4/15/09

How's Your Golf Game, Adam?

A little over a year after demanding a trade to Colorado, in which he put his then current team (Columbus) in a very bad situation by letting Colorado know he was demanding his way out and taking any leverage Columbus had and sticking in the garbage, Adam Foote is now hitting the greater Denver municipal links. Meanwhile in Detroit, Columbus is preparing to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings in the playoffs.

We hope it was worth it to go from a bad, but up and coming team to a team that finished dead last in the Western Conference.

Adam Foote, you are a giant douche who gives hockey players a bad name. We hope your driver swings around and hits you in the leg and tears ever ligament in your knee and you can never play hockey again.

4/13/09

Red Wings Playoff Opponent, Round 1


We hate Oohi. We hate Oohi with the white hot heat of a thousand suns. And with that, the Wings begin their defense of the Stanley Cup against a team from Oohi, making their first ever appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs. This does not bode well for them. The last team to make their first appearance against the Wings lost 4-2 in a series that wasn't as close as the score, and the team prior actually had their first two playoff appearances against the Wings, and went 0-8. Expect more of the same.

Columbus gave the Wings fits this season. They are set up perfectly to upset the champs, much like Anaheim did in 2003. The Wings have trouble with 1) teams with speed; and 2) hard working, hard checking teams. Columbus fits both of these. But that was the regular season. Much like the NFL pre-season, it means absolutely nothing except who plays Game 7 at home. When the Wings wanted to win, when the Wings wanted to dominate, they did. This is a veteran team, one that knows what's on the line. And while Columbus makes for a nice story, they will not win a game.

This is the perfect scenario for Detroit. They get the closest team to them for the first round of the playoffs, which means very little travel, and for the fans, no 10:30pm starts. At least, not until the Campbell Conference Finals against San Jose.

Detroit 4, Columbus Oohi 0

4/7/09

Jim Leyland, circus monkey

Seriously. This dude is as predictable as Sidney Crosby crying.

8th inning, Tigers up 3-1, one on one out for the Blue Jays. Lefty coming up.

Jim Leyland: goto Seay.
Seay gets ground out, right hander coming up.
Jim Leyland: Take out Seay.

Idiot. This is your best reliever. Bar none. He has faced exactly one batter, and that bastion of power is Marco Scutaro coming up. Not to mention he is BETTER AGAINST RIGHT HANDED BATTERS! Even Mario and Rod mentioned that Bobby wanted to work on getting better against leftys. For the love of everything good, leave him in to face what would have been the last batter of the inning.

Jim Leyland: goto Lyon.
Lyon gives up single and home run. Tigers now down 4-3.

FIRE.LEYLAND.YESTERDAY.

The Tigers hat ban starts early this year.

UPDATE: Oh, and we sure are glad the Tigers got Edgar Renteria instead of having this guy on the pitching staff. Dave Dombrowski WIN.

4/6/09

2009 Tigers preview, part 2

Projected starting lineup (Projected Avg/OBP/SLG from baseballprojection.com)

CF: Curtis Granderson (.276,.350,.474)
2B: Placido Polanco (.303,.350,406)
RF: Magglio Ordonez (.302,.368,.481)
1B: Miguel Cabrera (.314,.388,.553)
LF: Carlos Guillen (.288,.366,.447)
DH: Marcus Thames (.249,.314,.506)
C: Gerald Laird (.249,.308,.389)
3B: Brandon Inge (.233,.312,.392)
SS: Adam Everett (.238,.289,.331)

The hole in the bottom third of the lineup is going to be something the Tigers fight all season long. Dombrowski brought Gerald Laird and Adam Everett in for their defense, for obvious reasons, and should help out the pitching staff with their confidence, as well as shrinking the ERAs by actually catching and throwing the ball. But from an offensive standpoint, the Tigers will take a step back from their top five offense from last season. An offense which, by the way, should have been number 1 if not for an over-managing skipper constantly handcuffing them into one run innings. This lineup 1-5 should still be a force. And sitting at #6 is Marcus Thames who will get an everyday spot in the lineup for the first time, which should actually help those projected numbers get a little higher. This lineup works out well, if Thames can hit bombs and clear the bases so the bottom three of Laird, Inge, and Everett dont end up leaving the bases loaded every inning.

Defensively, the Tigers are strong up the middle. Laird is a solid catcher who will shut down the running game to a great extent. Polanco and Everett are gold-glove candidates every year, and should be able to make the difficult look routine all year long. Granderson in CF patrols the vast Comerica Park outfield as well as any outfielder we have ever seen. On the corners, Miguel Cabrera learned a lot last year about playing first base and has turned into a positive, and Brandon Inge is the best defensive 3B in the league. He has huge range and a rocket arm, and rounds out a Tiger infield that should rank in the top three in baseball. In the outfield, Ordonez has a rocket arm, but is losing a step in range, and Guillen is trying his third position in three years, and we have no idea what to expect from him out there.

The Tigers will be vastly improved defensively this year, and that will help out a pitching staff that will need them to turn batted balls into outs on a regular basis. They will take a step back offensively, but that's all right. We run Jim Leyland a lot crap for his in game decisions regarding bunting and playing small ball Ty Cobb era ball in a 3-run HR era. But no one can argue against his ability to put players in position to succeed. He has consistently done this wherever he has gone, and this lineup is no exception to that. Given that, this lineup gets a C for offense, and an A- for defense.

Prediction: With the questions on the mound, and the gaping hole at the bottom of the lineup, don't expect a return to the playoffs for this team. They will look great at times, but if the bats are quiet, they will struggle mightily, and will fial to make it back to .500 yet.

80-82, third in the AL Central.