Jeremy Bonderman lasted 4 whole innings, giving up 6 hits, 4 walks and 5 earned runs. When Dontrelle Willis comes back, Dombrowski is going to have to do something with one of these starters – DL, or reassignment (or trade). I would like to place my vote that the one pitcher they need to keep is Armando Galarraga. I’m not really sure if I care what they do with the rest of the lot.

It didn’t help that the vaunted Tigers line-up couldn’t hit Darrell Rasner. The Yanks seem to have a good young pitcher in Rasner, who moved to 2-0 with 3.00 ERA. Matt Joyce did hit his first career homer – congratulations! You get your picture up, now keep at it. You’ve already surpassed Jacque Jones (not that it’s saying a lot).

But in the end, the Tigers found a way to lose to an undermanned Yankees line-up, allowing them to snap their 6 game losing streak. The Yankees are playing horribly right now, but come to think of it – not as bad as Detroit.

Try as he might, Todd Jones was not able to blow this save. Of course, it was a non-save opportunity, so maybe he just didn’t try hard enough. Going into the 9th inning up 6-2 was barely enough as the Tigers squeaked out a 6-5 win. He gave up four hits and one walk and has given up at least one run in 3 of his last 4 appearances. Not exactly awe-inspiring.

Earlier in the game, Kenny Rogers looked serviceable, and even managed to pick off his major league record 92nd runner, when he caught Wilson Betemit in the 2nd inning. He gave up only 2 earned runs, giving Detroit a chance to win.

The player of the game though, was Pudge. In an unorthodox move, Leyland batted Pudge at lead-off, and it paid off with Pudge going 3-4 with a walk, driving in 2 and scoring twice.

In other news, Sheffield got his 1,583 RBI, tying Detroit Tiger great Al Kaline for 35th place in major league history. The way he’s been hitting lately, it doesn’t look like he’ll climb too much further up that list.

How sweet it is! To think that Denny McClain was pitching the last time the Tigers went into the Bronx and swept The Yankees, helps to understand how historical this win was. The fact that it was their last trip to the soon-to-be-demolished Yankee Stadium, makes it that much sweeter.

At The Fort Street Brewery, we had the Pistons on as well, watching them eliminate the 76ers from the playoffs, and later – The Red Wings were on their way to sweeping The Colorado Avalanche out as well. But it was The Tigers that took center stage. That says something about the love of baseball in this town. We’re 5 months from baseball playoffs, and The Tigers took prominence over the playoff advances of both The Pistons and The Red Wings.

Congratulations Detroit.

Placido’s bat has really started to come around, and over the last week has returned to 2007 form. The importance of this can not be underestimated. Having Granderson and Polanco at the top of the line-up, setting the table for Ordonez and Cabrera is a sure recipe for success. Polanco went 4-5 and scored twice.

Better that that – Jeremy Bonderman pitched his best game of the year, going 7 2/3 innings and only allowing the two runs in the 1st. If Bonderman and Verlander can pitch the way they have for their last two starts, Detroit has a chance to do some good things.

Detroit needed this win, and wouldn’t it be oh-so-sweet to see the Tigers make their last trip to “The House That Ruth Built” a sweep? They haven’t swept The Yankees in The Bronx since 1966, so history is not on our side…

In other news, The Tigers traded Jason Grilli to Colorado (Good luck with your ERA there, Mr. Grilli), in exchange for a RHP in the minors named Zachary Simons. We’ll see how that works out, but more importantly, maybe that leaves room for Armando Galarraga after Dontrelle comes back from the DL.

It was nice to see Sheff hit a homer today – and we definitely needed it. However, we’re going to need a lot more than a .170 batting average and a couple of homers for a $13 million salary per year. I still think he should be placed on the 15 day DL – give him a chance to rest that shoulder for a couple of weeks. Clete Thomas was hitting .295 when he got sent down. Bring Clete back up and put him in left field, move Thames to 1st and let Guillen DH. Jacque Jones can sit in the corner and think about what he’s done.

It certainly helped having A-Rod and Jorge Posada on the DL – The Yankees don’t look very scary at all. And their pitching is sub-par, at best. I’d say we’re catching The Yankees at the right time, and we need to make the most of it.

Granderson had a home run, doubled, walked twice and scored three times and Placido Polanco had four hits and scored two runs. What a difference it makes when your 1 and 2 hitters come through like that.

It was a match up of the two top-spending teams in all of baseball. Which brings me to my next point: stop trying to be like the Yankees. We need to shed some of these huge salaries, and let some of the younger, cheaper position players take over. That way we can afford some better arms. Jacque Jones is making over $6 million a year, and does nothing. Sheffield is making $13 million a year, and is clearly near the end of his career. Pudge has been playing rather well, but is making over $12 million a year, and is nearing the end as well. That’s $31 million to go out and get a couple more arms and a catcher. I guess it’s easier said, than done. Especially catcher – I mean, who’s available? I don’t know, but these things will need to be addressed soon.

Verlander Leads Slaughter

That being said, Justin Verlander really looked good today. I don’t know what happened, but if he can pitch like that down the stretch, the Tigers will not lose when he’s in the game. He was absolutely Lights Out against a dangerous Yankees line-up. He had some down right nasty movement on the ball, leaving the Yankee hitters looking baffled.

I’ve been somewhat tough on him and the other Tiger starters recently (deservedly so), but if he can toss a couple of more games like that, we should see an overall improvement in the Win/Loss column. That being said – pitching with a huge lead is easier to do, than with a deficit. We’ll see how he fares in his next couple of starts before I declare him “healed”.

I was going to go on and on about the bats coming alive, but honestly it doesn’t matter. 5-4 is the same as 16-0. The Tigers don’t need a blow out to right the ship. They need to win 5 out of 6 on this road trip and start showing some consistency.

Granderson Hits Inside The Park Home Run

Curtis Granderson started things off hitting an inside the park home run. What this kid is doing this year is nothing short of amazing. Him, and some guy on the Pirates 100 years ago or something, are the only ones to have this many doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases in one year. And he’s still got 30+ games left. He’s also in the running for the gold glove in centerfield. The Tigers thought so much of Brandon Inge they locked him up with a long term contract – they better make damn sure they do the same for Mr. Granderson.

Chad Durbin came in and pitched very well. He gave up the three run shot to Robinson Cano, but he did a very good job overall pitching in a position he wasn’t supposed to be in due to the injury to Jair Jurrjens. Seay, Zumaya and Todd Jones shut the Yankees down, and miraculously, the Tigers have somehow taken a 2-1 lead in a series they should be down in after the way they played against Cleveland.

So tomorrow it’s Verlander vs. Mussina. Looking at the numbers, and the way Detroit chewed up Mussina the last time they faced him, you would think Detroit has the advantage. But over the last month or so, it seems we have to view the Tigers through the Looking Glass. Down is up, and up is down. Nothing is as it seems. They win the games they should lose, then they lose the games they should win. They should win more games then they lose, which is why they lose more games than they win. Wait, what? Well, we’ll see.

The worst thing is that after such a momentous win in late innings at 3:30am, they let that momentum slip away. A good team would have built on that. They didn’t – in a big way. They looked terrible. They looked like they were the only ones up playing ball at 3:30 in the morning. But they weren’t. The Yankees were there too, and the Yankees were on the receiving end of the late inning heroics. But the Yankees came to play ball the next day, and the Tigers did not. Which is why the Yankees will probably be playing ball in October, and the Tigers will not.

Something is becoming all too clear lately. The only way the Tigers will get into the playoffs playing like this, is if the Indians manage to play a whole lot worse. But does it really matter? Who cares if the Tigers make it in, just to get swept and embarrassed by the Angels or the Red Sox?

There is still time. But they need to take a long, hard look at their weaknesses over the off season. Some items to consider:

• How is Sheffield’s shoulder? He has stated on record that if he needs surgery, he’ll retire. His bat will need to be replaced if that happens.
• Do we really want a 3rd baseman that consistently hovers just above the Mendoza line? Brandon Inge has shown moments of defensive brilliance, but can the Tigers afford to have that .230 – .240 presence in the line-up? Especially at almost $5 million a year. I suppose it will depend on what’s available, but it should certainly be looked at.
• Starting pitching. Who would have thought after last year, that this would even be a concern? But it is. Bonderman has developed a deep psychological problem with getting out of the 1st inning unscathed. There can be no other answer. Verlander has looked average at best. Miller looks like he’s ready for “reassignment”. The Tigers need to find out what’s going on with the starting pitching, and make that their top priority.

The season isn’t over yet, but as an organization – these things have to start being looked at. It might not be time to throw in the towel, but it looks like it is definitely time to open the checkbook.

They needed the win obviously, but it was more than a win they got. They showed intestinal fortitude. With Magglio on 3rd and one out, it looked to be just about over. Then Torre does the smart thing and intentionally walks Pudge and Rayburn to bring up Brandon Inge with the bases loaded. Not only is Inge the worst hitter on the Tigers, but it also allows for a force out at home to save the run, or a double play to end the inning. Watching Brandon Inge walk to the plate with the fate of the Tigers on his shoulders was nerve wracking. But Brandon got a helluva rip on the ball, and Andy Phillips made one of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen a first baseman make. I can’t fault Inge for that one, he did everything he was supposed to do.

I can fault Cameron Maybin, though. I’ve never seen somebody go down swinging as much as he does. With two outs and bases loaded, he did it again.

But none of that matters right now, because instead of it disheartening the Tigers, they came right back in the 11th, and answered. After Polanco got caught up in a weird, hand-in-the-cookie-jar, half attempted steal, half misscommunicated hit and run, something or other, Casey came through with a hit. Then Magglio pulled out the 9-iron and chipped a single in to move Casey over to third. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a bat swung like that, except in a backyard game of whiffle ball – but apparently that’s just how easy it is. And then…

Latest Finish to a Baseball Game Ever

After all of the missed chances, Carlos Guillen hits a walk-off homerun! You would think that type of a win will mean so much more than it otherwise would have. Perhaps this is what this ballclub needed. We’ll see how things play out this weekend, but it just seems to have breathed some much needed life into this ballclub. And to think that it happened at 3:30am.

Andrew Miller struggled as usual, but the bullpen was fantastic!. Byrdak, Grilli, Seay, Rodney and Durbin were lights out. They are what gave the Tigers a chance to win. Fernando Rodney had Jeter and A-Rod looking like little leaguers.

Another key was their patience at the plate. Although ESPN will no doubt show Magglio and Granderson both going 4 for 6, and of course Guillen’s walk-off, what was equally important was 8 Tiger walks. Although the bottom of the order didn’t hit, they were always on base, allowing Granderson to collect all those RBI’s.

They seem to be putting most of it together, but they need to show some consistency. If they lose tomorrow, it will be much harder to build on this type of a potentially momentum changing win.

Bonderman’s performance tommorow will be key to what the Tigers can do. If he goes out there and gets shelled for 6 runs in the first inning like it seems he always does, he will possibly single handedly crush the Tigers chances of building this into a great September run. But the Tigers know he is horrible, in fact, downright awful in the first inning. If he comes out and dominates like we know he can, the other Tigers will see it as an omen, and the March towards October will finally be under way.

Make it happen Jeremy.

This ominous fog should have stayed over The Bronx.