Monthly Archives: August 2007

2007 Season, Fan Experience, Site News

Blogger night at the ballpark

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On September 11th Comerica Park will be overrun by bloggers. Okay, so maybe the park won’t be overrun, but one or two rows in the the pavilion will be chuck full of us. Myself, Ian from Bless You Boys, Eric from D-Town Baseball, Samara from Roar of the Tigers, Greg Eno from several places, Matt Wallace from Take 75 North, and Brian from Tigerblog will be crashing the back end of the doubleheader and there’s room for you.

Due to lukewarm demand when I raised the question around the all star break, I’ve only held a small block of tickets and those will be first come first serve. If we have lots more DTW readers interested in coming, let me know and we can try and increase our ticket numbers.

The cost is $15 and that gets you a pavilion ticket. The actual cost of the ticket is $13 due to a group discount, but with a stamp, an envelope, and paypal fees it comes in somewhere between $14 and 15 and I just rounded up. The extra spare change will be my handling charge and maybe we can scrape together enough to send Rod Allen some pink cotton candy.

If you’re interested, use the contact form or email me. I’ll respond with payment instructions. I’ll have the tickets in hand on Tuesday or Wednesday and will promptly mail them out when I get a)the tickets and b)your payment.

Hope you can make it, and hope I don’t get stuck holding any unused tickets.

2007 Season, Game Post

Game 135: Tigers at Athletics

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PREGAME: It’s just not an A’s series without facing Joe Blanton. Fortunately the Tigers find him to be kind of hittable, at least so far this year. They rocked him for 9 runs in just 4 innings in his last start (the infamous come back from way down only to get blown out again when Macay McBride was left on the mound to languish).

The Tigers send out Virgil Vasquez who will make his 3rd start. One was really bad, another was pretty good. But he still doesn’t have a win so here’s hoping the Tigers can get him a game ball.

Game Time 10:05

2007 Season, Pitching

Andrew Miller Shut Down

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Virgil Vasquez will start on Friday night meaning that a spot on the 25 man roster needed to be created. That spot was formerly held by Andrew Miller. And this doesn’t sound like roster maneuvering. Danny Knobler reports that Miller will start working with Chuck Hernandez to prepare for 2008.

Miller was certainly rushed to the big leagues and handing him a spot in the rotation – and expecting him to hold it the rest of the season – was foolish. I had no problem with him making some spot starts or taking a couple turns in the rotation while guys were injured. But putting a young man in the rotation who didn’t even have a full season pro season to

  1. 1. Build stamina
  2. 2. Refine a 3rd pitch

was a poor decision.

His inability to consistently throw strikes manifested itself in 100 pitch 5 inning outings that screamed he just wasn’t ready. The stuff is there, and it was on display as he’d strike out the side in an inning. But the consistency wasn’t, as in those same innings he’d issue a couple walks between said strikeouts.

Now instead of having a pitcher they can count on in 2008 – like with Verlander going into 2006 – they are going to have to hope for a nice spring and that he can progress at the major league level.

I’m glad they are calling it a season for him. I just wish they hadn’t rushed matters in the first place. This was a Jim Leyland decision and I’m disappointed that Dave Dombrowski let him sign off on it. It’s Leyland’s job to give the team the best chance to win each day. It’s Dombrowski’s job to position the team to win each year. And I worry that this has short circuited his development.

Tigers tell Miller to get ready for 2008 – MLive.com: Detroit Tigers

2007 Season, Roster Management, Trades

When PTBNL becomes P and other roster moves

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With the minor league seasons wrapping up, there’s no time like the present to name those players the Tigers acquired when dealing Mike Maroth and Craig Monroe.

In the Maroth trade the Tigers get back reliever Chris Lambert, who certainly doesn’t have impressive numbers. Lee breaks it down, but the best part about Lambert may be that he’s only 24 and still has time on his side to develop into something useful. So if you’re keeping track, the Tigers acquired Mike Maroth for Bryce Florie and in turn sent Maroth to the Cardinals for roster fodder. In the meantime they got nearly 900 innings at somewhere between replacement level and average production for cheap.

In exchange for Craig Monroe the Tigers pick up Clay Rapada. Rapada is 26 and has struck out better than 8 batters per 9 innings throughout his minor league career. However the lefty has walked 4 per 9 as well. He was placed on the 40 man roster and to make room Aquilino Lopez was outrighted.

Also, Yorman Bazardo, Jose Cappellan, Mike Hessman, and Omar Infante will be part of the roster expansion. And yet Chris Shelton remains marooned in northern Ohio. Bazardo could be in line for a spot start depending on how things shake out in the rotation.

Speaking of which, Virgil Vasquez has been tabbed to start on Friday over Chad Durbin. Not a bad move in my estimation, but it became more of a necessity when Robertson and Miller burned through both Jason Grilli and Zach Miner making Durbin the lone long man in the pen on Friday.

2007 Season, Game Post

Game 135: Tigers at Royals

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PREGAME: Things that annoy:

Starting off a game post after winning a series with they Yankees by saying “the Tigers look to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Royals…”

I can talk pitching match-ups until I’m blue in the face, but only one pitcher matters in this one and it is Jeremy Bonderman who has to perform. I don’t even care if he gives up a run in the first inning. I just want to see a strong effort that spares a bullpen that was burnt out in the first 2 games of this series. I want him to go shut down a team and get the Tigers a win. It’s that simple.

POSTGAME: Yeah, totally sorry about the game thread today folks. I knew I was going to be away from a computer the bulk of the day, so I used one of the neat features with the blog software that allows me to schedule a post ahead of time. So I wrote the game thread last night, and set it to go live like it were a night game. But it wasn’t. Plus it was actually game 134 not 135. See, the season is wearing on me too. Sloppy play on my part.

As for the game itself, Bonderman was good. Yes it was the Royals, but look how much trouble Robertson and Miller had the last 2 nights, and how much trouble Bonderman has had regardless of the opponent. He made it through 7 innings on only 87 pitches and 63 were for strikes. A pretty incredible ratio no matter who you’re pitching against.

And Grandy and Ordonez powered the offense, with…wait for it…help from Timo Perez. Some may call it Jim Leyland pushing the right buttons by batting a guy who couldn’t crack the big league roster until late August at DH in the 3 hole pushing the right buttons. Or maybe it was dumb luck. Or maybe Leyland knows something that we don’t. (I’ll go with door number 2)

The offense has hardly been dormant in this series as they’ve piled up hits in each of the 3 games. Today they finally cashed in some of those baserunners into runs. And once again a solo homer sparked a crooked number inning. We’ve seen it several times in the last few weeks and it was Granderson who got it started this time.

On to the West Coast. Again.

2007 Season, Game Post

Game 133: Tigers at Royals

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PREGAME: Andrew Miller will be pitching on short rest, slightly, he of course of the 4 hour rain delay start. Here’s hoping he pounds the strike zone and doesn’t walk any lefties, like he had a propensity for doing against the Yankees. It was his first start back so I’ll cut him some slack, but he ran into the same pitch efficiency issues he did prior to the injury.

For the Royals it will be Zach Grienke who is back starting after a sabbatical in the bullpen where there was talk of him being a back end guy for the Royals. He made his first start since the beginning of May last week against the Indians and allowed just one hit and one walk in 3 innings before being lifted after 48 pitches. We’ll see how long he goes tonight.

Game Time 8:05

POSTGAME: Ummm. Andrew Miller. Really, really, really not good. Four free passes and he didn’t even make it out of the first inning. And one of the outs was a pickoff. Nice night for Zach Miner though who came in and picked up 12 outs giving his team a chance to get back in it…but they didn’t.

Eight left on base tonight is a sign that the offense isn’t a total wasteland (it means they are getting baserunners), just very disappointing. The star tonight would of course have to be Timo Perez who had 2 doubles, a walk, and would have had a couple RBI if not for Sean Casey being the runner on first when he hit both doubles. (talk about your irony, hours after I bash the reasoning of “he can score from first on an extrabase hit”). Of course that presented Brandon Inge with 2 2nd and 3rd situations where he fanned both times. One of them being the patented check swing. So much for new approaches and breaking out of a slump.

Now the Tigers are looking to avoid a sweep by the Royals. And the 2 long men in the pen won’t be available after long outings each of the last 2 days. Bad, bad scene.

2007 Season, Managing & Strategy

Broken Logic

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Jim Leyland answered questions about one of the most inexplicable managing decisions he’s made this year, batting Timo Perez 3rd. I’m not going to continue to harp on this past this post, but even the thought process for batting Perez third is broken. Here is what Leyland told the Free Press

Leyland gave several reasons for hitting Perez third: It gave him another left-handed bat against Bannister, who has done better against right-handed batters than against lefties. Perez also could bunt and he could score from first on an extra-base hit.

Now I think the Freep mis-stated about Bannister’s splits, but getting the extra lefty bat in the lineup is the only part that made any sense. First, the idea that that your number 3 hitter would be bunting is dumb. Especially when your number 4 hitter is having an MVP season. So you use your number 3 hitter to bunt, opening up a base, and inviting an intentional walk. There is a reason that number 3 hitters don’t bunt.

Second, presuming that Perez could score from first on an extra base hit also presumes that he’d get to first base. He For someone who hasn’t broken the 300OBP barrier since 2003 (when he hit 301) that is foolish.

And if you want to look at all the players on the Tigers roster who could a)bunt and b)score from first on a single and c)bat left handed I see Curtis Granderson, Carlos Guillen, and Ramon Santiago.

Perez was a black hole amongst standout offensive performers last night and the sad thing is he performed exactly as expected.

KANSAS CITY 6, DETROIT 3: Tigers get 16 hits, but only 3 runs; Ordonez: ‘We can’t get any further behind’

2007 Season, Game Post

Game 132: Tigers at Royals

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PREGAME: The Tigers, after taking 3 of 4 from the Yankees, head to Kauffman Stadium to take on the 4th place Royals. The Tigers looking to build on the momentum of their first series sweep in eons will send out a line up that features both Timo Perez and Ramon Santiago. See, this is the danger in having Perez on the roster is that Leyland will use him, and bat him 3rd!.

Luckily the Tigers are going up against Brian Bannister so it’s not like it will be tough. Bannister hasn’t allowed more than 3 runs in a game since July 16th, whlie pitching 7 or more innings in 5 of his last 6 starts. Left handed batters have a pretty distinct advantage against Bannister with a 769 OPS against compared to .580 for righties. Of course that probably includes a bunch of guys who normally have OPS’s of 769 or better regardless of the pitcher, which the Tigers don’t seem to possess short of Grandy and Guillen.

For the Tigers it will be Nate Robertson who has pitched better of late including a bad luck loss against the Yankees (crazy hops, crazy routes to fly balls) and a no luck no-decision against the Indians when he allowed 4 baserunners in 8 2/3 innings.

Game Time 8:05

DET @ KCR, Tuesday, August 28, 2007 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

POSTGAME: I caught the first 2 innings, and got back just in time to see the 8th and 9th. So working mostly off the boxscore I see:

  • Sixteen hits for the good guys. That’s good. Offense is still producing.
  • Only 3 runs. I’ll have to take a look at the play by play but oh yeah there it is…
  • #9 Ramon Santiago – 3 for 4, #1 Curtis Granderson/Ryan Raburn 2 for 4 plus a walk, #2 Polanco – 3 for 5, #3 Timo Perez 1 for 5, #4 Ordonez 4 for 5. One of these things is not like the others.
  • But with 13 runners left on base it can’t all be Timo Perez’s fault, but he certainly gets a chunk.
  • Nate Robertson, not so much in touch with his inner strike zone with 4 walks in 4 1/3 innings and 92 pitches, only 53 for strikes.
  • Jason Grilli was good, again, and kept the team in the game with 3 2/3 perfect innings. He also save the rest of the pen on a night when the starter didn’t help the cause.

A disappointing result for sure and thanks for the active comment thread.

2007 Season, Game Post

Game 131: Yankees at Tigers

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PREGAME: As big as any of the Tigers recent games have been, this one is right on par if only from a fan confidence perspective. Lot’s going into this game:

  • a win means the first series win since the Metrodome sweep
  • a win means splitting the season series with the Yankees despite all 8 games coming when the team is slumping and injury riddled
  • a win probably means a decent outing by Justin Verlander. One of Bonderlander really needs to follow a big win with a strong outing and create some semblance of a winning streak

Mike Mussina has a little bit riding on this game because Moose’s rotation spot is at stake. The Tigers rocked him good in the Bronx last week. I’d be ok if he loses his job if it means a win for the Tigers.

Game Time 7:05pm

POSTGAME: Well that was fun. The Tigers won a series, and each of the 3 wins had that something extra in them. The first one actually had extra innings, and extra rain. The second had the bullpen hanging on to a 1 run lead, and the third had extra bases galore, even from Sean Casey.

It really says something though when the story of the night when you hang 16 runs on a team is the performance of your starter. Justin Verlander looked awesome. There was more velocity, more bit on his curve ball, and he was in or near the strike zone most of the night. If you’re looking for signs that the Tigers are breaking out of this, getting Verlander back on track is a big part of it.

The offense of course was awesome and fortunate, but you need some of both when you’re going to get 20 hits. Not all of them are going to be pretty, but there were plenty of legit ones as well. Including 3 doubles from Brandon Inge who for the last week or so has looked to have made some adjustments.

Tigers 16, Yankees 0 – certainly looks nice doesn’t it?

2007 Season, Injuries, Roster Management

Sheffield DL’d – Chis Shelton still a Hen

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Gary Sheffield hits the DL retroactive to August 22nd due to his shoulder issues. The Tigers decided they couldn’t make it until Saturday without Timo Perez and have recalled him from Triple A Toledo.

The problem with Perez is that he may actually take playing time from one of the three of Marcus Thames/Ryan Raburn/Cameron Maybin. All 3 figure to be in the Tigers plans next year, and all have something they can contribute.

And if you needed any further evidence, the move highlights just how little the Tigers think of Chris Shelton. He could certianly be a backup DH/first baseman. But apparently the club didn’t see fit to recall him. I’m actually pro-Shelton (in the sense that I still think he could be useful, not that he’s the second coming or anything) so I am a bit biased but this seemed like as good of time as any to give him a shot instead of a retread like Timo Perez who’s last (and only) productive year was in 2002.

2007 Season, Injuries

Jurrjens to DL

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Jair Jurrjens was placed on the DL with shoulder funniness. No tear I guess, and Jurrjens was shut down last year with some neck stiffness – but that was sustained in a car accident if I recall. It doesn’t sound serious, but the cautious route is certainly in order. Tearing a labrum would be devastating, and even a compensation injury from altered mechanics should be avoided.

Zach Miner is back with the team and in the pen. It would be normal rest for Virgil Vasquez to pitch in Jurrjens next turn on August 31st, but another roster move would need to be made. (Miner could be optioned out for a day I suppose). Or it could be Chad Durbin getting another turn.

Beck’s Blog: Shoulder inflammation for Jurrjens