Seein' Red

Take that St. Louis!

Yeah, so the Cardinals are a shell or their World Series-winning selves. So their pitchers got lit up like beer-league softballers. Please ignore the fact that their hitters couldn't even light up *GASP* Fernando Rodney.

The Tigers still swept them.

I had the privilege of watching the carnage unfold Sunday afternoon, breaking my 0-4 streak that goes back to covering Tigers games last year. I'm not here to argue about the importance of these wins...in May, wins count as wins, and nothing more. But it still feels good. And like Brandon Inge said in the clubhouse after the game, it doesn't make up for last year; but the fact that the Tigers are staying on top and the Cardinals are heading down towards Pittsburgh Pirates-land leaves the team with a satisfying feeling.

So, in my normal ADD style, some short thoughts on the series and more specifically, Sunday's game:

Louisville Slugger must have sponsored this series. Are you kidding me? 14 runs in game #1??? Talk about giving a young pitcher some run support. We saw that kind of hitting in spring training, but certainly not in the month of April. At times those Tigers couldn't have hit a snowball into a snowstorm (which, coincidentally, was the weather they were mostly playing in). But the guys who were leading the non-offensive charge, Gary Sheffield and Brandon Inge, have turned it on as of late. Gary's been on fire, Brandon homered Sunday, and the lineup has never been more potent.

Fear Mike Rabelo. I like this guy. A catcher who switch hits is not a common sight. Plus whenever Verlander pitches, the dude's a hitting machine (that's one of those great baseball stats that looks infinitely more important than it really is). But he filled in admirably for Pudge, and contributed offensively. When the Tigers get production from those 7-9 spots, they're near unbeatable. It's just a matter of consistency.

Jim Leyland is salty as ever. Skip would barely pick his head up during the post game chat, leading to a ratings-boosting shot of his cap and mouth for me to air on FOX 17. Never the less, Jim agreed with the above paragraph regarding the bottom part of the lineup. When I asked him about getting production from those spots, he responded by saying, "That's not a bonus, we expect to get runs from those guys, and that's what makes us good." Of course, he said much more gruffly and intimidating than that, but you get the idea. I feel that if I were to ever get a one-on-one with Jim, he'd scare me into a blubbering mess, and then throw me in the cage with Lamont for wasting his time(more on that in a future column). Either way, Jim scares me. Good thing he's the best manager of all time.

Gary Sheffield isn't as old as you think he is. If you were watching Sunday's game, that blur you saw in right field was Gary Sheffield actually playing defense, and robbing the Cards of about 3 hits. I know it's hard to believe, since Tigers fans are used to seeing the Tortoise with the Hair (Mags) play right field like that token hot chick on your softball team, but Gary still got some skills. The team is letting him warm up before they hit the road for more interleague later on, and the old vet looked good. Couple that with Gary's new routine of always moving around in the dugout on days that he's DH'ing, and it looks like Sheff has left that early season funk behind him.

Andrew Miller = better than sliced bread. Not a bad statement about a kid who looks young enough to still have his mom cut the crusts off his sandwich before he heads to the ballpark. But really, nothing gave Tigers fans more to cheer about than watching the kid carve up the Cards for six innings. Having a 19-year-old lefty who can throw like that is Major League gold. Seriously, if Dave Dombrowski ever gets bored saving baseball franchises, he should open a life-management firm. I'd be first in line. How can you go wrong with Double D making all your important decisions? Now that's a good call. Eat your heart out Miller Lite.

So, in conclusion, the Tigers rock. As if anyone with a semi-functioning brain didn't know that already. Which means someone needs to send the hint to the Fords. That big building next to Comerica Park would be perfect for an NFL team. Just a thought.