The Tigers' bats woke up! Hitting the ball with carefree abandon, the Tigers opened the game with 4 runs in the first. Everybody got in the act, as every Tiger notched at least one hit. Carlos Guillen also did something truly special - hitting two homeruns, one from each side of the plate. I can't recall a Tiger player doing that in my lifetime. It could just be the Tigers have employed so few switch hitters, but it was pretty cool to watch.
Miguel Cabrera also hit a towering home run that almost left the park. Perhaps the Tigers were relaxed. Perhaps they got lucky. Perhaps the Cleveland Indians are just that bad. Either way, it was their first blow-out win since beating KC 10-3 on August 15th. That's over a month of clawing and scratching out runs.
Porcello got the win, his 14th. Fox Sports Detroit is promoting him for Rookie of the Year, but there are two other pitchers (Niemann and Romero) in the AL East that have more impressive stats, and they have to face the Yankees and Red Sox regularly. My pick would be the A's closer Andrew Bailey. Porcello may get votes over the other starting pitchers since the Tigers are in the midst of a pennant race. All of Porcello's starts are pressure-packed, but I'd also argue that all of a closer's appearances are by definition pressure situations. Even for a last-place team. In the heat of the moment, every team wants to win. These players likely forget they're in last place, and all the pressure falls on the closer. Bailey has a 1.93 ERA with 25 saves (4 blown saves). Impressive for a rookie.
Porcello is the youngest of the bunch and may prove to be the best. Not this year, though.
As for the Tigers, they earned their 3rd straight road win. Minnesota won as well to stay within 2.5 games. The Twins have the day off today, while the Tigers have Verlander marching to the hill in the final game against Cleveland. Treat it like a playoff game, JV. On Friday, the Twins face KC and Robinson Tejeda, who almost no-hit the Tigers a few days ago. It should be interesting to see how he fares against Mauer and company.
I think Crosby has been drinking the kool-aid a little too long. And you can't say it's because he's young. That quote is about the 3rd time he's claimed himself blameless and without regret. Most kids are taught good sportsmanship when they're 5yo. And why doesn't this guy have someone telling him to shut up about it.
ReplyDeleteHulk getting angry.
Interestingly, the Penguin fans feel the same way about the Wings -- "shut up already". They see the Wings as poor sports. I can't claim to be an objective observer since I so thoroughly support the Wings. I would like to believe that, if I were a Pens fan, I'd be a bit disappointed that Crosby didn't eschew the media in favor of the traditional handshake.
ReplyDeleteI've watched hockey playoffs for two decades. The players ALWAYS do the handshake right after the game. Sure, NBC and CBC might've pulled Crosby away the instant the game ended. But he should've told them to wait. He's a the king of hockey, right? The media will do what he wants. Respect the game, kid.