Yearly Archives: 2011

2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 6.26.2011

Toledo 4, Louisville 2 (Reds)

Duane Below (LHP) turned in a quality start and got the win. He threw 6 innings and allowed 2 ER on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6. He has a 7-4 record with a  3.41 ERA in 15 starts. Lester Oliveros (RHP) pitched 2 scoreless innings to earn his 5th save of the year.

Will Rhymes went 2-3 with a double and 2 RBI.  Danny Worth and Clete Thomas each added an RBI to complete the scoring. Argenis Diaz (3B) went 2-2 with 2 runs scored and a walk. In 164 ABs with Toledo, Diaz is hitting .311.

Erie 1, Richmond 10 (Giants)

Richmond scored 5 runs in the 2nd and 3 more in the 3rd to put this one out of reach early. Brooks Brown (RHP) took most of the damage for Erie as he gave up 9 ER in 2.1 IP. Among a platoon of relievers, Robbie Weinhardt threw one inning without allowing a hit or a walk. Since being demoted to Erie, Weinhardt has continued to struggle and has a 6.43 ERA through 6 relief appearances.

Francisco Martinez (3B) had the lone Erie RBI on 1-3 from the plate. Deik Scram (RF) went 0-4.

Lakeland 5, Clearwater 2 (Phillies)

Cole Nelson (LHP) earned his 4th win of the year after 6 IP. He allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 H and 3 BB.

Corey Jones (2B) led Lakeland with 2 RBI and went  1-4 from the plate. Daniel Fields had the kind of night Moneyball fans love: 1-2 with 2 walks and a run scored.

West Michigan 3, South Bend 0 (D-Backs)

Brian Flynn (LHP) looked terrific in his second start at WM: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5K. In 11 1/3 IP over two starts, Flynn has allowed 3 ER, struck out 9, and walked 2. Nate Newman (RHP) threw two perfect innings to earn his first save.

Jeff Rowland (LF) doubled twice in three ABs, drew a walk, and scored one run. Luis Castillo (CF) had 2 hits in 4 ABs and scored 2 runs. Perez, Brantly, and Castellanos drove in one run each to account for WM’s runs.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.78: Diamondbacks at Tigers

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“A baseball manager is a necessary evil.”  -Sparky Anderson

Some are more necessary and less evil than others, and today the Tigers honor Sparky Anderson and officially retire his number 11.  Many ex-Tigers will be on hand for the ceremony, including Kirk Gibson and Alan Trammell of the Diamondbacks, Rod Allen, Al Kaline, Willie Horton, Gates Brown, Dick Tracewski, Dave Bergman, Darrell Evans, Mike Henneman, Larry Herndon, Dan Petry, Dave Rozema, Frank Tanana, and Milt Wilcox.  (That’s a somewhat pitcher-heavy list for a guy known as Captain Hook).

It that weren’t enough excitement, fans are still buzzing about Justin Verlander’s impressive 14-strikeout performance last night.  In the 8th, he let the first two batters get to 2nd and 3rd, seemingly as a tease, just so he could strike out the side, making Upton look particularly helpless.  I’m sure he has a bad game in him somewhere, but it has been so long it will seem strange and foreign when we see it:  since May 29 he is 6-0 with a 0.72 ERA.

Brady Penny is no Verlander, but he has been good enough lately.  Penny is matched up against Joe Saunders, who is 4-7 4.35 for the season, but has been improving of late.

Alex Avila is notably missing from today’s lineup–he is resting a sore wrist he received from an errant Ryan Perry pitch.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Casper Wells

The Ghost has quietly put together an impressive June, hitting .333 with a 1.108 OPS.

Today’s Lineup With a Spark:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Casper Wells RF
  3. Magglio Ordonez DH
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez C
  6. Jhonny Peralta SS
  7. Brennan Boesch LF
  8. Brandon Inge 3B
  9. Ryan Raburn 2B
2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.77: Diamondbacks at Tigers

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For once, Phil Coke got some run support.  Glove support, not so much.  The floodgates opened in the 4th following Raburn’s boot of a double-play grounder, and Coke never quite got the lid back on.  Regarding the error Leyland, straining to maintain the fiction that Raburn is a good fielder, said “that was a tough play.”

There was no play of any sort on the game-winning HR by Wily Mo Pena, which was measured at 454 feet, making it the 3rd longest HR at Comerica.

There were some bright spots in the game, including a HR by The Ghost, continued clutch hitting by Martinez and Peralta, and a vintage Ordonez opposite field double.  Hopefully this is a hint of a resurgent Magglio.

And the brightest spot of all is that today is another day, and this other day features Justin Verlander on the mound.  Hopefully Verlander will have his fastball back today; Verlander says his last start “wasn’t that great,” and that his “fastball control wasn’t anywhere near where it should be.”  Consequently he struggled through a 4-hit, 1 run, complete game.

It should be a fine day for fans of pitching, since Verlander will be opposed by Josh Collmenter, who is 4-3 with a sparkling 2.09 ERA.  Collmenter, a native of Homer, MI, and a Central Michigan alum, has an outstanding 39:11 K to BB ratio, so don’t expect many free passes tonight.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Brennan Boesch

With JV on the mound, a baesch or two should do the trick today; Boesch takes a shot at the #2 spot in the order.

Today’s Burn-out Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Brennan Boesch LF
  3. Magglio Ordonez RF
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez DH
  6. Jhonny Peralta SS
  7. Alex Avila C
  8. Brandon Inge 3B
  9. Ramon Santiago 2B
2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 6.24.2011

Toledo 4, Louisville 5 (Reds)

Andy Oliver looked decent as the Toledo starter: 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. Brad Thomas, however, took the loss after giving up an ER on 3 hits and 2 walks over 2 innings.

Danny Worth and Clete Thomas each hit solo homers. Max St. Pierre (C) went 2-4 with a  double. Ryan Strieby (1B) had two doubles in 4 AB’s with a run scored and a RBI.

Erie 0, Richmond 8 (Giants)

Ramon Garcia and Jared Gayhart combined to give up all 8 runs (all earned) in 7 innings. Garcia lost to drop his record to 2-3. On the bright side, Luis Marte (RHP) struck out 2 in a perfect 8th.

As you probably predicted, there was no offensive standout to speak of. However, there was one shaggy-haired exception – Rawley Bishop (1B)  went 2-3 with a walk.

Lakeland v. Brevard County: PPd – rain

West Michigan 2, South Bend 1 (Diamondbacks)

Alex Burgos (LHP) started and lasted 6 2/3. During that span, he allowed just one ER on 4 hits with no walks while striking out 6. Bruce Rondon (RHP) recorded save number 12 after striking out the side in the 9th.

Nick Castellanos (3B) went 2-4 with a double and a run scored. James Robbins (1B) went 1-4 with a double, a run scored, and a RBI while striking out 3 times. Moya had the other RBI on a 1-3 night.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.76: Diamondbacks at Tigers

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Interleague play can be fun when those natural rivalry games come up.  Then there are all of those other games, the leftoverlry games, in which it has somehow been decided that Detroit vs Arizona is a good idea.

Just our luck:  The Diamondbacks are the hottest team in MLB;  they are the new Indians, leading the majors with 27 wins since May 14.  And traveling to Comerica doesn’t look to phase them:  Arizona is 15-4 over their last 19 road games.

On the other hand, we get an added treat this season, since Arizona is being managed by ol’ Gibby himself, and joining Kirk Gibson on the bench is bench coach Alan Trammell.  Not that Gibson is being all sentimental about it:  “they’re the enemy.  It’s totally different.  Tiger Stadium is where I played.”  Expect that to change for the 3rd game of the series Sunday, when the Tigers will hold a ceremony retiring Sparky Anderson’s number.

Phil Coke will take the mound today and pray for some run support for a change.  Oh wait, look, Brandon Inge is back tonight!  Problem solved. (Danny Worth drew the short straw, so back to the Toledo mud for him).  Inge and company will be bashing against Zach Duke, who gave up  3 runs in 5 innings vs the White Sox his last outing.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Alex Avila

Justin Verlander says, vote Alex into the All-Star Game. (By the way, Justin seems to have borrowed artwork by Samara over at Roar of the Tigers).

Today’s Ingetangible Lineup:

  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Casper Wells LF
  3. Magglio Ordonez RF
  4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
  5. Victor Martinez DH
  6. Jhonny Peralta SS
  7. Alex Avila C
  8. Brandon Inge 3B
  9. Ryan Raburn 2B
2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 6.23.2011

Toledo 0, Columbus 6 (Indians)

Enrique Gonzalez (RHP) lasted 4 2/3 innings while giving up 3 hits and 5 walks which lead to 4 ER. Gagnier and Ortega each gave up an ER.

Clete Thomas  and Ryan Strieby each had 2 hits to lead an otherwise anemic Toledo offense. Argenis Diaz (3B) is the only Mud Hen currently hitting over .300 with a .302 average. He went 1-4.

Erie 3, Reading 10 (Phillies)

Reading exploded for 7 runs in the 4th to put this one out of reach early. The Erie starter, Mark Sorensen (RHP) gave up 9 ER on 9 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings. Simons allowed one more ER in 2 innings of work and  Robbie Weinhardt threw a two-hit 9th inning to wrap it up.

Gustavo Nunez had the top night offensively. The switch-hitting SS went 2-4 with a homer, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored. After hitting .304 with Lakeland, Nunez was promoted to Erie and played his first game June 20th. Since then, in 4 games and 17 ABs, he’s hitting .294 with a home run and 3 RBI. Despite a relatively consistent, good,  batting average at Lakeland, Nunez had a somewhat pedestrian OBP of .368.  Nunez needs to improve his plate discipline before continuing the rise through the ranks – he’s walked 25 times while striking out in 43 attempts, in 277 plate appearances.

Lakeland 2, Brevard County 4 (Brewers)

Trevor Feeney (RHP) was the losing pitcher. He went 5 innings and gave up 4 ER on 8 hits. Zach Samuels (LHP) held Brevard scoreless through 3 innings of work while K’ing 3. On the year, Samuels has a 2.03 ERA between Erie and Lakeland. In 13 games and 23 2/3 innings at Lakeland Samuels has struck out more batters than he has allowed hits + walks (21 K’s – 17 hits and 2 walks).

Plagman and Rodriguez each went 3-4 with no RBI. Gaynor and Garcia had one RBI each.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.75: Tigers at Dodgers

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Short and sweet for the W headed into an off-day.

Today’s game is free on MLB.tv.  Check out the Tigers wearing 1944 throwback jerseys.

My pick to click is Cabrera.  He’s fuming from yesterday.

1. Casper Wells, CF
2. Ryan Raburn, 2B
3. Brennan Boesch, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, C
6. Magglio Ordonez, RF
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Danny Worth, 3B
9. Rick Porcello, P

2011 Season, Minors

Minor Leage Wrap 6.21.2011

Toledo 3, Columbus 4 (Indians)

Duane “look out” Below (LHP) was the losing pitcher after allowing all 4 Columbus runs on 7 hits and a walk over 6 IP.  Brad Thomas threw 2 scoreless innings of relief and has allowed just one run in 6 innings of relief while at Toledo.

For the good news of the night, Inge went 2-4 with 2 solo homers. The only other Mud Hen to record a hit was Will Rhymes who went 1-4.

Erie 4, Reading 1 (Phillies)

Brooks Brown (RHP) earned a win and looked terrific in his third start of the year: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Austin Wood recorded his third save of the year after he allowed 2 hits and struck out 2 in the 9th.

Francisco Martinez (3B) was 2-4 from the plate and lead the team with 2 RBI. Rockett and Douglas picked up an RBI each. After his promotion from Lakeland, Michael Rockett (OF) is hitting .333 in 72 ABs with Erie.

Lakeland 4, Daytona 3 (Cubs)

Lakeland trailed 2-3 heading into the 9th before adding two clutch runs and turning the game over to Kenny Faulk (LHP). Predictably, Faulk held the opposition scoreless and got his 18th save of the year. In his last ten appearances, Faulk has held the other team scoreless 9 times.  He’s also struck out 39 batters in 30 1/3 innings while walking only 4.

Kenny Faulk’s continued brilliance detracted somewhat from the praise I would have otherwise heaped on Drew Smyly (LHP) who gave up just two unearned runs over 7 innings of work while striking out 8.

Daniel Fields (CF) had a nice night: 2-3, 1 RBI. Brent Wyatt (LF) also had 2 hits and a RBI. Bergolla had the other Lakeland RBI.

Brent Wyatt is a switch-hitting outfielder who is hitting .311 in 212 ABs with Lakeland. He’s walked more than he’s struck out (43 to 39) and driven in 24 while posting an OBP of .444.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.74: Tigers at Dodgers

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Last night’s trivia answer: Jack Morris, Dan Petry, and Walt Terrell.  Wilcox had been relegated to a spot starter by 1985.

Tigers are 1-3 thus far to start this 6 game interleague road trip.  During these four games, opposing pitchers are 2-7 with 5 RBI and 3 BB.  That’s a .500 OBP, and as many RBI as any other spot in the lineup.  Arguably, it only really mattered in Saturday’s loss, but watching the opposing pitcher drive in more runs than the whole team can’t be much of a boost in the dugout.

Max Scherzer looks to be the first ML pitcher to get to 10 wins tonight.  He hit a rough patch in late May/early June, but he’s rebounded nicely allowing only 3 ER over his last 12 2/3 with a .95 WHIP.

Scherzer will be opposed by Chad Billingsley.  Billingsley is hittable with a 1.52 WHIP on the year against a 4.65 ERA.  Note his 2011 stats are significantly worse than his career stats (3.66 ERA and 1.37 WHIP), and he had a 16 win season back in 2008.  I get the feeling that he’s the kind of guy who could turn into Cy for a night against the boys.

My pick to click is Jackson, as he’s also on my Scoresheet roster.

No Peralta or Cabs (or Maggs) tonight.

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Don Kelly, 3B
3. Brennan Boesch, RF
4. Victor Martinez, 1B
5. Andy Dirks, LF
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Ryan Raburn, 2B
8. Ramon Santiago, SS
9. Max Scherzer, P

 

 

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.73: Tigers at Dodgers

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The Tigers stroll into LA on the tail of another JV masterpiece.  The last time the Tigers had multiple 9 game winners this early in the season was 1985, when they had 3.  Can you name them?

For the Tigers, tonight’s game is all about Brad’s balls.  How many, to be exact.  Did you know that when he gives up more than 2 walks he’s 0-3 with a 9.73 ERA?  On the flip side, when he allows 2 or fewer BBs he’s 5-2 with a 3.39 ERA.

Penny will be opposed by Dodger ace Clayton Kershaw.  Kershaw is a mid-90’s lefty who relies heavily on his fastball with a good slider out pitch.  On the year he’s 6-3 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.  He strikes out a ridiculous 9.67/9 (contrast that against JVs 8.20/9) against less than 3 walks per 9.  He had his two worst outings of the season on June 4th and June 9th, but then righted the ship with a 7 inning, 4 hit, 1 ER performance last time out.

A few notes:

– JV was named co-player of the week in the AL (second time he’s shared the award this season) alongside James Shields.
– Inge is hitting .176 through four games at Toledo.
– Clayton Kershaw has 9 hits and is second in the majors among all pitchers with a .290 BA.
– The Tigers are batting .312 with 95 runs scored, 31 doubles and 20 home runs in 18 games during June.

Today’s pre-game player of the game is Ryan Raburn.  For no reason other than he’s on my Scoresheet team.

Your Maggs is Due Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Casper Wells, LF
3. Magglio Ordonez, RF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, C
6. Jhonny Peralta, SS
7. Ryan Raburn, 2B
8. Danny Worth, 3B
9. Brad Penny, P

2011 Season, Minors

Minor League Wrap 6.19.2011

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Toledo 2, Louisville 4 (Reds)

Andy Oliver (LHP) took the loss after giving up all 4 Louisville runs in 5 1/3 IP. He allowed 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. Wise and Ortega combined to pitch 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

Inge went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. In 17 ABs with Toledo he’s only produced 3 singles with 0 RBI. Bryan Pounds (3B) went 1-4 with a homer. Ben Guez got the other Toledo RBI and went 2-3 on the night.

Erie 3, New Hampshire 1 (Blue Jays)

Ramon Garcia (LHP) started and got the win after a quality start: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Chance Ruffin (RHP) picked up save number 8 after striking out 1 while retiring the side in order in the 9th.

Michael Bertram (DH) didn’t have an RBI but was instrumental in the win. He scored two runs and went 2-3 from the plate with a  double and a walk. Ciriaco and Retherford each drove in 1.

West Michigan 5, Lake County 10 (Indians)

Nate Newman (RHP) and Bruce Rondon (RHP) each blew a save opportunity as the West Michigan staff allowed Lake County back into this one. West Michigan lead by 1 heading into the 8th before Newman gave up a run on 3 hits. West Michigan rebounded and scored a go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th before Rondon gave up a run in the top of the 9th. After 3 scoreless extra frames, Lake County posted 5 runs in the top of the 13th to win easily. Patrick Cooper ate the loss after allowing all 5 decisive runs over 4 1/3 innings of work.

The glowing bright spot of this pitching implosion was Nick Castellanos who went 3-6 with a double and 3 RBI. Despite a slow start , Castellanos is inching closer to reaching his potential and is now hitting .291 on the year.

My pick for underrated minor leaguer of the year, Rob Brantly (C), went 2-4 with a triple and scored 3 runs.

Dixon Machado (SS) had a terrible 0-fer as he went 0-6 with a strike out.

2011 Season, Game Post

Game 2011.72: Tigers at Rockies

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Happy Father’s Day All.  This is my first! (shameless plug)  Anyone watching the game with their kids?

Tigers lose last night in a game where they doubled their opponents’ hits – 12 to 6.  The Tigers had plenty of scoring chances, and even hit 4-10 with RISP, but back to back walks in the 2nd followed up by a Ubaldo Jimenez single did in Phil Coke.  Coke had little control throughout the game, and 9 walks given up by Tigers pitching was just too much.  One bright spot – the bullpen was pretty darn good, giving up 1 hit (just happened to be a HR) and 2 walks against 4 ks in three innings. Like Ron Washington said, That’s the way baseball go.

Thus, the Tigers are on the verge of losing back-to-back-to-back games for 4th time this year.  But I’m not worried, as Justin Verlander climbs the mound this afternoon.

Since I did not yet get an opportunity to do so, I wanted to take a look at JV’s pitch selection from his masterpiece last Tuesday.  To say that he’s mixing it up would be a gross understatement, like saying Maggs in in a little slump.  In the first inning he started off relying heavily on his fastball, per usual, but note that every out pitch was on an off-speed pitch, recording two strikeouts on his curveball, and getting Brantley to ground out on a change-up.  The 4/14 off-speed pitches that he threw in the first all went for strikes.  If he can establish his complimentary pitches like that today, he’s going to be 9-3 when he leaves the ballpark.

In the second he again stuck with the fastball, throwing 6 of them against 3 changeups.  In the third, he shifted gears and began throwing more off-speed stuff.  This has got to be demoralizing for the opponents, as just when they think they are getting their timing down against the fastball, he becomes an off-speed pitcher.  From the third to the seventh, he alternated brilliantly between fastball heavy innings, and non fastball heavy innings.  In the 6th he set down Hannahan on three straight fastballs, and then in the 7th he reached 99 MPH for the first time all game to Brantley. So what does he do in the 8th when it looks like he’s all warmed up and ready to hit 100?  He throws 2 fastballs against 12 off-speed pitches.  The Cabrera hit was on a fastball that JV would likely tell you was poorly located.

Other than starting games with predominantly fastballs, JV’s pitch selection has been impossible to predict as of late, and as a result, he has been nearly impossible to hit.

The Rockies counter with mainstay Aaron Cook, a soft-throwing right-hander who neither strikes out nor walks many, but gives up a lot of hits.  Cook has started only 2 games this year after slamming a door on his finger during Spring Training.  Seems like a convenient way to get out of drills, if you ask me.  He gets pretty good movement on his two-seamer, and that combined with the Rockies’ inability to develop young pitchers have kept him in the rotation for almost 10 years.

Your Father’s Day Lineup:

(coming soon)