Pudge starting Game 2

Saying tonight's game is a must win would be an understatement. The Tigers are letting the season slip away.

It's not over yet, but 14-4 in the remaining 20 might be needed to slip into the playoffs... I like this Tigers team, and if they can make the playoffs, I can see them going deep.

http://www.fightingphils.mlblogs.com

JJ looked good that first inning. I think the tigers need to make Ordonez a left fielder. He really gives up a lot of bases out there in right. His arm is not that great and I think we would be way better off with him in left and someone who can run and throw and throw his body around recklessly in right.
DH would be good for him but he has exhibited a disconnect whith his offense when he is not in the game.

Granderson walks--will JL be aggressive?

Well-the aggressiveness question has been answere. Good.
Quick hook for McCarthy.

Nice job by Pudge.

Anybody have any comments on my Ordonez suggestion? I actually cringe when balls are hit out his way, especially the onbes that are hit with some authroity. more often than not he ends up running them down or watching them hit the wall. i think he would do much better in LF?
Thoughts?

I hope he had a good reason for pulling JJ after 72 pitches.

Ordonez was better earlier this year in RF. I think his heel slows him down. Has he ever played LF?

Brent Clevlen in for Timo instead of magglio? huh?

Not my idea of the best defensive move for the outfield.

I noticed that. I guess JL was loathe to remove Maggs from a 4-1 game.

I remember now. Carlos Lee played left for Chicago with Maggs in right. I know what you're saying, Dan, and I'd like to see him get to more balls myself, but I don't know if things would be any better in left. This is probably just something we're going to have to live with, just like we live with that .360 BA. :-)

I'm really looking forward to seeing Jurrjens in Cleveland next week. I can't believe we didn't bring this kid up sooner, rather than experimenting with high profile draftees.

So the DamYankees continue to be uncooperative. I can't believe these guys are going to be in the postseason yet again. Does anyone else get as bored with that as I do? The Cleveland game is still up in the air.

From a selfish standpoint, I just want the three games I'm attending in Cleveland next week to mean something. They can't keep on winning at the pace they have been.

He played it in the All Star game!

Anyway I honestly think he is more of a negative than a positive as a right fielder.

I would say most definitely his heel is bothering him but I don't believe he pushes himself defensively. He ran like a demon the other day on the little nubber down the 3rd base line. He is not a "hungry" outfielder and very often gives up on balls that he could get to if he had a different mindset.

You want someone out there that can run balls down hit in the gap and down the line. A right fielder usually has more territory to cover than a lef fielder due to the higher ratio of RHB. You also want a guy who can throw runners out going from 1st to 3rd or have the reputation that minimizes that.

Guillen is in a batting slump right now and coupled with Sheffield not hitting (though his presence is helping and the walks have been beneficial), it is making things more difficult in the middle of the lineup for Ordonez.

Nice win tonight, Jones did a good juob of throwing strikes.

Pudge is picking up Guillen right now.

Sheffield looks like he is swinging OK to me.

Jurrjens has been a minor miracle for the rotation. I would think he gets another start ahaead of Durbin just based on today's performance.

Grilli had a good outing again. He deserves a lot of credit for turning things around when it looked like he might just collapse the tent.

Can't seem to make any ground up on the Yankees or Cleveland. We have to hope for one of those season ending slumps that have broken so many dreams for teams throughout history.

Nice win, I think when they went out there in the first and gave Jurrjens a lead that he settled down into the pitcher who we say three and four weeks ago. However I have to say that I was extrememly annoyed that the guys seemed to stop working counts and stop hitting after the 4th or 5th. We gave Texas some really easy outs. Thank god McCarthy started and gave up the runs because otherwise we would of been in trouble. And frankly that not adding on tack on runs has come to bite them in the butt several times this year and tonight we got a little lucky because it didn't.

Unfortunately as I write this the Yankees won. That Hughes pitched which seemed to be pretty hittable and Toronto with a good pitcher on the mound couldn't get one from the Yankees. And just looking at the Cleveland score they are up 7-3 with two on and two out. Not that I think that we can catch Cleveland however I think that they are the luckiest son of a you know whats and I don't believe that they are better than us. So it really ticks me off that they are beating us. They seem to play teams at the right time, get the right pitching matchups. And frankly whenever I look at the pitching matchups I swear Sabathia and Carmona are the only ones that pitch. I just think that they have to start losing sometime, hopefully it is soom or at least the first round of the playoffs.

I agree about Ordonez, but I don't see that changing. How about this twist? Maybin makes the big club, then who goes where? Do you like Granderson in right? I think Maybin would have to be mighty good in center to surplant Grandy.

Guillen has been going down for some time now at the plate. He may be worn down some, or he may break out for a big final two weeks. This is a guy who's never failed to hit .320 for us but now he's in the low .290's. Seems strange to see him there.

I was trying to figure a way to skip someone (Durbin) in the rotation, but it doesn't seem to work out. Nobody pitches on three day's rest anymore.

And Cleveland and New York just go on winning. They can't keep this up till the end. There may still be an opportunity.

Three reasons for hope: the 1964 Phillies, the 1987 Blue Jays, and the 2006 Tigers. The Phillies were up six with 12 to play and proceeded to lose ten in a row. They woke up in time to eliminate the Reds but were nipped by the Cardinals. The Blue Jays had a historic final week. After taking the first three from second place Detroit during the penultimate weekend, they lost the final game of the series (a dramatic Gibson homer) and went 0-7 to the end, losing all three games to Detroit on the final weekend. No wild cards then, the above two teams lost out entirely. We all know about the Tigers finishing last year at 0-5.

I didn't know how I'd react to a desperate situation like this, but I find myself still enjoying the games quite a bit. I hope everyone else is too. Meaningful games in September really do count for something, I've learned.

GK, if Cleveland gets in, I hope they win the whole thing. Anything else would be incredibly dull, in my eyes. I continue to think, however, that both they and the Yankees have a cold spell coming up. Maybe we're too late to get in on it, but it could still get interesting.

I'll be very surprised if the Tigers don't send Clay "pigeon" Rapada packing for 2007.
I mean, what's the point? We have Byrdak and Seay and if you wanted to forgive the kid for a bad start or two, Andrew Miller out there. He's redundant as well as being eminently hittable.

Mr Leyland, Let's see what Vic Darensbourg can do!!!

Anybody else impressed with Mike Rabelo? He's learning and has some bad at bats but geez he is making some plays behind the plate.

The kid we see tomorrow should be taught a lesson. He has been hammered in previous seasons but has had some luck this year in limited action.

I suspect Casey will start tomorrow at 1B.

I mentioned earlier that I cringe when I see a ball hit to right field. The opposit happens when I see a ball hit to Polanco or Santiago. Santiago is a vacuum out there. And he has a strong accurate arm. Now if we could get him to hit like Ichiro (actually about 75% of Ichiro's average would be adequate) we would looking good for next year up the middle.

Rich, Maybin may end up playiang center. I think Granderson out there is a major positive for us and he will only get better from year to year. He doesn't have the best of arms but you know one thing about him---he'll work on it until it is good.

I think Maybin would make a good right fielder. He has a strong arm and they could shift Ordonez to left. No point wasting Maybin's speed in LF. I think he makes the team next year no matter what kind of propraganda the club throws out there for our consumption.

I'm pulling for Sheffield tomorrow. He needs a big game.

I am not a huge fan of him but am pleasantly surprised that he hasn't affected the chemistry of the ball team. In fact he has affected it, but in a positive way.

I think he will have a very strong year next year.

What he is doing now is commendable. He is playing less than 100%, struggling at the plate, having bad luck when he does smack one, watching his average drop, accepting criticism but he is in there battling and it is abundantly clear that his presence in the lineup helps even when he is not hitting.

He is showing some character amidst what is undoubtedly a very difficult time for him. I'm really impressed with him.

But--he does need to supply us with a few 3 run homers before the year is out!

Good stuff, Dan. Why are we agreeing all the time? :-)

I can envision Maybin in rightfield, playing that cutaway at Comerica. Grandy could shade more left. The one advantage of an athletic leftfielder like those two would be taking away homers at the fence out there.

7-3 Chicago with three outs to get. Can they do it this time? I think both Cleveland and New York have played too well for too long to keep it up. We may be able to get close. Don't know if we can catch them, but we could get close, then we'll see. Over two weeks left.

I foresee Jurrjens, Verlander and Robertson against Cleveland next week. Not bad. The only way to get Rogers in there is to have his start two days later than Saturday. It's all up in the air, and depends on health and the standings, I guess.

Carmona starts Saturday so we won't see him. Best news I've heard in awhile.