Well, there’s two big things to talk about in this game, other than the fact we lost.
First was the play at home with Josh Hamilton that caused us to lose Josh until effectively the All-Star break. After a foulout to the area in front of the third base dugout, nobody was covering home for the Tigers. Apparently, Dave Anderson told Josh Hamilton that home plate was open, and depending on what story you read, he was told to go, or was just mentioned the plate was open. Either way, Josh took off, and it was a mad dash to home plate between him and catcher Victor Martinez. They arrived at more or less the same time, and Josh slid headfirst into home plate, and got injured doing so. The clip to me doesn’t seem to indicate anything that Martinez did that was bad, was just one of those freak injuries. That’s twice in an inning that Hamilton slid headfirst into a base, which really is NOT the best way to go. Should have slid feet first. There’s a quite by Josh saying that he would have definitely been out, but given how close the play was, I don’t know if you can definitively say that one way or the other.
Now after the game, on MLBN and ESPN, and many articles, Hamilton was quoted as saying “It was a stupid play”, and “I was thinking, ‘I don’t want to do this … something is going to happen”. While he didn’t exactly come out and call Dave Anderson stupid, the implication is there since it was Anderson who supposedly “sent” Josh. I’m not taking Hamilton’s side on this one, because if he TRULY felt that strongly about it, only he could start his legs moving. Anderson could tell him to rub his backside on a cheese grater, but if Josh felt it was a stupid thing to do, then he shouldn’t have done it. Some of that reaction is probably frustration over being hurt yet again, but still. Whining about it in the press doesn’t seem like a very cool thing to do. I’ll be curious to see if there’s a retraction or explanation, or refining of the comment in the next day or so.
Either way, he’s out for awhile. Josh has been hitting for average, but not for power. Chris Davis comes up to replace him on the roster, and we get a chance to see if he can shake his 4A label like Nelson Cruz did a couple of years ago. I’m guessing he’ll get a few starts at first, and if he can hit the way he has been in spring and AAA so far this year, he’ll probably play first, and I’d imagine they’d put Moreland in the outfield. We’ll see.
As for pitching, CJ Wilson has a quote about this game, saying “Just garbage, to be frank.” While I don’t think he was quite that bad, he was inconsistent. Wasn’t pounding the zone, and was a bit all over the place. His line wasn’t THAT bad. 6.2IP, 7H, 3B, 4ER. Not great, mind you, but not “garbage”. Struck out four, and looked pretty pedestrian. Nothing to worry about, I think, as he battled, and in places did look good, but yeah. Not a great outing.
He was followed by Pedro Strop, who looked good in his 1.1 innings of work. He walked one guy, which if he hadn’t, would have been a perfect outing. Strop has been pretty good numbers wise, so far.
Darren O’Day though.. Lost the game in the bottom of the ninth. I don’t think anyone had any faith in him, except maybe. While I did think he’d actually get out of it, I didn’t think it would be easy. It was not. 22 pitches to get just two outs, and give Detroit the game in a walkoff. Bah.
We’re still in great shape. 9-2, which anyone would kill for, but the Hamilton injury kind of makes this game worse than your usual loss.
Rubber game on Wed afternoon when Dave Bush makes a spot start to help out due to the doubleheader.