EJ Can't Save You Either

One of these days I will get home from work and good things will be happening. Like, the Tigers scoring more than three runs. I’m sure Edwin Jackson did the best he could, but in the end, he apparently needed to be more dominant and the error he committed turned out to be huge. Joel Zumaya had some issues with the strike zone, and THAT turned out to be huge as well, because the run he walked in ended up being the difference.

Jim Leyland tried tinkering with the lineup some more, putting Granderson back into leadoff, Cabrera up one place to third, and Marcus Thames cleanup. And, well…it seemingly worked for Granderson. He had himself a fabulous night with three hits, two of which left the ballpark. Unfortunately, they all came with no one on base. Cabrera didn’t do too shabby either. I mean, he had two hits including a double, and had a good night defensively, so unless I see evidence to the contrary in the next couple days, this'll be the last post where I discuss the hamstring. It looks as though it's no longer an issue. Thames really didn’t contribute anything from the cleanup position, with the exception of a walk. I can’t say Maggs had good swings, but he DID get an RBI on a sac fly that would’ve been the tying run if not for Zumaya’s wildness, and it’s worth noting if for nothing else than the fact that it was a ball in the air, which we haven’t seen a lot of.

By the way, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the major milestone reached by a certain former Tiger. Last night, Pudge Rodriguez played his 2,227th game behind the plate, surpassing Carlton Fisk for the most all-time (ironically, Fisk was the opposing catcher when Pudge made his Major League debut back in 1991). It’s fitting that the Astros happen to be in Arlington right now, and from what I’ve heard, he was given a hearty ovation by all the Ranger fans. The Tigers Amateur Analysis sends out congratulations, and at least for me (as well as the great deal of people I see on TV still wearing Rodriguez jerseys), it was a pleasure (albeit a stressful pleasure at times) to have him wearing the Olde English D for four and a half years’ worth of those games. I just wish those days had had a better ending.

I’m generally more patient than a lot of those on the blogosphere (at least the commenters), but with this recent slide, the Tigers ARE drifting dangerously close to that .500 mark. Their lead in the Central is also dwindling, and they got bailed out last night, but Minnesota has already won today, so they won’t have that luxury tonight. As a result, this is an awful lot of pressure to be putting on Rick Porcello. He did pitch well and win in his last start against Pittsburgh, but remember, he drove in two of the three runs the Tigers scored. Now that they know he’s not a bad hitter, the Cardinals are sure to pitch him much tougher than the Pirates did. Jim Leyland has said that, provided Porcello pitches well and/or doesn’t have to be prematurely lifted for a pinch-hitter, he’d like to stretch him out to 95 pitches. It’s supposed to be really hot and humid in St. Louis tonight, and we’ve already seen what the humidity has done to Verlander. And could the Tigers PLEASE score more than three runs tonight? By the way, you’d think we’d see Fernando Rodney in the game tonight regardless of the score, right? He hasn’t pitched since last Friday. Your Mood Music for tonight: It’s another James Bond theme, this time “You Know My Name” by Chris Cornell. Basically, there’s been talk of trades or other acquisitions, but really, it’s time for the guys who are already here to pitch, catch, and hit the way that I know they can. Right now, they still control their own destiny, and as the song says, “no one else here will save you.” Of course, if you’d like to use this song to try to intimidate the Cardinals, go right ahead. It works both ways.