Tigers Lack Offense in 5-1 Loss

Well, that was disgusting. Baltimore pitchers handed out seven walks, their defense made two errors, but Detroit managed just five hits, including one in 11 at bats with runners in scoring position, leading to a 5-1 Orioles' victory. Twice the Tigers failed to bring runners home when they had a man on third and less than two outs, popups by Placido Polanco and Curtis Granderson didn't get the job done. You just cannot fail to capitalize when the other team is handing out walks and consistantly putting runners on base and expect to win. Tonight, there was no Zach Greinke to blame, the offense just didn't get it done.

A few things I have noticed: Adam Jones is good, but real cocky. I would love to have him on my team. Baltimore has a very good lineup, which only figures to get better when Matt Wieters makes his debut tomorrow. Luke Scott is the left handed Joe Crede and therefore the anti-christ. He now has seven bombs versus Detroit since last season began.

On the bright side, Magglio Ordonez extended his hitting streak to 14 games, and Armando Galarraga was much, much better tonight, going seven plus innings and allowing just three runs. He gave up ten hits including two home runs, but was able to limit the damage thanks to three double plays, including an absolute gem turned in by Brandon Inge in the sixth. Considering how poorly Galarraga has pitched this month, this outing was a major step in the right direction, even in the loss. His improvement also may allow the team to keep Jeremy Bonderman on his rehab stint just a bit longer to make sure he's ready to go when he gets back. But if Galarraga and the rest of the staff keep mowing down opposing offenses, Jim Leyland will have a difficult choice to make when Bondo does return. Galarraga certainly made strides toward keeping his rotation spot with his effort tonight.

The Hatred of Joe Crede

I have never heard anything about Joe Crede as a person. I don't know him, he may be a really nice guy. Somehow I doubt it, though. I don't want to know Joe Crede. I do not like him at all. I don't like his name, I don't like his face, I don't like the way that he is considered by some to be a better defender than Brandon Inge. I don't know if he is married or has kids, nor do I want to know. I hate Joe Crede. I may even hate him more than A.J. Pierzynski. I am a firm believer than Crede signed with the Twins instead of the Giants for the simple reason of being able to stick it to the Tigers at least 18 more times. That he did it just to spite us fans. Decent people would never make a decision based on spite. Obviously, Mr. Crede is not a decent person. Ian agrees, as I'm sure many, many other Tiger fans do.

Crede is a Tiger killer, and the numbers back it up. In his career entering yesterday's matinee, he had played 90 games vs. the Tigers and had a batting average of .276 (shockingly low, I would have guessed that to be closer to .895) against them, with 24 HR 68 RBI and a .897 OPS. Conversely, if you look at his career numbers against every other team in the major leagues, he carries only a .254 average with a .736 OPS. He has hit more homeruns vs Detroit than any other opponent as well. But don't think the Tigers' staff hasn't been trying to extract their revenge, they have beaned Crede 6 times (also shockingly low), more than any other opponent has. Perhaps they have only made him angry.

I hate Joe Crede, Joe Effing Crede.