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.
I am Anti-Shelton, but for the love of god, Timo Perez? Give me Shelton’s streaky-ness over Timo’s nothingness.
I like Shelton in general (at least relative to others), but in this case it makes a little more sense to go with Perez even though he stinks. As you said, Raburn/Thames/Maybin should be playing ahead of Timo anyway. Given that, if you want a bench player and situational sub, the left-hander who can play something in the field besides 1B gives you a lot more options. Especially since Guillen, Thames, and Casey can all handle 1B.
Timo Perez? I can’t believe it. He has a terrible arm.
we have all heard about injury inviting opportunity for someone else…on top of that casey has not been anywhere near lights out this year although he did hit well for a spell…shelton just didn’t get it done at triple a…no one to blame but himself really.
aside from that…another blow to post season chances although our sched is favorable to the indians. fingers crossed here.
In other news, Hannahan is hitting .268/.375/.512 with Oakland in 41 ABs.
What are the odds he is hitting better than Inge at the end of the year?
If anyone wants to donate me some money I’ll offer you even odds.
I suppose there is such a thing as rewarding the player who has had the better year. Clearly this is Perez over Shelton. The only area where Shelton has it over Perez is in BB. But he still strikes out once a game (133 times in 528 PA as compared to 47 in 524 for Perez). Here is the Mud Hens stat page if yu care to make the comparison:
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/external/brandedstats/t512.html?cid=512&t=t_ibp
Aside from that, as Mat said, Perez bats LH and doesn’t play 1B. If you want a RH batting 1B, Thames is your man, not Shelton.
I don’t know if this means they have given up on Shelton, but clearly he didn’t improve over last season.
I don’t care what Timo Perez has done in Triple-A this year. He’s a Quad-A player AT BEST. if you don’t want to bring up Shelton, that’s fine, but Timo Perez helps the club in no way whatsoever.
Mike, who would you prefer from Toledo?
I’ve always liked Shelton and have been an advocate of both him and Thames for the past two years. I think he’s had to battle his frustration this year, as much as anything, and its cost him his concentration, particularly early this year.
He hit .400 in ST, only to watch Neifi make the team. He watched Casey hit under the Mendoza line for 6 weeks and still received no second shot.
It’s not an excuse, but I think it has been his reality after seeing his “dream” crushed last year after losing his stroke and confidence. Still, he was respectable overall, hitting .273 on the year.
He’s been a good egg and better-than-expected defensively, so I hope they don’t totally give up on him and give him a real shot to compete going forward.
Shelton hasn’t torn it up at Toledo this year, but I’m 100 percent sure he would have more than 3 home runs and 40-something RBI if he were the Tigers’ regular first baseman. The Tigers must get more production from the corners next season.
No more Perez’s on the team, would be a good rule.
I’ll take Rafael Perez from Cleveland.
“The Tigers must get more production from the corners next season.”
perduction
is that all you guys think about
there is more to the game than just hitting the ball
this from the Det New site:
this is ultimate challenge for the best manager: to maintain enthusiasm when yer hurt
doing it is the true mark of a survivor and a winner
and ya can do it
Leyland can move folks around, here and there but most especially ya gotta maintain that enthuisiasm that Grandy and Pudge are so good at, especially Grandy. Casey too.
Santiago has looked great at SS. Guillen can be 1b or DH. There’s a lot of stuff that can work. I still like Thames in left.
but all of this is Jim’s job. My job is to watch the game and make a few commets here and there
Bill – one must assume that you’re being sarcastic.
“there is more to the game than just hitting the ball”…well, there’s throwing the ball, catching the ball, bouncing the ball, rolling the ball, etc.
But in 138 years of professional baseball, a few trends have emerged:
* pitching is the most important factor in building a team; hitting is not important for a pitcher, particularly in the AL.
* defense is normally a priority and most important “up the middle”: SS, 2B, CF, C, although a player must be capable of both within certain boundaries
* offense is a priority in the corners; although a player must be capable of both within certain boundaries
Just because you love Brandon Inge doesn’t mean that the Tigers can sacrifice offensive production forever from 1B and 3B. By your rationale, we’d have a team composed of Neifi Perez’ at all positions. A MLB player can – and must – do both to some degree.
Stated another way: just imagine where this team would be without the season-long offense of Maggs, Polanco (who remains errorless, by the way and playing a more demanding defensive position) & Guillen (despite his suspect defense).
Yes, “defense wins championships” in most sports, but in baseball, “pitching wins championships” and you have to score to win anything.
The minor leagues are filled with “good field/no hit” players, but there’s plenty of good hitters who find a spot somewhere on an MLB roster.
Thanks for having my back, Rings. Heck, I like Brandon Inge, too. I wish he would hit more. But you can have only so many blackholes in a lineup before it kills you. That’s why the loss of Sheffield is so bad, because we do have other holes.
The Tigers have major decisions to make in the off-season:
1. Move Guillen to 1B and go after a shortstop?
2. Keep Guillen at SS and go after a 1B?
3. Renew Pudge’s option?
4. Who gets the majority of ABs in LF …. is Maybin really ready?
5. What to do about 3B?
My own preference would be to shift Carlos to 1B and get a new 3B. I’d be fine with Santiago at SS if we could get a stud for 3B. Santiago is leaps and bounds better than Guillen defensively. Personally, I’d rather invest the $$$ in 3B (can you say A-Rod?) than getting an over-priced slug like Jack Wilson.
How about this lineup:
Granderson LF
Polanco 2B
A-Rod 3B
Maggs RF
Sheffield DH
Guillen 1B
Pudge C
Maybin CF
Santiago SS