Photo: AP
Hmmm…could that be a hint for the Mood Music next time Porcello pitches? As expected, I had to go to work before the game was finished, but the Tigers had already pretty much put the game out of reach before I left, so I wasn’t really left hanging. Porcello didn’t quite have the command of some of his other starts. He threw first pitch balls to several hitters, but he got away with it, for the most part. That’s kind of impressive in itself, seeing how Kansas City had already faced him once before. As far as the guys out of the ‘pen are concerned, judging by their lines in the boxscore, perhaps they were all a bit rusty? I just hope the fact that Rodney threw 29 pitches doesn’t come back to haunt them.
The offense showed no signs of lingering sluggishness induced by Zack Greinke, cuz they hit Kyle Davies pretty much the same way they hit him the past couple times they saw him. I was a bit concerned early on, cuz they hit into a couple double plays early and it took them a few innings to get rolling, but then after the Polanco home run, they found their stride. That Polanco home run was kind of a long time coming. I mean, he’s definitely not a home run threat, but he’s usually hit his first by now. I’m just sorry that they weren’t able to do any damage against Farnsworth.
Even though I still wish they’d’ve been able to hold on and beat Greinke in the middle game, it was still a successful series in Kansas City. Now it’s off to Baltimore, which can be a tricky place for a pitching staff. The Orioles generally don’t have the greatest pitching in the world, but their offense is pretty good, and can certainly outslug you. And do I have to tell you just how badly I want Armando Galarraga to pitch well tonight? It sounds as though they’ve decided it’s a couple of mechanical issues related to footwork, arm slots, and release points, which begs the question: How in the world do you get that out of whack mechanically so quickly in the first place? My God, pitching is complicated. At any rate, it sounds as though he’s guaranteed at least this start and his next one, though both opponents are far from ideal. Camden Yards is very home run friendly, and given Galarraga’s propensity towards giving up home runs, that’s not an ideal mix either. He did lose his only start against the Orioles last year, giving up either two or three home runs in the process. I can’t tell you for sure, because I missed the beginning of that game. The only home run I remember is Melvin Mora hitting one off the top of the foul pole—literally. Bottom line: He’s gonna have to earn this win. It will not be easy. He was supposed to have been opposed by Koji Uehara, but Uehara’s down with a hamstring injury, so the Tigers will be facing a hard-throwing right-hander by the name of David Hernandez instead. Hernandez will be making his Major League debut. Obviously, there’s not a lot of scouting to be had on Hernandez, but I do know that apparently he’s been really racking up the strikeouts in Triple A. For those of you who listen to Tigers baseball on the radio, Dan Dickerson has had to have surgery to repair a ruptured quad tendon, so he will miss the entire series against the O’s. For the record, my dad had that exact same surgery about ten years ago, and lemme tell you, it’s a lengthy recovery process (Dan Dickerson kind of lucked out in that he’s only had to have surgery on one leg; my dad ruptured quad tendons in both legs and couldn’t walk for about four months afterwards). Jim Price will be handling the play-by-play in the meantime. He’ll be joined tonight and tomorrow by Al Kaline, while John Keating will step in as color analyst over the weekend. Your Mood Music for tonight: You know, Galarraga also needs to return to form because I am rapidly running out of songs that can be considered “inspirational” yet allow me to maintain my credibility. If this goes on much longer, I’ll be forced to dip into the realms of Disney or Josh Groban, and I don’t want to do that (Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, I’m rather fond of both of them, but I get the feeling that in the world of sports blogging, I’m in the minority). At any rate, here’s Seether.
Hmmm…could that be a hint for the Mood Music next time Porcello pitches? As expected, I had to go to work before the game was finished, but the Tigers had already pretty much put the game out of reach before I left, so I wasn’t really left hanging. Porcello didn’t quite have the command of some of his other starts. He threw first pitch balls to several hitters, but he got away with it, for the most part. That’s kind of impressive in itself, seeing how Kansas City had already faced him once before. As far as the guys out of the ‘pen are concerned, judging by their lines in the boxscore, perhaps they were all a bit rusty? I just hope the fact that Rodney threw 29 pitches doesn’t come back to haunt them.
The offense showed no signs of lingering sluggishness induced by Zack Greinke, cuz they hit Kyle Davies pretty much the same way they hit him the past couple times they saw him. I was a bit concerned early on, cuz they hit into a couple double plays early and it took them a few innings to get rolling, but then after the Polanco home run, they found their stride. That Polanco home run was kind of a long time coming. I mean, he’s definitely not a home run threat, but he’s usually hit his first by now. I’m just sorry that they weren’t able to do any damage against Farnsworth.
Even though I still wish they’d’ve been able to hold on and beat Greinke in the middle game, it was still a successful series in Kansas City. Now it’s off to Baltimore, which can be a tricky place for a pitching staff. The Orioles generally don’t have the greatest pitching in the world, but their offense is pretty good, and can certainly outslug you. And do I have to tell you just how badly I want Armando Galarraga to pitch well tonight? It sounds as though they’ve decided it’s a couple of mechanical issues related to footwork, arm slots, and release points, which begs the question: How in the world do you get that out of whack mechanically so quickly in the first place? My God, pitching is complicated. At any rate, it sounds as though he’s guaranteed at least this start and his next one, though both opponents are far from ideal. Camden Yards is very home run friendly, and given Galarraga’s propensity towards giving up home runs, that’s not an ideal mix either. He did lose his only start against the Orioles last year, giving up either two or three home runs in the process. I can’t tell you for sure, because I missed the beginning of that game. The only home run I remember is Melvin Mora hitting one off the top of the foul pole—literally. Bottom line: He’s gonna have to earn this win. It will not be easy. He was supposed to have been opposed by Koji Uehara, but Uehara’s down with a hamstring injury, so the Tigers will be facing a hard-throwing right-hander by the name of David Hernandez instead. Hernandez will be making his Major League debut. Obviously, there’s not a lot of scouting to be had on Hernandez, but I do know that apparently he’s been really racking up the strikeouts in Triple A. For those of you who listen to Tigers baseball on the radio, Dan Dickerson has had to have surgery to repair a ruptured quad tendon, so he will miss the entire series against the O’s. For the record, my dad had that exact same surgery about ten years ago, and lemme tell you, it’s a lengthy recovery process (Dan Dickerson kind of lucked out in that he’s only had to have surgery on one leg; my dad ruptured quad tendons in both legs and couldn’t walk for about four months afterwards). Jim Price will be handling the play-by-play in the meantime. He’ll be joined tonight and tomorrow by Al Kaline, while John Keating will step in as color analyst over the weekend. Your Mood Music for tonight: You know, Galarraga also needs to return to form because I am rapidly running out of songs that can be considered “inspirational” yet allow me to maintain my credibility. If this goes on much longer, I’ll be forced to dip into the realms of Disney or Josh Groban, and I don’t want to do that (Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, I’m rather fond of both of them, but I get the feeling that in the world of sports blogging, I’m in the minority). At any rate, here’s Seether.
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