One should not go into battle with another without
first knowing what they are up against. As we journey along during the 2013
baseball season, TigerSnark will take an in depth look at each opponent the
Tigers will face.
Since our last preview, the Tigers lost two of three
to the Indians. Living in Ohio, as I do, I took a lot of crap from the Tribe
fans that only crawl out of the woodwork around here when the team pulls off a
victory over Detroit. Fair is fair, though. I dealt with their weak trolling
before they slithered back off to wherever Indians fans go when they’re not
being Indians fans. I assume they gather in Burger King bathrooms…I dunno.
After that, the team took three of four from the lowly
Astros. We should be happy to take six of seven games from any team in a
season, but I’ve got a bad taste left in my mouth over Wednesday’s game.
Listen, Jimbo. I’ve defended your grumbling, crusty old ass for years. I look
for logic in your decisions instead of blindly screaming every time something backfires.
But your boneheaded nonsense was ridiculous and indefensible late in the game.
It’s time to face facts that Phil Coke is terrible.
ESPECIALLY against anyone that happens to bat from the right side. It could be
the weakest hitter in the league…a paralyzed midget, even. Phil has shown that
he will turn that feeble righty into Miguel Cabrera. See the Twins series, the
9th against the Astros, and pretty much every other time he’s faced
a right-handed hitter. It’s mid-May. My cat understands at this point that Coke
can’t get out righties. And she’s not even that bright. It’s time for Jim
Leyland to realize it, too.
I haven’t read anything from the beat writers yet,
but I hope someone asked Leyland to justify pinch-hitting the beyond horrible
hitting Don Kelly for Matt Tuiasosopo (who was 3-3 today) in the 9th.
You know, Kelly with his OPS+ of 62 entering today for Matty with his OPS+ of
155. It is not 1975 anymore. The lefty-righty matchup is not THAT important to
take out one of the few legit power hitters so ‘ol Donnie Pleaseandthanks can
get a chance to scrap out one of those weak singles that people fawn over in
1.8 of every 10 of his at bats. There is no excuse.
Up next is a trip to Texas for a four game set with the
Rangers, who are in first place in the AL West by six games as of this writing.
Just great. Why can’t Texas finally secede from the Union so we don’t have to
play these guys anymore? Also, that way, we could finally nuke Texas. Nothing
good happens there. Never. I learned that as a youngster watching poor Pee Wee
Herman try to find the basement at The Alamo.
So yeah…the Rangers. Here we go.
