"Mortgage the Stadium and sign Pudge Rodriguez." M. Hud, November 2003Few things get the blood going for a fan like seeing their team stink up the field against all expectation, going 2 and 10 to begin what was supposed to be a magical season. But those few things include seeing that team start Lucky 13 just as stinky, commit three errors, go down by a lot of runs through 7...AND then blast the cover off the ball for the first time this season!
1. Fire and I. Rod: Pudger. I was just saying to Gaines over some sweeeeeeet Intelligentsia shots how surprised I was that Pudge hadn't lost his temper during this losing streak. But after he drilled a triple to tie up the score in the 8th inning today, he showed that same fire we've come to expect with a fist pump, point to the sky and high five with hyper-cool 3rd Base Coach Gene Lamont. He then executed a Kobe-esque slide into home plate with the go ahead run, popping up seamlessly into a clench fist pose. Well played.
2. Saito: On a micro-level, watching T. Saito of the Dodgers blow his save opp tonight was in the same league of shocking that the Tigers start has been. Saito was throwing BBs at the Pirates and had some sick looking stuff. Then some hump batting 4 for 38 took his first offering about five rows into the right-field bleachers with two on and two out. Yipe.
3. Tippy Canoe: Robinson Cano, or "Canoe" as DJ once called him in an interview, came off the bench and shot an OT HR to RF. That's a good way to jump start his season, I think.
4. The Royals! They're good, brother. And when they're not playing the Tigs, I find myself pulling for them ala Tampa Bay's DEVIL Rays.
5. Great Moments in Plate Etiquette: Two things I haven't seen before. First, some guy in some game (I forget where) honestly took a full second to admire his SINGLE he roped to RF. Second, Manny Ramirez crushed a double in the Tigers first win a few day ago. The moment it left his bat, he could be seen visibly chewing his gum before taking off down the base path. Now THAT is dialed in. (UPDATE: I dug it up for the single admiration. It was OAK v. CLE on Saturday, and I think this is Emil Brown pinch-hitting an RBI. From another game with Brown hitting an RBI against the Chi Sox, he kind of did the same thing. Look how far that ball has traveled in the pitcher's eyes without any movement from Brown.)
3 comments:
It's great to see Greinke back on the horse. The Royals are a feel good story with teeth.
They scored 11 runs in 3 innings. The Tigs certainly won't be conserving any trees this summer.
Ok, ok, ... this time they ONLY scored 5 in 3 innings. The W's still count the same !
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