Tiger Watch - Official Thread

[loltrain]

Lidge still has great stuff, he just can't throw strikes. And when you can't throw strikes you end up leaving meatballs over the plate.

 

A .238 baa and 4 homers given up isn't good for a closer, but it's not horrendous. Pettite should have been pulled before the last inning though, he definitely seemed to be out of gas.

 

Verlander with a 5 pitch inning in the 8th.

Edited June 28, 2006 by loltrain

[Milkman delivers]

After Iguchi hit the grandslam against him, and after all the s*** he's been through since Pujols' bomb, I was thinking they should put Lidge on suicide watch. That guy's gonna hang himself.

[RockRaines]

Lidge still has great stuff, he just can't throw strikes. And when you can't throw strikes you end up leaving meatballs over the plate.

 

A .238 baa and 4 homers given up isn't good for a closer, but it's not horrendous. Pettite should have been pulled before the last inning though, he definitely seemed to be out of gas.

 

Verlander with a 5 pitch inning in the 8th.

Verlander has been nothing short of stellar for my fantasy team.

[tigerfan]

Just a little stat for you. With the win today, our starters are 15-2 this month, with an ERA around 2.9. Great stuff right there.

[Greg The Bull Luzinski]

Prediction: Tigers will also win Friday 5-0, Saturday 6-2, and Sunday 9-1 against Pittsburgh.

[Rowand44]

Because Lidge's dominant days of yesteryear are just a single HGH injection away.

This really doesn't make any sense to me. His stuff is still completely there his head isn't anymore though. If he just completely lost his great stuff then I guess you could accuse him but I don't see how that makes any sense in his case.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

Prediction: Tigers will also win Friday 5-0, Saturday 6-2, and Sunday 9-1 against Pittsburgh.

 

 

No reason to think they wont.

 

 

At least we get to beat up on the Flubbs during the same time frame.

[BigSqwert]

After this pansy NL schedule the Tigers will face the 1st place A's on the road next week and then the Mariners who are playing very well right now.

[shoota]

I'm wondering why there are still doubters out there.

 

29 games over .500 is ridiculously good.

 

That's a vague comment. Doubters of what? That the Tigers won't win the division? That they aren't a good team?

 

Yep, another Detroit fan, but hopefully this message will be applicable for most people here.

 

Firstly, I would like to say that I have also enjoyed the Tigers' start. BUT... posting on an opposing team's BB to brag about it is not my main plan. I don't know how many other Detroit fans may agree or disagree with me, but for all the Tigers fans that come here I do have a question.

 

When your team is playing another team who happens to be 19-6 against your team through the start of 2005 and who has won a World Series just last year, and your team happens to be holding a razor-thin 2-game margin over them, how many of that team's fans do you expect to say that your team will be playing for a World Series? The Sox have been good for many prior years and awesome for the past two. I came here and signed up because it is nice to see what your rival says about your team. However, Tigers fans, please know that you cannot demand pragmatic arguments. This isn't a media outlet, this isn't even a newspaper which has to hold to any sort of journalistic standard. This is a webboard made up of rabid fans of your *current rival*, the team that has the same goal as the Tigers do which in some regards is mutually exclusive; only one team can really win the Central, and only one team can win the World Series.

 

A team which is 53-25 is clearly a good team so far but ultimately has not even played half its games. As a fan of a Tigers team with win totals of 43, 72, and 71 through the past three years getting to 90 is terrific and the playoffs is just gravy. Why go out of your way to pick fights with other fans and then feel antagonistic and crummy about them when something special is finally happening to your baseball team? If you need to talk junk to your competitor to get yourself into the game more, so be it, but don't be surprised if some people don't exactly like it. Ultimately this is just my opinion, but I know I feel better by just taking in the debate and continuing to enjoy the Tigers breaking every *reasonable* projection that was made about them through the past offseason.

 

White Sox fans, thank you at least for the candidness that you provide, and for your hospitality here. I love to hear honest opinions and as many as possible, and while some things on the White Sox (notably their manager) have rubbed me the wrong way personally, I must admit that I have been enjoying everything that this season has brought to begin with and hope that it will continue... and also have found a healthy respect for a club who has been 149-89 since 2005. There's a lot to emulate, even if I don't believe the manager is one of those things (so sorry...).

 

With that said, I hope you White Sox fans don't mind a question as well and I also hope you don't think me too forward... as fans of the White Sox, and taking in account what has happened this year... was last year more fun where you had little doubt all year and little to play for until the end more enjoyable, or has this strange little streak for both teams been enjoyable to watch and follow? I certainly know my response, especially since the Tigers have never really been in the first situation since I started watching them in the early-90s, but I am curious to learn your reactions.

 

Thanks for putting up with some of the more vocal of us, and I hope that I can come here for a long time even when the Tigers return to being bad. (Though I'm crossing my fingers that this won't happen for a while.)

 

Welcome to Soxtalk. Please post here in the future.

[BigSqwert]

That's a vague comment.

Sorry. Not everyone can post as eloquently as you.

[shoota]

Sorry. Not everyone can post as eloquently as you.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to post with a negative attitude. I was sincerely looking for further explanation.

[witesoxfan]

Holy s***, that got f'in intense

Edited June 29, 2006 by witesoxfan

[BigSqwert]

To the Tigers fans in Soxtalk:

 

What are your major concerns about your team heading into the 2nd half?

[brijames]

Audio "Who's Your Tiger," by the Natives of the New Dawn

 

Who's Your Tiger (Detroit's A Winner)

Music: C. Mayfield, Words: P. Barker

© 2006 New Dawn Horizons (BMI) All Rights Reserved

© 1968 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.

Introduction

Keep On Pushin'

Movin' On Up

Movin' On Up

Verse 1

We're a winner

And never let anybody say Detroit can't make it

'Cause the Tigers are leading the way

No more tears will we cry

And we have finally dried our eyes

Chorus

And we're movin' on up

(movin' on up) Detroit Tigers are movin' on up

(movin' on up)

Verse 2

Stick around so you can see

The Tigers road to victory

Detroit's a winner

And everybody knows it's true

(So we keep on pushin')

Like Jim Leyland tells us to

Around the league the Tigers roam

Sending pride to the fans back home

Repeat Chorus

Bridge

Who's your Tiger?

Man, I don't know

Maybe Pudge, Maybe Thames,

Maybe Polanco

Magglio's setting up a nice home in right

Wilson's got the plate backed up for the night

Granderson's in the outfield standing tall

Shelton just launched another long ball

Inge is on the infield puttin' on a show

For Guillen, Gomez and Craig Monroe

People are talking, they're causing a stir

about Rogers, Robertson and Verlander.

Bonderman's on the mound

Blows 'em right by ya

Much like relievers

Rodney and Zumaya

Who's Your Tiger?

It's hard to decide

I wanna thank 'em all for returning the pride

Who's Your Tiger?

It's hard to decide

I just wanna thank 'em all for returning the pride

Who's Your Tiger?

Repeat Chorus

Verse 3

I don't mind a loss or two

The Tigers always follow through

Detroit's a winner

And everybody knows it's true

(So we keep on pushin')

Till Jim Leyland says we're through

Together, we'll restore the roar

Like we did in '84

Repeat Chorus

Woo, Go Tigers

Hey, got to keep on movin on up

(movin' on up) We are winners

(movin' on up)

And everybody knows it's true

(we keep on pushin')

Movin' On, Movin' On, Movin' On Up

(movin' on up)

Who's Your Tiger?

(we keep on pushin')

 

mms://wm.detnews.gannett.edgestreams.net/2006/sports/0628whosyourtigers.wma

 

Can someone please start beating these guys before I lose it!

[LowerCaseRepublican]

Audio "Who's Your Tiger," by the Natives of the New Dawn

 

Who's Your Tiger (Detroit's A Winner)

Music: C. Mayfield, Words: P. Barker

© 2006 New Dawn Horizons (BMI) All Rights Reserved

© 1968 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.

Introduction

Keep On Pushin'

Movin' On Up

Movin' On Up

Verse 1

We're a winner

And never let anybody say Detroit can't make it

'Cause the Tigers are leading the way

No more tears will we cry

And we have finally dried our eyes

Chorus

And we're movin' on up

(movin' on up) Detroit Tigers are movin' on up

(movin' on up)

Verse 2

Stick around so you can see

The Tigers road to victory

Detroit's a winner

And everybody knows it's true

(So we keep on pushin')

Like Jim Leyland tells us to

Around the league the Tigers roam

Sending pride to the fans back home

Repeat Chorus

Bridge

Who's your Tiger?

Man, I don't know

Maybe Pudge, Maybe Thames,

Maybe Polanco

Magglio's setting up a nice home in right

Wilson's got the plate backed up for the night

Granderson's in the outfield standing tall

Shelton just launched another long ball

Inge is on the infield puttin' on a show

For Guillen, Gomez and Craig Monroe

People are talking, they're causing a stir

about Rogers, Robertson and Verlander.

Bonderman's on the mound

Blows 'em right by ya

Much like relievers

Rodney and Zumaya

Who's Your Tiger?

It's hard to decide

I wanna thank 'em all for returning the pride

Who's Your Tiger?

It's hard to decide

I just wanna thank 'em all for returning the pride

Who's Your Tiger?

Repeat Chorus

Verse 3

I don't mind a loss or two

The Tigers always follow through

Detroit's a winner

And everybody knows it's true

(So we keep on pushin')

Till Jim Leyland says we're through

Together, we'll restore the roar

Like we did in '84

Repeat Chorus

Woo, Go Tigers

Hey, got to keep on movin on up

(movin' on up) We are winners

(movin' on up)

And everybody knows it's true

(we keep on pushin')

Movin' On, Movin' On, Movin' On Up

(movin' on up)

Who's Your Tiger?

(we keep on pushin')

 

mms://wm.detnews.gannett.edgestreams.net/2006/sports/0628whosyourtigers.wma

 

Can someone please start beating these guys before I lose it!

 

Did someone say 'Movin' on Up'?

[loltrain]

To the Tigers fans in Soxtalk:

 

What are your major concerns about your team heading into the 2nd half?

 

Injuries.

[JackTalkThai]

To the Tigers fans in Soxtalk:

 

What are your major concerns about your team heading into the 2nd half?

 

Injuries and Verlander's arm. Hopefully Maroth coming back will allow Leyland to roll 6 starters down the stretch on occasion. Or perhaps they bring up Sanchez from Toledo to accomplish the same thing.

 

Also in big games the ability to work the count and run up the pitch count of the opposing pitcher is of utmost importance and the Tigers have had a tendancy to be a little too free-swingy resulting in short early innings. That won't cut it in a playoff chase. They HAVE to become more patient at the plate.

[tigerfan]

Jones worries me a bit as closer. Sure he gets it done more often then not, but later in the year as we get closer and closer to a playoff spot, we may need a closer who won't play with fire as much as Jones does sometimes.

[JackTalkThai]

Jones worries me a bit as closer. Sure he gets it done more often then not, but later in the year as we get closer and closer to a playoff spot, we may need a closer who won't play with fire as much as Jones does sometimes.

 

OMG how did I forget about the rollercoaster? I guess I've successfully displaced Todd Jones from my mind for reasons of maintaining my sanity. He -certainly- worries me. A one run lead against the White Sox, Yankees or Red Sox with TJ on the mound...yeah that's the stuff nightmares are made of.

[tigerfan]

I'm not as much worried about that per se as having a 1 run lead in a game where we can clinch the division or wild card.

[hawkitis]

To the Tigers fans in Soxtalk:

 

What are your major concerns about your team heading into the 2nd half?

The major concern for me is the bullpen. Sure they look decent now, but they were really struggling IMO earlier on. The two pitchers that do worry me on this team are Jamie Walker and so called “closer” Todd Jones. Todd is just… Okay the post will end here.

[loltrain]

I don't worry too much about Jones, merely because the "closer" role is ridiculously overrated.

 

I'd much rather have Jones come into the 9th up a run or two, and have Zumaya in the 7th in a tie game or one run lead with a couple of guys on base than vice-versa.

 

Edit: Of course it shouldn't matter, since Rodney and Zumaya are great, Walker is good, Ledezma is adequate, and even Grilli hasn't been to bad.

 

Not only that but we still have our 4th best reliever in the minor leagues for inexplicable reasons.

Edited June 29, 2006 by loltrain

[rhoneyman]

To the Tigers fans in Soxtalk:

 

What are your major concerns about your team heading into the 2nd half?

great question!

 

i'm actually not overly concerned about pitching.

 

- i think rogers will cool off but not as much as he did in the 100+ degree temps of dallas. plus, i suspect he'll be getting extra rest in the second half.

 

- maroth should come back strong. the guy is all pitcher. until he tried the last game in which he couldn't get any placement because of bone chips in his elbow, he had an era well under 3. the surgery he underwent was fairly benign: no ligament or tendon reconstruction. just cleaning out bothersome waste product. given a sufficiently long rehab - a luxury the tigers seem to be able to afford him at this point - and maroth should come back in august every bit as effective as he was up until his last start.

 

- bonderman is totally focused, now that he's a father and now that he's picked up a third pitch to go with his fast ball and slider. his arm is strong and, barring injury ala last year, he should have a superior second half.

 

- robertson is in the zone. he reminds me of mickey lolich. he's mean when on the mound and loose when in the clubhouse. he's 28 and, under leyland, finally seems to have matured into a front line major league pitcher.

 

- miner is a question mark but he's got good stuff. look for ledezma to share some of the load in the event miner falters. ledezma seems to have gotten the same leyland bug that has transformed robertson.

 

- the bullpen is solid, if not superior.

 

offense is what it is. the tigers are middle of the pack at the plate, although they are surprisingly efficient with men on base, trailing on your white sox in that department in the al over the past month (several different statistics here so don't attack me on this one). while i expect inge and monroe to improve in the second half - given how horrible their first half batting averages were, how could they not? - i'm not sure granderson and thames can contine batting at or above .300. they are a .275 team today; there's no reason to expect that to improve.

 

so, what really worries me? defense. this is a team that has been near the absolute bottom in defense the past four years. they downgraded at first (pena was superior to shelton in the field, although an absolute dog at the plate when he wasn't juiced (i made that up! how else can you explain his binary performance? he was either hof at the plate or double a!) but upgraded in center. the rest of the defense is pretty much the same. either leyland is a genius to get such an improvement out of the team or they've been playing way above their heads. since defense can determine a dozen or more games over the course of a season, this is an area of concern.

 

i'm really not worried about injuries because there's nothing you can do to prevent them.

 

sorry for the verbose response.

Edited June 30, 2006 by flbob

[BigSqwert]

- i think rogers will cool off but not as much as he did in the 100+ degree temps of dallas. plus, i suspect he'll be getting extra rest in the second half.

Rogers' had better numbers at home in Texas in the 2nd half.

[LosMediasBlancas]

What's the longest losing streak the Tigers have had this season? How many games? Have they even lost 3 straight? 2 straight?