Shades of Deivi Cruz

Not sure why you used so many words. Fixed that for you.

We don't exactly have a plethora of great options. And Perez is 1-3 with a homer off him, so at least there is that.

We've had a gaping hole at 3B all season, no matter if you are/were a McKinstry/Colt believer or not. And there were certainly third basemen that were available (some moved, some didn't). Personally I also believed that Baez was not sustainable, since he has a plenty long track record. I can understand though why that would have been more difficult to do, given the changes he made defensively and in his role without complaint. That said, there were other teams (Seattle, for one) that identified their needs, and went and did something about it. (The Yankees also did this, but with not great results.) The Tigers decided not to, and are paying the price for it today.

This is why Hinch resting everyone on Sunday (even after Cleveland fell behind) made no sense. He was conceding to having all three games in Cleveland rather than try to have them at home. In the end Cleveland won Sunday, so it didn't matter. To not even try though was nonsensical. You can hold Skubal back, but all the regulars should have played, especially with the guaranteed off day on Monday.

"In sync and firing on all cylinders" would need to include scoring an earned run or three or six, yes?

Even easier than that.

It warms my heart to see Yankees fans being tortured at home. For it to be after bases loaded, no one out in the 9th, and against Chapman was simply perfect.

I did that for today. Tomorrow is TBD by how we look today.

I'm being dragged behind, and my grip is slipping, but I'm here.

I will give the Tigers my attention today for the first time in awhile. Hopefully they play well enough to keep it.

I can relate.

Ha! Yes, I guess it is representative of our current state. I've stopped watching the games and only occasionally check the scores. That helped a bit. And I've been able to catch up on some shows that I have fallen behind on. Up next: Alien Earth.

Well doesn't that just sound super fun.

It seems like I have to throw my Gritty tshirt in the garbage, right? I certainly can't wear it again without being rightfully mocked.

I watched it last night instead of baseball. It was fine. Maybe I'm just burned out on superhero movies, or I wasn't in the right mood, but it never really grabbed me.

I know the mantra is to make the playoffs and then anything can happen, but it's hard to see the Tigers as anything but cannon fodder at this point. Especially if they have to pitch Skubal twice this week just to get in.

How does his swing look?

One can hope.

Second and third with one out might be the one occasion I can support it. You are essentially risking second and third with two outs for first and third with two outs. In either scenario you need a hit to score. Contact play with second and third no outs makes no sense to me. You're putting a double play on the table, when previously it wasn't. Major league infielders just don't make wild throws often enough to make that a good risk to take. Though apparently it is...

I hate the contact play so much. The metrics must back it up, but it sure seems like it doesn't work way too often.

This is essentially the argument I've been making to my son since the trade deadline. The Tigers did nothing to help them win in October. Is Morton marginally better than our other back-of-the-rotation guys? Maybe. But you aren't relying on those guys to win playoff games. We needed someone that was going to move that needle, either on the pitching staff or in the lineup (or both). Instead, we kept it "Skubal and pray" in the rotation, and "Greene, Tork, Carp and pray" in the lineup.

Taking my parents to this game. My dad is very cranky about the Tigers recent performance, so for their sake I hope they do well. I reassured him that they were saving up to impress him in person today.

Please, please, please let the good Jack Flaherty pitch today.