Mothers' Day Special 5-13-12: Tribe @ Red Sux

[Am I Here Again?]

What, I gotta start the thread on Mothers' Day??? You guys better have good excuses...

GOOD Guys: Pitching ~ Justin Masterson

J. Damon LF
J. Kipnis 2B
A. Cabrera SS
T. Hafner DH
C. Santana C
S. Choo RF
M. Brantley CF
C. Kotchman 1B
J. Hannahan 3B


EVIL Guys: Pitching ~ Daniel Bard

R. Sweeney CF
D. Pedroia 2B
D. Ortiz DH
A. Gonzalez 1B
W. Middlebrooks 3B
D. Nava LF
C. Ross RF
J. Saltalamacchia C
M. Aviles SS

Go get 'em Tribe! Give us Moms a win!

[skatingtripods]

No pink bat for Asdrubal? Usually hits well with them.

[skatingtripods]

Damon may have just cost us another run with an atrocious throw. Ran a horrible route to the ball too. Not sure it could have been caught, but that was ugly.

[British_Pharaoh]

Well this isn't going at all well.

Starting pitching is in worse shape than the offense

[Prosecutor]

Masterson got the first two guys and is now getting shelled.

Yeah, that was a horrible route by Damon. I can't stand watching him hit, either. How many more pop-ups on the infield are we going to have to watch?

[skatingtripods]

What the hell is wrong with Justin Masterson? Velo still not fully back, command is gone. Even when he has a decent line, he's laboring. Not good when Derek Lowe's your best pitcher.

[Am I Here Again?]

I am never, ever, EVER starting a thread again!

[TouchEmAllTime]

We're going to lose 3 out of 4 to this shit team? What's going on with Masty?

[Prosecutor]

Sox score four runs with two out and the bases empty. Masterson has no command of his fastball. He actually drilled a guy in the ribs on a 3-2 pitch with two out.

[skatingtripods]

I realize that these stretches happen, and hell, the Tigers were swept at home by Seattle in late April, but it really sucks losing to these cocksuckers. All losses count the same, but they don't all feel the same.

Let's see if they show some fight on a getaway day.

[TouchEmAllTime]

I realize that these stretches happen, and hell, the Tigers were swept at home by Seattle in late April, but it really sucks losing to these cocksuckers. All losses count the same, but they don't all feel the same.

Let's see if they show some fight on a getaway day.

I don't doubt the offense will show fight, but now we almost have to shut them out the rest of the way, and agree, losing to these bastards sucks, especially now with all the injuries they have.

[British_Pharaoh]

Can you imagine how bad are offense would really be if opposing pitchers actually knew how much our lineup sucked and made the hitters earn their way on instead of walking 5-6 a game.

[skatingtripods]

Santana has just 5 XBH in his last 24 games (incl. today).

[CTtribefan]

I realize that these stretches happen, and hell, the Tigers were swept at home by Seattle in late April, but it really sucks losing to these cocksuckers. All losses count the same, but they don't all feel the same.

Let's see if they show some fight on a getaway day.

I don't doubt the offense will show fight, but now we almost have to shut them out the rest of the way, and agree, losing to these bastards sucks, especially now with all the injuries they have.

Losing my certainly will suck! Living in Connecticut I will have to deal with all the Sox fans tomorrow at work. Ughghghgh!

[British_Pharaoh]

A-Cab triple, Pronk and Carlos back to back homers would be nice now

[skatingtripods]

Good swing by Kip on the 0-2 express. Great reaction time and bat speed.

[skatingtripods]

Fully expected Asdrubal to hack away ahead 3-0. Was about ready to throw my remote through the TV.

Need at least two more out of this inning.

[British_Pharaoh]

Pathetic! .149 with the bases loaded as a team

[skatingtripods]

Brutal. Hafner needed a line drive single in that AB for his own well-being.

[skatingtripods]

If the Red Sox want to use Middlebrooks as their starter everyday, I'll take Kevin Youkilis off their hands.

[Am I Here Again?]

Losing my certainly will suck! Living in Connecticut I will have to deal with all the Sox fans tomorrow at work. Ughghghgh!

But then you get to go home and hide. I LIVE in MA and am surrounded by Red Sux fans...except for the human excrement that roots for the skankees.

[CTtribefan]

Losing my certainly will suck! Living in Connecticut I will have to deal with all the Sox fans tomorrow at work. Ughghghgh!

But then you get to go home and hide. I LIVE in MA and am surrounded by Red Sux fans...except for the human excrement that roots for the skankees.

Misery loves company sir! I can typically deal with the Yankee's fans, it is the Sox fans that think their crap don't stink. Really disappointing that we couldn't mount comebacks on there terrible pen. Maybe will will get a gift from the gods like we have the last two Sundays and someone will lose a ball in the sun and it will lead to a 5 run inning.

[skatingtripods]

Here we go again. Need at least 2 here.

[skatingtripods]

Got two real good pitches to hit. Pulled one foul, fouled the other one back. That's what happens when you're in a month-and-a-half slump.

[CTtribefan]

Our clutch hitting is atrocious.

[British_Pharaoh]

Hopefully Amn injures himself on one of his ridiculous diving attempts.

[skatingtripods]

Hopefully Amn injures himself on one of his ridiculous diving attempts.

Co-sign. The only way the Indians cut this cord is if Jhnny Amn gets seriously injured. We're stuck with his dead weight for a while. They won't admit a mistake that quickly and I can't imagine they'll let him go even if/when Grady comes back in 3 weeks.

[TouchEmAllTime]

This almost feels like a Browns Sunday.

[dazindiansfanuk]

If it's any consolation, hopefully this will put a nail in the Dan Wheeler coffin.

Fucking putrid.

[Erie Warrior]

Dan Wheeler < good.

Mercy rule is 10 after 5, correct?

[skatingtripods]

Yep. Silver lining alert: Dan Wheeler DFA'd tomorrow.

[Am I Here Again?]

I'm about a hour away from Fenway. You guys want me to go in to pitch? I'm sure Wheeler will still be mired in the 7th inning when I get there...

[Erie Warrior]

[skatingtripods]

As awful as this series has been, we're still ahead of the Tigers regardless of today's outcome. Put this shit behind us and take advantage of an awful Minnesota team.

[dazindiansfanuk]

Yep.... that's the final nail..... so long Dan Wheeler.

[skatingtripods]

I miss Jamey Wright.

[skatingtripods]

Frank Herrmann has probably already gotten a phone call to meet the team in Minneapolis tomorrow.

[CTtribefan]

I miss Jamey Wright.

I miss Durbin.

[RedDawg53]

Dan wheeler? Good the the "separated at birth" thread

[RedDawg53]

I miss Jamey Wright.

I miss Durbin.

I miss Andy Marte

[British_Pharaoh]

Sweep Minnesota and I'll leave the nouse but I won't put my neck into it just yet.

[British_Pharaoh]

We may just have the toughest Interleague schedule out of any team so we need to go into it on the back of a few wins.

[skatingtripods]

Per Bastian, Wheeler has already been DFA'd.

[dazindiansfanuk]

Not that we needed more proof that Kotchman was a complete waste of space in the lineup..... in the games that he hit behind Brantley in this series, Brantley was 9-for-14 with 4 2Bs and scored a total of 1 run!

[peeker643]

Hopefully Amn injures himself on one of his ridiculous diving attempts.

Co-sign. The only way the Indians cut this cord is if Jhnny Amn gets seriously injured. We're stuck with his dead weight for a while. They won't admit a mistake that quickly and I can't imagine they'll let him go even if/when Grady comes back in 3 weeks.

Kind of hoping your fixation will drift off the guy with no spring and who got loose against instructional league guys and maybe onto the awesomeness that is Casey Kotchman and Shin Soo Choo thus far.

Because while no one is more a fan of defense and disenfranchised role players than I am, at some point your everyday 1B and RF have to fucking hit.

And they had a spring to get ready.

The issue with this team isn't Damon. The issue is the holes that have been here since the season began that necessitated even the thought of signing Damon at that point. And with Masterson and Ubaldo of course.

We're projecting if we're bent about Damon right now. I don't blame him as much as the fact the guys who's at bats are being given to him were evaluated by actual baseball guys and determined to be even worse than Damon.

And I can't disagree with them.

[skatingtripods]

Kind of hoping your fixation will drift off the guy with no spring and who got loose against instructional league guys and maybe onto the awesomeness that is Casey Kotchman and Shin Soo Choo thus far.

Because while no one is more a fan of defense and disenfranchised role players than I am, at some point your everyday 1B and RF have to fucking hit.

And they had a spring to get ready.

The issue with this team isn't Damon. The issue is the holes that have been here since the season began that necessitated even the thought of signing Damon at that point. And with Masterson and Ubaldo of course.

We're projecting if we're bent about Damon right now. I don't blame him as much as the fact the guys who's at bats are being given to him were evaluated by actual baseball guys and determined to be even worse than Damon.

And I can't disagree with them.

One of the issues on this team is Damon, whether that's his fault or not. When they failed at Willingham, Beltran, Cuddyer, et al, Damon became their panic move and they panicked even further by putting him in the lineup after facing instructional league pitching. So, yeah, I agree with your overall point...however...

You can protect Damon if you want to, and yes, I'm fully aware that he wasn't ready to be here when he was, but the guy's done. Whether he had 3 weeks of ABs in AAA or not, that cat's done. And he's batting fucking leadoff for us.

I get that Choo has been terrible. Kotchman, for how bad he is, was hitting .290 this month before his 0-for today. And he picked out pitches to hit. He just fouled them back. I honestly think Kotchman's getting close. Choo as well, he's hit some line drives and run into some bad luck.

Choo is an issue. So is Santana. So is Hafner. This team's full of issues. Damon is the only correctable one, so I'll continue to bitch about him. They can DFA him and be right back where they were with Duncan playing everyday and Brantley leading off. The returns won't be any different than what they're getting now. They can't do anything with Choo, Hafner, or Santana except hope that they get better.

They can cut the cord with Damon, though. They won't. And that's how I project my frustration about that. By posting about how horrible he is. It doesn't mean I'm blind to the other problems on the team.

The fact that they're 18-16 after 34 games is shocking, quite frankly.

[peeker643]

Kind of hoping your fixation will drift off the guy with no spring and who got loose against instructional league guys and maybe onto the awesomeness that is Casey Kotchman and Shin Soo Choo thus far.

Because while no one is more a fan of defense and disenfranchised role players than I am, at some point your everyday 1B and RF have to fucking hit.

And they had a spring to get ready.

The issue with this team isn't Damon. The issue is the holes that have been here since the season began that necessitated even the thought of signing Damon at that point. And with Masterson and Ubaldo of course.

We're projecting if we're bent about Damon right now. I don't blame him as much as the fact the guys who's at bats are being given to him were evaluated by actual baseball guys and determined to be even worse than Damon.

And I can't disagree with them.

One of the issues on this team is Damon, whether that's his fault or not. When they failed at Willingham, Beltran, Cuddyer, et al, Damon became their panic move and they panicked even further by putting him in the lineup after facing instructional league pitching. So, yeah, I agree with your overall point...however...

You can protect Damon if you want to, and yes, I'm fully aware that he wasn't ready to be here when he was, but the guy's done. Whether he had 3 weeks of ABs in AAA or not, that cat's done. And he's batting fucking leadoff for us.

I get that Choo has been terrible. Kotchman, for how bad he is, was hitting .290 this month before his 0-for today. And he picked out pitches to hit. He just fouled them back. I honestly think Kotchman's getting close. Choo as well, he's hit some line drives and run into some bad luck.

Choo is an issue. So is Santana. So is Hafner. This team's full of issues. Damon is the only correctable one, so I'll continue to bitch about him. They can DFA him and be right back where they were with Duncan playing everyday and Brantley leading off. The returns won't be any different than what they're getting now. They can't do anything with Choo, Hafner, or Santana except hope that they get better.

They can cut the cord with Damon, though. They won't. And that's how I project my frustration about that. By posting about how horrible he is. It doesn't mean I'm blind to the other problems on the team.

The fact that they're 18-16 after 34 games is shocking, quite frankly.

Disagree. I think he hits when he knocks the rust off. And I think you can thank him for Brantley getting getting his no power-no speed head out of his 'Better hit .300 with that no-power/no-speed' ass.

Needed something to wake up that lazy fuck. Damon did that much. He's a DH dude. I don't what to tell you. Your avatar isn't good enough to hold down the job and never has been, never will be. Together, once Damon is in game form, maybe they will be. And the defense will be putrid there either way.

Give Damon the same number of ABs and I'd bet he's a more productive hitter/offensive player even at this age than either Duncan or Brantley.

And again, that's pretty much a testament to how shitty those two guys are, not a glowing assessment of Damon.

YMMV

[skatingtripods]

Disagree. I think he hits when he knocks the rust off. And I think you can thank him for Brantley getting getting his no power-no speed head out of his 'Better hit .300 with that no-power/no-speed' ass.

Needed something to that lazy fuck. Damon did that much. He's a DH dude. I don't what to tell you. Your avatar isn't good enough to hold down the job and never has been, never will be. Together, once Damon is in game form, maybe they will be. And the defense will be putrid there either way.

Give Damon the same number of ABs and I'd bet he's a more productive hitter/offensive player even at this age than either Duncan or Brantley.

And again, that's pretty much a testament to how shitty those two guys are, not a glowing assessment of Damon.

YMMV

Meh. I don't think Damon will hit. His bat speed is so far behind and I don't know if that's rust or age. Personally, I think it's more age than rust.

No, Duncan isn't good enough, but he's certainly capable of doing what Damon's doing. And playing better defense.


Re: Brantley, he's just a streaky hitter. This will end and he'll rattle off a 3-for-23 over 5 or 6 games. That's just the kind of player he is.


Either way, our LF/CF situation is far from ideal. Factor in a selfish catcher with a long swing, a DH who is already wearing down, a RF with no ability to differentiate his ass from a hole in the ground, and a 1B who has a maximum SLG ceiling of .390-.400 and you're in bad shape.

[peeker643]

Disagree. I think he hits when he knocks the rust off. And I think you can thank him for Brantley getting getting his no power-no speed head out of his 'Better hit .300 with that no-power/no-speed' ass.

Needed something to that lazy fuck. Damon did that much. He's a DH dude. I don't what to tell you. Your avatar isn't good enough to hold down the job and never has been, never will be. Together, once Damon is in game form, maybe they will be. And the defense will be putrid there either way.

Give Damon the same number of ABs and I'd bet he's a more productive hitter/offensive player even at this age than either Duncan or Brantley.

And again, that's pretty much a testament to how shitty those two guys are, not a glowing assessment of Damon.

YMMV

Meh. I don't think Damon will hit. His bat speed is so far behind and I don't know if that's rust or age. Personally, I think it's more age than rust.

No, Duncan isn't good enough, but he's certainly capable of doing what Damon's doing. And playing better defense.


Re: Brantley, he's just a streaky hitter. This will end and he'll rattle off a 3-for-23 over 5 or 6 games. That's just the kind of player he is.


Either way, our LF/CF situation is far from ideal. Factor in a selfish catcher with a long swing, a DH who is already wearing down, a RF with no ability to differentiate his ass from a hole in the ground, and a 1B who has a maximum SLG ceiling of .390-.400 and you're in bad shape.

And if Hannahan regresses to his career averages it's worse.

They need the pitching to get right. If it does, it'll keep them in a shitty division. If it doesn't then LF/CF ain't gonna matter.

[skatingtripods]

And if Hannahan regresses to his career averages it's worse.

They need the pitching to get right. If it does, it'll keep them in a shitty division. If it doesn't then LF/CF ain't gonna matter.

As much as I love Hannahan, it's when, not if.

And agreed on the pitching. Tigers have an 80-85% shot at winning every day Verlander pitches. Probably 65-70% when Fister pitches. After that, it's a total crap shoot.

White Sox blow. Royals blow. Twins are -66 in run differential.

Watch 'em sack up and rattle off a 5 of 7 the rest of the week prior to the off day. Everybody will be slobbing their knobs again.