2012 Season, Game Post

Game 2012.35: Tigers at White Sox

84 Comments

Justin Verlander set a good example for young Drew Smyly, and callously shut down the Oakland A’s offense.  That’s the way to deal when your own team can’t score runs.

Today’s surprise prediction:  Smyly has his first shaky outing, but the offense will more than make up for it.

A lot of things have gone wrong with the offense.  Miguel Cabrera went on a career worst slump, followed by an unprecedented, and ongoing, Fielder slump (0-22 and counting).  They can’t score a runner from third with less than 2 out, they can’t bunt a runner up (it used to be every .200 hitter could bunt and run…not so much anymore).  And then there is Ryan Raburn.

Raburn has been awful.  And if past history is any guide, there is no reason to expect much improvement any time soon.  For those who missed it, Raburn has been consistently awful in May (BA/OBP/SLG/OPS)

  • 2010 .115 BA .115 OBP .154 SLG .269 OPS 0 BB 7 K
  • 2011 .113 BA .141 OBP .129 SLG .270 OPS 1 BB 22 K
  • 2012 .114 BA .179 OBP .200 SLB .379 OPS 2 BB 14 K

(2012 numbers through 5/13)

In other words, as bad as he has been, he is having a career best May.

Leyland says he is going to keep playing him, no matter what (OK…maybe. But batting him 6th? Seriously?): “I’ve got to get him going, and I’m going to give him the opportunity to get going.  That’s why he’s playing.”

As Jamie Samuelsen says: “Leyland needs Raburn to hit. And the only way that he knows how to get him to hit is to keep rolling him out there. Why he thinks that strategy applies to Raburn and didn’t apply to players like Brandon Inge, Ramon Santiago or Don Kelly is something only Leyland knows. But it’s not going to change, at least not soon.”

Furthermore, if it is an established pattern that Raburn hits only after the All-Star break (Raburn is a career .300 hitter in the 2nd half), why in the world would it seem like playing him more now is a good idea?

Jason Back says that “Raburn is like a stock at 52-wk low but with history of beating 2nd and 3rd-qtr estimates. Maddening to own, panic move to sell.”

So what to do? You tell me.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Gerald Laird.  Laird is one of only 3 Tigers hitting .300, has shown surprising baserunning abilities, and may be one of the best minor moves of the offseason.

Tonight’s If-He-Gets-Another-Hit-He-May-Move-Up-To-4th Lineup:
  1. Austin Jackson CF
  2. Andy Dirks LF
  3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
  4. Prince Fielder 1B
  5. Delmon Young DH
  6. Ryan Raburn 2B
  7. Brennan Boesch RF
  8. Jhonny Peralta SS
  9. Gerald Laird C

84 thoughts on “Game 2012.35: Tigers at White Sox”

  1. 1) Love that Dirks is batting second against a lefty. He’s here to stay.

    2) Cabrera read that ball beautifully. He’s such a smart ballplayer.

    1. 3-0 count that is – i’m not watching – was the 4th pitch toraburn out of the strike zone?

  3. Pregame forecast seems accurate so far. Let’s hope 2 runs is as shaky as it gets for Smyly.

    1. I REALLY like the way Smyly reacts to adversity…no emotion, no change in what he is doing, just goes about his business…for a youngster, he seems not at all prone to ever having a real meltdown.

  4. With Raburn’s .130 1st half+ (remember he doesn’t usually get going until after the AS Game) and .330 the rest of the way, I would be much happier with somebody who could average .250-.300 all year, finishing .260 or thereabouts. He’s a tremendous drag when he is an automatic out for such a long spell AND PLAYING EVERY DAY.

  5. Man I swear that MLB umpiring has been on a decline for a few years. Maybe it’s b/c instant replay is curing some of the ills in other sports.

    1. In case you missed it, Cabrera’s ball was CLEARLY fair (kicked up dirt inside the line past 3B), but was called foul. Would have scored 2.

  6. WTH is going on with the Tigers and umpires these days? That ball was fair 2 different ways.

    1. When you are not playing well you don’t get the calls either. It was like that 2 or 3 years ago too. And when they were really bad, oh my.

  8. OK, so we’ve established Raburn can’t bunt either, lets take that off the table.

    1. Quote;
      “just learned something else Rayburn can’t do”
      —————————————–

      Well – Ryan can spell his last name correctly.

      Go Tigers!

  12. too bad……we were hammerin’ Danks; don’t want a reliever in there……

  15. Oh no, Cabrera steals third. That will only work about 10% of the time, but Leyland will be encouraged to try it again and again – with different results.

    1. ….. and K-Bum can’t even get him home with only one out ….. just brutal!

      1. I think Raburn needs to be moved to the leadoff spot. He will get more ABs there and break out of his slump faster.

  16. Let’s see, Bosch can run like a deer toward a ball nearly in the seats but he couldn’t get to that one?

  17. is it me, or does it seem like the Tigers are getting inundated with ‘dink hits’ against ’em? seems like 2 or 3 times a game the other team gets those damned bloopers……

      1. I hope those runs that we didn’t plate in that situation tonight don’t come back and bite us in the a$$.

  19. Look gents, just because you have reached your average of 4.2 runs per game is no excuse to stop now.

  22. this ‘putz’ dude…….I’m less than impressed, and haven’t been his other appearances either……..

  23. The blow pen doing what it does best. Is this Putkonnen guy really the best we can do in this situation??

    1. The Raburn Rule says that they have to bring him in again tomorrow, but sooner.

    3. Quote;
      “Putkonnen = Jason Grilli = human gas can”
      ===============

      Pick another name please. Gas Can now belongs to Collin Balester.

  28. I’m a bit embarrassed, really, but my Pre-game prediction didn’t fully factor in the Blowpen Effect.

  29. At some point in time, some manager will learn that you bring in your best relievers in the most high pressure situations. And he will be applauded by me.

    I would have loved to see Dotel or Benoit once Put’em’on got into hot water.

    1. On the other hand, Managing For Dummies says that you replace a LHP starter with a RHP reliever, because they have their RH lineup in, haha.

    2. Leyland has always been terrible at handling a bullpen…certain managers have good pens, no matter who is in pen every year and other guys have terrible pens…The thing about most bad pens, in the league are that way because the starters don;t go deep enough in games and they get worn down…Not, Jim Leyland’s teams…He just never knows when to take them out.

  30. You know things are rough when you’ve got Peralta up there bunting (and failing).

  31. Are you serious??? So many more opportunities to score runs and they blow it, and then Leyland brings in a rookie in a tough situation and he blows it… This team is just giving away this game!

    1. oh it won’t be ‘wasted’ in JL’s mind…that hit just guaranteed Raburn another two weeks in the starting lineup…

  34. Hey look it this way: They have blown two 3 run leads in just 7 innings. That is an improvement because these jokers haven’t had two 3 run leads in the last month.

  35. Is there any reason why the other relievers couldn’t have been used? This team actually produces a few runs, and blow pen blows it… But, of course, the offense has had more opportunities, but expecting them to score more than 5 runs is a lot, considering that it is a challenge for them to score one run…

  37. Not sure why Jim Leyland thinks anybody besides Benoit or Valverde can pitch in his bullpen (Dotel can be good, just like albuqurque last year) but, for the most part you can only count on those two guys…on a consistent basis, so, I am wondering why we were in such a hurry to get rid of our starter…but, in any event. How can the Tigers be late on 3-1 93 mph fastballs right down the middle? How is that possible? Offensively they suck. Tonight, they scored some runs because Danks was awful and the CF misplayed Fielder’s ball to CF…Raburn is hitting in the 6th hole, which Leyland himself has called “a great RBI slot” which is why he had Guillen hit there all these years…I mean, I can’t complain about Raburn because almost all these guys suck…but, bat him towards the bottom of the order. Boesch is 3rd on the team in RBI…bat him 6th. It doesn’t really matter, they will be fine, if the division sucks this bad…but, they should be way up by now…what happens if they suffer a major injury (JV, Cabrera,etc.) They may be 8 games out, if somebody goes down…This start is pathetic and Jim is pushing every wrong button…Why Putkkonen? Why leave him in forever?

    1. Why pinch-hit for Dirks? To weaken your offense so that you can gain relatively more strength or why? why, why, why?

  39. leta see Santiago for Dirks…whenever I think Leyland can’t get stupider….he does something stupider….

    1. Maybe JL can’t wake his team up anymore, so he let’s them fall to rock bottom, so that they get motivated again?

  40. applying what i think is the more relevant LOB stat tonight, DET 23, CHW 8

    1. consistently high LOB values – still new to baseball, so can anyone explain why that even makes sense? you are able to get on base, so you are able to hit, and then why do you fail in R3L2O situations? If you just continue scoring hits, then you should be fine eventually.

  41. Fielder WTF? You were looking for a pitch around your ankles? 1st pitch swinging at that pitch? I mean, it isn’t a secret why they are bad in the clutch…They swing at that crap, with the game on the line…1st Pitch…Leyland needs to start benching guys, when they waste an at-bat…This is a joke. 8th inning, tying run is up and he swings at that…God, I wish guys would do that to us, with the game on the line…It almost never happens…We start out 1-0 and get behind in the count. When was the last time they won 2 in a row? I am sick of people acting like it will work itself out…They are playing AWFUL baseball (as far as the mental approach) and the only way you can win that way…is if the rest of your division loses the division…They should not accept another day of this BS…Get called out on strikes from time to time. The advanced scouts, know that the Tigers are overly aggressive and nobody throws them strikes in clutch situations…They need to be patient and stop missing 3-1 cookies and teams will have to start pitching them different. This is all coaching…Stop playing guys, who refuse toi change their approach. The will get the message.

  42. Rayburn is really on a roll. He has one hit exactly in three consecutive series…He is going for the one hit in a series record

    1. The Raburn Hitting Streak (1 hit in every series)…I wonder what the RHS record is?

  44. Does Leyland not know that his bullpen stinks besides Benoit and Valverde? I am getting redundant…My point..on a given night when he finds a guy getting outs…Just stay with it, because the chances are slim, that he will find 2 guys not named Benoit or Valverde to get outs on the same night. Hopefully it works out, but, Below was getting outs.

  45. Yep, this team is just not enjoyable to watch! Gotta be the most lazy, undisciplined team in the league & the ole skip pushes all the wrong buttons!

  46. Try to take this guy to RF and make him pitch w/ men on base and see how he reacts? Delmon Young is just cashing his paycheck, that was a joke of an at-bat.

  50. He had a chance…that pitch caught a lot of the plate…but, we aren’t even hitting mistakes these days.

    1. Quote:
      “this team sucks…and I agree with Chris ..they AREN’T going to be all right”
      ——————————————

      Buy the Macy’s crystal ball next time – or don;t let your dog roll it down the basement steps.
      Employing both methods should add another 15-20 Tigers victories this season.

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