Wow, That Was Ugly
Talk about a game you will not be seeing on ESPN Classic any time soon. Game 1 went probably the exact way every Tiger fan hoped it would go, or even saw it going. Anthony Reyes plowed through the Tigers' lineup, Verlander (even though he struck out eight) wasn't sharp, and the Cardinal bats made the Tigers pay. It's as simple as that.
So it's definitley not going to be as easy as everyone thought. It might not even be easy at all. The Tigs could be in for a serious fight from this St. Louis team. There is a huge amount of emphasis placed on the upcoming game tomorrow night. There is no way in my mind that the Tigers can drop both Games 1 and 2 at home and expect to win the next two in St. Louis against the the Cards' top two starters. It just doesn't sound like a pleasant scenario. Luckily for us Detroiters, the yearlong stop-gap Kenny Rogers takes the mound against long haired, hippy freak Jeff Weaver.
There comes a point as a fan that you've watched so many games, seen the players react differently to so many different situations that you can feel how the game will turn out. That point hit for me in the fourth inning when looking out at the body language on the field, I just thought "They don't have it tonight." Once Reyes got rolling and retired 17 straight Tigers, it was just about over. The third inning and the decision to pitch to Pujols took most of the life out of the crowd and the inept plate appearences did the rest.
It was just one of those games that everything that could have gone wrong did. I counted at least five fly balls that were hit to the warning track by Tigers and died there, mostly due to an intense wind blowing in from all fields. If that wind isn't there, bang, five more automatic runs. Add those to the hits that Ronnie Belliard stole away by positioning himself in the middle of rightfield and those are hits taken away by circumstance and lucky postioning.
Tonight's Heroes- Anthony Reyes. I underestimated you and your stupid looking socks, I admit. I'm not really sure if it was your pitching or the Tigers' weak batting that allowed you to be so dominant, but either way that was a fantastic pitching performance. Albert Pujols. He basically just showed another reason not to pitch to him when first base is open. Everyone in the ballpark was screaming at Leyland to walk him, but some how he was allowed to hit and he made the Tigs pay. Whoever Told Ronnie Belliard To Position Himself In Short Rightfield. Seriously, this was the biggest part of this game that I have heard nobody mention thus far. Belliard killed two rallies and stole away five hits by my count simply by being in good position. A second basemen positioned in the normal spot has no chance at getting to any of the soft liners or Guillen's grounder up the middle. Good scouting work.
Tonight's Goats- Jim Leyland. I never thought I'd say this, but Leyland screwed up big time when he allowed Verlander to pitch to Pujols. I heard that he took full responsibility for it during his interview on FOX and that's just as well, because it was probably the most deflating event that could have happened. Justin Verlander. As far as pitching goes, the kid struck out eight and looked great save for the third and sixth innings. Other than then he was fine. However, in that sixth inning, he throws the ball away trying to pick off Albert Pujols (who isn't going anywhere with a sore hammy and Pudge behind the plate) and just sets Detroit up to have the wheels fall off in the inning. The Entire Tigers Batting Order. Apparently, in one week an entire team can forget how to do all the things that got them to that point in the playoffs. The Tigers beat the A's and Yankees by switching the scouting report and waiting for their pitch and making pitchers pay when they made mistakes. The Tigs jumped all over whatever Reyes would throw them and only made him throw 90 pitches in 8-plus innings. Have to step it up tomorrow or else they might be coming home without that nice World Series trophy.
So maybe it's not going to be a fun and quick romp to a title. Maybe we got a little caught up in the week's worth of hype that we had to ingest instead of actual Tigers baseball. Well, St. Louis, the game is on and tomorrow is do-or-die. I can't wait to see which Detroit team shows up to play.
So it's definitley not going to be as easy as everyone thought. It might not even be easy at all. The Tigs could be in for a serious fight from this St. Louis team. There is a huge amount of emphasis placed on the upcoming game tomorrow night. There is no way in my mind that the Tigers can drop both Games 1 and 2 at home and expect to win the next two in St. Louis against the the Cards' top two starters. It just doesn't sound like a pleasant scenario. Luckily for us Detroiters, the yearlong stop-gap Kenny Rogers takes the mound against long haired, hippy freak Jeff Weaver.
There comes a point as a fan that you've watched so many games, seen the players react differently to so many different situations that you can feel how the game will turn out. That point hit for me in the fourth inning when looking out at the body language on the field, I just thought "They don't have it tonight." Once Reyes got rolling and retired 17 straight Tigers, it was just about over. The third inning and the decision to pitch to Pujols took most of the life out of the crowd and the inept plate appearences did the rest.
It was just one of those games that everything that could have gone wrong did. I counted at least five fly balls that were hit to the warning track by Tigers and died there, mostly due to an intense wind blowing in from all fields. If that wind isn't there, bang, five more automatic runs. Add those to the hits that Ronnie Belliard stole away by positioning himself in the middle of rightfield and those are hits taken away by circumstance and lucky postioning.
Tonight's Heroes- Anthony Reyes. I underestimated you and your stupid looking socks, I admit. I'm not really sure if it was your pitching or the Tigers' weak batting that allowed you to be so dominant, but either way that was a fantastic pitching performance. Albert Pujols. He basically just showed another reason not to pitch to him when first base is open. Everyone in the ballpark was screaming at Leyland to walk him, but some how he was allowed to hit and he made the Tigs pay. Whoever Told Ronnie Belliard To Position Himself In Short Rightfield. Seriously, this was the biggest part of this game that I have heard nobody mention thus far. Belliard killed two rallies and stole away five hits by my count simply by being in good position. A second basemen positioned in the normal spot has no chance at getting to any of the soft liners or Guillen's grounder up the middle. Good scouting work.
Tonight's Goats- Jim Leyland. I never thought I'd say this, but Leyland screwed up big time when he allowed Verlander to pitch to Pujols. I heard that he took full responsibility for it during his interview on FOX and that's just as well, because it was probably the most deflating event that could have happened. Justin Verlander. As far as pitching goes, the kid struck out eight and looked great save for the third and sixth innings. Other than then he was fine. However, in that sixth inning, he throws the ball away trying to pick off Albert Pujols (who isn't going anywhere with a sore hammy and Pudge behind the plate) and just sets Detroit up to have the wheels fall off in the inning. The Entire Tigers Batting Order. Apparently, in one week an entire team can forget how to do all the things that got them to that point in the playoffs. The Tigers beat the A's and Yankees by switching the scouting report and waiting for their pitch and making pitchers pay when they made mistakes. The Tigs jumped all over whatever Reyes would throw them and only made him throw 90 pitches in 8-plus innings. Have to step it up tomorrow or else they might be coming home without that nice World Series trophy.
So maybe it's not going to be a fun and quick romp to a title. Maybe we got a little caught up in the week's worth of hype that we had to ingest instead of actual Tigers baseball. Well, St. Louis, the game is on and tomorrow is do-or-die. I can't wait to see which Detroit team shows up to play.
posted by Kyle Feldscher at
12:49 AM
1 Comments:
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home