One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

[vinny]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

That was insane!!! Got to the game about an hour late due to class and then battling rush hour traffic but the extra innings more than made up for it. Great (although ugly) win!

[Wet Bandit]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

I was saying all year that the Twins were going to win the division on the backs of Carlos Gomez and Alexi Casilla!

Seriously, though, my hatred of Casilla was slowly building after he got thrown out at the plate. Completely inexcusable play. I'd expect something like that from the new girl in a co-ed softball league, not a pro baseball player. But fortunately he redeemed himself.

Just a wild game. Back-and-forth, completely heart-wrenching.

Detroit fans shouldn't feel too bad. Obviously the Tigers didn't play as well in Sept./Oct. as they should have, but they didn't completely choke. It took the Twins going 17-4 to pass 'em up. And the Tigers did show up and play in the final two games, the two biggest games of the year. Unfortunately it was just too little too late.

[mgoblue678]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

^^^Sorry, they choked. Do people even realize the Tigers failed to beat inferior teams such as the Royals down the stretch? Yes, Minnesota played exceptionally well down the stretch but that would be have been a moot point had the Tigers beat the teams down the stretch they were supposed to.

But keep telling Tigers fans they shouldn't feel bad after their team become one of only a handful of teams to lose a 7 game lead this late into the season. On top of that, the manager of this team helped in the choke job with terrible decisions down the stretch.

Then they top it off with missing golden opportunities in this game like they have all season. Not finding a way to get a runner in from third with no outs in the 9th is choking plain and simple.

Honestly people need to stop excusing the Tigers for this, they let a 7 game lead slip away. Half of it was their choke job and inability to beat teams like KC and the other half was the Twins playing well down the stretch. But as I said earlier if the Tigers took care of their business it would have been irrelevant how well Minnesota played.

[Wet Bandit]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

The Tigers really didn't choke, though. Entering September, they were 69-61. That's a winning percentage of 53.1%.

In September and October, they were 17-16 for a winning percentage of 51.5%.

The Tigers didn't choke. They lost the division lead because the Twins went from a .500 baseball team to a .800+ baseball team in the final three weeks.

[Coug00]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

Well I looked up a couple of the classic collapses and none come close to this year's Tigers however this year's Tigers remind me an awful lot of "The Phold".

I'll let the wiki page answer what I mean:

It doesn't make it any less painful for Tigers fans, but mathematically, this wasn't even close to the biggest collapse in baseball history. If you go by the math, it belongs to the Angels in '95. On Aug 1, they had a .625 clip, they were 11 games up on second place, and no other team in the West had a winning record at that point. And it took them a 5 game winning streak to close out the season just to get destroyed in the elimination game. I'd bet ten years from now the only people who will remember the Tigers collapse are gonna be fans of Detroit and Minnesota.

Awesome game tonight. I'm happy to see the Metrodome live on for baseball.

[mgoblue678]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

Look at the teams the Tigers lost to though. They lost 5 out of their last 6 to KC including getting swept in one of those series. They followed up that sweep by losing the first two to Toronto another team out of playoff contention. They lose two out of three in both the last two series against Chicago.

All you have to do is win one or two more of the games against those three teams and your in the playoffs. When you go a combined 4-11 against those three teams when you need W's that to me is choking.

Also saying they were 69-61 entering September isn't really evidence that didn't choke because only a couple of weeks earlier they were 14 games over the .500 mark before losing games to drop to that mark.

[J0nnD0ugh]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

Plate umpire, Randy Marsh, claims the replay was "inconclusive". That's why, if you have replay, you need an independent official looking @ the video. Umps' egos are too big to admit when they are wrong.

[Stu]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

That was simply one of the best Baseball game's i've ever seen.

It was exciting but for me to consider it one of the best games I've seen the quality of play needs to be better. Baserunning mistakes, the stupid play by the Tigers LF, players throwing to the wrong base. Even the umpiring was lousy.

[Kruza]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

I wake up still simmering at how the Tigers blew numerous opportunities to win this game, and shaking my head at how unproductive Gerald Laird was at the plate throughout. It's going to take me a while to get over this one.

Kruza

[fistofrage]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

I wake up still simmering at how the Tigers blew numerous opportunities to win this game, and shaking my head at how unproductive Gerald Laird was at the plate throughout. It's going to take me a while to get over this one.

Kruza

Tigers didn't convert opportunites all year. Tigers decide in the last 3 games that hook sliding is the proper way to play fly balls. Leyland decides now would be the time to experiment with Rodney pitching 3+ innings.

Leyland is a mumbling fool and this team is just an average team with a superstar that would rather party instead of win the penant. They were just fortunate they were in a lousy division. They choked plain and simple. Leyland is sooooooooooo big on the Righty/Lefty matchup. Why on earth didn't he ph Avila for Laird A$$ in the critical moments of last nights games.

Leyland is inconsistant in his managing and outside from catching lightning in a bottle for the first 80 games of 2006, he's been a bumbling, mumbling idiot with one of the highest payrolls in baseball. 2010 will be more of the same if he's around but the Twins will be healthy and probably add an arm or 2 so I don't know how they will compete for the title next year.

[Freelance]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

Enjoyed the game, but couldn't stop thinking the whole time that my Rangers had a better record than both of them.

[snepp]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

Courtesy of Deadspin.....the man on the right is apparently Tigers GM Dombrowski.

I laughed.

[Coug00]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

Courtesy of Deadspin.....the man on the right is apparently Tigers GM Dombrowski.

I laughed.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

LMFAO.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: One Game Playoff: Tigers vs Twins

Good. God. Being at that game almost killed me. Wow.

Alexi Casilla, just when I thought you couldn't get any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself!

Ditto, man. That game beats out last year's UMD hockey game at Mariucci when they tied it with two goals in the final 40 seconds to force OT and keep their season alive. It was simply the most amazing thing I've ever been a part of. What a party!