When Cabrera got picked off 2nd base, I had a pretty bad feeling...
Crazy Game. We saw a lot.
Sounds like Scherzer was outstanding. I have to say "sounds like" because some goofy intramural club sport was on Fox Sports Detroit for much of the night instead. Isn't baseball supposed to be "America's" pasttime?
We've seen plenty to like in Austin Jackson so far this spring, and he showed some real long term potential for forward steps in the plate patience department in Lakeland. But what happens in Lakeland stays in Lakeland. Yesterday, in contact hitting situations where he needed to lay off bad pitches and put the ball in play, he looked pretty bad. 0 Walks and 4 Ks in the first two games. An at bat where he was up 2-0 with a runner on third and less than 2 outs and swung wildly at 3 straight balls? Let's hope that doesn't continue.
Scott Sizemore picked up his first dreaded "E" for the year when the ball slipped out of his hands on a cut 4 allowing the winning run to score (of course Jose Valverde giving up rockets to three straight batters probably did much more to cost us the game than the ball slipping out of Sizemore's throwing hand). I don't think I've ever seen two goofy situation cut 4 plays like that in extra innings (combined with Podsednik just throwing to the cutoff man instead of through the cut off man when Kelly scored).
We also saw that the Tigers lefties in the pen are going to have to be counted on to get some RH hitters out - probably - since Leyland is going to save Bonine for long relief situations. They all did OK yesterday though Ni was shaky.
The story of the offense until the Cabrera HR was - Damon, Mags, Cabrera, and Guillen all doing nothing on the same night - which is never going to be good for this team. Cabrera's HR was a story in itself though - unbelievable at bat off Soria. That's why he's a franchise player. Then his getting picked off 2nd base in the 11th is why is he's a franchise player that makes us shake our heads sometimes.
So the rookies have to rebound from their first little taste of big league failure - Valverde has to put a rough start as closer for his new team behind him quickly - and Leyland has to give the ball to Dontrelle Willis today with the Tigers hoping to come home for opening day 2-1 and in first place - not 1-2 and thinking about at least one game that they let get away.
Today should be interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment