A Bases Loaded Walk? Who ARE These Tigers, Anyway?
This isn't usually a "game recap" kind of blog, but indulge me please.
When was the last time the Tigers had a bases-loaded walk to win the game? When was the last time they had a bases-loaded walk, period?
Before you answer those two questions, be mindful that a cynic -- not like me , of course -- could ask, sardonically, "When was the last time the Tigers had a walk of any kind?"
Look, we all know our lovable Bengals aren't the most judicious team at the plate. They hack away sometimes as if Mike Ilitch's private team plane is sitting on the tarmac, gassed up and ready to take flight. They treat even a ball three count like Bird Flu at times.
So that's why it was so much fun to see them score three runs in the top of the ninth and whip the A's, 4-3, yesterday -- courtesy the bases-loaded walk. I'm not sure, come to think about it, what was more surprising: The way the Tigers won, or the fact that their game was on TV -- and a midweek DAY game at that.
Ahh, maybe I AM cynical, after all.
Bless the heart of Brandon Inge, who fouled off NINE two-strike pitches before drawing the walk that loaded the bases in the ninth -- on the 15th pitch of an epic at-bat. Curtis Granderson then walked, forcing in the winning run.
High marks also to manager Jim Leyland for sticking with Fernando Rodney in the ninth, even though F-Rod had pitched the eighth, and had gotten himself into his own bases-filled jam in the ninth. But J-Ley stuck with him, and the closer induced a 5-2 groundball out, then got a swinging strike three to end it.
I guess I was also tickled because of how happy and giddy the Tigers reacted after the win. They bounced out of the dugout after Pudge Rodriguez thrust his fist into the air as he caught Rodney's last pitch, and the postgame high-fives and fist-bumpings seemed to have more oomph and energy in them. It was a big win for them, and they knew it. Good for them.
The team is now 2-1 after Ley-ley's mini-outburst following Monday's mailed-in loss to the Tribe, and 9-7 overall.
Remember when a 9-7 record would make this town go crazy -- if it was the Lions' mark?
When was the last time the Tigers had a bases-loaded walk to win the game? When was the last time they had a bases-loaded walk, period?
Before you answer those two questions, be mindful that a cynic -- not like me , of course -- could ask, sardonically, "When was the last time the Tigers had a walk of any kind?"
Look, we all know our lovable Bengals aren't the most judicious team at the plate. They hack away sometimes as if Mike Ilitch's private team plane is sitting on the tarmac, gassed up and ready to take flight. They treat even a ball three count like Bird Flu at times.
So that's why it was so much fun to see them score three runs in the top of the ninth and whip the A's, 4-3, yesterday -- courtesy the bases-loaded walk. I'm not sure, come to think about it, what was more surprising: The way the Tigers won, or the fact that their game was on TV -- and a midweek DAY game at that.
Ahh, maybe I AM cynical, after all.
Bless the heart of Brandon Inge, who fouled off NINE two-strike pitches before drawing the walk that loaded the bases in the ninth -- on the 15th pitch of an epic at-bat. Curtis Granderson then walked, forcing in the winning run.
High marks also to manager Jim Leyland for sticking with Fernando Rodney in the ninth, even though F-Rod had pitched the eighth, and had gotten himself into his own bases-filled jam in the ninth. But J-Ley stuck with him, and the closer induced a 5-2 groundball out, then got a swinging strike three to end it.
I guess I was also tickled because of how happy and giddy the Tigers reacted after the win. They bounced out of the dugout after Pudge Rodriguez thrust his fist into the air as he caught Rodney's last pitch, and the postgame high-fives and fist-bumpings seemed to have more oomph and energy in them. It was a big win for them, and they knew it. Good for them.
The team is now 2-1 after Ley-ley's mini-outburst following Monday's mailed-in loss to the Tribe, and 9-7 overall.
Remember when a 9-7 record would make this town go crazy -- if it was the Lions' mark?
posted by Greg Eno at 10:29 AM
Proud Member of DIBS
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home