Eric Neel spends a week watching the Tigers-and survives
posted by billfer at 11:40 AM

Yesterday Connolly threw a complete game for West Michigan striking out 3 and allowing 7 hits, no walks, and 1 run. This raised his season ERA to 0.79.
posted by billfer at 9:52 AM

New York Times on athletes skipping their senior season of high school. Part of the article is about Jeremy Bonderman. (From Baseball Primer)
posted by billfer at 7:09 AM

The one positive thing you could say about the Tigers this year is that they've been healthy. Fifty-one games in and the starting rotation is intact, and the only person to spend time on the DL is Dean Palmer (which should never be considered a surprise). Sure Omar Infante missed a couple games to a stiff back, and Dmitri has lost a couple AB's to various ailments, but the team has been healthy. That was until Carlos Pena tore a tendon behind his knee. Now according to Dr. Pena, the injury isn't that serious (from the Free Press) "The tendon that I tore is one you don't really need or use," Pena said. "Once there's no more bleeding and the swelling goes down, I should be OK. In fact, the doctor told me my leg probably will end up feeling better than it did before." Hopefully Carlos is right.

Mike Maroth had to leave yesterday's game in the second inning after his hamstring tightened up when backing up home plate. It's too early to know whether or not he'll miss his next turn.

Yesterday was my third trip down to Comerica this year, and I took the whole family. Billy, my two year old, attended his second game this year. Katilyn, my 2 month old attended her first game ever. Needless to say I only saw parts of the game. Luckily, two very nice gentleman approached us while we were in line for tickets, and gave us two that they weren't using. Turns out the two were 12 rows behind the Tiger dugout. Despite the way the Tigers played it was a beautiful day and I can't think of many other places I'd rather be on a weekday afternoon than at a baseball game. Unfortunately the place was pretty empty, the paid attendance was 17,000 but actual attendance I'd put around 10,000. The lack of turnout is really disheartening. I know the team is pitiful this year, but weekday afternoon games still used to be a decent draw. And I'm not talking about the "good ole days." I'm talking like 98-99. It speaks to just how bad this organization has been for so long, that people don't even think about coming out.

Even with a bad team, there is still something inherently enjoyable about sitting outside on a sunny day, having some hot dogs, drinking some beer and watching baseball. Billy loves going to games, and at two he doesn't understand what's going on on the field. He just likes seeing the stadium, and eating hot dogs, and sitting in the seats (and no we don't do the carousel and ferris wheel stuff). With Clemens going for 300, I hope that it generates enough interest to fill the stadium. I'd be going if my wife wasn't working that day. I know that I can only expect so much support for a 13-38 team. Still, I just want people to remember that going to a game is still fun.

Other Stuff:
-After playing solid 3B for the bulk of the season, Eric Munson has committed errors in 3 of his last 4 games
-Alex Sanchez debuted with a single, and then easily stole second. He had a huge jump, and was two strides from the bag before the ball got to home plate. The Tigers are now 20 for 41 in stolen bases. Opponents have been successful 30 of 41 times, including 1-2 in attempts to steal home.
-Wil Ledezma pitched 3 2/3 innings (career high) and looked alright. He walked 2 and allowed 3 hits. No runs were charged to him, although two runners he inherited from Maroth scored in the second
-Dmitri Young hit only the 11th homer in Comerica Park history into the centerfield ivy
-With two doubles yesterday Brandon Inge's OPS has topped .500 for the first time this season
posted by billfer at 3:58 AM

Tigers pick up lockerroom cancer
For some unfathomable reason the Tigers traded for Alex Sanchez. The gave up Noochie Varner-who's been playing well at Erie- and left hander Chad Petty. For more info on Sanchez, check out this glowing piece from the Journal Sentinel. Sanchez lost his starting CF job in Milwaukee. He's hitting .282 on the season, but has only walked 7 times in 170 plate appearances.

I know I was just complaining about the lack of production from our leadoff spot, but a .316OBA doesn't seem worth giving up Varner.
posted by billfer at 11:57 AM

It was nice to see the Tigers fight back yesterday, and I was particularly happy to see Brandon Inge get the go ahead home run. Earlier in the game Inge had 3 solid at-bats with nothing to show for it (I included his weak grounder to second on a hit and run as a "good" at-bat because he had to get the bat on the ball). Franklyn German had another solid outing picking up the save. Bonderman pitched his best game since his turn in Oakland and looked real sharp (7K/1BB). He had to leave after 6 innings and 82 pitches due to a blister-but that might not be such a bad thing anyway. Avery "earned" the win by giving up a 3 run homer to tie the game. In all fairness, those 3 runs were the first he'd allowed this year.

Speaking of which, Avery's call up has kept Wil Ledezma off the mound. Since Avery's May 10th call up, Ledezma has only pitched in two games (5/15 and 5/21) and both opportunities were "inning-eaters" when the team was trailing. Based on what Jayson Stark and Peter Gammons have reported, Ledezma has starter-quality stuff. One article compared him to Johan Santana. While I appreciate Avery's comeback, and that we have him cheap, why not use Ledezma more? I don't know that he will be a contributor on this team in two years, or even next year. However, he's much more likely to be a member of this team beyond this season than Avery. What's frustrating is that you'd like to see Ledezma get work, but because he's a Rule V guy, he has to stay and wallow in the bullpen.

I guess the bright side to Ledezma's lack of work is that the starting pitching has been better than expected, and for the most part worked deeper into games than expected. The rotation is still intact, which has to have surprised everyone. Only the A's, Yankee's, and Mariner's can say the same-and that is some good company to be in.
posted by billfer at 5:50 AM

A first glance at Bobby Higginson's numbers this month to date are pretty reassuring. He's hitting .345/.444/.476. He's also scored 16 runs during the month so far. What is troubling is his lack of RBI, for the month he only has 7. Frankly I don't know if it's because he's not hitting well with men on base, or if he just isn't having opportunities with men on base. I suspect it is a little bit of the former and a whole lot of the latter. Unfortunately I don't have the time to dig into this deeper right now. However, I do know that the hitters occupying the 1-2 slots, Torres/Kingsale/Santiago/Infante all seem to bunt more than they swing away. I know that Tram has been handcuffed with very little production out of most of the order-which makes finding a good lineup futile. However, with Pena starting to emerge from his slump, Young hitting better, the emergence of the Kevin Witt/Craig Monroe platoon, and Eric Munson's plate discipline, it may be time to shuffle the lineup. Why not move Munson to the number 2 spot in the order. Sure, his .301 OBA isn't particularly impressive, but neither is Santiago's .297 or Infante's .285. Also, at least Munson is working the count more. He's averagine 3.92 pitches/plate appearance compared to 3.80 for Infante and 3.22 for Santiago. I know you are giving up some speed, but speed on the bench isn't particularly useful.
posted by billfer at 8:58 AM

The Tigers 3 game win streak came to an end yesterday on a 12th inning home run by Joe Crede. The walk-off was set up when Eric Munson threw high to first on what would have been the third out. Despite that, the weekend featured some fine defensive plays, and excellent pitching by the Tigers. Mike Maroth won his first game of the year on Friday and Gary Knotts pitched a strong game on the road for the first time this year. It seems like only last week I wrote about how he couldn't get anybody out away from Comerica.

I just have a couple of comments about Tram's moves yesterday. I was a little disappointed to see him pinch-hit for Kevin Witt in the 8th inning yesterday against lefty Kelly Wunsch. While Witt has only one AB agsint left handed pitching this year, he was still 2-3 with a home run in game. Furthermore, Wunsch had given up a double, a 4 pitch walk, and a HBP. Clearly he was wild and having trouble finding the plate. By going to the right handed Monroe, it invited the Sox to take Wunsch out of the game. That being said, the Tigers did tie it up, but Monroe didn't do any of the damage. The big hit was a jam shot from fellow pinch hitter Torres. The second issue is much easier to second guess since it didn't work out, and that was walking Konerko to get to Crede. Looking at how each has fared against Sparks the move didn't make a lot of sense. Konerko was 8 for 33 lifetime, and 7 of those hits were singles (one was a home run). Crede, was 3 for 8 with a home run. Furthermore, if you look at their splits by situation "Close and Late" (7th inning or later and the game within a run) Crede still had the better numbers. Konerko is 3 for 22 on the season and Crede was 8 for 22.


posted by billfer at 6:25 AM

Jayson Stark's Rumblings
posted by billfer at 5:57 AM

Lynn Henning on the the Tigers
posted by billfer at 5:44 AM

Prospect Watch-West Michigan
Jon Connolly of the West Michigan Whitecaps improved to 8-0 on the year by pitching 8 2/3 innings of shut-out ball. He walked one and had 5 strikeouts. The effort dropped his ERA to 0.75. On the year he has 29 K's and 17 BB's in 59 IP. Connolly was a 28th round draft choice in the 2001 draft. The soft throwing left hander is 19 years old.
posted by billfer at 5:36 AM

Baugh gets promoted
posted by billfer at 3:48 AM

Young challenges future stars to battle through tough times - 5/20/03
posted by billfer at 4:02 AM

Farm Report - 5/20/03
posted by billfer at 3:58 AM

So what happens when the two worst offensive teams in the American League play each other? How about a 10-9 slugfest featuring 24 hits (12 extra-base) and 6 home runs. This is what is great about baseball, that every game gives you something different. Even the two worst teams in the league can combine for a very entertaining baseball game. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they came up short despite a 3 dinger, 7 RBI game from Carlos Pena. Jamie "CJ" Walker took the loss as Gary Knotts and the bullpen combined to blow an early 6 run lead. Knotts road woes continue. In Comerica he has a 1.66 ERA with no HR's, 4 BB's, and opponents are hitting .213 in 3 starts. On the road however he has this line: 4 GS, 7.41 ERA, 4 HR's, 11 BB's, .314 opponent BA. Nice to see Kevin Witt kill the ball in his first start.
posted by billfer at 3:48 AM

Young hitters will develop, Avila says
posted by billfer at 3:32 AM

Tim DeWalt at Tigers Central has a pretty fair analysis of the team so far. I particularly agreed with his last paragraph:
posted by billfer at 6:04 AM

Just when it looked like the Tigers had started to turn the corner offensively, they manage to post 13 runs during the 6 game homestand. Sunday's loss was particularly frustrating because it highlighted just how far apart the Mariners and Tigers are. Joel Piniero was very vulnerable at the start of the game yesterday. He had little control, and was routinely leaving the ball up in the first two innings. Andres Torres led off by working a full count, and then forced what should have been a walk, except he was hosed (nothing you can do about that). Ramon Santiago follows up with a walk, and Bobby Higginson hits a two-run homer on the first pitch. And that's where it ended. Young flew out on a full count pitch and Pena flew out after a 5 pitch at-bat. In the second, Piniero was still having trouble with his command. Craig Monroe grounded to second, but only after fouling off a 2-2 hanging curveball that should have been tagged. Munson followed with a walk and then Piniero shut the door. He retired 11 of the next 12 batters on only 35 pitches, allowing only a two out single to Omar Infante. Meanwhile, Maroth was struggling and the M's hitters weren't going to let him off the hook. Three times they deposited his mistakes in the stands (or more precisely between the stands and the fence).

The Tigers truly have only one "crafty" veteran hitter and that is Higginson. While Young is a veteran (and a pretty decent hitter despite his struggles this year), his success is more from the way he handles the bat. In Higginson's first at-bat, he'd seen that Piniero struggle to throw his breaking balls (or any pitches for strikes). That's why when Piniero grooved a first pitch fastball down the middle, Higginson was ready and he didn't miss it. It's this type of approach that is lacking from the rest of the team, as is to be expected with a team so young. The point being that this series, and in particular Sunday's game illustrated just how far away this team is from being competitive. It also illustrated why Alan Trammell is the right man for this job (as well as his coaching staff) because so much teaching needs to be done. Camera shots of the dugout repeatedly show the coaches talking with the players, right after a questionable play happens. This staff is the right staff to teach the kids how to play the game.

Stat note of the day:
Dmitri Young's having a tough time from the right side of the plate this season. As a righty he's hitting .182/.233/.236 in 55 AB. From the left side he's .252/.391/.539. Which caused me to wonder, why does he switch hit? Surely he wouldn't fare worse against left handed hitters hitting left handed. A quick look at his last 3 years reveal he has a marginally higher average batting right handed (.302/.334/.452) albeit with a little less power than left handed (.298/.349/.483).
posted by billfer at 5:49 AM

Tigers put Palmer on disabled list His neck problem has resurfaced. I have a feeling that Dean Palmer has played his last professional baseball game. This injury has been lingering for 3 years now, without ever getting completely better. That combined with his struggles at the plate this year (he has more strike outs than total bases) probably means the end. In the meantime Kevin Witt was called up from Toledo (9 Homers). Witt becomes the 29th man to play for the Tig's this year.
posted by billfer at 7:07 PM

While the Tigers offense has been woeful for the better part of the season, the A's pitching staff can give any team fits. That's why, even though it is cliche, it is nice to see the Tigers do "the little things" right. Craig Monroe's home run came on an awesome 13 pitch at-bat where he fouled off 8 pitches. Then in the ninth, when Monroe led off with a double, it was nice to see the Tigers execute the fundamentals to get him home for the win. A bunt by Munson advanced Monroe to third, and then Brandon Inge stepped up by hitting a fly ball deep enough to left field that Monroe was basically able to trot home with out a throw. The April Tigers would have left Monroe stranded at second after a failed bunt attempt, a pop-out, and a routine ground ball. This time, they made it look easy.

Another strong start from the pitching staff-this time Gary Knotts-kept the Tigers in the game. German battled control problems again in the 9th when he loaded the bases with walks, but it allowed Avery to come in, get a K and the win. Speaking of pitching, is there anyone in uniform for the Tigers that has earned his salary more than Bob Cluck? This starting rotation was supposed to be a laughing stock, and instead they are in the top half of the AL in ERA, and 3rd best in HR's and BB's allowed. So far his hiring has to be considered Trammell's best move as a manager.
posted by billfer at 4:37 AM

Grand Rapids Press: Joel Zumaya
posted by billfer at 4:05 AM

Danny Knobler
posted by billfer at 9:59 AM

Matt Anderson's line from Toledo today: 3IP, 0R, 1 H, 1 W, 3 K
posted by billfer at 12:24 PM

I didn't see much of the Tig's this weekend, and while capping the road trip with a 9-2 win was nice, combining for one run between Friday and Saturday was a disappointment. Especially considering the roll they were on coming off the Baltimore series. Observations from the box scores and game recaps:
-Now that Jim Thome has left the AL, it seems that Aubrey Huff has filled his role of designated home-run hitter. Six games against the Tigers, 5 Home Runs.
-Jeremy Bonderman looks to have pitched another solid game, with out throwing a ton of pitches
-The bullpen, while not being in any save situations pitched 5 1/3 innings with 2 hits, no walks, and no runs during the Tampa series
-Another strong outing by Nate Cornejo where he didn't strike anybody out. I know that there is some concern about Nate's non-existent strike out rate, but he continues to get people to hit the ball into the ground. With the type of defense that Munson and Pena have been playing on the corners, and the range that Santiago and Infante have up the middle, that isn't such a bad thing.
-Joel Zumaya left after the second inning in his start for West Michigan. He'd given up two runs, but I don't think it was a performance thing. Haven't seen any reported injuries though. Also, Jeff Farnsworth threw a shut out for Erie extending his scoreless streak to 19 innings
-Disturbing stat of the week: opposing basestealers are 19 for 24 against the Tigers
posted by billfer at 11:25 AM

Danny Knobler
posted by billfer at 10:04 AM

Tigers Sweep Brandon Inge sporting a new swing hit two home runs and drove in 3.
posted by billfer at 2:29 AM

Anderson to Hens; Avery called up
posted by billfer at 2:27 AM

Baseball America - Ask BA
posted by billfer at 7:16 AM

Baseball America - Daily Minor League Highlights
posted by billfer at 7:14 AM

I think it's safe to say that everyone had to enjoy last nights game. Well, except maybe Mike Maroth who had Omar Infante and Matt Anderson throw away yet another win-but then again at least he didn't get a loss. Dmitri Young exploded going 5-5, 2 HR's, 2 3B's and 5 RBI. If lashing out at the fans is what it takes to get Dmitri motivated, so be it. Aside from Young, the most refreshing thing about last nights game was the two out hitting. In the third inning, with two outs Infante doubled, Higginson singled, and Young tripled. Pena kept the inning alive with a walk before Monroe flew out to center.
I'm sure that next week Jayson Stark will have some interesting stats about Dmitri's game, but here are a couple quick ones until then"
-Young had 15 total bases last night. The team didn't get it's 15th base until the 4th game of the season
-Young now has 45 total bases on the season, meaning that a third of them came in one game. The barrage raised his slugging percentage from .300 to .429 and his OPS from .555 to .716
-Young had 5 RBI last night. It took him 24 games to get his first 5 RBI of the season

posted by billfer at 7:10 AM

While not a Tiger post, this site is an aggregator of baseball blogs. It includes rss feeds of blogs when possible, and is easy to navigate. The author claims it is still in beta mode, but it is pretty slick.
posted by billfer at 4:37 AM

Philadelphia Inquirer-Higginson: Tigers will survive
Philadelphia Daily News-5-25, but Tigers aren't in tank
posted by billfer at 3:39 AM

Nate's Progress
posted by billfer at 3:36 AM

Farm report - 5/5/03
posted by billfer at 4:23 AM

Searching for consistency
After a relative offensive explosion this weekend where the Tigers amassed 23 hits, 13 runs, and 4 HR's and in only two games, one can't help wonder if this was just taking advantage of a poor pitching staff of if the bats are starting to come alive. Don't look now, but the team's batting average is up to .195. Carlos Pena went 3-4 on Sunday showing opposite field power with a double and home run. So often this season, we've seen a struggling hitter put together two games of good swings, only to fall into another 0-fer slump. Here's hoping that Pena can sustain this, and that he and Craig Monroe (.886 OPS) can rub off on the other hitters.

Small Ball Woes
We all know that scoring runs has been tough for the Tigers, and that big innings have been hard to come by. We know part of the reason is that the bats have been anemic, but is Trammell helping also by giving up too many outs. First there is the issue of base stealing. The Tigers have attempted to steal 20 times and have only been successful 7 times. For a team that is searching for baserunners, that is a lot of outs given up in the quest to get one base. Now granted, it seems that several of the attempts were hit and runs where someone missed a sign, but are they being too aggressive on the basepaths? Or, is this aggressiveness stemming from the lack of offensive production? Also, the Tigers rank second in the Amercian League in the sacrifice bunts. Between the steals and bunts, are the Tigers giving away too many outs? Or are all the sacrifices the result of the starting pitching keeping the Tigers in the game, and the fact that they are typically only down by a couple runs? I don't have the answers, just raising some questions.

Odds 'n Ends
-3 of the Tigers 4 wins have come on Sundays
-Bonderman, who threw 118 pitches in a loss 5 days ago was pulled after 88 pitches on Sunday
-Bobby Higginson's solo HR in the first inning gave him 10 RBI on the season, making him the first Tiger to reach double digit RBI's this year
-For those of you comparing the Orioles 1988 start, or the Tigers 84 start, the Orioles were 4-25 at this point, and the 84 Tigers were 25-4.

posted by billfer at 3:50 AM

Baseball America - Joel Zumaya
posted by billfer at 9:25 AM

Walks given up by Tiger Starters this year (146 1/3 innings): 40
Walks given up by Tiger Relievers this year (69 2/3 innings): 42

Left Handed hitters agains Left-handed specialist Jamie Walker:
6 for 12, 2 HR's, 6 RBI


posted by billfer at 5:19 AM

Young: I'd rather be on the road" Well Dmitri, sorry but I had to work yesterday. I got pissed off enough as it was listening to the games on the radio, let alone going down there. You play for a team that is 3-23, how many people did you expect to see down there?
posted by billfer at 3:13 AM

AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH
posted by billfer at 3:05 AM