Everytime it looks like the Tigers are set to turn the corner, they take a step back. For the sixth time in this short season, the Detroit Tiger’s pitching staff gave up double digit runs (and then one game, they gave up nine).

If the Tigers escape May with an overall winning record, then they deserve a ton of credit. Their schedule the next few weeks contains two series against the red hot Rangers, two series against Oakland, one more series against Seattle, and then their next series against Anaheim. None of these are going to be easy. If the Tigers can win two of those series, I’ll be happy. If they can win three, I’ll be ecsatatic.

Nate Cornejo now has an ERA of 8.42. Even in his one victory, he gave up four earned runs, and it was the only time he pitched into the sixth inning. And his WHIP exceeds 2.000. This has to put him near the bottom end of starters this year. I think Tram will stick with him, but he has to show signs of improving.

Steve Colyer has also been a disappointment. In five of his ten appearances he’s been credited with ay least one earned run, and his WHIP also exceeds 2.000. Hopefully he can put this behind him and get some good outings here soon.

We all knew pitching was the Tigers weakness. Bonderman and Maroth have put together some good outings. Robertson was pitching well. But the rest of the team needs to step it up in order for this team to continue to win.

Permalink | Posted in 2004 Tigers | Comments Off on Seattle Four Hits Tigers in Blowout

Jason Johnson did about all he could in this one, and had his best outing of the year, going 6 1/3, giving up only four hits, and striking out four. The only run against him was a leadoff homerun by Ichiro. But a lack of run support and a two run homer by Raul Ibanez in the 10th would send the Tigers away with another loss, their fourth in five games.

The Tigers only managed four hits, with the sole run coming on a Bobby Higginson sac fly.

And now, the Tigers sit one game above .500. It would be nice if they can keep their head above water, but since the 4-0 start, the Tigers haven’t been able to rise above that “four games above .500 mark.” They’ve matched it, but never topped that resistance level (sorry, the stock market analyst is coming out in me).

The listed starters for today are Bonderman vs. Franklin, but I know the Tigers have been doing some shuffling, so I’m not sure if this will still be the case. If so, hopefully Jeremy can bounce back from his two most recent sub-par outings.

Permalink | Posted in 2004 Tigers | Comments Off on Mini-skid Continues as Tigers Lose in 10

Since the 1984 Tigers are off today, let’s take a look at what others are writing about….

Billfer over at the Detroit Tigers Weblog takes a look at the latest Tigers trade, among other things.

For the Stat Heads, Hardball Times has compiled some pretty advanced hitting and pitching statistics.

John Perricone takes on Skip Bayless in a well written column on Barry Bonds and how baseball has evolved over the past 10 years.

And also, be sure to check some of the new links I’ve added. Some great writing out there.

Permalink | Posted in 2004 Tigers | Comments Off on Around the Horn

So much for Comerica Park being a pitchers park. The winner in all three games of this series scored at least ten runs. And it’s the eighth time a team has scored 10 or more at Comerica (Tigers have three of those eight).

Nate Robertson was chased out early in this one, and Nate’s season numbers now look like what everyone expected him to have. He lasted 3 1/3, but he gave up eight earned runs.

Alex Sanchez went hitless, ending his 11 game hitting streak. He still hasn’t garnered a walk, striking out 15 times.

With the loss, the Tigers drop to 12-10. They’re 8-10 since their 4-0 start, which is probably more in line with what people thought they’d do. But they have a struggling Mariners team coming into town, so hopefully they can put together another winning series.

I also want to congratulate Barry Bonds who, with his homer this afternoon, gives Barry and Father Bobby a combined 1,000 career homeruns. Barry went 2 for 2 today, and is hitting a mind boggling .490. Things will get really interesting if he’s flirting with .400 later in the year. He’s also creeping up on George Herman Ruth’s 714. Not only is it a joy to watch one of the greatest players ever lace them up, but I also have a little monetary interest in this, because each record he breaks means a bump in the value of his baseball cards.

Permalink | Posted in 2004 Tigers | Comments Off on Angels Crush Tigers, Robertson

Hopefully everyone likes the new look, and that things are a little better organized. If you have any comments, be sure to let me know. Just some intial notes:

1) Up at the top you’ll find some quicker links to some the different areas of the site. Along with that, there’s a link heading over to John Perricone’s Only Baseball Matter’s Baseball and Steroids section. This is probably the biggest story of the year, and I’ve sort of shyed away from it (more out of ignorance), so be sure to head on over there and check things out.

2) On the right, there’s a section of links entitled Grousehouse links. These are sites my webmaster, Jay, at Grousehouse Media, handles. I’m not trying to build an All Baseball (not that what they’re doing is bad, I’m just not quite in that league), but I wanted to recognize what I’d consider brother sites.

I already mentioned John’s site, which most of you are aware of. The other site is going to be started by a friend of mine. Basically he’s a transplant at an early age, and had always been a Reds fan. He’s also been relentless in getting me to commit to doing a 1975 Reds Diary for him next year. I’m sure he’ll make me let you know when his site is active.

I’ve also added a bunch of links, and organized them by team. I didn’t put too much thought into this, but I wanted to find a blog for each team. If you’re not listed, it doesn’t mean I like someone else’s blog more than yours, it just means I haven’t ran across it yet.

And there are still a few bugs, so bear with me. If something isn’t working, let me know that as well.

Now, the Tigers. They smoked the Angels yesterday, sending Bartolo Colon home early yesterday. The final was 10-2. Mike Maroth went seven and threw a nice game. Higginson and Sanchez each had three hits, and Carlos Guillen reached base in all five of his plate appearances, scoring three runs.

And with that, the Tigers guarantee themselves a winning April. They’ve also gone the entire season without a three-game losing streak. Mike Maroth earned his third win of the season. He didn’t win his third game last year until June 30.

Permalink | Posted in 2004 Tigers | Comments Off on Tigerblog’s New Clothes