Enough to Make Your Nose Bleed

Aw, man, I hate it when we lose the crazy games. This game had so much weirdness that a west coast game would pale in comparison. And though there’s a bunch of grousing and complaining going on online, people seem to be having a tough time finding something specific to criticize. And really, now that we have just about all the information at hand, there isn’t much you could’ve done differently in a game like this. I know Brandon Lyon is gonna take the heat for the loss, but really, the game kinda was lost on the pinch-hit home run that Jason Kubel hit off Zumaya. But you’re gonna use Zoom in that situation every time you can. He just didn’t do the job. After that, the loss was kind of a foregone conclusion, but now the bullpen has been totally burned out. Rodney only threw 17 pitches, so he should be good to go, and you might be able to use Bobby Seay in a short outing, but I’d reckon that everyone else is unavailable. And as much as Brandon Lyon has struggled this year, hey, for his first two innings he really wasn’t bad at all. But I think he ran out of gas in the thirteenth. And I never thought I’d see the day when people online were clamoring for Nate Robertson to be brought into the game (at the time I thought it a bit odd that they didn’t put him in BEFORE Lyon, given that Lyon IS a former closer so it might make sense to hold him off until the Tigers grabbed a lead, but we all found out why this morning). Lyon was literally the last man standing, and then Joe Crede (who had flied out to the warning track in his previous at-bat) finally finished him off (though at that point I think Lyon’s arm was about to fall off). You can’t keep giving Joe Crede opportunities. I’m not even that familiar with him and I know that. Still, had he gotten out of the inning, who in the world would’ve pitched the fourteenth? And as I alluded to in the title, shortly after the game ended, I got a serious nosebleed. I blame Crede.

Well, there wasn’t a problem with the offense during the middle innings, that’s for sure. Inge and Cabrera both kinda broke out of mini-slumps with home runs, and Larish homered for the third straight game. Magglio had a double, then struck out in his next at-bat, questioned the call, and that’s when the fireworks started. I’ve never seen an umpire touch a player and try to usher him toward the dugout. Is that even allowed? I know that players aren’t allowed to touch the umpire. I can’t blame Leyland for getting hot (though I know part of it was to protect Maggs). Once the extra innings fun started, the double play bug reared its ugly head, though none of the double plays were exactly tailor-made. And I know this is nitpicking something that really isn’t that important, but…well…Gerald Laird isn’t exactly attractive anyways, but he shaved his head yesterday and it looks AWFUL. Damn those baseball players and their superstitions.

Well, with the bullpen burned, we’re gonna get a lot of Justin Verlander today, no matter what happens. He’s been fantastic in his last three starts, that’s for sure. He used to dominate the Twins when he first came up, but that’s not necessarily the case anymore. Minnesota’s got quite a few guys who hit him pretty well, particularly Mauer, Morneau, and Crede. He’ll be opposed by Scott Baker, who has struggled a bit this year. He’s given up quite a few home runs, and he no-hit the Royals for six innings, only to give up five runs in the seventh and lose. However, he threw a shutout in his last start against Seattle, so perhaps he’s got it turned around as well. With Nate Robertson going on the DL, left-hander Lucas French has been called up from Toledo. Polanco gets the afternoon off, with Santiago starting in his place. Your Mood Music for today: Well, I already used this song, but as we need Verlander to come to the rescue, I figured Bonnie Tyler would be fitting once again. It’s still a lame music video, though.