The Tigers ran into a buzzsaw tonight and it was basically the antithesis of what happened yesterday.  Justin Verlander and Zach Miner both struggled and the hitters lost their edge and couldn’t do much against Fausto Carmona.

Verlander and Miner gave up five runs each and Verlander fell to 0-3.  This is the first time in Verlander’s short career that he has three losses in April and the walks are definitely a concern.  This is the second time in as many starts that he had four walks in a game where as last year he never walked four or more in back to back starts.

Miguel Cabrera drove in the lone Tigers run with a sac. fly in the sixth inning.  No Tiger had more then one hit while Ramon Santiago (single and a walk) and Gary Sheffield (two walks) reached base twice.  And speaking of Santiago, I know Leyland isn’t into the whole lineup analysis thing, but Santiago is one of the worst hitters in the major leagues and he’s hitting in the most important spot in the lineup.  Then again, he scored the lone run of the game so I guess you never know.

Next up is a four game wrap around series against the Jays.  It’ll be Kenny Rogers against A.J. Burnett tomorrow night.  I like the Wings and all, but without digital cable, there’s been a ton of Tigers games I haven’t been able to watch and it’s getting annoying.

Recently, I’ve been one of a group of people trying to get a SABR chapter reestablished back in Detroit.  Our first event is the weekend of the 26th-27th with the primary item of interest being a symposium on the integration of the Tigers and the Red Sox.  You’ll get to mingle with guys like Willie Horton, Gates Brown, Deacon Jones, Don Lund, and Mickey Briggs with hopefully more to be added.  You can check out the details at the SABR Detroit chapter website and it’s open to the public.  I’m also still looking for some sponsors, so if you have a sports related business that you’d like to advertise, send me an email and I can fill you in on the details.

Permalink | Posted in 2008 Tigers