It didn't matter the Sox were 15-22. They beat up on the Tigers as if it's their second nature. Porcello, coming off his awesome start against the Yanks, struggled all day. The Tigers offense showed some signs of life by regularly getting on base, but they simply could not plate the man on third. They were a dreadful 1-11 with runners in scoring position. Most of the clutch at-bats fell to the 6-9 batters. All season long, the Tigers top-half of the lineup has carried the offense. They've covered for the absolutely dreadful hitting of Gerald Laird (.153, 5RBI), Adam Everett (.200, 2RBI), Alex Avila (.140, 2 RBI), and since-demoted Ryan Raburn (.213, 5RBI). Last night, the Tigers were exposed, as not even the almighty Brennan Boesch (this year's Avila) could save the day.
I suppose I should take some of the blame by praising the bullpen in yesterday's post. The 'pen allowed the dreaded tack-on runs, essentially sealing the victory for Chicago. Yet, the Tigers showed no ability to hit in the clutch - something they've done with regularity in 2010. The good news is the Sox already left town, as did the Tigers, en route to a bizarre 2-game set with the A's.
In other bad news, the Pistons failed to crack the top-3 in the lottery. The silver lining is that they didn't fall either. They secured their spot at #7 in the draft. Many Piston fans are cursing the team's late season surge, where they passed Washington, Philadelphia, and Golden State in the draft standings. I am not one of those fans. Sure, I'd love for them to get a high pick, but I will never pull for the team to lose. Washington somehow won the John Wall lottery, and Philly leap-frogged everyone but Washington for the #2 spot. The top two big men available are DeMarcus Cousins and Derrick Favors. Both will be gone by the 7th pick. The Pistons need to hope Georgetown's smooth shooting Greg Monroe is still around. He's no defensive powerhouse, but what college star works on defense? Or Dumars could trade up 2-3 spots to land Cousins/Favors.
Other possibilities at #7 are Cole Aldrich and Ekpe Udoh. The biggest knock on Aldrich is the color of his skin. As this year's 7ft white dude, Aldrich must bear the weight of all the prior Great White Busts. He may actually not be a bad pick, as he's coming off a disappointing year. His numbers dropped as a junior. Had he come out after his sophomore season, he was projected to go top-5. If Dumars sees this kid as inheriting the Laimbeer-throne, he could likely trade DOWN, landing another player plus Aldrich. That might not be a bad play considering the Pistons are more than just one body away.
As for Udoh, he was actually a University of Michigan player whose NBA-stock rose dramatically once he transferred to Baylor. Like Aldrich, he may go as high as #7 or fall into the teens. Dumars has options. But he desperately needs to upgrade the Pistons' muscle.
No comments:
Post a Comment