I Don't Know, I Don't Get It

There was a reason Fernando Rodney began to warm up in the eighth inning of last night's 5-1 win over Cleveland. Joel Zumaya had just left the game with a cut on his thumb, and Bobby Seay couldn't find the strike zone upon his arrival to the mound. Brandon Lyon had already been throwing and appeared ready to go when Rodney began lightly throwing.

Seay managed to get out of the inning with the lead intact at 3-1, so Lyon, again, who was already warm, and Rodney remained in the 'pen. Country Strong Marcus Thames extended the lead to four in the bottom of the inning with a two-run bomb. At this point the strategy is simple; sit Rodney down and bring in Lyon for the ninth.

That's not what Jim Leyland did. Rodney continued to warm while Lyon took a seat.

Enter Rodney for the ninth, with a four run lead, in a non-save situation, and hang on tightly.

Trouble began immediately when Brandon Inge, all-star, bounced a throw to first that Miguel Cabrera failed to scoop. Rodney then walked the next hitter on four pitches. Eventually Cleveland loaded the bases to bring the tying run to the plate, which of course had to be Grady Sizemore, probably the only hitter in Cleveland's lineup who absolutely terrifies you in that situation.

Rodney managed to retire Sizemore and the game ended, no harm, no foul, right? Right? Wrong!!!

Look, we have all seen this movie 1000 times. Every non-save that Rodney pitches in works this way. Why, why, why does Jim Leyland continue to do this to us?

Two things here, Rodney did not need work. He had pitched in three straight games prior to yesterday's off day, so he could have used another day off. Secondly, again, Lyon had already warmed up and was ready to go. The second that ball left Thames' bat, Gene Lamont should have been on the phone to Jeff Jones telling him to sit Rodney down and get Lyon back up.

Now you have a rested Lyon for tomorrow, but Rodney threw a ton of pitches (28 to be exact) and has pitched in four straight games with two more coming before the break. When you factor in the injury to Zumaya, it's possible he could miss the next couple games, so you'd be looking at having to use Lyon to close in one of the next two games.

All of this could have been avoided if Leyland had the foresight to keep his closer in the bullpen when the game was not on the line in the ninth. That is exactly where he should have been to a)prevent a near heart attack from Tiger fans, and b) make sure he could pitch the final two games if needed.

Leyland did what Leyland does and Rodney did what Rodney does. Why do we expect differing results?

Offense, Bullpen Blows it for Armando

Armando Galarraga announced his presence with authority last night. Unfortunately, so did Joel Zumaya.

With Detroit clinging to a 2-1 lead entering the eighth inning, Joel Zumaya was summoned to protect the game. After getting ahead of Miguel Olivo with two breaking balls, catcher Gerald Laird called back-to-back fastballs, the second of which was lined into the outfield for a single. Two batters later, following a walk to David DeJesus, Willie Bloomquist hammered a ball to deep right center, plating both base runners and giving the Royals the lead.

Zumaya's refusal to feature his very good breaking ball continues to baffle me. I know he throws 100mph, but his curveball is tremendous. I understand that he may be a bit gun shy after the homerun he gave up to Micah Hoffpauir on a change-up, but this is just silly. He needs to learn how and when to use his off-speed pitches if he's going to ever become a reliable reliever.

After the Tigers tied the game in the bottom of the eighth, Fernando Rodney came on to do what he does in non-save situations, and promptly served up the game on a hanging change-up to Mike Jacobs.

Of course the offense scored just three runs in this game, again. With a bit more help, this is a game they could have won, and should have. While Gil Meche was struggling, walking five and allowing 10 baserunners in his 5.1 innings, Detroit consistently left men on base. The missed opportunities would come back to bite them, as is so often the case.

Galarraga threw the ball better than he has perhaps all season. He baffled the Royals hitters time and time again with excellent command of his fastball and his slider. Over his seven frames, he allowed only five hits and one walk, while fanning seven. The lone run he allowed was a solo homer to Bloomquist.

Galarraga has faced much scrutiny over the past two months. After beginning the season 3-0 with a minute 1.85 ERA over his first four starts, he fell flat on his face over the next two months, dropping seven straight decisions. During that span, he frequently yielded runs early in games, and was prone to the long ball.

Slowly the worm began to turn three starts ago against the Cubs. In that June 25 contest, Galarraga earned his first win since April by limiting the Cubs to four runs over six innings, so brilliant, but a good effort given his previous struggles.

Five days later, he won again. At Oakland, he yielded only two hits, but walked six, in his 6.1 innings. He allowed only one run to the A's.

Last night however, was the culmination of the work Galarraga and pitching coach Rick Knapp have put in. Last night he looked like one of the top pitchers in the league, just the same way he looked in April. If he can continue to pitch the way he did last night, Detroit will have one fewer hole to fill.

Conversely, if Zumaya continues his recent struggles, the Tigers will have to fill a hole they weren't planning to.