reason, the shot of him sitting behind home plate trying to fix his chest protector struck me as really funny. I don’t know why. Speaking of which, normally when the Tigers are on the road, the public address announcer introduces Pudge by his real name when he comes to bat (even in Texas), but the Yankees announcer (who mostly sounded like the teacher from the Charlie Brown cartoons) did indeed refer to him as “Pudge,” as did the guys on the Yankees TV broadcast, which I caught a bit of online (this is not quite as unusual; the Texas and Cleveland guys both call him Pudge as well). The Yankees TV guys also seemed very torn as to what to say about Gary Sheffield. They kept bouncing back and forth between defending Joe Torre and then adding “but Sheffield’s a really good teammate.” Finally, it seems as though both teams were having a little fun with the Tigers’ flu epidemic. The Yankees hung signs in their clubhouse forbidding the players from interacting with the Tigers. Jim Leyland apparently told Joe Torre that he was gonna have a bunch of New York reporters interview Polanco and then send them over to interview Derek Jeter and A-Rod.

Earlier today, the Tigers made a whole bunch of roster moves, so here’s the lowdown: Ramon Santiago was called up to the big club, while Omar Infante (who I didn’t know had options left) was sent down to Toledo. I was a bit confused about this move, because Infante’s been doing a nice job for a bench guy, but according to Danny Knobler, Santiago is a true shortstop, while Infante is more of a utility guy, and with Carlos Guillen’s knees not being healthy, the Tigers are trying to shore up that position should Guillen need a blow (which means we may see Guillen make a few more starts at first base). But the big news is that the Tigers’ top phenom prospect, Cameron Maybin, has also been called up. So finally, I’ll get a chance to see this guy in action after hearing about him all season. Meanwhile, it looks as though we shall soon have bid farewell to Craig Monroe. He’s been designated for assignment. I’m not quite sure what all that entails, but I do know it means that the Tigers have ten days to release him or trade him. If he clears waivers, he can be sent to Toledo, but odds are that someone will claim him. It’s a little sad to see him go, after all he did last season, but he really hasn’t been able to figure it out this year, and with Thames and Raburn both doing well, there wasn’t any room on the roster. And it’s not like he’s a true veteran. If someone like Magglio or Pudge or even Polanco had a down year, you’d probably be a little more inclined to give them time to break out of it, because their track records indicate that they will. Craig doesn’t have that track record to back him up. He seems like a real good guy, though, so I feel for him. For his sake, I hope he figures it out and lands on his feet somewhere. Yeah, I’m probably too soft for this kind of business…

This “crucial” series against the Yankees continues tonight with a battle of southpaws. Last year, Nate Robertson had the dubious distinction of being the only Tigers pitcher to lose a game in either the ALDS or ALCS, and that loss came in Game 1 against the Yankees. He also doesn’t have very good career numbers against the Yankees in general (and he’s only 2-6 on the road this year), but he did just recently snap his losing streak. Andy Pettite will start for the Yankees, and he’s on a three game winning streak. He also has good career numbers against the Tigers, but lost in his last start against them, which was at Comerica Park in June of last year, when he was with Houston. Meanwhile, the Tigers lineup probably depends a lot on whether or not Polanco can play. He’s been one of the hardest hit by this flu bug, so much so that he’s been stuck at the hotel for the past three days. If he can’t play, and with a lefty on the mound for New York, I would imagine you’d have Cameron Maybin in center, Marcus Thames in left, Ryan Raburn at second, Ramon Santiago at short, Carlos Guillen at first, and everyone else in their usual positions (and I just realized that “everyone else” only consists of Inge, Magglio, and Pudge). I have no idea what the lineup will look like if Polanco is able to play or if someone else gets sick or feels worse than they did yesterday.

One Year Ago: On August 17, 2006, the Tigers began their homestand with a 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers in the first game of a four-game set. Kenny Rogers gave up just two earned runs in five innings of work, although one was a run that happened when Joel Zumaya walked a batter with the bases loaded. Zumaya proceeded to work himself out of the bases-loaded-nobody-out jam with no further damage. Carlos Guillen hit a solo home run, Pudge went 3-for-4 (and he normally doesn’t have good numbers against his former team) and every Tigers starter had at least one hit except for Curtis Granderson.

2006 record: 79-42

2007 record: 67-54

UPDATE: I took a look around the blogs to get their impressions on the roster moves, particularly the infielders, and apparently Ramon Santiago is considered to be a superior defender than Omar Infante, although Infante puts up much better offensive numbers. But hey, Santiago can't be any worse than Neifi Perez, can he? At any rate, Infante won't be gone that long, cuz it's almost September, and he can be called back up then.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Lineups are posted, and all my speculations are for naught, cuz apparently Andy Pettite isn't the type of pitcher that you don't start your lefties against, cuz Granderson and Casey are both in their normal spots. The only newcomer in the lineup is Maybin, who will start in left field. Meanwhile, Polanco is still out (wow, he must really be sick). Raburn is at second base once again.

This is one of those losses where pretty much the only thing you can be unhappy about is the simple fact that they lost. The Tigers played about as well as they could, considering the circumstances. Jair Jurrjens pitched about as well as could be expected for a 21-year-old making his Major League debut (actually, better than expected), and he lasted seven innings. We may see him again in five days, especially since Andrew Miller’s rehab start didn’t go so well (He started for Toledo last night, but had huge control problems and was rocked for five earned runs in just three innings, during which he threw over seventy pitches. On the bright side, it took Joel Zumaya only seven pitches, six for strikes, to complete an inning of work. He’s scheduled for one more outing either tomorrow or Saturday, and if that goes well, he’ll rejoin the team on the next homestand). Bobby Seay was really the only weak point in the pitching staff last night, but by then it was pretty obvious that the Tigers were not gonna win anyways so it’s hard to get too critical.

And the reason it’s hard not to get too upset is because, well, Fausto Carmona was on top of his game and completely dominated a Tigers lineup that was somewhat depleted anyways. If you didn’t catch my update last night, Justin Verlander’s flu bug (which had already gotten to Polanco and Monroe) has now spread to Pudge, Guillen, Kenny Rogers, and Todd Jones. Guillen still played, but wasn’t able to muster a whole lot of offense. In fact, he struck out three times. Pudge did not play, but apparently he felt good enough to hang around the dugout and look bored like he normally does when he’s not playing (And I do know this: In the ninth inning, had Raburn reached, it would not have been Rabelo batting; by the way, those of you paying closer attention to Pudge in the dugout know I’m dying to say something else, but I’ll save it for a day when he’s actually playing). Rabelo did contribute to the offense with an RBI single, but still, it’s hard to get anything going against a pitcher like Carmona when two of your key players (Polanco and Pudge) are down for the count and another (Guillen) may as well have been. Then again, Maggs also went hitless, though he did draw a walk (and one can only hope that the immune systems of Magglio and Sheffield are strong enough to fend off this flu bug). In the end, though, you gotta tip your hat to Curtis Granderson, who kept the extra-base hit streak alive with his nineteenth triple of the season (and snapped an 0-for-11 in the process).

On a completely unrelated note, Tropical Storm Erin is headed for Texas, which has already been plagued by floods, and so this is expected to make things worse. I don't like it, mostly because I don't like seeing harm come to anyone, but also because I don't want my name to be retired on some measly little tropical storm, like how they did with Allison a few years ago. Now, I don't want my name to become the next Katrina or anything like that. As a matter of fact, I'd just as soon my name not be retired at all. Therefore, I'm hoping for minimal damage so my name will still grace the list in 2013.

Well, starting tonight, the Tigers finally go up against the New York Yankees (geez, it took them until August). And they’ll be playing all of their games against them in the next two weeks. By the way, they probably aren’t expecting a warm welcome to Yankee Stadium. In fact, the venom will probably start in the first inning, cuz Gary Sheffield bats third. This first game in the four-game set is a rematch of Game 2 of the ALDS that pits Mike Mussina against Patient Zero (aka Justin Verlander), assuming Verlander feels good enough to pitch. Justin looked a lot better in his last start, and finally got himself a win. He still needs to regain command of his fastball. His secondary pitches are good, but he needs to use the fastball, otherwise the hitters will start sitting on the breaking ball. Mike Mussina has really good career numbers against the Tigers, plus he’s on a four-game winning streak and just came off his best start of the season against the Indians. The Tigers’ offense has not been struggling like the Indians’, but with this flu bug going around, you never know. Meanwhile, my dad's friend (the one who went with us to Comerica Park on my birthday), who is a Yankees fan, is really worried about this series and the one next week, because he says that the Tigers always play the Yankees real tough. I don't particularly have any evidence that supports that theory, but one can only hope that he's right.

One Year Ago: On August 16, 2006, the Tigers’ bid for a sweep at Fenway came up short as they lost to the Red Sox 6-4. Justin Verlander had control problems, especially with his secondary pitches, giving up seven walks (one was intentional, though) and five earned runs in six innings of work. Jason Grilli gave up two walks and an earned run in his two innings. Meanwhile, the Tigers did put up eleven hits, including home runs from Brett Clevlen and from Magglio, but it wasn’t enough.

2006 record: 78-42

2007 record: 66-54

UPDATE: Lineups are posted. With the Tigers clubhouse turning into an influenza ward, the lineup is subject to change at any time prior to the game starting, but as of now (shortly after 6:00), here's the lowdown, courtesy of Jason Beck: Polanco is still out (no update as to his condition, but he must be mighty sick to miss three games in a row). Pudge apparently felt really bad this morning, but he is back in the lineup (which means that both halves of tonight's battery is gonna be under the weather, unless Verlander made a miraculous recovery). Guillen remains in the lineup as well, but according to Beck, he's really not feeling so great (and spent the day drinking orange juice). Meanwhile, Todd Jones is available should he be needed, but now Zach Miner's starting to come down with the flu, and Kenny Rogers is apparently sicker than anyone else in the clubhouse.

I missed Bonderman’s bad first inning (I went out to a movie with Laura and didn’t get back until close to 8:00), but I saw most of the game, and really, how could you not be pleased with the result? It was a stressful game for me to watch, cuz in pitching duels, all it takes is one little mistake, and for a long time, it looked like the one little mistake happened in the first inning. However, Bonderman was stellar for the rest of the game (and unbelievably, he managed to give Pudge enough time to throw out Grady Sizemore in the sixth inning). The Tigers needed that kind of outing, but more importantly, I think Bonderman needed that kind of outing. Tim Byrdak ran into a little bit of trouble. He walked two, and it looked as though Travis Hafner would put Cleveland in the lead if not for a dazzling game-saving catch by Curtis Granderson (and once again, it’s funny how things work out sometimes, cuz Granderson was not originally in the lineup). Rodney gave up a leadoff double in the ninth and proceeded to strike out the side. Todd Jones also ran into difficulty in the tenth (and no disrespect for Jonesy, but even before he threw his first pitch in the tenth, all I could think about was that five-run ninth the Indians put up against Todd Jones the last time he faced them, and I’m sure he was thinking about that night as well), but got the job done. Meanwhile, it seemed nobody on either team was happy with the home plate umpire.

It took the offense a little while to get going, but considering they were up against C.C. Sabathia, it’s not surprising. However, in the end, the only Tigers to go hitless were Granderson and Inge. Gary Sheffield, after going 0-for-4, singled in the game-winner, but Magglio stole the show. Three-run homers tend to do that. Omar Infante quietly had himself a nice night by going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk (plus, he singled in the tying run). Maggs also had three hits, and he had four RBIs. He’s becoming really exciting to watch. It’s like back in May, when he was hitting both for average and power. Meanwhile, Pudge is moving closer and closer to 500 career doubles. He now only needs three, after hitting one last night. Unfortunately, he was called out at home plate AGAIN (Why is it always Pudge?). On second thought, the Tigers seem to lose a lot of “milestone” games, so maybe Pudge shouldn’t be all that eager to get his 500^th double. Also, I believe this is the first time all season that Guillen has started at first base (he’s moved to first base on occasion when Casey was lifted for a pinch-runner in close games, but I don’t think he’s started at that position).

Tonight is the final game in this brief series, and I honestly don’t know what’s gonna happen. Jair Jurrjens has been called up from Double-A Erie to make the start for the Tigers in what is normally Kenny Rogers’s spot, and in doing so, has made the Tigers a bit more international (Jurrjens hails from Curacao). Yorman Bazardo was sent back down to Toledo to make room for him on the roster. Jurrjens had really good numbers in Erie, but you never know what you’re gonna get with spot starters, especially since he’s up against Fausto Carmona. Carmona has lost his last three starts, but from what I hear, it’s mostly cuz he didn’t get any run support. Meanwhile, I also have no idea what the lineup for the Tigers is gonna be. Polanco and Monroe, thanks to Justin Verlander, are sick with the flu, so they’ll likely still be out (not that Monroe would start anyways), and it’s not unreasonable to assume that it’ll eventually spread to someone else (apparently Jim Leyland’s bench last night consisted only of Sean Casey and Mike Rabelo). It also would not be unreasonable for Pudge to miss tonight’s game. He got pretty dinged up behind the plate last night, but then again, I’m not sure that Leyland would want to go with a rookie battery (unless, of course, Rabelo caught Jurrjens back when he was at Double-A, because that strategy worked well when it was Virgil Vasquez).

One Year Ago: On August 15, 2006, the Tigers assured themselves of a series victory by defeating the Boston Red Sox 3-2, but it came at a very high price. Jeremy Bonderman outdueled Curt Schilling, although both starters would eventually get a no-decision. The only run allowed by Bonderman until the eighth inning was a solo home run by Coco Crisp in the third. However, Schilling had the Tigers shut out until the seventh, when Guillen and Pudge hit back-to-back singles (and for Pudge, that broke his hitless streak) and Sean Casey doubled them in. Then in the bottom of the seventh, things took a dramatic turn. With two outs, Wily Mo Pena hit a double. The next batter, Doug Mirabelli, hit what looked to be an RBI bloop single, but a falling over-the-shoulder catch from Polanco saved a run (and probably the game). However, he landed awkwardly and had to leave the game with a separated shoulder that would put him on the DL for quite some time. The injury also left Jim Leyland with a more immediate problem. Omar Infante (who was the only reserve infielder on the Tigers’ roster at the time) had started the game at third base, but Brandon Inge had come in as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the seventh. With Infante out, all Leyland had on his bench were two outfielders and a backup catcher. Out of options, he had Vance Wilson pinch-hit for Polanco in the top of the eighth, and so that is the story of how Pudge Rodriguez made his first (and so far only) appearance at second base (and even though it would’ve been incredibly bizarre to watch, it was a move that made sense, given the circumstances; Pudge has played first base a few times, and he will field ground balls during BP from time to time as well). The Red Sox would go on to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single by David Ortiz. Then in the top of the ninth, Carlos Guillen drew a leadoff walk, and one out later, Sean Casey singled him to third. Then Craig Monroe hit what looked to be a fly ball out to right field, but Wily Mo Pena couldn’t handle it, and it dropped in for a bloop single, scoring Guillen and putting the Tigers on top for good. On a minor note, this also marked Pudge’s first appearance in what is now his customary six-slot. He had been a number three hitter, but Leyland apparently wanted to alternate lefty-righty hitters a little more at the top of his batting order. That’s no longer true nowadays, but as Pudge himself says about Gary Sheffield being in the three-slot in 2007, “You don’t wanna mess with that.”

2006 record: 78-41

2007 record: 66-53

UPDATE: Justin Verlander's flu bug is spreading like wildfire. Polanco and Monroe are still out, but now the flu has spread to Pudge, Guillen, Todd Jones, and Kenny Rogers (and the FSN play-by-play announcer). Guillen apparently feels well enough to start at shortstop, but Rabelo is catching and Jonesy may be unavailable as well (obviously, Kenny being sick has no bearing on the team as far as this game is concerned, but he didn't throw his side session today). That means that the bench tonight consists of Omar Infante.   

And…it’s back to the two problems that have plagued the Tigers through most of the homestand: Bad starting pitching coupled with no offense. Chad Durbin’s main problem was the hanging breaking ball (You’d think either he or Pudge would have figured this out after the first couple of innings). He did have problems when he first joined the rotation back in April, but he needs to sort it out. The walks are back up, which is also a problem. As for the bullpen, Jason Grilli was pretty bad, but everyone else (Zach Miner, Bobby Seay, and Aquilino Lopez) did a decent job.

Of course, as I’ve said before, it doesn’t matter how bad or good the pitching is if you don’t get any run support. I think I know what happened to the Reyes Effect that formerly inhabited Dallas Braden: It jumped into Chad Gaudin. It looked promising in the first inning, with Magglio driving in two runs (that had reached base on a walk and a hit-by-pitch), but all of a sudden, all the Tigers could do was strike out a lot (and I’d like to congratulate Maggs, Guillen, Pudge, and Inge for actually getting bat on ball and getting themselves a hit apiece in this game). The only Tigers who did not strike out at all were Guillen, and, oddly enough, the normally strikeout-prone Granderson. And while I’m at it, I have a bone to pick with the FSN guys. During Pudge’s first at-bat last night, they said something about Pudge “struggling at the plate” recently. Pudge has gotten one hit in most of his last several games. Now, when you only get one hit a game, your batting average is going to go down, but it’s not like you’re in an 0-for-16 skid or anything like that. And lo and behold, he got a hit last night, and it was a solid double (granted, he struck out his other three times at bat, but he wasn’t the only one). On the other hand, Guillen has been turning in a similar performance, getting one hit in most of his recent games, and yet you don’t hear the FSN guys talking about Guillen struggling. At any rate, the bottom line is this: When Polanco strikes out, things normally don’t bode well for the Tigers.

Speaking of Polanco, he now holds the record for most games without an error by a second baseman, and his performance last night included a rather nifty-looking force play at third after the ball bounced off of Guillen. Polanco’s finally being recognized as one of the best second basemen in the game. Of course, it being a milestone game, you knew the Tigers had to lose, right? Also, Joel Zumaya started his rehab assignment for Toledo. He pitched 2/3 of an inning, gave up one hit, and struck out one. If all goes well, he could rejoin the big club when the Tigers return home next week. Meanwhile, Kenny Rogers continues to rehab and if he continues making progress, he could also be back late next week.

Tonight marks the beginning of THE two-week stretch that supposedly will determine the rest of the season. Or so all the sports people would have you believe. No more under-.500 clubs for Detroit. It’s all contenders until the end of the month. First up is a brief two-gamer in Cleveland. I’ve been kinda reluctant to bring it up, but for as bad as the Tigers have been playing recently, Cleveland has also struggled mightily. They just got swept by the Yankees at home, and they’re supposed to be one of the best home teams in all of baseball. The two teams have struggled in different ways. The Tigers have been hurt by poor pitching, while the Indians’ offense has gone cold. Something’s gonna have to give, and I can only pray that our pitching will prevail. Anyways, you would think that tonight would feature a good pitching matchup: Jeremy Bonderman against C.C. Sabathia. However, Bonderman hasn’t been so sharp recently, and he’s fallen into a bad pattern. He’s still having the bad first inning, which is nothing new. He’ll settle in and look real good for the next three or four innings, but in the fifth or sixth, he melts down and starts hemorrhaging runs. I don’t know what the deal with that is, but it has to stop. Meanwhile, this is the fourth time this season that C.C. Sabathia has faced the Tigers, but it’ll be the first outing in which he’s not up against Justin Verlander (which is just as well, cuz apparently Verlander is sick). C.C. was pretty effective the first two times the Tigers faced him, but last time (July 5^th), he got knocked around pretty bad. That’s probably an uncharacteristic outing, so you can’t take anything from that, though.

One Year Ago: On August 14, 2006, the Tigers snapped a five-game losing streak by defeating the Boston Red Sox 7-4 at Fenway. Nate Robertson outdueled Josh Beckett, giving up three earned runs in six innings (the other run belonged to Joel Zumaya). Meanwhile, the Tigers put up three runs in the first inning, added a couple more in the third, and RBI singles by Sean Casey and Vance Wilson gave the Tigers a couple of insurance runs in the eighth. By the way, Pudge (who had been ejected the day before, and was quite livid about it) did not play, although it was not a suspension (and, yes, he’s gotten those before as well). Leyland just wanted to give him an extra day to cool off emotionally, mostly cuz he felt Pudge’s outburst at the umpire had a lot to do with the frustration over his hitless skid.

2006 record: 77-41

2007 record: 65-53

Sorry this post is a little late today. Our air conditioner broke down Saturday night and the room that my computer is in was just way too hot this morning. Now that the AC has been repaired, the room is still a little on the uncomfortably warm side, but it’s tolerable enough to sit in long enough to write this. Also, I did not see the entire game because I went with my parents to a movie. Anyways, it was kind of an ironic game. In his two starts prior to this one, Nate Robertson pitched exceptionally well, and all he got to show for it were a loss and a no-decision. Yesterday, his pitching wasn’t quite as good, but he got a win. Granted, his main problem were the walks, but from what I can tell, the umpire had an insanely tight strike zone, because all the pitchers on both teams had the same problem (In fact, Yorman Bazardo was the only pitcher on either team to not walk anybody).

One of the things that I’ve really missed in the past couple weeks were those innings where the Tigers put up an insane amount of runs, or batted around. They hadn’t done it in a really long time. So you can imagine that I really enjoyed that eight-run second inning (by the way, that was one of the screwier-looking lineups I’ve seen all season). Every Tiger who played at one point or another got at least one hit except for Rabelo and Granderson, and both of them got RBIs. Plus, Granderson was the only one never to touch base (Rabelo walked at one point, and he doesn’t walk all that often). But of course, the big star was Magglio. He becomes only the second Tiger to hit two home runs in the same inning (Al Kaline is the other). This game had kind of a “late May” feel to it, cuz that was back when Maggs was hitting for average and power at the same time. One can only hope that that has become the case now, because he has three home runs in the last two games.

One kind of funny shot during the game was the Justin Verlander/Todd Jones happy dance in the dugout after Maggs hit his second home run. Jonesy was especially amusing, although I can’t imagine how he could stand wearing that jacket when it was so damn hot outside. Also, we learned that Pudge has more bats than any other Tiger (“He’s got, like, a thousand bats in his locker”). I’m not sure what to make of that, but I do find it funny. By the way, Polanco has now officially tied the errorless-games streak by a second baseman. One more to go…

Tonight marks the end of the homestand, as we have a “Battle of the Chads.” Chad Durbin will start for the Tigers. He took the loss in his last start, but he didn’t really pitch that badly. The big question mark is how long he’ll be able to stay out. He’s still being stretched back into being a starter, which means that Leyland probably won’t let him go 100 pitches, although they certainly could use a fresh bullpen for this upcoming road trip. Chad Gaudin starts for the A’s. He’s lost five decisions in a row and he has given up 31 runs in his last 32 1/3 innings. Let’s hope the Tigers can add to that significantly.

One Year Ago: On August 13, 2006, the Tigers were unable to avoid being swept by the White Sox, losing 7-3, and losing their fifth game in a row. Zach Miner gave up four runs in his first two innings of work, but nothing after that. However, the damage was already done. Carlos Guillen hit a pair of RBI singles, and Casey also drove in a run, but they only managed three baserunners from the fifth inning on (and two of those were in the ninth). To add insult to injury, the Sox scored a run off Roman Colon, and Todd Jones, who was brought in during the eighth inning for some work, gave up two. Meanwhile, it was especially bad day for Pudge. He did score a run, but he was mired in the middle of an 0-for-16 skid, and after striking out looking in the eighth inning, proceeded to get himself ejected (Ah, so it HAS happened before). I watched the video of the ejection, and he must have said something he shouldn’t have, because he didn’t “bump” the umpire like in Seattle, although it certainly looked like he wanted to after he was ejected.

2006 record: 76-41

2007 record: 65-52

After being on the losing end of Friday night’s slugfest, it was nice to see the Tigers get a decent, solid win. Justin Verlander perhaps wasn’t as dominant as he’s capable of being, and he got his pitch count up a little too soon, but he was good enough (walked three, struck out seven, plus the umpire had a really tight strike zone last night anyways). And the bullpen was perfect, literally. Nine up, nine down. It was a great effort for Seay, Lopez, Rodney, and Jones. By the way, there were several roster moves made yesterday. Jordan Tata and Macay McBride were sent down to Toledo, and Eulogio De La Cruz and Aquilino Lopez were called up. However, De La Cruz (who did not pitch last night) is expected to be sent back down today, because they would rather have Yorman Bazardo. The only reason they didn’t call him up yesterday is because he is a starter in Toledo and he still needed one more day of rest after pitching eight innings in his last game. But they’re not using Bazardo as a starter in the big club. He’ll be pitching in the bullpen. In the meantime, they’ll have to call up someone else to start on Wednesday against the Indians. There’s been no official announcement, but the assumption is that it’ll be Virgil Vasquez. Confused yet?

Even though they scored fewer runs, the offense actually had more hits last night than they did Friday night. Marcus Thames is on a roll right now, homering in his second straight game. And of course the big hero of the game was Magglio, whose two-run homer put the Tigers on top. It was also nice to see them tack on a couple runs in the eighth inning, which gave Todd Jones a little margin for error (not that he needed it).

As I mentioned before, last night was Fiesta Tigres, and the Latin players sure did contribute to this win. Aquilino Lopez and Fernando Rodney were perfect out of the bullpen. Magglio had three hits, including the game-winning home run. Carlos Guillen made a nice play at short. Omar Infante had a sacrifice fly and an RBI. Pudge had a double, and single, and a run scored. It’s too bad that Polanco wasn’t able to play (late scratch due to a sore thumb), because he probably would’ve chipped in with a couple hits and he also probably would’ve tied the record for the errorless-games streak.

Hopefully the Tigers can generate some momentum with a win today. It’s another rematch, this time between Nate Robertson and Dallas Braden. Robertson has pitched well in his last couple starts, but all he has to show for it is a loss and a no-decision (in one, he didn’t get any run support, and in the other the bullpen was not able to hold the lead, even though the Tigers DID win that game). Braden has a losing record and an ERA of over five, but when he last faced the Tigers, he managed to Reyes Effect himself to a win. Then again, he had pitched well recently, so if he does so again, I’ll probably be forced to remove the “Reyes Effect” moniker. Polanco is expected to be back in the lineup, by the way. I would not be surprised if Pudge started this day game after a night game, considering Braden is a lefty and Leyland seems to like starting Pudge against lefties no matter what day it is, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t start. With the lefty starter, my assumption is that Ryan Raburn will be in center, Marcus Thames will start at first base, and Craig Monroe will get a day in left field.

One Year Ago: On August 12, 2006, the Tigers lost to the White Sox 4-3. It was a tough-luck loss for Kenny Rogers, as all four of the runs he gave up were unearned. Meanwhile, Sean Casey hit a two-run homer that briefly gave the Tigers the lead in the fifth inning, but a couple errors in the bottom of the fifth erased that.

2006 record: 76-40

2007 record: 64-52