As a public service for those who endured with me Tuesday night's 3:11 game at Lakeland, Astroday shall be mercifully brief tonight. For the first couple of innings, I had the weirdest sensation that the Astros were simply being overwhelmed by the Tigers in every facet of the game despite the fact that the score was only 3-2; but by the bottom of the eighth inning, Houston was overwhelmed, as Detroit raked Dan Miceli for five runs, breaking a 4-4 tie, en route to a decisive 9-4 win.

Twice the Tigers cracked back-to-back homers Tuesday. The first set came in the second inning against a laboring Tim Redding by Carlos Pena and Eric Munson. Pena's blast was a moon shot to RF that tied the score at 2-2, but since long games that aren't played well make me cranky, I'm going to be cranky and tell you that the Tigers probably shouldn't have been in a position to knot the game up. Just before Pena's homer, Rondell White was credited with an infield hit at 3B upon which the angst-ridden Morgan Ensberg should have been charged an error. It's been a hard, hard spring for Ensberg. Whether his problems have been personal, physical, entirely baseball-related, or a combination of all three possibilities, he needs to find a way--perhaps create a way with the help of friends or his coaches--to relax. He's tight as a drum, whether he's trying to field or trying to hit. I've already said that coming back to Houston this weekend will help him, and I'm stickin' to that observation, but I'll also be watching. If he continues to struggle, even at home, then the Astros will have to plug Lamb in over at 3B for a while and hope for the best.

Munson's homer gave Detroit and Esteban Yan a 3-2 lead. With 70 pitches after two innings in front of a prickly home plate umpire, Mike Reilly, Jimy Williams decided to pull Redding after that and send in the bullpen. Most of those men did fairly well. Jared Fernandez allowed a cheap run on two hits in the fourth, but the Astros eventually tied the game with a run in the sixth off Eric Ekenstahler and a run in the seventh on no hits off Ekenstahler and his replacement, Mike Bumatay, while Mike Gallo and Brandon Duckworth held Detroit in check. The Astros had thirteen hits but they had everybody within earshot of Kissimmee screaming after leaving eleven men on base--a discouraging mark of offensive inefficiency that continues to be one of my heretofore private concerns.

Detroit tore Miceli's 0.00 ERA to shreds with five straight hits in the eighth, including long back-to-back homers to LF by Brandon Inge and Danny Klassen. There warn't nothin' cheap about the first three hits of the inning, either. Miceli just didn't have it tonight. In that regard, he joins his 27 other teammates, who seemed to be just a little slow, just a little off in their execution. A specific example for illustration as much as for criticism. Brad Ausmus could not nail a Tiger attempting to steal in the fourth inning, even with the advantage of a pitchout. That's not the only time this spring Ausmus couldn't throw a man out even with that edge, and I am still--as I was at the end of 2003--concerned about a decline in his throwing. A second illustration, although one showing a weakness more easily tolerated: Jose Vizcaino boxed at least two balls around over at 1B tonight, looking decidely uncomfortable at what is not his best position.

It was a bad night, and a clunker of a game. About the only good thing in it--I'm serious--was the bumper music headed back into the innings from commercial. Chicago and other fine stuff. If there's anything to actually worry about after this one, it's the LOBsters. Every other deficiency will be taken care of, one way or another, over time.

It's back to Kissimmee to face the Indians Wednesday afternoon, with Roy Oswalt and C.C. Sabathia out to abuse the opposing lineups. Maybe with a good night's sleep (God knows we could all use one after Tuesday's game), the offense will come out fresh and put the game away early, giving the 'pen a little bit of a late-spring breather after three tight games in a row, counting the seven innings before Detroit's eruption this evening.