Lord help the Tiger fan, as it may be time for...Neifi Perez

Who knew that losing a role player like Sean Casey would be such a polarizing issue? Well, to be honest, it wouldn't be all that polarizing, save for one thing. Or player, that is. That being the black hole of suck, or TBHoS for short, Neifi Perez.

Mlive's Danny Knobler put the fear of God into every Tiger fan with this report...

So what are you going to go crazy about now? Oh, of course, Neifi Perez.

I laugh at it by now, because it's so predicatable. The minute Sean Casey gets hurt, the "No, not Neifi'' e-mails and forum posts begin.

Well, sorry, Jim Leyland said tonight that Perez will start at shortstop tomorrow night, with Carlos Guillen playing first base.

Say it aint so, Jim, say it ain't so!

The man-love the Cigarette Smoking Man seems to have for TBHoS borders on the incomprehensible. If Carlos Guillen is going to play 1st, there are 2 better shortstop options on the bench than TBHoS. If Leyland wants more offense, he has Omar Infante, and if he wants a glove man, there's Ramon Santiago, who played last night. On the other hand, there is TBHoS, who is just offensive.

What's confusing to Tiger fans is this... If Infante was good enough to unseat TBHoS as the Placidome's replacement during the regular season, and Santiago was good enough to play last night, why on earth start TBHoS tonight? It makes no damn sense. The ONLY reason he may be in the lineup, and this is stretching things, is that TBHoS is a switch hitter, and Leyland wants a left handed bat. But Santiago is a switch hitter as well, and Infante is just plain better than both of them with the stick.

There's even the option of leaving Guillen at short, moving Pudge Rodriguez to first, and playing Vance Wilson, one of the best backup catchers in MLB this season, behind the plate. As much as I'd be loathe to move Pudge from behind the plate due to how well the pitching has been over the past 4 games, it's still preferrable to TBHoS being inserted into a playoff game.

I know, I shouldn't be questioning the pending Manager of the Year's judgement. Damn near everything else he's done this season has worked out exactly as planned. For all we know, the Marlboro Man will plug TBHoS in the lineup card, and he'll go 4-4, and play spectacualrly in the field. But does anyone actually believe it possible?

All I can say is that I sincerely hope The Mayor isn't out for more than a couple of games. I can't handle TBHoS in the Tigers' lineup for any length of time, and I KNOW I'm not alone...

Tags: Detroit, Detroit Tigers, Jim Leyland, Neifi Perez, ALCS, playoffs, MLB, baseball