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Mowed Down In Mo-Town: Tigers Complete Sweep Of Rangers With Six-Run, Eighth-Inning Rally Off C.J. Wilson

Posted on April 12th, 2009 3:48pm by Evan Grant
Filed under Baseball, Bullpen, Game Recap

• Boxscore: Tigers 6, Rangers 4; The Depot: highlights

DETROIT - A note to the Rangers from the fashion police: Red is your color.

Don’t wear anything else anytime soon.

Might as well look to a fashion faux pas or cursed color schemes to explain how the club that looked so dominant in its first series of the year could change nothing but its uniforms and get swept right out of Detroit in its next series.

The series that concluded with a 6-4 come-from-ahead loss Sunday was about as complete a flop as a team could have. The series concluded with a complete bullpen meltdown by LHP C.J. Wilson. It was the only thing missing. Wearing blue as their dominant color after sweeping Cleveland in red, The Rangers were thrashed 15-2 on Friday when nothing worked at all. On Saturday, the lineup was completely shut down by Justin Verlander.

And then there was Sunday. How do you even begin to explain it?

“To have what happened today after the way our guys played,” manager Ron Washington said, “we just have to go home and regroup.”

The Rangers took a 4-0 lead to the eighth on the strength of a second impressive start by RHP Kevin Millwood. He allowed only four singles, walked no one and struck out six in a 112-pitch outing. He retired 19 of the final 21 hitters he faced, including 10 in a row at one point.

His performance had taken the unpredictable aspect of the Rangers bullpen – the middle men – out of the equation.

“You really couldn’t ask for him to do any more than he did,” said manager Ron Washington, who has now lost eight straight games in Detroit dating to his first season as Rangers manager. “He did everything. We just had to get the last six outs – and we had the right guys in the game – and just didn’t do it.”

Wilson, the eclectic reliever who Twitters about all of his hobbies from racing to shooting, bore the bulk of the blame. He was handed a 4-0 lead and only had to work through the Nos. 8-9 and 1 hitters to get through the eighth.

But he fell behind No. 8 hitter Brandon Inge 2-and-0, then challenged him with a fastball. Inge drove into the seats in right field for his 100^th career homer.

Adam Everett followed with a soft single to right and then Curtis Granderson hit a soft, loopy liner that squirted past SS Elvis Andrus for an error. Placido Polanco drew the Tigers within two runs with a chopper over 3B Michael Young, but then Wilson struck out Magglio Ordonez on a check swing. He walked the other extremely dangerous Tiger, Miguel Cabrera, to face Carlos Guillen with the bases loaded.

Wilson got ahead of Guillen 0-and-2 with a pair of sliders to the outside part of the plate. He followed it up with a pair of fastballs that missed. After a foul ball, Wilson, a former starter who still likes to use the wide variety of pitches starters employ rather than the two- or three-pitch repertoire that is favored by most relievers, tried to throw a cut fastball to the outside part of the plate. The ball drifted back over the middle and Guillen lined it past Young for a game-tying double. It and the homer, were the only hard-hit balls against Wilson.

“I broke a couple of bats,” Wilson said.

But when asked if that meant he pitched well on Sunday, Wilson said: “The results are judge and jury.”

With Wilson at 24 pitches and with just one out, Washington rushed to take him out and asked struggling middle reliever Warner Madrigal to get the last two outs of the inning, but only after intentionally walking Marcus Thames.

Madrigal executed the walk perfectly. The outs were a little more troublesome. He allowed Gerald Laird Brandon Inge (ed. note: Sorry for the mistake readers; thanks for paying close attention) a two-run single up the middle.

A year ago, Washington yanked Wilson out of the closer’s job after a stretch of several games like Sunday’s inflated his ERA to 6.02. Wilson responded by making club officials aware of a bone chip issue in his elbow and having season-ending surgery.

Washington said he has no plans to reduce Wilson’s role as the team’s primary setup reliever.

“We trust C.J.,” Washington said. “We’re going to keep giving the ball to him and we know it will get better. This was just a tough one to lose.”

29 Comments to “Mowed Down In Mo-Town: Tigers Complete Sweep Of Rangers With Six-Run, Eighth-Inning Rally Off C.J. Wilson”

Mike E @ April 12th, 2009 at 3:56 pm

Hey Evan, Do you know if the Rangers have any interest in picking up Chad Gaudin or trading for a quality reliever?
JustSaying @ April 12th, 2009 at 4:05 pm

Wow. What happened to the bench coach that Nolan got to keep Wash from looking stupid…..let’s re-visit the plan numbnuts….
And CJ….wow you can’t focus enough to keep twittering in the lockroom…..where would you like to be traded CJ? Just tell us and maybe we can help you make that a reality because you will never fit in here playing the punk………
Tsing Sao @ April 12th, 2009 at 4:06 pm

Does he want be ‘cooler’ than Barry Zito? They both have similar oddities in their ‘repertoires’. I’ll be happy to see him working on Facebook or Myspace instead of a Ranger Uniform (blue or RED).
Jolly @ April 12th, 2009 at 4:08 pm

Pretty sad when your former closer most resembles the nickname “head case”…….we threw away Coco after a couple of head case games…..wonder how long it will take before CJs head case games will force his departure?
JustSaying @ April 12th, 2009 at 4:18 pm

Yesterday I suggested a chart listing the 12 Ranger pitchers and then predicting how long each would last with a hangman’s noose or a guillotine ready for each pitcher not found worthy of staying on the roster…….

Yes, I ready to put CJ on the block……what you say Ranger fans, do we hang’um or guillotine him? I’m kinda partial to hangin cause it’s more Texan like and after all those twitters I think it needs to be a slow painful departure………
Popska @ April 12th, 2009 at 4:20 pm

When will the Rangers stop hoping for a CJ consistent performance?
J. Blake @ April 12th, 2009 at 4:27 pm

How long until we put Feliz in the pen? How long until we deal for a reliever? Both have to happen soon.
pirate @ April 12th, 2009 at 4:30 pm

“We trust C.J.,” Washington said. “We’re going to keep giving the ball to him and we know it will get better. This was just a tough one to lose.”

this attitude and response is maddening. at some point, the old school brutha needs to step up and make a statement. and he needs to do it early in the season. show the guys he means business otherwise we will repeat the past two season performances.

giving up 6 runs in the 8th is completely unacceptable.
fred @ April 12th, 2009 at 4:46 pm

A question, Evan, that had no effect on the sorry outcome of this game:
When Thames was coming up, why did they bring Madrigal in to intentionally walk him, instead of having Wilson do it on his way to the showers? I always thought it was not good to have a new pitcher potentially lose focus by immediately throwing 4 intentional balls.
WinNowOrLeave @ April 12th, 2009 at 4:48 pm

Where was everyday Eddie in this series? Did Wash forget about him? Somebody better have a “Come to Jesus” meeting with Wash quickly or he is not long for this job…….
He’ll just have to ride CJ and MadDog’s shoulders right outa town………..Maybe JD could just twitter them that they’re released…..
ken b @ April 12th, 2009 at 4:59 pm

Ron Washington needs to be fired immediately. C.J.Wilson and Madrigal need a ticket to the minors. If Washington was hired for his defensive expertise tell me why our defense STINKS !!! There should be no waiting around for things to change. Hire a Manager who has a clue-thats not you Ron Washington.
Little O @ April 12th, 2009 at 5:02 pm

Sometimes in life the simple answer is the correct answer. Get rid of Wilson now. This team has the potential to be better than we expected but they can’t build confidence with him on the roster. A team that has a winning history can deal with a situation like this but one that’s trying to build a winning attitude can’t draw on that experience.
tunbleweed @ April 12th, 2009 at 5:39 pm

The problem seems to be ole “WAAASH”, the choice of relivers, (who made that choice?) and a lot of people not paying attention to the best hitting coach in Baseball. One other thing is, notice what the Rangers could have had behind the plate and what they have behind the plate. What is the big deal about “SAAAAAATY” except that he “want to be a catcher.” Wilson is not worth any more time, WAAASH is not worth any more time, and JD needs to be held accountable for these deals.
Red @ April 12th, 2009 at 5:44 pm

Tired of C.J. If he comes into another situation like that I am gonna be so pissed. The guy just jerks around too much. Seems like he’s more interested in looking cool on the mound than actually producing. Give Jennings a shot on being the 8th inning guy.
Tsing Sao @ April 12th, 2009 at 5:58 pm

More John Wetteland less Mike Henneman PLEASE!
Tom B @ April 12th, 2009 at 6:07 pm

I wondered aloud in Spring Training, How many Wash would give away, in trying to adjust a final team wins figure. One must wonder, If Wilson is the best choice for that situation then how bad are things….Really? Eddie G must have a vacation contract. Was he also protecting A. Jones from hitting? This also smells a lot like Bradley favoritism last season. How many home game ticket sales will this series cost the Rangers?
Leemer in Austin @ April 12th, 2009 at 6:18 pm

I don’t fault Wash for trotting CJ out there, showing some confidence in him. And I certainly don’t fault him for not throwing his reliever under the bus after the game, because that is no way to run a team.

But between his performance and the way last year ended for him (the “flip”), I’ve had enough. I’d rather have guys like Eyre, Nippert, Strop, etc. that I can honestly root for – potential be damned – in this bullpen than someone who is more concerned with his persona and adding to his 12-pitch arsenal.

This isn’t a video game, CJ, and you are no avatar.

Or maybe you are…

And, Evan, your anti-CJ bias does not go unnoticed. It just gains more momentum. I’m on your side.

(This knee-jerk reaction has been brought to you by Chico’s Bail Bonds. And, evidently, Twitter.)
deft @ April 12th, 2009 at 6:38 pm

Evan- Laird struck out to Madrigal. Inge killed us twice that inning.
Lorenzo @ April 12th, 2009 at 7:06 pm

Unacceptable! CJ must go. And Wash shouldn’t be far behind him. This has got to stop. There’s no excuse for losing that game. Pathetic & Embarrassing.
Jared @ April 12th, 2009 at 7:10 pm

Evan your recollection of the last part of the 8th is a bit spotty. Madrigal was brought in with one out and struck out Laird before Indge knocked in the go ahead runs.
tomckil @ April 12th, 2009 at 7:25 pm

CJ is in love with himself, and short on maturity, toughness and humility. Agree with Red, he seems to be styling out there. I’ve always thought he was more of a middle reliever who could go more than one inning (on a good day). That said, I wonder about Salty’s role in this. Did he call the cutter? Did CJ shake him off something else? Did CJ throw it on his own?
BF @ April 12th, 2009 at 9:16 pm

Is it possible that CJ is the Rangers’ Sean Avery? I have always had the impression that the clubhouse wouldn’t miss him if he were to go away. And remember how well the Stars played (until injuries killed them)once they dumped Avery…
Fred @ April 12th, 2009 at 9:27 pm

Blue glove lefty (or, red, for a couple of games), because he’s a fashion statement, above all… the poster child of the Lonestar Nation. Now they’re turning on him. An immature, undisciplined, egotistical young fella. How Appropriate.
JustSaying @ April 12th, 2009 at 10:00 pm

“I broke some bats.” He is really wack…it’s all about him to him and that’s why he wasn’t on his knees begging Millwood and Ryan for forgiveness for screwing up a potentially nice start by this team. We’ll forgive the 15 runs but we sure as hell won’t forgive this outing, CJ. We’re ready for you to go, and we want you to do whatever you need to do to help that along. How about “I really let Millwood down.” or “I just embarassed us, there’s no way to explain your way out of it.” Try those CJ, you argogant putz…………You don’t act like a winner CJ and we don’t want losers……..
Jolly @ April 12th, 2009 at 10:10 pm

Next time CJ comes in at home the first base side fans should chant “head case” and the third base side chant “flip off” and maybe the scoreboard will show the famous flip off for all to see……By the way, fans, “Does anyone have a UTube copy of the flip……I think we need to post that again and let everyone have a look at the absolutely classless act CJ put on Wash last year……..CJ you’re done….pack…yes you pack……your bags so we can clear a spot on the roster for someone who loves this game…….
Fai Mao @ April 13th, 2009 at 3:40 am

If the Bull Pen had done its job the Rangers would be 5 – 1 not 3 and 3. It is as simple as that. While McCarthy was shaky he got the job done or near enough. Only Benson has stunk in the rotation.

Question: Those of you would want to trade CJ, exactly what makes you think another team would give up anything for the guy?

I give the guy one more appearance If he stinks again then release him. The issue with C.J. isn’t the stuff, but his head. I wish him well. I hope he figures it out. I don’t think the Rangers are place to let him do that.

If he still has an option put him back to 1A and tell him his first name is really Edison.
Tom B @ April 13th, 2009 at 5:26 am

I blame Wash because Wilson has rarely, if ever, started a new inning and been able to execute successfully. He has generally needed a base runner or two to get his focus. The man cannot pitch with NO baserunner pressure. OK, Wash, one more time; Start the inning with Eddie G or any third party including Millwood. Then adjust as the situation dictates. Giving the ball to CJ to start an inning is like me giving my child a $100 bill and say get some lunch and bring me the change. It does not compute.
ed @ April 13th, 2009 at 10:17 am

Glad to see all is right with the world. Rangers losing, ERAs in double-digits. Hicks fighting with his bankers. When Hicks is forced into a fire sale of the team, “things right with the world” rules will change.
melissa @ April 13th, 2009 at 2:43 pm

Everyone calm down. Christ.