NFL Draft Live Blog....On a Different Site

Howdy folks! I am doing a liveblog of the 2007 NFL Draft, but it's over at Footblog.com so feel free to come over and check it out. Enjoy!

Nate The Great

Badass....

Last night Nate Robertson showed once again why he's the most underrated pitcher on the Tigers' staff by throwing seven shut out innings as the they got back into the win column with a 3-1 win in Baltimore. Nate had more strike outs (5) than hits (4) and improved his record to 2-0 with an ERA of 1.38. Very very good stuff from Nate last night and hopefully he's able to keep this up during the season. Joel Zumaya gave up the only run on a solo home run to Corey Patterson in the eighth, but as a fastball pitcher you tend to give those up sometimes. Todd Jones worked the ninth and got his fourth save of the young season, and also managed not to put the tying run on base, which is a welcome change.

As for the hitters, last night was hit and miss. Curtis Granderson continued his great start to the season going 2-3 (2 doubles) with 2 runs scored. Placido just continued being Placido going 2-3 with an RBI. The problems are coming in the middle of the order where Gary Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez just aren't getting it done right now. Last night they went a combined 0-8 and are hitting .120 and .200 respectively. Does it bother me a little that the middle of our order is hitting so poorly? Yes. Am I really worried about it long term? No. I think a little of the Tigers hitting struggles have to do with playing in the cold weather, and that is going to change in the coming weeks. Sheffield is a great hitter and a lot of his outs have been screaming line drives hit right to outfielders, and eventually those are going to drop, so I'm not worried. Plus even with the hitting being so poor the Tigers are still 4-3 so they are weathering the storm.

All in all the Tigers got a nice win last night and another solid outing from their starting pitching. That's one thing (Chad Durbin's HORRID start notwithstanding) that has been going prety well for the Tigers thus far. Now if those bats heat up soon then this team is going to start clicking....

Get Andrew Miller Up Here....NOW!

Time to cut that Lakeland shit out...

The game isn't over yet, but I've seen enough. Chad Durbin is on my official shit list. HORRIBLE outing for Chad against the Orioles, and I've seen enough of him as the replacement for Kenny Rogers in the starting rotation.

I hate to say it but six runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings is not going to cut it. I say we just cut our losses now and pull Miller up from the minors and see what he can do. I'm pretty sure he can pitch a little better than the crap I saw on my TV today. Hopefully the Tigers can rally here for the win, but either way I'm hoping that Durbin is done.

Yes I realize that this is a knee jerk reaction after one start, but I was of the opinion that Durbin was better off in the bullpen to begin with and they should have just went with Miller right away. This is just good ammunition to make that happen. We'll see.

Well That Was Harder Than It Should Have Been

Do you always have to put the tying run in scoring position? SERIOUSLY?!?!

Okay, so that was WAY more exciting than it should have been. The Tigers just beat the Blue Jays 10-9, but they were up 9-0 at one point and it shouldn't have been that close. Nate Robertson almost got screwed out of a decision he earned with some solid pitching. Thank God they held on.

Now there are a lot of positives to take from this game, and I'll tackle those before we hit the things that make me want to pull my hair out.

Nate Robertson - 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 K's

Nate pitched about as well as you'd expect. He had pretty good command of all of his pitches and was able to limit his walks (2). His only mistake was the home run ball he gave to Troy Glaus. Other than that he was as good as you can expect from him. He even went to the dugout with a seven run lead. I'm sure he wasn't thinking there would be a chance at a no decision.

Curtis Granderson - 2 for 5, 1 HR, 5 RBI's, 1 BB

Curtis is looking GOOD at the plate to start the season. He did strike out twice, but when he put the bat on the ball he made quite the impact. A Grand Slam and an RBI triple. Not a bad day at all.

Pudge Rodriguez - 4 for 5, 1 R

As bad as Pudge looked yesterday at the plate, he looked that good today. He was able to slap the ball to the opposite field, as usual, and get on base. Very good day.

Now I would also say Placido Polanco had a good game as well (3 for 5, with a run and an RBI) but he's the absolute balls so I have come to expect that from him. He could be my favorite Tiger other than Joel Zumaya (have to love a guy who plays Guitar Hero and has a flame tattoo on his arm).

Unfortunately there was some negative things in this game as well, which usually happens when you are up 9-0 and end up winning by one run. Let's take a look at that....

Magglio Ordnez's Outfield Hijinks (tm)

During the Blue Jays comeback in the eighth, Maggs decided that playing right field was a bit too easy and decided to mess things up a bit. First he didn't run down what looked like a catchable ball (which would have been the second out of the inning) and then with the bases loaded and one out he decided to try and lay out for a ball (which didn't look like he even had a chance to catch) and ended up just sliding past it which allowed all three runners to score instead of the one runner that would have scored had he let it drop. Also pretty much every other ball hit his way looked like he lost it somewhere before he made the catch. He just looked very shaky today.

Brandon Inge - 0 for 4, 3 K's

It's gotten to the point that whenever Inge steps to the plate I expect a strikeout. The lasting image of the World Series for me (beyond the pitcher errors) is Inge's horrible looking strikeouts, which include the one that ended the Series. He just looks completely fooled right now. Hopefully he rights the ship and starts hitting the damn ball.

Fernando Rodney - 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER

Through two games Rodney is not hitting the mark. He didn't look great yesterday when he lost the game in the 10th, and looked just as bad today when he allowed the Jays to get two more runs to cut the lead to one. When Rodney has command he's lights out, but when he's bad, he's really bad, but I think he'll straighten things out.

Also while Todd Jones did come in and close things out in the ninth, is there a reason he has to put the tying run in scoring position EVERY GAME?!?! This time he gave up a one out single, and then walked the next batter to put the tying and winning runs on and then got the next two outs. The man is trying to kill me. I swear to God. JUST GIVE ME A 1-2-3 INNING PLEASE!

All in all a win is a win, and this will look good in the W column, but there are definitely some things that need to be improved.

Michigan's Going to Make it Rain (Threes that is..)

Welcome to Ann Arbor John! Now get us to the NCAA's

According to reports from pretty much every media outlet, Michigan has found the man who will replace the void left by the departure of Tommy Amaker's mock turtlenecks. That man is West Virginia's John Beilein.

I personally like this hire, as Beilein has proven himself to be the Anti-Amaker in that he takes players with less talent and actually makes them good, instead of taking players with talent and making them worse. If you enjoy three pointers (and who doesn't?) get ready because Beilein coached teams go crazy from three. West Virginia was second in the NCAA this season averaging 10.3 three pointers a game (those are three pointers made, not shot). He also runs a wacky 1-3-1 defense that should change things up a bit, and has lead his teams consistently to the NCAA Tournament.

Hopefully all the top recruits stick around to play for Beilein, but all that remains to be seen. I can say that for the first time in a long time I'm excited to see some Michigan basketball, as I think this team will be a lot more fun to watch with a good coach.

So welcome to Ann Arbor Coach Beilein, and GO BLUE!

Opening Day Live Blog: Blue Jays vs. Tigers Extra Innings

Let's get some runs!!!!! (It worked last time...)

TOP OF 10th INNING

3:51 PM - Fernando Rodney in to pitch. Guillen moves to first and Perez moves to short. Can't wait to see Neifi get an at-bat and ground out to second. LOVE IT!

3:54 PM - Rodney fields a ball and makes a GREAT throw to first. WHERE WAS THIS IN THE WORLD SERIES?!?!?! One down....

3:56 PM - Overbay gets a bloop single to center after he clearly went around on strike three but the blind umpire didn't see that. Umpires already screwing the Tigers.....

3:58 PM - Impemba and Allen talk about Rod's new TV again. I'm already starting to smash my head againts my desk....

4:00 PM - Mario decides to jinx the Tigers by saying the fans are sticking around to, "See a Tigers win." I expect Wells to homer on the next pitch...

4:01 PM - Wells draws the walk and now the go ahead run is in scoring position with one out as Frank Thomas walks to the plate.

4:02 PM - Thomas breaks a bat on a foul ball and then spends an insane amount of time looking for a new bat in the clubhouse. CHECK FOR CORK!!!

4:04 PM - Right after an 0-2 pitch is called a ball even though it looked like a strike, Rodney hits Thomas to load the bases. I'm blaming Mario Impemba if we lose this. Damn jinx.

4:06 PM - Glaus hits an 0-2 pitch to left for an RBI. 4-3 Jays with the bases still loaded and one out.

4:08 PM - Rios knocks in another run on a grounder to third. Inge only had a play at first. 5-3 Jays with two outs and runners on second and third.

4:10 PM - Zaun strikes out swinging to end the inning, but the damage has been done. 5-3 Jays with the top of the Tigers order coming up in the 10th.....

BOTTOM OF 10TH INNING

4:14 PM - BJ Ryan in to try and close it out. Granderson helps the cause by striking out swinging. Tigers down to their last two outs....

4:16 PM - Polanco gets his third hit of the game, which comes in the form of a single to shallow right center field. It's not over yet folks.

4:17 PM - So the same ump who screwed us on the Reed Johnson check swing screws us again and says Sheff went around on a similar looking swing. Two outs with Mags coming up.

4:19 PM - Mags draws the walk, so runners on second and first with Guillen representing the winning run at the plate. Nice to see these games are already stressful and it's April 2nd.

4:20 PM- Well that was fun. Guillen pops out on the first pitch. 5-3 Blue Jays the final. Rodney takes the loss, and Mario Impemba draws my damnation after jinxing the Tigers. They played pretty well over all, just the little breaks didn't go their way. Hopefully Wednesday is a bounce back game. GO TIGERS!

Opening Day Live Blog: Blue Jays vs. Tigers Innings 7-9

He's good with the glove today...not so much with the bat

TOP OF 7TH INNING

2:55 PM - Joel Zumaya checks in and immediately gets Hill to fly out to right. Only 93 MPH on that one. Must have been a change up....One out.

2:58 PM - Clayton draws a walk after working the count to 3-2. Zumaya got behind 3-0 in this matchup, so he at least fought back.

3:00 PM - Johnson takes one DEEP to the warning track, but Monroe makes another great leaping catch out in left. Looks like my picture was prophetic. Two outs, with Clayton still on first. Nice play, Craig. Way to make up for the strike outs.

3:02 PM - Overbay with a shot up the middle but Guillen makes a nice play on it and that's the end of the inning. No triple digits for Zumaya, but a zero in the run column is just as nice. 3-3 after 6 1/2.

BOTTOM OF 7TH INNING

3:05 PM - Couple of guys with Chef hats on are holding up a sign that says "SHEFF'S CHEF'S." Why the apostrophe on Chefs guys? Thanks for showing off Detroit's intelligence.

3:07 PM - Inge with a ground out to third off Blue Jay reliver Janssen. One down.

3:08 PM - Granderson with a soft shot to Clayton. Two quick outs.

3:09 PM - Polanco grounds out to third to end the 1-2-3 inning. 3-3 after seven.

TOP OF 8TH INNING

3:10 PM - Bad news for Charter Cable viewers in Southeast Michigan. Apparently they may be getting rid of Versus, just in time fo Detroit fans to miss the NHL playoffs. Great move Charter, I would expect a lot of angry phone calls from people with quasi-Canadian accents, eh.

3:13 PM - Zumaya starts his second inning of work by getting Wells to ground out to short. His changeup is NASTY. Joel is the balls. One out.

3:15 PM - Thomas stikes out swinging and throws the bat into the front row. Nice catch by the fan though. Apparently Thomas is being a prick and is asking for it back. You throw it into the stands it belongs to us Frank. This is DETROIT! YOU WATCH YOURSELF! WE'RE CRAZY!

3:17 PM - Zumaya walks Glaus on a pitch that is JUST outside. Two outs, one man on.

3:18 PM - It's okay though because Rios grounds out to end the inning. 3-3 after 7 1/2

BOTTOM OF 8TH INNING

3:18 PM - Sheff is leading off the eighth and already has two RBI's on the day. Is it too much to ask for a home run here?

3:20 PM - Sheffield with a nice drive to left center, but Wells is able to run it down for the first out of the inning.

3:21 PM - Todd Jones warming up in the Tigers pen. For the good of my heart can we score a run now! Jones in a tie game is SCARY!

3:22 PM - Mags records the second out of the inning on an infield grounder. Not looking good for the Tigers this inning.

3:23 PM - Guillen ends the inning with a fly out to center. 3-3 after eight and here comes Todd Jones....

TOP OF 9TH INNING

3:26 PM - Well that's a good start. Jones gets Zaun to fly out to Guillen and that's one down.

3:29 PM - Hill gets a walk (stunner) and that brings up "former Tiger" Matt Stairs who played about ten games for us last year.

3:30 PM - WOOOOOO!!!! Jones gets Stairs to ground into a 6-3 double play and that's the end of the inning. 3-3 after 8 1/2. Walk off home run perhaps?

BOTTOM OF 9TH INNING

3:34 PM - Fernando Rodney warming up for the Tigers. Probably means if this goes extra we won't see any more of Jones. My heart thanks Jim Leyland in advance.

3:35 PM - Pudge strikes out swining on a fast ball right down the center of the plate. Hopefully he shakes off this bad day on Wednesday. One out.

3:36 PM - Janssen gets the hook, which could be a good thing as he's retired all seven Tigers he's faced. Hopefully this leads to good things.

3:42 PM - Scott Downs checks in and walks Sean Casey. Waste of space Neifi Perez comes in to pinch run for Casey. Gibbons is channeling Tony LaRussa and pulls Downs for another situational reliever. FUN!

3:43 PM - They show Mr. Ilitch up in his owner's box. Is it just me or has he had some work done on his face recently? He looks less ghoul-like. Nate Robertson has the gum going in the dugout too. Just so you know.

3:47 PM - Jason Frasor comes through the Blue Jays revolving pitching door, and strikes out Monroe swinging. If you're scoring at home that's four K's on the day for C-Mo. Fantastic start.

3:48 PM - Noted moron Neifi Perez almost gets picked off first after messing up a steal attempt. He's alread in mid-season form. UGH!!!

3:49 PM - Inge with a broken bat grounder to third to end the inning. And we're going to extras all tied up at 3.

Opening Day Live Blog: Blue Jays vs. Tigers Innings 4-6

Let's get some runs!!!!!

TOP OF 4TH INNING

2:11 PM - Zaun with a soft shot to Guillen for the first out of the inning. Bonderman looking MUCH better.

2:12 PM - Lazy pop up to Inge and that's two quick outs.

2:14 PM - Clayton grounds out to Guillen, and that's six straight outs for Bonderman. I'm liking what I'm seeing....3-1 Jays after 3 1/2

BOTTOM OF 4TH INNING

2:17 PM - Pudge leads off with a ground out to third. That was a quick first out.

2:18 PM - Casey lines out to second, and we already are up to two outs for Craig Monroe.

2:19 PM - Monroe strikes out swinging for the second time. Good start, Craig. Inning over 1-2-3. 3-1 Jays after four.

TOP OF 5TH INNING

2:21 PM - Having not seen local Detroit programming in awhile, I forgot how stupid Little Ceasars commercials are. UGH!!

2:22 PM - Johnson flys out for the seventh straight Blue Jay out. Bonderman is finally getting things together.

2:23 PM - Overbay flys out to left. Monroe catches it despite "fighting the wind." Two outs. Allen then decides it's time to talk about his new plasma TV. I don't care asshole.

2:24 PM - Wells strikes out and that's nine straight outs for Bonderman. 3-1 Jays after 4 1/2.

BOTTOM OF 5TH INNING

2:28 PM - Inge draws a walk. Wait...what? Really? Huh.

2:29 PM - HERE WE GO! Granderson hits a nice double to right center. Runners on second and third with no outs! RALLY TIME!

2:32 PM - Polanco with an RBI single to left. Inge scores and Curtis moves to third. 3-2 Jays, and here comes Sheff....

2:34 PM - Hill makes a great play to run down a foul ball, but Granderson scores with some nice baserunning. It's all tied up with one out!

2:36 PM - Mags with a fly out to shallow left field. Two outs with Polanco still on first.

2:37 PM - Guillen with a can of corn to left to end thing inning. 3-3 after five.

TOP OF 6TH INNING

2:41 PM - Thomas leads off with a single to left. That breaks the streak of nine straight outs for the Blue Jays.

2:42 PM - Leyland is coming out to talk to Bonderman. Zumaya is warming up his flame thrower in the bullpen. This will probably be Bonderman's last inning....

2:43 PM - Monroe pulls back a home run from Glaus. Phew! One LONG out.....

2:45 PM - Wild pitch moves Thomas up to second. Hopefully that doesn't come back to hurt them.

2:46 PM - Rios goes down swinging for big out. Thomas on second but there are now two outs.

2:46 PM - Zaun grounds out to Casey at first. Inning over. 3-3 after 6 1/2

BOTTOM OF 6TH INNING

2:48 PM - Some lady has a sign that says she loves Mario Impemba and Rod Allen. She needs to be made sterile for the good of mankind. She should not be allowed to pass on that DNA.

2:50 PM - Pudge strikes out looking on three pitches. He's not looking good today.

2:51 PM - Casey flys out to left. If it was more of a line drive it's probably a double, instead it's an easy second out.

2:53 PM - Monroe swings at ball four for his third strike out of the day. He also lost his bat and threw it about a mile. Nice to see something leaving the plate with Craig up today. 3-3 after six.

Opening Day Live Blog: Blue Jays vs. Tigers Innings 1-3

Jeremy Bonderman is ready to get it started...

TOP OF 1ST INNING

12:49 PM - Funny thing during player introductions. Everybody got a great cheer from the crowd, except Neifi Perez who got a nice round of boos. I love Detroit fans. Just awesome.

12:56 PM - They just showed an interview with starting pitcher Jeremy Bonderman. He is a great young pitcher, but he has zero personality.

1:00 PM - FSN leads off the broadcast with some Green Day. Standard fare from FSN Detroit. I still hate Mario Impemba.

1:05 PM - First pitch....ball. Starting pitcher Jeremy Bonderman. Another hard throwing pitcher from the Tigers. Hopefully his change up is ready to go.

1:06 PM - Not a good start. Bonderman walks Johnson. Way to kick things off.

1:08 PM - Johnson steals second, and now the Jays have a runner in scoring position for Overbay. 1-2 count.

1:09 PM - Overbay hits a LONG double over Craig Monroe. Johnson scores, 1-0 Blue Jays.

1:11 PM - Wells gets a single up the middle. Overbay scores and it's 2-0 Blue Jays already. Bonderman seems to have some jitters.

1:13 PM - Finally, Bonderman gets the first out, as he gets Thomas to fly out to Polanco in shalloow right. About time.

1:14 PM - Wells steals second, which makes that two steals in the inning. Pudge looks a bit rusty on his throws. He should have had Wells.

1:15 PM - Glaus hits an infield fly to Polanco. Two down.

1:16 PM - Rios hits a routine fly to left, but it drops in between Monroe and Guillen. Rod Allen blames the wind, but that's because he's an idiot. 3-0 Blue Jays.

1:17 PM - Good lord. Zaun hits a grounder to Casey who bobbles it before getting the third out. Tigers looking very sloppy today. 3-0 Jays after the first half of the first.

BOTTOM OF 1ST INNING

1:19 PM - Roy Halladay starting for the Jays. Already has a three run cushion which is not good.

1:21 PM - Granderson gets things going, with a 0-2 single to left. Nice to see him avoid the K there.

1:23 PM - Polanco hits a chopper back to Halladay. Moves Granderson to second, but that's the first out of the inning.

1:25 PM - Sheffield breaks his bat on a shot to third. Easy play for Glaus. Two outs.

1:26 PM - Mags breaks his beat on foul ball. Halladay is throwing pretty hard right now, but is already up to 18 pitches.

1:27 PM - Mags grounds out to short on a nice play by Royce Clayton. 3-0 Jays after the first.

TOP OF 2ND INNING

1:31 PM - Bonderman gets Hill to fly out to center. His control is all over the place though. Not sharp at all today.

1:32 PM - Clayton gets a single to right on a fastball that Bonderman left up in the zone. Shouldn't be giving away those pitches when you're ahead in the count.

1:36 PM - Johnson hits a foul ball pop up that Pudge gets easily. Could have doubled off Clayton at first, but Pudge had his back turned and didn't see it. Two outs.

1:38 PM - Overbay draws a walk, and Jeremy just doesn't look comfortable. Pitching Coach Chuck Hernandez comes out for a chat. Perhaps he could suggest Jeremy to throw strikes maybe?

1:40 PM - First pitch after the mound visit? An inside pitch that almost hits Vernon Wells in the face. Nice.

1:41 PM - Wells flys out to Mags in right to end the inning. 3-0 Jays after 1 1/2.

BOTTOM OF 2ND INNING

1:43 PM - John Keating does an interview with Sheffield's wife. She seems happy to be in Detroit. Or so she says.

1:44 PM - Guillen leads off the inning with a routine grounder to short. One out.

1:45 PM - Keating ends his Mrs. Sheffield interview by plugging her music website. Impemba and Allen then wax poetic on how great of a singer she is. Nice in-game commercial.

1:45 PM - Pudge flys out to center. Two outs. He broke his bat, which makes three for the game for the Tigers. Maybe we should stop getting the cheap bats.

1:46 PM - Casey with a nice single to left. It's going to be great to have him for a full season. Two strike hits like that are great.

1:48 PM - Monroe is looking in mid-season form already as he strikes out swinging. Inning over. 3-0 Jays after two.

TOP OF 3RD INNING

1:52 PM - Bonderman gets Thomas swinging for his first strikeout of the season. In a developing story his pitch count is really high. We coud be seeing the bullpen early in this one.

1:53 PM - Glaus hits a pop up to shallow center, Granderson has no problem getting to it for the second out of the inning.

1:54 PM - Rios flys out to Monroe in left to end the inning. Bonderman sits them down in order and seems to be getting his control issues worked out. 3-0 Jays after 2 1/2.

BOTTOM OF 3RD INNING

1:56 PM - So this inning Keating is talking to Kirk Maltby. Why? Also why are they doing this during the Tigers half of the inning? This all doesn't make much sense.

1:57 PM - Inge hits a shot to second, which is bobbled and he beats out the throw at first. Mark that down as an error folks, but I'll take it.

1:58 PM - Granderson hits a 2DP ball up the middle, but Inge was running on the pitch so they only get Curtis at first. One out.

2:00 PM - Polanco hits a line drive to right for a single. Inge holds up a third though and we have the makings of a rally with Sheff coming up.

2:01 PM - Sheffield hits a shot to left, but right at the left fielder. Inge does score on the sacrifice though. Two outs...3-1 Jays.

2:04 PM - Mags takes a 3-2 pitch to left for a single. Runners on first and second for Guillen. LET'S KEEP IT GOING!

2:08 PM - Carlos hits a LONG out to right to end the rally. End of three Tigers down 3-1.