The Tigers lost their second straight game to the Brewers and there went a series that the Tigers probably could have picked up.  Chad Durbin was knocked around early and Wil Ledezma was hit hard as well.  The other relievers that the Tigers used pitched well enough but those first five runs that Durbin and Ledezma gave up turned out to be just enough.

The Tigers did put together a rally in the ninth that just fell short.  Down 6-3, the Tigers scored two runs and they had a runner on third with one out but they couldn’t push that tying run across the plate.  Craig Monroe went down on strikes as did Mike Rabello.  You wonder why Ivan Rodriguez wasn’t used in place of Robello (I haven’t heard if Leyland’s addresses this or not).

Which got me thinking, how valuable is it to get your key players a day off?  This was Ivan Rodriguez’s day off and had he come in and tied the game up with a single in the ninth, who knows how long the game might have gone.  And in the end, the Tigers still could have lost the game even with some ninth inning theatrics.  I’m not defending Leyland or anything, just trying to get into his head.  Maybe to him, the risk of tying the game up was offset by giving your Hall of Fame catcher a full dayoff and he choose to stick with Rabello in that final at bat.  I mean, best case scenario, he comes in and goes yard and ends it without having to put on his mask.  Worst case, he ties it up, has to catch 11 innings, and then the Tigers still end up losing in extra frames.  Anyway, it was a judgement call that Leyland will probably have to answer to.

Vance Wilson is out for the year so Rabello will continue his duties as the backup catcher.  And Kenny Rogers will could hopefully be his final rehab start for the White Caps tomorrow.

Next up is three against a hot Phillies team in Philadelphia.  We’ll see Jeremy Bonderman going up against Jon Lieber in the opener tomorrow night.

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