MLB 09: Restoring the Roar, a Detroit Tigers dynasty

[DeToxRox]

This is the the final one I'll do. Same set up as before. Computer handles banking and promotions, and I'll do the rest.

I will play games as each starter. So I'll play opening day, then sim until #2's next start, then #3's next start, etc. So I should play 1, sim 5 or there about.

[DeToxRox]

Detroit makes two deals as Spring Training closes

The Tigers head into the 2009 season as contenders in the AL Central if everything goes according to plan, but things didn't look good with the bullpen failing to find a closer and the lineup lacking any speed. Today the Tigs attempted to fix both problems.

First the Tigers traded Fernando Rodney and Carlos Guillen to the Pirates for Closer Matt Capps. Capps is a young kid with a lively arm who will become the closer the Tigers have coveted for years.

To fill Guillens void in LF, the Tigs then traded Nate Robertson, Brent Clevelen and Mike Hessman to the Dodgers for Juan Pierre. Pierre is going to give them extra speed in the lineup and allow Curtis Granderson to bat lower in the lineup.

Going into the opener vs Toronto team morale is high and expectations are now that there are no excuses.

[DeToxRox]

Opening Day Lineup

1. LF Juan Pierre
2. 2B Placido Polanco
3. CF Curtis Granderson
4. 1B Miguel Cabrera
5. RF Magglio Ordonez
6. DH Marcus Thames
7. 3B Brandon Inge
8. C Gerald Laird
9. SS Adam Everett

Bench

1B/3B Jeff Larish
C Matt Treanor
SS/2B Ramon Santiago
OF Josh Anderson

Rotation

1. Justin Verlander
2. Armando Galarraga
3. Edwin Jackson
4. Rick Porcello
5. Jeremy Bonderman

Long Reliever

1. Zach Miner

Middle Relievers

1. Brandon Lyon
2. Ryan Perry
3. Juan Rincon

Setup Men

1. Joel Zumaya
2. Bobby Seay

Closer

1. Matt Capps

[DeToxRox]

Game 1: Detroit Tigers (0-0) @ Toronto Blue Jays (0-0)
Justin Verlander (0-0, 0.00) vs Roy Halladay (0-0, 0.00)

The opener featued a nice pitching match-up between two of the AL's best in Verlander and Halladay, and it ended up being a nice duel, though not anything to write home about.

Toronto scored first as Scott Rolen leadoff the 2nd with a solo bomb, but Brandon Inge answered with his own solo HR in the 3rd.

Then in the 4th, Polanco doubled, moved to third on a Miggy ground out, and was driven in with a 2 out, 2 strike single to left by Magglio to put us up 2-1.

The 5th inning was big for us, though only scoring two runs, it showed how are new found speed could help us win games. Gerald Laird singled then stole 2nd. Everett sacrificed him to third to put Pierre up with 2 outs. Pierre stuck out but the ball got back Barajas and Pierre took first. He then stole second and a Polanco single scored him to make it 4-1.

In the bottom of the 6th Toronto had back to back to back doubles to make it 4-3 but Verlander K'd the next two to get us out of the jam, and then Perry, Zumaya and Capps closed down the door in the 7th, 8th and 9th respectivley to seal the deal on a 4-3 W.

For Detroit, Polanco and Thames each had 2 hits, and Magglio added 3.

Verlander went 6 IP,7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K for the W.

Halladay went 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 K for the L.

Capps pitched a 1-2-3 9th for the S.

W: Verlander (1-0)
L: Halladay (0-1)
S: Capps (1)

Final Line

DET: 4 - 10 - 1
TOR: 3 - 9 - 0

[DeToxRox]

Game 2: TOR 8 - DET 0

Not a good effort here as we had 6 hits but couldn't cross anyone across the plate. Grandy had two hits, our only guy with more then one, but the pitching wasn't up to snuff as Galarraga gave up 4 runs in 5.2 IP, and then Rincon gave up 4 in just 1 IP. Not good at all.

Game 3: TOR 8 - DET 7

This one stung. We had a 3-1 lead going into the 6th but then Jackson gave up 3 runs to give Toronto the lead. Then in the 7th Bobby Seay did his best Rincon giving up 4 runs to make it 8-3. We scored 4 in the 8th but that was it as BJ Ryan closed the door. Grandrson had a monster game though with 2 triples, a double and 3 RBI. He is going to be a star as a #3 hitter.

Game 4: TOR 5 - DET - 0

Rick Porcellos debut wasn't bad, as he went 5 IP, giving up 6 H and 2 ER, but the pen imploded with 3 relievers coming in and all 3 giving up runs. That said, you won't win with 5 hits and 2 errors as we sadly found out. A tough loss for Porcello to take in his debut but he'll have his share of wins I do believe.

Game 5:TEX 5 - DET 1

A sloppy home opener that sees our offense continue to slide. We had 3 errors, chasing Bonderman who only went 4 IP, but gave up 4 runs, only 1 of which was earned. Granderson hit a HR, but Miggy is struggling only hitting .142 early. We cannot do anything with him floundering so badly. One positive note though was that Ryan Perry pitched 2 more scoreless innings, including 3 K's. He's been our best reliever.

Game 6: DET 7 - TEX 2

Verlander proves why he is the ace as he closes the door on Texas and our losing streak with 7.1 scoreless innings, including 7 K. Zumaya did give up 2 in the 9th but it didn't matter as Verlander was flawless and our bats had 13 hits. The MVP though was Magglio with 2 HR and 6 RBI. Granderson had another triple, and Polanco had 3 more hits to put him at a whopping .545 a week in. A nice game to be sure.

[DeToxRox]

Detroit Tigers (2-4) vs Texas Rangers (3-2)
Armando Galarraga (0-1, 6.35) vs Kevin Millwood (0-1, 6.23)

TEX 11 - DET 4

Armando Galarraga was great early on, K'ing the first 5 guys he faced, and we managed 2 runs in the 3rd to go up 2-0 early. A solo HR by Blalock cut the lead to 2-1, and then an RBI from Hamilton in the 6th tied it.

Texas would go up 3-2 on another solo HR from Hamilton, but we tied it up as Josh Anderson stole third and Salty overthrew 3B allowing Anderson to score.

At 3-3 in the 8th Ryan Perry came in and got shelled, giving up two 2-run HR's, and 5 ER in total. Juan Rincon then came in only to allow 3 ER himself, and next thing you know it's 11-3.

Polanco would hit a solo HR in the 9th to make it 11-4 but it was over.

Juan Pierre had two hits for us, and Polanco had a solo HR to really provide the majority of our offense.

Galarraga went 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 8 K for the ND.

Millwood went 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K for the ND.

W: Rupe (1-0)
L: Perry (0-1)

Final Line

TEX: 11 - 14 - 3
DET: 4 - 6 - 1

[DeToxRox]

Detroit releases Juan Rincon

Juan Rincon, who had a 31.02 ERA in 3 appearances this year has been DFA'd by the Tigers and is expected to be released if he passes through waivers.

Freddy Dolsi will take his spot in the bullpen.

[DeToxRox]

Game 8: DET 2 - CHW 1

Both teams starters were great, as Edwin Jackson and John Danks battled each other in a great duel that saw Jackson goes 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K for the win. Bobby Seay would pitch 2 scoreless innings giving way to Matt Capps for the save. Offensively Carlos Quentin had a solo HR for the Sox and Marcus Thames had a 2 run HR for the Tigs to account for all the runs.

Game 9: DET 9 - CHW 6

We pound out 19 hits vs Chicago, with every one in the lineup getting at least one, and only Pierre and Inge didn't have more then one hit, thohg Inges one hint was a grand slam. Granderson, Cabrera and Ordonez each had 3 hits apiece to help Rick Porcello get his first career win, even if it wasn't pretty as he gave up 6 ER and 10 H in 5.2 IP.

Game 10: CHW 8 - DET 2

Bonderman was decent, going 6 IP and allowing 3 ER, but Seay and Perry both imploded allowing 5 ER out of the pen to give the Sox the win. Offensively Juan Pierre had 3 hits, and that was about it as far as notable stats go.

Game 11: DET 7 - SEA 0

Justin Verlander is great again, going 8 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 5 K for his third win of the year. Menawhile Granderson goes 4 - 5 with a HR and 3 RBI and Pierre, Thames and Laird each add 2 hits.

Game 12: DET 6 - SEA 0

Galarraga has a CG 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K performance and Thames adds a 3 run HR and it's basically all we need. A nice game though as we had hits spread out and Galarraga was nails. Can't argue with that type of performance.

[DeToxRox]

Game 13: Detroit Tigers (6-6) @ Seattle Marines (6-6)
Edwin Jackson (1-1, 3.86) vs Jarrod Washburn (0-2, 6.30)

SEA 6 - DET 4

Seattle scored all 6 runs in the first four innings, with 2, 2, 1, 1. Edwin Jackson did not have a good day at all. His FB had no location and he was behind the count often. Also he relinquished two 2 run HR's, one to Beltre and one to Branyan, and put us in a hole.

That said, a solo HR from Thames and a 3 run HR from Magglio, combined with 4 shut out innings of relief from Minor and a spotless inning from Perry kept us in it until the very end, when Aardsma and Morrow shut us down the final 3 innings to put this game in Seattles favor.

We'll take the series win but this a game we should've won with some competent pitching.

[DeToxRox]

Game 14: DET 4 - ANA 3

Anaheim struck first with a 3 run third, but then Porcello shut them down over the next 3 innings he pitched, and turned it over to Seay and Capps who combined to just allow 1 hit the last 3 innings to give us a 4-3 win. Miguel Cabrera and Polanco each had 2 RBI for us. Miggy is slowly heating up which is huge.

Game 15: ANA 5 - DET 3

Bonderman pitched another good game only to see Bobby Seay implode giving up 3 runs in the 8th to give Anaheim the 5-3 lead. Miggy had another RBI, but we left too many runners on to pull this one out.

Game 16: DET 4 - ANA 0

Justin Verlander is lights out. He pitches 7.1 scoreless only allowing 3 hits and K'ing 9. He now has gone 22.2 innings without surrendering a run. Meanwhile Ordonez had 3 RBI as he continues to heat up himself.

Game 17: KC 10 - DET 6

Galarraga scuffled allowing 6 ER in 3 innings, and then the pen imploded allowing 4 runs in the next 3 innings. On top of that Brandon Lyon and Ryan Perry both got hurt in the same inning. Both are expected to miss at least a month, but probably more. We call up Aquinio Lopez and Clay Rapada to replace them. At the plate Miggy and Inge had 2 run HR's. Miggy's was his first of the season remarkably. At least he's coming together.

Game 18: DET 10 - KC 1

Edwin Jackson rebounded from this tough last start with 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K, and Magglio Ordonez had 5 RBI to lead the offense. Inge had another HR as well, which is good to see as we need him to be a 20 HR guy as our offense lacks depth as fat as HR hitters go.

[DeToxRox]

Game 19: Detroit Tigers (9-9) @ Kansas City Royals (8-9)
Rick Porcello (2-1, 5.94) vs Brian Bannister (0-3, 11.20)

DET 4 - KC 3

This was a game that really was a pitchers duel except for 2 and a half innings. Porcello was cruising until the 4th when he gave up a 3 run HR to Teahan who has been on fire for KC. He then calmed down and got through the 6th without damage.

Sadly Bannister was locking us up at the plate, allowing 2 hits until the top of the 7th when Miggy Cabrera doubled and then Magglio hit a 2 run HR to make it 3-2.

Clay Rapada and Aquilino Lopez would shut down KC in the 6th and 7th, allowing the top of 8 to unfold with some clutch plays. First Juan Pierre walked and stole second. Then he took third on a wild pitch and scored on a Fielders Choice when the SS went home with the throw and Pierre just avoided the tag. That made it 3-3. Polanco was then gunned down on a botched hit and run by Granderson. Thankfully Curtis rebounded with a massive solo HR to make it 4-3.

Zumaya would pitch a 1-2-3 8th, and Capps came in for the save in the 9th. The play of the night though was a Jacobs liner that hit Capps leg and bounced back to Laird at catcher who threw out Jacobs at 1st.

[DeToxRox]

Game 20: DET 9 - NYY 6

We pound out 16 hits, including 4 from Josh Anderson, who also had 4 RBI filling in for Granderson who had the day off. Five other guys would knock in a run to give us a rather balanced day at the dish. Pitching wise, Bonderman pitched 5 innings allowing 2 H and 1 ER, but Rapada give up 4 ER to cost him the game. Thankfully Seay and Capps combined to shut the Yanks down once we got the lead back.

Game 21: NYY 5 - DET 2

Verlander had his first round game of the season, allowing 4 ER on 2 hits in 5.1 IP. He was solid besides two bad pitches that ended up as HR, and we just couldn't do much against Sabathia who pitched 8 great innings before turning it over to Mo for the save.

Game 22: NYY 7 -DET 4

Joel Zumaya struggled with 3 ER in 1.2 IP and that was all the Yanks needed as they broke open a 4-4 tie with those 3 runs in the 7th to win it 7-4. The offense was stagnant again and it needs to be fixed as does our bullpen if we want to win the Central.

Game 23: DET 8 - CLE 6

We pound out 16 hits, including HR's from Polanco, Cabrera and Thames, and hold off a 4 run 9th from Cleveland to pull out a big win in the series opener. Edwin Jackson pitched 8 strong before giving way to Lopez who gave up 4 in the 9th. That brought in Capps who got the final 2 outs for his 7th save. Capps has still yet to allow a run this season.

Game 24: CLE 5 - DET 1

We wasted all our offense yesterday, as this time around Cleveland capitalized on our mistakes to take the game 5-1. Porcello allowed 3 runs, 2 of which were earned, in 5 innnings to take the loss. Cabrera had another RBI as he continues to heat up but it'll take a more consistent team effort to win these kind of games when the pen doesn't have it.

[Balldog]

Thank god you dealt Rodney, smart move!

[DeToxRox]

Around the MLB: April Edition

Starting in the American League, the race in the AL East is about as close as it was expected, as there is only 3.5 games between the first place Rays and last place Orioles. The Blue Jays are a surprise in second at 14-13, .5 games off the pace, but the Sox and Yankees will be there all year.

The AL Central is even tighter, with 3 games between the first place White Sox and the bottom three of the Indians, Tigers and Twins, all 3 games back. The Royals sit in second behind an offense that has 147 runs already. Talk about a weakness becoming a strength.

The AL West continues to be close as well, with 4 games between the first place A's and Rangers and last place Mariners. The Angels are just a game back, this despite an AL low 85 runs scored.

Looking at AL league leaders now..

A's LF Matt Holliday is hitting an impressive .429 through April, giving him a nice early cushion in the batting title race. Somewhat surprising is Mark Teahen, hitting .393, who is in 2nd.

Texas 1B Chris David leads the league with 12 HR, 3 more then Jim Thome, and 4 more then Travis Hafner who are 2nd and 3rd respectively. Davis is only hitting .245, but the guy can sure knock the ball out of the yard.

Speaking of Davis, his 33 RBI lead the AL, 5 more then Jason Giambi's 28, and 6 up in Jim Thome and Magglio Ordonez who both have 27.

The SB race is currently headed by Tigers LF Juan Pierre who has swiped 13 bags so far this year, but the ever deadly Chone Figgins is right behind him with 12 of his own.

Looking at pitching now...

Jose Contreras and Roy Halladay lead the way with 5 wins apiece but Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander and Scott Lewis are right behind the pack with 4 of their own.

The save race is on in the AL already, with Brian Fuentes and Frank Francisco both tied atop the leader board with 10 apiece.

A remarkable stat is that Roy Halladay already has 3 shutouts this year, and is the obvious Cy Young winner at this point in the year.

In the NL, the most remarkable story are the Atlanta Braves who have started the season 21-3! That's right ... 21-3! The Braves are already up 9.5 games on the 2nd place Phils and are doing it with insane pitching, having only allowed 66 runs to this point.

In the NL Central the Cubs lead the pack, 3 games up on the Brewers, and 6 up on the second place Cards. Chances are the NL Central race will be over sooner rather then later.

In the NL West, it's the Giants on top, 3 games ahead of the D'Backs, and 3.5 up on both the Dodgers and Padres, with the Rockies 5 back in last place.

Looking at NL leaders ..

Albert Pujols leads the league with a .422 average, followed by Kelly Johnson at .402 and then Pujols teammate Skip Schumaker at .396.

Milton Bradley leads the NL with 12 HR, followed by Pujols and Berkman who both have 10.

Bradley always leads the NL in RBI with 28, followed by Pujols at 27 and Soriano at 25. Could Pujols win the triple crown?

Now looking at pitching ...

A pair of Cubs lead the league with 5 wins each, those two being Zambrano and Lilly. Behind them is a pair of Braves with 4 wins each, Javier Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens and Kenshin Kawakmi. No wonder those two teams are pacing the NL.

Braves closer Mike Gonzalez leads the NL with 12 saves, followed by 9 from Heath Bell and 8 from Brian Wilson.

In NL injury news, Manny Ramirez was placed on the 15 day DL with a broken forearm as April came to a close. Not good news for Dodgers fans.

[DeToxRox]

Game 25: CLE 6 - DET 3

I played this game but lost the write up to a freeze, so the bare bones is Bonderman struggled, giving up 6 runs in 3 innings, and we couldn't score with RISP. We left 11 guys on base which is abysmal, and Magglio, who has been on fire, hit into 3 DP's.

Game 26: DET 6 - MIN 2

Verlander and Liriano pitch 7 innings each of 2 run ball, but Bobby Seay was able to pitch 2 scoreless innings of relief and give us enough time to allow the offense to score 4 in the bottom of the 8th for the 6-2 win. Miggy and Magglio both had 3 RBI in the win.

Game 27: MIN 12 - DET 9

The pen implodes in this one. Matt Capps blows his first save of the year to send us to Extras, where Zumaya proceeded to give up 6 ER. We did get 3 back in the bottom of 10 but it wasn't enough. The only positive here was 3 HR and 6 RBI from Curtis Granderson.

Game 28: DET 8 - CHW 3

Edwin Jackson comes up and saves the pen with 8 strong innings for his 4th win of the year, and we get some offense from Josh Anderson, subbing for Granderson who was given a day off. Anderson had 2 hits and 4 RBI off the bench and it's all we really needed as we get a big divisional win.

Game 29: CHW 8 - DET 5

Porcello gets roughed up, ,only going 2 innings and giving up 7 runs. After that we outscored the Sox 5-1, but the 7 run second was all the Sox needed. Dolsi and Zumaya did prove 6 good innings out of the pen which is nice as our pen as struggled recently.

Game 30: CLE 4 - DET 4

We get down early again, and we lose 6-4 because of it. Bonderman gave up 3 in the 2nd, and finished only allowing 3 in 5 innings, but our offense didn't come to play today. Hopefully we get in sync soon.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Balldog

Thank god you dealt Rodney, smart move!

Ha, had to. Capps is a beast and I am glad I could land him.

[DeToxRox]

Game 31: Detroit Tigers (14-16) @ Cleveland Indians (15-15)
Justin Verlander (4-1, 1.76) vs Cliff Lee (4-2, 2.91)

DET 4 - CLE 3

This was one of those games where both pitchers pitched incredibly well outside of one bad inning each.

We struck first in the 2nd. First Miggy got hit by a pitch, then Magglio walked. Then Lee trying to just get one over served up a 3 run bomb to Inge, his 5th of the year to make it 3-0.

Verlander would cruise through the first three, but had trouble in the fourth, allowing a 2 run HR to Hafner and an RBI double to Peralta to make it 3-3.

Thankfully in the 5th Granderson would rip a double off of the right field wall, and Miggy would drive him in with a sharp single between third and short to make it 4-3.

Verlander would end up going 7 strong, before turning it over to Zumaya who worked a 1-2-3, but in the bottom of 9, Capps would get the first two before allowing a single and then a double. With runners on 2nd and 3rd though he got Cabrera to sky out to Granderson for his 8th save and for us, a much needed win.

W: Verlander (5-1)
L: Lee (4-3)
S: Capps (8)

[DeToxRox]

Game 32: CLE 6 - DET 5

Just couldn't get the bats going and we lose another tough one to Cleveland. Miggy had 3 hits, including a HR and 2 RBI. He's heating up but Magglio is cooling down. We need both to make a successful run at the AL Central. Galarraga also struggled giving up 6 earned in 5.1 IP.

Game 33: MIN 2 - DET 1

It was 0-0- in the top of the 9th when Grandy got an RBI Sac Fly, but then Capps blew the save in the 9th and Seay gave up the winning run in the bottom of 10. We only had 3 hits in 10 innings. That won't cut it ever. Jackson was great, but if the pen and the bats don't ship up we're in deep trouble.

Game 34: MIN 5 - DET 4

Miggy homers again, but Porcello struggles with 8 hits and 4 runs in 4 IP and Lopez comes in for 4 strong innings of relief but we cannot score another run even with 12 hits and we drop another 1 run game. Those are getting really frustrating.

After this game we deiced to sign Derrick Turnbow to a 1 year, 2.15 million dollar deal. We need arms in the pen who can get outs and he has some decent ratings.

Game 35: DET 11 - MIN 7

We pound out 19 hits, including HR's from Miggy and Granderson, and Bonderman manages to get his first win of the year even if it was ugly, giving up 8 hits and 6 ER in 5 IP. We needed this one badly.

Game 36: DET 6 - OAK 0

Verlander pitches 7.2 scoreless, allowing 6 hits, while striking out 10 for his 6th win of the year. We got all the offense we needed from 2 Marcus Thames HR and a HR from Magglio. This was a good day for us.

[DeToxRox]

Game 37: Detroit Tigers (17-19) vs Oakland A's (19-16)
Armando Galarraga (1-3, 5.87) vs Dana Eveland (3-2, 5.75)

OAK 8 - DET 6

This one was just not our night. Galarraga gave up 5 runs in 3.2 innings, including 2 HR. Eric Chavez would hit his 2nd HR of the night in the 6th, and take a commanding 8-2 lead. Then in the bottom of the 8th Granderson hit a solo bomb to make it 8-3. In the bottom of 9 our first 2 got ojn and Laird hit a 3 run HR, his first of the year, to make it 8-6.

The A's would call Ziegler to the mound though and he shut the door to gave Oakland an 8-6 game.

Play of the game was Adam Everett hitting what would be a 2 run HR in the 2nd only to have Matt Holliday make a jumping catch at the fence. Total morale killer.

W: Gallagher (4-1)
L: Galaragga (1-4)
S: Ziegler (8)

[DeToxRox]

Game 38: DET 6 - OAK 4

Edwin Jackson pitches 7.2 strong. He does give up 4 ER but added 10 K's and Inge knocked in 4. The win is a nice bounce back after the tough one we had yesterday vs Oakland.

Game 39: DET 4 - TEX 2

This one went 11, and we only had 6 hits to their 11, but Polanco hits a two run walkoff HR to give us a big game vs Texas. Porcello was strong only allowing 2 ER in 6 IP, while Turnbow and Zumaya combined for 5 innings of 3 hit shutout ball out of the pen. A big win for us but especially for our pen.

Game 40: DET 11 - TEX 6

We pound out 11 runs on 18 hits, and get 3 RBI from Maggs and Santiago apiece, plus 2 from Miggy and then 1 from a slew of others to get another big win. Bonderman was good with 2 ER over 7 innings. This is the start he needed. Hopefully he builds off it.

Game 41: DET 10 - TEX 2

Verlander picks up win 7, and we smoke the Rangers again. This time its 10 runs on 18 hits with HR's from Everett, Thames and Inge. We chase Millwood after 3.1 IP and then we watch Zumaya pitch 2.2 IP of perfect baseball to give us our 4th win in a row.

Game 42: DET 2 - COL 0

Our 5th win in a row sees 4 pitchers combine on a 2 hit shutout. Galarraga bounces back with 6.1 IP of 2 hit ball, then Turnbow, Zumaya and Capps help close it out. We did walk 6 guys today but it didn't matter. We get runs from solo shots from Magglio and Everett.

[DeToxRox]

Game 43: COL 3 - DET 1

I played this last night but was too tired to recap. Basically Jackson got hit hard early and Jiminez spun a CG, 3 hit gem. Our only run came off a Thames solo bomb in the 9th. The good news from this game is Turnbow continues to be perfect with another 1.2 scoreless innings.

Game 44: DET 4 - COL 3

Porcello has his best start of his young career, going 8.1, allowing 6 hits and 2 ER, as well as K'ing 10 batters. He then turned it over to Capps he blew his 3rd save but Joel Zumaya would shut the door and give Josh Anderson the chance to win the game with a walkoff double to give us a big win.

Game 45: DET 4 - KC 2

Bonderman pitches 6 strong, and the pen chips in for 3 scoreless, and we ride Polanco and Cabrera to a 4-2 win. Polanco was a single short of the cycle, and had 2 RBI, while Miggy had 2 hits, including a HR, and also he had 2 RBI. This was a big road win for us.

Game 46: DET 6 - KC 5

We take over first in the AL Central as Justin Verlander wins his 8th game of the year, even though he allowed 5 runs on 8 hits in 6.2 IP. He offense came through for him, as Thames and Anderson went yard and Granderson had 3 RBI.

Game 47: DET 4 - KC 1

We are just flat out on fire thanks to some great pitching, and tonight is no different as Galarraga has a CG, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K performance, while Inge homers and drives in 3 to give us our 9th win in our last 10 games. What a hot streak this is becoming.

Game 48: DET 10 - BAL 3

Down 3-1 going into the 8th, the offense awoke with a 4 run 8th and a 5 run 9th to give us a huge 10-3 win vs Baltimore. Marcus Thames blasted 2 HR and had 6 RBI and Polanco drove in 2, along with 1 apiece from Magglio and Santiago to give us our scoring while Turnbow goes 1.2 scoreless for his first win as a Tiger. Starter Edwin Jackson went 5.1 IP allowing 3 ER. Not a great day but not bad by any stretch.

[DeToxRox]

Game 49: Detroit Tigers (27-21) vs Baltimore Orioles (19-29)
Rick Porcello (2-3, 5.63) vs Jeremy Guthrie (2-1, 3.34)

BAL 13 - DET 1

Not much to say. They mashed 21 hits and just killed any pitch I left up in the zone. Five homers allowed, and all of them were no doubters. Pretty frustrating but my own fault as I got too picky on the corners and missed over the plate too often.

W: Guthrie (3-1)
L: Porcello (2-4)

[DeToxRox]

Game 50: DET 6 - BAL 4

We rebound nicely with a nice 14 hit outing that saw 2 RBI's from Thames and Laird, plus Miggy and Inge chipping in with one. Juan Pierre doubled twice and might finally be showing signs of life at the dish. Meanwhile Bondo gives up 4 ER in 6 IP but the pen pitches 3 innings of 2 hit ball and we get a nice 6-4 W.

Game 51: BAL 3 - DET 2

Verlander goes 7, allows 2 ER and k's 7, but Bobby Seay gives up runs in the 8th to tie it, and in the 9th to lose it. He's been struggling mightily for us but he is still our best LHP we have and we cannot do too much about that at this point. We may have to go shopping for a lefty out of the pen by the deadline though. Polanco mashes 3 hits for us and continues to be a force for us.

Game 52: DET 7 - BOS 6 1

We win in the 10th innings thanks to a walkoff double from Miggy, who had 2 RBI tonight, but the real star was Granderson who had 3 hits and 3 RBI. Adam Everett also chimed in with 2 RBI for us to complete the scoring. Pitching wise Galaragga gave up 5 ER in 6.2 IP, and Turnbow finally allowed a run, but Zumaya pitched 2.1 scoreless for the win.

[DeToxRox]

2009 MLB Draft

#1 Washington - CP Franquelis Flores, 18 y/o (HS)
#2 Seattle - 1B Arturo Guarado, 20 y/o (2-yr)
#3 San Diego - SP Reynaldo Mota, 18 y/o (HS)
#4 Pittsburgh - SP Lindsay Houser, 21 y/o (4-yr)
#5 Baltimore - SP Mohamed Feierabend, 22 y/o (4-yr)
#6 Atlanta - SP Armand Maguire, 22 y/o (2-yr)
#7 San Francisco - SP Edwin Karstens, 19 y/o (2-yr)
#8 Detroit - C Linwood Rose, 21 y/o (2-yr)
#9 Cincinnati - SP Josh Griffin, 21 y/o (2-yr)
#10 Colorado - LF Byron Albert, 20 y/o (2-yr)

Round 2

Detroit - SS Kendry Silva, 18 y/o (HS)

Round 3

Detroit - 1B Yamil Valenzuela, 20 y/o (2-yr)

Round 4

Detroit - LF Marcellus Tinsley, 18 y/o (HS)

Round 5

Detroit - 2B Marucio Villasmil, 18 y/o (HS)

We sign all five players right away, with all of them but Valenzuela and Villasmil getting 3 year deals. Those two players both were given 5 year deals.

[DeToxRox]

Around the MLB: May Edition

Starting in the AL, the AL East is no longer a five team race as Baltimore is now 11.5 out, 12 games under .500. That said, the East leading Yanks are only 2 up on the Jays, 3 up on the Sox and 4 up on the Rays. This will come down to the wire to be sure.

In the Central, the Tigers are 29-24, 0.5 games up on the White Sox, but Cleveland and KC are 4 and 4.5 games back respectively. The Twins at 6.5 back are not out but their offense is scuffling to score with just 221 runs so far.

Anaheim is also 29-24 and leads the AL West by 2 games over Oakland. Seattle and Texas both sit 5.5 back. This looks like a good race to keep an eye out on as Oakland is a remarkable 15-8 in the division.

Looking at league leaders in the AL ..

Matt Holliday still leads the hitting race with a .360 average, but Placido Polanco is right there at .357. Also of note is Bobby Abreu in third place hitting .349.

Chris Davis continues his impressive HR pace, now up to 24 HR in just 212 AB. He is followed by Justin Morneau and Travis Hafner who both have 19 HR on the season.

Chris Davis also reads in the league in RBI with 62, 9 ahead of Matt Holliday's 53, and 10 ahead of Evan Longoria's 52. Davis, who has upped his average to .278 could be the early leader for AL MVP, though Texas needs to start winning some more.

Juan Pierre has the AL SB lead with 25 at this point, but Chone Figgins is still a threat with 20.

As far as pitching goes, Justin Verlander leads the AL with 8 wins, but four pitchers, headlined by Roy Halladay are right behind him with 7.

Brian Fuentes is still the leading in saves with 19. More impressive is Anaheim has 29 wins and he's closed out 19 of those. They play a lot of tight ones no doubt.

Roy Halladay is the current ERA leader with an absurd 1.86 mark in 82.1 IP. Probably more insane is he still has 3 losses. Talk about no run support.

Speaking of Doc Halladay, he now is up to 4 shutouts on the year. As good as Verlander has been, Halladay is just unreal this season.

Now to the National League ..

The Braves are 35-18 and 6 up on the defending champion Phillies. Their pitching is still going well, but they have for sure hit the skids after a tremendous start. Still, the East looks to be all but assured a two team race as the Nats somehow sit in third, 13 games back.

In the NL Central the Brewers got hot. Real hot. And now sit with the most wins in baseball at 37-16. This is also a two team race at this point as the Cubs are 2 games back while the Cards sit in third, 8 back.

In the NL West, the Backs are 34-21 and lead SF by 3 games. This is looking like a two team race also at this point as the Dodgers are in third, 8 games back.

Looking at NL league leaders ..

Albert Pujols is just mashing it right now, and leads the bigs with a .403 average. He has 40 points on second places Adrian Gonzalez, hitting .363. Rounding out the top 3 is Ryan Braun at .353.

Pujols is also tied for the NL lead in HR with Dan Uggla, both at 19 HR. Ryan Howard sits in third with 18.

The RBI chase is going to be a good one to watch as well, as Uggla leads right now with 52, followed by Braun with 50, but Pujols lurks in third with 49. He is the obvious NL MVP at this point and could win the triple crown.

Pitching wise, Ted Lilly of the Cubs leads the NL with 8 wins, while six other guys have 7. Two of those six are fellow Cubs hurlers Rich Harden and Carlos Zambrano. Talk about some good starting pitching.

Braves closer Mike Gonzalez continues leading the bigs in saves with 21. Trevor Hoffmans 19 puts him in second and Chad Qualls and Brian Wilson are in third with 16.

The MLB's best ERA belongs to Carlos Zambrano who has a sparkling 1.44 ERA. Behind him is Dan Haren at 2.00 and then Bronson Arroyo is in third at 2.05.

[DeToxRox]

May trade puts Anaheim as team to beat in AL West

Anaheim needed offense from their corner IF's. Cleveland needed RP and some youth. Therefore it made perfect sense then Anaheim acquired slugger Victor Martinez from Cleveland in exchange for RP Scot Shields and SS Brandon Wood. For Anaheim they now have run producer in the heart of the order, and for Cleveland they have a top end 8th inning guy and a IF who can play any position.

[DeToxRox]

Game 53: BOS 3 - DET 2

Edwin Jackson pitched 5 innings of 6 hit ball, giving up all 3 runs. His problem was he walked 5 guys, and Boston made him pay. Curtis Granderson had 3 hits, including a 2 run HR but that's all we mustered and we go down to Boston 3-2.

Game 54: BOS 6 - DET 2

Rick Porcello pitched 6.1 IP, allowing 8 H and 2 ER. Not great but not bad either. The problem was Zumaya and Rapada gave up 4 ER out of the pen, as Boston scores all 6 in the last 3 innings and we lost 6-2. We only had 4 hits, 1 of which was a 2 run HR from Adam Everett which will not cut it for us. Time to put this series behind us with Anaheim coming to town.

[Sun Tzu]

Pujols hitting .400 heading into June? I'd kill to have a guy like that on my squad, the guy is just a machine.

Are you playing every one of these games? Coaching? Just pitching? Just hitting?

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Pujols hitting .400 heading into June? I'd kill to have a guy like that on my squad, the guy is just a machine.

Are you playing every one of these games? Coaching? Just pitching? Just hitting?

What I am doing is playing a game as each starter. So I'll play the Verlander start, then sim the next 5 or 6 games until my #2 starters game, and so on and so forth.

Sometimes I'll manage a game or do the sportscast manager. Depends on the mood.

And yes, Pujols is a beast in the Show. Just a damn beast.

[DeToxRox]

Game 54: ANA 5 - DET 2

I played this one but was too depressed to recap it. Taking a 2-1 lead into the 9th, Anaheim had two bunt singles and then an error from Inge to load the bases. Capps would K Victor Martinez but then Mike Napoli would bash a grand slam to put Anaheim up 5-2 for good. Bondo was great too, and I probably should've let him go for the CG.

Game 55: DET 6 - ANA 2

Verlander improves to 9-1 with 6 solid innings, though the real story was 3 innings from Bobby Seay where he only allowed 1 hit and fanned 7. We then had three two run HR's from Thames, Inge and Granderson to give us a nice rebound win.

Game 56: ANA 12 - DET 5

Galarraga gives up 4 ER, and then the pen gives up 8 ER in 4 innings to give Anaheim an easy 12-5 win. We had 4 HR though, including two from Miguel Cabrera but all four HR were solo shots which we all know is just not going to cut it. Too many game we squander RISP and tonight was no different.

Game 57: DET 9 - CHW 8

Miguel Cabrera is DIALED IN. He had 3 HR today and 6 RBI to lead a 15 hit night that made up for an off day from Edwin Jackson. Thankfully Turnbow and Zumaya were able to give him some help out of the pen and then Matt Capps came up with his 14th save to preserve the W.

Game 58: DET 3 - CHW 1

Rick Porcello pitches his best game yet, with a CG, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K performance, and guess who added a HR? That's right, Miguel Cabrera hits his 6th HR in the last three games to give us all the offense we would need on this day.

Game 59: DET 7 - CHW 3

No homers for Miggy today, but we get three guys with two RBI's, including Juan Pierre who had been stuck at 7 RBI for nearly a month, and in the last two weeks has doubled that. Bondo pitched 5.1 decent innings before Rapada and Zumaya shut down the Sox the rest of the way. These are three massive wins for us though Chicago is seriously sliding.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

And yes, Pujols is a beast in the Show. Just a damn beast.

Oh I know...I have a dynasty going on here as well

addicted

[DeToxRox]

Game 60: Detroit Tigers (33-27) @ Chicago White Sox (29-32)
Justin Verlander (9-1, 2.42) vs John Danks (4-4, 5.35)

DET 4 - CHW 2

Justin Verlander wins his 10th game of the year in a great fashion as he pitches a complete game 7 hitter to complete a four game sweep of the White Sox.

The game opened with Placido Polanco hitting a solo bomb, his 8th, but in the bottom half of the first the Sox scored on a Dye RBI single.

In the bottom of the third, it was a Dye again, with another RBI single to make it 2-1 and things didn't look good. Our offense was scuffling and Verlander had given up 5 hits already.

Then JV settled down and rolled the rest of the way, but still down 2-1 he needed help, which he got from an unlikely cast of characters.

The top of 7 started with back to back singles from Inge and Thames. Then with Laird up and a hit and run on, he singled to left, plating Inge but Thames was gunned out at third. Thankfully Adam Everett would single and with runners on the corner Juan Pierre perfectly executed a suicide squeeze to make it 3-2.

We would add our final run in the top of the 9th on a Laird sac fly plating Inge and walk away with a big 4-2 victory.

W: Verlander (10-1)
L: Linebrink (5-4)

[DeToxRox]

Game 61: DET 8 - PIT 4

We pound out 13 hits vs the Pirates, including two doubles and three RBI from Ryan Raburn who started in RF for Magglio to get him a rest. It was Raburns debut as Josh Anderson is out a month with banged up knee. Galarraga pitched 7 strong innings and Capps earned his 15th save vs his old team.

Game 62: PIT 6 - DET 4

Edwin Jackson left the game with a tweaked oblique, only going 1 IP but he won't miss his next start. Safly the pen didn't do much as Turnbow was rocked for 5 hits and 3 ER in 2 IP for his first bad outing since we signed him. We had our chances but it wasn't to be and we fall 6-4.

Game 63: DET 11 - PIT 0

Rick Porcello is Mr. Fantastic again. He goes 6.2 IP allowing 3 hits before turning it over to Seay and Zumaya to finish the game and complete a 4 hit shutout for the good guys. Balanced scoring on our 11 runs with two guys having two RBI and the a slew of others knocking a run in.

Game 64: STL 7 - DET 1

Bonderman gives up 3 ER in 5 IP, and then Zumaya gives up 3 ER of his own in 2 IP and we fall 7-1. The O didn't do much and the pitching was just not good. Pujols was just 1 for 4 with an RBI single but Thurston had 2 hits and 4 RBI to do damage we couldn't afford to have done.

Game 65: DET 3 - STL 0

Justin Verlander wins #11 with a 7 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 9 K performance. Turnbow and Capps shut the door to preserve the shutout and we get a nice win in St. Louis. Most importantly Pujols goes 0-4. He falls to .396 on the year. What a bum.

[DeToxRox]

Game 66: STL 8 - DET 3

I played this game and felt the need for a summary rather then blow by blow, since well, we blew. Galarraga got hit way too hard and was taken out after four, and then the pen pitched just as bad. We had chances to score but couldn't knock in the runs when the chase arose and we lose a tough series to the Cards.

Game 67: DET 1 - MIL 0

We get 8.1 IP of 2 hit ball from Edwin Jackson, and even after walking 5, he still managed to avoid trouble before letting Capps pick up save #17 in a big 1-0 win. Our only RBI was from Miggy on a two out double in the 8th. Nice to see the pen get a breather in this one.

Game 68: MIL 6 - DET 4

Porcello was knocked around, giving up 11 hits and 4 ER in 4 IP, and we ended up giving up 19 hits as a team, falling 6-4 to the Brewers. Miguel Cabrera was our main highlight as per usual, with 3 hits including a HR and 3 RBI.

Game 69: DET 8 - MIL 5

Bondo gives us 7 innings of 2 run ball, and though Zumaya gave up 3 runs without recording an out, Turnbow and Capps held the Brewers off the score card and we hold on 8-5. Thames had a HR and 3 RBI, and Miggy had 2 more RBI himself on this day. He is really heating it up after a prolonged cold stretch.

Game 70: CHN 12 - DET 11

This was an ugly game. We were up 7-3 going into the 5th when Verlander imploded giving up 5 runs. Then Lopez came up and after an error gave up a grand slam to give the Cubs 9 runs in the 5th. For us, Miggy was 4-4 with 3 more RBI but it wasn't enough and we fall to the NL leading Cubs 12-11.

Game 71: DET 3 - CHN 1

Galarraga pitches 6 strong, and Perry, Zumaya and Capps give up just two base runners the last 3 innings to give us a 3-1 win. Miggy had two more hits and we had RBI's from Magglio, Thames and Everett. Nice balance today.

[DeToxRox]

Game 72: Detroit Tigers (40-32) vs Chicago Cubs (46-25)
Edwin Jackson (7-4, 3.89) vs Rich Harden (9-2, 3.05)

CHN 3 - DET 2

We lost this one 3-2 but it could've been worse. We allowed 14 hits and actually lead 2-0 in the 8th, but a two run bomb from Soto tied it up. Then in the 10th, Zumaya allowed a double to Soriano who scored on a single two batters late from Soto to make it 3-2 and Marmol would close it down in the 10th for the save.

W: Patton (1-0)
L: Zumaya (3-4)
S: Marmol (13)

[DeToxRox]

Game 73: DET 3 - HOU 0

Porcello pitches a CG, 3 H gem, and Miggy goes yard and that's all that needs to be said for today. Porcello is turning into a menace on the mound and with this kid pitching like this, along with Verlander and Jackson being strong, we should at this point win the AL Central no questions asked. One negative however is Ramon Santiago will be out 1-2 months with a knee injury causing us to recall Scott Sizemore from AAA.

Game 74: DET 5 - HOU 0

Another CG , 3 hitter, this time by Bonderman, who he himself is rounding into form. We get two run bombs from Polanco and Thames and we stifle the Astros bats yet again.

Game 75: DET 6 - HOU 0

Yes, it happened again. Houston once again only manages 3 hits, though Verlander only goes 7.2 and Zumaya closes the door to end it. Verlander is now 12-1 and could be a lock for the AL Starter in the All Star Game. We get 3 RBI from Polanco, plus one from Miggy, Thames and Sizemore as we leave Houston allowing 0 runs on 9 hits in 3 games. Unreal.

Game 76: DET 6 - OAK 5

Galarraga struggles, but the pen picks him up holding Oakland scoreless for 5 innings allowing us to win it in the top of the 9th. We get HR's from Magglio and Thames, and Miggy scores twice on two walks to give us another big win, especially as Cleveland is only a half game back of us.

Game 77: OAK 12 - DET 3

Jackson got shelled, as did Rapada and Turnbow, and Jack Cust was beasting with 2 HR and 7 RBI. This was over before we knew it. Still, we're playing well so this doesn't upset me too much.

[DeToxRox]

Around the League: June Edition

Starting the AL East, the Yankees are now 7.5 up on the Rays, and cruising at 50-27. They have an unreal 419 runs scored and are just pounding the tar out of the ball.

The AL Central is a two team race at this point, as Detroit is 0.5 up on Cleveland. Cleveland has 397 runs scored, and boasts a pitching staff that has turned it around, but Detroit is also turning it on with pitching. This will be a race to keep an eye on.

In the AL West, the Angels are 2.5 up on Oakland, and the only team over .500 at 39-38. The M's sit in last only 5.5 back and with no one playing really good ball it's anyones race.

Looking at league leaders ..

Derek Jeter is hitting .356 and leads the race for the batting title. He is ahead of Grady Sizemore and Bobby Abreu, both of which are hitting .354.

Chris Davis struggled in June with only one HR but he still sits a top the leader board, tied with Travis Hafner at 25 HR. Justin Morneau is two back of the pace at 23.

Davis is also still tied for the RBI lead, with 69. He is tied with Matt Holliday, though Mark Teixiera lurks just 2 back at 67 RBI.

Juan Pierre is now at 36 SB, 9 ahead of Chone Figgins and Jacoby Ellsbury's 27.

Pitching wise, Justin Verlander's 12 wins are in front for the AL lead, with Roy Halladay second at 10. A slew of others sit at 9.

Brian Fuentes is still the leader in saves at 25, though Mo Rivera is second with 24 and Joe Nathan is third with 23.

The top ERA in the AL still belongs to Roy Halladay at a sparkling 2.18. Liriano is second at 2.49 and Jeremy Guthrie sits third at 2.51.

Roy Halladay's shutout total is now at 5.

In the NL the Braves at 53-24 are 7 up on the Phils and look to be running away with the East. They've only allowed 274 runs as their pitching continues to amaze.

The Cubs lead the NL Central by 4 games over the Cards and Brewers. After that is Cinncy 15.5 back.

The Giants reclaim first in the NL West, 1 game up on Arizona. The Dodgers sit in third 9 games back, scuffling to stop people from scoring runs.

Looking at NL leaders ..

Albert Pujols still leads the NL batting race, hitting .385. In second is still Adrian Gonzalez at .352, and Ryan Braun is still in third at .345.

Pujols also has a commanding HR lead with 30 bombs so far, 6 ahead of Dan Uggla's 24, and 7 ahead of Ryan Howards 23.

RBI wise Pujols also leads, with 72. Ryan Braun sits in second with 67 and Ryan Howard sits in third with 66. Pujols is just mashing and a triple crown at this point will come down to his RBI's.

Pitching wise Adam Wainwright is tied with Verlander's 12 win mark. Cole Hamels has 11 and Ted Lilly has 10.

Mike Gonzalez has 30 saves for Atlanta, with Brian Wilson in second with 24, and Chad Qualls in third with 23.

Carlos Zambrano leads in the MLB with a 2.11 ERA. He is followed by Dan Haren at 2.17 and Bronson Arroyo at 2.43.

[DeToxRox]

Game 78: Detroit Tigers (44-34) @ Oakland Athletics (37-41)
Rick Porcello (5-4, 4.43) vs Dallas Braden (6-4, 4.61)

DET 4 - OAK 2

Dallas Braden had a no hitter through 5, but in the 6th Juan Pierre laid down a beautiful bunt with 2 outs to reach base. Then on a steal to second Suzuki over threw the SS and Pierre advanced to third. It didn't matter though as Polanco would hit a 2 run HR the next pitch to make it 2-0.

We'd add two more on a Miggy two run double in the 8th to make it 4-2, but with Porcello over 100 pitches we bring in Seay who loads the bases with no outs.

I call on Capps who gives up two runs on two sac flys but gets out of the inning and then he comes back out in the 9th to K the side for the save.

W: Porcello (6-4)
L: Braden (6-5)
S: Capps (21)

[DeToxRox]

Game 79: DET 8 - MIN 4

We pound out 8 runs on 13 hits, including HR's from Magglio and Laird and Bonderman, although allowing 11 hits, only gives up 3 runs. The pen holds on and we get a nice 8-4 win.

Game 80: DET 3 - MIN 1

Verlander moves to 13-1 with 8 IP of 1 run ball, fanning 6. Granderson, Laird and Inge drive in runs and we continue to play some unreal baseball. Verlander's first half is one of the best I have ever seen.

Game 81: DET 7- MIN 2

Thames and Maggs go deep, and Grandy drives in 4 runs to give us a sweep over the struggling Twins. Galarraga pitches 6 innings of 3 hit, 1 run ball and Seay and Zumaya proceed to finish it off.

Game 82: DET 1 - KC 0

Each team had 4 hits, but Inge had the RBI double in the bottom of 7 to put us over the hump and pull out another nice win. Jackson goes 7 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 6 K for the win, and Capps closes the door in the 9th for his 23rd save.

Game 83: DET 11 - KC 3

We had 19 hits with multiple guys knocking in 2 runs and Porcello rolls yet again. This is one of the hottest streaks I've had in a dynasty ever in the Show, and it's being lead by unreal starting pitching.

Game 84: DET 11 - KC 2

Miggy homers twice, and Magglio and Thames also go yard to give us yet another win. We're straight up mashing the ball now, and all our pitchers are pitching great. Plus Brandon Lyon is off the DL to make our pen that much better.

Game 85: CLE 9 - DET 7

We lose a tough one in 13 innings. Verlander got knocked around for 5 ER in 6ns, but then Seay and Zumaya also gave up 2 runs each and we couldn't make the most of our chances. Cleveland is holding strong in second so this is a big series.

Game 86: DET 7 - CLE 1

Grandy homers and knocks in 5 and Galarraga continues his impressive run with 7.1 IP of shutout ball only allowing 6 hits. Polanco was banged up going into today and will miss tomorrow as well but Sizemore filling in had 3 hits. A nice bonus to be sure.

Game 87: DET 9 - CLE 7

Thames homers again and drives in 3. Plus Adam Everett drives in 3 and Miggy has 2 RBI to give us a nice 9-7 win and a series win over the indians. The pen would only allow 1 ER in 6.2 innings of work as Edwin Jackson was yanked early but we hold tough for maybe our biggest win all season.

[DeToxRox]

2009 All Star Game

AL Starters

1. CF Grady Sizemore
2. SS Derek Jeter
3. LF Matt Holliday
4. 3B Alex Rodriguez
5. 1B Mark Teixeira
6. 2B Ian Kinsler
7. C Jorge Posada
8. RF Nick Markakis
9. SP Justin Verlander

Bench

C Kenji Johjima
C Jason Varitek
1B Billy Butler
2B Placido Polanco
3B Evan Longoria
SS Orlando Cabrera
1B Travis Hafner
1B Justin Morneau
RF Josh Hamilton
CF BJ Upton
CF Curtis Granderson
CF Vernon Well

Pitchers

SP Cliff Lee
SP Francisco Liriano
SP James Shields
SP Roy Halladay
RP Jose Arredondo
RP Brandon Morrow
RP Frank Francisco
RP Kerry Wood
RP Brian Fuentes
RP Bobby Jenks
RP Joe Nathan

[DeToxRox]

NL Starters

1. SS Jose Reyes
2. C Brian McCann
3. 1B Albert Pujols
4. LF Ryan Braun
5. CF Carlos Lee
6. 3B David Wright
7. RF Milton BRadley
8. 2B Kelly Johnson
9. SP Cole Hamels

Bench

CF Carlos Beltran
C Russel Martin
C Chris Ianneta
1B Adrian Gonzalez
2B Dan Uggla
3B Ryan Zimmerman
SS Jack Wilson
1B Joey Votto
SS Jimmy Rollins
LF Raul Ibanez
RF Corey Hart
LF Chris Duncan

Pitchers

SP Dan Haren
SP Carlos Zambrano
SP Adam Wainwright
SP Tim Lincecum
RP Chris Simpson
RP Ryan Franklin
RP Brian Wilson
RP Fernando Rodney
RP Heath Bell
RP Mike Gonzalez
RP Chad Qualls

[DeToxRox]

NL 5 - AL 1

Carlos Lee wins MVP with 2 HR and 4 RBI as the NL remarkably roughs up Verlander for 2 ER and Halladay for 3 ER to do all their damage. Those are the two best pitchers in the bigs right now so that was surprising.

The NL now has home field advantage in the World Series.

[DeToxRox]

Game 88: NYY 8 - DET 5

Miggy had a HR and Magglio drove in 4, but Bobby Seay gave up 3 ER in the 8th and the Yanks prevail in our first post ASG game. Porcello was not very good with 5 ER in 5.2 IP but it's his first meh start in a while so it's forgivable. Now we need to get ready for more tough games because our post ASG schedule is a lot tougher then the pre ASG one.

[DeToxRox]

Game 89: Detroit Tiger (53-36) @ New York Yankees (58-34)
Jeremy Bonderman (9-5, 3.86) vs Joba Chamberlain (6-6, 4.32)

Bondo and Zumaya gave up 7 ER in 7.2 IP to a hugely improved Yankees lineup (They added Dye and Chris Davis) and we couldn't solve Joba. The game turned in the third when Bondo was rolling but then served up a 3 run bomb to Jeter.

Our offense was too late to matter.

Not a good start to the second half.

[DeToxRox]

Trade Roundup

After realizing I missed a few deals I will do a roundup for now to catch up.

New York Yankees Acquire: 1B Chris Davis and RP Brandon League
Texas Rangers Acquire: Damaso Marte and Chien-Ming Wang

Trade Outlook: Texas had offense to spare, and Wang didn't fit in with the Yanks anymore. Still, Davis is a tremendous young power hitter who fits into the middle of a lethal Yanks lineup. I'd say the Yanks won this one.


New York Yanks send: OF Austin Jackson
Chicago White Sox send: OF Jermaine Dye

Trade Outlook: A good deal for both teams. Dye is older and going to be a FA soon, and Jackson is potential All Star CF to come in and be a contributor to a rebuilding White Sox organization. I'd say this one is very much a good deal all around.


Anaheim Angels send: OF Juan Rivera
Colorado Rockies send: RP Houston Street

Trade Outlook: Anaheim could afford to move Rivera with a glut of OF'ers plus adding Victor Martinez takes up the DH AB's from Rivera. Colorado needs some bats and Street is going to be a FA. Anaheim wins this deal but not by much.


Chicago Cubs send: RP Jeff Samardzjia to the Giants
San Francisco Giants send: Buster Posey to the Nationals
Washington Nationals send: RP Logan Kensing to the Cubs

A not real three team trade that I am writing up as such as Posey was acquired days later for Kensing. This is a weird one. Kensing is a better RP now but Samardjzia is going to be a stud closer. Trading Posey makes no sense at first but they get a stud young RP who can help them now as they go for the NL West. This is a great deal for the Nats getting Posey but it's hard to say any team truly lost.


Chicago Cubs send: 3B Josh Vitters
Seattle Mariners send: RP Trever Miller

Trade Outlook: Vitters is a good young 3B prospect but he is blocked by Aramis Ramirez. Meanwhile Miller adds another strong arm to their bullpen. The Cubs are loading up for a World Series run and sacrificing the future for it.

[DeToxRox]

Game 90: DET 11 - NYY 6

Verlander wins #14, but it wasn't very good, giving up 6 ER in 5 innings. Thankfully Miggy had 3 hits, including a HR and 3 RBI, and Inge and Magglio also mashed out long balls to give us the run support to survive. Also to be noted is Turnbow, Seay and Perry came up back in the last 4 innings only allowing 4 hits and not walking anyone.

Game 91: DET 6 - SEA 1

Grandy hits a HR and Galaragga has another great starting, allowing just 3 hits and 1 ER for the Complete Game win. Our offense is picking it up and maybe, just maybe, our pitching is following suit,

Game 92: DET 5 - SEA 0

The pen gets another rest as Edwin Jackson pitches a CG shutout, allowing 7 hits and walking none for his 9th win. Marcus Thames hits a 2 run HR and Miggy triples and drives in a run to give us more then enough run support to beat the hapless Mariners.

Game 93: SEA 3 - DET 2

Porcello goes 7 IP, allowing 6 H and 1 ER but Turnbow can't shut the door and Seattle drives in two off of him to escape town with a 3-2 win. Miggy and Grandy had our RBI's but eventually other guys have to pick it up, like Pierre, Inge and Laird if we want a deep run.

Game 94: CHW 6 - DET 2

Bonderman gives up 6 runs on 10 hits in just 1.1 IP, but Lopez goes 4.2 IP of 1 hit ball, and Seay goes 3 IP of 3 hit ball to mitigate the damage. Sadly we'd only get solo HR's from Miggy and Thames and we fall in a tough one 6-2.

[DeToxRox]

Game 95: CHW 2 - DET 1

Played this one but it didn't save when I posted it. We lost in the 10th. Verlander went 9 strong but we couldn't score runs for him and then in the 10th Ryan Perry gave up a solo HR to Thome who took it oppo field. Miggy had 3 hits and an RBI but the offense is still a bit too stagnant for me.

Game 96: DET 6 - CHW 5

We have another extra inning game, but this time we get the win on a walkoff HR from Matt Treanor of all people. Grandy also went yard and Galarraga pitched well but giving up 5 runs, 4 of which were unearned after a Getz grandslam. The bad news from this game is Marcus Thames who has been mashing broke his hand and is out at least two months.

Game 97: TEX 4 - DET 3

We go 18 innings getting 3 hits and 2 RBI from Granderson, but that was our only notable offense contribution and that won't cut it. Turnbow pitched 4 perfect innings of relief and Brandon Lyon added 3.2 IP of 2 hit ball as well, but we just couldn't get it done.

Game 98: DET 5 - TEX 1

Porcello pitches 6 IP of 1 run ball, and then in the 8th Granderson hits a 3 run HR and we add another run in the 9th to give us the 5-1 win. Zumaya pitched 3 IP of 1 H ball in relief. We're getting good pen contributions now but our offense needs some help.

Game 99: TEX 7 - DET 5

Grandy homers again, but Josh Hamilton has 5 RBI and Bondo is chased after 4.1 IP. Lopez goes 3.2 IP of scoreless relief but sadly by that point it was just too far gone. We're for sure looking at the trade market because we need some help badly.

Game 100: CLE 6 - DET 4

Verlander goes 6 IP and gives up 4 to leave in a tie game but Turnbow blew the game and we go down 6-4 to Cleveland who is now just 1 game back in a crucial series. Bill Hall had a bases loaded walk for an RBI in his debut but was 0-4 besides that.

[DeToxRox]

Tigers - Brewers Trade

In an effort to bolster their offense with the injury to Marcus Thames, the Tigers have traded Josh Anderson, Zach Minor and Dontrelle Willis to the Brewers for 3B Bill Hall.

Hall is a guy capable of playing all over the field but will be the DH for the time being. He can hit for power and has speed which will be a nice benefit for the team.

Miner and Anderson will be contributors to the Brewers and Willis is a wildcard, but to get Anderson, who the Brewers coveted, they had to take on Willis and his salary which they did.

[gi]

Nice trade!

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by gi

Nice trade!

Thanks.

Willis doesn't nearly as much in the game as IRL but he has some ability so it could be a coup for them. Anderson is pretty highly rated but just not needed and Hall can play all over and came over already with 13 HR and 60 RBI. He will be nice for us for sure.