Pitching and Defense

The good ol' days
It's no secret. The Tigers win or lose based on pitching and defense.

Sure, they'll have a game every now and then when they can't string two hits together. But long term success or failure of this team will be determined by their pitching and defense.

Take last night...

The Mets pummeled Tiger pitching for 20 hits. They scored in six of the nine innings. The Tigers' bullpen was so dreadful that Leyland asked Don Kelly to get the final out. No joke. The Mets hit 10 of 20 with runners-in-scoring-position. What's more impressive about that number -- that the Mets hit .500 or that they had 20 opportunities?!

The previous night, the Mets were 7 of 13 with RISP. Over the two nights, that's 17 of 33. The Tigers, by contrast, hit 2 of 14 with RISP. Of course, it's not the Tigers bats that lost the past two games. Porcello, Coke, Schlereth, Purcey, and... gasp... Alburquerque all got shelled. For Schlereth, it was the last straw. He received his walking papers today.

Last night, the Tigers offense did score 9 runs. That would be enough to win most nights. Even with the pitchers offering up hits, the Tigers' defense could have stemmed the tide. As we've seen with this team for years, they failed to do the little things to win games:

In the first, Reyes (hitting .600 with 4 runs and 2 SB against the Tigers) got a single. He advanced to 2nd on an error by Cabrera. Coke managed to get the next two dudes out. Then Reyes stole 3rd because everybody steals on the Tigers. Coke proceeded to throw a wild pitch, allowing Reyes to score.

With just a single, the Mets somehow found a way to bring that run home despite not actually advancing the runner. The Tigers provided all the advancing.

Coke then had a chance to limit the first inning damage to just one run. It seemed fine. He had nobody on with two outs. Yet, shaky Coke gave up four straight hits, including a bases-clearing triple. The rout was on.

Or was it?

The Tigers kept clawing back. Cabrera hit two monster home runs to keep the Tigers in shouting distance. It was 8-6 Mets in the 7th. Alburquerque relieved Ryan Perry. The bases were loaded with 2 outs. Alburquerque induced a grounder to 2nd base. Ryan Raburn, apparently the Tigers' top option at 2nd base, ranged to his left. The ball dribbled under his glove into right field. Two runs scored.

A good 2nd baseman dives, collects the ball, and throws the guy out at first. Inning over. An average 2nd baseman dives, collects the ball, and, even if he's not quick enough to throw the guy out at first, at least he limits the damage to one run. Yet, Raburn doesn't dive. He misses the ball completely. And his body language afterward said it all. He looked dejected, embarrassed, and frankly wanted to bury his head in the sand. This is a guy who earlier hit a home run. But, man, he is killing this team. Leyland can't hide Raburn's defensive deficiencies. Carlos Guillen can't get here soon enough.

Of course, if Raburn was the only culprit, the score wouldn't have been 16-9. Austin Jackson also mishandled a grounder, allowing a run to score. The Mets stole 4 bases. Every single player in the Mets lineup got a hit. All but two players had multi-hit games. It was ugly.

Like last time the Tigers assumed first place, they quickly lost a handful of games and reminded us that they are at best an average team. Don't get fooled. They got too many holes.

Rod Allen Knows Baseball

Seriously.

It's too bad Phil Coke doesn't have an earpiece on the mound, with a direct line to Rod's color commentary. If Coke had listened to Rod, Coke may have avoided some major mistakes last night.

For those unfamiliar with Rod Allen, he was a fringe MLBer with just 31 career games. After a handful of appearances with the '84 Tigers, Rod spent the next few years back in the minors. In the late 80s, Rod signed with a Japanese team. Thankfully for us, Rod introduced the Japanese to the wonderful art of charging the mound:

What I like about Rod is that he has no delusions of grandeur about his playing career (unlike, ahem, this guy). An All-star career is no prerequisite for success in the booth. Rod's 30 years experience in the game and calm delivery make him a top-notch color analyst. Last night, he showed he might have a future in coaching as well.

Phil Coke was facing off against Felix Hernandez - perhaps the best pitcher in the American League. So he had his work cut out for him. The last thing he needed was this gaffe by Ryan Raburn:

By the way, Raburn is quickly becoming the absolute star of this blog. Perhaps I should rename it RyRa.com? RaburnRugburn.com? Ryanshope.com? I'll think about it.

Strangely, that fly ball was ruled a home run for Miguel Olivo. Not an error. Raburn's agent loves that. In Raburn's defense, the ball flew right into the sun. Despite his poor fielding history, I have no doubt Raburn makes that catch under normal circumstances. It was just Raburn's bad luck that Olivo hit the ball right into the one patch of sunlight on the field. That "home run" tied the game at 1.

In the 4th, with Coke seemingly in control, Olivo notched a legitimate double with two outs. Rod Allen commented that Coke may want to walk the right-handed Justin Smoak (.288 BA), since 1st base was open and the next batter was left-handed Jack Cust (.176 BA). As Rod spoke his wisdom, Coke threw a fastball right down the middle which Smoak blistered down the left field line. The ball fell inches foul. Apparently, that blistered shot was not enough to convince Coke to pitch around this guy. Now, Coke didn't need to intentionally walk Smoak. But there was no reason Coke needed to give him anything good to hit. Coke threw two balls to Smoak, but Coke apparently didn't want to concede anything. Coke challenged Smoak with his next pitch, and apparently Smoak accepted the challenge. He sent the ball deep into the seats for a 2-run home run.

Coke got the next batter out with a weak grounder to first.

Now, there's no way to know if Rod Allen's suggestion of walking Smoak would've prevented the runs. It's possible the next batter would've hit differently with runners on base. Regardless, Coke gambled and lost. It was a key point in the game too. The Tigers did tie the game, but the Mariners scored 4 for a commanding 7-3 lead. If Coke had avoided those 2 runs by walking Smoak, perhaps the Tigers have a bit more confidence down 5-3 instead of 7-3. Who knows. The bottom line is that Coke must be smarter. He's new as a starting pitcher in the majors. He needs to play to his strength. He's not Felix Hernandez or Tim Lincecum, who can trust their stuff against any player in the league. He's got to, as Rod Allen said, "choose his outs."

Lefties are hitting .182 against Coke. He should know that, and use it to his - and the Tigers - advantage. And if Coke is too keyed-up to understand the situation, Jim Leyland or Alex Avila should help him out. Jim Leyland gets paid big bucks to manage this team, and he should not be upstaged by Rod Allen in the booth. Last night, he was.

The good news is that the Tigers get Felix Hernandez out of the way. If the team was to lose a game in this series, last night would be it. Tonight, the Tigers bring back Verlander.

For the record, the Tigers' #1 and #2 batters - Jackson and Will Rhymes - combined for zero hits (one walk). With Scott Sizemore hitting .411 (!!!) in Toledo, it's time for a change. I'm no expert, but .411 tells me the kid is hungry for another chance. I backed Rhymes up at the beginning of the season, but, if the dude ain't hitting (.185 BA), he ain't helping the team.

No longer In Praise of RyRa

A familiar sight
Time to bench him.

Okay, I'm kidding. Sort of. But the dude has fallen off the map since I praised him last Thursday. Raburn's stats during that span:

BA: .111

HR: 0

RBI: 0

BB: 1

K: 11

Yes, folks, that's a shocking 11 strikeouts in just four games. He now leads the majors (passing fellow Tiger Austin Jackson). And to think... we thought Brandon Inge was the strikeout king. Raburn also added an error to stay atop the MLB leaderboard for left-fielders.

The truth is that every player goes through a slump. Raburn, after a fine first few weeks at the plate, earned the right to slump a bit. Yet, these recent at-bats are alarming. He's swinging at pitches way out of the strike-zone. Everything changed for him when the team flew out West. It's like he shattered his Wonderboy bat and can't find the Savoy Special.

Raburn's not alone. The Tigers can't find a fix at the top of the lineup. Austin Jackson's average continues to plummet. He's now hitting .164 with a ghastly .239 on-base percentage. Will Rhymes is only slightly better. He's hitting .226. Inge is now at .208, and Santiago's at .200. The truth is that Miguel Cabrera and, to a lesser extent, Brennan Boesch and Victor Martinez are carrying this team.

Last night, Cabrera and Boesch kept the Tigers in contention until Jhonny Peralta opened the game wide open with a bases-clearing triple. Peralta definitely came through in a clutch situation, and the Tigers desperately need more of that. The team won the game, but the lack of balanced hitting is troubling, especially now that Martinez needs a few games off. No Guillen, no Maggs, no VMart? Yuck. Lord knows what would happen to this team if Cabrera needed a day off... or, gasp, more than one. Leyland might have to pick up a bat.

This may be a downer of a post after a solid 8-3 victory, but I can't see this team moving forward without more production from the top and bottom of the batting order. The successful Tiger teams had a balanced attack. Yes, they can rely on Cabrera to a certain degree. Like, for instance, when facing a pitcher like Cliff Lee. Cabrera can hit everybody. Brandon Inge cannot. But, man, when they're up against a Bruce Chen or Jason Vargas, they gotta make them pay.

Red Wings

In less-worrisome news, the Red Wings won last night. I must admit, I did not think the Wings would be up 3-0. Phoenix is a fine team. To make the playoffs in the West is a massive accomplishment, and it proves Phoenix's quality. Yet, they've been derailed by bad bounces and shoddy goalkeeping. In Detroit, they were even beneficiaries from a handful of questionable calls, resulting in lengthy 5-on-3s. It wasn't enough.

Last night, when Ruslan Salei scored from the point, followed by a Drew Miller deflection, I figured the Wings were living under a lucky star. Those goals from unheralded role-players are back-breakers, and they happened so early in the game. It killed all the Coyotes home-ice mojo. Then, when Franzen scored so effortlessly early in the 3rd, the Wings cemented their status as big brother.

I'm not quite sure what to expect from Phoenix in Game 4, but most teams lay it all on the line. The players always say the close-out game is the toughest. Considering Phoenix's overly physical play backfired in Game 3, my guess is they'll focus on scoring first. Then, if they get that early lead, they'll revert to the massive checking, fighting, and face-washing. It could be ugly.

Props to the Wings for staying out of the box last night. Only 3 penalty-kills, after 7 the prior game. Phoenix did score on 2 of the 3, but it was too little too late.

In praise of RyRa

Since Monday when I claimed he was "eating up ABs that should go to superior players like Boesch or Casper Wells," Ryan Raburn has gone 4-8 with 2 walks. In general, he was the best Tiger hitter against the strong pitching staff of the Rangers. And to further shove the crow down my mouth, Raburn made a Chet Lemon-esque catch Tuesday, leaping over the wall to thwart a home run by Michael Young:

Raburn's the anti-nofrown curse. And I couldn't be happier for him. My over-the-top frustration with this guy stemmed from the fact that I fell prey to his teasing bat once before. When he first came up to the majors in 2007, Raburn made the most of his 147 at-bats, hitting .307 with 27 RBIs and decent pop (.507 SLG). I was hoping he'd get an opportunity the next season. He responded a .236 average. Yet, it wasn't just his lack of timely hitting. He couldn't do the little things. When the team needed a bunt, Raburn would swing away. When the needed a sacrifice fly, Raburn would strike out. And then his fielding... he never had a distinct position. As a minor leaguer, he shuffled around from 2nd base to 3rd and then to the outfield. With the Tigers, he's also moved around, but for the past two seasons Leyland stuck him exclusively in left field. And the dude still leads his position in errors. I could live with his poor batting average if the dude could reliably lay down a bunt and field his position. But he was maddeningly inconsistent.

Last season, as Tiger fanatics know, Raburn turned up the heat in the 2nd half of the season. When it was clear the Tigers were out of contention, Raburn's bat finally came to life. He finished the season with 15 HRs, 62 RBIs and a respectable .280 BA. As a reward, Leyland named him the full-time starter in LF, entering this season. The dude still can't bunt... but he has hit a sacrifice fly this season. So I guess there's hope. At this point, I'd still rather see Boesch and Wells, but I won't throw the remote at the TV with RyRa in the lineup. He's done quite well subbing for Magglio in the 3-spot.

Red Wings

Must give quick kudos to the Red Wings. Despite a horrible start (8 min of penalties in the 1st period), the Wings rebounded like savvy veterans in the 2nd and blistered the Preds for 3 goals. When Pavel opened the scoring with a beautiful wrap-around, it was like the skies parted. The players and fans relaxed. Minutes later, Franzen unleashed one of his patented wristers that caught Bryzgalov off-guard and found the upper 90. Then Rafalski scored. Then Hudler in the 3rd. And the defense held.

There were a handful of untimely turnovers by the defense, but Phoenix failed to capitalize. The turnovers continue to pose problems for the Wings, and I'm not sure it will ever be fixed. It may just be a part of who they are. As fans, I guess we just have to hope the Wings are more opportunistic than the opposition.

Pistons

As Pistonpowered.com said, "We made it." The season is over.

They actually pulled out a win against a disinterested 76er team. I had the chance to watch Hamilton and Prince perform quite well in what had to be their final game in a Piston uniform. As Joko texted last night, it's just a sad, sad end to the "Goin' to Work" gang.

The dude leading the charge at the end wasn't the old guard, though. It was Rodney Stuckey. He continued to pad his stats in meaningless games, as he enters (restricted) free agency. For the final five games, Stuckey averaged a staggering 25 ppg, 9.4 apg, and a .520 FG%. Dumars will likely bring this kid back, but he's got a lot of work to do to repair his crybaby image in this town. The stats are impressive, but the dude doesn't bring wins... and that's all that matters.

In Rick Carlisle's first season, the starting five in his first game was Dana Barros, Stackhouse, Michael Curry, Uncle Cliffy, and Big Ben. There's not a ton of talent in that group. Yet, they won 50 games. It's about chemistry, and which current Pistons will contribute to positive chemistry?

In a telling sign of the times, I'm currently listening to WDFN and the subject is: "Which Piston do you most want to see leave the team?"

*Sigh*

At least the season is over.