No Pudge
He’s out today with a bone bruise on his left foot from fouling a ball off of it Tuesday night. He stayed in the game that night, obviously, but it got worse. He was still limping as he walked through the clubhouse this afternoon, but he’s considered day-to-day.
Rabelo starts in his place to catch Robertson. That means the only Tigers starter he will not have caught yet this season is Chad Durbin, the guy he caught at Triple-A Toledo last year. In case you’re wondering, Neifi Perez is the emergency catcher, even though his only appearance behind the plate was in 1997.
Other than that, it’s pretty much the regular lineup:
- Granderson, CF
- Polanco, 2B
- Sheffield, DH
- Ordonez, RF
- Guillen, SS
- Casey, 1B
- Monroe, LF
- Rabelo, C
- Inge, 3B
Everyone in the bullpen is available.
Jason Beck
Today’s lineup has one batter batting .000, four in the 100s, one in the 200s and three in the 300s…
Of course Rabelo is not expected to be an offensive producer, and I am sure things will even out a bit, but I am worried about Monroe, Casey and Inge. Their slumps are looking very long-term at this point. Hope that at least on of them can string some good offensive games together and get out of the doldrums.
What we are witnessing from Monroe is similar to his past slow slarts. Casey has popups galoreitis this season – but outside of that, he’s just hitting the ball right at fielders. The best definition of a true slump has Brandon Inge written all over it. He needs to be benched until further notice.
I forgot to mention that I would prefer to see Brandon Inge as emergency catcher – with Neifi Perez moving to 3B.
We should have had DD call the game off!
The Zoomer must feel just terrible. What a rude awakening.
Ah, 3 for 14 with RISP. That’s your game right there. It shouldn’t have come down to the bullpen.
Can we put a bungy cord from Brandon’s neck to his bat? Just enough to keep him from doing that check swing thing. That drives me nuts.
An interesting moment in tonight’s game came in the eighth. Bobby Seay warming up because it’s supposed to keep the lefthand bat (Mauer) on the bench. So Gardenhire sends him up there anyway, then JL doesn’t use Seay. Did Gardenhire call his bluff? Will this come into play later this season? Isn’t this the “situational lefty” uh…..situation? Understand I had no problem with JL leaving Zoom to face Mauer, I just wonderered about that at the time, since we had discussed the use of a “situational lefty.”
Rabelo *****. they should have brought up a proven catcher/hitter, Chris Shelton.
Good point Ron. The Tigers could use the extra bat right now. Wonder if Chris’s catching though. Rabelo has done a decent job defensively so far. And, Rich, that Inge check swing drives me crazy too. What a contrast in styles (and results) when you compare some of these guys to Polanco! His is the epitome of bat control. It’s almost a lock he’ll make contact. As good as Seay looked finishing off, he probably would have fared better against Mauer, but hindsight is 20/20 I guess. As long as Zumaya keeps things in perspective, these experiences will help him in the long run. He’ll be ok. A little humble pie never hurt anyone. That curve of his will only make his fastball better. Still, it was a tough loss to take.
Above should read, Wonder if Chris’s catching skills might be a little rusty now.