Friday, July 31, 2009

Thank Goodness for JV and Grandy


Photo: Ronald Martinez (Getty Images)

I put off writing this game recap in case a trade was made, and lo and behold, it pays to be patient. First, the game. Justin Verlander is probably the pitcher you want to stop a losing streak, but even he had quite a scare in the fifth inning. I don’t know what happened there, but he sure got mad after giving up the runs. It was really the offense perking up a bit that stopped the slide. The Tigers still left a lot of men on base, but there were so many baserunners that it didn’t really matter, and Curtis Granderson led the way with his two home runs. Miguel Cabrera found his RBI stroke, sort of. He had some of the wackiest hits in this series. I think the hardest hit ball off his bat was the one that Marlon Byrd made a diving catch on. Meanwhile, we have a definitive answer on Carlos Guillen: He simply can’t hit right-handed at the present time. In a blowout game, this isn’t an issue, but I’m sure it’s something that opposing managers will exploit for the rest of the season.

Well, the fans were clamoring for a trade, and they finally got one this morning. Jarrod Washburn is now a Tiger. Personally, I’m surprised that after the Mariners demanded either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain from the Yankees, they’d settle for Luke French and Mauricio Robles. I don’t know anything about Robles (in fact, I’d never heard of him prior to today). Luke French made some nice starts for the Tigers and may become an effective 4 or even 3 starter, but he’s no Joba Chamberlain. Now, here’s hoping that Washburn can maintain that 2.64 ERA that he’s had all year. There’s still discussion about whether a trade for a hitter could still happen given the fact that the Tigers didn’t exactly sell the farm for Washburn. If there is, I probably will not do another update before tomorrow.

After an off-day, can the Tigers continue the offensive resurgence against the Indians? The Tribe has been playing better recently, including a very dominating sweep of Seattle last weekend. They just traded away Cliff Lee, who was scheduled to start for them tomorrow (though the Tigers had already beaten him three times this year; given that, I’d rather they trade Pavano away). They have called up Fausto Carmona to start tonight. He has been pitching well in the minor leagues, but even if he hadn’t, I’d still anticipate the Tigers having a tough time against him, cuz, well, they always do. The Tigers do have Edwin Jackson going for them tonight. He had to battle his way through Chicago’s lineup, but only gave up three runs. Let’s try to cut down on the walks, though, okay? He has already beaten Cleveland three times this year.

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