Tigers On Top

Negro League Tribute Day is my favorite day of the year, with the possible exception of Opening Day. Though I always hate to see Jonesy blow a save (probably even more than most people), I can’t say I was sad to get a little extra time watching the Boys play in those sharp throwbacks–or to see Brandon blast a walk-off homer! As a baseball history buff, I love to see teams recognizing the contributions of the Negro Leaguers, and the Tigers do it better than anyone else. We’ve got a whole weekend of tributes (yesterday they dedicated a plaque to Hall of Famer Turkey Stearnes, a Detroit Star) where most teams have just one day. NLTD also appeals to my obsession with uniforms (the link to Uni Watch on the left is NOT a coincidence). I cannot get enough of old-style uniforms and especially high, exposed socks. We’re talking Curtis Granderson socks–which he wears high 100% of the time as a tribute to the players of the Negro League. (Digressing a bit, how undeniably cool is Curtis Granderson? He is an amazing player, he wears the uniform right, he plays the game right, he is one of the most well-spoken ballplayers I’ve ever heard, and he knows and respects the history of the game. What more can you ask for, really?)

Some of the Tigers half-assed the socks, like Infante and Polanco (one of the very few complaints I’ll ever have with Polly). Honestly, when you are wearing a throwback uniform, just pull the socks up and show them with pride. Otherwise you look like 1) a dork and 2) like you’re wearing pajamas. Higgy and Carlos Pena used to wear their throwback pants all the way down at their ankles, which drove me totally nuts. Even Sheff, who normally has those ridiculous straps that run under his spikes and keep his pant legs pulled down as long as possible, did the socks beautifully. The worst socks, I am deeply ashamed to note, belonged to my own Tiger, Todd Jones. He seemed to have removed the elastic from the bottoms of the pants, which made them look even worse. It looked like he was wearing pinstriped slacks, almost, pinstriped pants belonging to a man several inches shorter than Todd. I blame the blown save completely on the pants. See what partially exposed socks did for Polanco? Fourth homer of the year. Fully exposed socks for Brandon? Walk-off two-run homer! Bad socks for Jonesy? Fifth blown save. Moral: BALLPLAYERS, EXPOSE THY SOCKS.

Justin Verlander, like last year, started the Negro League Tribute game, looking so sharp in that old Stars uni. (The Royals, on the other hand, picked just about the most boring Monarchs throwback they could find. Then they looked extra silly with the mismatched bright blue Royals helmets.) The early Royals were kinda cheap, and the Tigers answered promptly. Like last night, the Royals scored a run in the first; Ryan Raburn immediately tied it with a leadoff homer. Attababe, Ryan! (Goodbye, Neifi! We won’t miss you!)

Jim Leyland slotted Craig Monroe into the fifth spot, and it really seemed to work. In his first at bat, he got an RBI double. In his second, he blasted a three-run two-out homer. Mr. Clutch seems to be back, and it makes me gleeful. But it was not the sharpest night for Tigers pitching; the Royals just never let up, constantly chipping away when it seemed like they should be throwing in the towel. Guess it paid off for them, eh? Jonesy needs to stop blowing saves. It makes defending him more difficult. Watching the last few innings was way worse on the psyche than watching the Twins series–one, because you know we should be beating the crap out of the Royals, two, because against the Twins there was this weird feeling of invincibility (at least in my world), and three, said invincible feeling was not present in this game against the Royals. Maybe it’s a leftover thing from last year, but the Royals in general make me weirdly nervous.

The game, despite the nailbiting quality of the latter part of it, was full of fun moments, which I shall now list.

Amusing Observations:

 –Sheffield took a buttload of ribbing in the first after Ryan Raburn led off the game with a homer, and Sheff’s blast went only to the warning track. Whassamatter Sheff? you could practically hear them saying. Just got warning track power now, huh? Letting the rook do all the work.

–In the fifth, just before he was lifted from the game, KC’s De La Rosa thought he was about to face Craig Monroe with two on. He looked in at the plate, then whacked himself several times on the side of the head, as if reminding himself, NO MORE GOPHER BALLS to Mr. Clutch!

–When Pudge came up with two out in the fifth and two on, a man in the front row put a Pudge bobblehead on the low wall in front of him, gently holding it upright and fixing his gaze on the batter. Pudge, who had been in an 0 for 16 slump, immediately got a base hit to drive in Sheffield. The camera cut back to the bobblehead, which was now getting patted affectionately by the surrounding fans. Pudge should give him half the RBI. However, the guy’s Todd Jones bobblehead was not nearly so effective, as Jonesy blew his fifth save (and made me feel like tearing my hair out or committing some other pointless act inspired by extreme frustration). Perhaps we should give him half the blown save too. The Pudge bobblehead made yet another appearance in the tenth, much to the amusement of Rod and Mario.

–Brandon Inge, on his way home during his home run trot, only pretended to throw away his helmet. Wisely he left it on, protecting his noggin from the enthusiastic pounding it subsequently took at the hands of his overjoyed teammates. Way to pick up Jonesy and the rest of the boys, Brandon. And since I’m posting ridiculously early on this game, and the Cleveland-Texas game has not yet finished, GO RANGERS!!!!