Jinx

The previous post was late to appear because the computer froze as I wrote it Wednesday night. In the interim, the Tigers proffered an offensive performance so feeble, it pretty much invalidated everything I said there.

Against Jorge de la Rosa, a hard-throwing lefty with a career BB ratio of 6.5/9 innings, the Tigers were foolishly aggressive, swinging early in counts and making feeble contact most of the night. Even Gary Sheffield, the team’s most discriminating hitter, was weirdly impatient.

Yes, the temperature was near-arctic, and sure, the Tigers’ at-bats were probably very uncomfortable last night. The Tigers are a division contender, but they are not so clearly better than the rest of the division that they can afford to throw away games played in inclement conditions — especially since there may be another month of this weather in store in Detroit.

As I write this, the Tigers are stepping in against Gil Meche, an eminently beatable pitcher who nonetheless can dominate teams who don’t make him work. Let’s hope for better results this afternoon.