Does Porcello know the Heimlich Maneuver?

So here we are. A one game playoff in the Metro Dome. Seriously, the Homerdome. This is a nightmare and Jason Kubel’s fat ass is Freddy Krueger.

Remember how I ended the first blog that I wrote in here, exclaiming how exuberant I was to be out of the dome for good?

Of course , that cant happen though, not with the softest franchise in the American League.

We need to think about 2006 in this situation. Some pundits, such as my co-host Neal Ruhl, believe the Tigers tanked the end of ’06 because they had a playoff spot locked up. No, I don’t buy that at all, especially since the Tigers had the option of playing the Yankees who owned them at the time, or home field advantage against a weak Oakland team. They did not tank that series for lack of urgency. Bonderman started the final game, with Kenny Rogers coming in as a reliever. Detroit was trying to win the division that season. The same core of players who choked then are choking now.

I also would like to examine the 2006 playoffs.

The biggest thing the Tigers did was find some momentum and catch the Yankees off guard. A Yankees team which looking back wasn’t that impressive. Leyland dubbed them “Murderers row and Cano” when really they were a team with Gary Sheffield playing first base, Sal Fassano catching and the likes of Corey Liddle (RIP), then the washed up arms of Mike Mussina and Jaret Wright. They were team with a thin shell that good pitching was able to crack.

The Oakland Atheletics were a figment of your imagination that season. My real theory is that both Minnesota and Oakland stopped playing baseball on October 1st that year, then Major League Baseball simulated an upset for the A’s adding a little intrigue, and providing an easier victim for the Yankees. When the Tigers stunned the Yankees, Eric Chavez and co. were asked to return from their vacations and play the series, leaving an already crappy team off guard.

Really, the St.Louis Cardinals provided the chance to actually win something for the Tigers. There is a finality to winning a division, there is a finality to winning a World Series. Like someone scared of death, I believe the Tigers were scared of winning that series.
The Cardinals caught a few breaks, especially in Game 4 which I still contend St.Louis was aided by Christopher Lloyd and “The Angels in the Outfield”, but in every game the Tigers committed costly errors. Actually the Tigers set a record for World Series errors with eight, rendering many to say that it was one of the worst World Series displays in it’s 122 year history.
When I think of the Tigers small potatoes I think of game 5, what could had been a swing game, when the Cardinals scored the tying run in the 4th inning on Justin Verlander misplaying a bunt. Tigers misplayed bunts in back to back games.
The Cardinals were a bad team that barely made the playoffs. They got to the World Series by upsetting the Mets, another soft, soft , soooooffffft franchise. The Tigers easily swept the regular season series against St.Louis. The same core of players who choked then are choking now.

There was also 2007 where the Tigers were in first place majority of the season. If you recall, they went 11-18 in August. They hung around first until a mid September series with the first place Cleveland Indians, where they were swept, blowing late leads in two out of the three games. The same core of players who choked then are choking now.

Three game lead with four games to go? Why the hell did any of us believe this team would show some intestinal fortitude and finish this off. Even I fell for it and this was with everything I just typed ahead of this in the back of my mind. This isn’t a winning group of players. We have seen some impressive clutch individual performances but as a whole, this team has consistently failed with a lot on the line.

But you have to play the game right? So maybe the Tigers will be on the other side of a choke for once. While I do not believe Detroit will win, I can see a way how.

Scott Baker has been roughed up by the Tigers all season long. Even in his last appearance he was chased after only five innings. They worked him and were patient but their softness wouldn’t allow them to punch Baker through the ropes. Baker has allowed a .333 batting average , .380 batting average with ball in play, .379 on base percentage, and an startling .879 ops against the Tigers. While Polanco’s career numbers against Baker are not that good, the big hit seems to knock Baker out and we all know he’s capable. I don’t mean to be slappy and rest all my hopes on Polanco magically doing something against a pitcher he normally struggles against but Placido went 0-5 the last game. Polanco doesn’t go 0-9.
This my ideal line up….

Raburn DH
Polanco 2B
Maggs RF
CABRERA 1B
Granderson CF
Inge 3B
Guillen LF
Laird C
Santiago SS

This isn’t how the lineup will be at all. As weird as it is, I really think Leyland will play the match up game and get Thames in there at DH against Baker and bring his boyfriend Guillen in off the bench late. I’m all for playing Santiago over Everett to score some early runs but late in the game you get Everett, and his defense/sac bunting skillz in the game. One thing you have to remember, is that with Porcello on the mound, Santiago is probably going to be seeing the Homerdome hop multiple times. That alone may keep him out of the lineup completely in favor of Cool Hand Everett.

You can flip flop Raburn and Granderson at lead off which will be likely but you have to get Raburn in the game. I would rather DH him because of his awful defense. Combine that with the Homerdome and it’s asking for trouble. But at this point I guess there isn’t too big of a discrepancy between him and Guillen defensively.

I’ll address Cabrera in a couple minutes.

Porcello scares me in this match up. True he’s pitched well on the surface but he relies on the ground ball and getting some big outs. That’s tough to do in the Homerdome. What concerns me most is that the Twins hit the ball very hard against him in his last start. Thankfully for Porcello, they were hitting the ball directly to Tigers, but I’m sure many of them had sore glove hands at the end of the day. Those balls didn’t carry so well because it was a cold, windy afternoon. The ball carries in a different way in a temperature controlled dome, it carries better.

Some believe him coming off a week rest is a good thing, I think it’s a bad thing. On six plus days rest, he has his highest batting average against with .293, .511 slugging and a crazy .827 ops allowed. These numbers are substantially higher than when he gets an average four or five days rest. The only totals that are better is his strikeout to walk ratio. Finally, Porcello has lost both decisions in his two starts at the Homerdome. If he pitches the Tigers to a win in this game, I will build a statue of him on my front lawn.

This match up is almost a push in starters, and the bullpen favors the Tigers, (especially Joe Nathan who has been hit hard recently), but everything else favors the Twins.

It makes no sense but this team has been better minus Morneau, Crede and Slowey. The Twins defy all baseball logic. Maybe tonight all baseball logic will be defied again but in the Tigers favor. Then again this is the same core of players who choked then and have been choking now.

As far as Cabrera, what can I really say. What he did was indefensible. It’s fine if he wants to go out and have a few too many in April or May but not at this critical time of year. He’s too important to this team and he needs to fuel this stagnant offense. That is the same reason why you have to hold off punishing him and play him tonight. Without question he will be in the line up and you need him there. This isn’t defending what he did, this is the reality of today’s game. If Ramon Santiago did this, he would be told to stay home, but this is your best player, you have to ride in a game this big with your best player. Unfortunately that was probably in the back of Cabrera’s mind those nights he hit the booze as hard as he hit’s the ball.

I do believe the Tigers should get an honest gauge on how often he binge drinks and whether this is a problem. The Tigers need to make Cabrera a cornerstone of this franchise, he has that potential. Rehabilitate and educate him to straighten out. This will fall on the organization in the off season but Dave Dumbrowski and Jim Leyland were in no way at fault in this matter. It’s not their job to baby sit a 26 year old man off the field. Aparently it is D.D’s job to pick him up from jail at 7:30 in the morning.

Tonight is a night of redemption for the Tigers if they want it to be. They played themselves into this situation. On the surface it appears that everything is falling apart in an astonishing and embarrassing fashion. Leyland can redeem himself for not playing Polanco last Thursday, Cabrera can redeem himself on the field for this past weekend, the team as a whole can redeem themselves for almost failing. They can shock the world tonight. How poetic would it be for baseball (not for the Twins) if the Tigers finish off the Homerdome tonight? It would be beautiful thing.

Unfortunately this is the same core of players who choked then that are going to suffocate tonight.

The most strenuous circle

A 27 hour journey through an unstable Tigers fan mind.

Have you ever sat in the 200 section at Comerica Park on a cold night? I’m guessing you have. I’ve sat up there many times before. Monday night was the worst weather I have ever been in. Despite being in the covered area of 231, the horizontal rain made sure we couldn’t find solace in a 22 dollar ticket. Turn the water to cold and stand in front of the shower head, that’ll give you an idea of Monday night. Umbrellas weren’t even enough for comfort as the 50 mph wind gust blew a sorry fans protection out of her hands and barreling across rows of empty seats.

After the rousing speech from Sparky Anderson, I went to the Tigers Re-tail center in the food court. While debating buying a 10 dollar Edgar Renteria jersey t-shirt, I overheard the game had been called after only a half hour delay.

Immediately my head spun. I went into all the different scenarios. Does Verlander get bumped up to the first game? Does Bonine get bumped and Robertson and Jackson get moved up? Does Laird catch both games? How does this affect Seay and the bullpen? All the questions filled my head, made me a little dizzy, and it sent me into the realization that tomorrow would present a situation not often seen. A double header in what is practically the playoffs.

I woke up at 10 am. Put on multiple layers of clothing, which I failed to do the night before. Among the layers of clothing was a pair of pajama pants under my jeans.

I’m a superstitious guy. This is to a fault. Many times I have made sacrifices and done peculiar things for the sake of superstition. For instance, I’ll throw my Tigers hat up on the roof if they’re in a slump. Surprisingly, I’ve only felt concerned enough to do that once (following the 9 to 7 loss against the Blue Jays September 12th) this season. Fat chicks be damned, this will serve as a slump buster. Also stored in my head are split stats of their record in what games I’ve been to.

Example:Tigers 2009 record:
When sitting in Centerfield- 5-0
Upper deck- 5-2
Right field corner- 3-0
Left field corner- 1-0
When parking in Greektown- 2-0
When eating before the game- 4-0
When tipping the “Eat Em up Tigers” Guy- 6-1
When wearing my Tigers vintage Starter jacket- 1-2
When wearing my blue and orange Nike Air Force 2’s- 10-2
When attending Saturday night games- 3-1
When tickets are purchased by someone else- 3-0

…..this goes on and on. I have been keeping track of these numbers in my head for the past six years. The control freak/competitor/crazy in me somewhat believes that this could effect the outcome. We all know it’s outlandish but it’s a silly way to connect you to the game.

With my split stats in mind, the ideal situation for me to watch a game would be for me to park in Greektown, eat before the game, sit in the centerfield bleachers, tip the ‘Eat Em Up’ his booze money, while wearing my blue and orange Nikes and have my friend buy the ticket for me.

With this crucial game out of mind, in place the weather and lack of money, I broke two superstitions’. I wore my Tigers jacket, and remember those PJ’s? I hadn’t worn them this year because lifetime, the Tigers are 0-4 when I wear pajamas or sweat pants under my jeans. Guess I was applying logic over my own delusions.

Merging onto 696 enroute to Comerica Park , I said to my friend,

“Were going to lose, I’m wearing PJ’s underneath my jeans.”

He laughed.

In retrospect the Tigers would had won the first game, if I had just taken the extra step and changed out of them.

Or maybe the Tigers would had won, if they not went 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position and been out hit 11 to 7. If Jim Leyland would have pinch hit Magglio in multiple late game situations, most notably for Santiago in the ninth with Ramirez on second and two outs (yeah, yeah I know Ramon drilled that ball). The ‘Peoples Champion’ Brandon Lyon throwing two wild pitches in the 10th obviously didn’t bode well either. Still, with all that, they had their chances. Porcello was hit especially hard, left in two batters too long, but he was effective.

The thunderous roar from a small yet devoted crowd was effective for me. All year long I had been searching for a crowd to remind me that the Tigers were in a pennant race. I wasn’t expecting much. Rain had shut down what would had been a playoff type crowd, official attendance over 35,000. But a solid group of around 20,000, took off work, skipped school or didn’t have anything better to do.

First signs of life was when Rick Porcello faced Delmon Young with two outs in the sixth inning. For the first time in the 14 games I’ve been at this season, cheers grew organically. Fans stood up and applauded without the score boards telling them to. I was moved. Finally a pulse in this alleged baseball city. Porcello got Young to ground out and the crowd of around 20,000 made more noise than any crowds of 40,000 made all last season. The loudest movement struck when Nick Punto bunted into double play, stymieing a lead off double by Alexi Casilla. Jubilation swallowed the poetic baseball justice of the moment.

With plenty of creators for ambience to wander, my ears were ringing at a Tigers game for the first time in three years. In corny yet appropriate fashion, “Eye of the Tiger” began to play; everyone was still standing and screaming. It was on.

Soon it was off.

Brandon Lyon has not looked too well as of late. I believe he’s simply coming back down to earth after an impressive three month run. The lead off double by the .196 hitting Casilla signaled trouble to me. My intuition was right and all those calling for him to replace Rodney were proven wrong. A feeling of frustration but also vindication came over me as I watched Span scamper to third base. The silence didn’t tell the story as much as the stunned faces around me. As I’ve been known to do from time to time, I stand and yell at the sections around me. This will one day get me beat up, but no one will touch me when they know I’m right. When they hear me yell,

“THIS IS WHO YOU WANTED OVER RODNEY. IN YOUR IDEAL WORLD, THIS IS YOUR CLOSER!”

Some looked back at me with blank stares, likely thinking that I’m more insane than I actually am. Really, I just like letting people know when I’m right. It feeds my ego.

A little hope glimmered with Granderson’s lead off homerun. My hope was channeled through Nathan hanging almost every pitch and Polanco also hitting the ball hard for what I thought was going to drop in. Then Miguel Cabrera with one meager swing of the bat, weakly grounded out to third, saving a rattled, vulnerable pitcher.

Way to be a leader Miggy. Well that’s ok; it’s not your fault, its mine for wearing the pajamas under my jeans. 0-5.

While it was an awful played game by both teams, it was entertaining. This game brought the intensity that I had been searching for. It also brought out the beauty of sports and how fragile the emotional complex is.

Tiger fans have matched the mentality of the team this whole season; At times, there’s seemingly been apathy. Other times confidence and comfort. Then there’s been the disdain and hopelessness. Not only the team, but the entire fan base needs to be medicated.

The fans would intrigue me on this day; the reactions, moods and opinions. With all that was on the line and everything that could change in 10 hours, this had to be monitored.
On the way home, I listened to multiple sports talk radio stations. The callers for both were gloomy. The hosts for both were gloomier. Game by game this fan base has waffled, today the batter would be overflowing.

I called Neal, my dad and my girlfriend. Turned to my friend on the way home and to each of them I declared that the Tigers will win the second game. They’ll win an unassumingly good match up on Thursday, splitting to all but lock up the division.

I had class in the evening, I didn’t go. No offense to ESPN Gamecast but that would not had served me well for a game of this magnitude. Yes I was confident, but you never know, that’s why you watch.

Finally resting on the couch after nervously wasting three hours, I settled in. I watched Verlander pitch some of his best innings of the season through five. In the mean time I had also witnessed Miggy hitting a no-doubter that left me scratching my head to why he couldn’t get a better at bat against Nathan, earlier in the day. Magglio came up with a huge two run double that further instilled my belief that he’s earned back at bats against righties.
The Tigers are up 5-2 but it’s the Twins, this is the Tigers, this is the Twins facing the Tigers. It’s never that easy. Verlander walks out for the eight inning after an extremely impressive and efficient seventh. Denard Span hits a bleeder for a single that I knew would cause trouble. This hit caused me to send the following text to Neal…

9:29 pm- “I hope Span gets in a career ending car accident.”

…just a touch irrational. There are moments in games where I’m such a mess,
you’ll catch me declaring, suggesting, and making some very strange and alarming comments. It’s why I probably could never manage past 12 year old little league. After a couple breathes I usually reel it back in. So of course I do not wish that Span suffers a career ending car crash. If he tears his ACL running out a ground ball, that’s a bit different.

Span as usual, lead a charge where the Twins came back to make it a game. Verlander tends to dial it up in his higher pitch counts. In seventh , eight and ninth innings his batting average with ball in play is high but he has 34 strike outs to 10 walks and only seven runs allowed in 21 appearances beyond the sixth inning. His velocity will pick up deep in the pitch counts also.

This night he didn’t have the extra velocity to reach back to. Verlander actually looked tired and while Span and Orlando Cabrera’s hits were weak, it was enough to extend him into vulnerable territory.
My dad was watching the game with me, he left the room. He gave up right as Kubel made it 5 to 4.

I had lost hope at that point also, sending another text to Neal…

9:33 pm- “Seay should had went against Kubel. They’re going to win this fucking thing.”

JV locked in and did just enough to get Cuddyer. The Tigers live through another inning. Verlander’s arm is somehow still attached, throwing 129 pitches, majority of which fastballs in the high 90’s.
I sent out the text…

9:36pm- “though rodney is my boy…I really feel like they have to get another run this inning with how min. keeps coming….”

Curtis Granderson has been the focus of much criticism from me this year. I have grown wrestless with his struggles and apparent regression as a ball player. Thankfully, he appears to be getting his stroke back at the right time. Another late homerun, this one far more meaningful.

Think of how numinous it is when the inning starts off with Delmon Young reaching on a miscue by of all players Polanco.

Normally, when Rodney takes the mound in a save situation, I’m comfortable. Unfortunately for my nerves, that’s trumped by the Twins being at bat with a less than 12 deficit. With the leadoff runner on, my stomach was clinching. I sent out a mass text to the five people I was in touch with…

9:49 pm- “….and it begins….”

This was before Nick Punto, another player who seems to only get big hits against the Tigers came through on another rarely misplayed ball by Granderson. Rodney was doing everything he could to shut it down but like usual the Twins kept getting breaks.

Denard Span comes to bat and I was hoping for that career ending injury again. Maybe he would tear his rotator cuff taking a practice swing. It was bleak. I had to calm myself and remember that Rodney is 35 for 36. While he had already gotten four outs, why the hell couldn’t he get the fifth? F.Rodney set him up, with two change ups and jammed him with a high inside fastball.

The ball landed in Raburn’s glove (with Raburn out there I was holding my breath). I let out a scream that also served as the loudest sigh of relief in my life. My phone was spontaneously blitzed with enough texts to immediately fill my inbox.

The Tigers salvaged themselves and made it an exciting day of baseball that’ll I’ll never forget. The emotional toll it took left me shaking for a few minutes. But I believe the emotional toll will cost both teams. The final text message I sent was the most poignant of the entire day….

10:15 pm- “these 2 teams are taking everything they have out of each other and they didn’t have that much to give in the first place.”

Those two games took almost everything out of me as a fan. But I don’t mind. This is what a pennant race is all about. The Tigers clinched a playoff spot with ease in 2006. A different situation has been presented in 2009, one that last occured when I was only a year old. While it is taxing, it is fun, it’s memorable and it’s something to look back and smile on.

Yesterday was a day that the Tigers and Detroit have not seen and might never see again.

Hope you hated and enjoyed it as much as I did.

“Oh Jorge, you’re a Philly killer like Jeff Conine!”

Everyone gets a little angry when watching the game. We all lose it from time to time, especially me, but that’s just watching the Tigers in general. Like when Ryan Raburn misplays another routine pop fly to left but then Rod Allen gives him credit for being a good outfielder when he makes an off-line throw to Laird to score a “kill.” Or when Adam “Cool Hand” Everett boots another ground ball but Jim Price will be quick to point out he’s leading the league in sacrifice bunts. HE HAS 13!!!! HES SOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!

I never ever lose it when F. Rodney comes in though. 35 for 36 mean’s something. He has been one of the most reliable closers in the game.

I get F. Rodney. He’s a procrastinator. Such as I’ll be “sick” so I can give myself an extra three days to do my homework and still complete it right before class, F. Rodney doesn’t lock in until it really counts. Thursday night was a prime example of what he’s been doing all year. Not bringing it until it counts. Sure Inge made a good diving catch on a hard line-drive, but once again, they were shaking hands with Rodney on the mound.

Bottom line of what Im trying to say; I know you slaps want “The Peoples Champion” Brandon Lyon closing games because he pitched two straight 1-2-3 saves. I know that pleases your short attention spans and poor memories because you drink too much Bud Light. Remember you all wanted to run Lyon out of here in May and how Leyland hated him and only put him in to spite Dumbrowski?

F.Rodney is 35 for 36. Thank him, praise him, or realize the closer role is the most overrated in baseball. While I do believe it takes a certain amount of mental make-up to be a closer, Im inclined to believe that Bobby Seay, Fu-Ti Ni, Brandon Lyon and maybe even Ryan Perry could be closers. But I bet they wouldn’t go 35 for 36.

Brian Fuentes- 7
K Rod- 7
Ronald Belisario- 7
Bobby Jenks- 6
Kerry Wood- 5
Joe Nathan- 5
Ryan Franklin- 5
Brandon Lyon- 3
Mariano Rivera- 2
F. RODNEY- 1

So if the closer role is that important to you, than the bottom line should be the most important. F. Rodney has fewer blown saves than all those big names of closers that Tiger fans all seem to want instead of Rodney. He is the Dominican Todd Jones. Replace the cutter with the change-up (except Jones cutter was never the best in the game. Plus add five mph to the fast ball.) Back off Tiger fans, your closer could be Brad Lidge, who last year didn’t blow a save and won a World Series….

…11 blown saves. Yet I’m sure most Tiger fans carry the same mentality when F.Rodney takes the ball. I’m sure most Tigers fans would take Lidge over Rodney if you put them on the spot.

When Rodney takes the mound, I couldn’t be more comfortable.

December 21st, 1997

We all miss The Silverdome. At least we all should miss the Silverdome. What upsets me is that I was born in 1987 and not 1977. While I can say I’ve had some formative years there, I really have to say that I missed out.

Think about how lucky you are, if you’re say 27 or older. You got to see the Lions win division titles and make the playoffs every other year. You can vividly remember the smell of beer, the sticky floors, the drunken fights and crowd noise so loud, the arena literally shook, every time Barry broke off a 78 yard touchdown. I remember that to an extent. From ’94 on, I have some pretty good memories of the Lions and of going to the Silverdome with my dad. Still, it’s not burned into my mind like Charles Rogers, Shawn Rogers, Mike Williams, Joey Harrington, and the pin drop silence of Ford Field, when Kevin Jones broke his foot going for a touchdown on Thanksgiving Day ‘06.

In a contemporary tense, the Silverdome represents all that was good about the Lions. It may not been much but it was something. Think about it, Wayne Fontes was the best coach we’ve had and going off record you can’t dispute that. The Lions had some stacked rosters but could never fully put it together. Those stacked rosters played in the Silverdome and short of Green Bay, had the best home field advantage in the NFL. When the Lions put on the throwbacks, it was game over. When the Lions played in primetime at the Silverdome, it was game over. They were contenders, favorites, many years. It seems like it was so long ago but it happened in the Silverdome.

I want to go back in time and get drunk in the Silverdome. Feel the place shake as the Bears stare down a 3rd and 7 on their own 12, then watch a damn earthquake breakout when Erik Kramer is forced to call a timeout. Then when I walk through those deadly revolving doors in the east entrance, and make the freezing long walk across the Opdyke overpass, I’m a little dizzy, dehydrated, there’s a ringing in my ears but I wouldn’t care cause the Lions would had just won. I miss that passion. You never get that passion at Joe Louis Arena, certainly not at Comerica Park, never heard the Palace get that loud, never seen a good Tigers team at Michgan and Trumbull and Ford Field has never come close. With the cavernous dimensions of Ford Field you never will. With Matt Stafford, you likely never will……sorry.

I went to the last game at the Silverdome. January 6th, 2002. The Lions took on Quincey Carter and the Cowboys. Johnnie Morton caught the game winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter from Ty Detmer for the big 15-10 win. Robert Porcher gave a speech at the end of that game, promising that things were about to change. Never could I imagine, he would be right and that would be a bad thing.

Never could I imagine I would miss the Silverdome so much and you should too.

The Waffle House:Tigers minimize damage in Minnesota

Tonight, I made a long drive home from Grand Rapids, where I was attending some personal matters. Sometimes, nothing is better than a good three hour drive across the state on a pleasant fall night to clear your head. This was good. This was inspirational. This may had been the best thing to happen to me in a long time.

Why the jubilation? Because in this fast food world, finding clarity in a various situations is extremely hard to do. Maybe if we had three hours to ourselves, we could figure out the Tigers. We could know how to treat this anomaly. Should we celebrate or chastise them? Are they really worth being excited or nervous about? These two questions have quietly raged like a burrito you’re about to regret eating, or like yourself reading this, wondering when I’m finally going to make my point.

A pennant race has been held hostage by mediocrity. The Tigers and Twins, no matter how bad their rosters, seem to have the ransom to save it. Minnesota has made this a race again by taking two out of three in this past weekend series. The Tigers have kept this a race by only losing two out of three in this past weekend series. As of this time yesterday, I was despondent, depressed and destructive over thoughts of the Tigers chances. Mirroring the bipolarity of this ball club, I suddenly feel hopeful.

Sundays win by Nate Robertson was clutch. Combined with the efforts of the bullpen it was one of the most clutch pitching performances of the season and one I will look back to if the Tigers pull this out. The two game swing, hinging on one game is what allowed Detroit to slip up a bit. But how much did they really slip up? I would say, this was a good series simply off the strength of one win and the pitching performances of three.

Rick Porcello has struggled against lefties all season. While he’s steadily improved against them, still a .282 batting average against for lefties, stacked up to righty .248, .360 LHB ops to .311 RHB and lefty .294 batting average with ball in play to right handed .254. Porcello had to go up against Span, deadly to any Tigers pitcher, Kubel, and of course Mauer, who in the tense of his position, is having a historic season. For the most part, Porcello neutralized them. They did get on base but Porcello took care of the weaker lineup around them to keep them from making a direct impact. The only thing was, he couldn’t slow down Cuddyer who is on a Twinsesque hot streak.

Justin Verlander did what he was supposed to do Saturday. He got stronger as the game progressed. Other than the home run by Mauer, he prevented the big inning, any extra base hits, and turned aside the Twins scrubs. He was aided by some great defense from Cabrera, Inge and Laird.

Verlander was dismantled by the “Homerdome”. A joke of a compound that should had been deemed illegal to play baseball in 1982. There were many little things that also lead to that Tigers loss. The poor managing by Leyland (specific example; Laird not bunting with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 6th. Laird hits into a double play. Or Don Kelly with no experience in the Homerdome, being put out there in a crucial moment.) Of course the lack of extra base hits and the 10 men left on base is also asking for trouble, especially against the peskiest team in baseball. Bottom line, Don Kelly doesn’t make those two missteps in Target Field, the future, franchise destroying home of the Twins. Those are routine for Kelly, he makes the catch. Who knows what happens from there but if I put money on this hypothetical, I would bet it on JV closing out the 8th and Rodney having the Tigers shaking hands not too long after.

That leads up to Sunday. Polanco displayed why he has to be brought back next year, with another clutch hit. A breaking ball he smoothly sends to right field. Laird opening it up with a lead off walk against Baker deserves note also. Nate brought a sharp, heavy fastball. He also carried a slider reminiscent of 06-07, that was sweeping across the plate. The most impressive to me was the velocity range, 71 to 91 mph. Other than one bad start where he had a sore groin, Nate has looked good, fourth or fifth starter good . That is what this team needs right now and he brought it.

Despite my concerns about this team, and all the previous frustration, I’m going to go out on a limb and say the Tigers outplayed the Twins the final two games of this series. The Homerdome magic stole a game for the Twins, that Detroit most likely would had won. Yeah I know, the Cuddyer home run that fallowed the mess in left field, but hind sight is 20-20, different situations produce different outcomes. To have that happen was back breaking. That is why its even more impressive that the Tigers shook it off and captured a must win game with a spot starter facing a teams ace. They didn’t roll over and that could end up being the defining moment we are continuously digging for in this illogical heap of a season.

Where do I see the Tigers going from here? Well with a day off that’s hard to say. I have often wondered what went on that day off before that series in Kansas City. Seemed like it either broke momentum or gave the Tigers a chance to think too much. Its been a very tough two weeks. Hopefully this day will allow them to finally take a breath and recollect themselves for the final stretch.

That was everything on my mind, buzzing around during the long drive home. A calm,  comfort came over me. Detroit has the Twins four more times at home where they certainly are beatable. All the Tigers have to do is go 2-4 on the remainder of the road trip and they will be in good shape to put the Twins up against the ropes.

I freaked out, most people did and its understandable. This isn’t over yet, the storm could still be brewing. But right now the Tigers look good to me. I don’t know if they will come Thursday, they don’t know either, but right now they look good.

And as everyone else has seemed to express, no more Metrodome. No more Homerdome. That by itself, is enough to bring me nirvana. That by itself is enough to make you feel like the Tigers already clinched something of note.