THREE LEGGED RACE

GREG BOWMAN

Baseball sure is a funny game isn't it?  Hardly an original thought; I believe others have noted that before.  But just as soon as you think you've figured this game out, something happens to prove you don't know anything.  But don't worry; neither does anyone else.   At the beginning of the season, most of the so-called "experts" predicted a three-team race in the American League Central division between the Tigers, Twins, and White Sox.  But the Sox got off to a terrible start, leading some to speculate that the team might dump its higher priced stars and replace them with rookies.  Well, don't look now, but the Sox are on fire, winning 11 in a row before losing Sunday.  Their winning streak allowed them to catch up with the Tigers and Twins in a very tight race.  Right now, the Twins lead the Tigs by just half a game, and the Sox  by one game.

The Tigers can determine their own fate as they begin a huge series Monday in Minnesota, where they have never played well.   But the bats finally got hot Sunday, as the Tigers pounded out 10 runs and 17 hits to salvage one game of their three game series with the Braves.....So far, not so good for the Tigers on their road trip. They have only won two and lost four in the last two series.  But the Twins have also stumbled lately, so maybe the Tigers are catching them at a good time.

There is hope down on the farm.   Rick Porcello had a very strong outing in his first start with the Mud Hens.  If he has one or two more starts like that,  he will be back with the Tigers in no time. And the new kid they brought up from Double A Erie pitched well enough to win in his major league debut, but he didn't get any run support from the Tigers.  He earned a second start.

So what's the answer to these lousy umpire calls against the Tigers?  First, costing Armando Galarraga his perfect game; then costing the Tigers a game on Saturday on a lousy third strike call that should have been ball four, forcing in the tying run?   Unfortunately,  I don't think you can do anything about it.   Major League Baseball can and should expand use of instant replay on safe/out calls on the bases. But it wouldn't be practical to review every ball or strike.  You can only hope that some of these calls start going against other teams, and in the Tigers' favor in the future.