Yearly Archives: 2007

Managing & Strategy, Players

Jim Leyland on Neifi Perez

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Eric picked this up early on, and I saw the comments posted on MotownSports as well. Jim Leyland was interviewed today on the Stoney and Wojo show on WDFN. Mike Stone asked Jim Leyland, “what does Jim Leyland see in Neifi Perez that we as fans and media members don’t?” The response wasn’t the typical fluff you’d expect. Here is the transcribed version of what Leyland said.

Well that’s a good question because he played terrible. And what had happened was we got reports from our scouts, and I had known him from the past. We were kind of in a panic situation. We had lost Polly and we needed someone who could come in and play second, and play shortstop as well because Carlos needed some time off. And up to this point it looks like we made a mistake.

So Neifi’s going to have to prove us wrong this spring because has not been a good acquisition up to this point.

But that was my fault, and the scouts. And I like said we had to have somebody. And I hope Neifi’ll prove us wrong. I think he’ll be much better than what he showed last year because he showed absolutely nothing when he came over.

Now this reads like he was slamming Neifi something fierce. He was very gruff and matter-of-fact, but it’s a little softer when you actually listen to the interview (available on WDFN podcast page). And in typical Leyland fashion he was more than willing to take responsibility.

That said I thought this was a little bit much to call out a player like that in the media in January. I love that Leyland didn’t pull punches and was honest, but what did they really expect from Perez in the first place? Perez pretty much performed up to reasonable expectations given his history.

I’ve definitely done my share of Neifi-bashing in the past, but I tried to direct my frustrations less at Neifi and more at Jim Leyland’s insistence on playing him. Perez didn’t ask to come to Detroit, and it’s really not his fault that teams keep giving him playing time. I actually feel a little sympathetic towards Perez right now. Weird.

But the good news for Tiger fans is that it looks like the Tigers definitely aren’t committed to keeping Perez on the roster and that Infante will have a pretty good shot at making the team.

2007 Season, Uncategorized

Tigers Caravan Roundup

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News from the road: (by the way, if you happen to make it out to a caravan stop and would like to comment on the experience, let me know)

2006 Season, Statistics

Pitches per Plate Appearance

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After examining the depth of plate appearances for the Tigers and MLB as a whole, I wanted to take a look by individual Tiger at what happens as a plate appearance grows longer. Of course this would prove to be a massive post because each player would need their own table and or chart.

Instead, I decided to invest the time in dumping the data into a usable format in Excel so others can look up their favorite players, or teams.

There are 2 files, one for teams and one for players. There’s a simple front end where you can select teams or players via a drop down and the calculations and graphs will be generated for you. The data is also accessible if you want to play around. One word of caution though, the calculations in the player file aren’t exactly speedy.

Now because this is a Tiger blog, I did break out a file with just Tiger players.

If anyone comes across something or someone interesting, please let me know.

File: padepth.zip (570k) contains all teams and all players
File: padepth_player_det.zip (30k) contains just Detroit Tigers

2006 Season, Playoffs

FSN Replaying Playoff Wins

Fox Sports Net Detroit is certainly going to warm Tiger fans up as we wait for pitchers and catchers to report to spring training. The station will be airing the Tigers 7 consecutive playoff wins in the ALDS and ALCS. The games will be shown in their entirety along with some of the postgame reactions and press conferences. For someone like myself who watches the Ordonez homer about once a week, this will be a treat.

The schedule is below so get your DVRs ready.

Mon. Jan. 29, 7:00 PM – ALDS Game 2 at New York (Tigers 4, Yankees 3 – played 10/5/06)

Mon. Feb. 5, 7:00 PM – ALDS Game 3 at Detroit (Tigers 6, Yankees 0 – played 10/6/06)

Mon. Feb. 19, 7:00 PM – ALDS Game 4 at Detroit (Tigers 8, Yankees 3 – played 10/7/06)

Mon. Feb. 26, 7:00 PM – ALCS Game 1 at Oakland (Tigers 5, Athletics 1 – played 10/10/06)

Mon. March 12, 7:00 PM – ALCS Game 2 at Oakland (Tigers 8, Athletics 5 – played 10/11/06)

Mon. March 19, 7:00 PM – ALCS Game 3 at Detroit (Tigers 3, Athletics 0 – played 10/13/06)

Wed. March 21, 7:00 PM – ALCS Game 4 at Detroit (Tigers 6, Athletics 3 – played 10/14/06)

Contracts

Tigers Ink Robertson, Rodney, Infante, and Monroe

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The Tigers avoided arbitration by signing one year deals with Nate Robertson, Fernando Rodney, Omar Infante, and Craig Monroe today.

Details and commentary coming later…

UPDATE: Jon Paul Morosi reports the values of the contracts as:
Craig Monroe: $4,775,000
Nate Robertson: $3,260,000
Omar Infante: $1,300,000
Fernando Rodney: $1,050,000

I’ve updated the payroll info to reflect the changes. As it stands now, the Tigers payroll is just a hair under $95 million. That includes 20 members of the projected 25 man roster as well as Andrew Miller. With 5 additional players to be signed to the remaining roster spots, the Tigers are looking at a payroll of $97-98 million.
Continue reading Tigers Ink Robertson, Rodney, Infante, and Monroe →

2006 Season, Offense, Research, Statistics

Examining Depth of Plate Appearances

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Certainly there is more to plate discipline than first pitch swinging. We’ve seen that the Tigers aggressiveness in that regard actually pays dividends. We also know that the Tigers strike out more than any other team in the American League and walk less than only the Cubs and Mariners. One hazard of first pitch swinging is that it short circuits long at-bats, but is there a benefit to working deep into the count?
Continue reading Examining Depth of Plate Appearances →

Fan Experience

It was so green

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It was so green. Those are the first words that I use to describe my first memory of Tiger Stadium. The bright contrast of the green grass and blue seats as I emerged from a dark tunnel is the first and most enduring sensory experience I remember at a major league game. Listening to others describe their first experiences, many stick to the same theme. This isn’t just true of Tiger Stadium, but other parks as well. But if you were to attend your first game now, I have a hard time believing the reaction would be the same. New stadium construction and better TV have probably dimmed some of the vividness.

Back in 1982 when I attended my first game, all I’d known was the game on a TV screen. Watch ESPN Classic for any sporting event from the 80’s, and once you stop laughing at the clothes and the graphics, look at how washed out the colors were. The transmission was poor and the TV sets weren’t much better. Now with games being broadcast in HD, it is crystal clear and just as bright as being there in person.

I think the other thing that will impact this is the trends in all the newer stadia. ‘Back in the olden days’ many stadiums were closed in and concourses were tucked back underneath the seats. You didn’t see the field at all until you came up through the tunnels. And when you did get your first glimpse the grass was contrasted by the backdrop of the stadium itself. Now fans get to enjoy open-view concourses and outfields that open up to reveal rivers, bays, and cityscapes.

Now none of these innovations are bad things. I love the crisp clear picture on TV. With 2 little kids, being able to see the game while venturing out for more concessions is wonderful. I just wonder when today’s kids reminisce about their first game, what enduring memory will they have?

2007 Season, Statistics

Tigers Non Roster Invitee List

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The Tigers are extending invites to the Major League camp for 16 players. They are:

Pitchers

Craig Dingman (R)
Jair Jurrjens (R)
Dennis Tankersley (R)
Tim Byrdak (L)
Felix Heredia(L)
Bobby Seay (L)

Catchers

Gabe Johnson
Dane Sardinha
Steve Torrealba

Infielders

Brent Dlugach
Mike Hessman
Kevin Hooper

Outfielders

Cameron Maybin
Timo Perez
Ryan Raburn
Brandon Watson.

Pitchers and catchers will report to Lakeland on February 15, with the first work-out on February 16. The balance of the squad will report on February 20 and the first full-squad work-out will be held on February 21.

2007 Season, Defense, Fan Experience, Former Tigers, Pitching

Midweek Linking

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2006 Season, Offense, Research, Statistics

Even More First Pitch Swinging – Starters vs Relievers

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In the comments to the first first pitch swinging post Nate asked about the differences in the time of game reasoning that the value in wearing down a reliever is minimal. It was easy enough to break it down by starter versus reliever.

The Tigers swung at the first pitch slightly more against relievers going after 32.6% of first pitches as opposed to 30.7% for starters.
Continue reading Even More First Pitch Swinging – Starters vs Relievers →

Tiger History

Trammell and Morris will wait for Hall call

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While it was a great day for Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Alan Trammell and Jack Morris actually lost ground on their quest for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.

In Trammell’s case it was his lowest vote percentage since he was added to the ballot in 2002. Trammell’s vote total has hovered in a pretty narrow range over the last 6 elections: 15.7, 14.1, 13.8, 16.9, 17.7, 13.4. With him not gaining ground his chances of enshrinement will most likely rest with the Veteran’s Committee.

As for Jack Morris, he’d actually been gaining momentum. Over his 6 years on the ballot he had doubled his support, but backtracked this year. His vote totals since 2001 are: 19.61, 20.5, 22.8, 26.3, 33.3, 41.2, 37.1.

Of course both fared better than Lou Whitaker who failed to gain the requisite 5% in his only year on the ballot. On a related note, The Hardball Times has an article by Dan McLaughlin (aka The Baseball Crank) looking in detail at the Hall of Fame case for various middle infielders. Of course the Tigers double play combo is part of the discussion.