4th Inning- At least it was better than the 3rd.
The Tigers played a truly terrible stretch of baseball over the last 2 months. After a decent start and an awe-inspiring 2nd Inning the 3rd was a disaster. The 4th was looking to be as bad as the 3rd but the Boys turned it around at the end and made it a .500 stretch of 9-9. Fortunately for Detroit the rest of the AL Central has struggled worse than they have and so, despite a strong run from KC, the Tigers were still in 1st Place by 2 ½ games when it was all said and done.
The inning started with Toronto on June 4 as the Blue Jays completed a sweep of Detroit in Detroit. In that series the Tigers were outscored 20-8 overall. Then the Red Sox came to town and things seemed a little better. The Tiges took 2 of 3, scoring 17 along the way, but that was the last taste of decent baseball for a while as the White Sox took 3 of 4 and the Royals took 3 of 4 with a series win over the Twins sandwiched in between. Finally the Tigers left town on a 9 game road trip, starting in Cleveland, and things started to look much better. Cleveland is where the Horrible Times started (May 19) and it appears that Cleveland is where the Horrible Times ended. The Tigers swept the Indians to finish out the 4th Inning and salvage a 9-9 record. But breaking down the numbers shows that it was still a rough patch of baseball.
The Lineup scored 85 runs, a big improvement over the previous 18 games. They actually had the highest team BA of the year so far in these 18 games, hitting at a .293 rate with a significant surge in power (5 triples and 23 homeruns) for an OPS (Onbase-Plus-Slugging) per centage of .883, by far the best of the season. Victor Martinez, JD Martinez and Cabrera continue to hit well and far. The new SS Suarez has brought some pop with him from Toledo. Others are still struggling (Hunter) but the runs are coming in.
The Starters improved a little. They lasted deeper into games during this inning (114 2/3 IP) and allowed fewer hits and fewer walks (WHIP dropped from 1.46 to 1.33). But their strikeout rate also dropped and their homerun rate basically stayed the same. This all combined into a record of 7-8 for the Inning. That took some pressure off of the Bullpen, but we frankly expect more out of a Rotation of Verlander, Scherzer, Sanchez, Porcello and Smyly. 2 Cy Young winners and a 3rd runner up to the CY should give us more than what we are seeing. In these 18 games Verlander pitched 25 2/3 innings. He allowed 33 hits, 21 earned runs and 11 walks. His ERA for that period was a whopping 7.36! He allowed 5 home runs while striking out only 20. Scherzer was not that much better. He pitched the same number of innings but allowed “only” 30 hits and 15 earned runs. During this time he threw his very first complete game (a shutout of the White Sox, which was great to see!) His ERA was only 5.26! Sanchez truly pitched well in his 19 1/3 innings allowing only 15 hits and 6 earned runs. Smyly was the Ace of the Inning- 19 IP with only 4 earned runs. The trend at the end of the Inning is solid though. All 4 pitchers had solid start of less than 2 runs allowed, a huge improvement.
The Bullpen had to step up again with the Starters still struggling. This did not happen. Although the BP was called upon for fewer IP during the 4th, they allowed more hits. This pushed their WHIP up to 1.72 and their collective ERA up to 5.47. On the positive side the K’s are coming (over 1 per inning) and the walk rate improved over the previous 18 games, but not by much. Joe Nathan continued to struggle, but with flashes of genius mixed in to keep everyone hopeful. Phil Coke was the same way. Hardy was brought up from Toledo and has done well so far. Smith has not done well. With this BP it is very hard to tell if any lead is safe, which is how we end up with improved Team batting numbers and only marginal improvements in the Win/Loss record.
Defense has not helped anyone (except opposing teams). In the 4th Inning the Tigers committed 16 errors. All that does is extend innings and allow rallies. Errors accounted for 7 runs over those 18 games and there is no sign of improvement. If there were improvement in this area then I believe the pitching would improve also (fewer pitches per inning, fewer base runners, fewer runs).
It appears that the Horrible Times are over. Although the record was only 9-9 for this Inning the team finished strong with a 4 game winning streak. During the last 5 games the Rotation was as solid as you can ask for and the BP only freaked us out times. When the 18th game was finished the Tigers were still in 1st Place and their lead was only ½ game shorter than when it started. The runs are coming (4.7/ game). If the pitching syncs up then there is much to be excited about. If JV and Max don’t figure out what is wrong then this could be a much more intense summer than many of us expected and no sure thing for winning the AL Central. I remain optimistic though, based on what the last week has shown us.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
The 3rd Inning (games 36 to 54): A Regression to the Mean
I guess that we knew it couldn’t last forever. During the 2nd inning the Tigers played incredible baseball. They won 14 of 18 games. Their starters were 12-2. The hit with a team BA of .288 and a OPS of .778. They played out of their minds and we all knew it wasn’t sustainable, they had to come back to earth. Would that be a gentle, soft landing or a plummet to the ground?
The last 18 games have corrected any ideas we may have had that this was the 1984 Tigers reincarnated. They won only 7 of the 18 games (.389). This was an almost complete team collapse. Starting pitching was not good. Relief pitching was not good. Team batting was not good. Fielding was not good. This whole Inning was not good.
Starting pitchers had an ERA of 4.74. That is almost 2 runs higher than the previous 18 games. They gave up 13 HR in this stretch (they had given up only 14 in the previous 36 games!). The sudden largesse for HR was combined with more walks and hits per inning (up to 1.46 from 1.09) to balloon the Earned Runs to 59 over these 18 games. Again, the previous 36 games allowed only 68 ER total. The bottom line for the Starters was a record of 6 and 7.
The Bullpen was not able to pick up the slack for the Starters. Although the ‘Pen was better in the 3rd Inning that it was in the 1st Inning (when they sucked) it was certainly worse than during the magical 2nd Inning when they dominated. The Bullpen’s ERA rose to 4.56. Their WHIP came up to 1.37 and their Homeruns/ 9 jumped to 1.01 (from 0.53). The strikeout rate dipped a little (down to 8.10 per 9 IP) but their walk rate jumped to 3.71. That combination led to a 1 and 4 record for the ‘Pen. You simply cannot walk that many batters as a relief corps. And then to give up twice as many HR (6 compared to 3)? Just a horrible combination.
The fielding had been improving as the year went on. The error rate was dropping (0.8 to 0.4) but this has also reversed. The 3rd Inning saw 11 errors charged against the Tigers (0.6 per game).
The bats were inconsistent. Cabrera, Victor and Kinsler are just hitting like crazy. Others have spurts but fade away. This has dropped the number of runs from 101 (5.6/game) to a mere 67 (3.7/ game) in this Inning. They actually hit more HR and more doubles. They also took more walks. But the strikeouts hurt them (136 Ks this Inning or 0.22/ AB, up from 0.19). The team had hard time putting together strings of hits to generate runs. In 9 of these games they scored 3 runs or less. They were shutout in 2 of those and scored only 1 in two more.
So we watched a team that couldn’t prevent runs and also couldn’t score runs. They started the Inning by completing a sweep of the Red Sox in Boston and then got swept by Cleveland. The Rangers had their way with the Tigers and then Detroit earned a split of a four game series with a very good Oakland A’s team. Seattle took 2 of 3 and the Blue Jays turned a pitchers’ duel into a HR Derby as the Bullpen imploded to finish the 18th game.
On the positive side, the Starters seem to be sorting themselves out. Sanchez has pitched brilliantly in his last two games since returning from the DL. Verlander looked much better in his last start. Porcello looked very solid in 2 of his 3 starts this Inning. Scherzer has not gotten his groove back yet. Smyly isn’t inspiring confidence in me right now. Chamberlain is solid. Alburqueque has done well. Coke appears to be used only when it's impossible to lose a game.
Most importantly, in spite of a truly painful stretch of baseball, the Tigers are still in 1st place (with a 4 game lead). Although they lost more games than they won, they only gave up 2.5 games of their lead. They have most of the next 18 games at home (11 of the 18) and they normally play better at home. This is still an excellent team and I’m excited to see them correct (again).
Friday, May 16, 2014
36 games into 2014 and what do we have to show for it?
The Tigers have played 36 games. That means that they have played 2 “Innings” of baseball this year.*
That is 3 to 6 games fewer than their division rivals (due to weather and scheduled off days earlier in the season) but the season will work itself out over time. The important question is how have they played those 36 games?
Offense- Detroit has scored 176 runs (4.9 per game). That is some great baseball. And they are improving as the year develops. In the first 18 games they had 160 hits. In the next 18 games that became 179 hits. And more of those hits have gone for extra bases. The percentage of singles has dropped and the percentage doubles and homeruns has increased. Those 4.9 runs per game are good enough for 5th in MLB so far this year.
Once they get on base they are not just waiting to be hit around the base paths. The Tigers are 2nd in MLB in stolen bases. Let me repeat that, because you probably ignored it as gibberish, the Tigers are 2nd in stolen bases. They have 35. Last year they also had 35, for the entire season. Asmus’ emphasis on running seems to be paying off more often than not. It forces the other team to watch runners more closely and the Tigers are also a threat to take an extra base (single into a double or go from 1st to 3rd ) in ways that can cause the opposing defense to make errors and extend innings.
Pitching/ Defense- When your starting rotation has Verlander, Scherzer and Sanchez as your top 3 you can expect to have a good year. Fister was traded for a starter (Ray) and a reliever (Krol) so Porcello had to improve his game and Smyly had to prove that he could start games. The first 18 games of the season had the entire pitching staff figuring itself out. The Starters were 6 and 6 with and ERA of 2.96 while pitching 109 1/3 innings. This is hardly a bad stretch, but it probably isn’t going to get you to the World Series. Ahh, but the next 18 games showed more of their mettle.
Over the last 18 games the Starters are 12 and 2 with an ERA of 2.62 over 110 innings. They have allowed 12 fewer hits over that time. Sanchez went to the DL with a nasty blister on his right hand. Ray was called up to take his place. Ray is 1-0 in his 2 starts with an ERA of 0.79 (1 earned run in 11 1/3 IP). He is allowing less than 1 baserunner per inning (0.97 WHIP) and the only Starter with a lower walk-rate is… Rick Porcello! Porcello has been amazing to start the season. He is the first man on the Rotation to earn 6 wins (6-1). His walk-rate is 1.21 per inning. He is getting outs, over and over again. He is going deep into the games he starts (averaging 6 1/3 IP). His ERA is only 3.22 and that is only good enough to be 5th best of the Starters! Let that sink in a moment. Porcello has an ERA of 3.22 and he is the 5th best on the team for that stat. It’s a Dream Rotation so far this year.
The Bullpen was a concern going into the season. It became more of a concern once Rondon went down with a season ending injury. As with the Starters, the Pen had to sort itself out as the Season got underway. The first 18 games were rough. In 53 IP they gave up 58 hits and 33 runs for an ERA of 5.61. A big part of that was giving up 9 homeruns in those 53 IP (1.53 HR/9). But things have settled down in the last 18 games. They have pitched 51 innings and given up only 19 earned runs. That HR/9 number has dropped to 0.53 (only 3 HR in those 18 games). They are striking out almost 1 more batter per inning than they did before also and gave up 13 fewer hits. Nathan has proven to be a solid closer. Reed has pitched well and so has Krol. The only one that can’t seem to pull it together is Coke. In a few weeks the recently signed Hanrahan will come off of the DL and someone will be removed. He is projected to be the set up man (a role the Alburquerque has been handling so far).
Defensively they are about the same as the 2013 team over all. So far the team has committed 22 errors (0.6 per game). The first 18 games saw 14 of those, so there has been quite an improvement in the last 18. The Tigers are ranked 4th of AL teams in errors and 7th in Fielding % (baseball-reference.com) so far this year. They are ranked 5th in Double Plays turned (with 89 so far). Fangraphs has them ranked 10th with a UZR/150 of -3.0 (which is slightly below average).
With great Starting pitching and decent a decent Bullpen and decent defense the Tigers have allowed only 131 runs (3.64/ game). They have outscored their opponents by 1.25 runs per game on average. In the last 18 games that equals 46 runs. They have had 11 games decided by only 1 run and are 7-4 in those games. That is living on the edge and they won’t likely keep up a .636 pace in such tight games. They are 2-1 in extra innings, also not likely to be sustainable.
Yet they have scored 6+ runs in 15 of their 36 games and only allowed 5+ runs in 12 of their games (and they won 6 of those 12). This team scores runs! It’s very exciting baseball. They are playing very well against their AL Central opponents (12-6). In fact they are playing well against all AL teams (22-9). This bodes well for the Season. There have been other years when the Tigers would crush NL teams and those victories made the difference for the Playoffs. I don’t see that being necessary this year. This team can take care of it’s own division and the rest of the AL with no problems so far. They just finished sweeping the AL East leading Orioles in Baltimore for crying out loud.
After 2 full innings of baseball, it’s a good year to be a Tigers’ fan.
* The MLB Season is 162 games long. 162/9 = 18. So each 18 games = 1 “inning” of the Season.
That is 3 to 6 games fewer than their division rivals (due to weather and scheduled off days earlier in the season) but the season will work itself out over time. The important question is how have they played those 36 games?
Offense- Detroit has scored 176 runs (4.9 per game). That is some great baseball. And they are improving as the year develops. In the first 18 games they had 160 hits. In the next 18 games that became 179 hits. And more of those hits have gone for extra bases. The percentage of singles has dropped and the percentage doubles and homeruns has increased. Those 4.9 runs per game are good enough for 5th in MLB so far this year.
Once they get on base they are not just waiting to be hit around the base paths. The Tigers are 2nd in MLB in stolen bases. Let me repeat that, because you probably ignored it as gibberish, the Tigers are 2nd in stolen bases. They have 35. Last year they also had 35, for the entire season. Asmus’ emphasis on running seems to be paying off more often than not. It forces the other team to watch runners more closely and the Tigers are also a threat to take an extra base (single into a double or go from 1st to 3rd ) in ways that can cause the opposing defense to make errors and extend innings.
Pitching/ Defense- When your starting rotation has Verlander, Scherzer and Sanchez as your top 3 you can expect to have a good year. Fister was traded for a starter (Ray) and a reliever (Krol) so Porcello had to improve his game and Smyly had to prove that he could start games. The first 18 games of the season had the entire pitching staff figuring itself out. The Starters were 6 and 6 with and ERA of 2.96 while pitching 109 1/3 innings. This is hardly a bad stretch, but it probably isn’t going to get you to the World Series. Ahh, but the next 18 games showed more of their mettle.
Over the last 18 games the Starters are 12 and 2 with an ERA of 2.62 over 110 innings. They have allowed 12 fewer hits over that time. Sanchez went to the DL with a nasty blister on his right hand. Ray was called up to take his place. Ray is 1-0 in his 2 starts with an ERA of 0.79 (1 earned run in 11 1/3 IP). He is allowing less than 1 baserunner per inning (0.97 WHIP) and the only Starter with a lower walk-rate is… Rick Porcello! Porcello has been amazing to start the season. He is the first man on the Rotation to earn 6 wins (6-1). His walk-rate is 1.21 per inning. He is getting outs, over and over again. He is going deep into the games he starts (averaging 6 1/3 IP). His ERA is only 3.22 and that is only good enough to be 5th best of the Starters! Let that sink in a moment. Porcello has an ERA of 3.22 and he is the 5th best on the team for that stat. It’s a Dream Rotation so far this year.
The Bullpen was a concern going into the season. It became more of a concern once Rondon went down with a season ending injury. As with the Starters, the Pen had to sort itself out as the Season got underway. The first 18 games were rough. In 53 IP they gave up 58 hits and 33 runs for an ERA of 5.61. A big part of that was giving up 9 homeruns in those 53 IP (1.53 HR/9). But things have settled down in the last 18 games. They have pitched 51 innings and given up only 19 earned runs. That HR/9 number has dropped to 0.53 (only 3 HR in those 18 games). They are striking out almost 1 more batter per inning than they did before also and gave up 13 fewer hits. Nathan has proven to be a solid closer. Reed has pitched well and so has Krol. The only one that can’t seem to pull it together is Coke. In a few weeks the recently signed Hanrahan will come off of the DL and someone will be removed. He is projected to be the set up man (a role the Alburquerque has been handling so far).
Defensively they are about the same as the 2013 team over all. So far the team has committed 22 errors (0.6 per game). The first 18 games saw 14 of those, so there has been quite an improvement in the last 18. The Tigers are ranked 4th of AL teams in errors and 7th in Fielding % (baseball-reference.com) so far this year. They are ranked 5th in Double Plays turned (with 89 so far). Fangraphs has them ranked 10th with a UZR/150 of -3.0 (which is slightly below average).
With great Starting pitching and decent a decent Bullpen and decent defense the Tigers have allowed only 131 runs (3.64/ game). They have outscored their opponents by 1.25 runs per game on average. In the last 18 games that equals 46 runs. They have had 11 games decided by only 1 run and are 7-4 in those games. That is living on the edge and they won’t likely keep up a .636 pace in such tight games. They are 2-1 in extra innings, also not likely to be sustainable.
Yet they have scored 6+ runs in 15 of their 36 games and only allowed 5+ runs in 12 of their games (and they won 6 of those 12). This team scores runs! It’s very exciting baseball. They are playing very well against their AL Central opponents (12-6). In fact they are playing well against all AL teams (22-9). This bodes well for the Season. There have been other years when the Tigers would crush NL teams and those victories made the difference for the Playoffs. I don’t see that being necessary this year. This team can take care of it’s own division and the rest of the AL with no problems so far. They just finished sweeping the AL East leading Orioles in Baltimore for crying out loud.
After 2 full innings of baseball, it’s a good year to be a Tigers’ fan.
* The MLB Season is 162 games long. 162/9 = 18. So each 18 games = 1 “inning” of the Season.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Why I'm not worried about .500 on May 14...
The Tigers have played 34 games (1/5 of the season). They are wrapping up a long (9 game) road trip out west with 2 more games in Chicago. They are 1 game behind the suprisingly first place Indians.
You know what? I could have simply copied and pasted that paragraph from 2011. Each statement is almost exactly true from last year (Detroit was 3 1/2 games behind the "surprising Indians" then. How did 2011 work out? Pretty well (in my humble opinion). The Tigers were 2 games away from the World Series.
Let's take a look at the team we have today versus the team we had 12 months ago. Verlander, Fister, Porcello, Scherzer, Smyly versus Verlander, Scherzer, Porcello, Penny and Coke. Between you and me, gentle reader, I'll take this year's rotation.
For position players we have Jackson, Dirks, Cabrerra, Fielder, Young, Avila, Boesch, Peralta and Raburn. Last year it was Jackson, Rhymes, Ordonez, Cabrera, Martinez, Raburn, Inge and Avila. Again, I'd rather have the 2012 line up on my side than the 2011 version. Are they producing right now? No, they aren't. Is the sky falling down around us in burning heaps of molten sky? No, it isn't. In fact the Tigers are at .500 and 1 game out of first place. In spite of an OPS of .700 (the League OPS is .725) they are at a .500 record. In spite of only scoring 4.18 runs/ game they are at a .500 record.
Are the Indians better than last year's version? No, I don't believe so. How about the White Sox? No, I still don't think so. The Twins threw in the towel for 2012. The Royals are getting better, but I don't see them taking the AL Central Division.
In fact, let's look at who the Tigers have played so far this season. Boston, Tampa, CWS, KC, Texas, Seattle, Yankees and Oakland. Out of those 8 teams, 3 were in the playoffs last year (along with the Tigers) and another would have been if they hadn't imploded at the end. Not an easy first month of the year. For the rest of May they face the White Sox, Twins, Pirate, Indians and Red Sox. Not to take anything from those teams, but the rest of the month should be easier on Detroit than the first half was.
So, take heart. It's a long season, and as we learned last year, lots of great baseball can be played in the remaining 80% of the season. Don't jump off of the Bandwagon just yet.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Pitchers, Catchers and Bloggers Report
Today is day that pitchers and catchers report. It is also the day that part time bloggers report.
Like many players, I am not reporting in the best shape of my life (that distinction apparently goes to Miguel Cabrera). Maybe I'm more like Joaquin Benoit (at least according to Kurt) and kind of pudgy (not to be confused with Pudgy, not that any of you would do that).
Of course expectations are sky high going into 2012. The Tigers have both Miguel Cabrera AND Prince Fielder. They have Justin Verlander. They have Jim Leyland. For that matter they have Mike Illitch and he wants to win. He wants the whole enchilada and he wants it this year. I heartily concur with that focus. These guys are in their prime. The supporting cast is quite good (Boesch, Young, Jackson, Fister).
There are questions which remain. Can Rick Porcello realize the potential everyone sees in him? Can Max Scherzer put it together this year? Can we find a 2nd baseman who will do the job? Who will pitch on the days that the starters don't make it out of the 4th or 5th inning? Can Valverde come close to repeating last year's excellence? Who will be the 5th starter? (Does it matter?)
We can explore all of this as it unfolds. I think this is going to be an amazing year. Yet, I remember the disaster of 2008. I remember thinking about getting World Series tickets at Opening Day (yes, I really did). That didn't work out so well did it?
The difference between 2008 and 2012 is pitching. This year the Tigers have it. That year they didn't.
Either way let's hang on for the ride and enjoy our summer. It starts tomorrow with the first work outs of the year!
Like many players, I am not reporting in the best shape of my life (that distinction apparently goes to Miguel Cabrera). Maybe I'm more like Joaquin Benoit (at least according to Kurt) and kind of pudgy (not to be confused with Pudgy, not that any of you would do that).
Of course expectations are sky high going into 2012. The Tigers have both Miguel Cabrera AND Prince Fielder. They have Justin Verlander. They have Jim Leyland. For that matter they have Mike Illitch and he wants to win. He wants the whole enchilada and he wants it this year. I heartily concur with that focus. These guys are in their prime. The supporting cast is quite good (Boesch, Young, Jackson, Fister).
There are questions which remain. Can Rick Porcello realize the potential everyone sees in him? Can Max Scherzer put it together this year? Can we find a 2nd baseman who will do the job? Who will pitch on the days that the starters don't make it out of the 4th or 5th inning? Can Valverde come close to repeating last year's excellence? Who will be the 5th starter? (Does it matter?)
We can explore all of this as it unfolds. I think this is going to be an amazing year. Yet, I remember the disaster of 2008. I remember thinking about getting World Series tickets at Opening Day (yes, I really did). That didn't work out so well did it?
The difference between 2008 and 2012 is pitching. This year the Tigers have it. That year they didn't.
Either way let's hang on for the ride and enjoy our summer. It starts tomorrow with the first work outs of the year!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
After 2 innings of play the Tigers are treading water…
Don’t get me wrong. The trends are very good right now, but the numbers don’t lie either. After the first 18 games (one “inning”) the Tigers were 4.5 games back in 3rd place. After the next 18 games (2 innings) the Tigers are 5.5 games back in 3rd place.
Yet, there are indications that what was planted in the spring is about to give fruit as summer approaches. Let’s look at some key numbers.
• 10-8 -The Tigers played .556 ball for this inning.
• 12 –The number of errors the Tigers committed this inning.
• 10-4 –The Starters record this inning with a WHIP of 1.11
• 3 –The number of walks taken by Tigers’ batters per game this inning.
• 7.8 –The number of strikeouts by Tigers’ batters per game this inning.
• 4.78 –Runs scored per game this inning (up from 4.22 last inning).
• 3.89 –Runs allowed per game this inning (down from 5.17 last inning).
Let’s look at those last two numbers again. The batters have found some mojo, especially in the last week. For the Inning they have hit for a better average (.266 vs. .244) and slightly more power (OPS of .731 vs .707). This has translated to a more RBI, 16 more for this Inning (or almost .9 runs per game). See how easy this is? If you put more runners on you can score more runs! Of course the infamous “Tigers threaten, but do not score” is still heard throughout the land all too often.
But averaging 4.8 runs per game will not win all that many games (there is a 7 game losing streak in the middle of this Inning to prove that). So how do you win more games? Look at the last number on the list- 3.89 runs per game. While the batters had their struggles, the pitchers were often dominating games, especially the starters. The Starters allowed only 40 earned runs in 18 games. That is only 2.2 per game. They also pitched 120 1/3 innings. That is 6 2/3 innings per start. In short, the Tigers are dominating opposing lineups. There were 5 games this Inning where 0 earned runs were allowed by the starter. 0! In almost 30% of the games! There were only 2 games where 5 or more runs were allowed. It isn’t only Verlander either, they all did it at least once.
One number which stands out from the Starters’ line is walks per 9 innings (BB/9). For the first 18 games it was 4.0 and for the last 18 games it has dropped to 2.4. That is 1 1/2 fewer baserunners with chances to score. It’s a minimum of 8 few pitches that have to be thrown. It’s just better baseball.
So what changed? I’m just a compiler of data, I can’t tell you what happened inside of people’s heads. I can look at these numbers and say that the starting pitching was much better in Inning 2 than it was in Inning 1. I can say that the lineup was on base more often and that allowed for more RBI. Beyond that, I can tell you that it is more fun to watch your team win than it is to watch them lose. The Tigers had bookend on this Inning of winning streaks and a nasty losing streak of 7 games in the middle. But after 36 games they are still very much in the race and chasing the suddenly amazing Indians. It looks to be a good summer!
Yet, there are indications that what was planted in the spring is about to give fruit as summer approaches. Let’s look at some key numbers.
• 10-8 -The Tigers played .556 ball for this inning.
• 12 –The number of errors the Tigers committed this inning.
• 10-4 –The Starters record this inning with a WHIP of 1.11
• 3 –The number of walks taken by Tigers’ batters per game this inning.
• 7.8 –The number of strikeouts by Tigers’ batters per game this inning.
• 4.78 –Runs scored per game this inning (up from 4.22 last inning).
• 3.89 –Runs allowed per game this inning (down from 5.17 last inning).
Let’s look at those last two numbers again. The batters have found some mojo, especially in the last week. For the Inning they have hit for a better average (.266 vs. .244) and slightly more power (OPS of .731 vs .707). This has translated to a more RBI, 16 more for this Inning (or almost .9 runs per game). See how easy this is? If you put more runners on you can score more runs! Of course the infamous “Tigers threaten, but do not score” is still heard throughout the land all too often.
But averaging 4.8 runs per game will not win all that many games (there is a 7 game losing streak in the middle of this Inning to prove that). So how do you win more games? Look at the last number on the list- 3.89 runs per game. While the batters had their struggles, the pitchers were often dominating games, especially the starters. The Starters allowed only 40 earned runs in 18 games. That is only 2.2 per game. They also pitched 120 1/3 innings. That is 6 2/3 innings per start. In short, the Tigers are dominating opposing lineups. There were 5 games this Inning where 0 earned runs were allowed by the starter. 0! In almost 30% of the games! There were only 2 games where 5 or more runs were allowed. It isn’t only Verlander either, they all did it at least once.
One number which stands out from the Starters’ line is walks per 9 innings (BB/9). For the first 18 games it was 4.0 and for the last 18 games it has dropped to 2.4. That is 1 1/2 fewer baserunners with chances to score. It’s a minimum of 8 few pitches that have to be thrown. It’s just better baseball.
So what changed? I’m just a compiler of data, I can’t tell you what happened inside of people’s heads. I can look at these numbers and say that the starting pitching was much better in Inning 2 than it was in Inning 1. I can say that the lineup was on base more often and that allowed for more RBI. Beyond that, I can tell you that it is more fun to watch your team win than it is to watch them lose. The Tigers had bookend on this Inning of winning streaks and a nasty losing streak of 7 games in the middle. But after 36 games they are still very much in the race and chasing the suddenly amazing Indians. It looks to be a good summer!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The first ½ inning is done…
The Tigers have played 9 games. The Regular Season is 162 games. This can be broken down into 9 “innings” of 18 games each (162/9 = 18). So 9 games = ½ inning. If I can remember where I first saw this laid out for me I’ll link to it because I can’t come up with stuff like this on my own.
• They are 3-6. So far they have won one game of each series (Yankees, Orioles and Royals).
• The Starters are 3-4 with an ERA of 6.49 and a WHIP of 1.60
• The Bullpen has 2 losses against it with an ERA of 5.61 and a WHIP of 1.36
• The Tigers have committed 9 errors in 9 games.
• The Tigers have walked 25 times (2.8 times/ game)
• The Tigers have issued 35 walks (3.9 times/ game)
• Detroit pitching has allowed 13 home runs (1.4/ game)
• Detroit batters have hit 13 home runs.
Starting out 3-6 is not how I pictured it. Why would I? They can hit (and they do) but they aren’t drawing many walks and they are striking out a lot (7.2/ game). By not taking walks and striking out often they don’t have men on base when one of the big boys knocks it out. For example, in Sunday’s game the Tigers hit 3 home runs (!) but only scored 5 runs total (and lost). So far the On Base Percentage (OBP) is .324
It’s certainly not time to give up on this team (it’s only the first ½ inning after all) but it is time to straighten some things out. For the hitters they have to get on base more in order to take advantage of all of that power (32 extra base hits in 9 games should equal some runs!). They have to take the walks and put the ball into play.
The pitchers were giving up home runs like clowns throwing candy at a Memorial Day parade. That has stopped now that they are back in Comerica National Park but the runs just keep on coming. It’s the opposite of what the batters are doing. The pitchers are putting men on base and setting themselves up for big hits. Opposing teams are averaging 6.0 runs/ game. That is not going to cut it. I want to watch the Tigers in the Playoffs this year. Something needs to change to make that happen.
Not helping the pitchers is the defense. So far there have been 9 errors committed. That’s one per game! That means that those walks the pitchers gave up become Runners In Scoring Position more often. That means I’m yelling words at the radio that I shouldn’t be yelling and at a higher volume than is really necessary. That means longer innings for the pitchers. We learned in 2008 that porous defense will destroy your pitching. It just saps at your soul until you’re an angry, sullen husk of a pitcher with no juice or will to live who believes that they have to strike out everyone in order to survive.
To finish out this inning the Tigers face Texas, Oakland and Seattle. Texas (8-1) comes to Detroit and Oakland (4-5) and Seattle (5-4) are on the road. There is no time like now to turn this around.
Go Tigers!
• They are 3-6. So far they have won one game of each series (Yankees, Orioles and Royals).
• The Starters are 3-4 with an ERA of 6.49 and a WHIP of 1.60
• The Bullpen has 2 losses against it with an ERA of 5.61 and a WHIP of 1.36
• The Tigers have committed 9 errors in 9 games.
• The Tigers have walked 25 times (2.8 times/ game)
• The Tigers have issued 35 walks (3.9 times/ game)
• Detroit pitching has allowed 13 home runs (1.4/ game)
• Detroit batters have hit 13 home runs.
Starting out 3-6 is not how I pictured it. Why would I? They can hit (and they do) but they aren’t drawing many walks and they are striking out a lot (7.2/ game). By not taking walks and striking out often they don’t have men on base when one of the big boys knocks it out. For example, in Sunday’s game the Tigers hit 3 home runs (!) but only scored 5 runs total (and lost). So far the On Base Percentage (OBP) is .324
It’s certainly not time to give up on this team (it’s only the first ½ inning after all) but it is time to straighten some things out. For the hitters they have to get on base more in order to take advantage of all of that power (32 extra base hits in 9 games should equal some runs!). They have to take the walks and put the ball into play.
The pitchers were giving up home runs like clowns throwing candy at a Memorial Day parade. That has stopped now that they are back in Comerica National Park but the runs just keep on coming. It’s the opposite of what the batters are doing. The pitchers are putting men on base and setting themselves up for big hits. Opposing teams are averaging 6.0 runs/ game. That is not going to cut it. I want to watch the Tigers in the Playoffs this year. Something needs to change to make that happen.
Not helping the pitchers is the defense. So far there have been 9 errors committed. That’s one per game! That means that those walks the pitchers gave up become Runners In Scoring Position more often. That means I’m yelling words at the radio that I shouldn’t be yelling and at a higher volume than is really necessary. That means longer innings for the pitchers. We learned in 2008 that porous defense will destroy your pitching. It just saps at your soul until you’re an angry, sullen husk of a pitcher with no juice or will to live who believes that they have to strike out everyone in order to survive.
To finish out this inning the Tigers face Texas, Oakland and Seattle. Texas (8-1) comes to Detroit and Oakland (4-5) and Seattle (5-4) are on the road. There is no time like now to turn this around.
Go Tigers!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
2.5% of the season is played…
The Tigers have played 4 games (3 vs the Yankees, 1 against the O’s). They have won 1 and lost 3. Let’s break it down…
• They have been out scored 28 to 20.
• They have hit 5 home runs and given up 10.
• They have gotten 13 extra base hits (including HR) while giving up 18.
• They have committed 4 errors (vs 2 committed in their favor).
• They have struck out 32 times while striking out 27.
• They have walked 10 times while walking 14.
• The starters have an ERA of 9.74 and a WHIP of 1.92.
• The Bullpen has an ERA of 3.55 and a WHIP of .95
There are many questions still unanswered even ½ a week into the season:
• Who is the starting Left Fielder?
o Can Boesch continue to hit at this pace? If he does then where do you put Raburn, the official LF?
• Is Magglio’s ankle really healthy? He missed a game with tenderness and you have to be concerned with the impact his bat plays in the lineup.
• Will the starters settle in quickly? Through the first rotation the only one who was deadly was Verlander (6 IP with 3 ER on 4 BB and 8 Ks). Penny (4 1/3 IP with 8 ER on 4 BB and 3 Ks) and Scherzer (5 IP with 6 ER on 2 BB and 6 Ks) didn’t set my heart on fire. Porcello (5 IP with 5 ER on 1 BB and 4 Ks) rounded out a rough weekend for our guys.
o As a side note, the 5th starter was used out of the Pen this week. Coke allowed 2 ER in 2 1/3 IP on 0 BB and 0 Ks.
• Now that we have left New Yankee Stadium will the long ball be such a problem? 9 were allowed there (4 by Scherzer alone). Some were legit and some were just over the short wall in Right Field.
• How healthy are the Tigers right now? Aside from the injuries there are also rumors of illness, sickness, ague. People spied emptying themselves during games during the road trip. I haven’t heard much more than rumors, but this may have an impact on the…
• Defense! When will we see some real defense? There have been 4 errors in 4 games. There were other fielding issues that weren’t scored as errors as well. I can’t see the games, so I can’t judge, but defense has been a concern for this team and they are doing nothing to put those concerns to bed so far.
What can we take away from this?
There is 97% of the Season left to play. The Rotation will settle in to a solid performer. The Bullpen looks pretty good so far. The batters have struggled, but are still averaging 5 runs per game. Defense is still a concern (at least for me) and is a key (more on this in a later post). The Home Opener is Friday. It’s against the Royals. This should be good.
• They have been out scored 28 to 20.
• They have hit 5 home runs and given up 10.
• They have gotten 13 extra base hits (including HR) while giving up 18.
• They have committed 4 errors (vs 2 committed in their favor).
• They have struck out 32 times while striking out 27.
• They have walked 10 times while walking 14.
• The starters have an ERA of 9.74 and a WHIP of 1.92.
• The Bullpen has an ERA of 3.55 and a WHIP of .95
There are many questions still unanswered even ½ a week into the season:
• Who is the starting Left Fielder?
o Can Boesch continue to hit at this pace? If he does then where do you put Raburn, the official LF?
• Is Magglio’s ankle really healthy? He missed a game with tenderness and you have to be concerned with the impact his bat plays in the lineup.
• Will the starters settle in quickly? Through the first rotation the only one who was deadly was Verlander (6 IP with 3 ER on 4 BB and 8 Ks). Penny (4 1/3 IP with 8 ER on 4 BB and 3 Ks) and Scherzer (5 IP with 6 ER on 2 BB and 6 Ks) didn’t set my heart on fire. Porcello (5 IP with 5 ER on 1 BB and 4 Ks) rounded out a rough weekend for our guys.
o As a side note, the 5th starter was used out of the Pen this week. Coke allowed 2 ER in 2 1/3 IP on 0 BB and 0 Ks.
• Now that we have left New Yankee Stadium will the long ball be such a problem? 9 were allowed there (4 by Scherzer alone). Some were legit and some were just over the short wall in Right Field.
• How healthy are the Tigers right now? Aside from the injuries there are also rumors of illness, sickness, ague. People spied emptying themselves during games during the road trip. I haven’t heard much more than rumors, but this may have an impact on the…
• Defense! When will we see some real defense? There have been 4 errors in 4 games. There were other fielding issues that weren’t scored as errors as well. I can’t see the games, so I can’t judge, but defense has been a concern for this team and they are doing nothing to put those concerns to bed so far.
What can we take away from this?
There is 97% of the Season left to play. The Rotation will settle in to a solid performer. The Bullpen looks pretty good so far. The batters have struggled, but are still averaging 5 runs per game. Defense is still a concern (at least for me) and is a key (more on this in a later post). The Home Opener is Friday. It’s against the Royals. This should be good.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
It's baseball time!!!!
The Day is here (well, it's here tomorrow)! In about 16 hours Austin Jackson will receive the first pitch of the 2011 Regular Season. Let's take a look what we have to look forward to this season.
Here is our Opening Day roster:
Austin Jackson
Will Rhymes
Magglio Ordonez
Miguel Cabrera
Victor Martinez
Ryan Raburn
Jhonny Peralta
Brandon Inge
Alex Avila
Justin Verlander will take the ball, after promising to have a better April than he has previously. We all hope that he has it figured out.
Overall the Tigers had a good Spring (I know, it doesn't count, it's small sample size, blah blah blah). Regardless of all of those truths, the Tigers had a good spring. They finished at 20-14. The starters had an ERA of 4.00. And Max Scherzer's final outing brought that up after allowing 11 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings to close out his spring.
Really, Max and Jhonny Peralta are the only starters who had bad Springs. Jhonny hit .206 and 0 RBI. That's not what we want out of our SS, but everyone says he will turn it around. If not, then Worth or Sizemore will be available to "fill in" for him.
I believe that this will be a good year for the Tigers. And I don't mean in the "hey, at least we can watch baseball again" way. I mean I don't see any reason why this team can't make the playoffs. The pitching seems solid. The lineup seems to provide plenty of opportunities to score. The defense isn't the greatest, but Jackson and Inge will give us some oohs and ahhs while everyone else should keep the runs down.
I'm not alone, but in the interest of fairness and balance I should point out that many don't see Detroit taking the AL Central by storm.
Fangraphs:
Sports Illustrated sees a photo finish against the Twins (again).
American Spectator picks Detroit.
So, this should be quite a ride. I don't think they will start off 35-5 again, but I don't think they will start off 0-7 either. Ask me again in 24 hours how the first day went!
Here is our Opening Day roster:
Austin Jackson
Will Rhymes
Magglio Ordonez
Miguel Cabrera
Victor Martinez
Ryan Raburn
Jhonny Peralta
Brandon Inge
Alex Avila
Justin Verlander will take the ball, after promising to have a better April than he has previously. We all hope that he has it figured out.
Overall the Tigers had a good Spring (I know, it doesn't count, it's small sample size, blah blah blah). Regardless of all of those truths, the Tigers had a good spring. They finished at 20-14. The starters had an ERA of 4.00. And Max Scherzer's final outing brought that up after allowing 11 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings to close out his spring.
Really, Max and Jhonny Peralta are the only starters who had bad Springs. Jhonny hit .206 and 0 RBI. That's not what we want out of our SS, but everyone says he will turn it around. If not, then Worth or Sizemore will be available to "fill in" for him.
I believe that this will be a good year for the Tigers. And I don't mean in the "hey, at least we can watch baseball again" way. I mean I don't see any reason why this team can't make the playoffs. The pitching seems solid. The lineup seems to provide plenty of opportunities to score. The defense isn't the greatest, but Jackson and Inge will give us some oohs and ahhs while everyone else should keep the runs down.
I'm not alone, but in the interest of fairness and balance I should point out that many don't see Detroit taking the AL Central by storm.
Fangraphs:
Hardball Times (vis BaseballMusings)Detroit has put together enough talent that barring a major injury to one of their top players they should be in the race for the divisional title with the other flawed contenders for the 2011 American League Central crown.
CBS Sports
- Chicago White Sox
- Minnesota Twins
- Detroit Tigers
- Cleveland Indians
- Kansas City Royals
TigersYahoo Sports picks Detroit 2 times and Chicago 1 time (of 3 predictions)
Twins
White Sox
Indians
Royals
Sports Illustrated sees a photo finish against the Twins (again).
American Spectator picks Detroit.
So, this should be quite a ride. I don't think they will start off 35-5 again, but I don't think they will start off 0-7 either. Ask me again in 24 hours how the first day went!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Friday!
It's Friday! The weekend has started and it's time to look back a little.
Looking back to this afternoon- the Tigers won again. I like the sound of that, let's hear it again. "The Tigers won again." Yes, it has a beautiful ring to it. Today they beat a split squad from the Red Sox. But with Scuturo, Youkilis, Pedroia, Veritek and Ortiz in the line up I would say it was a fair fight.
Scherzer went 4 1/3 giving up 2 runs, 2 hits, and 3 walks. Alburquerque finished up the 5th for Max and allowed a run on 1 hit and 2 walks. After that the Tigers' pitchers shut down the BoSox with Villarreal, Ni and Thomas pitching 4 shut out innings between them. All of those goose eggs allowed the Tiger bats to get to work. Buchholz must have gotten tired (or predictable) because he allowed only a solo home run until the 5th where he gave up 2 on his own and Okajima relived him and gave up 2 more. Boesch and Raburn each homered and then Dirks put the nail in the coffin with a 2 run shot in the 9th. Overall Detroit had 9 hits for the day. I like baseball like this.
The Tigers have won 7 of the last 10 they have played (I know, "it's only spring training", I KNOW!). Just to prove that "spring training" point more- guess which AL team has a higher winning per centage than Detroit. Go ahead, guess. If you guessed the KC Royals, well see the lady at the counter for your prize. But still, 7 for 10!
Other things I missed this week:
In a very tough week for NPR yet another blow is delivered. This time from within. Garrison Keillor says that he plans to retire in 2013. It doesn't rain, but it pours for NPR! Because I vowed not to rant in this space, I will not discuss the circus that is being created around NPR right now. I will allow others to do it for me.
Monday was Pi Day (3/14 get it?). So in honor of Pi Day, here is a video showing some of the wondrous aspects of Pi.
If you could drop 20000 super balls from a 4 story building, would you? Of course not! That would be irresponsible. The responsible thing to do is to drop 20000 balls from a helicopter on to a parking lot! This is pure awesome. Since this took place in Utah, of course everyone helped clean up.
Finally, in honor of Geek Week here is a link to the best picture of Saturn moon you'll see today.
Looking back to this afternoon- the Tigers won again. I like the sound of that, let's hear it again. "The Tigers won again." Yes, it has a beautiful ring to it. Today they beat a split squad from the Red Sox. But with Scuturo, Youkilis, Pedroia, Veritek and Ortiz in the line up I would say it was a fair fight.
Scherzer went 4 1/3 giving up 2 runs, 2 hits, and 3 walks. Alburquerque finished up the 5th for Max and allowed a run on 1 hit and 2 walks. After that the Tigers' pitchers shut down the BoSox with Villarreal, Ni and Thomas pitching 4 shut out innings between them. All of those goose eggs allowed the Tiger bats to get to work. Buchholz must have gotten tired (or predictable) because he allowed only a solo home run until the 5th where he gave up 2 on his own and Okajima relived him and gave up 2 more. Boesch and Raburn each homered and then Dirks put the nail in the coffin with a 2 run shot in the 9th. Overall Detroit had 9 hits for the day. I like baseball like this.
The Tigers have won 7 of the last 10 they have played (I know, "it's only spring training", I KNOW!). Just to prove that "spring training" point more- guess which AL team has a higher winning per centage than Detroit. Go ahead, guess. If you guessed the KC Royals, well see the lady at the counter for your prize. But still, 7 for 10!
Other things I missed this week:
In a very tough week for NPR yet another blow is delivered. This time from within. Garrison Keillor says that he plans to retire in 2013. It doesn't rain, but it pours for NPR! Because I vowed not to rant in this space, I will not discuss the circus that is being created around NPR right now. I will allow others to do it for me.
Monday was Pi Day (3/14 get it?). So in honor of Pi Day, here is a video showing some of the wondrous aspects of Pi.
If you could drop 20000 super balls from a 4 story building, would you? Of course not! That would be irresponsible. The responsible thing to do is to drop 20000 balls from a helicopter on to a parking lot! This is pure awesome. Since this took place in Utah, of course everyone helped clean up.
Finally, in honor of Geek Week here is a link to the best picture of Saturn moon you'll see today.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
and then there's that
I was home sick today. I pretty much slept the day away, what a fantastic way to appreciate the first day near 70 degrees this year. Ah well, there will be more.
While I was sleeping the Tigers were not, at least not all the way through the game. It was the Twins that came to Joker Marchant Stadium. I think this was the first time they have played each other this year and think that we will see many games like this between these two clubs this season. Reading the lines it seems that Brad Penny had a decent day (5 IP with 2 BB and 2 Ks with 3 ER on 3 hits). Furbush pitched 2 innings and struck out 4 but walked 3 (with 1 hit). Since I was sleeping I have no idea how wild he was, but that's a little scary to me. But no harm done (because it's spring and because no one scored). Benoit continued to be lights out (0.00 ERA so far) and Perry picked up the win while allowing only a hit. Offensively Inge had a solid day (3 for 4). Cabrerra hit a double and a HR. Raburn hit another HR while Maggs and Worth each had doubles. All together it was enough to win 4-3.
Kurt has his take on Cabrerra's success so far this spring. The bottom line is... a good spring = a good season in Cabrerra's world. Let's all hope that this is true!
Jason Beck shows how some pitchers make lemonade out of the lemons others are throwing.
MLive has an article on a different side of Cabrerra (no, not the drinking side). This shows how he is trying to improve as a base runner. That would be a good thing to see in 2011. We've seen how he has improved defensively as he became accustomed to 1B. Stretching singles to doubles or going 1st to 3rd is a good thing, it challenges the fielders and forces them to possibly make mistakes.
Both Lynn Henning and Matt Sussman feel that winning 90+ games will be tough for any team in the AL Central. This is because it is a balanced and competitive division (at least so far as Detroit, Minnesota and Chicago go).
Sussman links to another list, this time of defunct logos. Detroit has 2 on the list, the circular one that I remember from my childhood and the "tiger attacking through the D" that is very cool (and I'm painting on a wall in my basement.)
Other happenings today? Hmmm, let's see? Did anything of consequence happen on March 17, 2011? Well, let's take a look.
Japan avoided nuclear catastrophe for another day. They are still trying to pour water onto radioactive fuel in a desperate attempt to contain the radiation until the normal cooling process can be restarted. The BBC is reporting that engineers have been able to lay the needed electrical cable for that process. It strikes me that not enough hero worship has been directed at the people who are working this problem. If you consider that while everyone else is being told to leave the area, these men and women are putting on plastic suits and going into the danger zone. I remember the first responders of 9/11 and this reminds me of the same courage and resoluteness. When you're one of the 50 people who stay in the plant, well you know that you probably aren't going to play with your grandchildren- don't you. Yet, they go in anyway and do what they can. Finest hour, indeed.
Oh, another little thing happened a little while ago. The UN decided that they had had just about enough of Muammar Gaddafi. Well, France, Britain, Lebanon and the US did. China, Germany and Russia abstained. I just don't know folks. Maybe I'm a cold hearted bastard, but every news report I have heard describes the rebels in the same way. That description is of kids playing army. This is not Egypt or Tunisia. I wouldn't even say that the rebels are "pro-democracy". They are anti-Gaddafi, and who knows what that means? The bottom line is that the rebels are getting their butts kicked very systematically by the Government Army. Just exactly what can UN/ NATO air power do to change that? The UN resolution allows "all necessary measures" except ground occupation. France is chomping at the bit to strike. I don't understand this at all. Here are my questions right now:
The Tiger play Boston on Friday (at 1:05). Baseball reflects life, but it's easier to understand.
While I was sleeping the Tigers were not, at least not all the way through the game. It was the Twins that came to Joker Marchant Stadium. I think this was the first time they have played each other this year and think that we will see many games like this between these two clubs this season. Reading the lines it seems that Brad Penny had a decent day (5 IP with 2 BB and 2 Ks with 3 ER on 3 hits). Furbush pitched 2 innings and struck out 4 but walked 3 (with 1 hit). Since I was sleeping I have no idea how wild he was, but that's a little scary to me. But no harm done (because it's spring and because no one scored). Benoit continued to be lights out (0.00 ERA so far) and Perry picked up the win while allowing only a hit. Offensively Inge had a solid day (3 for 4). Cabrerra hit a double and a HR. Raburn hit another HR while Maggs and Worth each had doubles. All together it was enough to win 4-3.
Kurt has his take on Cabrerra's success so far this spring. The bottom line is... a good spring = a good season in Cabrerra's world. Let's all hope that this is true!
Jason Beck shows how some pitchers make lemonade out of the lemons others are throwing.
MLive has an article on a different side of Cabrerra (no, not the drinking side). This shows how he is trying to improve as a base runner. That would be a good thing to see in 2011. We've seen how he has improved defensively as he became accustomed to 1B. Stretching singles to doubles or going 1st to 3rd is a good thing, it challenges the fielders and forces them to possibly make mistakes.
Both Lynn Henning and Matt Sussman feel that winning 90+ games will be tough for any team in the AL Central. This is because it is a balanced and competitive division (at least so far as Detroit, Minnesota and Chicago go).
Sussman links to another list, this time of defunct logos. Detroit has 2 on the list, the circular one that I remember from my childhood and the "tiger attacking through the D" that is very cool (and I'm painting on a wall in my basement.)
Other happenings today? Hmmm, let's see? Did anything of consequence happen on March 17, 2011? Well, let's take a look.
Japan avoided nuclear catastrophe for another day. They are still trying to pour water onto radioactive fuel in a desperate attempt to contain the radiation until the normal cooling process can be restarted. The BBC is reporting that engineers have been able to lay the needed electrical cable for that process. It strikes me that not enough hero worship has been directed at the people who are working this problem. If you consider that while everyone else is being told to leave the area, these men and women are putting on plastic suits and going into the danger zone. I remember the first responders of 9/11 and this reminds me of the same courage and resoluteness. When you're one of the 50 people who stay in the plant, well you know that you probably aren't going to play with your grandchildren- don't you. Yet, they go in anyway and do what they can. Finest hour, indeed.
Oh, another little thing happened a little while ago. The UN decided that they had had just about enough of Muammar Gaddafi. Well, France, Britain, Lebanon and the US did. China, Germany and Russia abstained. I just don't know folks. Maybe I'm a cold hearted bastard, but every news report I have heard describes the rebels in the same way. That description is of kids playing army. This is not Egypt or Tunisia. I wouldn't even say that the rebels are "pro-democracy". They are anti-Gaddafi, and who knows what that means? The bottom line is that the rebels are getting their butts kicked very systematically by the Government Army. Just exactly what can UN/ NATO air power do to change that? The UN resolution allows "all necessary measures" except ground occupation. France is chomping at the bit to strike. I don't understand this at all. Here are my questions right now:
- Who are we helping? By that I mean, what are their motives? How do they help the US to improve?
- What is the goal? In other words, "Why?" Is this about humanitarian crisis (I doubt it)? Is it oil? Is it to prevent a flood of immigrants going to Europe?
- What are the measures to be taken? Do we use cruise missiles to destroy targets from afar? Do we send aircraft over Libya? Do we attack Government ground troops? Do we send in our own troops to bolster the rebel fighters?
- Who wins? Just who comes out ahead if the UN/NATO succeed in stopping the fighting? Who gives peace keepers? Who splits up the oil revenue? How do you deal with Gaddafi (if he survives) once the shooting stops?
The Tiger play Boston on Friday (at 1:05). Baseball reflects life, but it's easier to understand.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Passing thoughts from the day
Here is quick round up of stuff from March 16
Samara listened to a game and enjoyed Jim and Dan's commentary. Money quote: “Nothing the trainer can do except come out and offer moral support.” After Max St. Pierre got hit in the replicators.
This is from a couple of days ago, but is worth going back to. Kurt at Bless You Boys interviews Dan Dickerson (radio voice of the Tigers). Part 1 is here. Hopefully part 2 will be posted soon!
In moves that surprised no one. Beck reported that Guillen and Zumaya will be on the DL when the Tigers head north.
I miss Johnny Damon. I loved seeing him in the Old English D and I thought we would see him in Left for 2011. Apparently he thought we would too. MLBTradeRumors.com linked to a Twitter feed where Damon says he thought being back in Detroit was a "slam dunk". I wish it were true.
Dave Pinto at BaseballMusings.com has done his prognostications about how often the Tigers will score. He sees quite a few runs (5.10 runs per game). I like that number and I hope that he is right.
I am sure that this was keeping you up at night, so I'll help put the controversy to rest. The Tigers have the the 5th best hats in the MLB. MLive linked to the list today. Suck it Justin Bieber! Take your purple Yankees hat and go back to the dugout. BTW, the Indians have the worst hats.
Off of baseball...
Netflix has decided to run with the big dogs! They are going to publish their own content, a TV show called House of Cards. Last fall we cut off the satellite and have gone strictly with Netflix and Hulu for mind-numbing entertainment. It has been no problem for anyone! I'm excited to see Netflix survive and thrive.
Can you compare an airplane to a continent? Dominic Tierney does just that as he tries to bring the costs of the F35 jet fighter into perspective. A thought provoking article.
Finally, a Quote for the Day from Rand Paul. I'm not a big fan of his, but truth is truth no matter where you see it.
Sweet dreams!
Samara listened to a game and enjoyed Jim and Dan's commentary. Money quote: “Nothing the trainer can do except come out and offer moral support.” After Max St. Pierre got hit in the replicators.
This is from a couple of days ago, but is worth going back to. Kurt at Bless You Boys interviews Dan Dickerson (radio voice of the Tigers). Part 1 is here. Hopefully part 2 will be posted soon!
In moves that surprised no one. Beck reported that Guillen and Zumaya will be on the DL when the Tigers head north.
I miss Johnny Damon. I loved seeing him in the Old English D and I thought we would see him in Left for 2011. Apparently he thought we would too. MLBTradeRumors.com linked to a Twitter feed where Damon says he thought being back in Detroit was a "slam dunk". I wish it were true.
Dave Pinto at BaseballMusings.com has done his prognostications about how often the Tigers will score. He sees quite a few runs (5.10 runs per game). I like that number and I hope that he is right.
I am sure that this was keeping you up at night, so I'll help put the controversy to rest. The Tigers have the the 5th best hats in the MLB. MLive linked to the list today. Suck it Justin Bieber! Take your purple Yankees hat and go back to the dugout. BTW, the Indians have the worst hats.
Off of baseball...
Netflix has decided to run with the big dogs! They are going to publish their own content, a TV show called House of Cards. Last fall we cut off the satellite and have gone strictly with Netflix and Hulu for mind-numbing entertainment. It has been no problem for anyone! I'm excited to see Netflix survive and thrive.
Can you compare an airplane to a continent? Dominic Tierney does just that as he tries to bring the costs of the F35 jet fighter into perspective. A thought provoking article.
Finally, a Quote for the Day from Rand Paul. I'm not a big fan of his, but truth is truth no matter where you see it.
"Would Republicans have given Obama and his party a free pass in carrying out the exact same agenda as Bush? It's hard to imagine this being the case, given the grief Bill Clinton got from Republicans, even though his big government agenda was less ambitious than Bush's. Yet, the last Republican president got very little criticism from his own party for most of his tenure. For conservatives, there was no excuse for this,"
Sweet dreams!
Relaunch- 2011 edition
It has been a long time. Much has happened, the world continues to turn. I think about this blog often. I work on it much less often. The world goes on anyway. As I muse about Section 148 I keep coming back to the same issue- I can't keep up with just Tigers' baseball as much as I should to do a blog justice. As much as I love the Tigers, my brain just isn't wired that way. To paraphrase one of my favorite movie lines- "(My) focus needs more focus."
So, rather than go against my own nature, I'm going to go with the flow and readjust my focus. Well, broaden it actually. I will hit on the things that strike my fancy, my brain or my bowels- it will depend on the day and the events of the day. You won't see rants here (at least not in my opinion), that's not my style. You may see some commentary, both mine and stuff I see as I bounce around the web. You may see some funny stuff (I enjoy the weirder side of life). You may see things that I believe are touching, poignant or worth pondering. For certain you will find things that I have learned and thought to be revealing/ interesting.
You will continue to see Tigers' stuff. I may comment about the day's game or something. I will certainly link to posts from the Tigers and baseball blogs that I read regularly. Please follow the links to those sites, I get a great deal of pleasure from them and I want others to also.
This is the relaunch post. Opening Day is only two weeks away. (I was amazed to find out that some people think of November 15 as "Opening Day" recently. It just goes to show how different people can be.) A huge earthquake and tsunami have recently struck Japan and they are desperately trying to prevent a nuclear disaster as a result. Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day (so my daughter and I are off to buy a green scarf).
Slainte!
So, rather than go against my own nature, I'm going to go with the flow and readjust my focus. Well, broaden it actually. I will hit on the things that strike my fancy, my brain or my bowels- it will depend on the day and the events of the day. You won't see rants here (at least not in my opinion), that's not my style. You may see some commentary, both mine and stuff I see as I bounce around the web. You may see some funny stuff (I enjoy the weirder side of life). You may see things that I believe are touching, poignant or worth pondering. For certain you will find things that I have learned and thought to be revealing/ interesting.
You will continue to see Tigers' stuff. I may comment about the day's game or something. I will certainly link to posts from the Tigers and baseball blogs that I read regularly. Please follow the links to those sites, I get a great deal of pleasure from them and I want others to also.
This is the relaunch post. Opening Day is only two weeks away. (I was amazed to find out that some people think of November 15 as "Opening Day" recently. It just goes to show how different people can be.) A huge earthquake and tsunami have recently struck Japan and they are desperately trying to prevent a nuclear disaster as a result. Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day (so my daughter and I are off to buy a green scarf).
Slainte!
Monday, May 31, 2010
The Tigers’ Batting Wonders and Woes…
The Tigers have taken their lumps for stranding runners and not supporting some of their pitchers of the past few weeks. At almost the same time they have had some dramatic come-from-behind rallies to win games late. They have scored 220 runs in the first 49 games (averaging 4.5). This includes 4 shutouts and 7 games where they have scored 8 or more runs. Baseball-Reference.com lists them as 4th in OBS at .762 and 4th in Batting Average at .269.
But this Tigers’ team is split as far as performance goes: there are the Top 6 batters and the Bottom 3. The Top 6 are: Jackson, Damon, Ordonez, Cabrera, Boesch, and Guillen. These guys are hitting and scoring well. Through Sunday’s game (5/30) the Top 6 have scored 153 of the 220 runs (70%). They also have 144 of the 208 RBI this year (69%). “But wait a minute! Of course they score more runs, they have more opportunities because they get up to bat more often.” Well, although there is truth to that it doesn’t explain it all. The Top 6 have accumulated 1023 Plate Appearances (PA) which is 58%. Of much more importance is what they are doing when they get to the plate, which is to hit.
The BA for the Top 6 is .320. Yes, the average for the Top 6 Batters is .320. Led by Cabrera’s .352 but the worst(?) of them is Damon’s .283. And when Damon isn’t hitting he is taking walks. He leads the team with 14.1% walk rate. The On Base Percentage (OBP) for the Top 6 is .379 and that is pulled down by Boesch’s OBP of a mere .345 (he tends to strike out 20% of the times he goes to the plate). Of course the times Boesch goes to the plate he hits it. His Batting Avg for Balls In Play (BABIP) is .378! He bashes it hard. Boesch’s Slugging % (SLG) is .585 (second only to Cabrera’s on the team). The Top 6’s SLG is .513.
The point I’m making with all of these stats is that the Top 6 Batters are not just scoring most of the runs because they are in the first 6 slots. They are scoring the runs because they are getting on base and hitting for average and power. If the Top 6 were on their own they would be the best hitting team in the American League. The Yankees are the best overall at .811 OPS and the Tigers’ Top 6 is at .892.
This begs the question, “Why is Detroit chasing the Twins to win the weakest division in the American League?” Well, aside from pitching woes there are the Bottom 3 spots in the lineup. The Bottom 3 are: Brandon Inge, Gerald Laird and Adam Everett. These guys have been a pitcher’s dream so far this season. Combined they are hitting .202. They are not making up for it with walks either (combined 7.56% walk rate) and they are not hitting for power either. The SLG for the Bottom 3 is a weak .331.
I don’t know what the answer to this problem is. The worst starter is Laird (.168 BA with a .243 SLG), but he has been a defensive asset, but he is only throwing out 31% of the base stealers so far this year (9 of 29 attempts). Last year he was throwing base runners out at a 42% clip- which was the best in the League. He replacement is supposed to be Alex Avila but, aside from being a Lefty, Avila is no different. Avila is batting .153 with a .278 SLG. So there really isn’t much to do there. Adam Everett is hitting .189 and SLG .257. Santiago often replaces Everett, but Leyland doesn’t believe Ramon can play full time effectively and his limited numbers are not a huge improvement. Brandon Inge is the best of the Bottom 3 with a .229 BA and SLG of .417 (including 6 HR). Still, Inge strikes out 25% of the time. His fielding is certainly above average. Baseball-Reference.com puts shows him saving 21 runs above the average 3B this year, 2nd best in the AL. I just don’t see replacing Inge with a superior player right now.
The season not quite 1/3 of the way done. Trade deadlines are coming up and I trust that Dombrowski is planning on working something. If Detroit plays well through June they should be buyers and he might find someone. I would start with Shortstop. Again, according to Baseball-Reference.com, Everett’s defense is actually projected to cost Detroit 19 runs more than the average SS this year!
But this Tigers’ team is split as far as performance goes: there are the Top 6 batters and the Bottom 3. The Top 6 are: Jackson, Damon, Ordonez, Cabrera, Boesch, and Guillen. These guys are hitting and scoring well. Through Sunday’s game (5/30) the Top 6 have scored 153 of the 220 runs (70%). They also have 144 of the 208 RBI this year (69%). “But wait a minute! Of course they score more runs, they have more opportunities because they get up to bat more often.” Well, although there is truth to that it doesn’t explain it all. The Top 6 have accumulated 1023 Plate Appearances (PA) which is 58%. Of much more importance is what they are doing when they get to the plate, which is to hit.
The BA for the Top 6 is .320. Yes, the average for the Top 6 Batters is .320. Led by Cabrera’s .352 but the worst(?) of them is Damon’s .283. And when Damon isn’t hitting he is taking walks. He leads the team with 14.1% walk rate. The On Base Percentage (OBP) for the Top 6 is .379 and that is pulled down by Boesch’s OBP of a mere .345 (he tends to strike out 20% of the times he goes to the plate). Of course the times Boesch goes to the plate he hits it. His Batting Avg for Balls In Play (BABIP) is .378! He bashes it hard. Boesch’s Slugging % (SLG) is .585 (second only to Cabrera’s on the team). The Top 6’s SLG is .513.
The point I’m making with all of these stats is that the Top 6 Batters are not just scoring most of the runs because they are in the first 6 slots. They are scoring the runs because they are getting on base and hitting for average and power. If the Top 6 were on their own they would be the best hitting team in the American League. The Yankees are the best overall at .811 OPS and the Tigers’ Top 6 is at .892.
This begs the question, “Why is Detroit chasing the Twins to win the weakest division in the American League?” Well, aside from pitching woes there are the Bottom 3 spots in the lineup. The Bottom 3 are: Brandon Inge, Gerald Laird and Adam Everett. These guys have been a pitcher’s dream so far this season. Combined they are hitting .202. They are not making up for it with walks either (combined 7.56% walk rate) and they are not hitting for power either. The SLG for the Bottom 3 is a weak .331.
I don’t know what the answer to this problem is. The worst starter is Laird (.168 BA with a .243 SLG), but he has been a defensive asset, but he is only throwing out 31% of the base stealers so far this year (9 of 29 attempts). Last year he was throwing base runners out at a 42% clip- which was the best in the League. He replacement is supposed to be Alex Avila but, aside from being a Lefty, Avila is no different. Avila is batting .153 with a .278 SLG. So there really isn’t much to do there. Adam Everett is hitting .189 and SLG .257. Santiago often replaces Everett, but Leyland doesn’t believe Ramon can play full time effectively and his limited numbers are not a huge improvement. Brandon Inge is the best of the Bottom 3 with a .229 BA and SLG of .417 (including 6 HR). Still, Inge strikes out 25% of the time. His fielding is certainly above average. Baseball-Reference.com puts shows him saving 21 runs above the average 3B this year, 2nd best in the AL. I just don’t see replacing Inge with a superior player right now.
The season not quite 1/3 of the way done. Trade deadlines are coming up and I trust that Dombrowski is planning on working something. If Detroit plays well through June they should be buyers and he might find someone. I would start with Shortstop. Again, according to Baseball-Reference.com, Everett’s defense is actually projected to cost Detroit 19 runs more than the average SS this year!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Not a good week...
This past week has not been a good one for the Tigers. They went 1-4 (with 2 off days). Well, actually they seemed to have more than 2 “off” days, but there were 2 days they weren’t scheduled.
They wrapped up their last West Coast road trip against the Mariners before coming home to start a 4 game series against the A’s.
For one of those reasons that make no sense the Tigers cannot seem to beat the Mariners. The Mariners have not been a good team in 2010. They have good pitching and don’t allow that many runs (189 through the Tigers’ series or 4.1 per game) but they score even fewer (163 or 3.5 per game). With Verlander and Bonderman pitching for Detroit you might think that things look pretty good for a short series win. Yet the Mariners were able to score 5 runs in each game while the Tigers scored only 3 and then 4. Bondo actually pitched a great game, but Ryan Perry didn’t, giving up 5 hits and 4 runs in 1/3 of an inning to turn an apparent 4-1 win into a definite 4-5 loss. In fact, this was not a good week for Ryan Perry at all, but we’ll get to that later. So the Tigers again gave the Mariners a reason to feel good about themselves. So far the Tigers are 1-4 against Seattle this year, providing the Mariners with almost 20% of their wins for the year.
After losing to Seattle (and presumably stocking up on coffee) the Tigers headed home to face the A’s. Now the A’s are a decent team. They are contending in the West and have some good players. The Tigers had beaten them in a short series last week. Now they had a 4 game series here in Detroit. The Tigers are very good, strong at home (14-6 starting the series). Well, things didn’t work out exactly as hoped for. Willis pitched 5 1/3 innings of very interesting baseball, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and one walk. The Bullpen took over and, for the second time this week Perry could not get it done, allowing 2 runs on a hit and a walk (Ni allowing at least one of the runs to score). Even with newly-minted father Miguel Cabrara hitting 3 home runs the Tigers couldn’t get Willis the win. The next night (Friday) the Tigers bats simply didn’t show up (5 hits and 0 runs). Porcello pitched a pretty good game (2 earned runs in 6 1/3 on 7 hits and 2 walks). The Pen allowed 4 runs in another weak showing, but with 0 runs on the Tigers’ side of the scoreboard it didn’t really matter much.
This raises a question for me about the pitchers- can we have good showings from both the Rotation and the Bullpen in the same week? This week the Rotation had one weak outing (Verlander on Tuesday) but other than that Bonderman, Willis, Porcello and Scherzer each pitched well with 3 or fewer runs allowed. This is the dominant rotation that we have been begging for all year! Here it is! The Rotation’s ERA for the week was 2.84! Their WHIP was 1.17. This stuff can win some ball games! Before the week started the Tigers’ Bullpen was lights-out. Their ERA was 2.32 and their WHIP was 1.23. It has climbed to 2.85 and 1.27. Add the 2 losses (both, unfortunately, assigned to Perry but he had some help in giving them away) and we see a bad week. I’m hoping that this was simply that- a bad week- and not some horrible Greek-economy-type slide toward failure. I say this because I’m not sure where the bailout might come from.
Related to dominance of the Rotation- Dontrelle Willis was Designated for Assignment last night to make room for Max Scherzer. Dontrelle seems to be the happiest (and luckiest) pitcher in baseball but his on again- off again relationship with the strike zone had finally become too much for Dombrowski. With Scherzer having figured out his issues down in Toledo the Tigers needed to make some room on the roster. Galarraga had pitched well enough to stay, so Willis was DFA’d. I must say that I admire what the Tigers have done for Willis. Something happened inside his head and he lost his game. Unfortunately this happed right after Dombrowski signed him to a 3 year worth $29 million. The Tigers gave him every opportunity to turn it around (for both their own interest and his), but ultimately they decided that they could do better.
The bats remain a story of split personality. The top 5 are the best in baseball (in my opinion). The bottom 4 have been terrible. Overall the OPS is .755 for the last 13 games, but the squandering by the bottom has been epic. Inge is hitting .215 and that is the best of the group. Everett is .189 and Laird/ Avila is .154 It is a fair question as to how long these guys can hit like that and stay on the lineup card. I don’t know the answers to this problem, but there has to be a SS or Catcher out there who can hit better than what we have with enough defense to make the outs. If something doesn’t happen with these guys soon then Willis may have only been the first to be shown the door.
So, as Memorial Day starts off the summer season here in Michigan we have a team that is going through some changes and challenges. Their Bullpen slipped but their Rotation stepped up. The bats have been slumbering but woke up in a big way today to support Scherzer. The team is 26-23 and sits 3 games behind the Twins. They are certainly in the race. This upcoming week they finish the 4th game with the A’s and then host the Indians for 3 before going to KC for 3. These are not good teams, these are teams that Detroit should dominate. This should be a good week to be a Tigers’ fan.
Go Tigers!
They wrapped up their last West Coast road trip against the Mariners before coming home to start a 4 game series against the A’s.
For one of those reasons that make no sense the Tigers cannot seem to beat the Mariners. The Mariners have not been a good team in 2010. They have good pitching and don’t allow that many runs (189 through the Tigers’ series or 4.1 per game) but they score even fewer (163 or 3.5 per game). With Verlander and Bonderman pitching for Detroit you might think that things look pretty good for a short series win. Yet the Mariners were able to score 5 runs in each game while the Tigers scored only 3 and then 4. Bondo actually pitched a great game, but Ryan Perry didn’t, giving up 5 hits and 4 runs in 1/3 of an inning to turn an apparent 4-1 win into a definite 4-5 loss. In fact, this was not a good week for Ryan Perry at all, but we’ll get to that later. So the Tigers again gave the Mariners a reason to feel good about themselves. So far the Tigers are 1-4 against Seattle this year, providing the Mariners with almost 20% of their wins for the year.
After losing to Seattle (and presumably stocking up on coffee) the Tigers headed home to face the A’s. Now the A’s are a decent team. They are contending in the West and have some good players. The Tigers had beaten them in a short series last week. Now they had a 4 game series here in Detroit. The Tigers are very good, strong at home (14-6 starting the series). Well, things didn’t work out exactly as hoped for. Willis pitched 5 1/3 innings of very interesting baseball, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and one walk. The Bullpen took over and, for the second time this week Perry could not get it done, allowing 2 runs on a hit and a walk (Ni allowing at least one of the runs to score). Even with newly-minted father Miguel Cabrara hitting 3 home runs the Tigers couldn’t get Willis the win. The next night (Friday) the Tigers bats simply didn’t show up (5 hits and 0 runs). Porcello pitched a pretty good game (2 earned runs in 6 1/3 on 7 hits and 2 walks). The Pen allowed 4 runs in another weak showing, but with 0 runs on the Tigers’ side of the scoreboard it didn’t really matter much.
This raises a question for me about the pitchers- can we have good showings from both the Rotation and the Bullpen in the same week? This week the Rotation had one weak outing (Verlander on Tuesday) but other than that Bonderman, Willis, Porcello and Scherzer each pitched well with 3 or fewer runs allowed. This is the dominant rotation that we have been begging for all year! Here it is! The Rotation’s ERA for the week was 2.84! Their WHIP was 1.17. This stuff can win some ball games! Before the week started the Tigers’ Bullpen was lights-out. Their ERA was 2.32 and their WHIP was 1.23. It has climbed to 2.85 and 1.27. Add the 2 losses (both, unfortunately, assigned to Perry but he had some help in giving them away) and we see a bad week. I’m hoping that this was simply that- a bad week- and not some horrible Greek-economy-type slide toward failure. I say this because I’m not sure where the bailout might come from.
Related to dominance of the Rotation- Dontrelle Willis was Designated for Assignment last night to make room for Max Scherzer. Dontrelle seems to be the happiest (and luckiest) pitcher in baseball but his on again- off again relationship with the strike zone had finally become too much for Dombrowski. With Scherzer having figured out his issues down in Toledo the Tigers needed to make some room on the roster. Galarraga had pitched well enough to stay, so Willis was DFA’d. I must say that I admire what the Tigers have done for Willis. Something happened inside his head and he lost his game. Unfortunately this happed right after Dombrowski signed him to a 3 year worth $29 million. The Tigers gave him every opportunity to turn it around (for both their own interest and his), but ultimately they decided that they could do better.
The bats remain a story of split personality. The top 5 are the best in baseball (in my opinion). The bottom 4 have been terrible. Overall the OPS is .755 for the last 13 games, but the squandering by the bottom has been epic. Inge is hitting .215 and that is the best of the group. Everett is .189 and Laird/ Avila is .154 It is a fair question as to how long these guys can hit like that and stay on the lineup card. I don’t know the answers to this problem, but there has to be a SS or Catcher out there who can hit better than what we have with enough defense to make the outs. If something doesn’t happen with these guys soon then Willis may have only been the first to be shown the door.
So, as Memorial Day starts off the summer season here in Michigan we have a team that is going through some changes and challenges. Their Bullpen slipped but their Rotation stepped up. The bats have been slumbering but woke up in a big way today to support Scherzer. The team is 26-23 and sits 3 games behind the Twins. They are certainly in the race. This upcoming week they finish the 4th game with the A’s and then host the Indians for 3 before going to KC for 3. These are not good teams, these are teams that Detroit should dominate. This should be a good week to be a Tigers’ fan.
Go Tigers!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
40 Games into it...
Well, due to a couple of rainouts we are technically at 39 games, but I’ll buck tradition on this point. So Sparky Anderson is famously quoted as saying that you can’t tell how good or bad a baseball team is until they have played 40 games. Is that the magic number? Can’t you tell at 20 or should you wait until 60? Well, I have enough respect of sample size to resist the urge at 20 and I’m too impatient to wait until 60. Plus, this is Sparky Anderson we’re listening too here! C’mon, he led teams to championships in both leagues and is in the Hall of Fame! We are really students to his teaching here.
The Tigers stand at 22 wins and 17 losses overall. They are competitive in every sense of the word so far- they have beaten the Angels, Yankees, Twins and Red Sox in series match ups this season. They have also lost series I thought they should win (KC and Seattle in April). They are very good at Comerica Park (14-6). If they can keep that up for the season there is a lot of promise there. On the road they have held their own (8-11) but have struggled. Part of that may be due to the types of road trips they have had (11 games out west and on little rest). But Detroit typically plays much better at home than on the road. Since 2007 they are 136-107 (.560) at home and 112- 132 (.459) on the road.
The stat where the Tigers are most even with their competition is in runs scored. Detroit has scored 178 runs. Opponents have scored 178 runs! That averages out to 4.6 per game for each team. Most of the experts claimed that this would be a .500 team and the scoring bears this out with 25% of the season completed. Looking deeper I see some interesting things: The Tigers are out hitting their opponents. OPS for Detroit is .764 while opponents are around .722 The most significant differential here is in the “slugging %” aspect of OPS. Detroit is slugging at a rate of .415 while opponents are slugging at only .378. The Tigers average 18.5 total bases per game while allowing only 16.8. Yes, the Tigers have given their fans far too many reasons to complain of “squandering” runners (averaging 15.6 left on base per game vs. 14.6 for their opponents) but they do get men on base and score enough runs to win ball games.
It seems to be the run prevention side of the equation that needs the most help. The Team ERA is 4.22 and most of that is due to an under performing starting rotation. The Starters are 11-12 so far this year and have an ERA of 5.31 and a WHIP of 1.51. No one has really had a good year (although Verlander has started to show signs of pulling out of his funk). Max Scherzer, who came from Arizona, has recently been sent down to Toledo to work on things after dumping a 7.29 ERA on the mound (our old friend Galarraga has taken his place in the rotation). The Bullpen has more than held its own so far, with an ERA of only 2.49 and a WHIP of only 1.26. Zumaya has helped that by allowing only 4 walks in 24 innings so far. The ‘Pen, as a whole, has allowed only 6 homeruns in 131 2/3 innings also.
Adding to the pitchers’ woes are defensive miscues that prolong innings and add base runners. The Tigers average .8 errors per game. Their opponents only give them .5 per game. The Tigers rank dead last in Fielding % for the American League (.977) and have had 34 errors charged to them. Ryan Raburn being sent to Toledo should improve on that, but this is an area where they should be strong. Detroit seems to be either an excellent defensive team or the Bad News Bears from year to year and it hurts their chances of winning the division.
So where is this team after 40 games? As we saw above, they are competitive. They have proven that they can beat the teams that you would expect to face in October. They have proven that they can score runs. They have proven that their Bullpen can hold leads or stop the bleeding. Yet they have also shown that their starting rotation is not very strong. Their defenders are not very strong either. I believe that if either of those last two factors improves this will be a contender right down to the wire and will have a strong chance of winning the AL Central title.
The Tigers stand at 22 wins and 17 losses overall. They are competitive in every sense of the word so far- they have beaten the Angels, Yankees, Twins and Red Sox in series match ups this season. They have also lost series I thought they should win (KC and Seattle in April). They are very good at Comerica Park (14-6). If they can keep that up for the season there is a lot of promise there. On the road they have held their own (8-11) but have struggled. Part of that may be due to the types of road trips they have had (11 games out west and on little rest). But Detroit typically plays much better at home than on the road. Since 2007 they are 136-107 (.560) at home and 112- 132 (.459) on the road.
The stat where the Tigers are most even with their competition is in runs scored. Detroit has scored 178 runs. Opponents have scored 178 runs! That averages out to 4.6 per game for each team. Most of the experts claimed that this would be a .500 team and the scoring bears this out with 25% of the season completed. Looking deeper I see some interesting things: The Tigers are out hitting their opponents. OPS for Detroit is .764 while opponents are around .722 The most significant differential here is in the “slugging %” aspect of OPS. Detroit is slugging at a rate of .415 while opponents are slugging at only .378. The Tigers average 18.5 total bases per game while allowing only 16.8. Yes, the Tigers have given their fans far too many reasons to complain of “squandering” runners (averaging 15.6 left on base per game vs. 14.6 for their opponents) but they do get men on base and score enough runs to win ball games.
It seems to be the run prevention side of the equation that needs the most help. The Team ERA is 4.22 and most of that is due to an under performing starting rotation. The Starters are 11-12 so far this year and have an ERA of 5.31 and a WHIP of 1.51. No one has really had a good year (although Verlander has started to show signs of pulling out of his funk). Max Scherzer, who came from Arizona, has recently been sent down to Toledo to work on things after dumping a 7.29 ERA on the mound (our old friend Galarraga has taken his place in the rotation). The Bullpen has more than held its own so far, with an ERA of only 2.49 and a WHIP of only 1.26. Zumaya has helped that by allowing only 4 walks in 24 innings so far. The ‘Pen, as a whole, has allowed only 6 homeruns in 131 2/3 innings also.
Adding to the pitchers’ woes are defensive miscues that prolong innings and add base runners. The Tigers average .8 errors per game. Their opponents only give them .5 per game. The Tigers rank dead last in Fielding % for the American League (.977) and have had 34 errors charged to them. Ryan Raburn being sent to Toledo should improve on that, but this is an area where they should be strong. Detroit seems to be either an excellent defensive team or the Bad News Bears from year to year and it hurts their chances of winning the division.
So where is this team after 40 games? As we saw above, they are competitive. They have proven that they can beat the teams that you would expect to face in October. They have proven that they can score runs. They have proven that their Bullpen can hold leads or stop the bleeding. Yet they have also shown that their starting rotation is not very strong. Their defenders are not very strong either. I believe that if either of those last two factors improves this will be a contender right down to the wire and will have a strong chance of winning the AL Central title.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The 2nd Inning...
As I was originally shown by Lee Panas at Tiger Tales, the 162 games in a standard baseball season can be broken down into 9 innings of 18 games each. The Tigers have completed 36 games, which equal 2 innings of play. Let’s look at how they have done.
They are in 2nd place, 2 ½ games behind the Twins in the AL Central. The Tigers’ record is 20-16.
Their overall batting average for the 2nd inning is .265. Their OBP = .333. Their SLG = .422 (.265/.333/.422) Overall this shows some improvement over the 1st inning (.278/ .377/.410). They scored 80 runs in the 2nd inning. They also allowed 80 runs in the inning. Overall this team has allowed almost as many runs as it has scored all year.
The pitching for the 2nd Inning has improved over the 1st. The starting rotation pitched 99 1/3 innings and allowed 57 earned runs for an ERA of 5.16. This allowed them to win 6 and lose 7 during this inning. Their WHIP improved to 1.47 also.
The bullpen continues to dominate. They pitched 65 1/3 innings and allowed 20 earned runs (2.76 ERA). They walked only 31 and gave up only 2 homeruns during that time. There is little question that the bullpen is a significant reason for why the Tigers have won as many games as they have.
So far the Tigers are outperforming expectations. By scoring 164 runs and allowing 165 they should have a record of 18 - 18. But they have a record that is 2 games better than that (20 – 16) and are right in the fight for the pennant. Part of this is a result of how they lose: they have lost 3 games where the opposing team has scored 10+ runs and none of those games were close. They have also lost 0-8, which contributes to the skewing of the numbers toward mediocrity. Part of it is also that they are developing a reputation for coming from behind to win late in the game- this usually means a close final score that doesn’t show the heart of the team in a final score.
This inning the Tigers beat Minnesota, New York and LA. They also lost to Minnesota in a sweep at Target field (their worst series so far). This team can compete with the best teams in the AL. They must figure out the Twins in Minnesota, but they are certainly capable of winning against any team on the schedule.
The bottom line is that this is a very fun team to watch and will be long into the fall.
They are in 2nd place, 2 ½ games behind the Twins in the AL Central. The Tigers’ record is 20-16.
Their overall batting average for the 2nd inning is .265. Their OBP = .333. Their SLG = .422 (.265/.333/.422) Overall this shows some improvement over the 1st inning (.278/ .377/.410). They scored 80 runs in the 2nd inning. They also allowed 80 runs in the inning. Overall this team has allowed almost as many runs as it has scored all year.
The pitching for the 2nd Inning has improved over the 1st. The starting rotation pitched 99 1/3 innings and allowed 57 earned runs for an ERA of 5.16. This allowed them to win 6 and lose 7 during this inning. Their WHIP improved to 1.47 also.
The bullpen continues to dominate. They pitched 65 1/3 innings and allowed 20 earned runs (2.76 ERA). They walked only 31 and gave up only 2 homeruns during that time. There is little question that the bullpen is a significant reason for why the Tigers have won as many games as they have.
So far the Tigers are outperforming expectations. By scoring 164 runs and allowing 165 they should have a record of 18 - 18. But they have a record that is 2 games better than that (20 – 16) and are right in the fight for the pennant. Part of this is a result of how they lose: they have lost 3 games where the opposing team has scored 10+ runs and none of those games were close. They have also lost 0-8, which contributes to the skewing of the numbers toward mediocrity. Part of it is also that they are developing a reputation for coming from behind to win late in the game- this usually means a close final score that doesn’t show the heart of the team in a final score.
This inning the Tigers beat Minnesota, New York and LA. They also lost to Minnesota in a sweep at Target field (their worst series so far). This team can compete with the best teams in the AL. They must figure out the Twins in Minnesota, but they are certainly capable of winning against any team on the schedule.
The bottom line is that this is a very fun team to watch and will be long into the fall.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Great Ernie Harwell has left us
Ernie Harwell (1918-2010) passed away tonight. He has been fighting cancer of the bile duct for much of the past year. He died at home in Novi, MI with his wife Lulu at his side.
Harwell was the voice of the Tigers for many years (1960-2002). He was teamed up with Paul Carey from 1973-1991 and so it was their two voices that I associate most with the Tigers as a kid.
Here are some links...
Wikipedia
The Detroit News
The Freep
Tigers.com
and some of his greatest lines (at least the ones I remember from my days listen to the radio):
"He stood there like a house by the side of the road." (when a batter watched a strike go by)
"He was called out for excessive window shopping!" (same)
"Two for the price of one!" (when a double play was turned)
"It's loooooooong gone!" (a home run)
"That was caught by a fan from (pick any city/town in Michigan)" (when a ball was hit foul)
One of the greatest aspects of Ernie's style was that he was a lover of the game, not so much the home team. He never criticized players or umpires. He simply told his listeners what was happening on the field so that we knew. He was certainly a fan of the Detroit Tigers, but he never let that get in the way of complementing a good play by the other team. He cared about the players and everyone he met (according to those who were around him). He helped out other broadcasters and journalists (even some bloggers as they came into the picture).
Ernie was to receive the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award for broadcasting tomorrow (5/5/10). Al Kaline was going to represent Ernie at the ceremony and now will accept it for him posthumously.
There aren't many broadcaster like Ernie anymore. He was missed when he finally left the booth a couple of years ago. But it will always be his voice I hear when I remember growing up as a Tigers' fan in Michigan.
Harwell was the voice of the Tigers for many years (1960-2002). He was teamed up with Paul Carey from 1973-1991 and so it was their two voices that I associate most with the Tigers as a kid.
Here are some links...
Wikipedia
The Detroit News
The Freep
Tigers.com
and some of his greatest lines (at least the ones I remember from my days listen to the radio):
"He stood there like a house by the side of the road." (when a batter watched a strike go by)
"He was called out for excessive window shopping!" (same)
"Two for the price of one!" (when a double play was turned)
"It's loooooooong gone!" (a home run)
"That was caught by a fan from (pick any city/town in Michigan)" (when a ball was hit foul)
One of the greatest aspects of Ernie's style was that he was a lover of the game, not so much the home team. He never criticized players or umpires. He simply told his listeners what was happening on the field so that we knew. He was certainly a fan of the Detroit Tigers, but he never let that get in the way of complementing a good play by the other team. He cared about the players and everyone he met (according to those who were around him). He helped out other broadcasters and journalists (even some bloggers as they came into the picture).
Ernie was to receive the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award for broadcasting tomorrow (5/5/10). Al Kaline was going to represent Ernie at the ceremony and now will accept it for him posthumously.
There aren't many broadcaster like Ernie anymore. He was missed when he finally left the booth a couple of years ago. But it will always be his voice I hear when I remember growing up as a Tigers' fan in Michigan.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
April in the D...
Best pitcher for April:
ERA Starter = Willis 3.13/ WHIP = Bonderman 1.35/ xFIP = Verlander 4.23 (26 K’s)
ERA Reliever = Valverde 0.75/ WHIP = Valverde 0.75/ xFIP= Zumaya 2.39 (0 walks!)
Best hitter for April
BA = Jackson .364/ OBP = Damon .431/ OPS = Cabrera 1.042/ BABIP = Jackson .530
Record for the month = 14 and 10
Series wins vs: KC, CLE, MIN,
Series losses vs: KC, SEA
Series split vs: LAA
Record vs East 0-0
Record vs Central 8-4
Record vs West 6-6
After the month of April the Tigers are sitting in 2nd place in the AC. They have a 14 and 10 record and accomplished this in spite of starting the season on the road and having an 11 game road trip out west to play Seattle and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim before going to Texas. They managed to split the road with a 7-7 record. So far at home they have continued to show the dominance they have displayed in the past with a 7-3 record.
The beginning of the season showed a number of come from behind wins. Since then they have continued to win close games. The Tigers score an average of 4.9 runs per game and allow 4.5. In fact they are currently outperforming the Pythagorean Expectation by one game. I would give much of this credit to the Bullpen.
The Relievers have carried the Starters for the first month. Zumaya, Coke and Valverde have been able to shut down opposing lineups extremely effectively. Ni and Perry have also been huge so far this season. The only one who has not been steller has been Thomas, but he gets props for making an emergency start when Willis was sick and giving a surprising 3 innings allowing the bats to carry it through for a win.
The Starters have all struggled in some way. Verlander has not been dominating so far (just like last April). Porcello may be having a “sophomore slump” as his ERA is over 8.00 and his WHIP is 1.91. Yet his xFIP (a measure of how a pitcher is doing on the things he can control) is only 4.25. It does seem that everything batters make contact on from him becomes a hit- I doubt that continues. The biggest surprises have been Bonderman and Willis. Both have pitched well, Willis has allowed only 8 runs in 23 innings (3.13 ERA). That is the best ERA in the Starting Rotation!
On the offensive side there have been some great starts so far this year.
Austin Jackson has started his Tigers’ career in a Rookie of the Year pace with a .364 BA and a .917 OPS. Half of what he makes contact with falls for a hit (.530 BABIP). He is fast! He had 6 doubles, 2 triples and 5 stolen bases.
Johnny Damon, batting #2, started slowly but is more than making up for it to close out the month. He is batting .329 with a .890 OPS along with a walk rate of 14.7% (15).
Maggs is picking up where he left off last September with an average of .303 and a OPS of .906 (6 doubles + 4 home runs)! All of that extra base power has allowed him to drive in 18 RBI this month!
And if Maggs can’t get them home than Cabrera will. Cabrera seems to be a man on a mission so far this year. He has 25 RBI and has scored 16 runs himself. His BA is .344 and his OBS is 1.04! He has already drawn 3 intentional walks, expect that to rise as the year goes on.
Carlos Guillen was off to a hot start until he was injured. He was batting .311 with a OPS of .834 with 8 RBI in the first 16 games. He was replaced by a new guy, Brennan Boesch from Toledo. Brennan has stepped right in and provided hit .261 with an OPS of .813 (7 RBI) in the 6 games he played.
The bottom ½ of the order (Inge, Sizemore, Laird and Everett) have not hit nearly as well as the top ½ so far. Inge and Sizemore have kept their BA over .250 but Laird and Everett haven’t managed that yet.
Looking forward I continue to see that this team will be very competitive in the AL Central. The starting pitching will improve. I don’t know if the bullpen can continue to perform at this level (Zumaya is an injury waiting to happen). I believe that the batters can continue to perform at this level. Except for Jackson the top of the order is proven over many years to be solid.
The rest of May sees the Twins and the Indians on the road. Then the Yankees and Red Sox come to Detroit, along with a 2 game series with the White Sox. Then it’s another West Coast road trip to Oakland, LAD and Seattle before finishing the month at home against the Oakland A’s.
*all individual batting data from Fangraphs
ERA Starter = Willis 3.13/ WHIP = Bonderman 1.35/ xFIP = Verlander 4.23 (26 K’s)
ERA Reliever = Valverde 0.75/ WHIP = Valverde 0.75/ xFIP= Zumaya 2.39 (0 walks!)
Best hitter for April
BA = Jackson .364/ OBP = Damon .431/ OPS = Cabrera 1.042/ BABIP = Jackson .530
Record for the month = 14 and 10
Series wins vs: KC, CLE, MIN,
Series losses vs: KC, SEA
Series split vs: LAA
Record vs East 0-0
Record vs Central 8-4
Record vs West 6-6
After the month of April the Tigers are sitting in 2nd place in the AC. They have a 14 and 10 record and accomplished this in spite of starting the season on the road and having an 11 game road trip out west to play Seattle and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim before going to Texas. They managed to split the road with a 7-7 record. So far at home they have continued to show the dominance they have displayed in the past with a 7-3 record.
The beginning of the season showed a number of come from behind wins. Since then they have continued to win close games. The Tigers score an average of 4.9 runs per game and allow 4.5. In fact they are currently outperforming the Pythagorean Expectation by one game. I would give much of this credit to the Bullpen.
The Relievers have carried the Starters for the first month. Zumaya, Coke and Valverde have been able to shut down opposing lineups extremely effectively. Ni and Perry have also been huge so far this season. The only one who has not been steller has been Thomas, but he gets props for making an emergency start when Willis was sick and giving a surprising 3 innings allowing the bats to carry it through for a win.
The Starters have all struggled in some way. Verlander has not been dominating so far (just like last April). Porcello may be having a “sophomore slump” as his ERA is over 8.00 and his WHIP is 1.91. Yet his xFIP (a measure of how a pitcher is doing on the things he can control) is only 4.25. It does seem that everything batters make contact on from him becomes a hit- I doubt that continues. The biggest surprises have been Bonderman and Willis. Both have pitched well, Willis has allowed only 8 runs in 23 innings (3.13 ERA). That is the best ERA in the Starting Rotation!
On the offensive side there have been some great starts so far this year.
Austin Jackson has started his Tigers’ career in a Rookie of the Year pace with a .364 BA and a .917 OPS. Half of what he makes contact with falls for a hit (.530 BABIP). He is fast! He had 6 doubles, 2 triples and 5 stolen bases.
Johnny Damon, batting #2, started slowly but is more than making up for it to close out the month. He is batting .329 with a .890 OPS along with a walk rate of 14.7% (15).
Maggs is picking up where he left off last September with an average of .303 and a OPS of .906 (6 doubles + 4 home runs)! All of that extra base power has allowed him to drive in 18 RBI this month!
And if Maggs can’t get them home than Cabrera will. Cabrera seems to be a man on a mission so far this year. He has 25 RBI and has scored 16 runs himself. His BA is .344 and his OBS is 1.04! He has already drawn 3 intentional walks, expect that to rise as the year goes on.
Carlos Guillen was off to a hot start until he was injured. He was batting .311 with a OPS of .834 with 8 RBI in the first 16 games. He was replaced by a new guy, Brennan Boesch from Toledo. Brennan has stepped right in and provided hit .261 with an OPS of .813 (7 RBI) in the 6 games he played.
The bottom ½ of the order (Inge, Sizemore, Laird and Everett) have not hit nearly as well as the top ½ so far. Inge and Sizemore have kept their BA over .250 but Laird and Everett haven’t managed that yet.
Looking forward I continue to see that this team will be very competitive in the AL Central. The starting pitching will improve. I don’t know if the bullpen can continue to perform at this level (Zumaya is an injury waiting to happen). I believe that the batters can continue to perform at this level. Except for Jackson the top of the order is proven over many years to be solid.
The rest of May sees the Twins and the Indians on the road. Then the Yankees and Red Sox come to Detroit, along with a 2 game series with the White Sox. Then it’s another West Coast road trip to Oakland, LAD and Seattle before finishing the month at home against the Oakland A’s.
*all individual batting data from Fangraphs
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Games 7 & 8: Tigers vs. Royals
Game 7
Game 8
Game 7 stunk. The Tigers lost 10-5 on terrible defense and not enough offense. The pitching was not all that great either (15 hits allowed plus 5 walks). Meh, there's nothing to see here (or much to write about either).
Game 8 was another example of how exciting this Tigers' team can be. The pattern is well established by now- 1) don't get any hits against the opposing starter, but... 2) show patience at the plate (forcing the other team's starter to wear himself out) and wait for the bullpen to come into the game 3) punish the opposing bullpen 4) Profit!!!
This afternoon the Tigers were down 5-0 when they came up to bat in the 7th. Thereafter started a hit parade: Carlos Guillen struck out, Inge walked, Laird (!) doubles (Inge scores 1-5). That is the last of Bannister the starter, Colon comes in to stop the bleeding. Scott Sizemore doubles in Laird (2-5). Sanitago pops up for the 2nd out. Ajax doubles in Sizemore (3-5). That was it for Colon, pitcher #3 is Hughes. Damon singles, Ajax to 3rd. Maggs walks, bases loaded. Cabrera takes a bases loaded walk, Ajax scores (4-5). Carlos is back up again and doubles, Damon scores and Magglio scores (6-5). Inge grounds out for the 3rd out.
Count them up and you will find 4 doubles in there.You'll find another bases loaded walk (just like Sunday). You'll see rookies (Ajax and Sizemore) getting big hits along with the vets (even Laird). If there is one thing this team can do it is string together hits and walks for big rallies. That 7th inning was the 4th big inning in this young season, not to mention the 5th time that they have come from behind in the first 8 games.
This stuff is awesome to watch (or recreate later if you're working during the game). I don't know how long it can last. The Tigers have only played against teams that they should be beating (Royals and Indians). That means that they should not be in a position to need to come from behind so often (or at least that's what it SHOULD mean). Once they start playing better teams this formula may not be sustainable, but for right now we know that this 2010 team is never out of the game. (Year of the Tiger! indeed)
As of right now the Tigers are in 1st place (tied with the Twins). One more game against the Royals and then it's off to Seattle for the weekend.
Game 8
Game 7 stunk. The Tigers lost 10-5 on terrible defense and not enough offense. The pitching was not all that great either (15 hits allowed plus 5 walks). Meh, there's nothing to see here (or much to write about either).
Game 8 was another example of how exciting this Tigers' team can be. The pattern is well established by now- 1) don't get any hits against the opposing starter, but... 2) show patience at the plate (forcing the other team's starter to wear himself out) and wait for the bullpen to come into the game 3) punish the opposing bullpen 4) Profit!!!
This afternoon the Tigers were down 5-0 when they came up to bat in the 7th. Thereafter started a hit parade: Carlos Guillen struck out, Inge walked, Laird (!) doubles (Inge scores 1-5). That is the last of Bannister the starter, Colon comes in to stop the bleeding. Scott Sizemore doubles in Laird (2-5). Sanitago pops up for the 2nd out. Ajax doubles in Sizemore (3-5). That was it for Colon, pitcher #3 is Hughes. Damon singles, Ajax to 3rd. Maggs walks, bases loaded. Cabrera takes a bases loaded walk, Ajax scores (4-5). Carlos is back up again and doubles, Damon scores and Magglio scores (6-5). Inge grounds out for the 3rd out.
Count them up and you will find 4 doubles in there.You'll find another bases loaded walk (just like Sunday). You'll see rookies (Ajax and Sizemore) getting big hits along with the vets (even Laird). If there is one thing this team can do it is string together hits and walks for big rallies. That 7th inning was the 4th big inning in this young season, not to mention the 5th time that they have come from behind in the first 8 games.
This stuff is awesome to watch (or recreate later if you're working during the game). I don't know how long it can last. The Tigers have only played against teams that they should be beating (Royals and Indians). That means that they should not be in a position to need to come from behind so often (or at least that's what it SHOULD mean). Once they start playing better teams this formula may not be sustainable, but for right now we know that this 2010 team is never out of the game. (Year of the Tiger! indeed)
As of right now the Tigers are in 1st place (tied with the Twins). One more game against the Royals and then it's off to Seattle for the weekend.
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