Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat (and Vice Versa)

We love sports. Obviously, if you're reading this blog, you know that we do. We especially love baseball. Again, pretty obvious. But there are some annoying patterns that really drive us crazy. Perhaps the most annoying pattern of all is one that our Tigers currently experienced/are experiencing: just when we think they're about to gain momentum and go on some winning streak and everyone starts to click, we fall apart (read: Monday night's game). We lose. We fail.

At least, that's what the three of us thought yesterday as we watched our boys fall into an 0-6 hole. Oh great, we thought. Anemic offense and pathetic pitching. Thus is the story of our season so far. So soon had we forgotten the glory that was last year's comeback against the White Sox. And it happened again. In one inning, no less. Miguel Cabrera and Austin Jackson continued to be all kinds of awesome with their home runs, and Ryan Raburn decided to remember how to hit a ball and drove in for runs, including his first homer of the season. Not. Too. Shabby.

Is this finally the game that can get our boys, who we know to be capable of so much, on track? Four out of five (sorry Max) starting pitchers are looking good-if-not-great. Prince Fielder is waking up, Cabrera is alive, and Jackson is unstoppable. Hell, look at Andy Dirks. He's doing a better Boesch impersonation than Brennan himself, and Dirks has the defense to back himself up. Yes, it does look like our team is starting to put the pieces together, but to every silver lining there is a cloud.

It definitely speaks to the level of the AL Central when our boys are sitting pretty (?) at .500 in the middle of May and only 2 games out of first place. And granted, not everyone is playing poorly, as we've stated in earlier blog posts. But as everyone should realize by now, whenever you're doing something in a group you're only as good as your weakest link. The below-average fan or above-average MLive commenter would scream "RAYBURN! He's our weakest link! We shouldda never've released Brandon Inge! I always knew I loved that guy!! Screw Rayburn send him to Toledo!!!!" Guess what, idiots? Ryan Raburn is not our biggest problem. Look at what he did in yesterday's game! Obviously it isn't enough to overlook a pretty poor start to the season, but he is not what's keeping our team down. No, to even a casual Tigers viewer, it's no secret who the culprit is.

THE BULLPEN.


Ah, yes. Public Enemies #1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 (we're leaving out Duane Below). Over the past month these guys have really screwed us by blowing leads or giving up runs in tie game situations. It is a joke and proof of the irrelevance of the win statistic that Collin Balester is 2-0 right now, picking up the win in yesterday's game. Look at poor Drew "No Decision" Smyly. Boy is pitching like he's a veteran and is either a) getting no early run support, or b) getting shafted by his bullpen.

We've learned to view this season with a suspicious and wary eye. Just when we think our boys are on a roll, they disappoint us. Conversely, when we are so fed up we can barely watch, the Tigers surprise us by playing a great game. Sooner or later, they'll show their true colors, and with a homestand against the (shitty) Twins and the (shitty) Pirates, we hope our boys will get hot and stay that way.

A Team Effort

So, the first two series at home were pretty fun, right? Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, the Dynamic Duo of Super BFF's smashing away. Dramatic, walk-off wins and awesome blowouts. Undoubtedly some fun stuff. Suck it, AL East powerhouses!!!

And then comes Chicago. Suddenly the big boys aren't hitting as much as they're supposed to be. Some of our defense is looking shaky. We're just not getting any productivity due to uncertain swings and bad luck. But we thought we were supposed to be destroying the Central! Everyone panic!!!!!!!!!!

We're kidding, obviously. People who are panicking at Miggy and Raburn and other players' hitting slumps, our somewhat questionable defense, and Jim Leyland's managerial decisions need to take a pill and shut the hell up. Do we sound a little harsh? Well, we mean business on this matter. What this team already realizes and what most fans need to understand is that this is a Group Effort this year, never mind the fact that we're only ten games into the season.

There are indeed some very confusing statistics to these first ten games. After six games of pure hitting prowess, Miguel Cabrera has yet to get a hit in this road trip. Ryan Raburn is hitting a truly awful .065: 2 hits in 31 at bats. And Doug Fister, who we were SO excited to see claim his #2 Ace Role behind Verlander, succumbed to injury early on. Brandon Inge returned to the lineup despite his anemic, pathetic batting numbers. Plus, no starter got a win in the first nine games, and Jose Valverde was doing his best Fernando Rodney Defibrillator Act.

And yet. And yet we are 7-3. Why do you think this is, haters and pessimists? Because we are more than just the Cabrera-Fielder show. Because we have more offensive depth than many initially thought. Because just because our number one closer can't get it done doesn't mean someone else won't.

Have you seen Austin Jackson? We know we talked about it last post, but Lloyd McClendon should be worshiped as a God right now. The eliminated leg kick seems to be exactly what AJax needs to really be a great table-setter. Look at his numbers. LOOK AT THEM. Boy is on fire, and though there is no way he'll keep his offensive production at this crazy pace, expect him to have a much better season than the last one. And what about sweet Rick Porcello? His last two starts have been good, and the one on Sunday was just plain dominant. He's hot, and in more ways than one. Don't forget Juh-honny Peralta, who seems to be slipping everyones mind, and Alex Avila, who hasn't missed a beat off of last season. They're two huge reasons why we have as good a record as we do.

And of course, Justin Verlander. While we shall not speak of the 9th Inning Atrocity vs. Tampa Bay, he has been absolutely killing it in all three of his starts. We didn't initially like Leyland's decision to keep him in last night, and it was terrifying, but Justin said he needed to prove it to himself that he could do it. And that last 100 mph pitch and his reaction was worth every second of torment that the fans went through.

So, bottom line is: if one of the stars (right now it's Cabrera, for reasons unknown) is struggling, don't think all is lost. It isn't. For one thing, we have a great all-around team. For another, he's Miguel Cabrera. He will fix it. He's in good hands. And as far as Raburn goes--we know. It's annoying. But we feel that he will come around too, even Saint Lloyd has to get in there and change some of his mechanics.

The season's very young, folks. Of course we're going to have some rough edges at the start. But look at our boys' potential, and look at what they've already done. This is going to be a good year. So relax, and enjoy the show.

Who's It Gonna Be?

With Spring Training winding down and Opening Day looming right around the corner, it's almost the time when the final cuts are made and the official 25-man roster is formed. So far some semi-interesting decisions have already been made (Jacob Turner and Quintin Berry are gone) but, as expected, the major question marks still linger. Will Brandon Inge or Ryan Raburn get the nod at second base? Will Inge be on the team at all? Will Miguel Cabrera really be ready for Opening Day? Will Andy Dirks or Clete Thomas get the fourth-outfielder spot? And, most intriguingly, which young gun will get the fifth starter job?

First things first. Brandon Inge has long been a topic of conversation on this little blog, not to mention all of Tiger Universe, so we know we're kind of beating a dead horse when we bring him up. We don't think he should start. Period. His fielding at the 2nd base position has been decent, but his hitting has been poor as usual, hitting a whopping .174 with very little power.

That's been the problem with Inge his whole career. His spectacular defense used to make up for his hitting, but that has diminished as he's gotten older. In our minds, there is no question that Raburn should  start at second, given his massive RBI production and power this Spring. The defense hasn't been horrific either, so that's a plus! The question that Leyland and the Tigers face now is to keep Inge on the team at all. Want to know our opinion? Bench player. But we'll see what the coaching staff thinks…

In good, happy news, it looks as if our poor Miguel Cabrera will be ready for Opening Day! He was cleared by the doctors this morning and his eye is de-puffed, and as usual he's hungry to get playing. We had to admit, the image of Miguel all bloodied and badass with his teammates and coaches frantically swarming him made us incredibly worried, but it seems like everything's all good. We'll meet you in Comerica, big fella!

But who else will we meet in Comerica? Clete Thomas or Andy Dirks? People (read: Jim Leyland) keep making this sound like an actual freaking debate, but we don't think it is. Andy Dirks all the way, baby. He's younger, faster, has a bigger learning curve, and is just plain better offensively. Andy is raking up the hits, while Clete is playing at his same lukewarm pace. Look. We love our selves some Clete Thomas (who doesn't?), but it would be absolutely ridiculous for him to be chosen over Andy "Forrest" Dirks.

The final, big, most interesting question of who should get the starting spot? We have no idea. Three young, attractive guys are neck and neck. No problems here. Sure, we think it would be great if Drew Smyly got a chance, since Andy Oliver is stumbling a little recently. But Duane Below, dark horse that he is, looks pretty decent too, though he might be better suited for the bullpen at this point. Smyly has that 1.13 ERA, after all. And there ain't nothin wrong with that.

This Spring Training isn't really that cut-and-dry. But that's what makes it so exciting. Whatever Leyland chooses to do with Inge, Dirks, Smyly and the rest, the 25 men we will have in Comerica Park in less than 10 days is going to be a great group.

Ryan Raburn Awareness

Brennan Boesch. Miguel Cabrera. Prince Fielder. Delmon Young. Alex Avila. Those are the Tigers' project 2-6 hitters, the core of a lineup with such lethal potential that has even the most seasoned pitchers quaking with fear. But this year, even with this deadly of a lineup with so many sluggers, opposing teams might have someone else to fear. That man is none other than

Yeah. Ryan Raburn. Him. "Well, what about the usual first-half slump?" some may ask. The average M Live or Facebook commenter may hate Raburn with a burning, fiery passion, but the educated fan really shouldn't. Wanna know why?

Let's take last year for example. Raburn started off with a relatively decent April before free-falling in May to a brutal .113 average. Of course, most people (including us at times) grumbled and groaned about this predictable outcome. What most people didn't really think about was that Ryan had completely  broken his finger in early May. Many Tiger fans knew this, but attributed Ryan's rough first half to preconceived patterns.

But hello?!? Of course a broken finger could be potentially damaging to Ryan's productivity. As soon as his finger healed up Ryan slugged his way to .275, .323, and .383 in July, August, and September respectively. Imagine what that kind of offense could be like year-round, alongside Miguel Cabrera and Prince Freaking Fielder??

In fact, Raburn has definitely already shown that he has a potential for a breakout year in Spring Training. Not that we put too much stock in anything that has to do with Spring Training numbers, but our beloved hayseed has exploded for 4 homers and 14 RBI in 15 at bats. Holy crap. He has been the most productive player on the team, and that should give him some kind of credit.

Unfortunately, until he starts making noise throughout the whole season, and not just the second half (it's due to injury! Don't forget that), he will still be a controversial figure for Tigers fans and an ever-suffering scapegoat. Let's stop the madness. We need to put an end to the constant Raburn-bashing and start appreciating him a little--no, a lot--more.

Please, Ryan, just stay healthy. Please. For our sake and especially yours.
(We're not making any excuses for his defense though. Good Lord. Some people just can't be helped.)

Don't Forget the Little People

Our Tigers are now 42-36 and have a full one game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central. We fans have witnessed two great games in a row, in which our two biggest stars have come through in outstanding fashion. On Saturday we saw Justin Brooks Verlander continue his year of amazing-ness, striking out 14 (14!!!!) and going eight innings while allowing only 4 hits. The next day we saw Sparky Anderson's number retired in an emotional ceremony and then watched Miguel Cabrera be clutch--again--while driving in the game-winning runs in the bottom of the eighth.

As great as these two are, and as much as we should appreciate their skills, we do have to remember that others on our team have been making significant contributions as well. In fact, we would argue that without  certain players stepping up and filling in key supporting roles, we wouldn't be winning the Central right now.

Austin Jackson-The Catalyst. Despite his pretty bad day at the plate yesterday (4 strikeouts-yeeeeesh), Ajax has been hitting well lately, and whenever he's on, the whole team follows. Obviously nothing needs to be said about his defense. We all know how good he is at that.

Victor Martinez-The Quiet Leader. More than a few Tigers have commented on how good a leader V-Mart is. He seems to lead both in the clubhouse and on the field, and it is great to see him get all emotional and riled up whenever he delivers a clutch hit or slides dramatically into home. He also has helped out a bunch of younger players (Jackson, Alex Avila) with their offensive swings this year.

Alex Avila-Pitcher's Compliment. Verlander is obviously an amazing pitcher, and Max Scherzer is getting a lot of work done, too. However, people tend to forget that not only is Alex Avila kicking ass and taking names at the plate, he is also helping out our stellar starters behind it. He is a genuinely good guy, too, and deserves perhaps more than anyone on this team (save Verlander) to start the All-Star Game. If you haven't voted yet, vote!

Juh-honny Peralta: The Comeback Kid. No one, especially us, thought Juh-honny would be an offensive asset this year, especially coming out of Spring Training. Not only is he hitting over .300 but he also has the best fielding percentage of all shortstops in the American League. Quite a departure from his lackluster seasons the past few years.

Brennan Boesch-The Comeback Kid Pt. 2. After his miserable second-half last year, many wondered, including us, if Baby B was just a fluke. He has (hopefully) proven us wrong again, hitting close to .300 and getting on base whether he's hitting 2nd, 3rd, 6th, or wherever.

Max Scherzer-All I Do Is Win. What is it about Mad Max? He gets on the mound, we score runs. Period. Sometimes he doesn't deserve the win, but why quibble? A guy like that is always an asset to the team, and his W-L record shows it. Hopefully he can get win number 10 tonight.

Jose Valverde-The Stopper. Despite him giving us a few heart-attacks this season, Papa Grande has not blown a save this year, not a one. Perhaps he wasn't as completely dominant as he was last season, but he gets the job done, and acts like a rock star while doing it.


Al Alburquerque-The Surprise. This guy isn't just having a few good outings--he is consistently making batters look like assholes as they miss his sinker by feet. He is on pace for a ridiculous number of strikeouts this year, and he has only let one runner he has inherited score. Oh, and he's 5-1.  No one expected this out of him, which is part of what makes him so amazing.

Don Kelly, Ramon Santiago, Casper Wells, Andy Dirks-Supporting Players Extraordinaire. Though many people have issues with one or more of the Tigers above, we love them all. They have consistently stepped in this year and delivered. All of them! Though we may mock Don Kelly for his sometime unfortunate hitting skills, his defense is not to be ignored, and lately he has been coming through in the clutch.

Ryan Raburn-The Comic Relief. This has to be the reason he's starting all the time. Jim Leyland must love to get a good laugh in, right? There can't be any other reason, right?!?!

So, as much as Verlander and Cabrera deserve to be credited for getting us into first place (and believe us, they deserve a lot of that credit!) the Tigers mentioned above are vital to our success, too. We're liking the look of this team a lot, and not just the physical one. A few pieces aside, we seem to be on track to be serious, serious contenders in our division (fingers crossed!).

The Ballad of Danny Worth

Picture by the Detroit News

Though it hurts us to say this, it must be said: Ryan Raburn should not be a full-time player. We at April in the D have been his biggest champions throughout the years, always bringing up his freak months where he hits over .400 and frequently bringing up his spectacular errors in the outfield fondly (falling through doors, dropping then kicking a ball, hitting a ball over the wall for a HR, etc.). But now it sickens us to see him starting almost everyday, bringing as much usefulness to the lineup as a pitcher (although pitchers can draw bases-loaded walks, right Rick Porcello?!?!). 

Also, if you're going to mention Ryan Raburn, you have to mention Don Kelly in the same breath. Why is he starting everyday? The bigger question: why is he batting second?! You may point out that with Inge on the DL, we have no other options. Well, people, we do. We have a man who could play for both Raburn and Kelly. Remember him? His name is danny worth. 

You may ask, why such a small text size for danny's name? Because a) Rod Allen never fails to point out how quiet danny is in the clubhouse, and b) Jim Leyland apparently doesn't know he exists. How come Mighty Mouse and Scott Sizemore got their chances to start at second base and danny didn't? Really, people? Ryan Raburn is not even a remotely good option anymore. He can't hit, and we obviously know he can't field. When danny worth has actually been given a chance to have some at-bats, he's hit .400 and has an OPS of .955. That's certainly better than anyone else has done in 20 at-bats, and no doubt he's hitting better than Ryan Raburn will anytime soon. 

We all know that when Inge comes up, danny will be packing his bags for Toledo. Why doesn't he get a decent chance? Does Leyland just not like him? Does he not see him as an everyday player? That's bullshit, in our opinion. Anything would be better than Raburn at this point, but it looks like time is winding down for poor, sweet danny. He never had a chance. 

Let's hope Crazy Phil Coke can shut down the Rockies tonight. It won't be fun to watch a game like last nights, unless we're the ones bringing the pain. The thought of the Indians alone in first again makes us ill.

One final note: You know how on SI.com they have that "Weekend Clicks" section or whatever where they have a hot woman of the week for no good reason? Well, we would like to have our own version of  Weekend Clicks, except with baseball players, for all you girls out there. It's called Player of the Week. They won't necessarily be from the Tigers, but this Player of the Week is none other than Austin Jackson! Take a peek. He was named one of the best-dressed people in Detroit a while back, and it shows. Work it, Austin. 

Shiny Happy People

Happy Tiger!

Isn't life so much better when your team has a winning record? It's still way too early to count any team out of anything, but that doesn't stop people from getting carried away when their team plays well. I (Laura) had the misfortune dubious honor of spending Easter with diehard Cleveland Indian fans, and they were all going crazy that the Indians were at the top of the Central.

Now, I am as optimistic as anyone when it comes to my team, but these psychos were already talking about Grady and the gang going to the playoffs. Maybe it's due to the fact that Cleveland sports fans grasp at any signs of hope that they can, but their not-so-quiet desperation made me realize that having extreme optimism about a team is actually pretty fun. Let's look at the many, many positive points that our team has given us in the past few games.

• We swept the hated, loathed, and evil White Sox. Enough said.
• Austin Jackson is actually hitting again. Is it any surprise our offense was unstoppable in the Chicago series? When our lead-off guy is on, the whole team is on. It's important that our boy continues this trend, especially when we go to Cleveland to face the Indians.
• Our apologies to Alex Avila. After unfairly jumping on the We-Hate-Alex bandwagon in the first freaking week of the season, he hit .545 against Chicago and his batting average now rests at .316. Holy crap. Will these sparkling numbers stay? No. But we predict he'll hit really well for the rest of the season.
• Brad Penny comes out of nowhere to pitch like an ace. Excuse me? Now that we know what Mr. Karina Smirnoff is capable off, hopefully he can do it all the time. Max Scherzer, on the other hand, actually is an ace. He and Verlander are going to be a hell of a one-two punch, that much is for sure.
• Brandon Inge drew an Easter egg on Casper Wells' leg. We don't know why this is so great, but it is. Maybe it's because Brandon is such a good artist. Or maybe, coupled with this photographic gem, it proves that Casper Wells is a precious precious addition to our team, if only for comedic value.
• While it is true that the Cokehead needs to pick up his game, we're pretty sure that the Tigers are going to rebound from the loss to Seattle tonight. It is hard to beat King Felix.
• That being said, we're going to take that comedic value superlative away from Casper for a minute. Ryan Raburn is on this team for comedic value. If you can't laugh at the now infamous punch-the-ball-over-the-wall play, you need to freaking try. Because it really is funny.

So while not everything is coming up roses for our team, things are starting to click. Why be negative when there is so much to be positive about?

Yankees vs Tigers, 3/31/11: WTF?

Oh, Justin...

Huh?
Did anyone else besides us think that Opening Day was kind of...strange? Justin Verlander throws 115 pitches in 6 innings and gives up a 3-run homer to Mark Teixeira. Phil Coke gives up another two runs in relief. Jim Leyland thinks it's a good idea to play Alex Avila against CC (is it really a good idea to be playing Avila at all? He really needs to earn his stripes this year). The Beloved Curtis Granderson kicks our ass.

First of all, Justin Verlander is never 100% in April. Ever. And he still kept us in the game, so its not like he pitched terribly. And the two runs Coke gave up? We feel like that's bound to happen after pitching as a starter for the whole of Spring Training. Not that that's a good excuse, but still. If Avila can't hit a ball, though, this is going to be a rough season. We will need production from our catcher position if we want to do well this year!!!

As you're reading this, you might be thinking, 'Shut up! It's Opening Day! You need to relax.' And you'd be right. After all, it's the first game of the season. Against the Yankees, at Yankee Stadium. And as much as we hate the Yankees, they're not a bad team. There were some positive points in the game, such as:

-Miguel Cabrera. Two walks, a hit and a sacrifice fly RBI. Clearly he is ready to kick ass and take names. No one wants to mess with him! NO ONE.
-The Team Drives in Runs. Juh-honny! Inge! Last year we left way, way too many men on base. Cabrera was really the only one we could count on to consistently get an RBI with a guy on 3rd and no outs. Seeing production from the bottom of the lineup is refreshing.
-Ryan Raburn. He hits! He plays defense! He does it all!!!! We kid, but we are really, really excited to see what Raburn can do with consistent playing time. Hopefully his defense really has improved as he says it has. It looked great yesterday!


All that being said, our boys do need to get a good win tomorrow. We need to show the Yankees, ESPN, and the entire MLB world that the Detroit Tigers can hang with the best of them.

PS-One thing that is NOT forgivable about yesterday's game was the stupid ESPN announcers. Could they have their heads any further up the Yankee's asses? They were even making fun of Will Rhymes. Even though it's undoubtedly easy to do, only Rod and Mario are allowed to poke fun at Mighty Mouse. Screw you, ESPN!

PPS-Don't forget to check out Laura on "The Knee Jerks" at 7 pm on Monday! www.thekneejerks.com 

Angels in the Outfield

Sorry to all of our many readers (hahahahaha) that we're not posting as frequently. We're pretty busy--its called college. You remember it.
ANYWAYS, Spring Training games are officially underway, and our brilliant team has cranked out a 3-0 start, not that it matters. They took down the hated Yankees yesterday, so that can only be a good thing. Those three wins were mostly thanks to our pitchers, but today we're going to look at a different position(s): the outfield.

So Raburn, AJax, and Magglio seem to have the outfield positions all locked up. Or do they? We are going to take an in-depth look at not just the skills of these ballplayers, but their personality, looks, fan-appeal, looks....you know, the important stuff!


Austin Jackson (AJax)





Probably the only player who is a lock for an outfield spot, Austin Jackson was so good last year that he made us completely forget about Curtis Granderson. This is quite the feat, since we were the girls who openly wept when he was traded. Now, after seeing what a genius Dave Dombrowski is for making that deal, we are AJax's biggest supporters. He's young, attractive, and kind, though he can't get the right enunciation for the phrase "fair share". Even though he'll never be as beloved as Curtis was in the D, it's our firm belief that he'll be much better.

Brennan Boesch (Baby B)



Oh, baby Brennan. After such a successful first half, Brennan failed to impress in the second (and most important) part of the season. Will he win the spot reserve spot this year, or will Casper Wells steal it away from him? Either way, he'll look good doing it--his Cali-boy swag and strong physique have us (Rosie!!!) praying he'll make the 25-man roster. One can only hope that he will produce the same ridiculous stats he racked up in the first half. Yeah, sure.


Casper Wells (Ghostboy)





This Friendly Ghost is poised to overtake Brennan Boesch and fill our team quota of white-baller-who-wishes-he-was-black. Have you seen his tweets?!...Anyway, Ghostboy tore up the Big Leagues in the brief time he was there last year, and we think he will make the roster over Baby B this year. Once he gets more exposure, the fans in the D are probably going to love him. He obviously loves to connect with fans and is proud to be on the Tigers, so more power to him. Plus, he's kind of witty . Who doesn't love that?!

Clete Thomas (The Cleteus)



Ah, Clete. We're slightly embarrassed to say (especially after his performance last year) that we used to have a bit of a Clete Thomas Obsession. So much so that we hated Don Kelly when he came up for Clete in the 2009 season, and always scoffed at Rod Allen for his criticism. Now all of these feelings have passed, and it's time for us to get real about Clete's chances in the bigs this season. We don't think it's going to happen. Despite his redneck charm and deer-in-headlights smolder, Clete would have to have a hell of a spring training to beat out the likes of Don, Casper and Brennan.

Don Kelly (Don Kelly)

Don Kelly can do it all, and that's why he's definitely going to make the squad this year. He can play outfield, third base, first base, and supposedly catcher. There's no way, that with our surplus of injury-prone Venezuelans, we won't need a back-up in SOME position, and Don is the perfect guy to do it. As far as looks go, have you seen this guy in person? TV doesn't do him justice. Too bad he has the cutest kids ever...

Magglio Ordonez (Maggs)





The Tiger's answer to Fabio until he cut his hair, Magglio is the kind of player that makes both coaches and desperate housewives swoon (for very different reasons, obviously). We here at April in the D were terrified that last year would be his last in the Motor City, but Dombrowski flashed his genius once again and Maggs is here to stay (at least for the year)! Hopefully he doesn't run into any health issues -we all saw the affect his absence had on our team last year. So here's looking at a great 2011, Magglio--and please, grow that fabulous hair back.

Ryan Raburn (Ry Ry)

 


There's something about Ryan. You know what we're talking about. Just when you think he's starting to really suck big time, he goes crazy and hit .400 for the month of August. He claims that he does better when he knows he's going to play, and all evidence points that he's telling the truth. If he can be as productive as he was the tail end of last season, he's in for one monster year. We're rooting for ya!

Agree? Disagree? Let us know!