Zumaya, Pudge fine

thats good new about the guys. This lineup doesn't exude a lot of confidence, even though I know because of the double header you cannot play everyone both games although it always seems that other coaches do????

Darn, that first pitch to Young should have been called a strike. Put Durbin in a 2-0 hole. Then Grandy misjudged the fly.

No luck for Chad that inning.

I noticed that too Rich. In fact that strike might have a bearing on the game. Durbin asked the ump "where was that?", and the ump answered high but he glowered at Durbin for about 10 seconds afterwards. Some umps do bring an an omnipotent attitude to their business and they can sometimes hold a grudge for awhile too.
Durbin should have gotten a strike on that but he is trouble with throwing strikes.

Rabelo made a good play on that bunt but he needs not to pound his glove with his fist "before" he picks up that ball. It was closer than it had to be at first because of that.

Breaks are not with us so far--the single to centre that Granderson went back on and the homer that may not even have been out if Thames doesn't get a glove on the ball. Sure wouldn't have been out if he caught it!

Our lineup has holes in it. Durbin is going to have to get tough.

Well Leyland??
4-0 and if he alows another baserunner this inning yu need to yank him. He doesn't have it today.

Fielding has hurt us so far today. Arguably if Granderson, Thames and Inge catch those balls Texas has no runs. Can't fault Thames on that but I have seen him catch those before.

Texas has been very hot and it looks like they are going to give us fits.

15 out of the next 18 games are against sub .500 ball teams.

Like I said--we are not getting any breaks! But if I remember the rule book correctly--at least we broke up the no-hitter.

I think the pen can shut them down, but we have to get one or two back now...

Two four or five run ninths aren't likely within 14 hours of each other.

We need a base hit minimum right here...

We're constantly bedeviled by the Padillas of the world. In fact, we rarely hit Texas pitching very well.

I think Texas has outscored us about 100-10 since we put ten up on them in the fifth inning in early 2005.

This is a all too familiar story for the Tigers this year. Doing well against good pitching and making poor pitchers look great. I refuse to believe that all of these poor pitchers come in here and have the games of their lives all the time against the Tigers.

What a let down after last night. Although when I saw the starting lineup I wasn't real excited about how this was going to go. This should be an embarressing lose to them. It is to me and I don't even play.

We need the club to start having the potential to hit a ball out. Right now it doesn't feel like anybody can yard the ball. Texas has had no trouble.
We also need some of our guys who rarely hit homers to chip in with one at an opportune time. We have given up lots of HRs to 8th and 9th place hitters and guys who have a handful of homers, all year long. We could use a "surprise" pop every now and then.

I don't mean this game because this one is gone. A few well placed dingers tonight would be sweet.

This is not an excuse, but rather another example of the mountains we've needed to climb this season. After last night's big win, the LAST thing we needed today was a doubleheader. Leyland was forced to rest some guys because of their age, mainly, and it left us with a pretty anemic lineup. The only thing I would have done differently is play Sheffield in the outfield.

Thames can't help us anymore. With all that bench time, he can only hit lefthanders now. Infante continues to have his head in his.....locker. He lost track of number of outs today. Rabelo's hot streak is over. This team without Sheffield doesn't score runs.

Rod Allen jokingly wondered if Halladay could pitch against the Yankees on two days rest. It's about come to that.

Dan, you're so right. There has got to be homers. Nobody wins without them. These guys have put up monstrous numbers this season in hits, extra base hits, etc., but in a tough spot, it's the longball that saves the day.

Appearently the ball is flying is the excuse, but to me that is just a bad excuse for poor pitching. If the ball was flying then it would be flying for both. These guys came out flat and frankly I am very disappointed in Durbin today. I was really suprised by how poorly he pitched today, he has been very reliable especially when he makes starts, and lets face it Texas despite that 30 run game really the lineup they put in this afternoon really is not that exciting. Murphy came into today with one HR. Byrd came in with 7 along Byrd, Saltalmacchia, Vazquez and Blalock.

Uninspired and pathetic.

Hessman hit that one a mile. Unfortunately it is just a little too late for today, but nice they just didn't give up again I guess. Too bad that Clevelen on the 5th pitch it looked like to me swung at ball 4 and missed because it may of been 7 runs in that inning.

And right on cue, there's Hessman turning a 2-run inning into a 5-run inning.

Oh well, the name of the game is pitching. Consistent pitching. We've had too many starters who blow up every second or third start. That doesn't get it done.

Rapada has been a little less than impressive two batters and he gives up two homeruns, two wild pitches and a double.
The only thing positive he did was kept Murphy from getting the cycle by striking him out. Not impressed so far at all.

Hard to believe an old-fashioned sxxt kicking could follow on the heels of one of the most dramatic comeback victories we have seen.
Looks like the guy we got in the Monroe trade may be a "Clay" pigeon.

I sure would like to see what Darensbourg could do up here.

Yeah, that Rapada is a real prize, isn't he? This for Monroe? We're just giving players away. If we're so pitching rich, why are we trading for pitchers anyway?

So we've suffered two butt kickings in the last three games. This is a strange way to make a run. We also scored seven then six runs in those two games, which is why I don't put much stock in statistics.

Okay guys, I've got to try and do five hours of work in two. See you this evening.

Had to work so I missed the game. Looks like I made the right decision. Well that's no way to make a run. Appears pitching cost the game but that lineup didn't thrill me either. Seems like if you don't have your top pitcher in there then you should have your best offense in. 17 games left, they need to win 13 or 14 to have a chance. Double headers or not, this should be the last time JL attempts to rest multiple starters. Talk about chemistry carrying over from last night. It wasn't given a chance. Capallan and Rapada should be shelved for now. There should be no such thing as garbage innings until they are officially eliminated. I'm disappointed in Durbin but it sounds like a lack of key defensive plays played a role in his demise. Hope for the A team and better tonight. And could Cleveland and New York please lose a game or two? Sheesh........