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| Gar -see-ya-parra! |
| Nomar a Big Hit in Detroit Debut |
In the Bronx, there’s a saying about “becoming a Yankee”
In the Bronx, there’s a saying about “becoming a Yankee”. Generally that means coming through with a big hit or pitch in a big situation, it’s what one must do to become a “true” Yankee, regardless of how long a player sits on the roster. Take the same sentiment to Detroit, and you wouldn’t have had to wait long for Nomar Garciaparra to become a “real” Tiger. It only took his first nine innings in uniform.
After a four game slide on their home turf, the Tigers were looking for something big to break the jinx. Trades were made, rosters adjusted, and now all they had to do was play.
It wasn’t an easy night at Comerica Park hosting the Texas Rangers. An early run gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead at the start but Texas would score one of their own in the second inning and the game would remain tied until Nelson Cruz would smack a long ball of his own off Detroit starter Armando Galarraga to give Texas a 2-1 lead. Hank Blalock would hit a solo shot of his own in the seventh to make the lead 3-1 in the rangers favor but Manny Ramirez would get that one back for the home team hitting a homer of his own that same inning.
Bobby Seay would take the mound for Detroit and at the completion of 8 ½ innings the Tigers were still behind by a run and inching closer to a fifth straight loss. Manny Ramirez would bat first and manage a single off Frank Francisco. Miguel Cabrera would follow and the Tigers were in business with two on and no outs. Juan Pierre took over for Ramirez at second and would score easily off a single by Carlos Guillen tying the game at 3-3. An infield single by Brandon Inge loaded the bases, but Dusty Ryan popped out and with one away and go ahead run 90 feet away Nomar would come to bat.
It was a quiet debut for Garciaparra to that point. Hitting 0-3, everyone was just hoping for a fly ball, anything deep enough to get that winning run in. Nomar stepped to the plate and with the first pitch got the fans and players the fly ball they were looking for and then some. No question as the ball left the bat where it was going: over the left field wall for a walk off grand slam.
There never was any question that Nomar could come through in a clutch situation, he’d played as part of the biggest rivalry in baseball for years so pressure ins nothing new to him. What is surprising is that this is a guy who was injury prone not too long ago, and sitting idol as a free agent until his signing 24 hours prior. We have plenty of games left to see exactly what he’s made of, but he’s off to a good start.
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May 19, 2009 – Comerica Park
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DET
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W: B.Seay (2-1)
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L: Francisco (0-2)
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S: none
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Rangers
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HR: Ramirez, Garciaparra GS
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HR: Cruz, Blalock
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| Tigers Go Shopping |
Who said “slow and steady wins the race”? After a four game slide left the Detroit Tigers bobbing in third place in the AL central, they decided slow and steady wasn’t good enough.
Granted, pitching had a lot to do with the Tigers losses to the Twins and three game sweep at the hands of the dreadful Oakland A’s, but for the most part those games were winnable. The Tigers had more than enough chances to win or even tie these games but failed to capitalize and took their worst losing streak so far this season. This is where things sped up a bit.
A series of moves over a three day span gave Detroit the improvements they wanted while doubling their available cash just incase something big comes along before July.
First, the Reds were called and a deal was signed where the Reds took shortstop Adam Everett and strike out king Marcus Thames in exchange for Jerry Hairston and Chris Dickerson. Hairston’s a small upgrade from Everett and Dickerson brought speed, a missing piece of the Detroit puzzle that was sorely needed. Two days later another series of moves was made: Hairston was sent to San Diego in exchange for Scott Hairston. Gary Sheffield was packed up and sent to Los Angeles where the Dodgers forked over speedster Juan Pierre. To fill the now vacant shortstop position, free agent Nomar Garciaparra was signed to a three year 15.5 million contract.
“All in all, we’re very satisfied with the moves we’ve made” said an inside source. “Now we’ve got speed of the bench, a solid hitter with some pop and a great shortstop in Garciaparra who’s no slouch at the plate either. There’s a reason the fans in Boston loved him and we know the Detroit fans will love him just as much”.
The real bonus to all of this is that the Tigers shed some serious cash, saving over five million dollars for the season. That’s big money that could come in handy should another deal open up along the way. The free agent list is packed with veteran pitching in Andy Pettitte, Orlando Hernandez, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling to name a few and the team wouldn’t mind an upgrade in that area either.
Only time will tell if these moves can generate the results that Detroit management is looking for, but it’s got to be better than what they had.
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| Tigers Maul Indians Again |
Cleveland, OH – If there’s one team you don’t want to have a problem beating, it’s the team your in competition with for first place in your division. Unfortunately for the Cleveland Indians, they’ve got that problem. As early as it is in the 2009 season, the Detroit Tigers have been neck-and-neck with the Indians for first place in the A.L. central, and have also proven to be a thorn in the side of the Indians so far.
Lead by the red hot Dontrell Willis, the Tigers once again put a beating on their division rivals on that rivals home ground. Two big innings secured the win and gave Willis enough run support to notch up another win despite having a shaky outing once the middle innings approached. A big first inning for the Tigers, including another grand slam for the team, this time by Miguel Cabrera, gave them a 5 run lead right out of the gate. The Indians would gain a run back, only to have Detroit score again in the second and fourth innings. Come the fifth and sixth innings, the Indians managed to rally for five runs off Willis. Despite the two shaky innings Willis regrouped and pitched a scoreless seventh.
Joell Zumaya was brought in to pitch the eighth in a now close game with Detroit having a 7-6 lead. After the Indians failed to score in the eighth, Detroit killed whatever hopes the home town team and fans had of a possible victory. Driving across four more runs in the final frame, the Tigers took an 11-6 lead into the ninth where Joel Zumaya fanned all three batters in order to secure the win and earn himself a save in the process.
After the game it was reported that closer Kerry Wood was injured during the ninth inning, and will be put on Clevelands 15 day disabled list.
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May 8rd , 2009 – Progressive Field
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D.Willis (4-1)
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L:
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J.Westbrook (0-1)
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J.Zumaya (1)
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Tigers
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Indians
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Cabrera 3-5, 4 RBI, HR (Grand Slam), Polanco 4-5, Zumaya , struck out side in 9th
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Cabrera HR, Shoppach HR
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| Grand - Manny! |
As Yogi would say, it was like déjà vu all over again. Game two of the Detroit-Cleveland series was in motion and just as had happened last night, the second inning would be the beginning of the end for the Indians.
The Indians jumped out to an early lead off Detroit starter Armando Galarraga, scoring two runs in the lead inning including a lead off homer from Shin-Soo Choo but again the Tigers would strike hard. It was the second inning, just as it had been last night. There were two outs, just as there had been last night. Detroit had yet to score, just as the case had been last night. Detroit came to life and pounced on the Indian pitching, just as they had done last night. The real smack to the Cleveland hurler however, was Manny Ramirez who, just as he did last night, came to bat with the bases loaded and cleared them again. Two grand slams on consecutive nights for the former Red Sox powerhouse capped a seven run rally that gave the Tigers the lead, which they would hold easily. Miguel Cabrera would also homer twice later in the game, one being an embarrassing (for Cleveland) inside the park home run when Indian centerfielder Grady Sizemore made a dive for a line drive, only to have the ball skip past him and with no back up in sight, roll to the wall. It was a close play at the plate, but Cabrera was safe without question. “I just kept running”, said Cabrera. “I saw them waving me on, so I just kept going, I never tried to see where the ball was, I just wanted to make it home”.
Overshadowing the grand slam and the homer, was the fact that the Tigers had blasted the Indians once again, scoring 15 total runs against only three for their guests, and scoring in each of the last four innings of the game. While the Indians and more than likely unenthused about the third game of the series tonight, the Tiger fans can’t wait. The brooms were already visible in the stands last night.
Though the Tigers have been shaky during the first month of the season, they’re showing signs in improvement, consistent hitting, and more solid pitching. The one question mark being newly acquired closer Tom Gordon. Gordon has been shaky at best, but the Detroit staff are confident he can become a reliable closer, leaving Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya as set up men. Of course, they’d much rather be in the position they’ve been in the past two night: score enough runs and have no need for a closer, but that’s a far cry from reality. Any hopes for post season success will rely heavily on the teams ability to deal with the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, and the Angels before even thinking about the World Series.
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May 2nd, 2009 – Comerica Park
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A.Galarraga (2-1)
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J.Sowers (1-3)
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Batting
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HR: M.Ramirez (13- Grand Slam), M.Cabrera 2 (5, 6 – inside the park)
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HR: J.Peralta (2), S.Choo (9)
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2b: P.Polanco
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2b: B.Francisco
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HBP: G.Sheffield
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E: J. Peralta
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| Maggli-OOOOH! |
Seattle, WA – If it was a successful road trip out west that the Tigers were looking for, it started off well enough. The Detroit line up came to life in a big way, led by powerhouse Magglio Ordonez who made history before the night was over.
Ordonez was a general nightmare for the Seattle pitching staff in an embarrassing 18-6 loss for the home team hitting 5-6 with an astounding four home runs, a feat that hasn’t been seen since Carlos Delgado achieved this playing for the Blue Jays back in 2003.
Needless to say, Ordonez was just “on”. Regardless of who was on the mound as the Mariners filed through their bullpen, Magglio managed to read the pitches perfectly and in the end accounted for nearly half of his teams total runs. With help from many Ramirez who also homered, as well as solid performances by Curtis Granderson and Adam Everett, the six runs Seattle would score off Detroit starter Justin Verlander wouldn’t be nearly enough.
“I always try to hit the ball hard” said Ordonez, “but hitting four home runs in one game I feel is a gift. I’m glad to have contributed, this is a big win for us”.
Ordonez shares the spotlight with only 15 other players in baseball history to go yard four times in one game, among them being Lou Gehrig, Mike Cameron, and Willie Mays.
The series continues tomorrow, as Ben Sheets looks for his first win with the Tigers against Erik Bedard.
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April 17, 2009 – Safeco Field
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HR: M.Ordonez 4, M.Ramirez
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HR: A.Beltre
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M.Ordonez 5-6, 8 RBI, M.Ramirez 5-6, 3 RBI
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C.Granderson 5-6, A.Everett 4-5, 3 RBI
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