Weekend Mojo Doesn't Do Interleague

Sorry ‘bout that. I meant to post yesterday, and I did not. At any rate, while I haven’t exactly surfed the blogosphere in the past day, I imagine that all that can be said has already been said, so I’ll be brief. While I stand by my assertion that Dontrelle Willis provided the Tigers with a better chance of winning than Jeremy Bonderman right now, I did not necessarily mean that that was a “good” chance. Dontrelle didn’t have any command whatsoever. He was able to wiggle out of it the first three innings, but he couldn’t get out of the fourth. Zach Miner didn’t exactly help matters. He was fine once he started a clean inning, but his numbers when it comes to stranding inherited runners suck. If he’d’ve kept the score right where it was (and I know it’s hard to come in as a reliever with the bases loaded, but there were two outs), the Tigers’ mini-rally in the 7th would’ve made it a one-run game instead of a three-run game (important when you consider the two or three leadoff walks the Tigers got in the late innings). Still, the Tigers’ offense has become downright anemic. In their last four games, they have scored exactly three runs in each game. I know the pitching’s been somewhat suspect in the last two, but you’re not gonna win many games regardless when you’re only scoring three runs.

Can I take a little time out to talk about the throwback uniforms? I think they just measured the largest person on each time and then made the uniforms to that size, cuz there were certain guys who were absolutely drowning in them. Several guys were having issues with uneven pantlegs as well (though I was a lot more lenient with that rule than I normally am, considering the unfamiliar uniform and extremely baggy pants). Ironically, the usual main culprit when it comes to uneven pantlegs, Miguel Cabrera, didn’t have that problem. However, apparently he strongly objected to the three-quarter sleeves, so much so that he took the scissors to them, proving once and for all that he does not have a career as a seamstress in his future. Those sleeves looked more and more frayed each time he came to the plate. By the way, it looks as though the hamstring is better. He was moving well at first base, and he was running out his groundouts a little more vigorously. It hasn’t quite translated to his bat yet, though. Unfortunately, because his average has dipped down into the .320 range. At any rate, it's a cryin' shame to lose a throwback uniform game, but the Tigers will have one or two more shots to make amends.

After a largely unproductive weekend in Pittsburgh, the Tigers move on to St. Louis tonight, and I’m sure we’ve all got fond memories of Busch Stadium (*sarcasm*). Yeah, the last time we saw that place, it was 2006 and Brandon Inge was striking out for the final out of the World Series that the Tigers were *supposed* to have won. The Tigers have the top of their rotation going in this series, but the offense still needs to perk up and score more runs, because Verlander and Jackson won’t always be able to save them. At any rate, Justin Verlander gets the first crack at the Cardinals’ lineup (which has been struggling of late, although Albert Pujols is no longer in a slump, which could be bad). In the regular season, he has never lost to the National League, which is kind of a mind-blowing stat (key phrase: “regular season”). The good news is that the Tigers will not have to face Chris Carpenter. Tonight they’ll face Adam Wainwright, who, if I’m not mistaken, was the one striking out Brandon Inge in the aforementioned World Series. This is kind of a busy week for me, work-wise, but next week is much lighter.