Rob Neyer: Tigers better be careful with Bonderman
Bonderman’s not ready, and he’s going to get either hammered or hurt.
Yearly Archives: 2003
Peter Gammons:
Bonderman tops Gammons’ list of hot rookies
1. Jeremy Bonderman, RHP, Detroit: “He should be the Tigers’ Opening Day starter,” says one scout. He throws 91 to 96 mph with a hard slider. But he’s also very young and the Tigers are very … well … mediocre.
Easley benched, requests trade
Easley benched, requests trade
Easley met with Santiago and Infante on Sunday morning and told them this was the opportunity they had been waiting for and that he would help them any way he could.
“I was in a similar situation with the Angels,” Easley said. “They said they wanted a new look and put me at second base in place of Harold Reynolds, who had been around like 12 years. I was just a young kid, and that man took me everywhere and watched out for me.
“I learned from that. It’s what you mean by giving back to the game.”
“I was in a similar situation with the Angels,” Easley said. “They said they wanted a new look and put me at second base in place of Harold Reynolds, who had been around like 12 years. I was just a young kid, and that man took me everywhere and watched out for me.
“I learned from that. It’s what you mean by giving back to the game.”
Roster Moves
Bonderman made the team, Easley lost his job
The rotation is is 3/5ths set: Maroth, Bonderman, and Bernero will be the top 3 in the order and Cornejo has the inside track on the 4th spot. Also, Ramon Santiago will replace Damion Easley at second.
John Donovan on Trammell
Trammell has called his veterans together, guys like Dean Palmer and Bobby Higginson and Dmitri Young, and pushed the rah rah, we are a team, everybody works together speech. For Trammell, though, it’s no speech. It’s the only way he knows how to do this.
Because he is so earnest about it, the veterans are buying into it. All the players are, evidently.
Who’t going to make this team?
Who is going to make this team? Just taking a quick stab, I came away with this:
Locks:
-Carlos Pena
-Damion Easley
-Craig Paquette
-Dean Palmer
-Dmitri Young
-Brandon Inge
-Bobby Higginson
-Mike Maroth
-Steve Sparks
-Matt Anderson
-Franklyn German
-Julio Santana
-Jamie Walker
That’s 13 so there are still 12 to go. Either Omar Infante or Ramon Santiago will be playing short (I’m guessing Infante). Also, Eric Munson is a near lock due to the fact he is out of options, and will definitely not clear waivers. Plus, his play at third has improved and does anybody really expect Palmer to play a whole season (in the field, or just period)? Then we need a centerfielder. Andres Torres has played too well not to make the team. He’s hitting .400+, and while only one of his hits has been for extra bases, his approach has become that of a leadoff hitter and he’s just trying to put the ball in play. It also appears that Gene Kingsale will make the team. Throw in a back up catcher (Walbeck or Hasselman) and the roster is up to 18. Seven slots to go, and we only have 6 pitchers. I believe Nate Cornejo, Jeremy Bonderman, and Adam Bernero will join Maroth and Sparks to fill the rotation. Wilson Ledezema and Matt Roney are Rule 5 pick-ups that will probably fill out the middle of the bullpen. There are two spots left, and Hiram Bocachica and George Lombard are still unaccounted for. Due to Bocachia’s ability to play middle infield as well as outfield, he is probably secure. Then it will come down to Travis Chapman or George Lombard. Considering Palmer, Munson, Young and Paquette are available to play 3rd, Travis Chapman will probably be left out.
So that’s my guess at what the opening day roster will look like. This could easily change if the Tigers trade for, or pick up another starter. It won’t surprise me to see the Tigers use at least 45 players again this season (not counting Sept 1 call-ups). Andy Van Hekken and Gary Knotts will definitely get starts this year, and Shane Loux will probably also spend time with the team. Ernie Young and Cody Ross will probably get some time in the outfield, and whoever loses the shortstop battle initially will still get significant playing time this year.
Tigers will have a tough time finding SP help…
The search for starting pitchers
But the rebuilding process puts the Tigers in a bind. Lower-level guys come cheap but might not help any more than pitchers who are already in camp. The guys who can surely help don’t come cheap, which would put a kink in the Tigers’ plan to stockpile prospects.
Rosenthal weighs in on Bonderman’s change up.
Tigers phenom Jeremy Bonderman has made scant use of his changeup in Florida, but one benefit of keeping him in the majors would be to put him under the tutelage of pitching coach Bob Cluck. Scouts say Cluck is a good teacher and strong proponent of the changeup. . . .
Tigers still have 4 open spots in the rotation-
Van Hekkena and Knotts flop again; Larrison in picture. Plus, 11 more cuts were made, with 11 more still to come. The most notable of this batch include Sane Loux, Kevin Witt, Craig Monroe, and Ernie Young.
Bonderman Didn’t Dominate, But…
No setback for Tigers’ Bonderman (from freep.com) At one point, Phelps asked catcher Brandon Inge, “Is that guy going to be your No. 1 starter?”
Dmitri Young looking forward to this season…
Dmitri Young has a Point to Prove (from detroittigers.com)
“Detroit hasn’t seen the real Dmitri Young play,” he said. “We had a little spurt last year, that’s about it. You all haven’t seen diddly. They didn’t see too much because I only had 200 at-bats [last year].”
More Sparky
If there’s hope at the rainbow…(From Mlive.com)-
“I love the catcher,” Anderson said Saturday, referring to Brandon Inge. “I love that second baseman (Omar) Infante. Oh, I like (Gene) Kingsale. I like that kid (Andres) Torres — he can run like a deer.
“There’s more hope at the rainbow than I thought.”
“There’s more hope at the rainbow than I thought.”