With Gerald Laird you know what you get. A player who is challenged offensively but who can lay down a bunt. He brings very little value offensively. He’s also a player with quick feet and a strong accurate arm behind the plate. The offensive part is easy to slap numbers on and assess. But while there has been quite a bit of advancement in defensive statistics, particularly around range, those range stats don’t really apply to catchers. Understanding just how much Laird contributed defensively beyond a caught stealing percentage had been kind of a mystery. Fortunately some work done at Driveline Mechanics has helped to translate a catcher’s defense into runs saved.

This methodology focuses on caught stealing, pitch blocking, and errors. A common belief is that there is little difference amongst catchers when it comes to game calling. Pitchers and catchers would probably tell you a different story, but being able to tease out tangible results from a greatly called game versus a poorly called one (as opposed to all the other variables in play like a pitcher’s stuff, the opposition, random variation, etc.) is well…difficult?

It’s no surprise that Laird flourishes underr this study. His caught stealing rate of 42% was outstanding in and of itself. That he saved 5 runs more than the next best catcher (Yadier Molina) is astounding. In total Laird was the top defensive catcher at 13.3 runs saved above average, a full half-win better than the next catcher.

Laird’s difficulties with the bat make him a liability at the plate and he was 16.9 runs below average with the bat (about 1.5 wins – or losses in this case) and with a positional adjustment Laird is about 1 win above a replacement level player. Add in his defense though and his value doubles to just over 2 wins above replacement.

The question for the Tigers for 2010 then is whether they look to improve offensive production at the catcher position or whether to look for improved production at other spots to be able to carry Laird’s glove in the lineup.

Long time readers of this site remember a feature called the Inning Report. Reader Sam Hoff would break down the season into 18 game segments or “innings.” Why 18 game? Because there are 9 18 game segments in a season. Tuesday’s game against the Twins completed not only the season, but the 9th inning as well (this one had 19 games). Sam is still putting these together, but he’s posting them on his site this season. So click through to read The 9th Inning is Over with games through Tuesday.

One thing about this team, they were consistent. In 7 of the 9 inning segments the team won either 9 or 10 games. They managed to do this while being outscored in each of the last 5 innings.

The Tigers pitchers did their part in keeping runs off the board, even if they weren’t always dominant. Edwin Jackson was throttled and posted a 1.45 WHIP. Rick Porcello posted a 1.39 WHIP but had much different results. I’d guess that to be a function of ground ball hits not hurting has bad as fly ball hits.

With Polanco and Ordonez both posting OBPs above .400 down the stretch, Miguel Cabrera probably needed to have more than 14 RBI, although that’s not even a bad total for a 19 game stretch.

One thing that really jumped out was that Alex Avila only had 8 at-bats in this last segment and no extra base hits.

Congratulations to the Minnesota Twins and their fans. You have to hand it to a team that finished the season 17-4 (and the Tigers were responsible for 3 of those 4 losses) without their second best player. They went out and took the division from the Tigers. They went down 3 runs early tonight and came back to take the lead. They were down in extra innings and tied it up. The Twins went out and won one of the best and most entertaining baseball games I’ve ever seen.

As for the Tigers, congratulations doesn’t really fit. But they did play a heck of a game against a red hot opponent in a hostile environment in the midst of a media blitz and distractions. Unfortunately they came up short on too many rallies tonight (and throughout the season) and like in 2006 the Tigers surrendered first place on the last day of the season.

We’ll discuss what comes next for the team in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime a litany of thoughts on tonight’s game:

• Rick Porcello was amazing. I don’t know where the 8 K’s came from but the way he pitched gave the Twins fits. If most voters hadn’t already cast their ballots there’s a decent chance he wins Rookie of the Year.
• Miguel Cabrera quieted talk of focus and distraction with a double and a homer in his first 2 at-bats. He also did a nice job getting to 3rd base in the 12th inning on Don Kelly’s hit. I think saying he doesn’t care isn’t fair, even in light of what happened over the weekend.
• Fernando Rodney pitched well and he wasn’t the reason they lost. In Leyland’s post game he said that Rodney asked for the ball that last inning. He completes the season with only 1 blown save but he was on the mound when a ground ball found its way between first and second.
• Inge had a heck of a game with 2 spectacular diving plays and a big RBI double. He failed in 2 situations with runners on, but he certainly carried his weight tonight. Heck, he even should have had an RBI in the 12th when he was hit by a pitch and a call was missed.
• Like Inge there were so many players that had ups and downs tonight. Granderson got doubled off in the 9th inning in a baserunning mistake and took a bad angle on the ball that got by Raburn. But Grandy also had 2 hits and made a diving play in centerfield.
• Ryan Raburn lost the Cuddyer ball in the lights, but gunned a guy at the plate and also picked up a couple hits.
• Gerald Laird however will think about this one for awhile. He struck out to end the 9th and the 12th. He didn’t get a ball out of the infield, he failed on a sacrifice bunt. He didn’t even get the pleasure of throwing out a runner. But I do think his presence prevented some steal attempts. As much as I wanted him pinch hit for, I still wanted him behind the plate.
• So many plays to look back on, but the Magglio Ordonez line out to shortstop is still the killer. He ripped a ball off of Nathan and had nothing to show for it. Ugh.
• And the other play was the grounder up the middle that ended up out of the reach of Polanco. We’re so used to Placido making plays all over the place. That the ball was out of his reach is something I still can’t believe.

The Tigers went 17-16 in September and October. For the season they finished as a .527 winning percentage team. I don’t know that constitutes a collapse. Yes, they had every chance to put the division away and they should take heat for that. But they didn’t tank in the 2nd half. The Twins went and took the division from them.

I will throw out one offseason prediction that I’d guess happens soon. My guess is that Lloyd McClendon will be relieved of his hitting coach duties. Not because of this game, but because of a season’s worth of offensive struggles. I don’t know if he’ll be fired or moved to another coaching position, but I think Lloyd will be gone.