Hunches Strikes Back: Who Needs This Prosperity?

I think what may just be the biggest downfall of the Detroit Tigers is going on the road. It's then when Jim Leyland makes the weirdest (read: dumbest) decisions. Maybe it's the comfy private jet travel you get with the Tigers or the comfy hotel rooms or just a belly food of some great restaurant food, but some very interesting decisions get made by Leyland on the road.

Whether it's his confusing moves back in Cleveland on June 5th last year in Cleveland where he went to the wrong relievers in the wrong spots and left Todd Jones out to dry, or May 13th in Kansas City where he yanked Nate Robertson with the lead after just 82 pitches when he was cruising, or May 28th when he yanked Jeremy Bonderman who was cruising out in Anaheim only to see the Tigers lose one of their what seem like endless numbers of walk-off losses.

Tonight, after the Tigers 8-6 loss in game one of a 3 game set in San Francisco, I sit here, again, confused. Senor Hunches watched Tim Lincecum (7 innings, 5 hits, 3 strikeouts, 3 walks, 2 home runs allowed) duel with Justin Verlander (6 innings, 5 hits, 7 strikeouts, 1 walk, 1 home run allowed) and had his hand forced in the 7th inning to pinch hit for Verlander with Edgar Renteria. It resulted in an RBI single that the Tigers benefited from a blown call from home plate umpire Tom Hallion who ruled the play safe, in the Tigers favor.

Then, in the bottom of the 7th, Uncle Jimmy went to Freddy Dolsi. He got through the 7th and in the 8th recorded one out before giving way for a pitcher to face the left handed John Bowker. So, in trots in Casey Fossum who's delivery and deception should be murder on a left handed hitter who already had 2 hits off the right-handed Verlander in the game, right?

Wrong.

In trots Fernando Rodney. What results next I'll just sum up as one walk, two doubles, and a 3-run homer that turned out to be the game winner. Oy vey.

Do I blame F-Rod? Yes. Afterall, he is throwing the pitch (hanging change up). Do I blame the pitch selection? No, his change up was looking good before the homer. Is this all his fault? No. Jim Leyland, paid to make decisions that put the Detroit Tigers in the best positions to win baseball games, failed, once again, to do just that. Casey Fossum is the right move. Yes, a strikeout would've been nice. However, you can also go with Fossum to get the LH Bowker, and then preferably a Zach Miner to face Rich Aurilia.

Then again, maybe we should've seen this coming. Jason Beck reported that Leyland wanted to hold off on using Rodney in a high pressure situation.

Fernando Rodney is available in the bullpen, though Jim Leyland said before the game that he'd like to ease him in with an outing before throwing him into setup duty in a close situation.

Yup. Jim Leyland, as shown by reneging on the comments that Marcus Thames is the everyday left fielder, that Carlos Guillen was going to get more time in left field and that Brandon Inge was going to get more time at 3rd base, that he's very non-committal to his word come game time. So, putting in Rodney in a high pressure situation for his first MLB appearance since October of 2007 is par for the course with the decisions Uncle Jimmy's made for the Tigers all year long.