We can't get complacent now. If we want to contend, we've got to sweep these fools. Their team's awful, and we're going to show them just how bad. I see a sweep coming on.

The Tigers of the past would blow this series, dropping 2 or 3 of the games. This might be a nice test to see if these guys will have the long-term killer instinct necessary. Anything less than a sweep would be a slight dissappointment, though 3 out of 4 might still be acceptable, depending on how it went down.

Yeah, I know I screwed up the fourth choice in the poll, should be 3 of four, can't figure how to change it...

Anybody else see Scott Elarton on ESPN yesterday?

Holy shit!

The video was much more damning than these quotes.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/baseball/mlb/kansas_city_royals/14636997.htm


Losses lead to lashing out

Some players question their teammates’ desire

By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star

Tired of watching the Royals? Feeling beaten down by reading and hearing about loss after loss after loss?

Take solace. You’re not alone.

“It’s getting to be pretty sickening,” first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz said. “I’m sick to my stomach, going and losing every day.”

Owner David Glass and manager Buddy Bell have offered harsh comments in recent weeks, but for the first time in public, some Royals players seem to have hit a snapping point.

It’s now nine losses in a row for the Royals, whose 10-31 record is the worst in baseball and the worst start in franchise history.

Scott Elarton — who before Sunday was always careful to say nothing but politically correct things — went off for five-plus minutes to reporters after dropping to 0-5 in the Royals’ 10-3 loss to St. Louis.

Elarton declined to name names but called the team “terrible” and “bad in every facet of the game” and said plainly that some of his teammates “don’t have the desire to improve this wretched start.”

“It’s just a vicious cycle and we’re stuck in it,” he said. “It doesn’t look like anybody cares about it. If that continues, it’s going to be a long season. If nobody in here cares about it, it’s just going to get worse.”

Even as general manager Allard Baird’s job remains in limbo, Elarton and Mientkiewicz were clear in saying they didn’t think ownership or the front office should be blamed for the on-field struggles.

“I’m not going to point fingers at anybody outside (the locker room),” Elarton said. “I don’t care if Casey Stengel’s our manager and (we have) the greatest general manager in history: If the guys aren’t willing to put out the effort and do what they’re capable of doing, it’s not going to get any better.”

A few other excerpts from Elarton’s comments: “If it doesn’t burn you when you lose, then it’s not going to get any better. There comes a point you have to address it within yourself.

“You can blame whatever you want to blame. Injuries, we got off to a bad start. You can throw all those excuses out there, but bottom line is we just have to get the job done no matter who’s on the field. And get beat with some pride. If you’re going to get beat, then go down swinging.

“You either have it inside you or you don’t. Sometimes guys who really do care can fall into a lull we’re in right now.”

Mientkiewicz sounded much the same, calling the team’s play “inexcusable.” He hinted several times that some players are more concerned with their own personal numbers than the team’s win total.

“You gotta look yourself in the mirror and say you’re supposed to win,” Mientkiewicz said. “You’re not supposed to be a sideshow and go out and get thumped every single day. It’s not about you hitting .300, you striking the guy out, you driving in 100. It’s about you winning games.”

We need to sweep the Royals, especially considering the fact that we have the Indians, Yankees and the Red Sox coming up next.

Let's sweep these major league rejects. We need some momentum for the big boys coming up.

Damn, only put up a 5 spot? We are slipping. What's wrong with us?

8-0 Tigers!

Normally I'd say 'save some of these for tomorrow, but it seems like we'll find another way to win tomorrow too. Might as well have some fun.

Now I'm expecting 3 of 4, but want a sweep. How times have changed.

JV going for another SO? 60 pitches through 5.

Do you pull Verlander or leave him in for a CG?

As much as I would like to see him get a CG, I think having him available to pitch later in the season is more valuable. Especially considering the fact that he is just a rookie.

PC now at 88 through 7. That isn't anywhere near redlight territory for me. But if he's in trouble? Hook em. He still gets some cred for the team SOs. What do we have 8 or 9? Whatever it is, we're leading the league.

The announcers just said that nobody is up in the Tiger pen, so it looks like JL is going to give him a shot at it.

99 through 8innings.

CG Shutout for Verlander. :)

Don't like the 114 pitch count though.

Yeah, I hope this is the last cg we see out of him. I'm sure Leyland felt he at least had to give him a shot at it, which I respect.

JV's first ML shutout. Good job JV.

I'm not sure on the 114. I didn't think that would be prob over 9. Not every game but when you get a shot at it as a rook, you prolly want it.

114 is just fine with me. I've seen plenty of older pitchers(lower stamina) throw that or more and be just fine the next few starts. We usually only need Verlander to pitch six anyway, so what's the big deal if he goes over 100 once in a while? Let the man have his CG.

In the back of my mind I thought the Royals would win last night because of the team private meeting and that they'd probably throw everything at us. I'm glad I was wrong. :)

Let's get 'em again.

114's fine as long as it doesn't become a recurring thing. Baseball's weird, younger pitchers may have more"stamina" but their arms can't handle the strain. Dozens of young pitchers have been ruined by managers letting them go too long. (see Burnett, Aj; Wood, Kerry; Prior, Mark; almost every pitching prospect the Mariners have ever had...etc, etc...). Verlander's great, and he looks special so far but there have been a dozen guys the last five years who have had similair stuff and similair starts but are now either no longer in baseball or mired in re-hab. No reason not to be cautious.

I think if you're under 100 heading into the 9th and working on a CG shutout, it's ok to stay in. Otherwise, I'm in favor of pulling him, especially with an 8 run lead. If it weren't a shutout, I think he would have come out, if not after the 7th, then for sure after the 8th. An 8-1 or 8-2 game certainly would have seen Grilli or Walker or Seay or Colon. I expect if Rogers gets a big lead tonight Leyland will pull him after 6 or 7 and give Grilli some time. Of the active relievers he's had the most time off, having last pitched on Thursday.

By the way, I must have missed or forgotten what's going on with Craig Dingman. He hasn't pitched all season but ESPN.com has him on the roster and it doesn't say he's on the DL. I'm sure I can find the answer if I look, but it's Craig Dingman so I'm not planning to spend much time looking.

Yahoo! Sports says he is on the 60 day DL. I saw that a few days ago.

BTW Young was placed on the DL by the Tigers today. And they called up Hannahan to take his place.

Hannahan's an interesting move. Supposedly he's a STUD defensively at third but he doesn't have much pop in his bat. I'm guessing they just want to be able to give Inge a day or two off.

So who will they put at DH?

Thames last night. Pudge when Wilson spells him, I don't THINK Mags has DH'd this year, but he is hitting the ball really good. I wouldn't mind him getting a rest once in a while and DHing.

Agree with poster who said, 'don't want it to be a recurring thing' regarding 114. He was facing his last batter regardless, imo.

Not a great start for Rogers.

4-0 Royals.

But we come back and win another (2 out in the ninth). Gotta love it!

It's so nice that this team has fight in them and didn't just give up late in the game. By the way, isn't that 11 saves so far this month for Jones? If he would have been healthy to start the year, he would probably be leading the league in saves right now. As it is, he's only 1 behind Papelbon and Isringhousen in that category, but surely he would have converted most of the saves Rodney got. While I'm talking about Jones - it's easy to hate on his ERA and the fact that he usually puts a couple people on base (1.43 WHIP isn't ideal for a closer), but it's hard to hate 14 saves in 15 tries, isn't it?

Yeah, he makes us sweat it a little, but he gets the job done. Roller coaster at his best!

Good thing the Royals suck.

I was thinking that we prolly won't go down tonight 0-4, like we did last night, but then I see Bondy is going tonight. It seems like he can give up a couple early sometimes. Hopefully not tonight.

We've got a tough stretch coming up so we really need to win vs Royals.

I just looked, and it is a REALLY tough stretch. Cleveland, The Yankees, The Red Sox, The White Sox, Toronto....damn. If we can win 50% of these games I'll be pleased.

Curtis Granderson has been hotcakes lately.

Is he.....blooming at the right time?

I'm really not impressed with Cleveland, Toronto(especially if we face Josh Towars), or the Yankees. I don't think we'll have much of a problem during that stretch.

Curtis has been the shit...and Shelton seems to have found his bat again as well. I'm sure we'll be fine, but everyone will be looking at the next couple of weeks to decide if we're worth all of the hype.

I, however, am already convinced. This is the most fun I've had with baseball in years and years and years.

One thing is for sure, this next stretch could either put more distance between us and the other contenders, or it could drop us back in the pack (or everything could stay relatively the same, I guess). It should be interesting the check the standings 2-3 weeks from now.

Lets win half of the Yanks, BoSox and CWS. Cleveland prolly has red ass cause we swept them last time. So they should be included. But if we do that, we'll still be fine and then do some bottom feeding.

Tigs up 1-0 Game 3 btw.

I know it's only the Royals but Omar Infante is crushing the ball right now.

3 straight multiple-hit games along with 2 HR's today.

Everyone is clicking for this team. Even guys that dont play everyday seem to do something good whe they get their chance.

Yeah, and if the damn White Sox would just lose a game or two we could get a bit of a cushion. Fuckers.

Damn White Sox. They need to lose once in awhile. :(

Good game by Omar last night. He was crushing the ball.

Rod Allen: Uh oh

Lineups are up. Hannahan gets his first start and Shelton gets the day off:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore;_ylt=Ak0wYc8zCFhZvA2f4dSo0SARvLYF?gid=260 525107

Isn't Hannahan a 3rd baseman?

Pudge was supposed to be off today per Yahoo (saw it this morning).

I wonder what changed?

Yeah, but I'm sure he can play a little 1st base.

Hannahan, eh? Who!?

One of our better prospects. Pretty good defensive third baseman. Can hit, but not for power.

I'm just glad to see Infante in the DH spot again. Is Irony ready with that picture?

NO TV DAMNIT!

I thought they didn't stream the boadcast on 1270? I'm sitting here listening to "The Detroit Tiger's Radio Network" on its stream. Or is this going to cut out as soon as the game begins?

Yeah, I thought Pudge was getting the day off today. Oh well.

MLB Audio....beautiful thing

Maroth is getting bitchslapped out of the gate.

I thought they didn't stream the boadcast on 1270? I'm sitting here listening to "The Detroit Tiger's Radio Network" on its stream. Or is this going to cut out as soon as the game begins?


Did they cut it?


BTW, 1270 has very shitty reception in my area. Is there any other station that does the games?

So much for that ERA. 4 ER in the first.

Make that 5 on a Berroa homer. Sweet Lord.

Good st art

Holy fuck. Maroth out of the game after one out.

So much for moiving into first in my fantasy baseball. Shit. He got rocked

Normally I would say that this game is over, but who knows these days. Still, this is probably the worst start we've had this season so far.

Wow. That was a rockjob. But this is the Royals, so it's not over.

BTW: Vance Wilson was running the bases, tripped on a baseball, and rolled his ankle.

wait what?

YES! RBI for Inge and Granderson.

6-2! Bases loaded.

wait what?

Vance is not playing because of a sprained ankle suffered before the game.

LMFAO!

Polanco gets hit and now it's 6-3! YAY!

Fuck a Pudge.

GIDP.

Damn that Pudge. Grounded into a DP.

Pudge needs to move from that #3 spot.

LOL@players who try and run on Pudge

LOL @ 1270's shitty feed.

Continuing to LOL. Maroth's ERA is now at 3.56.

My 1270 feed is just fine. That's what ya'll get for being suburbans.

2-2 for Craig today. Good to see him swinging again.

I want to have sexual relations with Marcus Thames.

I'm sorry....you'll have to wait. He's busy hitting home runs right now.

5-6

The pop in the bat of Marcus is pretty damn nice. A HR every 9.3 AB for the season.

Today, two Royals get their first home runs of the season. Fuckitty. 7-5 Royals in the 4th.

I can't believe it's only the 4th inning......

TIE GAME!!!

Don't fuck a Pudge! Triple ties it, 8-8. Guillen walked intentionally, runners on the corners, Hannahan looking for his first big league hit at a big league time unless someone pinch hits.

Two out, two run triple for Pudge. Sorry for ever doubting you.

Guillen will get walked and runners on the corna'.

Lets see the rook can do.

these tigers....Wow.

This would be the perfect time for Hannahan to get his first ML hit.

eh, atleast he got it up in the air this time.

Damn.

Oh well, tied up now.

ZOOM!!! ZOOM!!! ZOOM!!!

On to the 9th......Infante, Monroe and Thames coming up.

Clocked in at 101. YOWZA!

MONROE!!!

Craig Monroe's clutch baby.

And Thames with the insurance run. Who needs "Da Meat Hook" anyways.

THAMES HR!!!

Damn. Marcus!

Marcus Thames baby!

Goddamn we rock.

418 feet. Thames has some power.

I agree wholeheartedly!


Wow!


I loves me some craig monroe and marcus thames!

LOL@Royals fans

Rocking those paper bags proudly.

Curtis with a four hit game. He's been FIRE lately. We need that from our leadoff guy.

Pudge! F YES!

LOL.

Pudge with a 3-run HR.

GET THE FUCK DOWN PUDGE!

So much for a save opportunity.

Now lets get the rook his 1st hit.

LOL@ the Royals' pen.

And nope, Arch, Hannahan out again.

Damn. Poor guy still hitless.

Now it's time for the SWEEEEEEEEEEP! :D

I hope someone has that pic ready.

Wow. Just wow. props to Roman Colon for keeping us in this one. It easily could have been a write off after that first inning, but he beared down.

I hope someone has that pic ready.


Me too. This is un-fucking-believable.

Just think if Maroth had pitched his usual self. We could have pissed all over this team. Mad props to Colon. Thank God we traded Farnsy for him.

On a side note, this game has been going on for three and a half hours. Fun.

This team is un-fucking believable.

Strikeout, game over. Sweep complete.

Giddy up.

http://timmygunz.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/20050527tigersweep.jpg

At this point Jim Leyland must even be suprised. He probably addresses the guys after the game all calm and shit....and they he goes into his office and closes the door...then he hops on his desk and does the happy dance....the whole time smoking a cigarette.

This gives me an idea for a new thread.

Meet me in the all new "Other/All Sports" forum.

http://wtfdetroit.com/forums/showthread.php?p=119662#post119662

Just keep on rollin.

One word about the Tigers...Fucking incredible!

Unbelievable. They never give up. Amazing.

Only bad note (aside from Maroth looking very 2003), rough, rough start for Hannahan.

I love that picture. It brings a tear to my eye.

Maroth injured?

The only negative for the Tigers was seeing Maroth knocked out early on a day when he said he wasn't 100 percent because of elbow issues that kept him from getting proper range of motion and finishing his pitches.

"My pitches were very flat today," said Maroth, who gave up consecutive homers to Tony Graffanino, Angel Berroa and Doug Mientkiewicz in the six-run first. "You need that extension to finish your pitches. It's hard if you don't have full range of motion."

The Tigers offense and the bullpen bailed out Maroth, who is expected to be re-evaluated on Friday as the Tigers open a 10-game homestand.

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060525&content_id=1471769&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=det

Out of concern, I hope Colon takes Maroth's place in the rotation for one start.

I'd like to see Zoom get a start, but not sure if that would mess the youngster up. Or would it mess up the pen? He is a helluva set up man. I'm sure he has higher aspirations than being a set up man for all of his career.

Yea, thought about it while posting...I'm agreeing with AD hoping its Colon.

I'm afraid Zoom is going to be a bp guy for life... We'll see though.