1984 Detroit Tigers

[stevem810]

Having read Eli Zaret's The Last of the Great Detroit Tigers recently I thought I'd do a replay actively managing the Tiger games, only. Maybe a few others randomly, but mostly to get a feel for what it was like managing these Tigers who got out of the box so quickly that year (35-5).

As you can see it is a bit rougher for the Tigers in this simulation as they are going to have to move up the standings to defend their crown as it's the O's who are hot in April.

[stevem810]

Winning 2 of 2 in Minnesota and then duplicating the feat in Texas Detroit begins creeping up the standings.



At times the batters have been ferocious banging out homers to the tune of 29 in 19 games to lead the majors. Evans has 6 and Sweet Lou 5. Tram is on fire with Bergey and Parrish helping supply additional punch.



The starting pitching has been very inconsistent except for Milt Wilcox. Willie Hernandez clearly is doing his job as the Tiger Closer.

[stevem810]

Cleveland comes to Detroit with a 6-13 record and this game justified that lowly percentage as Tiger SP Berenguer (1-4) was wild with 5 BB's, a HBP batter, and an errant pick off throw to 2nd base in the first inning allowing Butler to score all the way from second base. Yet, he gets his first W by virtue of his 5+ innings pitched. Rozema finished the game earning an easy save.

To counter that ineptitude Cle 2nd baseman Tony Bernazard committed 3 errors (6 for the season) and SP Farr gave up 8 runs in just 3 IP. Darrell Evans (7) and Grubb (1) went deep for the Tigers. Trammell and Parrish got days off but Larry Herndon was injured, again.

So, the Tigers are now 12-8 riding a 5 game win streak as they prepare for Saturday and Sunday games with the Indians.

[stevem810]

Riding a 5 game winning streak and with Tram and Parrish back in the line-up the Tigers hoped to extend their W streak to 6 as their 'ace' Jack Morris took the mound looking to reverse the trend of his past two outings:

11.1 IP/ 13 Runs (12 Earned). Amazingly Morris was even worse on this 49 F Saturday afternoon.




The final score was 12-3 elevating Jack's ERA to 7.27.

Glen Abbott (1-0) will likely get the call on Sunday in hopes of helping the Tigers begin a new winning streak. With the O's winning Detroit is 3.5 GB in third place behind the 14-8 Yankees and 16-6 Orioles. The Blue Jays are now 11-11 in 4th.

[stevem810]

Glenn Abbott and the Tiger bats rescued the team, more appropriately the depleted bullpen, by pitching into the 9th inning and scoring heavily. The Tigers made Abbott very comfortable by virtue of their 6 run first inning explosion on their way to a 9-4 drubbing of the Tribe.

Darrell Evans smacked his 9th homer of the season while batting in 3 runs (he leads Detroit with 21). Tram is hitting .386.

Herndon heads to the DL for 3 weeks giving Rusty Kuntz an opportunity to contribute against some LHP.

With the O's losing both the Yanks (rain out) and Tigers pick up a ground as they trail Baltimore by 1.5 and 2.5 games. May begins with the Red Sox coming to town for a 3 game set. Tigers finish the month at 13-9.

[stevem810]

Game 23
Tigers win 6-3 behind Milt Wilcox (6-0/1.47 ERA)
HR-Ho Jo and D. Evans

Game 24
Tigers win 5-1 behind 8 shutout innings by Dan Petry (4-1/3.50 ERA)
HR- R.Jones (2), Ho Jo

Game 25 Clemens vs. Morris
Top of 1st
1) Nichols ...doubles
2) Guiterrez... singles
3) Boggs....WP run scores 1-0
singles run scores 2-0
4) Rice...singles
5) Easler ...singles
6) Evans ...grounds out and run scores 3-0
7) Gedman...singles run scores 4-0
8) Barrett....WP run scores 5-0
singles
9) Jurak....singles
10) Nichols...DP....Sox lead 5-0 heading to the bottom of the 1st.

So, a Tigers win streak is amazing stopped by Morris, yet again. Curiously, he was left in the game and not pulled during the first frame meltdown and Jack went on to pitch 4 scoreless innings before he was lifted after a long rain delay. Even with the Sox scoring at will off Jack in the first the Tigers had plenty of chances to overtake them as they pounded out 13 hits to go with 4 walks but leaving 14 men on base pretty much sealed the deal for Boston.

[stevem810]

Game 26
Rain in the 4th inning made a short day of things for Tiger SP Juan Berenguer, but probably just as well as he yielded 2 hits, 3 BB, and 1 run in 3.1 IP. Dave Rozema came on to pitch 4 innings of shutout ball and Willie Hernandez pitched a scoreless 9th to earn his 4th save in the 3-1 win.Tram started the game off with his 4th homer of the year.

Game 27
Wilcox (6-0) was cruising with a 4-1 lead into the 6th but that was before Chet Lemon dropped a fly ball in centerfield. That set the stage for 3 runs (1 earned) but momentum had switched teams. Bert Blylevin settled down after allowing 4 runs in 2 innings and eventually got the W in the 5-4 Tribe victory. Gibson connected off Bert in the first with 1 on for his 5th homer of the year. Wilcox falls to 6-1, Blylevin goes to 5-2.

Game 28
Dan Petry was rocked for 8 runs on 12 Indian hits in just 4 IP as Cleveland steam rolled the Detroiters and if not for a meaningless 5 run 9th inning by the Tigers the 12-10 game would have been more indicative of the rout it was. Tram hit 2 HR's, Ho Jo and Parrish one apiece. Sutcliffe gets the win (1-5).

So, the Tigers drop 2 of 3 to the last place Indians and fall behind Toronto and into 4th place, but just 1.5 GB.

Baltimore 18-11
New York 17-11
Toronto 17-12
Detroit 16-12

[stevem810]

Game 30

Jack Morris, after retiring Willie Wilson in the bottom half of the inning, gave up a single, Wild Pitch, Walk, single, walk, and single in succession before retiring the final 2 batters leaving the score 3-0 Royals after one. The beleaguered Jack, who before the game announced he was no longer speaking to the press, steadied the ship after the tumultuous first and went on to pitch 7 innings keeping the score close before Detroit ultimately won in the 11th inning after Tram (1 for 5) singled in the go ahead and winning run. Mason pitched the final 2 innings for the W.

Game 31
If you looked at the box score without the runs filled in you might get the wrong impression.
......R H E
Det X 11 1
KC X 6 2

The Tigers had Bud Black on the ropes right from the start, first and third with 0 outs and came away with nothing. Sheridan and Brett hit back to back solo jobs in the bottom half and Detroit was in the come back mode. Bouncing into three DP’s and stranding 10 runners was essentially the double whammy that hurt their cause. KC kills its 8 game losing streak by winning 7-2.

Game 32
Early homers by Kirk Gibson (6) and Chet Lemon (6) powered the Tigers to an easy 10-1 win, but leaving the Royals with the 3-2 season series edge. Dave Rozema may have been in Sparky’s doghouse in the summer of 84 but he has been brilliant so far with a 2-0/ 1.54 ERA. Detroit gets the day off as they head back to the Motor City and await the Angels
.
AL EAST STANDINGS
NYY 20-11
BAL 19-13
TOR 19-13
DET 18-13

[stevem810]

The Angels visit Tiger Stadium for 3 games with a 17-17 record.

Game 33
Parrish (6) and Ho Jo homer (6) and Hernandez gets the W in relief of Wilcox as the Tigers push one across in the 10th for a 5-4 win.

Game 34
Ken Forsch (4-3) was just a bit better than Jack Morris (2-5) as the Angels won 5-4. Chet Lemon (7) had the games only round tripper.

Game 35
The score won't show it but it was a close game that the Angels pulled out because they grab an early 3-0 lead on a Fred Lynn Baltimore Special and then tacked on 6 more runs the final two innings (all with 2 out) to rout Detroit 9-3. Lynn (2) and Downing (4) the Angel homers and Chet Lemon (8) for the Tigers.

So, the Yanks with a 3 game winning streak lead the O's and Jays by 2 games each and the Tigers by 3.5. Seattle and Oakland up next before the Tigers make their west coast swing to Anaheim, Seattle, and then Oakland to finish May.

[stevem810]

Game 36
With 2 out in the 10th Rick Steirer hits a batter and Sanchez takes the hill but can't get anyone out as he issues a walk before Lance Parrish singles in the winning run. Wilcox 7 IP/ 4 runs. Tigers win 5-4.

Game 37
Jack Morris fanned 11 but he also gave up 5 runs in 7.1 IP as the Angels turn the tables on Detroit and win, 5-4. Gary Pettis was a disruptive force on the base paths as he swiped 3 and scored 2 runs. Jack is now 2-5/6.83 /ERA.

Game 38
Same type of starting pitching for the Tigers as Berenguer fans 10 but served up a 3 run homer to Fred Lynn as the Angels cruised to a 9-3 win. Juan's 4 runs in 7.1 IP allows his record to dip to 1-6.

Detroit is now 19-15 and 3.5 GB the Yanks.

[stevem810]

Game 40
LHP Mark Langston befuddled Tiger bats for 7 innings as he shut them out on 6 hits, 2 BB, and 7 K's. But, when he left for the 8th inning the Tigers put up a 3 spot on wild Mike Stanton (5 walks) which was just enough for the 3-2 win. Dan Petry (5-2) goes the distance allowing 3 hits, 1 BB, while fanning 9.

Game 41
Willie Hernandez blew the save but Tram saved the day as he took Edwin Nunez deep with a man on and one out in the 10th giving Detroit 5-3 win. Rosey provided 6 innings of quality starting pitching giving up just 2 runs.

Game 42
Tiger fans hoping for a sweep had to put their brooms away early as the M's built an early 5 run lead off of Milt Wilcox (6 IP/ 5 runs). The game turned in the bottom of the 5th and bottom of the 6th when Bergman hit a 2 run homer and Lemon a 3 run job. But, the M's had an answer off of Roger Mason scoring 3 in the 7th and 3 more in the 8th as the game ended 11-6.

The Tigers are 21-16 still 3.5 GB the Yanks while trailing both the O's and Jays who are on 3 game win streaks. The A's come to town next before Detroit heads to the West Coast for 9 games. Then the AL East action will pick up as head to head play begins at the top of June.

[stevem810]

Game 43: Friday, May 18th

Jack Morris has a 2 run lead as he had a shutout going after six. But singles by Rickey and then Davis...followed by a double steal...unnerved Jack a bit as he tossed a WP scoring one and then a ground out by Lansford got another home making it 2-2. Morris stayed in the game but Bochte had a 2 out single in the 9th making it 3-2 A's and after 131 pitches Jack had to be relieved for the final out with Carl Willis on in relief. Caudill came on for the save but was greeted by a Tram long ball tying it up at 3-3. Caudill got Lemon and Parrish but with 2 out Daryl Evans blasted his 9th of the season and Detroit had a walk off win. Morris threw 131 pitches and Willis just 1 but he gets the W.

Game 44: May 19th
Berenguer vs. Chris Codiroli. Close game until the 6th when Bergman, HoJo, and Tram went back to back to back giving the Tigers a 5-2 lead that would ultimately grow to 7-2. Detroit has 13 hits to go with their 3 big flies and now have a record of 23-16.

Game 45: May 20th
Petry vs. Chris Young
When Sweet Lou led off the bottom of the first with a triple it was easy to imagine a big first inning for Detroit. But, 3 outs later he was still there. With the game tied 2-2 the Tigers had another opportunity in the bottom of the 9th as the bases were juiced with one out but, again, they could not deliver. It was a costly lost opportunity as Willie Hernandez labored into the 10th inning and the A's pushed across 2 runs and this time Caudill did close it out. A's win 4-2 in ten.

Monday is the travel day as the Tigers head out to the west coast for 9 games. At 23-17 they have fallen 4.5 GB the streaking Yanks (4 straight W's).

[BaseballMan]

I remember that 35-5 start. Makes you appreciate it more. Tigers made it look easier to do than it is. Even without the great start you can still try to pass the win total.

[stevem810]

Game 41, May 22 - Kison vs Wilcox
A close one but the Halo's take it 2-1 behind stellar pitching by Kison as he gave the Angels 7 innings of 3 hit ball. Luis Sanchez worked the final 2 frames gaining his 3rd save. Milt Wilcox worked 6.1 innings and took the loss dropping to 6-2.

Game 42, May 23 - Zahn vs. Morris
Jack Morris wasn't a happy camper as the 8th frame concluded with the Angels up 1-0. He had allowed 2 hits but his teammates could not push a single run across. In the 9th Lemon doubled and Parrish walked but Evans made the 2nd out of the inning leaving up to Gibson. Gibson's .520 OPS vs LHP would ordinarily call for a pinch hitter but, then again, is there a skipper out there who has the audacity to pull Gibby out of the line up with the game on the line?
To the surprise of no one Kirk ripped the first pitch for a base hit tying the score. Next batter Herndon laced a double into the corner. The cameraman managed to catch Jack Morris affording himself a tiny smile as he reached for his glove. Uh uh, said the skipper. Willie came on to record the save and the series moves to the decider tomorrow. Jack is now 3-5/ 5.73.

Game 43, May 24 - Witt vs Berenguer
It was Mike Witt who entered the game with a 5-3/2.70 but the man on the mound today was Juan Berenguer who lasted until two were out in the 7th His line: 6.2 IP/ 1 hit/ 0 Runs. Rozema came on to pitch the final 2.2 innings gaining the save as Detroit wins 3-0. Berenguer is now 3-6/3.96.

[IMG][/IMG]

Tigers head to Seattle for a game tomorrow.

[stevem810]

Game 44, May 25 Mike Moore vs. Petry

The Tigers lacked efficiency for 8 innings as the M's had better clutch hitting and that was the difference as both teams hit 3 homers for the day. With the score 9-4 in 9th Detroit finally came to life scoring 4 runs with 2 outs and getting runners to first and third for Sweet Lou. But, a fly ball to right field ended Detroit's bid for an epic comeback. Final, 9-8 M's.

Game 45, May 26 Stoddard vs Wilcox
Same type of game as the day before minus the 9th inning comeback as the Tigers had 14 hits including 2 homers, stranded 14, but gave up 12 runs. Al Cowens who entered the game batting .197 had 2 homers and a double and 7 rbi's. Wilcox falls to 6-3.


Game 46, May 27 Beattie vs. Morris
Jack Morris pitched into the 6th before tiring but he gave the Tigers what they have needed all series long...a decent start. Jack gave 2 runs in 5+ before Doug Bair and Dave Rozema chipped in with a pair of shutout innings each. No problem with the #1 offense in the American League as the Tigers scored 6 on 11 hits to salvage the final game 6-2.

Detroit heads to Oakland for a 3 game set. The Yankees continue to be the story as they have started another 3 game win streak (18-6 for May) and lead the division by 2 1/2 over Toronto (4 game win streak), 3 over the O's (3 game win streak), and 6 1/2 over Detroit.

[stevem810]

Game 47 May 28 Krueger vs. Abbott

The Detroit relentless offense scored seemingly at will as they doubled up the A's 14-7 in a game that featured a rare start by Glenn Abbott (3-0). Using 91 pitches Abbott made it through the minimum to qualify for the win and was replaced by Mason, Lopez, and O'Neal. Kirk Gibson had 3 extra base hits and Parrish, Ho Jo, and Herndon went yard. The Tigers are a different team vs LHP when Herndon is not hurt (twice this season) and in the line up as his .400 B.A. gives the team the balance they need.

Game 48, May 29
Berenguer goes 8.1 innings giving the Tigers some strong starting pitching and they win it, 7-3.

Game 49, May 30
Dan Petry falls to 5-4 as the A's salvage the final game, 4-1. With tomorrow off the Tigers travel back to Detroit to take on the AL East rivals, starting with the O's. With the month of May now complete the Tigers go 15-12 and trail the red hot Yanks by 5.5 games while occupying 4th place.

[stevem810]

Game 50 Wilcox vs. Storm Davis

Wilcox retires the first batter and then becomes embroiled in a 50 pitch first inning that leaves the Tigers down 5-0. He labors through 4 giving up 8 runs and the Tigers lose it 9-5.

Game 51 Morris vs Flanagan

Jack retires the first batter and then believe it or not has a first inning of 62 pitches as he yields 6 first inning runs while Sparky's hair gets whiter by the walk, and there were a ton of them from 3 pitchers who 'worked' 3 innings each.
Morris - 10 walks
Rozema - 4 walks
Abbott - 3 walks.

Detroit is clobbered 9-4 and finds themselves with serious pitching issues.

Game 52 Abbott vs Boddicker

Mike Boddicker allowed a 5th inning triple to Chet Lemon but that was the only hit he would yield as the 26 yr old from Cedar Rapids made it look easy leading the O's to a 3-1 win and sweep of Detroit in Tiger Stadium. It could have been worse as the Tigers received another very poor start from for the 3rd successive day with Glenn Abbott yielding 8 hits (2 homers), 5 walks, tossing 101 pitches and not completing the 5th inning.

At 28-24 the Tigers trail NY, BAL, TOR, and our 7.5 GB

[stevem810]

Game 53 Berenguer vs. Gott

Darrell Evans hit a 3 run homer in the 8th and Hernandez 1 IP for the save. Detroit wins 4-2.

Game 54 Petry vs. Leal

Even HoJo's 2 round trippers couldn't bail out Dan Petry as he was shelled for 7 runs in 8.1 IP. Upshaw and Bell homered for the Jays.

Game 55 Wilcox vs. Alexander

Homers by Lemon and Gibson accounted for the 2 Tiger runs but it was Jesse Barfield hitting a 2 out solo homer in the 10th off Hernandez that gave Toronto a 3-2 win.

Game 56 Morris vs Clancy

The real Jack Morris showed up at the park today and gave it all he had working 8 innings and throwing 128 pitches which was enough to give the Tigers a 5-2 win in final contest of the 4 game set. Rozema earns the save (5). Jack is now 5-6.

Interestingly, the Tigers lead the American League in runs scored, have the 2nd best bullpen, but if you have been following along you know where the source of the problem is located. Maybe a few of these guys will follow Jack's lead and pick it up.

[stevem810]

June 8, Boddicker vs. Abbott

Glenn Abbott (4-1/ 3.30 ERA) gave the Tigers 7 solid innings as they took the opener in Baltimore, 7-3 behind a barrage of Detroit homers...Trammell, Lemon, Evans (2).

June 9 Dixon vs. Berenguer

Ripken Jr. hit his 12th homer and Murray his 12th and 13th as the O's breezed to an 8-2 win.

June 10 (DH)

The Tigers won the opener 6-4 but the O's took the night cap 8-5 to close out the series. Kirk Gibson missed both games with an undisclosed illness...aka diagnosis pending. On to Toronto for 3 games.

[stevem810]

June 11 - Alexander vs Morris

The Jays got to Jack early with 3 runs in the first as Willie Upshaw hit his first homer of the day with a man on. Buck Martinez hit a solo shot in the 5th and by the time Morris left the game in 7th he was down 5-1. Toronto goes on to win 7-3 as Upshaw hit his 9th of the year off Bair in the 8th. Alexander (7-3) goes the distance giving up 3 runs, 1 earned.