World Series game 3 thoughts: It's all about the offense, Or lack thereof, that is...

Andrew is doing his best to not panic.

Kurt admits that you just have to tip your hat to Chris Carpenter, and it's too early to worry.

Mike says the week long layoff hurt the Tigers more than we thought it would.

Chris "Freakin" Carpenter says it all, according to Sam.

Billfer claims that the series is far from over.

Mark saw eerie paralells between last night's perfromace, and the Tigers' worst game of the regular season, a loss to Tampa on 7/31.

Brian used one word that I'm sure we all used last night. "Sigh." To top things off, he's also had his fill of Tim McCarver.

By the end of their live blog, "From the Copa" had broke out the booze.

Eno observes that Carpenter pitched brilliantly, but the Tigers' approach made it easier for him.

Tiger Nation does agree on one thing, as there's one common thread weaving thru all the Tiger bloggers opinions. It's all about the offense, which has become a black hole of suck.

We've all seen the ugly stats, so I'm not going to repeat them. You can only hope that the Tigers somehow find their offense. Considering that they have 2 more games in the NL park, there isn't much the Marlboro Man can do. No DH means no lineup flexibility which means no Marcus Thames or Omar Infante.

I seriously doubt you bench the struggling (To put it generously) Pudge for Vance Wilson, as you risk pissing off a team leader, let alone embarrass him on the national stage. What about Granderson? Move him down the order? Sit him, move Monroe to center, and insert Thames in left? Again, that could hurt the psyche of the budding star you have in Granderson, and seriously weaken outfield defense.

There's only one choice. Leyland's going to have to ride with what brung him.

That doesn't mean Leyland is totally hamstrung, but he's pretty much limited to adjusting the batting order. He could put Polanco back to where he's most effective, 2nd. Possibly move Casey and/or Guillen up, Granderson and/or Pudge down, in the order. But other than that, what other options does he have? Pray for Bonderman to go 4-4 tonight?

Unfortunately, there were plenty of other disturbing issues last night.

Joel Zumaya played scared, as evidenced by his total lack of common baseball sense. Why he threw wildly to 3rd on a talior made double play ball was a mystery, even to him. Fernando Rodney suddenly reverted to the pitcher who couldn't find the strike zone with a map and a GPS unit. Nate Robertson pitched decently, but with Carpenter pitching so well, he needed to better than decent. The total lack of plate disipline by the Tiger lineup has again reared it's ugly head. There no excuse in allowing Carpenter to average a little more than 10 pitches an inning.

It's hard to see any kind of silver lining. About the only thing you can say is that game 3 is a game most Tiger fans expected the Tigers to lose, anyway. First Cardinals home game, with a Cy Young winner on the mound, it would have been an upset for the Tigers to win. A loss was no big surprise. We just didn't expect them to look so timid and overwhelmed in doing so. The game that is biting them on the ass is the loss to Reyes. That one really hurt.

But...It's still only a 2-1 Cardinals series lead. Last time I looked, it still takes 4 victories to win a World Series. A win tonight, and everyone's mood improves. The Tigers win 1 game, and they guarantee a trip back to the snake pit that is Comerica Park. Winning the next 2 games is not out of the realm of possibility.

The remaining pitching matchups still appear to favor the Tigers, such as tonight. Jeff Suppan has been excellent in this postseason, but he's still just Jeff Suppan, career journeyman. On talent alone, you have to favor Jeremy Bonderman. Jeff Weaver has already lost, and was on the ropes the entire game. Anthony Reyes had a great game, but you cannot say he's a better pitcher than Jason Verlander.

Thing is, everything else is moot if the Tigers don't find their offense. Starting tonight...

Other quick thoughts about game 3...

I'm not a fan of the NL style of baseball. I just don't like it. The constant parade of pitching changes, the 9 hole becoming an automatic out, the overrated double switch, the fact that pitching changes are dictated for you by the lack of the DH, too much small ball, again due to the lack of the DH. It all makes an AL born and raised baseball fan pull their hair out. I cannot wait for the series to come back to Comerica. Knock on wood...

It's become obvious that Jeannie Zelasko is the devil's spawn. At least Eric Byrnes wasn't there DOING HIS SCREAMIN' A. SMITH IMPRESSION BY SHOUTING AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS!

The commercials are driving me batshit crazy. Don't Madison Avenue and FOX realize that pummelling us over the head the with same annoying ads over and over, night after night, may just piss us off? The first time I saw the Dodge Nitro, I thought it was pretty cool looking. After the 50th airing of the same damn ad, I want to buy a Ford instead.

Albert Pujols is really really good.

So is Chris Carpenter.

Ronnie Belliard doesn't play 2nd, he plays rover. When you lack so much range at 2nd that you have to play on the right field warning track, you may have a weight problem.

This came from the GF... "Yadier Molina is funny looking." I had to agree.

She also continued to say that Buck and McCarver are "DORKS!!" No arguements from me...

People who paint their faces and bodies scare the bejebus out of me. If I was sitting next to that bare chested Cards fan covered in red paint, I'd probably have to drink myself into a stupor. At least he got the attention that he had to be craving, as the FOX cameras continually cut to the doofus.

I have no need to see shots from the "Pitcher's Crotch Cam" ever again.

The fact that the GF, who is a huge Tiger fan, and was off today, still couldn't make it to the end of the game, says volumes about the lameness of 8:30 pm eastern weeknight start times. It's totally asinine.

If there is a rainout tonight, and as of 3:45 reports are that the weather is not cooperating, will it help the Tigers? Hell, I'm willing to try anything at this point...

Tags: Detroit, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, World Series, MLB, baseball