Sunday, March 04, 2012

Tigers Play Some Softball Versus Braves

 The Tigers have been accused by some of having a team built more for softball than baseball.  They are big and slow and not the most athletic team in the league.  They are are going to give up their share of runs in the field mostly due to lack of range,  Offensively, they will play station to station baseball and have a difficult time manufacturing.  However, they should make up for their shortcomings in the field and on the bases with their slugging.

Today, the Tigers gave us an example of what we hope see during the regular season. They belted nine home runs in an 18-3 rout of the Braves at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland.  Spring training performance doesn't mean very much but nine homers in one game is pretty impressive even in slow-pitch softball.  How rare is it for a team to hit nine home runs in a game?  I don't believe the Tigers have ever done it before.  They haven't done it in a game that counted and it's difficult to imagine that it ever happened in spring training either.  

Ryan Raburn led the home run parade with two including a grand slam.  Alex Avila, Brennan Boesch, Prince Fielder, Austin Jackson, Jhonny Peralta, Danny Worth and Delmon Young added one apiece.  Six of the blasts came against Braves top prospect Julio Teheran.

Tomorrow, the Tigers host the Blue Jays with MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander making his first start of the spring.  

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