Yearly Archives: 2006

2006 Season, Players

Tiger Link-up – it’s big and red

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The only nice thing about the games being on the West coast, is that it gives me time to gather up all the interesting stuff I’ve seen while I wait for the first pitch.

2006 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap – April 17th

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Toledo 8, Durham 1
Tike Redman continued to hit as he picked up two doubles, as did Ryan Ludwick. Josh Phelphs chipped in 3 hits as well. All told, the offense accounted for 15 hits which is pretty impressive considering the game was called after 5 innings due to rain. Zach Miner went the distance allowing only two hits and unearned run (2 BB, 2K)

Erie 2, Harrisburg 1
Brent Clevlen had a solid day at the plate. He doubled and added two walks and a stolen base. It was only his third extra base hit of the season. Humberto Sanchez went six innings allowing 4 hits and two walks against 8 strikeouts. Sanchez’s ERA now stands at 1.69. He has 20 K’s and 5 walks in 16 innings.

Lakeland 7, Dunedin 3
Clete Thomas and Jeff Frazier both had 3 hits including Frazier’s first home run of the season. Wilkin Ramirez added two hits as well. Dallas Trahern picked up the win allowing 3 runs, one of which was earned, on 3 hits (1BB, 5K) in six innings.

West Michigan 5, Cedar Rapids 3
Will Rhymes and Ryan Roberson each had 3 hits. Michael Hollimon continues to hit as he added a double and a single in 5 at-bats. The only bad news for Hollimon is that the other 3 plate appearances resulted in strikeouts. Cameron Maybin added a triple in 4 at-bats. Burke Badenhop went six innings and allowed 3 runs for the win. Badenhop struck out 6 and walked none. Orlando Perdomo struck out two of the 3 hitters he faced for his 5th save.

2006 Season, Managing & Strategy

When managers attack: Jim Leyland rants

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After the Tigers laid an egg in a 10-2 defeat to the Indians, Jim Leyland ripped into his team in a clubhouse tirade that was loud enough to be heard by the media waiting outside. In his postgame press conference he had this to say:

Leyland: We Stunk. Next question.
Reporter: What bothered you the most?
Leyland: It was lackluster, the whole ball of wax was lackluster. We had a chance to take the series, take 3 out of 4, and we came out like we brought our luggage to the park like we had to play a game before we went on the road. That’s not good enough.
Reporter: It seems like this was your worst loss…
Leyland: Yeah we stunk period. We stunk and that’s not good enough. This stuff has been going on here before and it’s not going to happen here. We had a chance to take a series. I’m not talking about anyone in particular. I’m talking about the team, myself, the coaches, and everybody else included. It’s my responsiblity to have the team ready to play today, and they weren’t ready to play. They were ready to get on the plane and go to Oakland. If they won it was okay and if they lost it was okay. That’s not good enough

(Here’s the audio)

Whether or not this has any impact on the players will be the real test. Sure it was fun for fans to hear that Skip wasn’t going to tolerate any of this stuff. At the same time, what more leverage does Leyland have than yelling? I trust that he’s been around long enough to know better than to offer ultimatums that he can’t enforce. There are very few cut-able or demote-able players on the roster and the veterans aren’t going anywhere. He can bench players, but at the same time there is a mixed message that each game is important, and yet by benching his better players he’s not giving his team the best chance to win.
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Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap – April 16th

IT’s a light day with only Toledo and Erie in action…

Toledo 7, Durham 4
While not as dominating as his previous performances, Wil Ledezma was effective in allowing only 2 earned runs in 6 innings. He struck out 4, walked 1, and allowed 9 hits. Mark Woodyard struck out two in relief, but also allowed a copule hits and a run. Jack Hannahan was 3 for 4 and Kevin Hooper and Ryan Ludwick each had two hits.

Bowie 5, Erie 2
Brent clevlen had two hits and Kurt Airoso was 3 for 4 for Erie. Garth McKinney had a game he’d like to forget with 4 strikeouts and a throwing error (McKinney is a hitter, not a pitcher). Nate Bumstead was rocked and had poor control. He allowed 11 hits and 5 walks. Amazingly he only allowed 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings thanks in part to Erie’s defense. They turned 5 double plays.

2006 Season, Injuries

What Log Jam?

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It doesn’t seem so long ago that the Tigers were trying to figure out what to do with the 3 headed-monster that was Carlos Pena, Dmitri Young, and Chris Shelton. Well the situation seems to have resolved itself because Shelton is now the lone first basemen and the active roster.

Dmitri Young has shockingly found himself on the disabled list with a strained quadricep. With that, the Tigers have been reduced down to two left handed bats of measurable worth.

With Dmitri on the DL, the bulk of the playing time should fall to Marcus Thames, and Alexis Gomez will fill the void on the roster. I’m okay with this, and am anxious to see what Thames can do with regular at-bats.

The problem arises when somebody needs a day off, then who do you turn to? Craig Monroe has been struggling the last few games, so it made sense to sit him today. The result is that for the second time in a week, Omar Infante is the starting DH. And then if there are a couple guys banged up, as was the case yesterday, the potent offense becomes potentially anemic.

The Tigers now find themselves in a situation where they have very limited pinch-hitting options, they only have one legitimate first basemen, and there utility infielder will be thrust into the role of DH when an injury plagued veteran needs a day off. I was worried about the Tigers bench before the season started, and it hasn’t taken long for it to come into play. That’s why even though I’m satisified with 7-5 at this point, I would have liked to see another win or two given the relative health the team enjoyed over the first dozen games.

Minors

Tiger Minor League Wrap – April 15th

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Toledo 3, Durham 2
Tike Redman continues to rake in Nook Logan’s stead. He picked up two more hits to raise his average to .421. Ryan Ludwick picked up two hits and Mike Hessman homered. Lance Davis started, and allowed 2 runs in six innings. Interestingly enough, the defense was busy as he didn’t walk or strikeout anyone.

Bowie 5, Erie 1 (through 7 innings)
Sorry, but I’m not going to wait for this game to become final tonight.Throught 7 innings Brent Clevlen has a double, and Tony Giarratano, Juan Francia, Kody Kirkland, and Chris Maples have singles. Jeremy Johnson was lit up for 3 runs on 4 hits and 5 walks in only 3 1/3 innings.

Sarasota 4, Lakeland 3
Josh Rainwater threw 6 innings and only allowed a single unearned run on 4 hits. Nick McIntrye had 3 hits.

West Michigan 3, Southwest Michigan 1
Matt Joyce hit his first home run. Cameron Maybin had his first hitless game. Michael Hollimon was held hitless as well, but walked twice, sacrificed, and stole a base. Virgil Vaszuez pitched 6 shut out innings for the win (1 BB, 4 H, 3 K’s). Orlando Perdomo picked up his 4th save by striking out two in a scoreless inning.

2006 Season, Minors

Tiger Minor League Wrap – April 14th

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Durham 5, Toledo 4
The Mud Hens are starting to find their hitting stroke. Don Kelly picked up two hits again tonight, including a double. Tike Redman and Josh Phelps also had multi-hit games while Brian Peterson knocked his first homer of the year. Kelly or Phelps could get a call if Dmitri Young will need to be DL’d. Colby Lewis had an effective start. He escaped with only one run despite allowing 6 hits and 3 walks in six innings of work. The real story came at the end of the game when Lee Gardner loaded the bases and Mark Woodyard surrendered a walk off grand slam to BJ Upton.

Bowie 6, Erie 4
Kody Kirkland hit his 3rd and 4th home runs of the season. Preston Larrison was hit early and often allowing 5 runs in 5 innings. Eulogio De La Cruz had his second consecutive strong outing going 2 1/3 and only allowing one base runner while striking out two.

Lakeland 6, Sarasota 2
It was an excellent start for Jair Jurrjens who allowed 1 run in six innings. He struck out 6 and walked nobody. In 10 innings he’s fanned 11 and walked one. Chris Robinson and Brent Dlugach each had two hits. Wilkin Ramirez had a tough night to say the least. He was 0 for 5 with 4 K’s. Nick McIntyre added 3 hits. After PJ Finigan had a hard time closing the game out, Kevin Whelan came in to get the last two outs which of course he did, via the strike out. He’s retired all 11 hitters he’s faced, fanning 8.

West Michigan 8, Southwest Michigan 5
Michael Hollimon was two for five with a home run and a triple. Despite a .500 OBP coming into the game, those were his first extra base hits. Justin Justice was 4 for 4 with two doubles. Cameron Maybin chipped in a single, and has hit safely in each game. He also threw out a runner at the plate.

2006 Season, Injuries

Dmitri Young hurting

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Dmitri Young left tonight’s game with a strained right quadricep. It’s the same injury that slowed him in spring training. It sounds like this could be an ongoing struggle all season. The Tigers could use another left handed bat to fill the DH role. I hear Carlos Pena is still available…for now.

UPDATE: According to the post game show, this sounds like it will be more than a day to day injury. At the same time there is no news about DL time.

If he does hit the DL possible replacements are Josh Phelps, Alexis Gomez, and Don Kelly are possibilities.

2006 Season, Minors

Tigers minor league wrap – April 13th

Scranton 7, Toledo 5
Chad Durbin started for Toledo and allowed 4 runs in 5 innings. Mark Woodyard blew the save allowing 3 runs while only retiring one batter. Jack Hannahan and Alexis Gomez homered for the Mud Hens. Don Kelly and David Espinsoa both had 3hit games to raise their averages to .276 and .333 respectively.

Bowie 9, Erie 3Kody Kirkland homered for the Seawolves. Virgil Vasquez allowed 7 runs, of which only 4 were earned. Brent Clevlen and Kody Kirkland committed errors. Eulogio De La Cruz, who has struggled thus far, pitched a scoreless inning, as did Chris Homer.

Sarasota 7, Lakeland 3 ()
Kevin Ardoin allowed 7 runs, 4 of which were earned. He was battered around for 12 hits in 5 innings of work. Jeff Frazier was 3 for 4 to raise his average to .353. Jeff Larish hit his second homer of the season and added a single. Larish also committed two errors on the same play.

Southwest Michigan 2, West Michigan 1
Ramon Garcia was strong in six innings, allowing only two runs. In his two outings Garcia has struck out 13 and walked none in 11 innings. Cameron Maybin had the night off, and the rest of the offense only managed 4 singles.

2006 Season

Tigers swept under by Sox

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Swept. At home. Tied for 2nd place. Ugh.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I took a late lunch and went down to catch a couple innings of the game with friends and coworkers Missy and Jim (they were hoping for a blog mention). A gorgeous day, $5 seats, and Justin Verlander on the mound just sounded too appetizing to miss. Unfortunately the White Sox did the feasting. We were only able stay for 3 innings, but that was long enough to see Verlander’s day end.
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