Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right.
Psalm 52:2-4
The HBWHOF loves the knuckleball. That's why I love R.A. Dickey. Dickey threw his 2nd consecutive one-hitter, last night, to lead the Mets to a 5-0 win over the Orioles. The Mets' knuckleball specialist threw a complete game, walking only 2 and striking out 13. Dickey leads the majors with an 11-1 record.
Just like I said, the Tigers took 2-out-of-3 from the Rockies. The David Bowie of baseball, Strikeout Commando, Max Scherzer threw 8 innings of shutout ball, didn't allow a walk and fired 12 Ks. Scherzer has struck out at least 9 batters six times this season, most in the majors. Quintin Berry went 5-for-5. Next up: Cards and Pirates.
My wife and two girlfriends hit The Copa yesterday for the ballgame. It was the 1st Annual Ladies Night at Comerica Park. 300 women sat in the upper deck, section 333, to watch the game. After the last out, the girls headed upstairs to the Tiger Club for a drink, some sushi, makeovers, a gift bag and photos with Joaquin Benoit and Phil Coke. Mrs. HBWHOF and her posse didn't even make it to their seats. They met some cat at The Ellwood whose wife was passed-out in their hotel room from too many libations. Their newfound friend had seasons tickets behind home plate and the girls enjoyed the game from that vantage point. By the time my wife got her photo opportunity with Phil Coke, she was pretty buzzed and the resulting pic - too hilarious to post on this blog - has her laughing her ass off and Coke smirking like the Cheshire Cat. They ended up at The Old Shillelagh. Needless to say they had fun.
Doug Fister pitched 6 shutout innings in his return from the disabled list. Miguel Cabrera hit a solo homer and also scored on what manager Jim Leyland described as "a little league home run." Cabrera led off the fifth with a comebacker to Rockies' starter Christian Friedrich. Friedrich knocked it down - then threw wildly - way past first base. Catcher Wilin Rosario, second baseman Chris Nelson and right fielder Michael Cuddyer chased down the ball. Meanwhile, Cabrera ran, standing, to third base. Rosario got to the wayward ball first, but threw past pitcher Christian Friedrich who, by now, was covering third base - and Cabrera ran home. Fister, Coke and Benoit combined to give Detroit a 4-1 victory.
Jose Valverde, there are no words to describe your pathetic performance last night. One out in the 10th inning. The Big Potato fields a sacrifice bunt. He can throw to second base and, easily, eliminate the lead runner - Michael Cuddyer. Instead, Papa Grande decides to toss a sky-hook to first that put Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to shame. The throw was so bad that it was impossible for Prince Fielder to keep a foot on the bag and catch the ball. A real rainbow. The Gateway Arch in St. Louis was the baby brother of the throw Valverde tossed to Fielder. Before the Valverde aberration the score was tied 4-4. After the blunder - Colorado scored 8 runs - 6 against the Big Potato - ending with back-to-back jacks by Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer off Tigers' reliever Luis Marte. Hey Detroit, Taste the Rainbow...
Despite Tigers' fans bitching about virtually everything - Jhonny Peralta, Ryan Raburn, Quintin Berry, Delmon Young, the umpires, the Wrigley Field grass, etc..etc..etc..the Tigers managed to perform quite adequately in interleague play. Detroit took 2-out-of-3 from both the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs.
I fully expect them to continue this pattern against the Colorado Rockies.
Geez, people lighten-up...
This has nothing to do with baseball. I just really like this picture.
On Sunday night, the ESPN boys - Dan Shulman, Terry Francona & Orel Hershiser - were spewing superlatives whenever the name of Reds' closer Aroldis Chapman was mentioned. According to the guys Chapman was the Second Coming of Koufax. Not even close. The cat who supposedly launched Cuban missles off the mound came into the game with two on in the 8th inning and a 6-3 Cincinnati lead. Here's how Chapman fared: Brennan Boesch singled, he hit Matt Young with a pitch, Austin Jackson hit a 2-run double, he walked Quintin Berry, then he threw a wild pitch that made the score 7-6 Tigers. Then, with the Big Guns coming to the plate, he settled down. Cabrera grounded out, Fielder struck out and Delmon Young grounded out. Prior to Sunday night, Aroldis Chapman had allowed 1 earned run over 30 innings - his ERA was 0.30. Chapman pitched 1 inning against the Tigers. He allowed 2 earned runs. His ERA was 18.00. So much for the 105 MPH fastball...
Tigers starter Drew Smyly pitched 3 innings, allowed 4 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3 batters. He left, trailing 3-1, with a blister on the middle finger on his pitching hand. Today, he posted a picture of the affliction on Twitter...
Once, again, no win for Justin Verlander. Cincinnati batters took JV into deep counts and made him earn every out. Verlander lasted 6 innings. He threw 127 pitches, allowed 6 hits, 3 walks and 9 Ks. Prince Fielder hit a homer and drove in the winning run in a 3-2 Tigers' victory over the Reds. Brayan Villarreal got the 'W'. The Big Potato pitched the 9th for his 11th save.
A lot of Detroit fans made the trip to Cinci - they were scattered all over the park. The attendance was announced as 42,443, the largest non-Opening Day, regular-season crowd in the 10-year history of Great American Ball Park.
On Friday night, the Nats gave the Red Sox a facewash from the fountain of youth. Stephen Strasburg struck out 13 in six innings and Bryce Harper homered and notched 3 RBIs. The Washington Nationals beat the Boston Red Sox 7-4.
Try to fight it but I'm telling you Jack Its true - this - Opposites Attract...
The Seattle Mariners used 6 pitchers to no-hit the Dodgers 1-0. Starter Kevin Millwood pitched 6 no-hit innings before pulling his groin on his first warmup pitch to begin the 7th. Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League and Tom Wilhelmsen came out of the bullpen to keep the party going.
The Tigers are visiting the Great American Ball Park to take on the Cincinnati Redlegs. Someone will be looking down on this ballgame.
Man, I don't watch much National League baseball. I pretty much stick to the Red Sox and Tigers' games. So, I'm pretty impressed by the mad skills possessed by Reds' first baseman Joey Votto. Tonight's game is only 5 innings old and already Votto has gone 3-for-3 with a homer and 3 RBIs and displayed remarkable baserunning smarts on a play where he stutterstepped into 2nd base, rather than sliding, so that Ramon Santiago couldn't execute the tag. Impressive.
Well, kids, the Tigers sidestepped the sweep. Detroit beat Cleveland 7-5 this afternoon. Miguel Cabrera homered and Brennan Boesch, finally, had a couple hits. Yippie ki-yay, mofo.
I'm declaring Kate Upton this week's RACK-OFF! champion. It's no contest. Here are a few recently-released stills from her Beach Bunny Swimwear Photoshoot. I know I don't need to remind you - but Kate's undefeated...
The winner of last week's RACK-OFF! - Battle of Babes with a Garden Hose was Rosie Jones who received 75% of the vote to leave Jenny McCarthy all wet. It's a win-win situation!
Newsflash: The Tigers' offence is anemic. (Just as I wrote that, 98 lb. super-utility man, Don Kelly hit a homer!) I just watched former Tiger - soon-to-be 3,000 hits guy - Johnny Damon rob Prince Fielder of a home run with a spectacular catch at the wall. The Tigers aren't hitting. They're stranding runners like crazy. They're not getting any breaks. Catcher Alex Avila went on the 15-day disabled list with a right hamstring strain. Detroit brought catcher Bryan Holaday up from Triple-A Toledo and designated catcher Omir Santos for assignment. Avila joins Austin Jackson (abdominal strain), Andy Dirks (right Achilles' tendinitis) and Doug Fister (left side strain) on the DL. Miggy, Prince and Quintin Berry are hitting. They need V-Mart back. I'm lovin' V-Mart's new 'fro by the way...
The Tigers have today off. Detroit sits in third place, 3 1/2 games behind Cleveland and 6 games behind first-place Chicago in the AL Central. Tomorrow they host the Cleveland Indians for the first of a 3-game series. After that, the next 15 games are interleague matchups against the Reds, Cubs, Rockies, Cardinals and Pirates. The Tigers HAVE to start winning. I'm putting these pictures up for my wife. She LOVES Maggs. Magglio Ordonez officially announced his retirement on Sunday. The recently retiredNicklas Lidstrom & Magglio Ordonez
Good morning. I'm sitting with my daughters, watching the flotilla of 1,000 boats travelling along the River Thames to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth. It's very impressive. Kate looks HOT - like always. Here, in Ottawa, Parliament Hill is decorated with these banners...
Man, the British know how to do it up. It's pretty cool to watch.
On Saturday night, the Tigers squeaked-out a win - defeating the Yankees 4-3. Miguel Cabrera smashed two homers that measured over 430 feet. The Big Potato pretty-much sucked, Valverde hit 2 batters and walked 2 in the 9th, allowing the Yankees to tie the game after Cabrera's homer in the 8th gave Detroit a 3-2 lead. Then, catcher Omir Santos completely missed a popup in foul territory for an error that kept the Yankees alive! Santos made 2 errors and allowed 5 stolen bases - but redeemed himself by hitting a fly ball with the bases loaded in the 9th that scored Brennan Boesch and won the game for Detroit.
Sorry for being tardy with the update today. I had an 8-hour drive in biblical rains until I reached my final destination - Ottawa. So, after the Tigers, finally, won a game against the Red Sox, they followed it up by losing to the Yankees 9-4. Former Motown favourite Curtis Granderson hit a grand slam into the Comerica Park bleachers. A-Rod hit a 2-run dinger too. Lefty Casey Crosby was called-up from Triple-A Toledo to start in place of the injured Doug Fister. In his big league debut Crosby pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowed 4 hits, 6 runs, 4 walks and added 3 Ks. He took the loss. Not good.
The New York Mets have been around since 1962. Tonight, Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in Mets' history. And, even better, he did it against the Cardinals. Santana threw a career-high 134 pitches with 5 walks and 8 Ks. Think about that for a moment - the Mets' first No-No. A team that had Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, Tug McGraw, David Cone and Pedro Martinez on the mound...
The injury-riddled Red Sox keep gettin' it done. The Large Father, YOOUUUK and Will Middlebrooks all went DEEP and Adrian Gonzalez hit a pair of doubles to push Boston to a 6-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Late in the game Detroit DH Gerald Laird sent a ball looping into the outfield and Boston outfielder Marlon Byrd made a diving catch to rob him of a hit. Television cameras caught Laird yelling, "You're not that good" in Byrd's direction. What a douche! Laird's pathetic. I love the Tigers, but just the fact that you have Gerald Laird in your lineup as a DH shows how very desperate you are...these guys are missing Victor Martinez in a big, bad way!!! Marlon Byrd's diving catch to rob Gerald Laird in the 8th inning...
It should be a good one tonight. Max Scherzer vs Josh Beckett. I think Scherzer has been the best Tiger thus far. The dude's already got 72 Ks. Too bad he can't get a little run support.
The Detroit Tigers couldn't even win with Justin Verlander on the hill. The day began with messages of "Happy Verlander Day" on Twitter. Tigers' fans celebrate a Verlander start as a certain win. It didn't happen. After a swinging strike on a 99 mph fastball, Verlander shook off Alex Avila and threw a 100 mph heater...Red Sox outfielder Daniel Nava was waiting on the cheese and, with the bases loaded, hit a 3-run double. Verlander lasted 6 innings, allowing 10 hits and 5 runs. The Large Father cranked a homer and 2 doubles. The Red Sox beat the Tigers 6-3. After the game, Detroit sent Ryan Raburn to Triple-A Toledo. Inge is gone. Raburn is gone. Who's the next whipping-boy Tigers' fans? I'm thinking probably Brennan Boesch.
Sunday will be Magglio Ordóñez Day at Comerica Park. Ordóñez will announce his retirement during a pre-game ceremony. Maggs played 15 seasons with the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. He hit 295 home runs and 1,236 RBIs while maintaining a .309 average. In 2006, Magglio cranked 24 homers and 104 RBIs and hit one of the most memorable homers in Detroit Tigers' history. Maggs homered off Oakland's Huston Street in Game 4 of the 2006 AL Championship Series to send the Tigers to their first World Series since 1984.
In 2007, Ordóñez became the Tigers' first batting champion in 46 years (Norm Cash in 1961), batting .363 with a league-high 54 doubles as well as 28 home runs and 139 RBIs. Two fractures of his right ankle, and the resulting surgery, ended Magglio's career. So, the two players that returned the Detroit Tigers to glory have retired this season - Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio Ordóñez.
Man, the Tigers have their hands full in the AL Central. The Chicago White Sox are tearin' it up! On Memorial Day, the White Sox beat the Rays 2-1. Chicago starter Chris Sale went 7 1/3 innings, allowed 3 hits, 1 run, 2 walks and notched 15 Ks! Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer. Remember Dunn's flop-of-a-season last year, when he hit 11 home runs, 42 RBIs and had a .159 batting average - the most unproductive season of his career? Well this year he's already hit 16 dingers and driven in 37 runs. Paul Konerko is hitting .395 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs. Over the past 10 games, Konerko hit .639 with 5 dingers and 14 RBIs! The White Sox have won their last 6 straight and sit 1/2 game behind the Indians in the battle for 1st-place in the AL Central. Adam Dunn with the bad-ass bat flip...
The Red Sox beat the Tigers 7-4 on Monday. Detroit skipper Jim Leyland and third-base coach Gene Lamont were ejected after arguing a blown call by the umpires. Boston had 13 hits, lighting-up Doug Fister for 11 hits in the first 5 innings. Jarrod Saltalamacchia went DEEP for Boston. Delmon Young, Jhonny Peralta and Gerald Laird went YARD for Detroit.
On Sunday, the Tigers beat the Twins 4-3 to complete a 3-game sweep of Minnesota. Miguel Cabrera hit a 2-run homer to win the game for the Tigers. Before you get too carried away, Detroit left 10 men on base...and this was the Twins - the bottom-feeders in the AL Central. Today, the Tigers begin a 4-game series against the Red Sox in Fenway.
The Chicago Cubs have lost 12 in-a-row! The franchise record is 14 straight. Can they do it?
