I tell ya, Justin Verlander is just so damn awesome. I asked for him to go seven innings, and he went 8 2/3 in that heat, and he was brilliant. It’s a shame he couldn’t quite get the complete game, but two four-pitch walks in the ninth kinda indicated he was out of gas. Hopefully Todd Jones can get to being a little more efficient than he’s been and not giving up so many bullets, but damn, once again Brandon Inge demonstrates exactly why he should play third base.

The offense wasn’t exactly jumping off the walls like it had been, but the boys did enough to get the job done. Not a whole lot going on with the top of the lineup (the top three hitters combined to go 0-for-12 with three walks, and all three of the walks were from Gary Sheffield), but the middle and bottom of the order made up for the slack. The umpires also made up for their crappy call the night before by getting the Marcus Thames home run call right. By the way, I’ve forgotten to mention this over the past few days, but it seems that the Sympathy Pains were at it again. I’ve felt like my knee was bruised for days now (and although I do have a tendency to ram it into the desk, I haven’t). My back’s been sore as well, but I don’t know what that corresponds to. I also woke up with some sort of stomach virus today. Or something.

Tonight, the Tigers are in KC, and it’s high time they started winning there. This 0-6 record against the Royals is starting to look a little silly, even though they ARE playing a lot better than they have in recent years. The rest of the division doesn’t seem to have that much of a problem with them, although Kansas City did just take two of three from the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Zach Miner has been tabbed to be the fifth starter. He mostly needs to not walk people, let his sinker work, and get lots of ground balls. The Tigers will take on Luke Hochevar, who has an ERA of over five, and yet he shut them out last time he faced them (I think…if not, then he gave up two runs).

I neglected to mention this yesterday, but as we got closer to game time, I had a feeling it might come down to an all-out slugfest. And at least it was a proper slugfest (double-digit run and hit totals, baserunners pretty much every half-inning, several lead changes, etc). I could tell from Nate Robertson’s first pitch that he just didn’t have it. Aquilino Lopez didn’t have it either. Casey Fossum was decent enough, as was Rodney. Zumaya was just blowing guys away. I have no idea how Ramon Hernandez was able to catch up to him to hit that ball out. Freddy Dolsi, however (and I’ve never been particularly wild about him anyways), apparently needs to focus more on locating his pitches and less on being the team barber (more on that later). Oddly enough, walks have not been much of a problem in this series for Tigers pitching. They are throwing strikes. That’s a start.

It’s safe to say that offense certainly was not a problem. Especially in the first inning. You could make the argument that they didn’t seal the deal, except that they did. Gary Sheffield did come up with that big two-out hit and Polanco was safe, but the umpire blew the call. I generally don’t linger on blown umpire calls cuz they tend to even out in the broad scheme of things, but this one totally changed the complexion of the game. First of all, there’s no telling what Magglio would’ve done after Sheffield. Second, had the call been right, it would’ve been Todd Jones and not Freddy Dolsi pitching the bottom of the tenth. Now, Todd Jones could very well have served one up himself, but it’s just as plausible that he would not have.

Okay, the boys have downright forced me into doing the Fashion Police report, so here goes. First up, hair. Or lack of it. I really don’t have a comment about Fernando Rodney other than to say he looks kinda weird. As for Brandon Inge? Well, I’m generally indifferent about him when it comes to looks, but the first time I caught a glimpse of him in the dugout last night, I mistakenly thought Jeremy Bonderman was back with the team. He looks AWFUL (and once again I’ve got Rod Allen backing me up on that particular statement). Would you guys stop being a bunch of wusses about the heat? I hate being hot, and yet I’ve had plenty of experience fencing wearing the full equipment (heavy jacket and helmet) in a hot, sweaty gym and an even hotter, sweatier racquetball court, and my hair goes down to the middle of my back. In other news, it looks as though Brandon Inge has also acquired “road” catcher’s gear. That can’t be good. On the flip side, though, Polanco had some nice-looking new shoes. And I mean nice-looking. I was digging them every time he was at the plate. They’re almost as nice as Miguel Cabera’s “home” shoes.

Okay, enough is enough. It’s time for the Tigers to start pitching a whole lot better. And Justin Verlander can certainly do that. The Tigers will face lefty Brian Burres, whom they have never seen before. Burres has an elevated ERA, but a good record, so it looks as though he gets a lot of run support, which is something to be cautious about. By the way, with the bullpen being rather taxed due to the early departure of Nate Robertson and general ineffectiveness of the pitching staff as a whole, Justin needs to go seven innings. Seven good innings. Eight would be wonderful, but with as hot as it’s going to be in Baltimore today, I don’t want to push things. However, for some reason Verlander on extra rest tends to get his pitch count up rapidly, so he’s also got to avoid that. Polanco gets the day off, and Inge is once again at third base where he belongs. Everyone also needs to drink plenty of fluids. We don't need anyone dehydrated and cramping up.

I did not see a lot of this game, so this is gonna be a short entry (well, that and the fact that I have to get ready to go to work soon). First off, it’s unreasonable to assume that the Minnesota Twins are the only team capable of beating Armando Galarraga. Second, his big problem was that he just couldn’t keep the O’s in the ballpark (Neither could Bobby Seay for that matter). At least he didn’t walk anybody. I did not see the first two home runs. I saw Melvin Mora’s home run on replays, and that one was just downright bizarre. I’ve never seen a ball hit the very top of the foul pole. I wonder what the call would’ve been had it cleared it. I also saw the second Luke Scott home run, and I’m pretty sure that would not have gotten out at Comerica Park.

Well, after going hitless in the first game, Pudge certainly had a big night. He finally hit a home run with someone on base as well. Basically, what happened was a repeat of the first game with the teams switched. Magglio had two hits, but he also grounded into two double plays.

Well, tonight Nate Robertson takes on Daniel Cabrera. Nate’s been up-and-down recently. He does need to control the left-handed hitters in the Orioles lineup (plus Melvin Mora). Daniel Cabrera has been known to walk a lot of hitters, but apparently that hasn’t been the case this year, so the Tigers may be in for a tougher time than they think.

First off, I want to warn you that our Internet connection here has been really wacky for the past several days, so I don’t know if/when I’ll be able to get posts up until that gets fixed. I shall do my best, though. Anyways, let’s get back into talking about the game (And it seemed like the All-Star Break lasted a whole lot longer, and I’ll get to talking about the All-Star Game shortly). Kenny Rogers did not have his best stuff (and I’ve heard that about finesse pitchers when they get a lot of time off between starts), and for that matter, neither did Todd Jones, but they were able to gut through it. Just about all the pitchers benefitted from double plays, most of them of the unorthodox variety. And Brandon Inge just put on a show at third base. I’m telling you, putting him in any other position would just be a shameful waste. He can play just about any position, but third is where he really shines. And I’ve got Rod Allen on my side.

This was certainly a “live-and-die-by-the-home-run” type of game. For all the talk about how the offense is so much better at home, it’s probably a good thing that this particular game was played at Camden Yards instead. The balls that Thames and Inge hit probably would not have gotten out at Comerica Park. Sheffield hit an absolute rocket, though. He would’ve had two home runs had it not been for an amazing play by Jay Payton to rob him. I’m not gonna say anything else about Sheffield in terms of trends cuz he’s had periods before where he’ll come off a long layoff hitting the ball real well for a few days only to go back to not doing a whole lot after that. I’d say we’ll be able to get a better sense of it in about two weeks or so.

Okay, let’s discuss the All-Star game for a bit. I wasn’t sure if I was gonna watch it, but I ended up tuning in. The first six and a half innings flew by. The pitchers just blew the hitters away for the most part, especially the American League hitters, much to my chagrin. In fact, the last three All-Star games have kinda reflected the Tigers, in a sense. 2006 featured late-inning heroics. 2007 featured a little bit of a struggle from the American League’s “bullpen” (though the AL did hang on to win). This year, the AL offense was having trouble getting started. However, they did their best National League impression by stealing a ton of bases (which has nothing to do with the Tigers). I was not real happy when I learned that Terry Francona had planned for Guillen to be that one guy who is held back “just in case” and usually ends up not playing. I understand the strategy, and I think it’s a good one, but seriously, that “one guy” really should be from a team that has more than one representative in the game (I believe this happened last year too. I know Michael Young was the “last man” for the AL who didn’t play, and I think he was the only player from the Texas Rangers. If I were a Ranger fan, I would have been very disappointed). However, when you go 15 innings in an All-Star Game, everyone’s gonna get in. Anyways, just as the 7^th-inning stretch was starting, I left the room to go talk to my parents or something. I got back just in time for the very end of “God Bless America” and that sure caught me off guard. Seriously, why do the piano games follow me EVERYWHERE? I tried to think on the bright side, though. On the two previous occasions where piano games and baseball have intersected (both in the World Series), the American League has been the beneficiary both times (and that would be a superstition if not for the fact that music can have an effect on someone, and if I were to find a common denominator, that would really be something). Strangely enough, in the bottom of the 7^th, the AL tied things up. And finally won hours later. Hey, Guillen was nearly the big hero. He came up just about a foot shy of hitting one out. For a guy who was supposed to be the “last man” (and as it turns out, that ended up being Evan Longoria), that ain’t bad. And as much as I was rooting for the AL, I did feel bad for Dan Uggla. Three strikeouts, a GIDP, and three errors? Ouch.

Okay, now the rest of the AL finally gets back to work, and I know I totally screwed up on the pitching matchups last time. Blame MLB.com. Tonight, you got Armando Galarraga and Jeremy Guthrie. The last time Galarraga had this much time off, he was a little rusty. Hopefully that won’t be the case tonight. Also, he’s been walking people just a bit more than he did early on in the season, so I’m hoping he doesn’t do that tonight either. It’d be nice for him to get the win, cuz it’s been a while since his last victory (to the point where Kenny Rogers and Justin Verlander have both caught up with him in the win column). Jeremy Guthrie doesn’t have a spectacular record, but he does have a slew of quality starts, so that’s another thing to keep in mind. I’m at work tonight (Would you believe I had the entire All-Star Break off, and now that baseball’s started back up, I get scheduled for a bunch of days? I don’t get it either).

Last time I combined Star Wars with baseball, I turned Justin Verlander’s complete game last month into the first 30 minutes of Return of the Jedi. This time…maybe the trench battle from the first movie? Given enough thought, I could probably fit in most of the pieces, but thankfully, I’m not going to (On a semi-related note, how is it that Brandon Inge never, ever gets foul-tipped? It just doesn’t seem fair). Star Wars or no, Justin was brilliant save for the one inning where he gave up the two runs.

You know, I ain’t gonna try to hide. I’ll come right out and say it: The Tigers benefitted greatly from a really, REALLY bad call from the first base umpire. That was the Marcus Thames ground ball to third. I don’t know how you miss that call, cuz Thames was out by a good margin. And then Clete Thomas picked the perfect time to get his first home run (which means all the rookies have now been de-flowered, so to speak). Once the score went up 3-2, I thought it would be poetic justice for the Tigers to win by one run. However, that went out the window with Matt Joyce’s home run and I’m glad it did. Dead center? That’s impressive.

I have a couple of extra notes. First of all, I noticed that throughout this game, Guillen wasn’t wearing any batting gloves. What’s up with that? By the way, did anyone else notice the shirt he was wearing the other night when they interviewed him after the game? He looked like he was getting ready to be in the Tour de France. Also, I learned last night that Todd Jones, of all people, was an All-Star in 2000. Who knew?

Now we are at the All-Star Break (Already? That doesn’t seem fair, either). Just about all the Tigers are not going to New York, and as a result, I’m undecided as to whether I’ll actually watch the All-Star Game. No Pudge (Yes, Joe Mauer and Dioner Navarro are having decidedly better years, but Jason Varitek? C’mon now), no Verlander (although he’s been pitching like an All-Star recently), no Magglio (injury), not even Polanco (overshadowed by Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler). Just Guillen, and as much as I’m glad he’s on our team, he’s not exactly my favorite player. Therefore, there’s not much incentive. If I do watch, I’ll probably join in late, if only to avoid all the pre-game ceremonial crap (cuz it just ain’t that interesting when the Tigers aren’t starting). I’ll be rooting for the American League regardless, as I always do. At any rate, I probably will not post again until the Tigers resume game action, which is a day earlier than most teams, much to Jim Leyland’s displeasure. Thursday, the boys head to Baltimore to take on the Orioles, whom they haven’t seen yet this year. The O’s are a little bit puzzling this year. If you listened to all the “experts” before the season started (the same experts who picked the Indians to win our division), you’d have thought they were gonna lose 100 games this year. In actuality, while they haven’t been on a tear like the Rays have, they’re doing all right for themselves, hovering around .500. Kenny Rogers will take on lefty Garrett Olson, who has never faced the Tigers and who tends to pitch a lot better at home. Regardless, the Tigers need to start playing better on the road, particularly from an offensive standpoint. Scoring runs doesn’t seem to be that much of a problem at Comerica Park, but on the road, the offense runs dry. Magglio is scheduled to come off the DL Thursday as well, and there is mass speculation as to who is sent down. At any rate, I hope you enjoy your Break and I’ll see you on the other side.

EDIT: Okay, I have no idea where I got the idea that Garrett Olson was gonna start the first game back for the Orioles. It'll be Kenny Rogers against Jeremy Guthrie, and I know absolutely nothing about Jeremy Guthrie. I'll still see you on the other side, though.

I’m not gonna make a “full” post out of this one, cuz I didn’t see a lot of yesterday’s game (I had an open Internet window at work yesterday that I tried to sneak a glance on, but I had just barely seen the score when the window froze up and I couldn’t use it again). Suffice it to say, I guess the Twins have just figured out Nate Robertson. Well, at least Brendan Harris has (and he was with the Rays last year, so you could make *that* argument). And did I hear right that both Harris’ and Mauer’s home runs went to the opposite field? Since when did either of them have that much power? Anyways, we’re fast approaching do or die time, but arguably we’ve got the right man on the hill today. If Justin Verlander can’t do it, no one can, and I’m sticking to that. No Pudge today, so Justin’ll be flying solo, so to speak (Oh, geez, here come the Star Wars references again: “If you choose to face Vader you will do it alone. I cannot interfere.” Hopefully Justin will meet a better fate).

I just said it was boring, which it is. At any rate, Armando Galarraga still can’t figure out the Twins. He didn’t give up many runs, but his pitch count got to him and it seems that he’s gonna have to pitch a shutout against them in the future cuz he just doesn’t get a lot of run support in his starts against Minnesota.

Not much offense to speak of. As much as Galarraga just can’t figure out Twins hitters, Tigers hitters just can’t figure out Glen Perkins. It was all they could do just to score the two runs. Guillen did clobber that one ball in the seventh inning, but with Minnesota’s outfielders, you either need to hit an absolute line drive or hit it out. Otherwise, it’s gonna be caught.

Today, the Tigers are on “big FOX,” unfortunately (and Eric Karros is in town). Nate Robertson was brilliant against Seattle his last time out. However, Seattle hitters are aggressive and like to hit early in the count. Twins hitters, for the most part, like to take a lot of pitches, so I’m not sure what the strategy will be. Meanwhile, the Tigers will have to solve Scott Baker, which they really haven’t been able to do. I’m gonna be at work until 6:00, and it’s likely that I won’t be able to check in on this one.

That’s from MST3K again. Yes, I said the Christmas in July promotion was stupid, and I was punished for it. You’re gonna have to knock that work tally down to 8-2. Truth be told, the Matt Joyce error was probably the thing that hurt the most in the ninth inning. Otherwise, I think Todd Jones would’ve given up one run (and we all would have complained about it), but I think he still would have escaped with the lead. As for the Justin Morneau home run, well, that’s not very Minnesota Twins-style baseball there. I knew that was only a matter of time, if for nothing else but the fact that there were about three or four doubles hit to the wall in dead center field—literally. If this game were at the Metrodome and not Comerica Park, the Twins would’ve hit, like, five home runs.

I’m not sure what I was doing, but I missed the inning where they scored all the runs. The problem was that they didn’t add on. I also did not see the bottom of the ninth inning when they had the bases loaded with only one out (I was at work by the time that rolled around). From the sounds of things though, the Tigers need to start laying off the elevated fastball.

Okay, so luckily last night Kansas City bailed us out, but now the White Sox are playing the Texas Rangers, and with that ballpark and Texas’s pitching staff, you can’t rely on that anymore. It’s time to take care of our own business. First off I’d really like Armando Galarraga to return to the form he had when we were first buzzing about him. The Twins have given him trouble, but he was better the last time he faced them. Second, Glen Perkins is left-handed. Therefore, the Tigers should be better against him than they have been. Besides, you don’t want to enter FOX Saturday Baseball land with your backs to the wall.

Well, this game started as most games do when Detroit faces Paul Byrd: Bad pitching on the Tigers’ part. Eddie Bonine just wasn’t throwing enough strikes, although he only walked one. Casey Fossum did a nice job, however. Todd Jones got a lot of help from Guillen, but he did come away with the win.

For most of this game I was wondering where the struggling Paul Byrd who gives up lots of home runs was. I never really did find him. Luckily, Rafael Betancourt is having a downright awful year. Wow, was that a big turnaround for the offense. I was a little bit surprised that Leyland did not pinch-hit Marcus Thames for Matt Joyce in the seventh, but apparently he made the right decision. And Cabrera is just on a tear right now.

We’ve had our fun with Cleveland, but now it’s time to get ready to grind it out again. This is a big, make-or-break series with Minnesota. Hopefully, they’ve been cooled off a big after getting swept in Boston (and they were absolutely pummeled yesterday). We’re gonna see everyone in their rotation except Livan Hernandez. First up is Kyle Slowey, who has been pitching really well lately (I have no clue how his record is 6-6) and who has already turned in one good performance at Comerica Park. Meanwhile, Kenny Rogers is coming off a tough-luck loss in Seattle. Hey, at least you can’t run on him. By the way, this is the last time we’ll see Minnesota until September. Also, today is that stupid “Christmas in July” promotion. Brandon Inge is back but not in the lineup, and neither are Renteria or Sheffield. Santiago is at short, and Jeff Larish is at first with Cabrera as the DH.

Yep, I was able to check in on the game while I was at work, and I saw good things. Verlander was not living in the high 90s as much as he has been recently, but apparently he didn’t need to. Hell, if not for a couple of hanging breaking balls in the first inning, who knows what would’ve happened. He was awesome for the rest of the game.

All of a sudden, Miguel Cabrera’s gotten hot with the home run ball. That’s now, like, 4 in the past week or something like that. And Marcus Thames doesn’t go opposite field very often, but he’s got the power to do it. I think Gary Sheffield and Clete Thomas were the only ones not to get a hit. Pudge rounded out the home run heroes after looking a little slow at the plate for most of the night. Better late than never. Hey, he caught 15 innings the other day. Give him a break.

Tonight rounds out this short series with the Indians. Eddie Bonine gets to take a crack at them. Hopefully he’ll pitch better than he did in Minnesota. Paul Byrd gets the start for Cleveland. He’s been really struggling this year (especially when it comes to giving up home runs), but somehow, some way, the Indians tend to win his starts against the Tigers. Either he pitches well, or our pitching melts down. Pudge and Polanco (who just became a U.S. citizen today) get the night off.