Game 64: Tigers vs. Cardinals

Well, it is time for the rematch of that painful 2006 World Series, yet again. Mario and Rod will probably talk about that, and Leyland's friendship with La Russa at some point in this series. They also will talk about Justin Verlander's complete domination since he adopted this whole, "I'm going to kick your ass" attitude. In his last 9 starts he has allowed 8 ER, and racked up 81 K's. For the season, his ERA is now down to 3.02 and his WHIP is only 1.10. Going against the Cardinals tonight, those numbers might improve. In their last 10 games they are 3-7 and have only scored 2.1 runs in those defeats. For the season, they are 7th in runs scored in the NL, and 8th in OPS (12th in OBP and 4th in SLG). So, like the Tigers, they have an average offense that can be tamed.

On the flip side, Albert Pujols is still on the Cardinals. The baddest man in the game is is batting .630 (17 for 27) with two homers, two doubles and five RBIs against us since 2006. Yet, we have actually won each of those games. Pujols currently sits at the top or near the top of nearly every important offensive category as he leads the NL in OPS, wOBA (Weighted On Base Average (Linear Weights)), HR's, and ranks in the top 10 in batting average and RBI's. His battle with Verlander tonight should be a treat to watch.

Pitching for the Cards tonight is Adam Wainwright. In his last 3 starts he has struggled a little bit, going 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA. But, for the season he is 6-4 with a 3.49 ERA and is one of the best #2 starters in all of baseball. Luckily for us, we have one of the best #1 starters on our side tonight.

Update: Well, the Free Press and Detroit News are each reporting that Dontrelle Willis is going to miss his next start. But, as of yet, there is no other corresponding roster move. So, at this moment, we basically are going with a 24 man roster assuming we do not DL Willis, ask him to go to the minors or just flat out release him and one of the worst contracts baseball has ever seen.

And, here are the line-ups for tonight.

Detroit Tigers @ St. Louis Cardinals

06/16/09 8:15 PM EDT
Detroit Tigers St. Louis Cardinals
Don Kelly - LF Skip Schumaker - 2B
Placido Polanco - 2B Colby Rasmus - CF
Magglio Ordonez - RF Albert Pujols - 1B
Miguel Cabrera - 1B Chris Duncan - LF
Curtis Granderson - CF Rick Ankiel - RF
Brandon Inge - 3B Yadier Molina - C
Gerald Laird - C Joe Thurston - 3B
Ramon Santiago - SS Adam Wainwright - P
Justin Verlander - P Brendan Ryan - SS

In-game analysis: One of those nights for JV. 9 straight starts where he pitched up to his potential and he was due for a clunker. He also was done in by a poorly played left field by Don Kelly and Ordonez that makes the 5 ER look worse than it could have been.

-Nate Robertson will be cut in the very, very near future. He got his paycheck, is set for life, and he's pitching like it. And, Ryan Perry should be in Erie or Toledo to work on his pitches, but we need him up here. Tough call, really.

-We have 3 starting pitchers we can rely on, and 3 hitters we can rely on (Cabrera, Grandy and Inge). Is that enough to win the division? I fear we could go into a big tail-spin pretty quick unless we make some moves to address our many needs (at least one more starter, at least one more bat, and probably another relief pitcher).

-And, can we end the debate on Ordonez staying here next year. While teams cannot cut players simply for financial reasons, its not like he is performing well. He is 27th in wOBA, 27th in OPS, 27th in slugging (noticing a trend here) when comparing him to other MLB Right Fielders. He won't be with us in September unless he really picks up his hitting (b/c we know his defense is going to stay the same).