Tigers deep six Jays; Sheff cooking bad batch?
By Punch N. Judy
BaseballBigMouth.com baseball news
Having become accustomed to the wading pool depth of the Tigers organization over the last several years, this current addition of the local nine has its fans experiencing a nightly dip into the deep end of the pool.
Having gone to the well with closer Todd Jones in four of the last five games, manager Jim Leyland decided to stick with lightning fast Joel Zumaya to close out the stacked Toronto Blue Jays, Thursday night at Rogers Center. On most clubs that decision would be a virtual no-brainer, but for the Tigers it was a case of choosing the AK 47 over the Uzi.
You see, Leyland still could have summoned last year’s back-up closer Fernando Rodney had he wanted to. But in staying consistent with his handling of this ridiculous pitching staff, Leyland will now have both a fresh Rodney and Jones for the remainder of this tough road series that came on the heels of Wednesday’s extra inning tilt in Baltimore.
Welcome back
It sure was nice to see Brandon Inge break out (hopefully) of his early season slump with his moonshot off Tomha Ohka last night. It’s about time. Never much of a favorite in these circles, Inge is an important member of this squad if only due to the fact that he’s in the lineup everyday. His sac fly to right (did this guy really go with the pitch?) was even more impressive considering how many runners he’s stranded at third with less than two out.
Our Papi
The clutch hits just keep piling up for LF Craig Monroe as he continues to challenge Boston’s David Ortiz for the title of Mr. Clutch in the American League. Wednesday’s grand slam was another example of how this guy dials up his focus just a few notches when the game is on the line.
Oh no! Is he at it again?
Carrying his .103 clip into tonight’s game in Toronto, Gary Sheffield has started to hint that the role of DH that he so readily embraced in the off-season is not what he really had in mind when he signed here. In saying that he needs to make adjustments so as to feel comfortable in this role, Sheff is letting it be known that he told Dave Dombrowski upon signing not to list him as a DH, but as an outfielder. Isn’t that usually how the discord starts with this guy?