Some People Just Won't Learn

Note to pitchers: You are not effective if you are injured, so what’s the point in pitching hurt? No one ever listens to me. And so the list just keeps growing. Most of the damage had already been done by the time I got home, In fact, the only scoring left to be had was the Miguel Olivo three-run homer, which I heard on the radio. From what I can tell, Jarrod Washburn was clearly hurting from the start and only lasted an inning. Zach Miner was actually quite effective for two innings but Casey Fien and Jeremy Bonderman had issues of their own that obviously weren’t health-related. Things got ugly, and the Tigers could do nothing against Robinson Tejeda. Just about all the regulars had been pulled by the time I got home, so I can’t comment on them either. However, the Tigers have been left with one gargantuan problem, and that is there is currently no one to start on Sunday, unless Washburn’s knee miraculously heals. Leyland is adamant that he doesn’t want to use Zach Miner, but I’m not sure he’ll have any other choice. Nate Robertson MIGHT be able to start, depending on how the groin injury feels. Armando Galarraga says he has gotten to the point with the elbow injury where he can pitch a bit in relief, but once he’s in there for an extended period of time (I’m guessing after two innings or so), the inflammation flares up again and he becomes ineffective (His outing against the Blue Jays would seem to support this argument). As a result, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to start again this year (and it’s not a good idea to start Armando against the Twins anyways). And…Leyland wanted to put him into the game after Washburn departed but apparently the elbow flared up again and he wasn’t able to. And Bonderman’s not stretched out. With all this, Alfredo Figaro has been activated off the DL, but he’s not stretched out either. It is all quite a conundrum.

I don’t know how they’ll do it, but somehow, someway, the Tigers are going to have to climb their way out of this hellhole they’ve dug themselves into, and they need to do it tonight, cuz you know Zack Greinke is gonna hand it to them tomorrow. However, they didn’t do much against Lenny DiNardo back in KC (though at one point, they DID have the lead in that game). They also haven’t been able to touch Kansas City’s bullpen recently. In the meantime, Eddie Bonine makes the start for the Tigers (so chosen because Jim Leyland was sick and tired of everyone else getting hurt; yeah, that worked real well). He was decent in his only start this year, which came against Chicago. At Toledo, he was a strike-thrower, but at the Major League level, his big problem has been giving up home runs. He faced the Royals in relief last week, giving up a solo home run to Alberto Callaspo. I heard somewhere that tonight would’ve been his mother’s birthday. Tonight’s game will also feature Ernie Harwell saying thank you to the fans. Bring the tissues.