Games Attended 2009: The Final Chapter

I hear those sighs of relief that this series is coming to a close. I'm having a hard a time as you waiting for baseball season to roll around. It hurts doesn't it? Soon, soon, it will be here. I'm going to Spring Training for the first time ever this year, so I'm not going to have to wait as long as some.

This post will look at the performance of My Tiger Magglio Ordóñez at games in which I was in attendance. It's a very self-indulgent post, I know, but I couldn't help myself, and it's my blog, so you can stop reading now if you don't like it.

Magglio appeared in 15 of the 22 games I attended. Here are his numbers:

Mon. Apr. 27, 2009, 3 AB, groundout, K, HR, 3 RBI

Sun. May 17, 2009, 4 AB, flyout, double, K looking, fielder's choice, BB, 0 RBI

Fri. June 5, 2009 4 AB, groundout, double, K, single, 1 RBI

Sat. June 6, 2009 3 AB, single, groundout, BB, GIDP, 1 RBI

Tues. July 7, 2009 4 AB, groundout, groundout, K, K, 0 RBI

Tues, July 21, 2009 3 AB, grand slam, BB, groundout, FC, 4 RBI

Wed. Aug. 5, 2009 3 AB, single, home run, GIDP, defensive replacement Ryan Raburn in the 8th inning, 1 RBI

Sat. Aug. 29, 2009 4 AB, K looking, single, fielder's choice, single, pinch runner Clete Thomas in the 8th, 1 RBI

Tues. Sept. 1, 2009, 3 AB, BB, K looking, single, flyout, 0 RBI

Wed. Sept. 2, 2009, 4 AB, single, flyout, single, single, 1 RBI

Thurs. Sept. 3, 2009 pinch hitter 7th inning for Aubrey Huff, 1 AB, K, BB, 0 RBI

Mon. Sept 14, 2009, 4 AB, BB, flyout to left, single, groundout to short, single to left, 0 RBI

Fri. Sept. 25, 2009, 4 AB, GIDP, groundout, single, flyout, 0 RBI

Sat. Sept. 26, 2009, 6 AB, flyout, flyout, double, single, single, popup, 2 RBI

Sun. Oct. 4, 2009, 4 AB, double, single, home run, single, 1 RBI

Magglio's batting average at games I attended was .444. So glad to know I was a rabbit's foot for Mi Magglio too. Again, if you want to help fund season tickets for your team's lucky charm, feel free.

On a side note, I happened to be at the game in which Magglio hit two home runs in one inning back in 2008. It was pretty great, except for the fact that I missed the second homer. After the first home run, my son was begging me to go out to the ferris wheel, so I relented. Imagine my horror as we batted around that inning, hearing the cheers of the raucous crowd, stuck inside a giant baseball spinning around and around. Oh well.

About that Bat Flip...

I guess I'd better clarify what I said in my previous post about enjoying watching Aubrey Huff flip his bat after hitting a game-tying three-run shot off Toronto's Jason Frasor in the 8th inning of Monday's game.

I enjoyed watching the replay, because it appeared that Huff was overcome by the moment, the importance of the hit, and how much it meant in a pennant race. The flip came really quickly, and the look on his face was like "yes--I just hit a big home run for my new team that is trying to win the division."

I don't believe the flip was intended to show up Frasor. There is quite a little furor going over the whole incident in some discussions I've seen.

I don't condone showboating, but it doesn't really bother me that much when a player pauses for a moment after hitting a big home run. Sorry, it just doesn't. Does it bother you when a pitcher shows emotion over getting a big strikeout to get out of a jam, or preserve a slim lead? Not me.

Anyway, congrats to Huff, looks like we'll be needing some more of his heroics, what with the Twins deciding to win every game despite being without Justin Morneau and noted Tiger-killer Joe Crede.

By the way, if the Tigers don't win one for Ernie Harwell tonight, I won't be getting over it any time soon.

Who Needs Offense? We'll Win on Errors

Aubrey Huff feels like a real Tiger now. No more cheesy fake-fur costume for him, those stripes are genuine. His three run shot in the 9th to tie up a game that felt lost injected the remaining soggy fans at the CoPa with fresh fervor. Watching the replay, and seeing him flip his bat after the no-doubter was especially touching.

When will people learn that you NEVER, EVER pencil it in? How did it feel to hear the walk-off win from your car, genius?

Marco Scutaro needed a few pats on the back last night as he walked to the clubhouse. Two errors (his 9th & 10th of the season) made the difference late in the game for our Bengals. Amidst the happy smiles and high fives after the game, I felt a small twinge. It feels odd to have the game handed to you like that. I wonder how Avila felt after hitting into a seemingly sure double-play, then getting mobbed on the field as the hitter of the walk-off...error? The feeling didn't linger for me, however. A win is a win no matter how cheap.

According to MLB Network's "Quick Pitch," the Tigers have now won 22 games in their last at bat, second only to the Yankees' 25 such wins, and tied with the Dodgers. Not bad company, and it makes for some high drama.

Oh Justin, will you ever exit adolescence? I know it seems totally unfair to pick on a 16-game winner, who has shown us at times this year that he is ready to put on some big boy britches. After getting out of a first-and-third-no-out jam to preserve his fifth scoreless frame, and just when I thought he had shown remarkable maturity, he melted down in the 6th. Sigh. It was mildly ironic to see some bleacher fans in right tracking Justin's strikeouts with large poster-board Ks. Justin Verlander--7 innings, 10 hits, 5 earned runs and 9 strikeouts! Woo!?

I remind myself that a win is a win.

Yesterday's News

Well, I don't know whether any of you remember the Cleveland series last week. It seems an age ago now, what with the sweeping of the Rays, and the Holiday weekend.

However, I'm going to bring that series back to life for you for just a moment here. You may ask why, since it was the lowly Indians after all, and we've since swept a much better team. Well, it's purely selfish reasons making this train roll.

It's not that often that I take in a full series at the ballpark. I got a chance to do just that for the Cleveland set. It was kind of a fluke, but I was pretty happy nonetheless. So, I kind of want to recap the series here in the ol' blog--hence the selfish reasons. I can only hope that what comes next is worth the time you're spending here, stale subject matter and all.

Tuesday's game was fun, because Polanco and Guillen homered back-to-back in the first inning, and we went on to score two more runs in that frame. Also, Aubrey Huff broke out that game, with a single double, two walks, and three RBIs. The fifth inning was mighty troubling, as the wheels fell off for Jackson. He did manage to get out the inning, but that left four frames to be covered by the pen, which they did quite admirably, other than that homer Miner gave up to Andy Marte (who has a career total of 14 home runs in 614 at bats). Just a question--why do the Tigers LOVE to give up the longball to the unlikeliest of players?

Wednesday's game? Well, I was thrilled to see Porcello go seven strong with only two earned runs and ZERO walks. It was also very odd to see Jhonny Peralta make three errors in a slop-fest on the part of the Tribe. He did make a couple decent plays, too and has a grand total of four errors on the season. So, I'm sure he thought that someone was holding a voodoo doll and was working the pins to perfection every time the ball was hit to the hot corner. Shin-Soo Choo had DHed on Tuesday, but played right on Wednesday, and it was cool, because a guy sitting in my row was a fan of his--they're both from South Korea. I didn't know a ton about Choo, so I quizzed the guy for info. He said that Cleveland didn't want him to play in the WBC this year, but he did, and you may or may not remember that South Korea made it to the finals.

On Thursday, I dragged the kid down to the park to see Nate Robertson's second start of the season. It went pretty well, pretty well indeed! I missed bits of the game here and there, what with trips out for snacks, the bathrooms, an abortive attempt at the ferris wheel (line...miles long) and all, but it was such a beautiful day for a game, and we had a terrific time. Ni had a bit of trouble in the 8th there. That was a little scary. But it kind of worked out, because the game went to extras. And extras, I love extras, well at least I do when they end in a walkoff win! What a 10th. Raburn leads of with a huge double, then they get "smart" and walk Cabrera on purpose, but walk Magglio not on purpose to load 'em up with NO outs for Polanco, who had pinch hit for Avila in the 8th. Mighty Polly steps up the plate, and......hits a sac fly RBI walkoff. Hey, you may say that it was a little anti-climactic to hit a sac fly. I say no way, it's just what we needed. I love someone like Polanco who doesn't try to do too much, but works with what the pitcher gives him. Hurrah Polanco, Raburn, Cabrera and Ordoñez. Hurrah Tigers, because in case you didn't get the subtle subliminal message from the Tigers web site, the Pennant Race is ON!

Here's a little public service message for you, register now for the playoff ticket lottery drawing scheduled for September 16.