Tigers Defensive Woes Continue

Game 4 of the 2006 World Series was with in the grasp of the heroes from Motown, however some defensive miscues sealed their fate late in the game.

An ugly 7th inning set the tone for the Tigers when Eckstein lead off the inning with a hard hit line drive to center field. Curtis Granderson slipped on the wet grass, falling down to miss his chance at catching the ball for an out. Instead Eckstein ended up at 2nd with yet another Cardinal's double. A So Taguchi bunt to get Eck over to third was fielded by Fernando Rodney, however he decided that the out wasn't worth getting and floated the ball over 1st baseman Sean Casey's glove which allowed Eck to score and Taguchi to get to 2nd. The Cards wound up taking the lead 4-3 over the Tigers for the first time in the game.

The Tigers rallied back in their half of the 8th to tie it up, but in the Cards half Craig Monroe blew an opportunity to end the inning by taking a bad route to a fly ball which scored another Cards run. 5-4 Card after 8 and only 3 outs for the Tigers to tie or win.

Adam Wainwright pitched a perfect 9th for the Cards to finish off the comeback victory and give the Cardinals a 3-1 series lead.

Same old Tigers it appears in the World Series this season. After having one of the better defensive teams all year they pitchers have made them look like one of the worst by fumbling and bumbling important outs late in ballgames to cost us wins.

Game 5 is Friday, weather permitting, and the Cards are going to skip Reyes to give the ex-Tiger Jeff Weaver his 2nd start of the series. Weaver pitched in Game 2, the only Tigers victory. He will face rookie Justin Verlander who was out dueled in Game 1 by the rookie Anthony Reyes. Verlander had a spectacular rookie season winning 17 games and is a show in for the AL Rookie of the Year. That will set up the masterful Chris Carpenter for Game 6, against the crafty veteran Kenny Rogers if the Tigers can somehow put together a complete ballgame.

Jeremy Bonderman pitched a decent game, but was pulled after 1 out in the 6th for Fernando Rodney with men on 1st and 3rd. Rodney struck out both men he faced in the 6th.