Another Increds Weekend

Baseball has more drama in a regular-season week than the NBA has in a regular-season month. Unreal.

Things to consider:

--Detroit has got to slow down...right?
--CWS get a fire-and-brimstone speech from their skip
--KC is a disaster
--HOU is on the verge of being too bad for Clemens to come back
--The Cubs had a loss worse than the KC/DET debacle on Friday v. ATL, allowing the winning run to score FROM SECOND BASE on a sacrifice fly. Then they blew another game in extra innings after coming back on Sunday, I think. I've never heard loud booing during a day game.
--Barry, Barry
--NYY is heating up
--TB can't seem to beat the Red Sox
--Gagne is almost back!

Tigers...Unreal Game, Sorry Royals

From the time Jim Rome reported that Mike Maroth had given up 6 runs/6 hits in 1/3 an inning, I knew this would be a true test...not only of the Tigers, but the Royals.

I'd sat through games like this in 2002/2003, when the Tigers would get an unlikely lead against a team and them seemingly choke on it -- knowing how much it would hurt to lose given such an advantage.

Well...

It happened. Tigers score 8 in the last two innings. Game ova. And the Detroit Tigers sweep a four game set from the Kansas City Royals for the first time.

From the Royals broadcast on XM: "So it's tied up. One out. Two and oh count. Monroe waits for the pitch...and that's a well hit fly ball. It's gone out there. So the Tigers take the lead. And we'll have Marcus Thames up next."

Think Blue: The Mid-Season Buzz

Incredible!

From the day we saw a beautiful pitching duel spoiled by Butler, Penn.'s second-favorite son -- the Dodgers have been off the hinges.

--15-3
--Three series sweeps
--Six straight series wins

BANANAS!

Todd Jones Writes About Bonds

Todd Jones writes an essay on hitting Bonds -- The Sporting News


"In baseball, you've either been humbled or you're about to be. So relax, enjoy your homer, and don't show up pitchers. Pitchers, remember, have the last say. And those seams speak loud and clear."

The Old Ballgame

Shortz: A great week in baseball

Are you into this? Look at everything that's going on:

• Why do people walk Barry and pitch to 81 HR Pace Pujols?
• Your best team in MLB: Tigers, Tigers, Tigers!
• Devil Rays come from behind, all the time!
• AJ gets his in the kisser from a Cub!
• Dodgers crush the Angels! (Rookie buzz! Ethier! Martin!)
• Angels are really bad?
• Nomar makes early case for the Hall!
• Milwaukee -- the comeback kids!
• A-Rod leaves 7 stranded in one run loss, topping a poor weekend v. Mets!
• In closing: Pray for that freakin' horse who got hurt! Get well soon, baby!
• Ooh, and I almost forgot...Royal's pitcher Scott Elarton says the team doesn't care! What a freakin' week!

Pitch To Barry (and K him up)

I figured if he was going to make history--no matter how ambivalent I am about it, or how tainted I presume that history to be--it might be fun to be there. So I went over to The Coliseum last night--(what do we make of a stadium that sells naming rights to a company so unmemorable nobody even thinks to use the new name?)--to root the A's on against the dreaded Giants. I actually thought it might be the night for Bonds. A rain delay, a dark and stormy night, El Diablo in the DH slot--the elements of drama were in place.

Instead we were treated to nothing more or less than a fantastic game. We realized early on that the ball simply wasn't carrying--Big Hurt absolutely crushed a ball that went, um, almost to the warning track--so it wasn't going to be easy for anybody to get a homer through the cool, wet air. But fare more importantly, Dan Haren was ridiculous, throwing a beautiful two-hitter through eight. Obliquely, it's possible to think he might have taken a no-hitter very deep if not for Bonds. Facing Steve Finley with two out and Bonds on deck in the fourth, Haren got ahead 0-2 and threw a series of good breaking balls which Finley kept fouling off until he'd worked the count 3-2 at which point Finley got the fat fastball we all knew was coming and laced a line-drive to right. Yes, even a monster pitcher gives in to a Steve Finley 3-2 with 2 out and Bonds on deck.

But never mind: jump to the bottom of the ninth, 1-0 A's, 2 outs, nobody on and Bonds at the plate facing young closer Huston Street (wicked, sometimes inconsistent stuff). Giants fans are going bananas. A's fans are going bananas. And Street gets Bonds to swing at a great changeup, sinking out of the strike zone. Pandemonium. A genuinely exciting baseball moment. I'm really glad they didn't walk him. "Pitch to Barry!" For one night, anyway, Giants and A's fans agreed it was the right thing to do.

It's 1984...Again!

Maybe not...but, at the moment, the Detroit Tigers are not only the BEST TEAM IN BASEBALL but they are on their longest winning streak since 1993.

For Shane Halter, Dean Palmer, Bob Higginson and one-year of Juan Gon...Go Get 'Em Tigers!

"Tigers, Tigers baseball team. Reaching for that pennant dream."
--The old WJR pre-game jingle

Historic Moment

For a brief instant, anyway, the NL West doesn't have a single team below .500! (UPDATE: Make that, the NL West is above .500!) Is this division back?

(updated: May 18 @ 1:50p PDT)

Arizona 23-18
Colorado 22-18
San Diego 22-19
LAD 21-20
San Francisco 21-20

No sooner blogged...

...it happens.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260516118

Interesting to see what happens tonight. Old Scrap Iron says: "Bring it."

Pitch At Bonds

After watching a delightful three-game set between the Dodgies and Giants this weekend, it occurred to me all that I have to be thankful for...most importantly, is my not being a Giants fan.

I've sat through my share of misery. My bro-in-law Scott and I watched 20+ games in 2001, 2002 and 2003 (nearly the worst team ever) in Detroit and countless hundreds on TV. I sat through the destruction of the Dodgers last year. I've moaned and complained when times were tough and enjoyed the good times when the game saw fit to deliver a ray of sun my way.

But I've never had to stand and cheer and get all excited about a guy who is, by all accounts, a fraud and a miserable human being. I've never had to put blinders on to enjoy my teams. I've never had to blot out the fundamental weakness of my team to enjoy a meaningless record chase by a man who wouldn't shake my hand if I returned his wallet to him.

Better still, I've never been a fan of a team financially handcuffed by someone like that. (Thanks for not signing, Juan-Gon) And despite the standing ovations every time he wobbled out to left field or got halfway up the line on another dud hit, I can't imagine what a misery that must be to go through that.

So to the sad old guy with the little sign behind the plate: "Pitch to Barry"...yikes, dude.

2006: Over?

Khalil Greene's homerun says: "There's no reason this collection of players should be losing so many competitive games. In 2004, a group of players who had no business winning a division did just that. Now a bunch of guys who couldn't possibly lose in this pile-of-a-division are last place."

The World Has (Officially) Turned

Goodness.

The Tigers continue their tear through the Majors, edging the class of the AL West Angels in a thriller. Look at these standings!

Chicago 19-8
DET 19-9 (1/2)
Cleveland 15-13 (4.5)
Minnesota 11-16 (8)
Kansas City 5-20 (13)

If Houston/Cincy weren't going so bananas, the AL Central would be the story of the season so far. And it shows no signs of letting up, with the Tigers getting this strength both from pitching (lowest ERA in the league?) and hitting.

The Dodgers, conversely, have fallen to freakin' last place in the El Stinko NL West.

Colorado 16-12
Arizona 15-13 (1)
San Fran 14-13 (1.5)
San Diego 12-15 (3.5)
LAD 12-16 (4)

They'd pretty much be out of it if they were in the AL Cent, at 7.5 games out at the beginning of May. I don't see much improvement out there for the Dodgers, frankly. It's hard to rally the troops when your bully gives up 5 runs in 0.0 innings.

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UPDATE: Not so fast, my friend!

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Tigers Verlander gets shelled. Angels drop Tigers 7-2 on Thursday afternoon. This Angel pitcher Gregg appears to be solid. He pitched very strong against the Sox and Tigs.

Tiger Style!

• The AL Central is looking hotter than the AL East. Buzz for all us long suffering fans from the Midwest.
• The Angels won my heart a tad after getting stomped by the White Sox on Friday. Fans hung around 'til the bitter end, fans booed Weaver's bad start but didn't boo him off the field when pulled (smart!), and generally I like the players.

• I'd like to point out two guys who the owner would like to see in his office.

--(former Lansing Lugnut) Lance Carter
--Dioner Navarro's throwing arm

"Thanks for coming guys. Close the door."