Why JV Is Great

We already have a good general idea why, but here's a specific.

Tonight, with a 5-4 lead in the eighth, up came the two Sox who had homered off him earlier in the game, Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn. 

An ordinary hurler, with his pitch count over a hundred, would get the hook. Skip let JV stay in. As well he should.

Konerko: whiffo! Dunn stood there like the house by the side of the road and watched strike three go by. They'll grab some bench!

Just another night at the office for arguably the American League's top moundsman.

Love These Goon Shows

The Tigers led tonight's game three times, and each time the Orioles tied the score.

They did so and took the lead in a five-run bat-around seventh that seemed like it would never end. Punctuating the frame were a Mike Reynolds two-run double, and a wild throw home by right fielder Don Kelly that allowed two runners to take extra bases.  

Opportunity nonetheless presented itself in the Tigers' eighth. Cabrera walked, and Kelly doubled him to third. A hit would make the score 9-7, and really make things interesting. Ryan Raburn, however, expanded his cap bill-shoelaces strike zone to a foot in front of the plate, and waved at a pitch that bounced in the dirt  for strike three.

They went down one-two-three in the ninth, and will stumble home for tomorrow's opener with a not-impressive 2-4 record.