Detroit got 2 more series wins over the week as Tiger's fans flooded into the Great American Ballpark and Wrigley Field respectively. The fans got to see some pretty decent baseball from the Boys of Summer, and it has caused the local media to believe Detroit has turned a corner of their season and will begin to assume their throne of the class of the AL Central.
Detroit played 3 one run games against the Reds. They lost the first from a suicide squeeze play. In reality, the Reds outplayed the Tigers on the night and probably shouldn't have needed the gimmick play to win the game. Verlander did his best to get a win on Saturday, but Delmon Young and the offense didn't want to give him any support again. Luckily we managed to scrape a run across late in the game to win the 2nd game. Finally, on the ESPN game of the week Sunday night, Drew Smyly did his best to make every viewer vomit a little in their mouth when a giant blood blister broke on his throwing hand. The rookie had to leave the game early, and Detroit again had to rely on the bullpen. When all hope seemed lost, and the Tigers were laying an egg on national tv, the bats woke up against the bullpen again. This time scoring 5 runs off of relievers, Aroldis Chapman being one of them. Detroit got their first series win since the 3 game sweep of the little league Twins in May.
Heading into the series with the Cubs, most fans thought the Tigers needed a sweep to really make us believe they are a different team. Well, those dreams were squashed in the first game of the series when Peralta make a mockery of the shortstop position. He somehow had back to back routine ground balls turn into 2 errors turn into 1 game winning run for Chicago. Boo. Then the Tigers realized, hey the Cubs might be worse than the Twins and there are more Tiger fans here than lame Cubs fans... maybe we should play baseball. The bats woke up for an 8-4 win in the 2nd game of the series. Scherzer started and pitched his normal game, but luckily for him the offense bailed him out. Boesch went off in the game, collecting 4 hits, including a home run. The rubber match also happened to fall on Justin Verlander Day, and he did not disappoint. The offense was slow to give him much help, but in the end JV got his 6th win of the season and Austin led the offense to a second straight series victory.
Looking forward, the Tigers welcome the Rockies and the Cardinals to Comerica Park as interleague play continues. Folks, these teams are average at best. The Rockies are 0-9 in games against the AL this season. Their pitching might be worse than the Mudhens, and their hitting is close to useless outside of Coors Field. Of course this combination will likely mean a 10 run outburst for the Rockies. Detroit should win the next two series to continue to move closer to .500 and catching the White Sox for first place in the division. One thing that interleague shows is how miserable the NL is compared to the AL. The Tigers are an average baseball team, let me be honest. Yet, they are head and shoulders better than the majority of NL teams. It is kind of a joke. I finally get to go back to Comerica this Sunday as well for a Father's Day celebration with my dad and grandpa. It should be a blast.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Verlander & Schlereth of the Series (Cubs)
Well the Tigers should have swept the lowly Tigers, but they escaped with another series win which is important. Detroit just simply abused the Cubs bullpen (or whatever they call it), and Wrigley Field became Comerica Park West. If you are a Cubs fan, I am sorry, but that was an embarrassment.
Verlander of the Series: This is a tough one between the fans and JV. I will give JV the nod because at times he looked absolutely dominant again, and he got his first win since May 18th (his no-hit attempt). Folks, JV should never go a month in between wins, he is too good. At some point this season will the offense bail him out or at least score 4 runs while he is on the mound? Verlander struggled in the 2nd inning by giving up 2 runs, but then was lights out the rest of the way. He finished with 8 strikeouts and 0 walks on the day. He also became the 2nd pitcher (after Strasburg the Great) to get to 100 K's on the season. I am hoping JV doesn't get the extra day of rest for his next start which will allow him to pitch against St. Louis and Pittsburgh (when I visit PNC Park).
Schlereth of the Series: I have to give this to Jhonny Peralta. Not only did he get an error on a routine ground ball to short, he followed it up on the next batter with a throwing error to first. It was the only reason the Cubs scored a run off of Phil Coke on Tuesday night. I don't know if the Tigers would have been able to score again to pull out the victory, but they should not have lost like that. I knew the defense would be bad, but I thought they would at least be average in ground balls hit directly at them.
Looking ahead, the Tigers get the terrible Rockies coming to town. These are the same Rockies who are 0-9 in inter-league play, so this probably means they will come in to Detroit and sweep the Tigers. It would be nice to get another series win and pull closer to the White Sox (they play at the Dodgers). The Rockies have some of the worst starting pitching that I can remember seeing. They have a potent offense in their home stadium, but they lose their punch on the road. Honestly, the Tigers should have no problem scoring 20+ runs in this series. I guess at this point, let's just hope for another series win.
Verlander of the Series: This is a tough one between the fans and JV. I will give JV the nod because at times he looked absolutely dominant again, and he got his first win since May 18th (his no-hit attempt). Folks, JV should never go a month in between wins, he is too good. At some point this season will the offense bail him out or at least score 4 runs while he is on the mound? Verlander struggled in the 2nd inning by giving up 2 runs, but then was lights out the rest of the way. He finished with 8 strikeouts and 0 walks on the day. He also became the 2nd pitcher (after Strasburg the Great) to get to 100 K's on the season. I am hoping JV doesn't get the extra day of rest for his next start which will allow him to pitch against St. Louis and Pittsburgh (when I visit PNC Park).
Schlereth of the Series: I have to give this to Jhonny Peralta. Not only did he get an error on a routine ground ball to short, he followed it up on the next batter with a throwing error to first. It was the only reason the Cubs scored a run off of Phil Coke on Tuesday night. I don't know if the Tigers would have been able to score again to pull out the victory, but they should not have lost like that. I knew the defense would be bad, but I thought they would at least be average in ground balls hit directly at them.
Looking ahead, the Tigers get the terrible Rockies coming to town. These are the same Rockies who are 0-9 in inter-league play, so this probably means they will come in to Detroit and sweep the Tigers. It would be nice to get another series win and pull closer to the White Sox (they play at the Dodgers). The Rockies have some of the worst starting pitching that I can remember seeing. They have a potent offense in their home stadium, but they lose their punch on the road. Honestly, the Tigers should have no problem scoring 20+ runs in this series. I guess at this point, let's just hope for another series win.
Verlander & Schlereth of the Series (Reds)
The Tigers headed to Cincinnati to take on the Reds at Great American Ballpark. I was planning on heading down there for the weekend, but Chelsea and I were still traveled out from Boston (and the Sunday night game was switched to the ESPN game of the week at 8pm). Detroit played a very good series on the road, and they continued there stretch of winning twice as much as losing inter-league games. Let's get to the awards!
Verlander of the Series: I have to go with Austin Jackson with this series. The man came back for the last two games of the series and the Tigers, of course, went 2-0. He was hitless in the first game back, but then was the ultimate catalyst in the series finale on the big stage. He hit a 2 run double against the best reliever in baseball to give the Tigers the game and series victory. And as always, he plays a 2nd to none centerfield. Man, how we missed our young star. If AJ keeps this up there is no way that Ron Washington can keep him off of the All-Star roster.
The Schlereth of the Series: will belong to Rick Porcello. This is a tough one because the bullpen technically got the loss for the Friday night game, but Rick could have pitched better. This guy has a lot of talent in that right arm, but he just cannot stay consistent. I know getting 14 wins a year from your 4th starter is pretty good, but when we drafted Rick we had number 2 expectations. Yes, he is still young, but right now he is struggling. He cannot keep the ball down with his sinker which is resulting in a lot of hard hit balls. I hope he can turn things around, at least for the end of June and July since these have been his best two months of his career. In a close second place it has to be Delmon Young. Part of it is that I just really dislike the inept left fielder, and trading him for a bag of seeds actually sounds like a good investment at this point. The other part is he continually gives me reasons to be titled my Tiger... to yell at. He made one of the worst plays in left field on Saturday, of course during JV's start, that ended up making JV get a 4 out inning which led to a 2 run 2 out single (the only two runs the Reds scored). The dude is a half tool player... he cannot field a position, throw, steal bases, or hit for average. The half tool comes from him being able to hit for power.. sometimes.
Looking forward, the Tigers have a real shot of sweeping the Cubs. The way this season is going, they likely will not, but the Cubs are miserable. Detroit has the pitching advantage in 2 of the games (with Matt Garza being the exception), and they have a better lineup. Hopefully the friendly confines of Wrigley are friendly to the road team.
Verlander of the Series: I have to go with Austin Jackson with this series. The man came back for the last two games of the series and the Tigers, of course, went 2-0. He was hitless in the first game back, but then was the ultimate catalyst in the series finale on the big stage. He hit a 2 run double against the best reliever in baseball to give the Tigers the game and series victory. And as always, he plays a 2nd to none centerfield. Man, how we missed our young star. If AJ keeps this up there is no way that Ron Washington can keep him off of the All-Star roster.
The Schlereth of the Series: will belong to Rick Porcello. This is a tough one because the bullpen technically got the loss for the Friday night game, but Rick could have pitched better. This guy has a lot of talent in that right arm, but he just cannot stay consistent. I know getting 14 wins a year from your 4th starter is pretty good, but when we drafted Rick we had number 2 expectations. Yes, he is still young, but right now he is struggling. He cannot keep the ball down with his sinker which is resulting in a lot of hard hit balls. I hope he can turn things around, at least for the end of June and July since these have been his best two months of his career. In a close second place it has to be Delmon Young. Part of it is that I just really dislike the inept left fielder, and trading him for a bag of seeds actually sounds like a good investment at this point. The other part is he continually gives me reasons to be titled my Tiger... to yell at. He made one of the worst plays in left field on Saturday, of course during JV's start, that ended up making JV get a 4 out inning which led to a 2 run 2 out single (the only two runs the Reds scored). The dude is a half tool player... he cannot field a position, throw, steal bases, or hit for average. The half tool comes from him being able to hit for power.. sometimes.
Looking forward, the Tigers have a real shot of sweeping the Cubs. The way this season is going, they likely will not, but the Cubs are miserable. Detroit has the pitching advantage in 2 of the games (with Matt Garza being the exception), and they have a better lineup. Hopefully the friendly confines of Wrigley are friendly to the road team.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Verlander & Schlereth of the Series (Indians)
Well the Tigers tried their hardest to continue their losing streak against the Tribe this week, but eventually they were able to scratch out one win in the series. Cleveland improved their record at Comerica to 5-24 in their last 29 tries, they almost doubled their wins in one series. Anyways, since the Tigers ended on somewhat of a decent note (good enough that the majority of the media is back on the band wagon and expect yesterday to be the turnaround game), my awards will have a more positive outlook than usual.
The Verlander of the Series is a tough one again. There are a few guys that could be considered here, and heck, the offense even scored 13 runs in the last 2 games. Miguel continued his hot streak, and seriously looks like he could be a .400 hitter over the course of a season if he didn’t take at bats off. But, I am going to go with James “Marlbro Man” Leyland for his first positive review of the season. Over the past few weeks, most Tiger’s fans have called for Jim’s head because firing a manager mid-season will instantly make the bottom 5 hitters be able to hit a 95 mph fastball. Well, I thought I would give credit when Jim’s moves pay off. Yesterday, starting in the bottom of the 1st inning it was Leyland’s day in the decision-making department. After Berry got on base, he immediately put the hit and run on with Boesch. It caused Boesch to focus more to make contact, he shortened his swing a bit, and actually got a hit in the process which started the 4 run rally. Then to start the next big inning, Jim had Holaday lay down a sacrifice bunt to move Danny Worth to 2nd. Finally, with Brennan up again and the count 3-0, Jim gave him the green light to the slumping hitter. It was a very risky move, considering the 2 nights before Brennan “deep ball” consisted of pop ups to third base. Brennan came through again with a ground rule double to straight away center. Now, Jim cannot manage the same way every game because the risk outweighed the reward on most of those calls, but for some reason yesterday they paid off. Jim set himself up to take the blame if the Tigers lost the game, and put Brennan in the spotlight (even if just for an afternoon). Nice work skip.
The Schlereth of the Series will have to go to both Max Scherzer and the overall defense. Max was looking to string together another quality start and try to add some consistency to the rotation. Instead, he got abused on the mound. He got hit hard most of the night, and he struggled to strike anyone out for one of the first times this season. The defense could have helped him out in big ways in the game, but it was not meant to be. Folks, this defense was expected to be bad, but it is a train wreck right now. Prince is looking to cruise to victory in the most errors for a 1st baseman (he already has 7), and countless other balls that would have completed a double play, stopped an error from a teammate, or if he was just average at the position he would have stopped multiple hits that got into right field. People kept saying Miguel was just an average first baseman, but there is no comparison between the two. Then Brennan dropped a routine pop-up in game two that extended the first inning where Scherzer gave up a 3 run home run (all 3 unearned runs), and coincidentally the Tigers lost by 3. I know they are not good, but it would be nice to see a little bit of improvement in the field somehow. Maybe when AJ and Dirks come back the outfield will look like Dirks in left, AJ in center, and Berry in right. Also, Worth has been playing a very good 2nd base lately (but nobody cares because he is hitting .200).
Looking forward, the Tigers look to extend their amazing 72-39 interleague record under Jim Leyland, and they certainly have some teams to do it against. The Reds are first place in their division, but after that they get the Cubs, Rockies, Cardinals, and Pirates. If the team was playing well, there is no reason they wouldn’t be able to win all of these series… but the way its going they could get swept by the Cubs.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
The worst baseball game ever played...?
The Tigers came into last night’s contest with Cleveland 6 games behind the White Sox for 1st place in the division. They welcomed the Indians to Comerica Park for the first time this year after being swept by them earlier this season. Over the past 2 seasons, Detroit had only lost to Cleveland a hand full of times at home. Looking at the matchup last night it seemed like the Tigers had a big advantage on the mound with Drew Smyly. Cleveland is the worst team in the AL against left-handed pitchers, and they countered with what is left of Ubaldo Jimenez. Some people might have remembered what he did in the first half of 2010, but since then this pitcher has been borderline awful. He entered sporting a 6.5 BB/ 9 IP, dead last among AL starters. To make matters worse, it was 7.6 BB/ 9 IP on road starts this season. He was 0-4 with a 9.00+ ERA in his career at Comerica, and had a 6.35 ERA in road starts this season. Do I need to continue? Ok, one more for good measure, Jimenez just came off a 7 ER outing. If Phil Hughes is the definition of average, Ubalado is nowhere close. The game was over before it started, right? The Tigers were going to come out and score 9 off Jimenez and force Manny Acta to use his bullpen early in the game.
But as it should be expected now with this offense, Detroit went out and scored 1 time off of the dominant Jimenez. What is worse is they drew one walk in Ubaldo’s 6+ innings, which happened to come on his last batter, Ramon Santiago. Last night I was not in a good mood, but I have had time to step back and cool down a bit from the extreme frustration that the Tigers are causing me. Even now looking back on the game last night, it was the worst approach I have EVER seen a baseball team have. If you know me, you know that I like to exaggerate some stats once in a while, but this time I actually mean worst I have EVER seen.
Detroit hitters were gifted with 9 2-0 counts while Ubaldo was in the game. This is the best count for hitters to face, it is a dead fast ball count. The Tigers were 0-8 with 1 walk in these at-bats. Did you catch that? They didn’t get a hit in any of these counts. Brennan Boesch was graced with 3 of these at bats. In two cases he swung at the 3rd pitch fastball which were out of the strike zone, once missing and once popping out to the infield. Even though 2-0 is a great hitters count, I don’t understand why watching the 3rd pitch against Jimenez is such a bad idea. The guy could not consistently throw 2 strikes in a row. He finished with 102 pitches, and was close to a 1 to 1 ratio of balls to strikes. Then moving on to Delmon Young, his at bats might have been even worse. In his 3 at bats against Ubaldo he saw a total of 5 pitches. He had 2 one pitch outs. I know he has never seen a first pitch he didn’t like, but at some point you have to adjust to the pitcher you are facing. Ubaldo was under 50% on first pitch strikes, even with Delmon swinging on 2 of them.
I understand that Leyland does not have much to work with right now to make this offense click, but there has to be someone who can add more to the lineup as Boesch and Delmon Young have so far this season. Watching this team right now is nearly impossible. I hope it turns around quickly, but I just don’t see it happening.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
After a third of the season recap
The Tigers have played 54 games already this season which means they are exactly a third of the way through the 2012 campaign. Detroit is sporting the impressive 25-29 record, which is good for third place in the AL Central. Let’s be honest, this is a lot different than what was expected coming into the season. While the Tigers do have time to turn this disappointment around and make the playoffs, they need to start playing better sooner rather than later. Just think, if Detroit is to have the same record as they did last year they will have to go 70-38 from here out which would be a better winning percentage than the best record in baseball currently. So why not take a look at what has happened so far this season to make it such a disappointment.
Offense
The Tigers have been the definition of inconsistent with the bats this season. Everyone expected Delmon, Boesch, Avila, Peralta, and Raburn to continue their success from the 2011 season, and guess what they simply have not. Delmon Young is sporting a .711 OPS, Boesch .622, and Peralta a .691. That is brutal. In case that does not make sense, let me throw another stat from the Tigers normal 5,6,7 hitters out there. They have combined to strikeout 109 times, and have walked a whopping 34 times. Raburn was batting .150 and then decided to watch 3 different strike 3’s in Boston and was demoted to AAA again. This is the same guy that led the entire team in batting average post All-Star game in 2011. Yes, his average was higher than the batting champ (Cabrera) and VMart. Avila has been able to draw some walks so far this year, but is not hitting the ball with any sort of consistency right now. It probably also doesn’t help that he is a bit banged up right now.
I am not going to blame this season’s deficiencies on injuries since every team has them and Detroit should have a good enough farm system and 25 man roster to cover up (over the short term) injuries to anyone besides Cabrera, Fielder, and JV. Just when it seemed the offense was coming around, Austin got injured and has been out for 18 games now. He is currently hitting .344 from the lead off spot. Dirks was batting over .400 in the 2 hole during his limited at bats, and now he has been placed on the 15 day DL. They have been replaced by Berry who has provided a major spark in his time with the big club, but will never be close to a .300 hitter let alone .344, The 2 hole has been a joke since Dirks has gone done. So now, with the bottom 5 in the lineup not contributing still, the 2 hole is an automatic out as well.
The Tigers are 15-3 on the season when they score 5 runs or more, and they have scored 134 runs in these 18 games. In the outings they have scored 4 or less runs, they are 10-26 and have scored a total of 99 runs in those 36 games. The Tigers have scored a majority of their runs in a third of the games so far this season. This begs the question, will the offense ever turn it around this season? Also, if they do, will it be too late?
I am really hoping Austin and Dirks come back fully healthy soon and can be re-inserted to the top of the lineup. However, I also think that Berry has proved his worth to this Tiger’s team and should stay in the majors for the rest of the season. Berry should be moved over to right field, and Boesch should be placed on the bench. Then the question is what to do with the DH position right now. Delmon and Boesch have been the same hitter so far this season, just one from the right side and the other a lefty. Both swing at anything from chin to dirt, have a high strike out rate with an incredibly low walk rate, and can add a touch of power if they make contact. The Tigers would then have the option to try and trade Delmon
(or release him) and make Boesch the full time DH, or platoon these guys in that role. I also think that Peralta should be given a chance in the 5 hole for a bit because even if he is having a disappointing year so far, he draws a ton more walks than Delmon. Putting Jhonny there would keep the off-setting hitters (right, left, right, etc). Also, by leaving Berry in the lineup it gives the bottom of the order a little boost of energy. No matter what Leyland decides to do with the lineup, the bottom line is that the offense has to get better and begin to lessen the pressure on the starting pitchers and bullpen.
(or release him) and make Boesch the full time DH, or platoon these guys in that role. I also think that Peralta should be given a chance in the 5 hole for a bit because even if he is having a disappointing year so far, he draws a ton more walks than Delmon. Putting Jhonny there would keep the off-setting hitters (right, left, right, etc). Also, by leaving Berry in the lineup it gives the bottom of the order a little boost of energy. No matter what Leyland decides to do with the lineup, the bottom line is that the offense has to get better and begin to lessen the pressure on the starting pitchers and bullpen.
Starting Pitching
The starters really haven’t been the main issue so far this season. Verlander is getting some of the least amount of run support from his offense and is somehow still 5-4 after 2 bad outings. I would imagine JV is getting a little frustrated, but wouldn’t it be nice if he had a few CC Sabathia starts where the offense bails him out and JV can put it in cruise control? As bad as he pitched on Sunday against the Yankees, he only gave up 5 runs, and against the useless pitcher that is Phil Hughes, the offense should have been able to give JV the no-decision. Scherzer and Porcello have been average to good more than they have been bad, which is seeming like all we can expect from them in their careers. Smyly has been a nice surprise, but has strung together 4 bad starts in a row and needs a good outing tonight to begin straightening things out. Then there is Fister, who most people expected him to continue his second half of 2011. People, he was the best pitcher in baseball last year after being traded to the Tigers. He outpitched Verlander during that time. This was not going to be able to continue. Then in his first start he injured his side and it has been nagging him all season so far. I have no doubts that he will come back and be our number 2 starter hands down if he can get healthy. I am not sure what more we can get from the starters right now, especially without Fister.
Bullpen pitchers
Overall this group has been very disappointing. Eight relievers have earned 10 losses. Did you get that? Almost a third of the losses have come from the bullpen. On top of that, Valverde now is sporting a 3-1 record as a closer. Benoit and Valverde both had career seasons last year, and should not have been expected to continue their complete dominance. Benoit has been turning things around, until he got some arm soreness in his last outing. Valverde is just looking awful so far this year. He cannot command his fastball, and has all but removed his split finger pitch from his arsenal. When Benoit is healthy again, will Leyland make the switch to him to be the closer? Below has been a nice surprise so far. Villareal looked terrible in his first stint with the team, but has come back and looked dominant at times. If he can locate his fastball for strikes, this kid could be the best pitcher in the pen for the Tigers. Marte has added depth to the pen since coming back from the DL, and most people don’t remember but he won a job out of spring training and then got injured just before opening day. Then there is Dotel, who started as the best pitcher in the bullpen, and recently has been struggling to locate pitches and has a tendency to give up the big fly. Also, the Tigers are still expecting Al Albequerque to come back from injury after the All-Star game. This group of guys will need to begin to pitch more consistently if this team is going to start closing the gap with the White Sox.
Defense
Last and certainly least. The big question with adding Prince Fielder was going to be the defense and with Miguel moving back to third base. Well, the defense has been worse than expected in my book. The Tigers have a .670 defensive efficiency good for dead last in the AL. The Tigers have a roster full of DH’s. Somehow Miguel has been the least of the concerns in the field right now. Prince is having his worst fielding year of his career, and I personally think he is the worst defensive first baggers in the entire league. 2nd base has been a joke for most the season so far. Peralta seems to have taken a huge step in the wrong direction in the field. How many times has a ground ball been hit to the middle of the field and a double play has not been turned. Whether it is Peralta bobbling the ball, taking too much time tossing to 2nd base, covering 2nd too late, or even taking too long to make the exchange from glove to right hand to throw to first base. Then moving out to the outfield, Delmon wouldn’t be able to cover enough ground to play left field on a little league outfield. Analysts love anointing players as 5 tool players. This means they can hit for average, hit for power, run, field, and throw. Delmon Young is a successful half tool player (he can hit for power when he doesn’t strike out). I also used to think Brennan was a plus defender, but have quickly realized he is a butcher out in right field. The scary part of this area of the game is that I don’t think they can improve over what they have been doing so far this season. I don’t think they are slumping in the field, I just think they are simply that bad. The saving grace for this though is if the offense can score 5+ runs per game, these defensive lapses can be overlooked since the wins will start to pile up.
Heading into the middle third of the season, the Tigers will need to get the bottom of the lineup rolling with the bats. They cannot wait much longer to start playing good baseball. It will help a lot if Austin, Dirks, and Avila can come back from injuries soon. I personally think that Brennan having success is a big part of this team’s success, and he just doesn’t look comfortable in the batter’s box right now. I think sending him down to AAA or sitting him for a few games could really benefit the youngster. Detroit has a pretty weak next 18 games where they should be able to get in a bit of a winning streak (but the entire month of May was against lesser competition and they finished under .500). I think it will be safe to count Detroit out if their division deficit grows to double digits by the end of this month, but if they can stay behind Chicago by 4-5 games then anything can happen.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Is Tiger back?
I know most sports fans do not consider golf a real sport, and even more cannot sit and watch a golf tournament on tv. I, however, am not one of these people. I will admit, I am not the biggest golf fan and do find some rounds pretty boring when I don’t know the names on the leader board, but I do follow every tournament that Tiger enters until he is no longer in contention.
Well, in case you missed it, Tiger Woods won his 5th Memorial Championship yesterday, and a glimpses of dominant Tiger peaked through during the final round. He started the day 4 behind the leader and came out aggressive but under control. The turning point of the round though happened on the 16th hole. Tiger’s first shot went just past the hole and onto the down slope of the rough. It was not a favorable lie. As the camera showed the view from Tiger’s second shot, all that ran through my mind is that water is very close. He did not have much green to work with in front of the hole, and even less past it. If I had 10 chances to throw the ball into the hole, I probably wouldn’t come close even once. Tiger’s competitive nature came through and he expected to make this shot. Needless to say, he did. He made the perfect shot and let the ball trickle into the hole as his caddy walked onto the green with the putter in hand.
Then came the classic fist pump made famous in Augusta. For the next hour Tiger of old was back. You could tell from the look in his eyes. He calmly played the 17th hole safely and put his first two shots exactly where he wanted and tapped in for par, then stepped up to the 18th tee box, the same hole he was +3 in the first 3 rounds. Again he placed his first two shots where he wanted them and knocked down the birdie putt to all but seal the victory (his second of 2012). It has been a while since I have seen final round Tiger look like that, and I loved it. Golf becomes must watch tv when Tiger is playing like that. I just hope he can do it for 3 of the 4 rounds in the US Open, and if he does, look out, he will run away from the crowd for his 15th major championship.
Another thing that I found interesting was watching the fist pump took me back to watching the first one on the green at the Masters. I loved the energy that Tiger brought to the course. This energy is what made Tiger a star. Yes, he once was the most dominant golfer of all time, but not only did he win he was different than the cookie cutter, robot, golfer. He was the normal dude on the course getting pumped when he made an amazing shot. People loved the emotion. Then he got injured and the winning slowed down, and Tiger continued to show emotion. Except it wasn’t the positive energy, it was the frustration and disappointment of making poor decisions and shots. Again, he was the standard guy on a golf course. The problem is nobody liked the emotion any longer, and Tiger was constantly ridiculed and even fined for not being a perfect gentleman. I say you cannot have one without the other. If you are drawn to Tiger because of the passion and emotion that he wears on his sleeve during the good times, you have to accept the negative emotion during a bad round.
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