Here is my preview for the game on June 14. It’s the Twins and the “Cats” and also Porcello vs. Diamond. Diamond has pitched very good against the Cats in the past. Even though his overall record is four wins and five losses, he has a bright future with the Minnesota Twins. This will be Jeremiah Boyce’s first look at Scott Diamond live, and I’m kind of interested in the way he pitches to Miguel and Fielder. Do the Tigers have what it takes to forget about the Royals? Or will the Royals haunt them for this series too? I would expect the veterans in the Tigers lineup to help Rick out. On the Twins side, I wonder if they were watching the Tigers buckle yesterday. There should be no excuses, Leyland should have had them for lunch. Meanwhile, the Twins are the exact opposite. After all, they did beat Philidelphia yesterday 4-3. The Twins have to be happy knowing that the Tigers bullpen is struggling and unable to close out a ball game! Another thing that I would like to say is that even though the Twins have a losing record, they are no push overs! I would like to amend an earlier comment that was made on this website. Instead of the Twins and the Royals looking like minor leaguers, it now looks like the Detroit Tigers are heading in the wrong direction, unless Jim Leyland and David Dombrowski shift Valverde to the Toledo Mud Hens or demote him and take away the closer’s role and give it to “Cokie”. Even though Phil had a bad game yesterday, I still think that he has a bright side. Every baseball team goes through situations like this. It’s how the Tigers as a team deal with it that will seperate them from the boys and will turn them into men. Number 40 is not to blame for the loss yesterday. This goes directly to my next point. Verlander had a great game up until Cokie, Smyly, and Valverde had a bad day. The reason why I don’t think Jose should be allowed wear the old English “D” is because he has given up way too many long balls. You can’t have that from a closer. I don’t care if you are a veteran with the Tigers, you need to put up or be quiet, or you can also go down to Toledo. The key for Porcello is to trust his pitching abilities. We all know that he has the ability to do that, we just need him to trust Alex or Bryan. He also needs to keep the baseball down and follow the catcher’s target. If he has a bad night, look for Leyland to give him the hook early, because you don’t want to leave baseballs up where Mauer and Willingham can see them, or they will tattoo them early. Jeremiahboyce.com will keep a close eye on Ricky early. You want Mauer and Willingham to have to deal with the high heat and you want to make Mr. Gardenhire and Mr. Anderson make several trips to the mound. If Leyland has to do that, I don’t think that he will be happy about that given what happened this past Wednesday. Look for Cabrera and Fielder to have a better game. They are veterans and they know what to do with a baseball and how you are supposed to catch a ball. That’s another thing that is surprising with the Tigers right now, their fielding has been absolutely awful. It all started with “JP” on Monday night. We need Porcello to go right at the Twins hitters and keep the ball down. As far as the Twins, they have ways to beat you! Specifically 7 and 16. If you give them cookies, then you will pay! I think what we have here is a test of Ricky’s mental attitude. I hope that he doesn’t get the ball up. He just needs to trust his pitching and not worry about the other day. Ricky is Ricky, he is not your Coke or your Valverde, but I expect him to be on a short leash. The minute you start leaving baseballs up and showing your emotions then that will give Mauer and Willingham some fuel for their fire. We absolutely have to get this game. This is a must win for the Tigers as team and an organization. This can’t be a two out of three series for the Tigers, they must find their art of pitching once again, and they also have to trust their ability to pitch.
