Yearly Archives: 2006

2006 Season, Game Post

Game 65: Devil Rays at Tigers

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PREGAME: The Tigers look to extend their winning streak to 4 tonight against the Devil Rays. The Tigers are back at the top of the rotation with Kenny Rogers who goes for win 199. He’ll be opposed by Seth McClung.

McClung has given up 4 or more runs in each of his last 4 starts and has walked 13 and only fanned 4 over that span.

Pudge will be in the lineup tonight despite last night’s overtime duty. Carlos Guillen will man first for the slumping Shelton. I guess the good news is that Shelton’s slump corresponds with Carlos Guillen’s various aches so that both get a break.

POSTGAME: We (the fans) really needed a game like that. The Tigers jump on top early, and then blow it open. After weeks of nail biters and coming from behind it was nice to have an “easy one.”

It’s stating the obvious, but Kenny Rogers was brilliant. Some 0’s turned into 1’s in the 8th inning, but 9 K’s and 8 innings of work on a night when the bullpen was depleted are spectacular. Oh yeah, and he made the defensive play of the night laying out and flipping a ball with his glove after deflecting it in the first place.

Offensively everyone chipped in. Curtis Granderson continued to set the table by reaching base 3 times and adding a sacrifice fly and a diving catch in the outfield.

And on bark-in-the-park night the Tigers drew almost 21,000. I’ll be doing my part tomorrow and taking in the game.

2006 Season, Minors

Tigers sign 18 from 2006 draft

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The Tigers announced today that they have signed 18 of the players the team drafted this year. The highest picked Tiger draftee to sign is 8th round pick Chris Cody.

The complete list is available below:

Rd	Player	Position		Age	School	Hometown
8	Chris Cody	LHP	22	Manhattan College	Brewster, NY
11	Hayden Parrott	2B	18	Desert Mountain HS	West Bloomfield, MI
12	Joe Bowen	C	18	Vanguard HS	Ocala, FL
13	Angel Castro	RHP	23	Western Oklahoma St.	Dominican Republic
14	Brett Jensen	RHP	22	U. of Nebraska	Eagle Grove, IA
16	Jeff Gerbe	RHP	21	Michigan State U.	Detroit, MI
18	Deik Scram	CF	20	Oklahoma State U.	Arkansas City, KS
19	Duane Below	LHP	20	Lake Michigan College	Tecumseh, MI
22	Chris Krawczyk	RHP	22	Missouri State U.	Independence, MO
24	Joe Tucker	CF	22	Kent State U.	Canton, OH
28	Derek Witt	RHP	22	Ohio U.	Davenport, IA
29	Christopher Carlson		22	U. of New Mexico	Topeka, KS
31	Michael Sullivan		22	Ball State U.	Munster, IN
32	Rudy Darrow	RHP	22	Nicholls State U.	Stillwater, OK
35	Paul Hammond	LHP	23	U. of Michigan	Shelby, OH
38	Dana Arrowood	RHP	23	Old Dominion U.	Woodbridge, VA
39	Michael Bertram	3B	22	U. of Kentucky	Lexington, KY
47	Alec Shepherd	RHP	20	South Mountain CC	Wilmar, MN
2006 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap – June 12th

Toledo 5, Ottawa 0
Chad Durbin threw the complete game shut out. He allowed only 6 hits and he fanned 10 on 119 pitches. Mike Hessman provided the runs with a homer and a single. David Espinosa also added 2 hits.

Erie – DNP

Lakeland – PPD

Dayton 1, West Michigan 0
Lucas French pitched 6 innings allowing one run on 4 hits and 2 walks while fanning 5. Justin Justice, Michael Hernandez, and Matt Joyce picked up the 3 hits for the Caps. Cameron Maybin was 0 for 4 with 2 K’s.

2006 Season, Game Post

Game 64: Devil Rays at Tigers

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PREGAME: It’s an intriguing pitching match-up as young phenoms Justin Verlander and Scott Kazmir hook up. Verlander’s June hasn’t been as stellar as his May with 10 runs in his last 11 innings. However, 6 of those runs came in a 5 inning outing against the Yankees with a cut bleeding on his finger. He was solid in his last start against the White Sox. Verlander experienced “tenderness” in his arm/shoulder after the Yankee game so it will be interesting see how long he stays in.

The last time the Tigers faced Kazmir, he had some control problems. He hit Polanco anbd threw behind a couple other guys which prompted Nate Robertson to send one behind Carl Crawford. Robertson was ejected after the first pitch making for a short day.

POSTGAME: Serious, serious love for Curtis Granderson. I love him swinging away with the corner infielders 40 feet away. I love him seeing at least 4 pitches every at-bat. I love him getting everything hit to center.

The beleaguered bullpen duo of Rodney and Jones combined for 5 scoreless and uneventful innings. With Zumaya still shelved, look for Jamie Walker to serve as closer if one is needed tomorrow night.

The top of the order carried the day going 10 for 29 among the top 5 hitters. The bottom 4 combined for 1 for 22.

2006 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap – June 11th

Toledo 6, Ottawa 2
Nook Logan had two hits and a walk. Ryan Raburn and Mike Hessman both doubled and walked. Wil Ledezma pitched 7 scoreless innings allowing 6hits and 3 walks against 6 strikeouts. He was pulled after throwing 117 pitches. Mark Woodyard pitched the 9th and allowed 3 hits and 2 runs.

Portland 2, Erie 1
Tony Giarratano had two hits for Erie. Preston Larrison went 7 1/3 allowing only one run on 5 hits and 4 walks.

Lakeland 4, Dunedin 1
Lakeland’s total offensive output was 4 singles, and two doubles. But they bunched those hits for a 4 run first inning. Clete Thomas reached base twice singling and walking. Dallas Trahern started, but pitched only 1 1/3 innings and was pulled after a rain delay. PJ Finigan pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Kevin Whelan gave up the lone run with two hits and a walk in one inning of work.
West Michigan 4, Dayton 3
Cameron Maybin doubled and singled and Michael Hernandez added two hits. Burke Badenhop allowed 3 walks and 9 hits in 5 innings, but that resulted in only 3 runs. Josh Rainwater pitched 2 scoreless innings for the win and Orlando Perdomo picked up the save after allowing two hits. Anthony Claggett pitched a scoreless inning and has now allowed 1 run in 29 1/3 innings.

2006 Season, Game Post, Uncategorized

Game 63: Tigers at Blue Jays

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PREGAME: Nate Robertson will take the mound for the Tigers as they try to win their first series since Cleveland – or since the beginning of this tough stretch. Robertson has pitched well during this string, with nothing to show for it. He’s been a victim of bad bullpen support and a lack of run support. It won’t be easy for Robertson as Toronto has posted a 345/398/517 line against left handed pitching this year.

The Tigers will take on Ty Taubenheim who is making his 4th start, and hasn’t been particularly effective. As a starter opponents are hitting .314 against him. The Tigers will be without Magglio Ordonez and Placido Polanco who are getting days off.

2006 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap – June 10th

Toledo 9, Ottawa 4
Victor Mendez, who was promoted to Toledo on May 31st, had 3 hits. David Espinosa, Ryan Ludwick, and Kevin Hooper each added two while Ryan Raburn hit his 11th homer. Jordan Tata allowed 7 hits and 3 walks in only 5 innings of work for 4 runs (3 earned).

Portaland 7, Erie 3
Tony Giarratano singled and had two walks for Erie. Eulogio De La Cruz made a 3 inning start. He struckout 5, but allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk.

Portland 4, Erie 2
Brent Clevlen was 2 for 3 and Tony Giarratano added two hits. Virgil Vasquez allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings.

Lakeland 5, Fort Myers 4 (10 innings)
Gil Meija and Jeff Frazier each drew two walks while Nick McIntyre singled and homered. Jair Jurrjens allowed 5 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) in 6 2/3 innings. He fanned 6 and walked none.

West Michigan 6, Dayton 1
As Tim pointed out in the comments to yesterday’s game thread, Cameron Maybin hit a 9th inning grand slam. He also added a walk and a single. Justin Justice and Will Rhymes each had 3 hits. Erik Averill had an excellent start allowing one run on 5 hits and no walks in 7 innings while k’ing 7.

2006 Season, Game Post

Game 62: Tigers at Blue Jays

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PREGAME: I’m sorry, I’m still frustrated by last night’s collapse. Zach Miner against Ted Lilly. Curtis Granderson is my pick. 4:00pm.

POSTGAME: What an excellent start by Zach Miner against a very good offensive team. I saw more of this game than his last start, but in both it appeared that his pitches have excellent movement. Fortunately the first two Tiger hits were very well timed, and very will hit. If not for Magglio Ordonez’s double in the 8th, the Tigers wouldn’t have stranded a single runner.

And most fortunately the bullpen was able to preserve the win.

Also, I was kind of wrong about Granderson. That may have been his worst game at the plate.

And Tim, I know I should relax. I usually preach perspective and big picture and all that other stuff. Friday night’s game though is still ticking me off.

2006 Season, Statistics

The Last 20

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If you don’t know, there is a stat site simply titled Dougs Stats. It has your basic information, but is also has a summary of the stats from the last 20 games. From the AL Leaderboard, here are some Tiger stats of note:

  • Marucs Thames leads the AL over the last 20 games with a 793 OPS. We all know about the homers and he’s tied for 6th with 6. What I found surprising is he is tied for 4th with 8 doubles.
  • Brandon Inge has the 7th worst BA at .157
  • Carl Crawford, Scott Podsednik, Jeremy Reed, Ichiro Suzuki, those are the names you expect to see on top of a triples list. What you don’t expect is to see Pudge Rodriguez alongside them.
  • Curtis Granderson is tied for 6th with 13 walks. Unfortunately he is also on the strikeout list with 21. He’s not alone though as Chris Shelton (21) and Carlos Guillen (19) help fill out the top 10.
  • Nate Robertson is 8th with a 2.83 ERA and he also makes the list for innings pitched (28 1/3)

The Tigers 11-9 mark was bettered only by the Yankees and Rangers. This is despite the fact that the Tigers were in the bottom half, or lower of most team categories.

2006 Season, Game Post

Game 61: Tigers at Blue Jays

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PREGAME: The Tigers move into their final series of the so-called gauntlet. They are looking for their first back-to-back wins since the first two games of the Cleveland series – two weeks ago. Tonight’s pitching matchup is probably the most favorable of the series. Gustavo Chacin has struggled this season, and the Tigers are 11-3 against soutpaw starters. Jeremy Bonderman will pitch for Detroit, and while Toronto hits everybody well, there 838 OPS against righties sounds preferable to their 913 OPS against lefties.

And if you’re looking for something to flilp to between innings, Tigers first round pick Andrew Miller will be pitching for UNC on ESPN.

POSTGAME: Well that blew. I would be very surprised if Todd Jones is the closer tomorrow morning. Tonight he served up 4 line drives. This wasn’t a matter of luck of one bad pitch – this was awful. Leyland’s frustration with Rodney was also apparent when he was removed mid batter. I understand about not making reactionary moves, but if Leyland wants to send a message his new bullpen is Rodney in the 7th, Walker in the 8th, Zumaya in the 9th.

Yes it is important for Todd Jones to get his confidence back, but should it come at the expense of the other 24 guys?

2006 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap – June 8th

I’ve been remiss in my minor league updates this week. Fortunately work is slowing down and I can get back into a regular rhythym. Thanks to Tim who provided some updates in the comments of other posts. I really appreciate it when you guys have my back.

Toledo 2, Buffalo 1
Humberto Sanchez who has been starring at the AA level made his AAA debut last night. He allowed 6 hits and 2 walks for one run in 5 2/3 innings. He fanned 5 in a very, very solid effort. Nook Logan, who returned from the DL this week, doubled and scored a run. Stuggling catcher Brian Peterson doubled twice and Ryan Ludwick homered.

New Hampshire 5, Erie 1
Mike Rabelo had two doubles and Kody Kirklkand added one. Nate Bumstead was knoecked around for 5 runs on 8 hits in 5 1/3 innings. He fanned 5.

New Hapmshire 1, Erie 0
The catchers provided all the offense for Erie in this double header. Danilo Sanchez had 3 of the Tigers five hits in this game. Lance Davis pitched very well. He threw 6 innings of 2 hit ball, walking none and stirking out 4. Davis is touring the farm system having pitched at Toledo and Lakeland already. I would have preferred to see Jair Jurrjens get the promotion from Lakeland.

Lakeland 3, Fort Meyers 2
There wasn’t much offense to speak of. Clete Thomas walked and singled and Chris Robinson singled in a run. Kevin Ardoin went six innings allowing 2 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. Kevin Whelan pitched an uneventful 9th for his 12th save.

West Michigan 10, Fort Wayne 3
Michael Hernandez continues to rake as he hit for the cycle. Dusty Ryan added 3 hits and Michael Hollimon doubled twice. The game also featured a brawl. Ramon Garcia went 5 innings and allowed one run on 6 six hits while fanning 4.