Thursday, 31 May 2012

GERALD LAIRD IS THE TIGERS' PIERZYNSKI

The injury-riddled Red Sox keep gettin' it done.
The Large Father, YOOUUUK and Will Middlebrooks all went DEEP and Adrian Gonzalez hit a pair of doubles to push Boston to a 6-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Late in the game Detroit DH Gerald Laird sent a ball looping into the outfield and Boston outfielder Marlon Byrd made a diving catch to rob him of a hit. Television cameras caught Laird yelling, "You're not that good" in Byrd's direction.
What a douche! Laird's pathetic. I love the Tigers, but just the fact that you have Gerald Laird in your lineup as a DH shows how very desperate you are...these guys are missing Victor Martinez in a big, bad way!!!
Marlon Byrd's diving catch to rob Gerald Laird in the 8th inning...



It should be a good one tonight. Max Scherzer vs Josh Beckett.
I think Scherzer has been the best Tiger thus far. The dude's already got 72 Ks. Too bad he can't get a little run support.

Wednesday, 30 May 2012

RACK-OFF!

Since it appears that summer has finally arrived, this week's RACK-OFF! is a Battle of Babes with a Garden Hose:
#1 Rosie Jones



#2 Jenny McCarthy

RACK-OFF! WINNERS

Last week's RACK-OFF! resulted in a tie.
Here are your winners.


VERLANDER LOSS...MAGGS RETIRES

The Detroit Tigers couldn't even win with Justin Verlander on the hill.
The day began with messages of "Happy Verlander Day" on Twitter. Tigers' fans celebrate a Verlander start as a certain win.
It didn't happen.
After a swinging strike on a 99 mph fastball, Verlander shook off Alex Avila and threw a 100 mph heater...Red Sox outfielder Daniel Nava was waiting on the cheese and, with the bases loaded, hit a 3-run double.
Verlander lasted 6 innings, allowing 10 hits and 5 runs.
The Large Father cranked a homer and 2 doubles.
The Red Sox beat the Tigers 6-3.
After the game, Detroit sent Ryan Raburn to Triple-A Toledo.
Inge is gone. Raburn is gone. Who's the next whipping-boy Tigers' fans?
I'm thinking probably Brennan Boesch.



Sunday will be Magglio Ordóñez Day at Comerica Park.
Ordóñez will announce his retirement during a pre-game ceremony.
Maggs played 15 seasons with the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. He hit 295 home runs and 1,236 RBIs while maintaining a .309 average.
In 2006, Magglio cranked 24 homers and 104 RBIs and hit one of the most memorable homers in Detroit Tigers' history. Maggs homered off Oakland's Huston Street in Game 4 of the 2006 AL Championship Series to send the Tigers to their first World Series since 1984.



In 2007, Ordóñez became the Tigers' first batting champion in 46 years (Norm Cash in 1961), batting .363 with a league-high 54 doubles as well as 28 home runs and 139 RBIs.
Two fractures of his right ankle, and the resulting surgery, ended Magglio's career.
So, the two players that returned the Detroit Tigers to glory have retired this season - Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio Ordóñez.

Tuesday, 29 May 2012

THE WHITE SOX ARE A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH...LEYLAND IS PISSED

Man, the Tigers have their hands full in the AL Central. The Chicago White Sox are tearin' it up!
On Memorial Day, the White Sox beat the Rays 2-1.
Chicago starter Chris Sale went 7 1/3 innings, allowed 3 hits, 1 run, 2 walks and notched 15 Ks!
Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer. Remember Dunn's flop-of-a-season last year, when he hit 11 home runs, 42 RBIs and had a .159 batting average - the most unproductive season of his career? Well this year he's already hit 16 dingers and driven in 37 runs.
Paul Konerko is hitting .395 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs. Over the past 10 games, Konerko hit .639 with 5 dingers and 14 RBIs!
The White Sox have won their last 6 straight and sit 1/2 game behind the Indians in the battle for 1st-place in the AL Central.
Adam Dunn with the bad-ass bat flip...



The Red Sox beat the Tigers 7-4 on Monday.
Detroit skipper Jim Leyland and third-base coach Gene Lamont were ejected after arguing a blown call by the umpires.
Boston had 13 hits, lighting-up Doug Fister for 11 hits in the first 5 innings.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia went DEEP for Boston.
Delmon Young, Jhonny Peralta and Gerald Laird went YARD for Detroit.



Monday, 28 May 2012

TIGERS SWEEP...CURSE OF THE GOAT

On Sunday, the Tigers beat the Twins 4-3 to complete a 3-game sweep of Minnesota.
Miguel Cabrera hit a 2-run homer to win the game for the Tigers.
Before you get too carried away, Detroit left 10 men on base...and this was the Twins - the bottom-feeders in the AL Central.
Today, the Tigers begin a 4-game series against the Red Sox in Fenway.



The Chicago Cubs have lost 12 in-a-row! The franchise record is 14 straight.
Can they do it?

Sunday, 27 May 2012

WALK-OFF SATURDAY!

K-Commando Max Scherzer struck out 9 batters in a 6-3 Tigers' victory over the Twins on Saturday. Prince Fielder went 4-for-4 and Detroit won two in a row for the first time since April 18!



Josh Hamilton hit a two-run walk-off homer in the 13th inning to give the Rangers an 8-7 win over the Blue Jays.



Jarrod Saltalamacchia cranked a pinch-hit, two-run homer off former Tiger Fernando Rodney in the 9th inning to give the Red Sox a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Saturday, 26 May 2012

TIGERS WIN...CRUZ IS A RUN-PRODUCING MACHINE

Ok. Let's get this train rollin'.
The Tigers cranked-out 16 hits in a (finally) 10-6 win against the Twins.
Quintin Berry, Prince Fielder, Delmon Young, Brennan Boesch, Alex Avila and Ryan Raburn all knocked in runs.

Nelson Cruz belted a grand slam and notched 8 RBIs and Josh Hamilton hit his 19th home run of the season to help the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 14-3 Friday night.

Friday, 25 May 2012

STRANDED RUNNERS & SNOOP

The Tigers' hitting sucks so bad that they can't even win with their ace on the hill.
Justin Verlander pitched 8 solid innings, allowing only 2 runs, striking out 7 batters and throwing a 102 mph heater on his 116th pitch in the 8th inning - and the Tigers still lost.
The way Detroit is playing they may break the MLB record for most stranded runners in a season.
Wanna see a nice stat: Over the 3-game sweep by the Indians, the Tigers stranded 30 runners and went 3-for-28 for a fantastic .107 average.
Miguel Cabrera , Prince Fielder and Delmon Young - the 3-4-5 hitters, went a combined 0 for 12 with runners at second or third.
The Indians defeated the Tigers 2-1.



Snoop Dogg tossed-out the first pitch at the White Sox-Twins' game.





There were 8 homers in this game.
Joe Mauer hit a solo homer and Justin Morneau belted two dingers for the Twins.
Paul Konerko, Alex Rios, A.J. 'Douche' Pierzynski, Dayan Viciedo and Alejandro De Aza all went DEEP for the White Sox.
Chicago beat Minnesota 11-8.

Thursday, 24 May 2012

SCOTTY WENT DEEP!

Holy Smokes, Scotty Podsednik went DEEP!

Podsednik belted a solo homer in the 8th inning, last night, to help the Red Sox defeat the Orioles 6-5.

Boston took 2-out-of-3 from Baltimore.

Podsednik was recently acquired from the Phillies on May 11th and brought-up from Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday. He went 2-for-3 with an RBI in his first start with Boston.

Scotty has a special place in my heart because he's a nomad, having trolled the outfield for the Mariners, Brewers, White Sox, Rockies, Royals, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Phillies and now the Red Sox.

Also, because he's married to Playboy's Miss July 1998 and Hot Baseball Wife Hall of Famer Lisa Dergan.












Wednesday, 23 May 2012

RACK-OFF!

This week's RACK-OFF! is the Battle of Rackage Emerging from a Pool.
Scroll down the blog to place your vote.
Contestant #1


Contestant #2



Contestant #3



Contestant #4


Contestant #5


Contestant #6

LAST WEEK'S WINNER

Last week's RACK-OFF! champion in the Battle of the B&W Boobs was this chick...



Tuesday, 22 May 2012

BOSTON BACK TO .500

Holy crap! The Boston Red Sox are playing .500 ball!

In the bizarro world of the AL East, the standings look like this:



Baltimore Orioles   27 16 .628

Tampa Bay Rays     25 18 .581

Toronto Blue Jays   24 19 .558

Boston Red Sox      21 21 .500

New York Yankees 21 21 .500



The Orioles had a 5-2 lead in the 6th inning before the Large Father came to the plate and blasted a ball out of Camden Yards and out onto Eutaw Street.

After Boston starter Clay Buchholz gave up 5 runs in 5 1/3 innings, former Detroit Tiger Andrew Miller came in and retired all 5 batters he faced to earn the win on his 27th birthday.

 








The Red Sox beat the Orioles 8-6.







The Tigers and Red Sox meet next week for a 4-game series at Fenway to close-out the month of May.


 

Monday, 21 May 2012

HAPPY VICTORIA DAY!

The Detroit Tigers took 2-out-of-3 from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Tigers beat the Pirates 4-3 on Sunday.
Detroit starter Max Scherzer pitched 7 innings and struck out 15 Pittsburgh batters!
Mickey Lolich holds the club record of 16 Ks, which he did twice in 1969.
Scherzer's pitch count was at 115, so Leyland took him out.
No new records this day.


HAPPY VICTORIA DAY, BITCHES!

Sunday, 20 May 2012

A NEGRO LEAGUES TRIBUTE GAME PHOTOJOURNAL

It was a beautiful day at the ballpark on Saturday.

Blue skies, 83 degrees, a warm breeze, cold beer...but the Tigers' offence

was MIA.


The Tigers hosted their 18th Annual Negro Leagues Tribute Game.











Detroit Tigers vs Pittsburgh Pirates











Or, in Negro Leagues parlance - Pittsburgh Crawfords vs Detroit Stars











The Tigers & Pirates rocked the Negro League uniforms.











The giveaway was an Austin Jackson Detroit Stars Bobblehead...pretty sweet!











Remember, back in the day, when Jimmy Leyland used to manage the Pirates?











Well, now he's the Tigers' skipper and the folks in Motown love the guy. Here he is greeting some of the Negro League players in attendance.











He was autographing for the kids after batting practice...











The game itself wasn't exactly a slugfest. Pittsburgh left 7 runners on base. Detroit stranded 10 runners.


All the scoring was provided by two players: Andrew McCutchen belted two 2-run homers...Prince Fielder cranked a 2-run dinger. The Tigers' other run was scored on a passed ball by Pittsburgh catcher Rod Barajas.


The Pirates are batting .218 as a team. McCutchen is hitting .346.













The Pirates beat the Tigers 4-3.





I leave you with a vision of indescribable beauty. A dude that was walking up the steps at The Copa was rockin' these sweet-ass stockings...











Saturday, 19 May 2012

VERLANDER THE BEST EVER?...WOOD'S LAST OUT

Wow! That was exciting, huh?

A beautiful night at Comerica Park, a packed house and Justin Verlander just

2 outs away from his third no-hitter.

Unfortunately, it was not to be...Verlander served-up a breaking ball that Pirates' DH Josh Harrison drove into the gap in center field. JV will have to save it for another day.

Verlander threw a 1-hit, 6-0 shutout and added 12 strikeouts!

When Justin Verlander throws his 3rd no-hitter...and he will - he will join an exclusive club:

Nolan Ryan - 7 No-no's

Sandy Koufax - 4

Bob Feller - 3

Cy Young - 3

Larry Corcoran - 3

Verlander's first no-hitter was  June 12, 2007 against Milwaukee. His second - May 7, 2011 against Toronto.

This was his very first one-hitter.

During the final innings, Twitter was lit-up with comparisons between Verlander and Nolan Ryan.

Verlander's a great pitcher. One of the all-time greats. But, folks, let's not get carried away.

To put it in perspective, Nolan Ryan threw 7 no-hitters. Do you know how many close calls he had?

Ryan took a no-no into the 7th inning or later 31 times! 24 of them were broken-up by a hit - the other 7 were no-hitters.

Another cat on Twitter said Justin Verlander is the best pitcher he's ever seen.

I was lucky enough to see Jon Lester's no-hitter on May 19, 2008 from the Green Monster seats.

Verlander's a better pitcher than Lester. But he's NOT the best I've ever seen.

The best pitcher I've EVER seen is Pedro Martinez.

In his prime he was overwhelming. He made hitters look silly. Just nasty stuff.

Martinez never threw a no-hitter. He did throw 9 innings of no-hit ball.

On June 3, 1995 Martinez pitched 9 PERFECT innings against the San Diego Padres before allowing Bip Roberts to hit a single in the 10th inning. The Expos won the game 1-0.

Pedro won the Cy Young 3 times. He finished his career with 3,154 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA.

Verlander won the American League MVP Award last season. Here are the stats that won him that award: Win-loss 24-5,  250 strikeouts or 9.0 per nine innings pitched, 57 walks, for a 4.39 strikeout-to-walk ratio, an ERA of 2.40.

Here are Pedro Martinez' stats for the 1999 season: Win-loss 23-4, 313 strikeouts or 13.2 per nine innings pitched, 37 walks, for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 8.46, an ERA of 2.07...and this was at the height of the steroid era!

Gee, which cat had a better season? Yet, no MVP for Pedro???

A few years ago, I sat behind home plate at Comerica Park, under a full moon and watched Pedro Martinez just decimate the Detroit Tigers' lineup. I've never seen a pitcher that dominant.













The Battle of the Windy City started yesterday too. White Sox vs Cubs.







Kerry Wood announced that he would retire after the game.

Wood came in during the 8th inning to face one batter. He struck out Dayan Viciedo on three pitches.

He left to a standing ovation from the Wrigley Field crowd and hugged his son on the way to the dugout.

It was an awesome baseball moment.

Everyone remembers Kerry Wood for one thing: His 5th career start.

Wood was a 20-year-old rookie, on May 6, 1998, when he tied an MLB record with 20 strikeouts in a one-hit, no-walk, complete-game shutout of a Houston Astros club that won 102 games that year. His game score - a Bill James-devised formula to rate individual pitching performances - was 105, the best 9-inning mark in baseball history, ranking ahead of every perfect game!

Unfortunately, Kerry Wood's career was sidetracked by injuries.

Over 14 years Wood was on the disabled list 16 times - more than 800 days!

He had Tommy John surgery after his rookie season and was never the same.