No analysis today. Just some commentary and links to interesting stuff…
1. The running theme that is going to irritate me the most this spring is the continuing implication that while Alex Sanchez struggles defensively, he is still the Tigers best option in centerfield. Lynn Henning (who is probably my favorite local writer) had this dead-on commentary regarding the Tigers’ outfield overcrowding in Sunday’s column:
But then Henning followed it up with this:
And yes, good center fielders are hard to come by, but the statement implies that the Tigers are without other options. If you look at the total contribution, of offense (including baserunning), and defense the Tigers could use Monroe, Higginson, or even Logan without missing a beat (and some could argue Granderson as well). It’s true that Monroe and Higginson can’t cover the ground that Sanchez can in center, but they would be at least as effective.
Okay, that’s my last “Sanchez shouldn’t be playing centerfield” post of the month.
2. Former all-baseball.com brothers Rich Lederer and Bryan Smith teamed up to create a new site BaseballAnalysts.com. Over the weekend they chatted with Aaron Gleeman, and Brian previewing the AL Central. While the Twins were the consensus pick to win it, Brian was bold and took the Tigers to finish second. He of course was alone on this panel as the rest took them to finish 3rd or 4th. I don’t know if I’m quite there with you yet Brian, but it certainly isn’t crazy. I think the Tigers/Indians/White Sox will all be in a close race for 2nd.
3. Speaking of Brian, he and Blade wrapped up their battle of Sparky’s behemonths -the 1975 Reds versus the 1984 Tigers. Brian turned to the closer, 1984 MVP and Cy Young winner Willie Hernandez to clinch the win for the Tigers.
4. Pat Caputo’s column yesterday detailed why the Tigers would be foolish to trade Urbina.
What I liked best about Pat’s column is that he didn’t site the 21 of 24 in save opportunities, because Saves can be so misleading. In 17 of Urbina’s 21 saves, he wasn’t coming in to face the tying run and he pitched an inning or less(once again from the Bill James Handbook – honestly I get no commission). By the same token, as Studes at the Hardball Times points out today, the Tigers did use Urbina in high leverage situations. Urbina led major league closers by appearing in 9 games in the 9th inning with the score tied. So while the save statistic overstates Urbina’s effectiveness, there is other data that shows how important a reliever he continues to be.
5. The Tigers and Fox Sports announced their broadcast schedule today. FSN will be showing 110 games, which is most ever. A deal hasn’t been worked out yet with UPN, but from what I heard it will most likely be in the neighborhood of 20 games.