GDT: 9/15/08 - DET (70-78) AT TEX (73-77) - 8:05 p.m. ET

Tigers trail 11-8 in the ninth

Where is everybody

GO TIGERS

2 outs in the ninth
Hessman at bat

Sheff on first

Sheff steals second

1-2 on Hessman!

2-2 on Hessman

Hessman K's


Game over

Final Score

Rangers 11

Tigers 8

Thanks to Farnsworth


Why the hell did we trade Pudge for that piece of shit


We need Pudge back

And Leyland needs to go

The Tigers have too much talent to be 70-79

What pisses me off is that the Tigers won 88 games last year


88 games will probably win this division this year


Both Twins and White Sox lost tonight

If the Tigers had won the last 5 instead of losing the last 5

We still might have had a slim chance

Had the Tigers Swept Oakland, Swept Chicago and won tonight

They be 6 out with 13 left, including a game leftwith the White Sox

Instead they are 13 games out with 13 to play; closer to last the first

FIRE LEYLAND!

Maybe the Tigers need to lose 12 out of their last 13 and finish last


Maybe Ilitch will do something

Just like he did after they lost 119 games in 05

What's so great if the Tigers go 12-1 or 11-2 to finish the season

What?

We beat the Tribe out for third

Only thing finishing 500 or 82-80 does is bring that asshole Leyland back next year

Tigers gonna have the same problems next year with Leyland as manager

And the Tigers need more speed

I was watching the game on FSN; Rod and Mario were going on about how Leyland believes he only needs to tweak this team

They started talking about team speed

and if the Tigers need to get players with more speed

And Rod says something like teams that have speed don't have the firepower the Tigers have


I rather have speed and be playing in October thanhave a bunch of power hitters and finish 4th.


The 1992 Detroit Tigers hit a lot of Home runs, too

Did they make the playoffs

HELL NO!

CHICAGO -- The Tigers still have another few weeks before they do the end-of-season evaluations on their roster and meet to formulate a game plan for potential changes this winter. What happens with Dontrelle Willis and Freddy Garcia over the next few days in Texas will have a major determination on how the team approaches its pitching staff for next season.

Neither pitcher is going to have a large sample size for Detroit's front office to evaluate. Willis' start on Monday will be his first big league outing since June and just his sixth Major League appearance all year after signing a three-year contract. Garcia's first appearance in a Tigers uniform comes Wednesday, with little more than a week left in the regular season, before the team must decide whether to try to re-sign him as a free agent.

It's not what the Tigers envisioned doing at this point in the year, but it's what they have. They're trying to win as many games as they can, but their bigger priority has to be how to set up a team with a chance to win next year. Willis and Garcia could play a big part in that.

The last time Willis took the mound in a Major League game, he was fighting a losing battle with his command before a national television audience and a packed crowd at Comerica Park. He gave up eight runs on three hits and walked five in his June 9 start against Cleveland while recording just four outs as commentators noted how his trademark delivery looked out of sorts.

The Tigers took the rare measure of optioning Willis to Class A Lakeland after the game, a move that required and received his approval. So did the program he did while he was there, working with organizational pitching instructor Jon Matlack to tweak his delivery and iron out his command.

A long summer of Minor League starts and side work followed, not all of them encouraging. He made his way back to Triple-A Toledo last month and had some up-and-down results in three starts with the Mud Hens before forearm soreness ended his Minor League season.

"Honestly, it was a day-to-day thing," Willis said. "Just try to be successful, try to put some good work in, try to cut out the bad habits and go from there. It was the same thing at Triple-A and the same thing when I finally got up here. Just continue to try to work hard and stay consistent with the workouts."

He made a pair of simulated outings in Detroit over the last week and a half, pitching opposite Garcia. The second saw him pound the inside corner against left-handed hitters with his fastball while getting the results he wanted with his changeup. When Leyland came to Willis on Tuesday and asked him how he felt, Willis responded that he was ready.

"I felt like I was already ready," Willis said. "I just had to get myself back to that point where I could consistently try to help this ballclub win. Mentally, I always felt [I was ready]. Now they're confident in me. That's always a good feeling when your bosses are confident in you."

Whatever the confidence level, the Tigers can't say with certainty where Willis fits for next season. He's signed through 2010, and Detroit could have two or three openings in the rotation depending on the health of Jeremy Bonderman and the progression of Nate Robertson. But the Tigers have to figure out whether Willis has a chance to regain the form that made him a front-line starter in Florida a few years ago.

The Texas team he'll face certainly could hurt him -- the Rangers knocked Robertson out of Detroit's rotation with five home runs when they met him last month -- but they'll also give an idea of how much Willis can get hitters to chase his pitches again. For all his command questions, he was able to get swings and misses from opponents in the Minors this summer. Texas, however, is a long way from Triple-A.


Pitching matchup


DET: LHP Dontrelle Willis (0-1, 10.32 ERA)
The Tigers will give Willis his shot at a start down the stretch after he spent most of the summer working on his command and delivery in a Minor League stint. He went from Class A Lakeland up through Triple-A Toledo and back to the big leagues, where a pair of simulated games earned him this test. How he fares could determine his course this offseason toward next year, the second season in the three-year contract he signed in December.

TEX: RHP Brandon McCarthy (1-1, 4.22 ERA)
McCarthy makes his fifth start for the Rangers after missing 4 1/2 months because of severe forearm/elbow inflammation. After two quality starts, he lost in his last outing against the Red Sox, allowing six runs in 5 1/3 innings during a 7-2 defeat. Opponents are hitting .250 off McCarthy, .300 by left-handed hitters and .200 by right-handed hitters. They are 3-for-17 (.176) off him with runners in scoring position. McCarthy is 1-2 with a 5.25 ERA in 10 games, including three starts, against the Tigers.

Tidbits

Catcher Brandon Inge is expected to rejoin the team in time for Monday's game after traveling to Virginia for the funeral of his grandfather on Sunday. Dusty Ryan caught both games of Sunday's doubleheader in his place. ... Magglio Ordonez's home run Sunday earned him his eighth 20-homer year in nine full big league seasons. ... Third baseman Carlos Guillen has not ruled a return to action by the end of the Texas series, though he has yet to take batting practice after weekend-long rains kept the Tigers hitting inside in Chicago.

On the Internet

MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes

On television
• FSND

On radio
• 97.1FM/1270AM

Up next

• Tues., Sept 16: Tigers (Zach Miner (8-4, 4.29 ERA)) at Rangers (Kevin Millwood (9-9, 5.15 ERA)), 8:05 p.m. ET

• Wed., Sept 17: Tigers (Freddy Garcia, 2008 debut) at Rangers (Dustin Nippert (3-4, 6.20 ERA)), 8:05 p.m. ET

• Thurs., Sept 18: Off-day

September 15, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Detroit	0	1	0	3	0	1	2	1	0		8	10	0
Texas	0	0	0	3	0	4	0	4	X		11	10	0

Detroit AB- R-- H- RBI- BB- SO- LOB- AVG Granderson, CF 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 .295 Polanco, 2B 5 1 2 1 0 0 0 .308 Ordonez, RF 5 0 1 1 0 2 1 .322 Cabrera, 1B 5 2 3 1 0 1 0 .292 Joyce, LF 2 2 2 0 3 0 0 .272 Sheffield, DH 4 1 1 3 1 2 5 .222 Larish, 3B 3 0 1 2 0 0 2 .217 - Hessman, 3B 2 0 0 0 0 1 4 .250 Inge, C 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .213 Santiago, SS 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 .290 Totals 37 8 10 8 6 9 17 BATTING 2B: Joyce (15, Mendoza), Larish (3, Mendoza), Cabrera (33, Rupe). HR: Sheffield (17, 4th inning off Rupe, 2 on, 1 out). TB: Polanco 2; Ordonez; Cabrera 4; Joyce 3; Sheffield 4; Larish 2. RBI: Larish 2 (15), Sheffield 3 (53), Ordonez (91), Cabrera (117), Polanco (55). 2-out RBI: Larish; Polanco. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Inge 2; Hessman 3. Team LOB: 8. BASERUNNING SB: Santiago (1, 2nd base off Wright/Teagarden). FIELDING PB: Inge (10). Outfield assists: Granderson (Metcalf at home).		Texas AB- R-- H- RBI- BB- SO- LOB- AVG Arias, J, 2B 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 .265 - a-Bradley, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .324 - Duran, 2B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .219 Young, SS 4 1 1 1 1 1 2 .279 Hamilton, CF 4 1 0 0 1 0 4 .302 Byrd, LF 5 0 1 2 0 0 2 .297 Cruz, RF 3 1 1 0 2 0 0 .329 Blalock, 1B 5 1 1 0 0 2 4 .259 Ramirez, M, DH 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 .227 - 1-Boggs, PR-DH 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .232 Metcalf, 3B 3 2 2 3 1 0 0 .244 Teagarden, C 4 2 2 5 0 2 0 .361 Totals 32 11 10 11 9 6 13 a-Struck out for Arias, J in the 8th. 1-Ran for Ramirez, M in the 8th. BATTING 2B: Arias, J (5, Willis), Teagarden (4, Farnsworth). 3B: Byrd (3, Farnsworth). HR: Metcalf (5, 4th inning off Willis, 2 on, 2 out), Teagarden (6, 6th inning off Glover, 3 on, 1 out). TB: Arias, J 3; Young; Byrd 3; Cruz; Blalock; Metcalf 5; Teagarden 6. RBI: Metcalf 3 (11), Teagarden 5 (17), Young (76), Byrd 2 (47). 2-out RBI: Metcalf 3; Young; Byrd 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hamilton; Byrd; Blalock. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING CS: Arias, J (1, 2nd base by Glover/Inge).
Detroit IP-- H- R- ER- BB- SO- HR- ERA Willis 5.0 2 3 3 5 4 1 8.82 Glover (BS, 1) 1.0 3 4 4 1 1 1 5.55 Rapada 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.86 Dolsi 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.92 Farnsworth (BS, 3)(L, 2-3) 0.2 4 4 4 3 1 0 4.48 Seay 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.06		Texas IP-- H- R- ER- BB- SO- HR- ERA McCarthy 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.09 Mendoza 2.1 2 1 1 0 1 0 7.86 Rupe 2.2 4 4 4 2 3 1 4.78 Littleton 0.2 1 2 2 1 0 0 8.76 Wright (BS, 6) 1.1 2 1 1 2 2 0 4.86 Francisco (W, 3-5) 1.1 1 0 0 1 3 0 3.30
IBB: Hamilton (by Farnsworth). HBP: Ramirez, M (by Glover). Pitches-strikes: Willis 89-47, Glover 23-13, Rapada 2-2, Dolsi 17-10, Farnsworth 33-13, Seay 1-1, McCarthy 7-5, Mendoza 38-24, Rupe 56-32, Littleton 20-10, Wright 30-15, Francisco 27-16. Groundouts-flyouts: Willis 6-5, Glover 1-0, Rapada 1-0, Dolsi 2-0, Farnsworth 0-0, Seay 0-1, McCarthy 0-2, Mendoza 2-4, Rupe 2-3, Littleton 0-2, Wright 2-0, Francisco 1-0. Batters faced: Willis 22, Glover 7, Rapada 1, Dolsi 3, Farnsworth 8, Seay 1, McCarthy 2, Mendoza 9, Rupe 14, Littleton 4, Wright 8, Francisco 6. Inherited runners-scored: Seay 2-0, Littleton 2-0, Wright 2-2, Francisco 1-1. EjectionsDetroit Tigers Manager Jim Leyland ejected by HP umpire Eric Cooper. (6th). Umpires: HP: Eric Cooper. 1B: Angel Hernandez. 2B: Marty Foster. 3B: Derryl Cousins. Weather: 75 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, Out to RF. T: 3:27. Att: 13,536. September 15, 2008

Willis did so-so, but Farnsworth is back to his old worthless self! 3rd blown save and (2-3 record) not good!

Get rid of this guy FarnsworthLESS!

That is 2 games in a row for Farnsey.