2009 Season, Game Post

Game 2009.058: Tigers at White Sox

184 Comments

PREGAME: There’s a lot going on tonight. The MLB draft, the Red Wings trying to clinch the cup, and my refrigerator isn’t working. So this is a pretty short game post. Basically this as lopsided of a pitching match-up as you’ll see. Mark Buerhrle against Dontrelle Willis. Party on.

Detroit vs. Chi White Sox – June 9, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

POSTGAME: It seems so long ago since I wrote the pregame. This is one of those nights when I’m glad I’m not a real writer and have to craft a game story. For one thing they had to rewrite the story a couple times. For another, I couldn’t put a cohesive one together and I can resort to bulleted thoughts.

  • I honestly thought the Tigers had little hope going into this game. The pitching match-up wasn’t favorable. Mark Buehrle struggled with his control, which is rare, but to the Tigers credit they waited him out. They also executed multiple times.
  • Dontrelle Willis wasn’t good, but he gritted it out enough to give them a chance to win. It looked scary when the first 6 pitches missed the zone, and he looked rattled during the Pierzynski altercation. But he did enough. Did he do enough to save his spot in the rotation? I don’t know.
  • Pretty much everybody chipped in with the bat. Inge had a great night, Raburn did his part, Laird had 2 big sac bunts, Everett and Polanco with clutch knocks and Miggy with the big blast to win it.
  • But the bullpen. (Except Zach Miner who was excellent). Everyone else walked at least one batter. Rodney looked like his delivery was all out of whack and he completely lost it. Brandon Lyon fanned Dye but allowed a 2 out double to Konerko to tie the game after a Thome walk (not a horrible strategic decision). And he did get the last 3 outs relatively easily.
  • What’s left of the bullpen for tomorrow is Robertson/Seay/Rodney.
  • And yes, I think the White Sox have a beef. I think Wise got the hand in there. It wasn’t a blatantly bad call (notice I said “I think”), but I do think Wise was safe.

184 thoughts on “Game 2009.058: Tigers at White Sox”

  1. Willis can be just as good as Buerhrle. Hope Willis proves everyone wrong again.

  11. If it’s the compressor, buy a new fridge. It is soooo not worth it to start in on a faulty compressor. I strongly remember giving myself and my dog a nice refreshing coolant bath. Did you know that compressors compress things with pressure? I now know that.

    Cautious Dontrelle optimism? Good matchup against a free-swinging team?

    1. I think it’s a frost freeze issue. The coils were snowed over. It’s still running, but not cooling the fridge part enough. I tried to force a defrost, but GE’s have the defrost timer on the motherboard rendering that impossible. So I manually defrosted with a hair dryer and will call the service guy tomorrow morning.

  13. I hate it, hate it, hate it, when he stares in at an ump trying to get a call.

  15. For all the complaints about how weak the offense has been, consider where we would be with a 2008 Inge in the lineup…at this point last season he was .217-.314-.418 with 7 HR and 27 RBI and went downhill from there…

    edit: although as far as today goes, he may have already seen his last decent pitch…

  18. And that brings up Clutch Everett, who rarely fails with runner at 3rd less than 2 out…

  19. Adam “Out-of-Control” Everett! Dude, I was expecting the basic sac fly there…

  22. Al Kaline says Andrew Oliver will be the Second Round pick for the Tigers
    Good pick

  24. Gameday is showing a lot of these balls as exceedingly close to the strike zone. Is Willis getting squeezed, or is he really missing?

    EDIT: Those last three didn’t look close at all, even on gameday.

  26. Gotta respect Dontrelle’s guts tonight. That’s a lot more than I thought we’d get from him.

  29. We got Andy Oliver with our 2nd pick? He was supposed to go in the 1st round for sure. Man that is awesome.

  30. Very curious how Miner looks like a different pitcher with the bases empty. Give him some inheirited runners and you dare not light a match. Give him a clean slate and he’s lights out.

    1. Zach stops trusting his stuff when there are men on base. Kind of like what Leyland said about Galarraga after the 1st inning yesterday.

  38. So its Minor, Seay and Fernando?

    Not that win is bagged, but boy it feels great beating these guys.

  39. To Quote the Hawk: ” 1-2-3 … Well that dint take long” yep Hawk you are correct

    They gone

  40. Oh for the love of Bill Melton could these announcers please shut up about how the poor White Sox had 3 runs scored on them but only gave up one hit? There they go again! Hey, guys, if you intentionally walk two guys in an inning, that’s kind of what happens…

    They decided to put Inge and Granderson on and take their chances with Raburn, Laird, Everett, Polanco etc…which is a reasonable enough strategy, but it didn’t work. But bad luck has nothing to do with it….

  45. Okay, so we’re through 7 2/3 innings… how many more times before the last out is Hawk going to bring up the walks? (As I type, he laments again)… I say at least 5 more times…

    1. I think he was about to but he had to interrupt himself to say “can of corn…”

    2. That’s no different than listening to Jim Price on the radio. Every time we walk a hitter he drones on and on about walks and how they kill you, etc. I’m not getting the Chicago feed, but I can’t imagine he’s any worse about it than Price is.

  46. I hope Leyland leaves Miner in to start the eighth. Seay is no sure thing to get Thome and might as well go with the hot hand. Miner has set down all six he has faced to this point. I don’t want Jimmy to feel like he’s got to over-manage this one.

    BTW, see what happens when you bunt Mr. Leyland? Good things happen. Laird with two sacrifices and both times we scored multiple runs in those innings. If Laird doesn’t bunt and Leyland lets him swing away, its likely that the inning unfolds differently (read: worse). Say Laird pops out to RF and then Everett strikes out (as he did). I don’t think the White Sox unintentionally/intentionally walk Granderson without first base open. Grandy has scuffled in this series and Dotel would have gone after him. Instead, the sac bunt changed the whole complexion of the inning. Although it did not directly lead to runs, it forced the Chisox to play the inning much differently than if Laird swings away and doesn’t advance those runners.

    2. To be fair to Uncle Smokey, a lot of times he is stuck with the bunt situation with the No-Can-Bunt batter at the plate. Everett, Laird, Inge, Santiago, and Raburn can bunt, but you’re taking a big chance with, say, the Sardine-head Pineapple Bunt Experience…

    3. Quotes from Jerry the Tiger Fan- “Tomorrow is a lost cause with Anxiety Boy vs. Buerhle……Willis? He can go play in heavy traffic on I-75 for all I care.”

      Some fan you are.

      1. ….and I still feel that way. If you think he gave them a quality performance out there tonight well I don’t know what to say. It was better than his last pathetic outing agaisnt Boston, but that’s not saying much. I, too was hoping that he had twisted his knee in the first inning in that collision with Podsednik at the plate. It would’ve got him out of the rotation for a while and whether you want to believe it or not that would’ve been a good thing. Miner (as so-so as he is) is an upgrade over Willis and I’d rather see him on the bump over Willis or Bonderman at this point.

    4. You do realize the Tigers are second in the AL in sacrifice bunts right? Only the Mariners have attempted more, and their offense is really bad.

      1. No, I don’t have the stats in front of me and wasn’t aware of that stat. However, as much as this offense struggles there have been plenty of opportunities to bunt where Leyland has let guys swing away. Its a lot harder to string three singles together than single, bunt, and then another single. We aren’t exactly driving the ball with a lot of authority lately as a team so I think we should bunt even more than we have to this point.

        1. You get 27 outs a game. Don’t waste them. A pitcher, Sardinha? Sure. 1st and 2nd, nobody out, tie game, 8th or 9th inning (and a non-power guy)? Sure. Otherwise bunting to make an out makes you less likely to score, not more likely. And, on average, it leads to fewer expected runs in an inning, not more. The time when it’s a percentage play is when you have an out machine at the plate, such as the aforementioned pitcher or Pineapple.

          1. Disagree. When a team scuffles to score like we do, you bunt to get guys over and into scoring position. The odds favor two singles in an inning over three.

  47. Dammit Leyland, you just had to get your smoky little hands on this game didn’t you? Miner was cruising along, but you bring in Seay who promptly walks Thome. Way to overthink it Jimmy.

  51. Way to go Zumaya. Walk a kid who’s 1-16 lifetime to bring the tying run to the plate. Perhaps you can give up the game-tying HR for the third consecutive day. Still wish Leyland would’ve left well enough alone and kept Miner in there.

      1. The guy has started in the past so I think he could probably handle it. Its likely that he won’t be available tomorrow whether he pitches the 8th or not. Might as well ride a guy who’s cruising along. It worked out, but that eighth inning was far from smooth.

  56. Can anyone throw strikes out of this bullpen? Walking Brian frickin’ Anderson to start an inning with a three run lead and then walking Podsednik. Way to set the table for their big hitters Fernando. Unbelievable. Everything is difficult, can’t just have a quiet ninth inning I suppose.

  59. Guess we get to find out what kind of closer Lyon would be. My hopes aren’t high.

    If we lose this…

  62. Funny how the site breaks down when Lyon enters the game. BTW, he is absolutely garbage. Holding back the language just for billfer.

    1. You’re complaining about Lyon right now? He did okay, considering the situation. The person to be upset with is named Fernando.

      And do we have like any relievers left? Nate?

      1. Should I be complaining about the closer who hasn’t blown a save yet this year? Or should I complain about the man who was brought in to be our closer, but turned out to be an epic failure?

        1. I’m going to go with…you should complain about the guy who walked the bases loaded, getting zero outs.

  64. “Rodney Jones” — good one. I really miss Dan Dickerson. Price is brutal doing play-by-play, especially when he’s in the booth by himself.

  69. This is why, this is WHY you DONT DEMOTE RYAN PERRY!

    Rodney STUNK and Lyon SUCKED.

    I AM RIGHT AGAIN… Tiger brass are looking like idiots atm. I could do a much better job than these bozos.

    Demoting Perry was just foolish. This will probably come up in another game or two before they recall him, and all I’ll say is I told you so.

      1. I’m wrong? I think you are Mr. Anon.

        Lyon basically lost the game for us.

        To allow all three guys to score and nearly a fourth is unacceptable.

    2. Rodney stunk, and Lyon started slow… But no pitcher’s odds are that great coming in with the bases juiced and nobody out. Walking Thome (8 career slams) wasn’t the worst possible outcome, and he took him to a full count. Giving up the double wasn’t ideal, but he was in a situation where he had to throw strikes — which favors the hitter.

      Lyon looked fine in the 10th.

      Perry went down because he started to struggle himself, and he may not be down there long enough to burn an option anyhow.

  70. Perfect time for a HR, Cabrera. Did anyone else think the call at home plate was as off as Hawk and The Idiot think?

      1. No it wasn’t. Laird got him on the shoulder before the hand touched the plate.

        1. Maybe. The angle makes it so Wise’s body is in the way of seeing whether there was any leather to jersey contact on Wise’s body.

          From the angle, I’d have to assume he was safe. But then again, we don’t have all the facts (angles).

  73. Yes!!! CABRERA!! Make it stand up boys! If I’m Cabrera (or any position player) I’d start a brawl in the locker room if our pen re-blows this game. Lets go Tigers!

    1. No. It was dumb. Lyon should have gone away away away, along with his apparent lover Mr. X.

      I’m sorry, but every time I watch him he blows.

      1. Quit picking fights with me. I won’t stand for being verbally abused here. Billfer please hose this guy down.

      2. Funny thing is that Ryan Perry has stunk in as many games as Lyon this season. I can specifically recall the games vs Boston, Toronto, and NY. I loo

        vs Boston- Ryan he loaded the bases, then walked guy forcing in a run, then he got yanked for guess who? (Lyon). Perry got very lucky that Lyon bailed him out!

        vs Toronto- Ryan came into the game with 2 guys on base and gave up a big 3 run bomb to guess who? (Luke Scott)

        vs NY- Jackson threw 6 solid shutout innings. Then Perry came into the game and was so terrible that the Yankees scored 10 runs off us that inning!! All 10 runs weren’t Perry’s fault, but he’s the one who put us in a huge hole.

          1. Thanks. Had a brain fart there. Must of been thinking about Lyon. Between the Perry and Lyon, they’ve blown up alot of games. Nothing really distinguishes the two right now. They’ve both been rather craptacular this season. Ryan just has the lower ERA, but his ratio and walks per inning is Willis like.

          2. LOL
            @ this

            “Nothing really distinguishes the two right now…Ryan just has the lower ERA”

            Do you really read what you write? Because it makes a pretty convincing argument for me, and sounds like you secretly agree.

            Lyon’s season projections
            8 losses and 6 blown saves with a 5.06 ERA and 3 holds, 14hrs, 39k, and 64 hits in 73IP as a supposed 29 year old VETERAN CLOSER

            Perry’s season projections
            3 losses and 3 blown saves with a 3.13 ERA and 14 holds, 3 hrs, 61K and 45 hits in 64 innings as a 22 year old ROOKIE

            You don’t see any difference? Even besides ERA?

            And as far as Bill “hosing me down” this isn’t the 60s struggle for black rights, me being a black man and Bill being a policeman. I did get a kick out of that though 🙂

            And I also don’t think the word “lover” is too offensive, especially to a anon as yourself.

            Plus you’re acting like his lover/buddy/part of his family by defending him and turning a blind eye to his performance – or usually lack thereof.

  75. Way to go Cabrera…..
    Although I think all of us radio listeners were robbed of an exciting moment by Price’s call. Dickerson, we really need you back in there.

  76. Jeez…Rodney drives my blood pressure through the roof.

    Miggy does the opposite 😀

  86. That was one hell of a ride.

    I say that’s officially taller and faster than the Jonesy.

  87. Wow. Lyon, who knew he had it in him? For one night, at least, lived up to his contract, and moreso, actually made himself part of the team tonight.

  88. That was ugly on some many levels, but that was one hell of a huge win.

    And personally, I think Lyon was awesome tonight. One walk and one double in two innings of EXTREME stress? I like it.

        1. How anyone can enjoy giving up a bases loaded walk and then basically a bases clearing double is beyond me. Did you turn off your TV/Radio for that part?

        2. How was that not his fault? He left a fat pitch middle in to a fantastic hitter?

          Konerko is a guy you have to make beat you to RF.

          I’m almost shocked that he didn’t belt the sucker out of US Cellular.

          1. You need to learn how to read. I never said the double wasn’t his fault; it obviously was.

          2. Usually a double (Konerko running) is base clearing when you have a burner sitting on first. Either way he allows the game to tie.

            And you don’t need to get snippy with me.

            And if you think Lyon did a good job today or this year, you need to start watching a new game.

          3. If a pitcher could average 1 double, 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts every 2 innings, that would be a very successful pitcher. Yes, I think he was good tonight. No, I don’t think he has been good this year, obviously.

            Anyways, goodnight.

          4. Well I’m sorry for what I said, I thought you were trying to attack me personally. I still don’t think he was good tonight.

            But we can leave it at that, and agree to disagree.

            Nite

  90. funny thing is it was one of the very few if not the first that Lyon was put in that position…maybe he can do that again

  91. Don’t forget that this is the fourth day in a row Rodney pitched. Bullpen was depleted without Perry. Here’s to a Verlander complete game shut out.

    A wins a win.

  92. I hope JV has 8+ in him tomorrow.

    And the Royals are in last. Bwahaha.

    Actually, they’re last in the whole AL. That…is amusing.

  93. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes ! Yes! Lyon redeemed himself tonight in my eyes. Rodney was to blame for that ridiculous ninth inning. To repeat a phrase from yesterday……that was John Holmes-huge in terms of a win. That took some sack to overcome Rodney’s Willis-like ninth tonight. Right now we don’t have anyone in the bullpen that I feel entirely comfortable with, but that’s a topic for tomorrow. Right now I need to crack open a beer and let my blood pressure and heart rate return to normal. What a meat grinder of a game in terms of swings of emotion! Thanks Miguel, you’re sending a lot of Tiger fans to bed happy tonight! I guess that is why they pay Miggy the big $$$.

  94. A win’s a win…and i swear i had to ask people today…have we ever won a game where buerhle started. My recent memory left me, then mario and rod showed his 14-8 record and i wondered where the hell my memory went…even though i watch every game. Oh well….chaulk up another W for the real GOOD GUYS, u can put that on the boooooaaarrrrddd YYYYYEEEESSSSS

  95. I don’t get why Lyon gets the blown save, not Rodney. The tying run was charged to Rodney.

    Buehrle didn’t ALLOW the go-ahead run to score, but the 4th (go-ahead) run was CHARGED to him, and unless I’m mistaken, he was in line for the loss. Why is the blown save rule different? Baseball rules are stupid.

    1. The blown save should go to Rodney. If it doesn’t, that’s a twist in the rules I’m unaware of — and one that needs reworking. The game was blown by Rodney, no matter what the score card says.

    2. Because the closer’s job is to strand the runners. If the starter leaves with the tying and winning run on base, and the closer comes in and allows them to score, my understanding is the starter gets the loss, but the closer gets the blown save.

      2. A closers job is to come in with the bases empty in the 9th and not let the other team score enough runs to catch your team. Closers almost never come in with men on.

        I agree if the pitcher is the starter, because you can’t save your own game. But otherwise, it makes no sense.

        1. A reliever’s job… closer or otherwise is to not allow what they call inherited runners to score. There is even a stat for that. It makes perfect sense. He came in with a 6-3 – a save opp. He blew the save, and nearly picked up a BIG L in the process.

          1. Rodney came in with a save opp. The inning ended with the tying run being charged to Rodney. Rodney blew it. Lyon limited the damage about as well as you could expect with the bases loaded, nobody out, and DYE-THOME-KONERKO up.

            I don’t really like Lyon either, but we wouldn’t have won the game without him tonight.

          2. Yes, but Lyon also came in with a save opportunity. And only one guy can blow the save, statistically, and that’s the last one to enter the game with a save opportunity. Lyon blew the save… then collected the win.

    1. Not to Jinx him, but Charles looks like he is starting to catch fire again. I haven’t heard a peep out of the anti Inge camp this year.

      Everett has been hitting well also lately.

      I still think Poly had the biggest hit of this night though. Even with Miggys shot.

      1. Last I checked, there were tumbleweeds blowing across the anti-Inge camp. If you break it down, there is really only one or two 3rd basemen playing a league above Inge right now. This year Inge is playing on par with players like Mike Lowell, Michael Young, Joe Crede et. al. No one will deny Inge is having a career year — and his defensive ability is equal or superior to any of the players mentioned above. I’m sure one could make a case for Inge as the best 3B (currently) among the aforementioned.

        However… just because there are tumbleweeds rolling across the anti-Inge camp doesn’t mean there isn’t significant infrastructure awaiting residence. Remember, the Tigers actively shopped Inge and couldn’t find any takers — I’m assuming even while conceding a portion of his salary. If Inge’s approach at the plate the past couple years were half as good as it has been this year — I’m literally saying HALF as good — there wouldn’t have been an anti-Inge camp to begin with. Last year he was just horrible in every category (except defense — and even so, he coughed up his share of errors). I’m thrilled with the prospect that Inge may have vastly under-achieved last year, even though his 2008 line is closer to career numbers than what we saw in 2006 and his career numbers are also a far cry from what we are seeing now. That can mean (optimistically) that a) Inge is simply a late bloomer and coming into his offensive prime now, or (more realistically) that b) he is vastly over-achieving through the first third of 2009 to the same degree that he vastly under-achieved last year. Whatever the case, I expect Inge to regress back down to the mean between last year’s performance and his torrid start this year. Which is fine by me.

        I was critical of Inge last year — and rightly so. I give credit where credit is due — and Inge is due significant credit for whatever adjustments he made during the off-season. There are two or three players on this current Tigers team who are single-handedly responsible for the Tigers being in 1st place on June 10 instead of last place. Inge is one of them.

        1. If he keeps this approach, this might be the new Inge.

          I always thought if he hit to all fields he could hit above .300.

          Its a matter of if he wanted to. If Cobb were here to teach him with his athletic ability and power I’m sure he could do better than what he has done so far this year.

          In either case I agree that along with Jackson and Verlander and Cabby he has been a team MVP. He is leading the majors in ESPN’s web gems by a bit. Kind of nice to see the first year they are keeping a tally he is winning.

          Longoria has still outproduced him offensively. I still think he should be on the All-Star team. He’ll for sure have to get on through Maddon though.

          Longoria Arod, Rolen, Lowell and Young as you mentioned are ahead of him I believe.

          It’d be nice if he could get to 170 runs produced. He is on pace for 179.

          Just for reference last year Cabrera had 175 runs produced (Runs+RBI-HR).

  97. What a big win! The pitching match-up looked like a complete loss going in, but that’s why they play the games.

    Raburn, Polanco, and Laird executed a textbook outfield relay to cut down Wise. That’s why ball clubs practice relays. The key was Raburn. He didn’t lollipop the ball to Polanco from the left-field corner; instead, he threw a chest-high strike, allowing Placido to turn quickly and get it to Laird in time.

    And Cabrera! Miggy is limping out there, clearly playing through pain, and still he leads off the 10th with a home run. What a great player; our AL version of Pujols.

    Now we have Justin and Edwin to close out the set. Justin’s on a roll. I still can’t believe we gave up a replacement player for Jackson, or that the Rays preferred Andy Sonnanstein to him.

  98. Most impressive was that Willis conquered his wildness a few times. That should be great for his confidence. I thought he put up an amazingly gutty performance. Only one ball was hit hard against him and that was the homerun. The walks sucked, but he showed something that I haven’t seen from a baseball player for a long time. That is heart.

    I don’t think I want him starting another game though. I’d like to see him pitch out of the pen for awhile. Of coarse, whatever Leyland wants to do is fine with me.

  99. I agree with Mr. X. Dontrelle really laid out (literally, to retire Pierzynski and end the 5th) tonight. He gave everything he had tonight. He just can’t throw strikes consistently at this stage.

    But what does Leyland do? Porcello is on a pitch limit and has struggled against strong hitters in his last two starts. Galarraga pitched over his head last year & has regressed now that teams know his repertoire. Bonderman isn’t ready yet.

    Honestly, I think Zach Miner is our best bet as the 5th starter. Then, if Bondo is ready by the 4th of July, we can skip a couple Porcello turns and keep down his innings.

    As for Willis, let him work out his control as the 12th pitcher/long relief man, in a role similar to Casey Fossum’s usage last summer. The staff is so right-handed, you need him just as a third lefty.

  100. A win is a win, and I will take it, especially against the White Sox.

    More importantly, did you get the fridge working billfer?

  101. Rodney won’t be available tomorrow. No way. He’s thrown at least the last 3 days, and maybe 4, I can’t remember.

    1. this

      We don’t need to see him tomorrow or Zoom Zoom either for all I care.

      Miner actually I think is one of the most underrated pitchers on our staff.

  102. Mr X is like ‘Jim’ the commentator from 2007. No matter what the facts are, he will put the positive spin on things like Tariq Aziz did for Hussein even as the Americans encircled Baghdad. God bless him.

    These are the facts:
    Tigers in First Place: Awesome
    Dontrelle Willis allowed 10 baserunners in five innings including five walks: He gets one more start and then he’s done pitching for a contender.

    2. I do miss our playful banter session stephen. I’m glad I left such an indelible mark on you that you remember me from two years ago LOL

    3. His start was better than the last one, but if that is what they are looking at and not something similar to his performance against the Rockies or Rangers than I agree.

      The bottom line is ER/Innings in my opinion. 3 in 5 isn’t terrible or even that bad, but he needs to do better.

  103. And now I realize I may have slightly slandered Mr. X’s last opinion since he said Willis shouldn’t get another start. So many comments to digest before I finish my first bleary-eyed can of Diet Mountain Dew. A thousand apologies!

  104. With the number of innings thrown by the bullpen the last two days, the decision almost has to come today. My question: would Willis, Bondo, and Nate all have to consent to being sent down? Pretty sure they all get through waivers, but I’m not sure if the lengthy DL stints of Bondo and Willis count towards the five years or not.
    I’d just as soon see all three sent down, and Ni, French, and Dolsi or Rapada up. Miner could start, and French becomes the long guy/emergency starter. If it has to be just one, though, I vote Bondo for Ni.

  105. Rod announced on Sunday the Tigers are, obviously, last in the American league in inherited runners scored…With 3 more last night the Tiger relievers have allowed more than 50% of the runners on base when they come in, to score…That in itself is a scary statistic…But it might actually be an improvement over last year.. Still a terrible %%%%

    1. Given that by and large, the bullpen peripherals aren’t terrible, this is a very promising stat. A little regression to the mean strands a whole lot of baserunners.

  106. I agree with everyone that Miner should be the 5th starter. I can’t wait to see what Leyland decides.

  107. @ David- I don’t even care about Lyon, but You must have a little girl’s crush on Ryan Perry or something. Any other rookie pitcher with Perry’s control problems would be sent packing. 19 walks in just 23 innings is disgusting. That’s worse than Dontrelle Willis!!! You must be fool if you don’t see that.

    1. You sound like someone who is suffering from denial and trying to project fantasies on others.

      And yea if it makes you feel better/ or is easier for you to sleep at night I like Ryan Perry – so far this year he has been our best reliever in my opinion.

      I also like Inge, Verlander, Jackson, Miggy and anyone else who is helping the team win… go figure

      Oh and again, please read what you write. Ryan Perry has been sent packing to AAA.

      But you’re wrong, most organizations that know which way is up don’t send down a guy that has done what he has.

      And I must be a fool if I don’t see that I’m being critiqued (poorly I might add) by someone who’s avatar is of a man without a face. Kind of ironic. Then again coming from a LL (Lyon Lover) 😉 like yourself, I’m not surprised.

      As far as walks are concerned as long as they don’t come around to score, I couldn’t care less. I’d rather a guy give up several walks and be able to get out of it nearly all of the time, vs a guy who gets punished by getting pounded by doubles and hrs (and walks) on a regular basis.

      This whole thing is funny to me actually, in a cute way. Sort of like a 7 year old arguing with a teacher about facts.

      Student – “But, I don’t see the sun at night, it must be gone”
      Teacher – “I can assure you it is still there”
      Student – “I don’t believe you”
      Teacher – “But, it is still there”
      Student – “Nah nah na nah na, you’re wrong”
      Teacher – “OK I can tell this is getting nowhere and this kid doesn’t apparently understand the facts… so I’m done, let him believe what he wants, even if its wrong”

      2. David,

        It seems like you’re concerned that Perry is being sent down for performance reasons, but everything seems to indicate that this is a short term move until the 6-starter situation, that Bonderman’s activation created, is resolved. Perry was the easiest piece to move without making more permanent roster moves.

        Having said that, Perry does need to improve on his walks. I know you mentioned that “as far as walks are concerned as long as they don’t come around to score, [you] couldn’t care less” but his LOB% is 74.4, that’s just 1% better than Lyon’s (maybe not a fair comparison, but Papelbon’s is over 90%). Factor in the walk he’ll likely issue per inning, and that limits the team’s ability to put him into the game with men already on base (not that Lyon is any better).

        1. Yea I understand that(the flexibility of Perry) and agree that it is why it was done.

          Yes he could stand to improve, everyone on this team could in various areas. My points are to sum up

          1) He has arguably been the most effective reliever we have
          2) Walks have been over hyped
          3) I don’t know how anyone can believe Lyon has outperformed Perry or anyone on the pitching staff this year.

          When it comes right down to it, ERA and inherited runners scoring or being stranded combined together would be one of the most important stats IMO for relievers.

          Don’t make things more complicated than they already are.

          In any event it isn’t my decision anyways. I just think they made the wrong decision, and have shown they are slow to cut away the junk(Lyon/Sheff/Neifi possibly Dtrain etc.) that they pick up.

          1. “When it comes right down to it, ERA and inherited runners scoring or being stranded combined together would be one of the most important stats IMO for relievers.”

            Well, what are you waiting for? Put that noggin to use and make a new stat!

            I’m horrified by the news that the DTrain is being extended and Bondo is headed to the pen, although I would hope that the latter is a temporary move to build strength.

          2. Yea that is what I thought too. Plus I thought Bondo wasn’t very good. Some work out of the pen will probably do him good until more of his velocity/location/movement returns.

            As far as the stat I need to think about it. It needs a good name and/or acronym.

            IRS+ER/IP

            Inherited Runners Scoring plus Earned Runs divided by Innings Pitched

            STOPPER OTB
            Stopping the opposing players putting earned runs on the board. Nah, too long and weird. Got any ideas? 🙂

  108. @ David- oh and I loved your projections.
    Using your method-
    Inge hits 36 Homers, while Ordonez only hits 6.

    1. Thats what they are on pace to do~ yes.

      Do you think Ordonez has outproduced Inge this year too? LOL

      Even for you that would be hard to believe.

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