It looks like Cabrera will be right back in the Tigers lineup. Ab strain. That's good news for you guys. You don't want his bat out of the lineup at any time but especially as the playoffs approach. Torii Hunter bailed out Max Scherzer with a key home run against the A's yesterday. Hunter was a great veteran addition to the team. If Scherzer took that loss it would be only his second of the year. As it stands now he's on a pace to win well over 20 games. The best of them have had their bumps in the road during remarkable seasons like this. Not a good outing by Scherzer but he'll bounce back. Torii Hunter must be grateful to be on a Tigers ballclub that is once again surging towards post season play.
It looks like Cabrera will be right back in the Tigers lineup. Ab strain. That's good news for you guys. You don't want his bat out of the lineup at any time but especially as the playoffs approach. Torii Hunter bailed out Max Scherzer with a key home run against the A's yesterday. Hunter was a great veteran addition to the team. If Scherzer took that loss it would be only his second of the year. As it stands now he's on a pace to win well over 20 games. The best of them have had their bumps in the road during remarkable seasons like this. Not a good outing by Scherzer but he'll bounce back. Torii Hunter must be grateful to be on a Tigers ballclub that is once again surging towards post season play.
Torii wanted to come to the Tigers. He figured hitting in the same line-up as Cabrera, Jackson, Fielder and Martinez would be a lot of fun. He also was hoping for a series ring.
Cabrera's injury is looking worse than it first appeared. He didn't look good at the plate yesterday. Leyland is probably going to want to give him at least few days off. That won't be easy though. Cabrera is a guy who never wants to come out of the lineup. The one thing the Tigers don't want is to lose him for any length of time coming down the stretch.
A much needed sweep of the White Sox and now comes a critical four game set against the Red Sox. Much as I'd like pay back for Dempster's act of cowardice, a sweep would be the best possible result. There's no chance of winning the division but the wildcard races are as packed tight as they can get at this point.
This season will definately not go down as 1965 all over again for the Yankees. Not much was expected in 2013 and yet the team despite it's ups and downs and unfamiliar faces in fill in roles has remained in the hunt for the wild card right down to the final weeks. Winning three of four from Boston in this series is certainly not out of the question. The Yankees now have some power production in their lineup that was not available earlier. Trying to gain ground on the teams ahead of them this late will not be easy though, as the clock is ticking down on the regular season. A good weekend against Boston could alter the landscape quite a bit. Joe Girardi has done a good job of managing considering the team he was given to work with this year.
I have tried to say that I have perspective about baseball now, having experienced success, but I swear it's unreal how watching what I just saw in the 9th inning could suddenly impulsively have me screaming obscenities at the TV set, to see Rivera have another 9th inning meltdown when victory was right there after a hard-fought comeback and to then see Soriano do the dumbest display of baserunning I've ever seen in my life only made it further insult to injury. To see this against the team I have nothing but total HATE for is what makes it all the more hard to take.
It's now turning into a lost weekend in the Bronx for the Yankees. The Red Sox came from behind late to beat Mariano Rivera and the Yankees last night and they are doing it once again tonight with the lumber. Shane Victorino was always a pest against the Mets in his Phillies days and tonight he had a big night for Boston. This is exactly why they got him. These were two games the Yankees had and needed to lock down and their bullpen has imploded late in both games with the season on the line. The Yankees bring in Joba Chamberlain once again, and once again they are asking for more trouble. He hasn't had it all year. Both Chamberlain and Phil Hughes are likely pitching their last weeks down the stretch in Yankee pinstripes. We talked about Chamberlain quite a few moons ago on this thread when he first came up. He was dominant and the talk of baseball. Now unfortunately he's probably on his way out the door.
Meanwhile in Queens...
The Mets are playing out the 2013 string and Terry Collins has to guard against his young team mailing it in during the final weeks. Collins is in the final year of his contract as Mets manager and GM Sandy Alderson has made no bones about the fact that how the Mets finish will be a big factor in determining whether Collins will stay on under a new contract. Collins in part was brought in to help bridge the gap in transition until the Mets were able to recover from the high salaries of players that are either no longer with the organization or who are no longer active on the roster. A lot was asked of him and for the most part he's done as good a job as he could under the circumstances. He's remained upbeat with a hot and cold offense, various injuries, a down year from Ike Davis, the loss (again) of All-Star David Wright, and a big part of the remaining production in his lineup now traded away. But he will need to keep this young group of players motivated to win meaningless ballgames down the stretch to keep his job.
When Matt Harvey went down a lot of steam came out of the boiler on the team. Harvey will be lost for all of the 2014 season but the Mets still have a stable of good young pitching on the roster and on the horizon in the minors to help ease the blow. But the blow will still be felt. Jon Niese, Zack Wheeler, and Dillon Gee have all pitched well in the second half. Jennry Mejia made a comeback but was once again sidelined due to ongoing arm problems. Young phenom Noah Syndergaard will be on the way probably at some point next season. That's the positive, but there's really no way to replace Matt Harvey and what he meant to the team and the organization.
There's a chill in the air in mid-September and the Pittsburgh Pirates are shooting for the stars. It's been a very long time since that ballclub has sniffed the playoffs but in 2013 they are an exciting team to watch once again. I'll be rooting for the Pirates this fall. Their fans have had many down years but they are loyal and it's good to see the people coming back to the ballpark in Pittsburgh once again. The Pirates have one of the nicest of the newer ballparks in baseball today and it's nice to see it filled in September. Clint Hurdle has done a good job managing there balancing the talented youth with some well placed greybeard experience.
The last few seasons we have witnessed the slow but steady rise of some storied franchises of the past that have seen organizational struggles in recent years. Oakland A's and the Baltimore Orioles to name two. Now we can add the Pittsburgh Pirates to the list. The Pirates fizzled badly the second half of 2012 but they have shown no signs of that this year. It's a team that has come together and is playing solid baseball right now. The additions they've made as the playoffs approach have been good ones. Marlon Byrd was already on a personal mission at the start of the season to salvage his career and he's fit in like a glove over there since he was traded with the added incentive now of helping to get the Pirates deep into post season play.
The proverbial fork can be stuck in the Yankees season. Twice in a week they wilted under pressure in big series and unfortunately that cements this as a year where Boston fans can get on their high horse, which is the one thing about the year that infuriates me even more than the poor Yankee performance which was to be expected in many ways.
Fire Brian Cashman the day the season ends, please.
Max finally notched number 20 last night. He has emerged this year as the Tiger's Number 1 starter and is way more reliable than former Number 1 Justin Verlander. Magic number down to 3.
Thank goodness for Torii Hunter and the rest of the lineup picking up some of the slack for the still ailing Miguel Cabrera.
Eric: Sorry there will be no Yankees Tigers matchup this year in the post season. Now the post season questions. Where do the Tigers play the now re-instated Jhonny Perralta? Is Iglesias' hand going to recover so he can play Shortstop during the post-season? Will Cabrera be healthy enough to hit for power? (Cabrera at 75% is better than 90% of the players in either league) What will the rotation be? Will Leyland stupidly put Porcello in the bullpen?
Whatever moves Leyland makes for the post season, hopefully they'll all come up aces for Detroit and their fans. The Tigers have to finally get over the hump this year and hoist the big trophy. With their starting pitching and that stacked offense there really can be no more excuses. Even with a team this good, you don't know how many more chances you'll get to win it all. Injuries, off years, and free agent departures have a cruel way of altering the baseball landscape from year to year. (Just ask the Washington Nationals) Jim Leyland is an old pro at preparing for the post season. He's still one of the best managers in the game but the players have to execute and do their jobs as well. If the Tigers perform this fall the way they did during the regular season they should go far. In the end it's all up to the team.
R.I.P. Gates Brown. Gates was one of the most feared pinch hitters in major league history. Member of the Tiger's 1968 World Series winning team, he will be missed.
Gates Brown was one of the best ever in the business of pinch hitting. Of course he'll always be remembered as a key member of that 1968 Tigers team. With all the hitting stars on our teams we sometimes forget how vital guys like Gates Brown can be coming off the bench in a tight spot when you really need the big hit. Those guys are every bit as important as the starters on the team. The unsung heros. They have to be into the game every bit as much as the starters studying the pitchers and preparing for their moment when it comes. Sorry to hear of his passing. RIP.
Commissioner Bud Selig announced his retirement effective January of 2015.
It was way past time for him to go IMO. The owners loved him because he stayed out of the way. Many fans, however, consider him wishy-washy. I'm sure he'll get some carefully worded flowery tributes for his long service to baseball. Some in the front offices might even be tempted to throw out a bouquet or two. Some may choose to say nothing. But before they do all that, they should pause and ask themselves a few questions. Did Bud Selig leave the game of baseball better than when he took the job? Is the game in better shape financially than when he took over? How will the various changes made to the game on his watch affect it long term?
Selig tap danced during the steroid era. He patted himself on the back and counted the revenues while continually watching the 160 lb guys hit the ball over 400 feet. The players got richer, and the balls traveled farther. Then there was Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds. The three frauds. Their heads eventually growing bigger than their enormous bank accounts. They will be Selig's legacy. The job of Commissioner of Baseball has become more of a figurehead position in recent decades rather than an authoritative one. If anyone needed to be reminded of this they can look no further than the recent A-Rod fiasco. Rodriguez never should have been allowed to take the field in the second half of 2013. We have Bud Selig to thank for that too. The days of Bowie Kuhn at least making the effort to take a firm stand on any issues are now long gone. Say what you will about Kuhn's tenure, but the owners and players respected and even feared the office in those days. The same obviously can't be said today.
