Defense matters - Nick @ Torto

Another series update comin' atcha!  This one is from the spacious confines of Comerica Park, where Nick and I played the 2nd of our 2 AL series.  Nick was nearly swept in the first meeting, were it not for the walk-off 3-R HR from one Brennan "The Big Puppy" Boesch.  This time it was Boesch who had hand in ensuring Nick got swept.

Brennan Boesch - about to drop the ball and cost Nick 2-runs, but only before a Mike Napoli error cost him 1

Game 1 - Zack Greinke @ Doug Fister (I hardly know her):
The Tigers jumped out early in this one, getting a Boring Barton solo shot in the bottom of the 1st, followed by 2 more in the 2nd, on a 2-out single from Juan Pierre, making it 3-0 Torto. Nick's batters spent much of the first 5 innings with the bat on their shoulders, earning only 1 hit (a Bautista double), but 5 walks.  None of the uncharacteristic walky-ness of Fister cost him any runs however.  The Tigers got one more in the 4th, on a solo HR from the newly acquired B.J.Upton.  Nick got off the schnide in the 6th, on a Pronk Hafner sac fly.  Nothing doing after that, as lefty long specialist Brian Duensing came in for the final 2 and 2/3rds, and closed it out for an old school save.  It was not without some drama though, as Nick got solo jobbers from Brett Gardner and a pinch-hitting Mike Napoli in the 9th, before Shin Soo-Choo made the final out.  Nick's defense full of low error ratings and 'C' and 'D' ranges seemed to hold up for him in this one, but it wouldn't last.
Torto wins 4-3

Game 2 - Ricky Romero @ Gavin Floyd:
Nick started of with some solid offense, getting 2 runs in the 1st on a Gardner lead-off single, a Bautista walk, and a 2-RBI double by the Korean Delight, Shin Soo-Choo.  However, Nick's lone lefty starter got battered around early in this one, and was chase him after 1.1 IP.  Defense didn't help him early either, as 2-out errors by Romero and Wilson Betemit extended the 1st inning and allowed 3 more runs across homeplate.  The 2 walks into the 2nd, and that was it for Romero.  Nick turned it over to his righty long - Sergio Mitre, who was no better, allowing 4 more runs in by the end of the 2nd, culminated in a 2-RBI B.J.Upton triple.  Nick got 2 back in the 4th on a Jason Bartlett RBI-double, and a bases loaded walk issued to Jim Thome - 7 to 4, Torto.  My Tigers tacked on runs again in the bottom of the 4th (1), 6th (1), and 7th (2),  while Nick mustered only a solo HR by John Jaso the rest of the way.
Torto wins 11-5

Game 3 - Jake Peavy @ Joel Pineiro:
Pineiro, who was coming off his best outing of the year vs. Spence (8+ innings of 1 run ball), was dealing again in this one.  And Peavy, while sharp early had his outing cut short due to questionable defense.  The Tigers got on the board first, on a classic NL ball sequence - The O-Dog singled, then stole his way to 2nd, was sacrificed over to 3rd by Elvis, and then sac flied home by Boring Barton.  The 5th spelled disaster for Nick - after giving up singles to Zobrist and Pierre, Mike Napoli sailed his throw into center on the Pierre steal attempt of 2nd, scoring Zobrist.  Peavy then issued a 2-out walk to Mr. Boring, Joe Mauer sprayed a ball out to left, where Brennan Boesch attempted to track it down (filling in for the previously ejected Shin Soo-Choo, who argued balls & strikes).  The Big Puppy flubbed the play, for a 3-base error, making the lead now 4 to zip.  Mike Napoli attempted to atone for his error by getting Nick his lone RBI of the game, an RBI doubling home of Jason Bartlett.  The Tigers tacked on one more in the 6th (O-Dog RBI double), and the scoring ended for both teams there.
Torto wins 5-1

Torto wins series 3-0

Tough series for Nick, as his high powered offense was limited to just 3 home runs, and costly errors  and base hits allowed due to poor defensive ranges proved the difference in this one.  Ironically, Shin Soo-Choo's ejection cost him any further playing time on Nick's squad, as he was promptly traded to Mario's Blue Jays the next morning.

Put a cork in it Youklis! Spencer @ Torto from the Tort Fort

Another series update from the Tort Fort outing.  My Tigers at his BoSox - Spence took the series, but asked that I do the write up, as he still had to do his for his series vs. Mar and Nick.  I won't waste a lot of set up here, just dive right in.


Say it ain't so Youk - say it ain't so...

Game 1: Joel Pineiro @ Jeff Niemann: This game started off slow for both squads, but things got rolling for my Tigers and Joseph P. Mauer in the 4th and 5th (Mauer RBI double in 4th and Niemann walked Mauer with the bases juiced) in the 5th). Then they got worse for Spencer in the 6th, where Niemann completely lost his composure - giving up 4 runs, 2 on a HR to the Grandyman, and 2 more on a 2-out single from Elvis Andrus.  Spencer mustered 1 run in the 9th off of Pineiro (sac fly from Big Tex), who was then thwarted from the complete game, and yielded the remainder of the 9th to Frankie Francisco.
Torto wins 6-1
Note:  One interesting event of note, was the suspicious bat Kevin Youklis was using during the game.  The home plate umpire must have noticed a sound off the bat from his 7th inning double, and asked for the bat at the end of the game. It was thereafter found to have been corked.
***Kevin Youklis suspended for 10 games***

Game 2: Justin Vargas @ Cliff Lee
This battle of the lefty starters was not the run-fest some might have thought - rather it was a well-pitched duel of southpaws.  Spencer struck first with a solo shot from Adam 'Pacman' Jones in the bottom of the 2nd, and then got 2 more runs in the 3rd, on the strength of doubles from Yunelly "the Fly Felly" Escobar and Austin "Action" Jackson.  The Tigers clawed back in the 5th, with a 2-out, 2-RBI double from Daric "Boring" Barton.  But the scoring would end there, not without drama though.  In the top of the 9th, the Tigers got freshly called up Edwin Encarncion on base with a single, and Elvis Andrus pinch ran for him, stealing his way around to 3rd on the ignorance of Chris Perez.  Denard Span (an A-bunter) attempted to squeeze in the tying run, but tapped it right back to the pitcher for a LEAD OUT (DAMMIT).  Span then stole his way over to 2nd, and the wild Perez walked both Juan Pierre and Daric Barton, loading the bases for Paully "Player-Manager?" Konerko - who proceeded to hit an outfield range to Adam Jones, who made the sliding catch to end the game.  Defense Nick - are you paying attention?
Spencer wins 3-2

Game 3: King Felix @ Clay Bucholz: Another pitcher's duel for this one friends - Spencer got on the board first with an "A-bomb for A-Rod", then followed up with a sac fly from Derek Jeter (following an A-Jax triple).  The good guys struck back with back-to-back solo jacks from Boring Barton and Cap'n Paully in the 4th.  Spence took the lead back for good on another sac fly, this time from Nick Markakis in the bottom of the 4th.  No runs crossed the plate from thereon, although the Tigers had their chances with at least 1 baserunner (and usually 2) from the 4th on. King Felix did his job, Seattle-style, a complete game loss.
Spencer wins 3-2 (again, sigh)

Spence wins series 2-1.

Mario gets a taste of 'Minnesota Nice', Manny dives onto the DL

Manny being Manny - bumbling around in left field and finding ways to sabotage my team

The last time Mar and I played PTP, it was in Reagan International Airport waiting for our flight back to Milwaukee.  We once again continued our road rolling ways, this time in Roseville, Minnesota over a Summit EPA and a plate of hot wings.  Irritated that both Spencer and Nick sat above me in the standings, it was time to give Mario a dose of 'Minnesota Nice'.

Game 1:  Felix Hernandez @ Andy Pettite
Newly acquired King Felix was finally ready for his first start as a Tiger, and he didn't disappoint - scattering 5 hits over the full 9 innings, and allowing only 2 runs.  Those 2 runs were not enough to earn Mar the win, as the Tiger offense was active early, using a Manny sac fly and a Adrien Beltre 2-run blast to put 3 up on the board in the top of the first.  Elvis Andrus scored new cog Ben Zobrist on a 2-out RBI single in the 2nd, a solo homer by Paully Konerko in the 6th, followed by a Paully RBI-single in the 8th, made it 6-2, and Mario had no offensive counter.
Torto wins 6-2

Game 2:  Doug Fister @ Jared Weaver
Mar felt better about this pitching matchup, as he had his #1 ace on the mound.  This feeling didn't last though, as my Tigers' bats exploded in the middle innings.  My squad got on the board in the 1st again,  this time on another Cap'n Paully RBI-single.  Konerko continued his hot hitting ways, with a 2-run HR in the 3rd.
During the bottom of the fifth, a bizzare roll (and likely a misadventurous route to the ball) had Manny diving for a sinking liner in left, that got by him for a double all score.  The roll for injury proved disastrous, costing the dreadlocked Dominican 30 games, essentially the entire season, unless I somehow find my way into games 6 or 7 in a World Series.
But back to the game, the top of the 6th rolled around, and Weaver got himself into trouble, giving up a 3-run HR to the Grandyman, then a series of doubles, walks, and singles that ended the inning with the score at 8-naught. Fister (I hardly knew her?) was absolutely lights out thru 7, and the pile-one runs kept coming with the Tigers scoring 1 in the 7th, 4 in the 8th, and another 5 in the 9th, the highlight being a Ben Zobrist GRAND SLAM.  Last man out of the bullpen, Franky Francisco, cruised thru the last two innings in Fister's stead, and the rout was mercifully over.
Torto wins 18-0 

Game 3:  Gavin Floyd @ C.C.Sebathia
Now desparate to salvage something out of this series, Mario called on his big bad #2, C.C. to stop the bleeding.  Unfortunately, my squad often enjoys battering around lefties, particularly those with poor hold/arm combos, and this game was no exception.  Mario was out to a 2-1 lead thru 6, but CC was gotten to in a bad way in the top of the 7th, touching him up for 5 with the bulk of the runs coming in on a bases loaded base-clearing double by Beltre.  To add to Mar's misery, the Rabbits were running wild, stealing 5 bases and generally drawing out the game to an annoying length.  Mario couldn't navigate thru my bullpen combo of Duensing, Crain, and Balfour in the 7th, 8th, and 9th, and again went down quietely.
Torto wins 6-2
Torto sweeps 3-0 

And since Manny can't follow the simple instructions we gave him when in the field (just let everything fall in front of you), and is injured for the duration of the regular season, the Tigers will be calling up one Edwin Encarnacion from the minors to fill out the roster.

DC Dice Rollin' - AL Series Updates

More Tigers dice-rollin' comin' atcha!



 The Nick-Mar-Tom-Tort annual baseball trip went down over the weekend (really need to name this thing properly), and our dice, charts, and cards made it past TSA without incident.  My deck of Tigers managed to squeeze in 2 series during some of our downtime, while avoiding the blazing East Coast heat.  Here's the details -

First up, Torto @ Nick:

Game 1: J.Pineiro @ R.Romero
Romero got off to a rocky start here, walking one, and plunking two before getting out of a bases loaded 1st inning jam.  The next inning the Tigers broke through with 2 on the strength of three singles and a walk, and compounded by a Matt Joyce throwing error. Nick countered with a 2-run HR shot by righty-killer Matt Joyce.  A solo shot from Jhonny Peralta and an RBI triple from Konerko and RBI singles from Joey Batts and Juan Pierre was enought to get the win though in the later innings.  Nick mustered 2 more runs, but insurance was later piled on by a Joey Batts solo blast.
Torto wins 7-4
WP - J.Pineiro; LP - R.Romero; Save - K.Slowey
HR - J.Peralta, J.Bautista, M.Joyce, D.Ortiz

Game 2: J.Vargas @ J.Peavy
Jake Peavy looked like the guy we remembered from 2-3 years ago in this one, pitching a no-hitter into the 7th until Joe Mauer broke it up with a single, followed by a Paul Konerko HR blast, giving Torto the 2-0 lead.  Vargas and Koji Uehara preserved the lead, giving up only 1 run - partly due to a Elvis Andrus error in the 8th.  Going into the 9th, Uehara got the 25th out, but Torto decided to hand the ball to lefty specialist, Brian Duensing.  Duensing walked lefty Brett Gardner, and Gardner stole second - and headed around to 3rd when Mauer airmailed the throw into center.  Mike Napoli was then intentionally walked to get to the lefty-lefty matchup and put the double-play into effect.  Nick stayed the course with Brennan Boesch (a lefty who can hit lefties) and was rewarded with a 3-run walk off homerun.
Nick wins 4-2
WP - D.Bard; LP - B.Duensing
HR - P.Konerko, B.Boesch

Game 3: D.Fister @ F.Hernandez
After stealing game 2 with some late inning heroics, Nick felt pretty good going into the game with the AL Cy Young award winner toeing the rubber.  My squad's only hope was to get to King Felix early - and they did. But by sitting with the bat resting on their shoulders.  Andrus led off the game with a single, and then King Felix proceeded to throw 4 consecutive walks before getting an out.  With 1 out, Felix walked in another run, and then the Grandyman hit a 2-RBI single, before the inning ended.  Spotting us a 4-run lead was just what Doug Fister (I hardly know her!) needed to boost his confidence.  Two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth, made it 6-1, and Fister cruised for 8+ innings, giving up only 1, until giving up back-to-back solo jacks to Jim Thome and David Ortiz in the bottom of the 9th.  With the score at 6-3, Grant Balfour came in and got the save, albeit while giving up another run.
Torto wins 6-4
WP - D.Fister; LP - F.Hernandez; Save - G.Balfour
HR - J.Thome, D.Ortiz

Torto wins series 2-1

Later, Mar and I tangled for game one in the hotel, and games 2-3 in the Reagan International Airport terminal.  More details...

Game 1: J.Weaver @ G.Floyd
My Tigers jumped out to a quick lead, scoring 2 in the bottom of the first on a Boring Barton RBI double, and a Jose Bautista sac fly.  A solo shot by Adrien Beltre (4th on the year) made it 3-0 thru the 7th.  Mario finally broke thru on Floyd in the 8th, on a 3-run shot from Birther Luke Scott, to tie it 3-3.  But bottom of the 9th, Mauer led off with a double, and was scored on a Bautista single.  Mario threatened in the 9th with 2 on and 2 out, but couldn't bring the tying run across.
Torto wins 4-3
WP - J.Crain; LP - J.Weaver
HR - A.Beltre, L.Scott

Game 2: C.C.Sebathia @ J.Guthrie
Not much to say in this one - C.C. dominated the entire way, and my rolls went to sleep.  The Tigers managed only 2 hits struck out 8 times.  Mario picked up runs 1 at a time, in the 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 9th.
Mario wins 4-0
WP - C.C. Sebathia (CG); LP - J.Guthrie
HR - none

Game 3: C.Pavano @ J.Pineiro
The rubber match was a dogfight all the way, and lasted 13 innings, ending about 15 minutes before our plane was boarding. Both teams piled on 3 runs in the 4th, and both starters got chased by the end of the 5th.  Mario got all of his first 5 runs on 4 home runs and a single. The Tigers got theirs by slapping the ball around the field and using The Rabbits (Pierre, Granderson, Span, Andrus, and Hudson) to use their speed running all over the bases.   With the game tied 5-5 after 5, the bats went quiet for both teams all the way into extra innings.  My guys threatened in the 11th, on a leadoff walk to Pierre, but he couldn't get sent around.  Finally in the 13th, The Rabbits struck again - Grandy walked, O-Dog advanced him over on a ground ball, Pierre beat out a bunt to put runners on the corners, and Andrus bunted Grandy home on a suicide squeeze - taking full advantage of Miguel Cabrera's D-range on a 'Tough Play?" roll. 
Torto wins 6-5 in 13 innings
WP - K.Uehara; LP - B.Logan
HR - A.Callaspo, V.Wells, N.Swisher, M.Cabrera

Torto takes series 2-1, pushing my overall record to 8-4.  Weird to be a 3rd of the way done already, but there it is.  Watch out for The Rabbits - 20 SBs in 12 games!  Catch 'em if you can AL catchers!

Flopsy (Span), Mopsy (Granderson), Cotton-tail (Andrus), and Peter (Pierre) congregate around home plate, their favorite place to meet this season.





Kicking KC to the Kurb in Kauffman

Will the Goldy's Royals draw like this all season?  The answer is 'yes' if the defense is this bad...

Not feeling like doing anything productive on Sunday evening, Goldy and I met up at my chaotic homestead for a 3-game tilt.  I was eager to get back on track after losing my opening series to Keith and them gal-durn Texas Rangers, and Goldy was excited to get a fresh start with a new and improved team. But Ben was seemingly irritated with me from the get-go (when I first won the Home-Away roll, and then jokingly differed my choice), and things just went downhill from there for Mr. Goldsworthy.  Much like Keith seems to have my number,  I seem to have Ben's.  Here's what went down.

Game 1: D.Fister @ C.J.Wilson
The game opened up in most annoying fashion for the hometown Royals, with Juan Pierre drawing a walk, then stealing 2nd, and rolling over to 3rd on a bad C.J.Wilson pickoff throw.  He was promptly scored by a Boring Daric Barton single.  A solo shot in the 3rd by Adrian Beltre made it 2-0, but Goldy struck back with a Torii Hunter solo blast, 2-1. Both starters went 7 innings before calling it a night, but my squad managed 2 more insurance runs in the 8th and 9th, one in part due to a rare Carl Crawford error, while the setup/closer combo of Balfour and Uehara closed it out.
Torto W 4-1
WP- D.Fister; LP - C.J.Wilson; Save - K.Uehara
HR - A.Beltre, T.Hunter

Game 2: G.Floyd @ C.Lewis
Another annoying start to this game for the home team, as Boring Barton walked, Jesus Mauer singled, and then Joey Bats hit a comebacker to Colby Lewis who proceeded to airmail the throw into the RF corner for a 2-base error.  Goldy immediately struck back though, with a 2-run Nelson Cruz HR to tie it up.  The Tigers would not be denied though, and scored another pair in the 2nd (on a base-clearing O-Dog triple and a Juan Pierre soft groundout), and then one run in each of the 4,5, 6, and 9th innings - including a Grandy-man 435-foot Deep Drive HR to dead center field.  ***Bizarre Alert*** With the Royals already getting frustrated in this series, Craig Breslow plunked Adrien Beltre and a brawl ensued, wherein Beltre kicked Breslow and was ejected and suspended for 3-games.  Neither player was injured***
Goldy managed another 3 runs off Gavin, after he went 7+ innings, when Balfour and Uehara again closed things down. 
Torto W 8-5
WP - G.Floyd; LP - C.Lewis; Save - K.Uehara
HR - C.Granderson, N.Cruz

Game 3:  J.Guthrie @ F.Liriano
Yet another tough start for Ben, as Cap'n Paully Konerko hit a 2-run blast in the opening frame for the early lead.  The Tigers scored again in the 5th on an RBI-single from Jhonny Peralta (replacing the suspended Beltre).  A Jeremy Guthrie pickoff throw error allowed Crawford to move up to 2nd and score on an RBI single from Cruz in the bottom of the 5th, but I guys clawed back two insurance runs in the top of the 8th on back-to-back Mauer and Konerko doubles.  With my elite relievers unavailable for this game, Kevin Slowey was given the 8th and 9th to close things out.  After a shakey 8th, where he yielded back the 2 insurance runs and creating his own save opportunity, he closed out the 9th cleanly.
Torto W 5-3
WP - J.Guthrie; LP - F.Liriano; Save - K.Slowey
HR - P.Konerko

Torto sweeps series 3-0.

This was a tough one for Goldy to stomach.  His rolls were generally brutal, and hit the high 900s an awful lot.  In addition, his "B-rolls" were even more brutal, while mine were quite good.  In one game he managed to roll the zeroes 3 times after getting the error roll.  He managed 5 errors in the series, and was caught stealing twice.  Translation - sooner or later this guy's going to have one of those games where he rolls nothing but 120s and 190s.