Gator's Blog: Second Guessing

Watching the Tigers last night, I found myself second guessing a lot of things. Why is Porcello still on the hill? Why would you pitch Valverde a second inning in a non-save situation? Why intentionally walk Beltre when he's hurting? Why would you send Cabrera? A lot of Why's.

The answers came back quickly, the Tigers were desperate for a win to tie the series and hand it over to their ace Justin Verlander. Desperate times call for desperate measures and in the end, I'm ok with most of the decisions.

I suppose the one that has me scratching my head the most is why bring Valverde out for a second inning? He had pitched in the previous two games and had also pitched multiple innings, not just a save situation. But, I get it. The sad truth is that the confidence in the bullpen is shaky beyond Benoit and Valverde. Al Alburquerque and Ryan Perry haven't shown the ability to get the big out consistently and we still have no idea what it would be like to have Brad Penny take a shot in relief.

Now the Tigers really have their backs against the wall being down 3 games to 1. At least in Game 5, they will put their best foot forward with a well rested Justin Verlander. But, for the Tigers to have any chance, he has to pitch like an MVP because the bats have gone silent. If the Tigers don't take advantage of opportunities early in the game, they will lose and we will all have to admit that the Texas Rangers are the better team, they're showing it right now.