Gator's Blog: Understanding the Skip

Sunday's game against the Pirates was a bit of a coming out party for Rick Porcello; he served up a one hitter through 8 fantastic innings and should have been poised to close out his first ever complete game. However, Jim Leyland saw things differently and after careful deliberation...I agree.

This goes back to what Leyland said last week regarding interleague play and how it's run its course. The American League teams are at a distinct disadvantage because of the pitchers hitting. This brings us back to Sunday's game and further evidence of why I hate the National League.

In the top of the ninth inning, Porcello's turn at bat came about in a tight 2-0 contest. Because of the close score, the Tigers needed to add some potential insurance runs, thus it made perfect sense to go to the bench and pull out a pinch hitter. So, Porcello didn't get his complete game, but he did get the win and he has converted many skeptics following up a disappointing sophomore season. If this is any indication of what we can expect from Rick Porcello the rest of the season and perhaps his career, then we should all be very happy that the Tigers have found another dependable starter to take a game through eight innings and beyond. Let's not forget that the Tigers won the game, preserved the shutout, and Jose Valverde remains perfect in closing situations.

This was not a questionable change in my opinion, the following night against Tampa Bay with a 6-1 lead going into the ninth inning and using your closer again...that's a different blog.