Should he have flipped the ball for the force at second base, or should he have put it in his pocket, knowing the degree of difficulty that play presented. It's tough to say, because when you're in the middle of a play like that you have to make a quick decision. Had Edgar Renteria just put it in his pocket, the worst case scenario was the Royals having the bases loaded with 2 outs. You then hope Francisco Cruceta can somehow get the third out and you head to the top of the 9th inning still tied 2-2.
Personally, I think Edgar Renteria should've put the ball in his pocket and not tried to be a Sportscenter highlight. It was the bottom of the 8th inning, for crying out loud! Two outs. Esteban German was going to keep running no matter what. Renteria needed to recognize the situation better. Flipping a ball, against your body's momentum in the bottom of the 8th inning, in a tie game, with the go-ahead runner rounding 3rd base, probably isn't wise.
Bottom line, Renteria should've held the ball.
Would that have guaranteed a Tigers' win? Who knows. The way this team is playing, probably not. But it would've increased the team's chances. That's for sure.
You can ovecome an error like that in the 3rd inning of a game. But in the bottom of the 8th, on the road, with runners moving and 2 outs, not as easy to overcome, as evidenced by the final score last night.
Nate Robertson had his best outing of the season. He allowed 2 runs, no walks over 7 innings. Only 82 pitches. He wouldn't have gotten the win because he was relieved when the game was tied. I can't remember a single game so far this season where the Tigers got great starting pitching combined with timely hitting. They just can't put it all together.
Here's the sobering stat of the season thus far, the Tigers are now 0-20 when they score 5 or fewer runs in a game. 0-20!!
This team is still in trouble, folks. One third of the season will be over on Memorial Day. That's less than two weeks away. When Leyland and Dombrowski take inventory on the Tigers' first 60 games, I don't think they're going to be doing cart wheels.