2 For 3, 5 For 7

I know this is going to get many of my Detroit brethren riled up, but before the calendar turns to September, but I’m going on record:  Detroit will not win the AL Central, and will have a dogfight to win the wildcard.  Part of my brain is saying Minnesota and Chicago will pass them and leave them out of the playoffs entirely, but I’m just not quite willing to go that far.  Not that I’d mind seeing that.

If the Tigers miss the playoffs, that would be one of the great collapses in history.  To go in to the final month of September with a 4-1/2 game lead in your division and the best record in your league (the Mets have a better record now) would have to be tremendously disappointing.  Now, Tigers fans will say (Rob included) that if you’d have offered them 90 wins and a playoff run going into this season, they’d have grabbed it in a heartbeat.  And they would have.  But now that they’re expected to win, they’re struggling.  They’re finding out that teams are lining up their rotations so that they face their best pitching, and that makes it tougher.

I think the thing that will save them is that the schedule starts to get a little easier for them.  17 of the last 28 games are at home.  They face the Royals for 6, Seattle for 3, and Baltimore for 4, so that’s 13 of their last 28 games against losing teams.  They only have 7 games left against their 2 main competitors (White Sox & Twins).  The Twins have 14 games left against losing teams, but 4 of those are against Cleveland, who’ve been playing much better lately.  They’ve got 16 road games left. Chicago also has 14 games left against losing teams, including the Indians 7 times.  The mitigating factor for them is they’ve got 3 games left against the Red Sux, who don’t look like a winning team anymore (thanks to the Yankees crushing them).

If the Tigers end up as the wildcard team, it’s likely they’ll have to play New York, and the Tiggers haven’t shown that they’re in the same class with the Yankees.  The Yanks took 5 of the games they played, and if Torre had elected to go with either Mo or Farnsworth to close out Wednesday night’s game (instead of the 3rd string closer, Scott Proctor), it would have been 6 of 7.  Bonderman, instead of Ledezma, helped get A-Rod out of his slump.  We’ve got Matsui coming back later in September.  Mussina should also be back soon.  Plus, we won’t have to start the likes of Jeff Karstens.  We can go with Randy, Moose, Wang, and Lidle (I think Wright becomes odd man out).  The Tigers get to go with a bung of kids who’ve never been in the playoffs, plus Kenny..

Tiger fans, you’ve had a pleasant ride so far.  But the ride’s almost over, and much like a ride at Cedar Point, sometimes the ride comes to an abrupt halt back in the station.

Beat The Tigers

The Tigers have one last chance to prove themselves.  As they head to New York to take on the Yankees (against whom they’re 1-3), the Twins and White Sox are both within 5-1/2 games of Detroit.  That’s less than the Yankees lead over Boston, which is back to 6-1/2 thanks to the Red Sux being unable to win even one game over last place Seattle.

Having to face the team with the best record in baseball (notice how I didn’t say the best team in baseball, merely the one with the best record) is not a prospect I would normally get excited over.  However, I got word today from MTB that Leyland has decided to start Wil Ledezma against the Yankees on Wednesday.  If anyone can get Alex Rodriguez off his slump, it’s Wil.  Alex is 4-4 against Ledezma, with all four hits being home runs.  Do I expect that streak to continue?  No, but if he can just homer once or twice, I’d be totally cool with that.

In other cool news, DirecTV comes through for me again.  For the US Open, they’ve introduced a mix channel that allows you to watch SIX matches at once.  On top of that, there’s 5 additional channels (in addition to normal coverage on USA) where you can watch other matches that are being played.  Best part:  IT’S FREE!!!  Yes, it’s good to have DirecTV.

Anyway, that’s the news for now.

FIVE IN FENWAY!!!

Yes, I’m definitely in a good mood.  The impossible has happened.  The Yankees won 5 straight in Boston.  They’re now 6-1/2 games up in the AL East.  I’m a little sleep deprived, but it’s definitely worth it to watch the Red Sux struggle.  Damon was great.  Abreu was great.  Jeter came through with some big hits.  Giambi was the key to last night’s win.  And A-Rod is, well, he’s playing 3rd base.

Outside of that, I’m not sure what’s new.  I did hear that the Tigers traded for Neifi Perez to be their utility infielder with Polanco hurt.  Detroit now hosts the White Sox for 4 games, and it would behoove them to at least split.  I’ve got a hunch that Chicago takes 3 of the 4, though.

In the NL, the Mets look shaky.  St. Louis looks shaky.  The NL West is pretty bad.  Heck, nobody in the entire league looks like they could even beat whoever ends up as the AL wild card.

Ah, I love this time of year.  Particularly when the Yankees are winning.

Tigers Get Swept

Why am I so excited that the White Sox swept the Tigers?  Because they’ve been playing WAAAAAAY over their heads this year, and somebody needed to let a little air out of their balloon.  Now they need to stop feeling sorry for themselves and sweep Boston.

This year’s Yankees team is probably the most frustrating I’ve ever watched on a consistent basis.  From day-to-day, I just never know whether the good team or the bad team is going to show up.

I didn’t think I’d ever have to say this, but Floyd Landis needs to be quiet now.

When did batting helmets add air vents??

Congrats to Travis Hafner for tying Mattingly’s record for grand slams in a season.  Travis, whatever you do, if you manage to hit one more this season, please don’t test positive for steroids.

The Problem With FOX

Sometimes, FOX just pisses me off.  Often, this happens on Saturday afternoons.  Why?  Because FOX has exclusive baseball broadcasting rights on Saturday afternoons, which often means I don’t get to watch my beloved Yankees.  Today is another one of those days.  As I right this, New York is playing Baltimore.  Mussina is pitching, yet I’ll get to see none of it as DirecTV is required to black out the game on YES.

Now mind you, I’ve already watched the Braves-Reds game earlier today, which finished up around 4:15.  I’m not getting a second game from the west coast or anything.  In fact, my local FOX affiliate is showing a country music informercial compliments of Time Life.  So instead of enjoying some more baseball, I’m watching a Schnyder-Sharapova match on ESPN2.  Granted, that’s not a bad alternative, but I’m not always this fortunate.

So if any FOX executives are reading this, here’s my request:  Once the local affiliate has shown the game, allow any other games covered by the Extra Innings package to be shown.

In other news, I’ve played 3 games in my ’75 replay so far today, and hopefully I’ll get another 2 in before the night is through (since I’m getting this blog writing out of the way now).

And while somehow the Tigers still have the best record in baseball, it’s worth pointing out that as of this writing the NEW YORK YANKEES have the second best record.  Don’t look now, but we’re not dead yet.

Quick Trade Thoughts

Thoughts on some of the trading deadline moves:

Bobby Abreau & Corey Lidle to the Yankees for 4 minor leaguers:  I like this one, but not for the reason you might think.  I’m excited that Lidle should become the 5th starter and hopefully we can get rid of Sidney “Sucky” Ponson.  That dude has no business wearing the same number as Tino Martinez and Rickey Henderson (24).

Craig Wilson to the Yankees for Shawn Chacon:  Not real excited either way.  I’d have liked it more if it was Sucky Ponson who was traded instead of Chacon.

Sean Casey to the Tigers for Brian Rogers:  I kinda feel bad for Chris Shelton, who got sent back to Toledo by the Tigers.  Who’s Brian Rogers?

Greg Maddox to LA for Cesar Izturas:  Something tells me this is Maddox’s last season.  Probably not a bad move by the Cubs if Dusty Baker can keep from screwing him up before getting fired at the end of the year.