Chronicles of the Lads

AND ANOTHER ONE GONE
The sour taste from last night's 10-4 victory is the groin injury to David Eckstein. Not that Eck had been lighting the world on fire (with his big fat .296 SLG and all), but his likely trip to the DL wreaks considerable havoc on our depth. The unexciting Alfredo Amezaga would be the probable call-up; our best bet would be to really start hoping Garret can return to center immediately so we can install The Legs at short -- and in the leadoff spot.

It's hard to argue when he's hot and it's working, but the decision to bat Figgins third is pure silliness. Last night he was called upon to sacrifice in the top of the first with two men on. He failed and grounded into a fielder's choice, but there is something inherently ridiculous about having a number three hitter you are afraid to let swing the bat. However, Figgins is a natch for the top of the order, and will likely reside in the number one spot while Eckstein heals.

The other news from yesterday was Lackey's relatively impressive start. Yes, he kept the Tigers off the scoreboard (as though that's an achievement), but his strikeout-to-walk ratio was a gruesome two-to-four. That brings his season mark up to 5:8. That is revolting.

The other distressing development last night was Scot Shields allowing a grand slam to Brandon Inge, which is something like letting the French Army conquer Berlin. Well, it was the first home run Shields has allowed this season. He's striking out men at a high rate (21 in 17 1/3 innings), but struggles with his control (9 BB, including one last night).

Of course, you can get away with quite a bit against Detroit, their hot start notwithstanding. As Rob at 6-4-2 points out today, "the schedule has hidden our injuries," as well as our shortcomings in depth and on the hill. But good teams put bad teams away, regardless of circumstance, so if we can keep this up with the Territorial Army in there, that's still an encouraging sign.