The funny thing about A.J. Pierzynski and my hatred for him is I get text messages from my few Chicago White Sox fan friends all the time asking me, "What did A.J. ever do to deserve your hate toward him?"  My response is always, "he's a douche," because I don't have all the time in the world to go through every single circumstance that makes me hate his guts.  Where would I start?  His hair? Getting in the face of Michael Barrett after he collided with him at home plate and subsequently getting his lights punched out?  His face?  Mocking Carlos Zambrano after hitting a bomb off him? ...His hair?

Well, tonight A.J. just provided me with reason number 142,485.

Dontrelle Willis was pitching to him in the bottom of the 4th in a 1-1 game when Willis threw a wild pitch that sailed up and in on Pierzynski. Naturally, A.J. went into douche mode and stared at Willis like it was on purpose.  Nevermind that Willis has suffered through massive control problems these past couple years (15 walks in 25 innings this season after today), and in this game he had already thrown a wild pitch in the first inning. On the very next pitch, A.J. got sawed off and grounded out weakly to second base.  As he sauntered off the field, A.J. made a point to say a few words to Willis, presumably about the high cheese chin music he was delivered the pitch before:

Dontrelle obviously heard what A.J. had to say and took exception.  Below is Dontrelle throwing his hands up in disgust saying, "Douche, I mean dude, don't you know who I am? I'm Dontrelle Willis.  I have no idea where the ball is going half the time, that was definitely not on purpose.  (But now I wish it was)."

A.J. Pierzynski tried to run off the field and get away with whatever it was he said, like some coward, but Tigers' catcher Gerald Laird was not going to let him get off that easy.  He comes in to defend his pitcher like a true teammate:

From the replays, Miguel Cabrera clearly did not see A.J. say anything to Dontrelle.  He may have heard something, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't.  That didn't matter.  He knew exactly who was involved in this mess and immediately entered the equation to give his best death stare which made Pierzynski cower like an abused doggy.



Once A.J. saw that Dontrelle Willis and the other Tigers were running into the picture, he immediately put his hands up as if he wanted a take back on what he said.  It's clear at this point he realizes he's weak and just wants to go back to the dugout in one piece.  Meanwhile, Gordon Beckham waits in the wings as he just wants to freaking bat to try and get out from the sub-one hundred batting average hole he finds himself in.

The best part about the benches clearing was probably Joel Zumaya.  Zoom was not going to pitch tonight no matter what, so he was in the clubhouse presumably receiving treatment.  He was obviously keeping a close eye on the game because he was out on the field, jersey-less, in no time to get a piece of A.J. Pierzynski.  Just take a peek at that glare.  Looks eerily similar to the one I practice in the mirror every day in case I ever come face to face with Pierzynski:

After things were starting to cool down and the teams were returning to their respective dugouts/locations, the Chicago broadcasters, Ken Harrelson and Steve Stone (who are up there with Pierzynski on the all-time hate list) shower A.J. with (perhaps sarcastic) praise as they blame the entire bench clearing situation on Tigers catcher Gerald Laird.  Harrelson also goes on to claim that there's a halo above A.J's head, even though we all know that's just the shine from his dyed hair.  A.J.  gives his best Keanu Reeves acting to his teammates while swearing, "I didn't do anything, honestly!"



Pierzynski was definitely dome jobbed by the entire thing as he finished the game 0-4 and still as one of baseball's biggest douchebags.  Congratulations, A.J.

I like Brandon Inge a lot.  I have liked Inge ever since he bursted into the MLB scene in 2001 with a .180 BA in a little over 100 at-bats.  I didn't care then and I didn't care that he hit .202 and .203 the next two seasons, respectively.  Inge's cannon for an arm, dazzling flashes of the leather, and personality made him a tough guy to dislike.  I started to like him even more when my college coach told me in 2004 that while Inge was at VCU he would come in from third base without warming up and throw 96 MPH fastballs past hitters with ease.  As the story goes, he struck out the side against my alma mater on 9 pitches.

Inge gets a lot of slack, deservedly so, as he hasn't been the greatest hitter during his tenure with the Detroit Tigers.  No matter what his career batting average is though (.239), he's still an incredible athlete and, believe it or not, has the talent to be (gulp) an All-Star.  Enter this season.  Thus far, he has 12 HR which ranks third amongst all third basemen and his .277 BA is top half.  He's also on pace to have his best year at third base in terms of fielding percentage where he was a candidate to win the Gold Glove in 2006 and 2007.

Today, Brandon Inge provided a huge two-out RBI single in the top of the 9th to give the Tigers a 5-4 lead they would eventually hold on to against the White Sox in the first game of a doubleheader.

So in honor of Inge's big hit today, his overall season thus far, and just my general man crush on this versatile Tiger4lyfe, I'm going to the archives and pulling out an old New York radio show segment featuring Mike Francesa who creepily admits how much he likes Inge.  A lot. I mean, he likes Inge a lot.

Well, I like Brandon Inge a lot, too.

(Huge Hat Tip to Hugging Harold Reynolds for showing me this clip and inspiring me to post it)

At Comerica Park during the Tigers/Red Sox game yesterday, one lucky cameraman happened to catch an unusual streaking daredevil.

What you're about to see is a Detroit4lyfe News exclusive.

Matt O'Donnell at FenwayWest.com (a Boston Red Sox blog, in case you didn't know from the title) reached out to me to answer some questions about the current 3-game series between the Red Sox and Tigers at Comerica Park.  I didn't get my answers in until about the 3rd inning tonight, so that explains the late posting.  Matt and I have agreed to do this again in August (in a more timely fashon), but I will ask the questions then.  I highly recommend you take a peek at Matt's site as he provides a solid opposing view of this series and other Boston Red Sox commentary, if you're into that type of thing...

Anyway, here are his questions and my honest, unbiased (as possible) answers.

FW: Is Porcello's current win streak a surprise for Tiger's fans or do you think it will keep going?

D4L: I don't think Porcello's ability is of any surprise. He's going to have many win streaks like the one he's having right now throughout his career. The most surprising thing about Porcello this season has been his composure. As just a 20-year old, he certainly doesn't pitch like one. He holds himself like a 30-year old veteran on the rubber. Most rookies when they get into a jam will fall apart that outing, however Porcello shakes it off and gets out of jams like it's nothing. He's been very good at minimizing the damage all season long.

FW: Who has been the Tigers MVP so far this season? Why?

D4L: There are a few Tigers worthy of the team MVP right now. Cabrera has been as steady as they come at the plate, Inge is hitting like an All-Star, Verlander has been dominant of late, and even Porcello has pitched like an ace recently. However, Edwin Jackson has been the Tigers rock this season. He's only really had one bad outing this season and when Verlander and Porcello were struggling early on, he helped the Tigers pick up some key wins to keep the wheels on. If these guys continue at this pace, this team MVP decision will be of great debate.

FW: How did the Tigers turn it around this year?

D4L: The Tigers have turned it around thus far mostly because of their pitching. New pitching coach Rick Knapp has worked wonders with the pitchers in getting them to harness their stuff and throw strikes. It doesn't hurt that the Tigers have been getting big hits in key situations too, unlike last year.

FW: Who will hit their second home run first; Ortiz or Polanco?

D4L: David Ortiz. Ortiz averages more home runs per season than Polanco has hit in his last 6 years. Yes, Ortiz is in a major rut, but he'll get out of it. All the good hitters do.

FW: What are your predictions for this series with the Red Sox?

D4L: This is going to be a great series with some competitive games, but the Red Sox caught the Tigers at the perfect part of their rotation with the 20-year old rookie due for a bad start, a struggling Armando, and a "never know what you're going to get still" Dontrelle Willis. I'm not a betting man, but if I had to guess I'd say Red Sox take two out of three.  (shielding myself from tomatoes and soggy sunflower seeds)

UPDATE: As it turns out, the Red Sox took game one of this series and to be honest, Game 1 was the one I thought we'd take.  Ruh roh.