Live Blog:Tigers/White Sox

In what I hope will be a weekly addition to the site, I plan on live blogging a game a week. There's so much that can be picked up from actually watching the game and not relying on the box score. Here's where I plug mlb.tv, almost a necessity for fantasy players. But today's game is on Fox. This week, it's the Tigers/White Sox. A big reason is it's the debut of Dontrelle Willis. No one really knows what to expect out of him, so I'm hoping to get some ideas. Plus the Tigers lack of offense has been another big story. This seemed to be the most interesting game.

• Starts the game with a walk to Swisher after going ahead 0-2. Control is the issue for him.
• OCab flys out on a hit and run after a 9 pitch walk. Another reason why Ozzie Guillen is one of the worst managers in the majors.
• Willis gets the lefty Thome to pop out on a breaking ball. Thome crushed CC earlier this week, but Willis has owned lefties through his career.
• He makes a good pitch to Konerko on the outside part of the plate and he taps it to short. The walk was foreboding, but he recovered nicely, even if he was given some help by Ozzie and some free swinging from the Sox.
• Gavin Floyd is on the mound for the Sox. If there was ever a time for the Tigers to explode, it would be today.
• Clete Thomas flys to center after working the count full. The more a see of him, the more I like him. Plus he might be the only player in the majors that only wears on batting glove. That's old school.
• Another fly out to center from Polanco. Odd to see him popping up. Not a very good cut.
• Guillen draws a walk. As good as he is in fantasy, he's an even better real life player.
• Maggs inside outs one to right. Still not showing a ton of patience.
• MiggyC pops to center. He hasn't looked to great this year, I wonder how much that leg is bothering him.
• After Dye grounds to third, Willis makes a good pitch on the outside part of the plate to Qentin and he pops to right. Crede follows with a first pitch pop out to center. Looks like he's settled down pretty nicely after the leadoff walk.
• Renteria grounds out, Pudge strikes out on a fastball up. Floyd has had pretty good stuff today.
• Jacque Jones slaps one to right. A pretty nice piece of hitting. He's wildly inconsistenty, and I don't see him having much value.
• Floyd leaves a fastball up and Inge ropes it to left center, scoring Jones from first. I like Inge as a player, but I'd avoid him in fantasy.
• Clete Thomas legs out an infield single. He could be a player down the line.
• Polanco chops one to short on the first pitch. This is, and has always been the Tigers problem. Other than Guillen and Cabrera, they all seem opposed to taking a walking and working the count. They're facing Gavin Floyd. No need to bail him out of anything.
• Ozuna lines to Polanco, and Toby Hall pops to third on a nice offspeed pitch from Willis.
• Willis walks Swisher again. With him in the leadoff spot, he hasn't had much value becuase he's taking walks so often.
• OCab fouls out to first. Through three, Willis has looked great against everyone but Swisher.
• The heart of the tigers order goes 1-2-3. Two first pitch outs. This team doesn't look very good at all right now.
• Thome pops out on the first pitch, then Konerko works a walk on a full count. Willis makes some good pitches but can't get him out. He falls behind Dye 3-0 (the first pitch looked awful good) the next pitch was definitely up, but was a makeup call. It's a full count and he misses way up. Not looking good.
• He starts Quentin off 2-0. On a 3-1 count, Quentin destroys a fastball just foul. It was probably ball four, but puts a monster cut on it. Willis makes his best pitch so far with a curve down that gets Quentin to ground into a double play. He really got out of some trouble.
• Renteria inside outs one down the line to right, great piece of hitting.
• This sums up the Tigers so far. Pudge takes a great cut on a ball but right at Carlos Quentin. Renteria was at second when he caught it, and don't run full speed back to first. Quentin guns him at first. Unbelievable. I think he was safe, but there's no way there should be a play. What a cannon.
• Jacque Jones walks! Must have forgot he was a Tiger.
• Brandon Inge unloads on high fastball, 3-0 Tigers. He seems to be on a mission this year.
• Thomas drives one to center and Swisher chases it down.
• Floyd is outpitching Willis at this point, just he's paid for his mistakes. The pitch to Inge was a big mistake.
• Leadoff walk to Crede. Willis need better control if he wants to be effective, he won't face the freeswinging Sox every game.
• Ozuna hits into a double play. Terrible.
• Toby Hall pops to shallow center.
• Polanco works the count and pops out on an up and in pitch. Not good Polanco swings.
• Guillen puts a great swing on the ball, but hits it to dead center at the warning track. That's a bomb most places.
• Maggs taps out on the first pitch. He might be pressing last year after winning the batting title. He didn't see many pitches yesterday either.
• Swisher walks on a full count. This is what I think Willis starts against patience teams would look like.
• A walk to Cabrera. Now a check for an injury. There were concerns this spring he might be hurt. Walking a career high 7 guys isn't a great way to show you're healthy.
• After going up 0-2, Thome drives one off the base of the wall, scoring one. I think now that the no hitter is up, he can be yanked.
• And he is. He leaves with two men in scoring position, allowing the one hit. 7 walks though are inexcusable. Especially when he doesn't strike out anyone in the 7 innings. He doesn't seem to be able to put anyone away, a big problem. Regardless if they score or not, I don't think I could give a bigger don't buy on Willis. He ain't going to get so lucky every time. As long as he doesn't have controll, he will be pretty terrible.
• Now the adventure of that is the Tigers bullpen begins. First up: Zach Minor.
• Minor gets Konerko to ground out, runner scores.
• He walks Dye. Grounder up the middle from Quentin scoring another run. Thomas bobbles it in center, and should gun Dye going into third, but the throw hits him in the back. Not looking good.
• Crede Sacs to left. Jones isn't known for his arm so the run scores easy. 4-3 White sox.
• Ozuna grounds to third to end the inning. Willis' final line: 5+, 3ER, 1 hit, 7 BB. Awful. Just awful. If the Tigers didn't have the worst pen, he could have left with the lead, but I think that would be too much to ask. Willis was lucky to get out with such little damage.
• Cabrera strikes out on three pitches, including a filthy curve for strike three.
• Renteria flys to right on two pitches. Pudge flies to right. 9 pitch inning for Floyd who has settled in really nicely.
• Tigers bring in just recalled Francis Beltran to pitch. They'd probably be better bringing in Carlos Beltran. This pen is pathetic.
• Of course he strikes out the first batter he faces in Hall. First strikeout for Tigers pitchers on the day.
• Then he gets Swisher, who has walked in 6 straight at bats, to pop to Pudge then Cabrera grounds to short. Go figure.
• Boone Logan comes in strikes out and makes the lefty Jones look foolish. I would have considered bringing in Thames.
• Floyd pitched well, I'm not ready to reccommend him at all, but this is encouraging.
• Inge drives one out by where Guillen did earlier in the game for a long out. He's swinging the bat pretty well.
• Clete Thomas fights off a tough pitch down the line 3rd base line against the lefty. The more I see of him, the more I like him.
• Polanco weakly grounds the first pitch to short. Yuck.
• Beltran shatters Thome's bat on a tough pitch down and in. He grounds to first.
• Konerko K's on 3 pitches. He looks filthy. His motion is very effortless and slow, but it explodes out of his hand.
• Naturally he gives up a bomb to Dye on a 2-2 pitch.
• Quentin grounds to third to end the inning.
• Linebrink comes into start the 8th. The Sox are counting on him being a big part of the pen this year. He has good stuff, but last year he wasn't that dominant.
• Guillen puts one through the hole at short and third.
• Maggs grounds into a double play. He has to be pressing.
• Miggy C looks very awkward at the plate. The leg has to be a problem. He pops to left.
• Beltran stays on and gets Crede to fly to right. So does Ozuna. Then Hall grounds out. Beltran has been pretty solid. All the sudden their best option in the best. Yikes.
• Jenks in. Renteria hits one hard at second and is thrown out.
• Pudge puts a great swing on the ball and Swisher robs him of the hit with a sliding catch. It's been that kind of day.
• Jones slips one through the hole at 1st and second to get the deadly Inge to the plate. He draws a four pitch walk.
• Thomas hits one hard to third where Crede makes a diving stop. Final score: Sox 5, Tigers 3.

What we learned

Don't buy into Willis. In fact sell if you can somehow turn the 1 hit into something positive. Don't panic with the Tigers. They're pressing and banged up. They'll come around in a big way. I'd say to look at Quentin, but it looks like he's going to be out of a job as soon as Owens comes back next week. And you shouldn't be kicked out of your league if you pick up Brandon Inge while Granderson is out. He looks really good right now, but he's known for being straky.