All posts by billfer

2006 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor Leauge Wrap – April 20th

Charlotte 5, Toledo 4
It was a rough start for Lance Davis. He allowed 11 hits and 3 walks in only 4 1/3 innings. Amazingly it only resulted in 5 runs. Brian Peterson continues to perform well in limited playing time. He entered tonight hitting 429/429/714 in his 4 games and added a homer. David Espinosa also picked up two hits.
In non game news, Don Kelly was hospitalized after being beaned by a relay throw.

Erie 9, Binghamton 6 (13 innings)
At press time (or me going to bed time) the game was tied in the 11th inning. Brent Clevlen, Kody Kirkland, and Mike Rabelo each had two hits. On the downside, Clevlen struckout 4 times and Kirkland K’d 3 times. Kirkland also committed his 5th error. Vincent Blue had two walks to go along with his two singles. Jeremy Johnson was hit hard, but Brian Rogers provided 3 scoreless innings of relief (3 K’s).

Lakeland 3, Fort Myers 2It was an excellent start for Jair Jurrjens as he went 7 innings and only giving up one run. He allowed one extra base hit and 3 singles while striking out 3. Wilkin Ramirez managed a hit, but he also made his 5th error. Chris Robinson picked up two walks, and Brent Dlugach picked up two hits. Jeff Larish, who had been heating up, had a rough night strking out 3 times (he singled in his 4th at-bat). Kevin Whelan picked up his 5th save, but this one was a little tougher. He allowed two hits, two walks and a run before retiring the side.

Cedar Rapids 5, West Michigan 4 Cameron Maybin continues to impress defensively. It seems like he has an outfield assist every other night, and he added one more doubling a runner of first. Erik Averill was pretty effective, striking out 5 and walking none in 7 innings. However he was victimized by an error and two home runs to allow 4 runs (1 earned).

2006 Season, Players, Uncategorized

Pudge to play first?

3 Comments

It appears that Pudge has volunteered to play first base, or any other position for that matter. Rodriguez just wants to stay in the Tiger lineup, and if that means playing another position when he isn’t catching, he’s all for it.

“Give me a glove,” Pudge said Thursday morning before a game he was scheduled to catch. “Trust me, I can play anywhere.”

While the thought of Pudge playing first base is intriguing, it only becomes practical if he hits more like the 2004 version than the 2005 version. He’s off to a good start this season, even after the 0-11 the last two days. However, if it is last year’s offensive version of Rodriguez, there really isn’t a reason to try and keep his bat in the lineup.

And while Chris Shelton will probably need a day off before Dmitri Young is able to play the field, I question having a 5′ 8″ first baseman. While he’s very athletic, his stature limits his reach. Then again, the only real alternative right now is Carlos Guillen who’s first base experience includes the WBC and one inning today.

2006 Season

Tigers Comeback Jubilation Thread

8 Comments

It was a very solid series for Detroit, capped off by a very dramatic come-from-behind win against the Oakland A’s. I’ll have more about the series tomorrow, maybe even some real analysis. In the meantime here are a couple thoughts. It will also give you guys a place to put your enthusiastic comments.

  • I don’t think enough can be said about Brandon Inge’s at-bat in the 9th inning. For him to fall behind and still see 15 pitches was uncharacterisitic, unexpected, and unbelievable. I didn’t see the at-bat, but on the radio it sounded like he got a little help from the umpire on a check swing. But the Tigers took advantage of it.
  • Fernando Rodney had me worried today, but I’m not worried about him on the season. He still hasn’t allowed a run, and I’d attribute the control issues more to the fact that he sat for 40 minutes between innings. In any case he threw 37 pitches and I wouldn’t expect him back tomorrow.
  • Rodney’s availability, or lack thereof could be interesting if there is a save situation tomorrow night. Todd Jones is expected to be activated, but the plan was to ease him back. In a close situation do you handle the ball to Jones, or see what Joel Zumaya can do?
  • I still don’t think that Alexis Gomez (or Marcus Thames) should be hitting ahead of Chris Shelton. However, you have to give him credit for some big hits over the last two games.
  • Pudge’s 0 for 6 last night was surprisingly the sixth of his career, and second as a Tiger. Amazingly enough the last time it happened was in Coors Field.
  • I think everyone can breathe a little easier about Jeremy Bonderman. That first inning had the “here we go again” feeling, but he settled down. He uncharacteristically had only one strike-out, but he also allowed only 5 hits and his velocity was back in the mid 90s.
  • Unlike the last get-away day, the Tigers certainly didn’t quit. They continued to have good approaches at the plate. They drew 6 walks today. As a point of comparison they drew 9 in the entire Indians series. Maybe Leyland’s tirade worked?
  • TIVO Alert – This Sunday Justin Verlander will make his first televised start. (at least in Detroit). What’s more is that he’s facing fellow phenom Felix Hernandez.
2006 Season, Minors

Tiger Minor League Wrap – April 19th

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Charlotte 12, Erie 4
Colby Lewis was rocked for 8 runs in only 2+ innings of work. Mike Hessman and Ryan Raburn each homered for the Mud Hens. Ryan Ludwick, Mike Hessman, and Kevin Hooper all reached base 3 times.

Erie 3, Harrisburg 2
Brent Clevlen hit his first homer and drew a walk. Garth McKinney also homered and Kody Kirkland added two hits. Preston Larrison pitched 6 innings and allowed two runs on 6 hits and a walk.

Lakeland 6, Dunedin 1
It was a good day for the prospect bats today. Clete Thomas homered, and Jeff Frazier, Jeff Larish, and Wilkin Ramirez all doubled. For Ramirez his double was one of 3 hits on the day. Kevin Ardoin struck out 3, walked 1, and allowed 5 hits – all singles – on his way to the win. Kevin Whelan came in and pitched a scoreless inning. However, Whelan allowed a 2 out walk. This is significant only because it is the first base runner he’s allowed this season, breaking his string at 13 batter faced.

West Michigan 4, Cedar Rapids 0
Another strong outing by Ramon Garcia who pitched 7 shutout innings. He walked two and struck out two. Cameron Maybin had triple and two singles, and Matt Joyce drew 3 walks.

2006 Season, Managing & Strategy, Pitching

Verlander throws 121

9 Comments

Justin Verlander was throwing heat last night, but 121 is the number of pitches he threw – not his top speed. I’m a disappointed, but not surprised that Jim Leyland would leave him out there.

I’m not going to blame the loss on Leyland’s handling of Verlander. Yes Verlander allowed the home run to Nick Swisher leading off the 7th, but then he quietly retired the side afterwards. I don’t think that Verlander’s pitch count had anything to do with the home run, and by all accounts it sounded like Verlander wasn’t fatigued. On the last pitch of the 6th inning he hit 101mph.

My issue is that it was completely unnecessary for Verlander to throw that 7th inning. This is a prized young arm making his 5th big league start. He wasn’t working on a complete game and it wasn’t part of a pennant race. This was a tie game in the 7th inning in mid April.

Pitchers are all different, and there is nothing magical about the 100 pitch mark. It’s very possible that Verlander is and will be fine, and this outing won’t have any negative impact on his arm. I just don’t see why he even took the chance.

Related: Ken Arneson of Catfish Stew was in attendance and likes what he saw from Verlander.

2006 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap – April 18th

Charlotte 4, Toledo 3
Lee Gardner again had trouble closing out a game. He blew the save allwoing 2 runs in the 9th. Chad Durbin went 6 2/3, scattering 7 hits and a walk with 6 strikeouts. Jack Hannahan continues to hit. He added two singles and a walk to raise his average to .368. He may provide a nice option if Omar Infante’s shoulder prevents him from playing the left side of the infield.
Erie 5, Harrisburg 2
Brent Clevlen and Kody Kirkland each reached base multiple times. Clevlen had a single and walk while Kirkland had the same plus a double. Virgil Vasquez went 7 innings allowing 4 hits and a walk against 6 strike outs. Eulogio De La Cruz who has had an up and down year faced 3 batters, two of which walked.

Dunedin 6, Lakeland 3
Jeff Larish had 3 hits and a walk in 5 plate appearances. His line for the season is now 308/449/538. Wilkin Ramirez had two hits as did Brent Dlugach. Christian Martinez allowed 3 runs on 5 hits (2 homers) in 5 innings. He struck out 5 and walked none.

Cedar Rapids 4, West Michigan 1
Lucas French was effective in six innings allowing only 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 3. Unfortunately the Whitecaps bats were shut down. Through 8 innings they had managed only 5 singles.

2006 Season, Players

Tiger Link-up – it’s big and red

1 Comment

The only nice thing about the games being on the West coast, is that it gives me time to gather up all the interesting stuff I’ve seen while I wait for the first pitch.

2006 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap – April 17th

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Toledo 8, Durham 1
Tike Redman continued to hit as he picked up two doubles, as did Ryan Ludwick. Josh Phelphs chipped in 3 hits as well. All told, the offense accounted for 15 hits which is pretty impressive considering the game was called after 5 innings due to rain. Zach Miner went the distance allowing only two hits and unearned run (2 BB, 2K)

Erie 2, Harrisburg 1
Brent Clevlen had a solid day at the plate. He doubled and added two walks and a stolen base. It was only his third extra base hit of the season. Humberto Sanchez went six innings allowing 4 hits and two walks against 8 strikeouts. Sanchez’s ERA now stands at 1.69. He has 20 K’s and 5 walks in 16 innings.

Lakeland 7, Dunedin 3
Clete Thomas and Jeff Frazier both had 3 hits including Frazier’s first home run of the season. Wilkin Ramirez added two hits as well. Dallas Trahern picked up the win allowing 3 runs, one of which was earned, on 3 hits (1BB, 5K) in six innings.

West Michigan 5, Cedar Rapids 3
Will Rhymes and Ryan Roberson each had 3 hits. Michael Hollimon continues to hit as he added a double and a single in 5 at-bats. The only bad news for Hollimon is that the other 3 plate appearances resulted in strikeouts. Cameron Maybin added a triple in 4 at-bats. Burke Badenhop went six innings and allowed 3 runs for the win. Badenhop struck out 6 and walked none. Orlando Perdomo struck out two of the 3 hitters he faced for his 5th save.

2006 Season, Managing & Strategy

When managers attack: Jim Leyland rants

4 Comments

After the Tigers laid an egg in a 10-2 defeat to the Indians, Jim Leyland ripped into his team in a clubhouse tirade that was loud enough to be heard by the media waiting outside. In his postgame press conference he had this to say:

Leyland: We Stunk. Next question.
Reporter: What bothered you the most?
Leyland: It was lackluster, the whole ball of wax was lackluster. We had a chance to take the series, take 3 out of 4, and we came out like we brought our luggage to the park like we had to play a game before we went on the road. That’s not good enough.
Reporter: It seems like this was your worst loss…
Leyland: Yeah we stunk period. We stunk and that’s not good enough. This stuff has been going on here before and it’s not going to happen here. We had a chance to take a series. I’m not talking about anyone in particular. I’m talking about the team, myself, the coaches, and everybody else included. It’s my responsiblity to have the team ready to play today, and they weren’t ready to play. They were ready to get on the plane and go to Oakland. If they won it was okay and if they lost it was okay. That’s not good enough

(Here’s the audio)

Whether or not this has any impact on the players will be the real test. Sure it was fun for fans to hear that Skip wasn’t going to tolerate any of this stuff. At the same time, what more leverage does Leyland have than yelling? I trust that he’s been around long enough to know better than to offer ultimatums that he can’t enforce. There are very few cut-able or demote-able players on the roster and the veterans aren’t going anywhere. He can bench players, but at the same time there is a mixed message that each game is important, and yet by benching his better players he’s not giving his team the best chance to win.
Continue reading When managers attack: Jim Leyland rants →

Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap – April 16th

IT’s a light day with only Toledo and Erie in action…

Toledo 7, Durham 4
While not as dominating as his previous performances, Wil Ledezma was effective in allowing only 2 earned runs in 6 innings. He struck out 4, walked 1, and allowed 9 hits. Mark Woodyard struck out two in relief, but also allowed a copule hits and a run. Jack Hannahan was 3 for 4 and Kevin Hooper and Ryan Ludwick each had two hits.

Bowie 5, Erie 2
Brent clevlen had two hits and Kurt Airoso was 3 for 4 for Erie. Garth McKinney had a game he’d like to forget with 4 strikeouts and a throwing error (McKinney is a hitter, not a pitcher). Nate Bumstead was rocked and had poor control. He allowed 11 hits and 5 walks. Amazingly he only allowed 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings thanks in part to Erie’s defense. They turned 5 double plays.

2006 Season, Injuries

What Log Jam?

5 Comments

It doesn’t seem so long ago that the Tigers were trying to figure out what to do with the 3 headed-monster that was Carlos Pena, Dmitri Young, and Chris Shelton. Well the situation seems to have resolved itself because Shelton is now the lone first basemen and the active roster.

Dmitri Young has shockingly found himself on the disabled list with a strained quadricep. With that, the Tigers have been reduced down to two left handed bats of measurable worth.

With Dmitri on the DL, the bulk of the playing time should fall to Marcus Thames, and Alexis Gomez will fill the void on the roster. I’m okay with this, and am anxious to see what Thames can do with regular at-bats.

The problem arises when somebody needs a day off, then who do you turn to? Craig Monroe has been struggling the last few games, so it made sense to sit him today. The result is that for the second time in a week, Omar Infante is the starting DH. And then if there are a couple guys banged up, as was the case yesterday, the potent offense becomes potentially anemic.

The Tigers now find themselves in a situation where they have very limited pinch-hitting options, they only have one legitimate first basemen, and there utility infielder will be thrust into the role of DH when an injury plagued veteran needs a day off. I was worried about the Tigers bench before the season started, and it hasn’t taken long for it to come into play. That’s why even though I’m satisified with 7-5 at this point, I would have liked to see another win or two given the relative health the team enjoyed over the first dozen games.