Crack Pot strikes again

I went to bed last night with the score tied 4-4, and Andy Dirks on second with two outs in the 8th. The Sox were in the middle of a pitching change.

I thought to myself, "It's be the White Sox 'pen versus the Tigers' pen -- that's a loss."

Imagine my surprise when I wake up this morning to see the Tigers actually pulled it out. Jim Leyland's decision-making proved pivotal to the win, unlike the previous night. On Monday, Leyland opted to take out starter Duane Below with two outs and the bases loaded in the 5th. Despite loading the bases, Below seemed somewhat in control, but Leyland had no trust in his stuff. Instead, Leyland opted for Chance Ruffin, a dude making his first ever appearance in the majors.

Seriously, Leyland? You bring in a dude with exactly 0.0 innings to his credit into a key game against the Sox, with the bases jacked?! Oh, and to make matters worse, Ruffin was facing Carlos Quentin, a dude hitting a cool .342 against the Tigers. The White Sox fans must've thought the fix was in. Leyland was trying to lose the game. Tiger fans know better. We've become accustomed to Leyland's crack-pot hunches. To no one's surprise, Quentin laced a two-run double that gave the Sox the lead for good.

Last night was a different story. Verlander was on the mound, and that seems to bring out the best in Leyland. For one, Raburn rarely plays when Verlander is pitching. Also, Leyland allows Verlander to pitch late into games, eschewing the dreaded pitch count. Last night was not the best of Justin Verlander, though. He gave up two separate two-run homers. The second was pretty painful. The Tigers had just taken a 4-2 lead, but Verlander gave it right back on Konerko's two-run bomb. The 4-4 score lasted until the 8th when I figured all hope was gone.

Yet, I was wrong. Victor Martinez earned a walk to lead off the 8th. This is when Leyland made his first good decision. He pulled Martinez in favor of pinch runner, Andy Dirks. Earlier in the game, Martinez couldn't score from 1st on a double from Wilson Betemit. Perhaps that was fresh in Leyland's mind. He needed more speed on the bases, as Martinez represented the winning run. Now, Dirks almost got picked off plenty of times, but the 1st base ump was feeling kind. Dirks eventually stole second. Peralta struck out. Then Guillen flied out. With two outs, the Sox brought in a new pitcher - Matt Thornton - to face Betemit. Betemit greeted Thornton with a single, scoring Dirks.

In the bottom of the 8th, Leyland did not go to the bullpen. Instead, he let Verlander pitch against the heart of the Sox order. He struck out Konerko and Adam Dunn to end the inning. Papa Grande pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, and the Tigers escaped with a 5-4 victory.

Afterward, Verlander said,

"A lot of guys shy away from saying how big of a series this is right now at this point of the season, but I think this is a big win for us."

He's right. The Tigers can't let the Sox gain too much momentum, especially against Verlander, the ace. Part of the credit for this victory should also go to Dombrowski. He brought in Betemit last week, and the dude already factored largely in a key win. Without that trade, we'd have Brandon Inge hitting in the 8th. Is there anyone who thinks Inge would've brought Andy Dirks home?

Clutch stuff from Betemit. Great recovery for Verlander. And solid decisions by Leyland... well, except for one. Leyland must've lost a bet. That's the only explanation I'll accept for Leyland's decision to use Ryan Raburn as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the 9th. Yes, Ryan Raburn and his seven errors. Now, I can understand Raburn's role on the team. He's a streaky hitter. When he's hot, he can really smoke the ball. But fielding ain't what he's about. Must I again reference this:

Strange, crack-pot logic from the manager. Still, the Tigers won. This afternoon, it's Scherzer (4.35) verses Danks (3.92).

Adieu, Inge

When am I ever right? After I rattled off potential Inge replacements last week, Dombrowski actually acquired the first guy on the list! Wilson Betemit played his first game as a Tiger last night and almost immediately proved his worth. He got a hit.

Then in the 9th, Betemit fielded a ground ball and threw it so far off the mark that it allowed a player to score from 1st base. But ya know what? Tiger fans could care less. They finally have a 3rd baseman who actually gets on base from time to time. I don't expect Betemit's fielding to differ significantly from Inge either. It's not like Inge was putting up Gold Glove numbers. He had his share of gaffes as well.

Last night, Tiger fans finally got their wish - no Inge, no Raburn. Raburn, with his .214 average returned to his utility role. He'll fill in when players need a day off, likely at 2nd base spelling Guillen. Inge, however, was waived. He accepted a demotion to Toledo and wants to fix his swing. Technically, Inge has to clear waivers first, but what team is going to pay $5M/year for a player hitting .177?

It's sort of an end of an era. Inge was the last remaining member of the '03 team that lost 119 games. Technically, Ramon Santiago was on that team too, but Santiago was already sent away once to Seattle. He's on his second stint with the Tigers. Most of the players from that '03 team are actually out of baseball. Every single pitcher, except 1, played his final game in the majors. Most fizzled out quickly after that '03 season. The only remaining pitcher with an active MLB contract is Fernando Rodney. Who knew he'd be the ace of that staff?

With Inge gone, the Tigers can now focus on their pitching staff. They desperately need somebody to step up and help Verlander. At times, it looked like Scherzer was a solid #2. Then came a stretch of games in late May and June when he gave up 7, 7, and 5 runs in succession, and he's yet to regain any semblance of consistency. Porcello is equally puzzling. He had a dominant May with a 3.5 ERA, but he followed that with a 6.97 ERA in June. Recently, he held weak-hitting Oakland to 3 runs, but he also allowed 8 hits. That's a red flag. If the A's manage 8 hits, what are the much more powerful White Sox or Twins going to do?

Incredibly, the closest the Tigers have to a #2 is Brad Penny. After a slow start, Penny had a strong May (3.24 ERA), average June (4.50), and solid July (3.60). In his last 15 starts, Penny's lasted 6 innings or longer in all but 3. Neither Porcello or Scherzer even come close to that. Time to give Penny his due - he's been good. Yet, is it enough?

I don't think so. Neither does Dombrowski, as he's apparently on the lookout for another starter. The one major problem is that every team wants another starter. The Tigers would likely have to overpay. Or they'd have to take on a significant salary, like Wandy Rodriguez (owed $36M the next three seasons). The Tigers may be better off just trotting out their Triple-A aces, like Duane Below. Is Duane any worse than the average middling starter on the trading block? It's not like these teams are offering Roy Halladay.

Pistons

Hard to get exciting about anything NBA-related these days, but the Pistons are set to hire Lawrence Frank. Pistonpowered, as usual, provides great perspective.

The article says Joe may have preferred Mike Woodson, but does it really matter? Joe D will have to offer any new coach much more support than he did Kuester. That embarrassing player behavior from last season can't last one more second. Fans would rather watch the former Detroit Shock than the Pistons. At least those girls cared about the game.