Christmas is almost here and it is time to look at the list and check it twice for beleaguered Tigers.
Dear Santa,
You were soooooo good to us last year! You gave us Miguel Cabrerra and Edgar Renteria. We thought you had given us the American League on a platter. As you know it didn't quite work out that way so we are asking you for some more gifts this year. Dave Dombrowski has found a short stop and a catcher to help with the defense. They picked up a pitcher too, but it's hard to tell if he will be a starter or head to the bullpen.
So Santa, what we really need from you right now are some pitchers. Some good pitchers so we can feel a little bit better about 2009. You see, we have hitters. We have Ordonez, Granderson, Cabrerra, Thames, Sheffield and Guillen. It isn't about scoring runs. It's about keeping the other team from scoring runs. So we need a closer, because Rodney just scares me so much. My hands shake so much that I can't put ornaments on the tree if I think about him coming to the mound with less than a 5 run lead. So yes, a real bona-fide closer would be great for Christmas this year. And maybe someone to take over in the 7th inning for the starters. Someone who won't allow baserunners to score very often. Someone like the 2006 version of Rodney.
Perhaps Santa you could give us a healthy Joel Zumaya. Wrap him in bubble wrap and put him in a big box with a bow on it that says "Do not open until Opening Day" so nothing hurts him again. You could put Bonderman in there with him, just in case.
By the way, have we said "Thank you!!" enough for Galarraga? Probably not, but that little stocking stuffer was the second best gift of the year for Tiger fans. I still remember his debut against the Indians when he was mowing them down like my kid goes through cupcakes. Then he did it again, and again, and again. The gift that just keeps giving! I can only hope he does as well this year. The stats say a repeat is unlikely, but this is the time of year to wish and dream so I will!
So, just to re-cap Dear St. Nick, here is what we would like for Christmas this year: pitchers, pitchers, pitchers. ERA's somewhere south of 4.0 would be nice.
Please enjoy the cookies under the tree.
Signed,
Joe (and all Tigers' fans)
ps: I still want to believe!!!!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Why not?
What do the Tigers' need to be competitive in 2009?
Well, as I've discussed all year and others have too, they need pitching and defense. Maybe I'm crazy, but would Randy Johnson fit the bill for pitching?
In 2008, pitching for Arizona, he was 11-10 with an ERA of 3.91. I know, ERA isn't the best indicator of ability. How about WHIP of 1.239? That is better than everyone on the '08 Tigers' staff except Galarraga. He had 173 strikeouts in 184 innings pitched (8.46 K/9) and only 44 walks (2.15 BB/9). Of course he also gave up a hit per inning so he can't afford to have too many other guys on base ahead of the guy getting the hit. His HR/9 1.17 which seems a little high (but it's better than 1.61 isn't it Mr. Robertson).
I don't know if he would do as well against American League hitting. On the other hand this is Randy Johnson! When he pitched for the Yankees a couple of years ago his WHIP was comparable (but his ERA was higher). His W/L record for the Yankees was 34 and 19 over those two years, so he must have been doing something right.
It's only a thought. The Diamondbacks can't afford him and he wants to pitch. I think that the Tigers could do much worse. Maybe he and Sheffield can get their milestones on the same team in the same season!
Well, as I've discussed all year and others have too, they need pitching and defense. Maybe I'm crazy, but would Randy Johnson fit the bill for pitching?
In 2008, pitching for Arizona, he was 11-10 with an ERA of 3.91. I know, ERA isn't the best indicator of ability. How about WHIP of 1.239? That is better than everyone on the '08 Tigers' staff except Galarraga. He had 173 strikeouts in 184 innings pitched (8.46 K/9) and only 44 walks (2.15 BB/9). Of course he also gave up a hit per inning so he can't afford to have too many other guys on base ahead of the guy getting the hit. His HR/9 1.17 which seems a little high (but it's better than 1.61 isn't it Mr. Robertson).
I don't know if he would do as well against American League hitting. On the other hand this is Randy Johnson! When he pitched for the Yankees a couple of years ago his WHIP was comparable (but his ERA was higher). His W/L record for the Yankees was 34 and 19 over those two years, so he must have been doing something right.
It's only a thought. The Diamondbacks can't afford him and he wants to pitch. I think that the Tigers could do much worse. Maybe he and Sheffield can get their milestones on the same team in the same season!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Dimitri Young going down again...
I just saw this and thought I would post on it.
Dimitri Young played for the Tigers until 2006 when he sort imploded into a public and private hell. He got a fresh start with the Nationals and became Come Back Player of the Year in 2007. I sort of lost track of him after that. Now it looks like Washington has sent him to their AAA club.
I really hope he turns it around again.
He is a career .292/ .351/ .475 hitter
Dimitri Young played for the Tigers until 2006 when he sort imploded into a public and private hell. He got a fresh start with the Nationals and became Come Back Player of the Year in 2007. I sort of lost track of him after that. Now it looks like Washington has sent him to their AAA club.
I really hope he turns it around again.
He is a career .292/ .351/ .475 hitter
And now for something completely different...
No baseball for now. There are lots of trade rumors flying around. Tis the season for that kind of stuff and we all know that the Tigers are going to do something- we just don't really know what. We'll just have to wait and see what Mr. Dombrowski actually does (or doesn't do).
No, let's venture out a little. It's November 5th. I was up until 1 o'clock this morning watching the presidential election and the aftermath. It was quite a night. I remember 2000. I was working 2nd shift in Canada and couldn't watch on TV, but the internet was starting to matter and I was trying to follow the election that way. I remember hitting the refresh button over and over again and being surprised that Florida kept changing. Little did I know the drama that was starting to unfold over hanging chads and butterfly ballots and the apparent inability of the citizens of Florida to complete this most fundamental of democratic tasks- vote for the candidate of their choice. Back then the 'net was not the best way to follow an election.
This time around I used both the internet and TV. I am a junkie and I was getting my 4 year fix. I don't mess around with Fox or CNN on TV. No way. I go straight to PBS. Give it to me straight and don't muddle it up with silly holograms or fancy computerized displays. On the 'net I was bouncing back and forth between the Washington Post and NPR. I noticed that the Post was playing it very conservative when calling states. They were always slower to call a state one way or the other than either PBS or NPR. I'm guessing they relied less on exit polls and more on actual ballot counts? Who knows.
Yesterday's election was different for me. It was the first time I have ever voted for a Democrat in my life. I guess I was just not convinced that McCain was the guy. I used to think he was. I voted for him in 2000. I hoped he would run against Bush in 2004 but he waited until this year. But, except for the military stuff I just couldn't see him leading. I saw him following his advisors on economic stuff and following the GOP base on social stuff. Strange as this may be, I expect the President to lead. One of my biggest beefs with G. W. Bush is that he seems to abdicate way too much to others (especially Cheney and Rumsfeld until he fired him). Obama looks like someone who leads. He controlled his campaign and it reflected his style. I guess we'll find out in about 80 days.
I honestly don't know if he can control his party. That will be his toughest challenge. I remember how the Chinese challenged the Bush administration very early (remember when they forced a US intelligence plane down?) I'm sure that nations will challenge Obama also and he'll have to figure out how to react. I'm not sure you can really prepare for that in advance, so you can judge a person for not doing it already.
If Obama can control Pelosi and Reid then he has a chance to be the uniter he talks about being. I listed to Obama's speech last night and was very impressed. Yet, I remember G. W. Bush saying almost exactly the same things and then walking away from it. I hope Obama has the balls to remind Pelosi and Reid just how he got to where he is and makes them fall into line or they will tear it all apart in an effort to right all of the slights and wrongs they feel.
I don't feel like I was in a "Throw the bums out" mood yesterday. I just didn't feel as though the GOP had answers right now. Newt Gingrich has great ideas, but nobody listens to him unless they watch him on C-SPAN (like I do). I am probably more conservative than most people reading this in many ways, but is the GOP? They spend money like it's water. They don't even pretend to care about a balanced budget anymore. They put more and more federal programs into place (Perscriptions? No Child Left Behind?). And, seriously, don't get me started about the shredding of the Bill of Rights in the name of the War on Terror. There is nothing conservative about any of those things. There is pandering and fear mongering. There is a Department of Justice that became a fraternity house, with rush events and blackballing just like college. The GOP fought for the end to abortion (a very good and important thing) but never really said a word about torture of people.
No, I wasn't throwing the bums out. I was choosing a better option. I hope we made the right choice. I hope that Obama is able to live up to even 1/3 of the ridiculously high expectations being put on him. I hope that in 2 years the GOP has figured out how to get its head out of its collective ass and run candidates who are focused on making life better for everyone and not just the few who are the "base". If they don't then people like me (evangelical, conservative but not listening to what Dobson, Limbaugh, et al tell me to think) will continue to seek alternatives. I don't know who those alternatives are, but there probably won't be an "R" next to their names.
Next time we look at base ball again. Here hoping that Dombrowski finds some pitching! Go Tigers!
No, let's venture out a little. It's November 5th. I was up until 1 o'clock this morning watching the presidential election and the aftermath. It was quite a night. I remember 2000. I was working 2nd shift in Canada and couldn't watch on TV, but the internet was starting to matter and I was trying to follow the election that way. I remember hitting the refresh button over and over again and being surprised that Florida kept changing. Little did I know the drama that was starting to unfold over hanging chads and butterfly ballots and the apparent inability of the citizens of Florida to complete this most fundamental of democratic tasks- vote for the candidate of their choice. Back then the 'net was not the best way to follow an election.
This time around I used both the internet and TV. I am a junkie and I was getting my 4 year fix. I don't mess around with Fox or CNN on TV. No way. I go straight to PBS. Give it to me straight and don't muddle it up with silly holograms or fancy computerized displays. On the 'net I was bouncing back and forth between the Washington Post and NPR. I noticed that the Post was playing it very conservative when calling states. They were always slower to call a state one way or the other than either PBS or NPR. I'm guessing they relied less on exit polls and more on actual ballot counts? Who knows.
Yesterday's election was different for me. It was the first time I have ever voted for a Democrat in my life. I guess I was just not convinced that McCain was the guy. I used to think he was. I voted for him in 2000. I hoped he would run against Bush in 2004 but he waited until this year. But, except for the military stuff I just couldn't see him leading. I saw him following his advisors on economic stuff and following the GOP base on social stuff. Strange as this may be, I expect the President to lead. One of my biggest beefs with G. W. Bush is that he seems to abdicate way too much to others (especially Cheney and Rumsfeld until he fired him). Obama looks like someone who leads. He controlled his campaign and it reflected his style. I guess we'll find out in about 80 days.
I honestly don't know if he can control his party. That will be his toughest challenge. I remember how the Chinese challenged the Bush administration very early (remember when they forced a US intelligence plane down?) I'm sure that nations will challenge Obama also and he'll have to figure out how to react. I'm not sure you can really prepare for that in advance, so you can judge a person for not doing it already.
If Obama can control Pelosi and Reid then he has a chance to be the uniter he talks about being. I listed to Obama's speech last night and was very impressed. Yet, I remember G. W. Bush saying almost exactly the same things and then walking away from it. I hope Obama has the balls to remind Pelosi and Reid just how he got to where he is and makes them fall into line or they will tear it all apart in an effort to right all of the slights and wrongs they feel.
I don't feel like I was in a "Throw the bums out" mood yesterday. I just didn't feel as though the GOP had answers right now. Newt Gingrich has great ideas, but nobody listens to him unless they watch him on C-SPAN (like I do). I am probably more conservative than most people reading this in many ways, but is the GOP? They spend money like it's water. They don't even pretend to care about a balanced budget anymore. They put more and more federal programs into place (Perscriptions? No Child Left Behind?). And, seriously, don't get me started about the shredding of the Bill of Rights in the name of the War on Terror. There is nothing conservative about any of those things. There is pandering and fear mongering. There is a Department of Justice that became a fraternity house, with rush events and blackballing just like college. The GOP fought for the end to abortion (a very good and important thing) but never really said a word about torture of people.
No, I wasn't throwing the bums out. I was choosing a better option. I hope we made the right choice. I hope that Obama is able to live up to even 1/3 of the ridiculously high expectations being put on him. I hope that in 2 years the GOP has figured out how to get its head out of its collective ass and run candidates who are focused on making life better for everyone and not just the few who are the "base". If they don't then people like me (evangelical, conservative but not listening to what Dobson, Limbaugh, et al tell me to think) will continue to seek alternatives. I don't know who those alternatives are, but there probably won't be an "R" next to their names.
Next time we look at base ball again. Here hoping that Dombrowski finds some pitching! Go Tigers!
Monday, November 3, 2008
I'm back!
My Blogger dashboard tells me that I have not posted since August 10th. I have to believe that 2 1/2 months is plenty of time for a break. So let's jump back into this - shall we?
Let's sum up- in 2008 the Tigers spent more money on payroll than anybody but the Yankees. They started out 0-7 and never really recovered. They flirted with .500 but only enough to tease all of their fans before sliding backward, ever backward. They ended up finishing 74-88 for the year, good enough for last place in the AL Central. Even the Royals were a better club! For those of you who are looking forward to a weekly recap of those last 6 weeks or so that I didn't cover here- well... the Tigers sucked. That should about cover it.
So, now what do they do? Well, conventional wisdom says that they need pitching. They don't have a solid closer (now that Todd Jones has hung up his spikes). They are weak in the set up roles (with Zumaya a huge question mark and Rodney a series of different symbols followed by an exclamation point! For example: "What the @#$% just happened?!") The starters are just as uncertain. Verlander is still amazing, but his numbers aren't. Bonderman is hopefully recovering from shoulder surgery. Rogers will (or won't) retire- he won't say just yet. Willis and Robertson are mainly there to drive fans (who remember how solid they can be) just crazy. They fired the pitching coach. Maybe that will matter, maybe it won't. I don't know.
Their defense wasn't exactly helping the pitchers this year. They are statistically worse almost everywhere. The only player who really shined this year defensively was a pitcher. Not exactly what you're looking for at a payroll just north of $138,000,000. So Jim Leyland announced that Brandon Inge would be the starting 3rd baseman in 2009. I'm sure that will plug some of the holes on the left side of the infield. But that doesn't solve everything. Polanco is still a great 2nd baseman. Cabrera seems to be getting pretty good at 1st base. Everyone is talking about Shortstop and Edgar Rentaria. I'm not sure that he is that much of a problem. He didn't hit for squat in the first half of the season, but after that he was improving. In fact he shows some real good stats as you can see at Tiger Tales. I think that, with the limited payroll options the Tigers have right now that there are other places to spend their money. The outfield will be another area to focus on. Center is solid with Granderson. Right seems solid with Ordonez (assuming that he stays in Detroit). Left has been a question mark for a long time, but Leyland said that Carlos Guillen will be the starting Left Fielder. I'm not sure about that, but Leyland is better at this than I am so we'll see.
So the Tigers have a lot of questions to answer and apparently not a lot of money to solve them with. I think that it is fair to say that nobody is going to pre-maturely buy their World Series tickets this year. Hopefully they will do better than last place.
Let's sum up- in 2008 the Tigers spent more money on payroll than anybody but the Yankees. They started out 0-7 and never really recovered. They flirted with .500 but only enough to tease all of their fans before sliding backward, ever backward. They ended up finishing 74-88 for the year, good enough for last place in the AL Central. Even the Royals were a better club! For those of you who are looking forward to a weekly recap of those last 6 weeks or so that I didn't cover here- well... the Tigers sucked. That should about cover it.
So, now what do they do? Well, conventional wisdom says that they need pitching. They don't have a solid closer (now that Todd Jones has hung up his spikes). They are weak in the set up roles (with Zumaya a huge question mark and Rodney a series of different symbols followed by an exclamation point! For example: "What the @#$% just happened?!") The starters are just as uncertain. Verlander is still amazing, but his numbers aren't. Bonderman is hopefully recovering from shoulder surgery. Rogers will (or won't) retire- he won't say just yet. Willis and Robertson are mainly there to drive fans (who remember how solid they can be) just crazy. They fired the pitching coach. Maybe that will matter, maybe it won't. I don't know.
Their defense wasn't exactly helping the pitchers this year. They are statistically worse almost everywhere. The only player who really shined this year defensively was a pitcher. Not exactly what you're looking for at a payroll just north of $138,000,000. So Jim Leyland announced that Brandon Inge would be the starting 3rd baseman in 2009. I'm sure that will plug some of the holes on the left side of the infield. But that doesn't solve everything. Polanco is still a great 2nd baseman. Cabrera seems to be getting pretty good at 1st base. Everyone is talking about Shortstop and Edgar Rentaria. I'm not sure that he is that much of a problem. He didn't hit for squat in the first half of the season, but after that he was improving. In fact he shows some real good stats as you can see at Tiger Tales. I think that, with the limited payroll options the Tigers have right now that there are other places to spend their money. The outfield will be another area to focus on. Center is solid with Granderson. Right seems solid with Ordonez (assuming that he stays in Detroit). Left has been a question mark for a long time, but Leyland said that Carlos Guillen will be the starting Left Fielder. I'm not sure about that, but Leyland is better at this than I am so we'll see.
So the Tigers have a lot of questions to answer and apparently not a lot of money to solve them with. I think that it is fair to say that nobody is going to pre-maturely buy their World Series tickets this year. Hopefully they will do better than last place.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Week 19 ( I honestly don't know what to say.)
Week 19 has ended.
W/L 2/4
Not a very strong week for Detroit. Tampa Bay completed a sweep over Detroit in Tampa and the White Sox took 2 of 3 from them in Chicago. That series in Chicago completed a 10 game road trip for Detroit (their longest of the season) and brings them to Detroit for 23 of their next 26 games. Since they play better at Comerica than they do on the road, perhaps they can still pull off a Playoff run (but don't bet a mortgage payment on it).
The Starters were not as bad in Week 19 as they were in Week 18. Their ERA improved to 3.76 (16 earned runs in 38 1/3 innings), which is certainly okayish. We have Galarraga, Minor and Rogers to thank for that. They allowed 7 in 25 2/3. Robertson and Verlander, on the other hand, allowed 9 in 15 innings (5.40 ERA)! Verlander(!) has allowed 18 earned runs in only 17 1/3 innings over his last 3 starts! We have discussed Robertson enough, but Verlander has just not gotten it done at all lately.
The Bullpen had an ERA of 4.05 (9 earned runs in 20 innings). There were 3 Blown Saves in the week (2 in one game), so theorhetically the Week's record should be reversed if anyone could "slam the door" at the end of the game!
Defensivly there were 4 errors last week (which is Detroit's average for the year).
Offensively it was a mixed bag. They averaged 5.67 Runs Scored per game, but had two games with 2 runs or less and 3 with 8 runs or more. The Slugging % was .500 and BA was .265.
They should have won more games but the Bullpen cost them those two games and Verlander and Robertson never really gave them a chance in their two starts.
Week 20 has the end of the Oakland series, Toronto for 4 games and Baltimore for the weekend.
W/L 2/4
Not a very strong week for Detroit. Tampa Bay completed a sweep over Detroit in Tampa and the White Sox took 2 of 3 from them in Chicago. That series in Chicago completed a 10 game road trip for Detroit (their longest of the season) and brings them to Detroit for 23 of their next 26 games. Since they play better at Comerica than they do on the road, perhaps they can still pull off a Playoff run (but don't bet a mortgage payment on it).
The Starters were not as bad in Week 19 as they were in Week 18. Their ERA improved to 3.76 (16 earned runs in 38 1/3 innings), which is certainly okayish. We have Galarraga, Minor and Rogers to thank for that. They allowed 7 in 25 2/3. Robertson and Verlander, on the other hand, allowed 9 in 15 innings (5.40 ERA)! Verlander(!) has allowed 18 earned runs in only 17 1/3 innings over his last 3 starts! We have discussed Robertson enough, but Verlander has just not gotten it done at all lately.
The Bullpen had an ERA of 4.05 (9 earned runs in 20 innings). There were 3 Blown Saves in the week (2 in one game), so theorhetically the Week's record should be reversed if anyone could "slam the door" at the end of the game!
Defensivly there were 4 errors last week (which is Detroit's average for the year).
Offensively it was a mixed bag. They averaged 5.67 Runs Scored per game, but had two games with 2 runs or less and 3 with 8 runs or more. The Slugging % was .500 and BA was .265.
They should have won more games but the Bullpen cost them those two games and Verlander and Robertson never really gave them a chance in their two starts.
Week 20 has the end of the Oakland series, Toronto for 4 games and Baltimore for the weekend.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Bad Pitching beats Good Hitting every time!
First off I owe an apology. It has been brought to my attention that while I was blogging more regularly the Tigers were winning more regularly. Since I have been away from Section 148 they have not played as well. So I offer my deepest and most heartfelt apologies to all Tiger fans! I honestly had no idea the impact such a tiny spec of the blogosphere could have on an an institution such as my beloved Tigers. I have let down not only all of my fans but all Tigers’ fans. It is inexcusable, but I ask for your grace none-the-less.
So where did the Tigers end up during my absence?
July: W/L 13-13
Runs Scored 152
Runs Against 129
Batting Avg .286
Slugging % .466
Runs Scored/Game 5.85
Starting ERA 5.14
Bullpen ERA 3.96
Runs Against/ Game 5.00
Where exactly do you look to start pulling this together? I must say that the offense seems to be cranking out runs pretty nicely. They did accumulate their 11th shutout of the year last week, but even with those 0’s in the equation they average 5.07 runs/ game over the year. In the last 14 games they have averaged 5.65! Miguel Cabrera won the Player of the Month award! Ordonez is going for his second consecutive batting title! Maybe later I’ll look at the distribution of those runs (they score 0 runs 7/28 and 14 runs 7/30) but even so, almost 6 runs per game is pretty good and where the numbers showed they would be in the pre-season.
So how about them pitchers! Wow. Just “Wow!!”
Starting pitchers- well their ERA for the month was 5.14 and they averaged 5 2/3 innings pitched per start. To put that into perspective – June showed a 3.53 ERA and an average of 6 1/3 innings per start. What is probably contributing to this is the homeruns. July had 23 HR hit off of the Starters (1.38 per 9 innings pitched). June had 16 HR (0.87 per 9 innings pitched). The worst offender was Nate Robertson (his name is going to come up in a negative context a lot here) with a HR/9 of 2.59 (9 HR in 31 1/3 IP). Walks + Hits/ Inning Pitched (WHIP) was 1.42 in July (up from 1.33 in June). Again Nate had the worst at 1.85. That means roughly a combination of almost 2 baserunners per inning pitched. You put that many guys on base, and then serve up nice fat meatballs to knock out of the park 2.59 times per 9 innings and you end up with an ERA of 8.62 for the month for Mr. Robertson. Now in June he had a WHIP of 1.52 but HR/9 of only 0.87! Something horrible happened to Nate during July (and it’s not getting cured in August). But although Robertson was the worst, he was not alone. Verlander had an ERA of 4.70, Rogers’ was 4.73! The best pitcher was Galarraga with an ERA of 3.23 and WHIP of 1.21.
(If you would like to, statistically, dessicate Nate go here.) Apparently he is the worst starter in Tigers' history. At least he has that going for him!
So the Bullpen takes over somewhere in the 6th inning and then what happens? The Bullpen’s ERA was 5.00 (43 earned runs in 97 2/3 IP). Their biggest issues seems to be walks, they do that a lot (59 BB in those 97 2/3 IP or 5.43 BB per 9/IP). The WHIP for the Bullpen was 1.52 for July. That is actually not any worse than June’s (1.52). But those homeruns again- HR/9 was 1.20 in July and only 0.36 in June! So you put a guy on and then let the guy behind him hit it out of the park.
Jones got demoted (and diagnosed with tendinitis) at the end of the month. But there really isn’t anyone who can close better than Jones on the team right now (at least when he’s healthy). Zumaya can’t seem to control that amazing fastball of his (7.85 BB/9). Rodney has been horrible in many of his appearances (5.45 BB/9). The best relief pitcher Detroit has right now is Bobby Seay. He had 1 earned run over 11 1/3 IP and struck out 13. He is really the only arm I would trust right now.
So, in spite of scoring 5.85 runs in the average game the Tigers allowed 5.0 in an average game in July. That certainly sounds like a .500 team doesn’t it? That, my dear Reader, is what we are looking at right now, a mediocre team. We have an outstanding line up, but below average pitchers which averages out to average. I hate to admit this, but this team will not catch the Twins or the White Sox to win the Central. I predict that the Twins will win it. They played .600 ball in July and averaged .9 runs scored more than their opponents over that time. The Tigers had the same run differential, but I just don’t see them doing anything but losing games late in the game as their weak pitching wastes good hitting.
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