Well that was quick. I almost sensed that Leyland was giving him every imaginable chance and there was a hope he’d do something against his old team. Instead it was feeble offense and bad defense. The Tigers are a better team now.
Matt Joyce gets the call.
I’ll have more later.
Wow. That WAS quick.
Wow, talk about “you ask for it – you got it!” Maybe Jimbo’s been reading DTW.
So who gets the open starting spot? Inge or Thames?
So, that was the drastic change… I was imagining something more along the lines of starting someone else and seeing if Jones couldn’t pinch hit in the right situations.
I can’t say I’m sorry to see he won’t be blocking better players from getting playing time. Best of luck, Jacque.
Amen.
Barry Bonds, anyone?
Sheffield is playing left field and batting sixth tonight. Matt Joyce and Magglio will share RF and DH. Guillen is at third and batting third.
I want to see Guillen in left and Inge at third. Love billfer’s sheffield to leadoff idea, especially with grandy 3, 4 or 5.
I posted this in the other forum, but since the conversation has moved here, I will repost:
Sadly, we never really got to see JJ fire the ball into the ground from the leftfield corner as he tried to nail that runner at third with a 44-hopper. Alas, we shall make do.
Interesting, I think, that they called up Matt Joyce and not Clete Thomas.
I presume this means Thames will get the bulk of the ABs in left, which is fine except for making us almost entirely a right-handed lineup. I’m of the thinking that LH/RH splits are a little overrated, but it’s always nice to have some balance.
I’m a little miffed with DD on some of these trades, though. I certainly don’t expect every trade to work out, and we didn’t give up anything of value for Jones (Omar Infante, if memory serves), but it was a waste of resources, time and we got very little return on it. It feels like this was a rushed trade to get a lefty bat in the lineup, and the due diligence just wasn’t there. I’m not sure what the alternatives were, but this one never felt like a good fit.
Mark –
“Sadly, we never really got to see JJ fire the ball into the ground from the leftfield corner as he tried to nail that runner at third with a 44-hopper.”
Pure comedy
Thanks, work sucks and this made it all better.
Shef will be in left several times a week. Maybe that’ll help him at the plate some more since some players have a tough time as only a DH and he’d never DH’d before coming to Detroit.
If the Joyce/Mags quasi-plattoon doesn’t work out, this opens up the Guillen/DH, Inge/3B option very easily.
good move. i’m also really glad that we didn’t hang into august to see if jones could get it going…perhaps sends a message to the rest of the team…play hard and well or don’t play at all.
question. where do you see the lineup for the game? i’ve looked in several places and obviously haven’t found it.
thanks
What a joke for a lineup. I still think Sheff is hurting. I am hoping in the top of the first, Kevin Youkillis hits a single to left and Sheff blows out his arm throwing it back to the infield.
Karma index
Releasing JJ puts us back in the plus column for tonight’s game. Prior to that we were even: the temp was in our favor at 70+ degrees (we know how much our boys hate playing in the cold)…but we were facing Dice-K. To keep with the spirit of hope and everything nice, I’ll forgo giving us -1 for starting Guillen at 3B.
Recap:
release JJ +1
warm weather +1
home game +1
nationally tv’d -1
dice-k -1
total +1
we win!!!
Jeremy – why is it a joke? Jones is gone, and Sheffield replaces him in left.
Also, don’t confuse your hatred for a player with his production potential. Sheffield as recently as one year ago looked like league MVP. Nothing tells me that he won’t do that again.
Andre-
I watched Jones spike the ball like a QB in the closing seconds of the half for the last couple years with the Cubs. It’s infuriating, and I’m not even a Cubs fan. So I knew what to expect when we traded for him and he didn’t disappoint.
Glad this brightens your day tho.
Mark –
I’m in Chicago too and i have two roommates (one cubs and one sox fans). It’s been the most frustrating start to a season I’ve gone through. I may have gloated a liiiiittle too much during the offseason with all our moves, but honestly the sox fan has been insufferable. I can bring myself to root for the Cubs once in a while, but even that roommate annoys me, he treats every loss as the Apocalypse…dude, relax you’re in 1st.
The only upside is the division being a shell of what we thought it would be!
Hi Mark in Chi did you see my posting a few days ago about finding a good place in Chi for Detroit sports-watching?
http://www.timothyotooles.com/
they were very gracious, set two screens near us to the Tigers and the Pistons Thursday night!
From the Freep:
1. Curtis Granderson, CF
2. Placido Polanco, 2B
3. Carlos Guillen, 3B
4. Magglio Ordoñez, DH
5. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
6. Gary Sheffield, LF
7. Matt Joyce, RF
8. Edgar Renteria, SS
9. Ivan Rodriguez, C
Surprised Joyce gets thrust right in over Rayburn, Thames and Inge, but he is a lefty and that’s what this lineup needs.
Thank god Pudge in the No. 9 hole, he’s got to be among the worst situational hitters in baseball currently.
Hopefully this works out better for Sheffield. His slow start didn’t surprise me after last year, but now is the time to get it going. Either this move to LF will serve as a catalyst or unfortunately he may just break down.
We still seem to have a major liability at 3rd with Guillen, which hasn’t been solved with this move. I would have preferred Guillen DH-ing with Inge at 3rd, but I can live with trying to give Ordonez a rest, especially if Joyce can hit at this level. Leyland needs to turn to Inge IMO at 3rd as a defensive replacement practically ever time we have the lead past the 6th inning.
I really liked Billfer’s idea of Granderson in the 3-hole and Sheffield leading off. It almost makes too much sense, which is exactly why those moves never seem to happen in baseball.
Andre-
Sox fans are the worst, they are absolutely insufferable (good description, exactly the one I use) and I hate them immensely. I hate the team, the players, the ballpark, and most of all, I hate the announcers beyond any comprehension.
I can tolerate Cubs fans, as most of my friends root for the Cubs. It’s hard for me to hate Cubs fans, as I generally just find them sort of dimwitted and slow with respect to baseball. It’s hard to hate someone you pity, I guess.
cib–
Glad you found a a cool spot to watch the games. I did see your post, I hope you saw my replies, I rec’d a couple places on the north side for you. I haven’t been to O’Tooles, but I know the area pretty well. It’s a bit out of the way for me but it could be a fun spot to check out on the way home from work.
I can live with that. It’s a nonquantifiable thing, but I do think Granderson brings some energy to the team by being the first guy to bat at the beginning of the game. And he’s gotten good and drawing a lot of pitches in the first at bat to give other hitters a look at what the opposing pitcher is throwing.
Something to consider:
What’s the cumulative mental effect on Guillen (or Cabrera) if, as John and other suggest (and I like as a middle ground if they aren’t going to start Inge), he’s always taken out of the game late in favor of Inge?
Suppose Inge gets hurt or traded and he and Cabrera are left to man 3B, knowing that the team doesn’t have confidence in their defensive abilities, does this impact their mentality?
Mark in Chi –
It doesn’t make me dislike Sox fans any less…but I can at least see how they got to be the way they are. My roommate at least has been a fan his entire life…but as a rule they just haven’t supported their team well at all. Ozzie went on a tirade (which i’m assuming you’ve already read) and, I really hate to agree with him, but in this case he’s right: people in Chicago love the Cubs and that team can do no wrong but they’ll totally dog on the Sox even though they’ve at least won recently. That being said, I’ll never root for the Sox unless its to beat a division rival for us. I think Ozzie (to use his favorite phrase) is a piece of …. and so is the team (the only one I can stand is Thome…he’s a class act).
Even if we have the lead, I’m not sure I like taking Guillen’s bat out of the lineup. What has Joyce got to offer that puts him ahead of Inge? I much prefer Cabrera as DH, Maggs in right (but I also can understand giving him a bit of a break), Guillen at 1B and Inge at 3B.
What we really need to work on now is the pitching, specifically the starters. How about this: When Willis comes of the DL, keep him AND Galarraga in the rotation, and make Rogers the new pitching coach.
Anne –
The problem with Guillen at 1B was that he was a collision waiting to happen with his footwork. Cabrera is a good fit there with his reach/hands. Guillen is headed for the DH sooner or later…might as well be now if Sheff is gonna play LF. If Joyce becomes more than a spot starter and Inge isn’t starting 3B soon, something is wrong. Of course if we’re winning in spite of all this I won’t complain.
Here’s hoping Guillen belts 3-4 rbi’s to make up for yesterday. You owe us, jerk 🙂
Andre,
I understand your point, but I still hate the Sox and their fans (maybe they should have fewer of them running onto the field attacking umpires or coaches?). I do agree with you about Thome, and Beurhle and Konerko don’t bother me much either. Solid pros who do their job well and don’t cry when things don’t go their way. I’m OK with that.
Your point about Ozzie is right on, though. I think he’s overrated as a manager and pretty much just a loudmouth, but he’s right that the Cubs get favorable treatment in the media. I think he’s overstating is to some degree, it’s not like the Cubs are never criticized, but it is definitely not on a scale like with the Sox. I guess that’s what you get when the largest media company in town owns one of the teams. Should be interesting to see what happens when TribCo finally sells them off. Plus Riendsorf has some really negative image problems in Chicago, which I’m sure isn’t helping any. The Cubs spent years creating a brand by putting games on nationwide TV and having the fortune to play in the world’s largest beer garden. They are associated with the North Side of Chicago, which is a fantastic place to live, visit, eat, drink, etc. The Sox are from the South Side, which is notorious for organized crime and bad neighborhoods. It’s good fortune combined with smart marketing. The Sox just can’t compete.
What clinches it for me is the Sox announcers. I’m sorry, I know it’s petty, but these guys are just AWFUL. The Cubs guys I like, even going back to Chip and Stoney (who is still the best color guy around). Since that becomes the most familiar association with a team (for most people), hating the announcers is enough to push me over the edge.
Like you, I never root for the Sox either, unless they are playing a team I need to lose to better the Tigers’ position.
Andre-
As Anne suggested, I think you can work around these issues in the end of the game and Guillen/Cabrera should be professionals and understand it gives the team the best chance to win. Leyland consistently, made defensive substitutions moving Guillen to 1B last year. Maybe he could do something similar taking Joyce out, putting Ordonez in right, Guillen at DH, and Inge in.
Also, if Guillen or someone else has just batted and won’t be up until late in the game, Leyland could straight sub Inge for one of them. I think Guillen will realize that his defense is hurting the team at 3rd (although understandable given the recent switch), so he will be subbed late in the game unless he improves (which we can always hope he does).
Jim Leyland –
Thanks for doing your part in getting lots of my Tigers multi-position eligibility in my fantasy leagues! Just need a couple more starts at C for Inge now…
I’m just worried about how ESPN is going to handle the inevitable problem of fantasy scoring when Inge comes out of the bullpen to pitch or once we stick D Willis in LF.
Jaque Jones looked terrible in every at bat. Among the worst looking players I have ever seen. Releasing him is good.
But as long as we’re willing to put Sheffield in left, why not put Inge at 3rd at rotate the DH among Guillen/Cabrera. Our 3rd base defense has been awful all year and it was a big part of costing the Tigers the game yesterday.
But as long as we’re willing to put Sheffield in left, why not put Inge at 3rd at rotate the DH among Guillen/Cabrera.
I suspect Inge will get his share of starts. For tonight Matt Joyce is replacing Jacque Jones in the lineup, I don’t expect that to be the regular replacement, more likely it’s Inge.
Denny Bautista to the DL and Joke Jones DFA within a couple of days of each other. Things are looking up – addition by subtraction. I don’t know what to make of the Delosi and Joyce call-ups, but they can’t be any worse and maybe a transfusion of some young blood will do a little bit of good.
I’m glad Leyland/DD didn’t wait with Jones like they did with Monroe last year. Perhaps this quick exit will send a message that either you get the job done or you are a Tiger no more. We probably haven’t seen the last of these kind of “drastic” changes. Stay tuned.
Mark in Chicago –
Your comments on the Cubs and Sox were hilarious (especially the aside on Cubs fans). I find the Cubs boring no matter how they’re doing. Maybe it’s their uniforms. I actually like the White Sox when the Tigers aren’t playing them. I wish the Tigers could have picked up Buehrle a couple years ago – what a burn that would have been. I can’t figure out the Tigers’s eternal inferiority complex vs. the Sox. Radio guys: Hughes is good, Santo is brutal. The other team’s broadcasters are painful to listen to and have been since forever. Yeah, Steve Stone rocks.
Sorry, everyone. Back to the Tigers.
Anne – I’m all for making Rogers the pitching coach, as long as he stays in the rotation. He hasn’t lost it yet. I think Inge is going to end up starting at 3B unless they’re dead set on trading him this season. That or stubborness are the only reasons I can see that it hasn’t happened yet.
Andre – On the mental effect of being subbed for defensively: I think it’s something any veteran takes in stride. Guillen and Cabrera certainly know the score already on how they stack up defensively. If I were one of them playing 3B, I might feel self-conscious about starting there over Inge to begin with.
It’s too bad the Tigers didn’t just start off with Joyce to begin with and skip the whole Jacque Jones thing. But there’s probably a reason. Right?