Verlander and Schlereth of the Series (Twins and Red Sox)

Hello again folks, sorry it has been so long since I have posted.  After getting back from Boston, I had a lot of business to catch up on.  Today seems a little slower so I will try to crank out a large number of posts (including my trip to Fenway).

Let me back track a little bit and had out the awards from last week’s 2 series against the Twins and Red Sox.  The Tigers finished 4-3 in the seven games, but it included a 3 game winning streak followed by a 3 game losing streak.  The Verlander of both series would have to be Quinten Berry.  After the Yankees series, this kid is tied for the team lead in steals.  He is making a strong push to be a regular player even when Austin and Andy come back from the DL.  Just think people, an outfield of Dirks, Jackson, and Berry patrolling the vast outfield of Comerica.  That looks a lot better than Delmon the Dreadful, Action Jackson, and Boesch the Butcher that we were looking at when the season began.  I think the speed and defensive quality of this potential new lineup could overcome the enormous shortcomings of our infield’s defense.  Then on offense, Berry could give Leyland all sorts of versatility in the lineup.  Q could continue to lead off, which would push AJ back to the 2 hole or even the 5^th hitter (where we hope he continues to swing well).  Austin could lead off, with Dirks in the 2 still, and the Q could anchor the bottom of the lineup.  Imagine Berry on base with Austin at bat.  The amount of pressure Berry puts on the pitcher when he is on base is incredible, and should result in AJ seeing some good fastballs. Yes, I am likely too high on this 27 year old journey-man.  He is most likely not the answer for the Tigers, but he could be the energy we need at this point in the season to turn things around.  Also, just think of Berry coming off the bench in the late innings to be a pinch runner.  We would actually have a base stealing threat.  Who would have imagined the Tigers running the bases, amazing.

The Schlereth of the (two) Series will go to the umpires.  I didn’t see most of the Twins set, but did get to see the Fenway debacle.  Of course the game I get to see in person, the play of the game comes from the umpires.  They made one of the worst calls I have ever seen live, and then on top of that missed a call at second base that should have resulted in a leadoff double for Worth.  On a foul tip strike 3, Aviles tipped the ball into Laird’s mitt.  All 9 guys on the field for the Tigers began making the trip into the dugout.  Aviles had his head down and was headed into the Sox dugout.  He was not arguing the call.  Then what seemed like minutes afterward, the first base ump (Bill Welke) decides the ball hit the ground and the inning continues. Then like clockwork, the Sox go ahead and score 3 runs with 2 outs and win the game 7-4.  The horrible call got Jim fired up and then ejected after he put on quite a show at first base.  I thought he was going to punch the ump.  I don’t know what it is about this season, but every morning when I turn on sportscenter, it seems like one of the topics is a missed call by an umpire.  Could it be that the games are televised more and more with more camera angles catching all of the problems?  It is a possibility, but when is it going to be enough (even for the baseball purists) and instant replay to be installed?  Hopefully soon, because I cannot stomach much more of this garbage.