Swinging at Balls 4 and 5 Never Works

How much do the Tigers miss a healthy Gary Sheffield? The answer lies in tonight’s 11-8 loss.

As soon as Dan Dickerson said that Pudge Rodriguez hasn’t had a walk since before the All Star Game, I knew the Tigers were doomed.

True to form, Pudge opted to swing at balls four and five rather than take a walk and give Marcus Thames a shot to tie or win the game. Imagine if the Tigers could send a spry Sheffield — you remember him, the one from June — to the plate in a couple of the clutch situations tonight.

Oy vey.

I believed this was the game that the Tigers got even with the Tribe for the smoking of Todd Jones to the tune of five ninth-inning runs back in June. My first hint was Ramon Santiago lining a two-strike single to right field.

And the dream inched closer to reality when Cleveland manager Eric Wedge summoned Joe Borowski. To my chagrin, the Todd Jones clone didn’t keep up his end of the deal and we are left to wait for a Borowski blown-save self-immolation. There’s always tomorrow.

Sadly, the Tigers 3-1 win on Tuesday night was simply a one-game delight.

Tonight, they were back to their old tricks. No plate discipline. Shoddy pitching. A lack of urgency.

Can one patient hitter make that much difference to a contending team?

If the hitter is Sheffield and the team is the Tigers, we know the answer to that all too well.

Tonight’s game proved it.