photo by Samara Pearlstein
The Good:
–Ramon Santiago was 3-for-5 with two RBI. He hit a triple! He scored a run! Offensive production from little Ramon Santiago! It is a rare and magical thing and we must never forget what a big deal it is.
–That’s it with the Royals for now, so we no longer have to listen to Rod and Mario struggling gamely to pronounce Kila Ka’aihue’s name (or not so gamely, in the case of Rod, who clearly preferred to just call him ‘Kila’ and be done with it).
–FSDetroit showed Hugh Jackman at the game. Rod and Mario started talking about the fact that Beyonce was at a Tigers game, and Rod was sad because she did not at any point end up in the booth.
–Brennan Boesch stole a base, somehow.
The Bad:
–The entire rest of this game.
–Losing to the Royals.
Roar of the Tigers 
dude, Ramon’s quietly having a great year. hitting .278 in 96 games!
Guess I picked the wrong day to ditch work, convince two of my best baseball buddies to do the same and get great seats for a game….
Actually, we had an excellent time, but I do wonder if Leyland’s bullpen moves were a symptom of game-time nicotine withdrawl…
When he lifted Perry for Valvarde in the 8th, there was wailing and gnashing of teeth… When he pitched Thomas for only one (5 freaking pitch!!!!) inning, there was reaching for sackcloth and ashes… when he sent Figaro out for a 3rd inning, there was dejection and the crushing sense of doom that looks so much like a belt-high hanging breaking ball…
And please pardon my mis-typing the Big Potato’s name….
At my house, we were convinced Leyland was the one who lost it for them. You aren’t the only one who wails and gnashes teeth at the way he manages his bullpen. (Having your closer come in to pitch in the 8th should be an emergency-only situation. Not something that happens almost every week!)
Not only is he hitting .278, but the leading OBPs on the team go thusly: Miggy, Magglio, A-Jax, Traitor, RAMON SANTIAGO. I have been and still am an advocate to bat him 2nd and move Damon to 3rd now that Magglio is done for the year.
P.S. When he was here in Wilmington playing for the Blue Rocks, the P.A. announcer pronounced it (quite elongatedly) “Kye-uhhh-HOO-EEEEEE”.