Pettyjohn’s recovery is far from complete. He still wears a colostomy bag while the inflammation subsides in what remains of his bowels. In a few months he is scheduled to undergo a pair of surgeries designed to reattach his small intestine to his rectum. Months of arduous and tedious rehabilitation await him before he again steps on a mound, but I think he’s going to be just fine. In fact, I think he already is.
So far, new hitting coach Merv Rettenmund and a new manager have done little to improve two major weaknesses: at-bats with runners in scoring position, and disciplined hitting in general. The team was 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position in back-to-back losses in Minnesota, and scored only three runs on 14 hits Saturday. Hitters too often ignore scouting reports and tendencies from other pitchers.
The Tigers are a legitimate 0-11. Yesterday’s loss, while unfortunate, was not typical of their start: they’re falling behind early in most games, and don’t have the horses to make up any deficit. Prior to Sunday, the Tigers’ starting pitchers had taken their last eight losses, and been given a grand total of 19 runs in those games.
I’m an optimist at heart, so I want to believe that Alou will make a fine mentor for Luis Pujols. Long-suffering Tigers fans deserve a little hope. My concern is just whether or not Alou, a National Leaguer, will understand the different balance of tactical and strategic options a manager has in-game and in-season in the American League. But this is the Tigers, and almost anything different has to be an improvement.
With the logjam of DH/1B/LF/3B types on top of the uniquely Tigeresque problem of having three catchers who can hit on on the roster, and with scheduling permitting no actual need for a fifth starter until April 20, the Tigers did a good thing in making the exchange of Nate Cornejo for Oscar Salazar. Salazar is an appropriate understudy for Jose Macias in a supersub role, while Cornejo will get to make his next start for the Mudhens and still be available for that start on the 20th.
I finished reading Hank Greenberg: The Story of My Life and I would highly recommend it to every Tiger fan. In addition to providing a look at the life of Hank Greenberg, along the way it chronicles the great Tiger teams of the thirties and forties. Hank discusses the challenges of being the first Jewish superstar, his decision to give four and a half years of his career to the military, and his post playing career endeavors. Hank dictated the bulk of this book while sitting by his pool in his final years. Ira Berkow took the tapes, wove in some interviews with friends/family/teammates, and added some old newspaper accounts to create this wonderful book. Hank’s story has also been made into an award winning documentary.
In a meritocracy, Randy Smith would just be labelled “Tal Smith’s idiot son” and put in a position to never influence baseball decisions again. Smith loved to pull the trigger on blockbuster deals, but they were never done with the consideration of where the team was, where the team needed to go, or any of the team’s strengths or weaknesses.
Look at this year’s Tigers lineup and what you see is a combination of players who should never have been allowed out of Triple-A (center fielder Jose Macias, shortstop Shane Halter, pitcher Nate Cornejo), players who would be better served as spare parts on contending teams than as regulars on a franchise taking on water more quickly than the Titanic (third baseman Craig Paquette and outfielder Randall Simon) and players who are out of position (there are way too many first base-types, as evidenced by Robert Fick’s transition into an outfielder).
I don’t mean any disrespect to Felipe Alou, who was a fine manager six or eight years ago. But there simply isn’t any reason to think that Alou is the right man to guide the Tigers back to something resembling respectability. Of course, we don’t know if Luis Pujols is the man for the job, either. He does have (relatively) youthful exuberance on his side, but for the rest we’ll have to trust Dombrowski.
News, views, and analysis on the Detroit Tigers and baseball
I finished reading Hank Greenberg: The Story of My Life and I would highly recommend it to every Tiger fan. In addition to providing a look at the life of Hank Greenberg, along the way it chronicles the great Tiger teams of the thirties and forties. Hank discusses the challenges of being the first Jewish superstar, his decision to give four and a half years of his career to the military, and his post playing career endeavors. Hank dictated the bulk of this book while sitting by his pool in his final years. Ira Berkow took the tapes, wove in some interviews with friends/family/teammates, and added some old newspaper accounts to create this wonderful book. Hank’s story has also been made into an award winning documentary.