GoWings1905

Agreed. Emmerton has an advantage to play every night being a center, but he's looked good enough anyways that I'm fine with him not getting scratched right now. Miller and Holmstrom should rotate in and out with Eaves dressing ahead of both.

Besides it not really being fair to judge Ericsson after four games, I disagree with the notion that Ericsson has been bad so far. Certainly room for improvement, but how many of us were scared to watch when we saw Ericsson and Kindl together before the first game? That pairing has done quite well so far. I kind of look at it this way with Ericsson: if I don't notice him during a game, that's usually a positive. If he kills penalties, keeps working in his own zone and doesn't excessively turn the puck over, I am just fine with him as a third pairing d-man.

I have now turned it off in the 7th inning. Not that I'm overly upset with the Tigers; I just can't stand to watch the Rangers celebrate when this series could have easily gone the Tigers way. I'm pretty hurt right now, but I can say without a doubt this was a very special season. Thanks, Tigers!

Eaves played in the Colorado game so that can't be entirely the reason. I agree with Aussie_Wing. Definitely would much rather see Eaves play than Holmstrom.

Well said Travis. I know the NFL rules over other sports almost always in public opinion and obviously the Lions are rightfully generating a ton of attention right now, but I've always felt the Tigers mean more to the city of Detroit than any other team. I'll be bummed if it ends tonight, but certainly not disappointed in the Tigers. Like you said, this team is giving everything they have while playing through injuries and fatigue.

Not done yet! Hopefully some of that offense will stick around in Texas. Still have the starting pitching advantage in both (potential) games. That's all you can really ask for now is to keep battling again and try to get this thing to Game 7. This has been an epic series with nonstop excitement.

Exactly. Two factors why this series isn't 3-1 Tigers instead: inability to jump all over the starting pitching of the Rangers and the obvious difference in bullpen depth. The Tigers offense has been miserable, though I can't get too upset really when 1/3 of the lineup is definitely playing injured. The Rangers starting pitching is still very beatable and the Tigers has been very good, which is really the only reason I have any hope today of the Tigers winning the series. I also thought Jackson trying to steal last night and the intentional walk to Beltre (on one leg) were incredibly poor decisions. I kinda had a feeling it was going to be a repeat of Game 2 though when Cruz threw out Cabrera. The longer these games go either close or tied, the more everything swings to the Rangers advantage. No Benoit or Valverde today so it looks like our season rests solely on the shoulders of the man that got the Tigers to the playoffs to begin with. Pretty fitting that JV is on the mound for this one.

That one is tough to swallow. I really don't have anything else to add, except I am proud of this team for gutting it out.

Today's lineup for Game 4: Jackson 8, Raburn 9, Cabrera 3, V-Mart DH , Young 7, Avila 2, Peralta 6, Santiago 4, Inge 5 Porcello starting and I'm pumped to even this series up!

The bats do have some life! Another gem from Fister and finally some clutch hitting from the big guys. Clearly Austin Jackson getting on base creates very positive situations for the Tigers. Anyone that booed Miguel Cabrera tonight is a complete tool. I think the Tigers fanbase as a whole is one of the best in MLB, but that was embarassing. We got ourselves a series again!

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is win when you are supposed to. I know we are all spoiled by the Stanley Cup or bust mentality the Red Wings have given us, but the 2002 team exemplified that. 2008 was my favorite championship team though. The puck possession that team displayed was absolutely magnificent. It was post-lockout too, which was extra satisfying in its own regard.

Awesome! No Delmon tonight, as things continue to go the Tigers way. Here's the lineup for Game 3 now: Jackson 8, Santiago 4, Cabrera 3, V-Mart DH, Kelly 5, Peralta 6, Avila 2, Raburn 7, Dirks 9 I would prefer Raburn higher in the batting order since he has been one of the Tigers best hitters in the playoffs, but any way you draw it up, it's not very reassuring missing both Young and Maggs. Maybe the best thing is the Tigers have hit Colby Lewis pretty well in the past. Jump on him early and build a lead for Fister to work with. Go Tigs!

Hello everyone! It is time again for Weekend Picks. For those of you new to the board or interested in participating for the first time, the contest is pretty simple. Every Friday-Sunday during the regular season, you will select who you think will win each game on the NHL schedule for that weekend. One point for each correct selection, nothing lost for an incorrect pick. It is a running total and the individual with the highest score at the end of the 27 weeks is the winner. Our defending champion from last season is "hooon"! Those of you that have participated previously know that we have posted the picks here on the forum and the scores were then counted by a handful of volunteers who willingly dedicated their time to keep the contest running. Thanks to member "Blood On The Ice", we are going to try and use a secondary site this season which will greatly reduce the need to manually track each individual's selections. A couple of us here have already played around and done some trials on the site and it is very simple to use. Just to clear up some of the common questions that may arise: - We will still be dropping your two lowest weeks of scores. At the end of the contest, only 25 of the 27 weeks will be involved in the cumulative total. If you forget a week, have circumstances arise where the picks can't be submitted, or just score poorly, the two worst weeks will be dropped. - The pool is structured so you can make picks up until the puck is dropped in each game. If you miss Friday, you can still make picks for Saturday or Sunday. - There is an option available to add confidence points to each game. If there is enough feedback in favor of this scoring format, I can edit that up until the first game on Friday. This means, for instance, if there are 21 games, you would rank the games with a value from 1 to 21 in order of your confidence in the team to win. If there is interest in this, please let me know in this thread. - I don't have a solution on the site for a potential tiebreaker should we have a tie at the end. Last season, the Winter Classic was used, which may be a strong option again this year. All of that being said, I will post the site here and allow all of you to register and begin making your picks. You do need to create a screen name before beginning. Please use your name here at LGW as your screen name on the site so we can easily identify who is actually participating. There is an option to receive a weekly e-mail reminder, though I will post one here on the forums each Wednesday as well. Here is the website to join the pool directly: Weekend Picks The Pool ID is 60605; you do not need a password to gain access. Please note the first games this weekend start at 1:00 PM Eastern on Friday. If you have any questions or issues, feel free to let me know! Good luck to all and thanks for playing!

I think the Central is definitely the strongest division in hockey. I wouldn't be surprised at all if four teams make the playoffs. 1. Detroit 2. Chicago 3. St. Louis 4. Nashville 5. Columbus

That was one of the most frustrating games I have seen the Tigers play. Holland had no control and the Tigers got nothing with two on in the first and the bases loaded in the second. Just like the Wilson start, but even worse today. It's pretty evident the Tigers aren't going to win games decided by the bullpen against Texas. Worst part of this series so far for me is the Tigers best hitters have done nothing especially with runners on base. Cabrera and Martinez have been anything but their usual clutch. Avila looks completely worn out, Peralta has been quiet and those four guys drove the offense all season. I also am extremely pissed at Gene Lamont. Without question you have to send Santiago home in the 9th on the Kelly double. Cabrera was going to get walked regardless and V-Mart has struggled with RISP in the playoffs plus you have Feliz on the mound. Gotta take a chance there to try and get the lead because the longer the game went, the more it clearly favors the Rangers. Lamont has been aggressive all season and he holds Santiago with a chance to win the game. Oh, Ryan Perry is garbage and belongs in Toledo forever. David Pauley and even Brad Penny would be better in that spot. The starting pitching and back-end of the bullpen have been fine. The offense is going to get the Tigers eliminated quickly if they don't turn it around tomorrow.

Mursak is a little more than a few weeks away. He wouldn't even be coming back to "replace" Hudler either. We have a glut of bottom six forwards as it is -- trading away one of the players that has potential to fill a top six role and has done so pretty well in two games doesn't make a ton of sense. I don't think the Wings are going to trade Hudler regardless. As others have stated, he has little value if he plays like last season and he's an asset to the Red Wings if he gets back or close to his peak playing days.

No kidding. Just read the forecast for tonight in Arlington was cloudy with a 10% chance of rain, so why did they decide to postpone the game four hours in advance? I'm not sure it even rained there at all today from some of the reports on Twitter I have come across. Yet we had to sit through two hours of rain delays last night and now the Rangers get an extra day of rest to bring their entire bullpen back tomorrow. I doubt FOX is pleased either. They just went from a Sunday night audience to an afternoon on a Monday.

I feel so bad for Maggs. He stuck with it and could never get fully healthy this season. Great run with the Tigers since this is likely now the end of his MLB career. Thanks for the memories, Maggs! Obviously, the immediate impact of losing Maggs is also horrible for the Tigers. Already without what would have been our starting corner outfielders in Young and Boesch and now add on Maggs who was hitting the ball very well lately. So now we get Ryan Raburn and Don Kelly instead. I actually like both of those guys, but that's not an ideal starting outfield in the playoffs when you throw in Austin Jackkkkkkkkkkkson too. Since when does it rain in Texas? Lose Verlander to an extent again because of rain and now another travel day will be spent making up a postponed game. It does give Max a little more time to recover from his relief outing at least. What a depressing day.

Tim Welke is a joke. I don't even care if you don't expand the strike zone, but at least call actual strikes. Verlander wasn't that sharp, but the Cruz homer was a direct result of having to throw a bad pitch from falling behind after getting squeezed. I expect JV to start Game 4 now. The Tigers had their chances early and let Wilson get away with minimal damage. The Tigers have to do more against the Rangers starters and get a lead because the Rangers aren't going to lose if they can shorten the game to six innings with that bullpen. The Tigers offense has really scuffled so far in the playoffs. Against better pitching, it really hurts to have a team that moves base-to-base with absolutely no speed like the Tigers do. Too many guys that are prone to strikeouts and double plays that kill potential big innings. I'm really sick of Austin Jackson right now. He's gotta start making contact and getting on base. Hopefully Max can come up big again in Game 2 to even the series.

Tough loss for sure. Young was the Tigers best hitter in the ALDS. Raburn should be fine out in left though, especially with three starters for Texas being left-handed.

I sometimes question what goes through Jim's mind when making out a lineup, but that one there is just utterly stupid. Magglio has done nothing but hit and now Raburn starts in right? I don't like Jackson batting leadoff either, but he's far and away the Tigers best option there still. I expect Inge to play the first two games against Wilson and Holland. Maggs in right for sure and I honestly wouldn't mind seeing Raburn against two lefties at second base. How about those Phillies? Second straight year their offense has been a joke in the playoffs. I am so thankful the Cardinals knocked that pitching staff out early though. Before the playoffs started, my thought was it would be Brewers/Rangers in the World Series. I will stick with that, even though my heart clearly wants the Tigers to represent the AL. The rotation sets up well for the Tigers: Verlander-Scherzer-Fister-Porcello, which means our three best pitchers all get to start twice if the series goes the distance. Time for a win tonight to kick off the ALCS JV!

Excellent job on the GDT guys. It looks very nice. Finally some real hockey! Wish Eaves was playing tonight, but interested to see how Emmerton looks. Let's Go Red Wings! :octo:

Agreed. The bullpen is really down to two guys and maybe Coke against lefties, which is now pretty much just Hamilton. The Rangers bullpen is even better than a very strong one the Yankees had -- the Tigers have to jump on their starting pitching in this series with Adams, Ogando and Feliz going late in games. I also think the Rangers lineup is deeper than the Yankees. There isn't going to be any relief for the pitching staff in this series. It is going to be very, very tough to get past the Rangers.

Every single at-bat in that game was nerve wracking. The Tigers got the early lead which was huge and managed to pitch themselves out of numerous jams against a stacked offensive team. That certainly was one of the most bizarre, yet utterly exciting baseball series in quite some time. On to Texas for the ALCS! I'm proud of these guys for finding a way to keep this awesome season alive in a very tough situation. Oh, I also have to celebrate no more TBS! God, I hate Ron Darling so much. Smoltz is absolutely terrific, but Darling adds nothing and was on the Yankees nuts so bad.

Exactly. I will be stunned if JV pitches tonight. Fister was the best pitcher in baseball in September -- you gotta take your chances there and hope he can turn it over to Benoit and Valverde. Also, Kelly will start at third tonight and Maggs back in right. I just want a lead early for the Tigers sake and my health.