Category Archives: 2006 Season

2006 Season, Managing & Strategy

When managers attack: Jim Leyland rants

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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 →

2006 Season, Injuries

What Log Jam?

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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.

2006 Season, Minors

Tiger Minor League Wrap – April 14th

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Durham 5, Toledo 4
The Mud Hens are starting to find their hitting stroke. Don Kelly picked up two hits again tonight, including a double. Tike Redman and Josh Phelps also had multi-hit games while Brian Peterson knocked his first homer of the year. Kelly or Phelps could get a call if Dmitri Young will need to be DL’d. Colby Lewis had an effective start. He escaped with only one run despite allowing 6 hits and 3 walks in six innings of work. The real story came at the end of the game when Lee Gardner loaded the bases and Mark Woodyard surrendered a walk off grand slam to BJ Upton.

Bowie 6, Erie 4
Kody Kirkland hit his 3rd and 4th home runs of the season. Preston Larrison was hit early and often allowing 5 runs in 5 innings. Eulogio De La Cruz had his second consecutive strong outing going 2 1/3 and only allowing one base runner while striking out two.

Lakeland 6, Sarasota 2
It was an excellent start for Jair Jurrjens who allowed 1 run in six innings. He struck out 6 and walked nobody. In 10 innings he’s fanned 11 and walked one. Chris Robinson and Brent Dlugach each had two hits. Wilkin Ramirez had a tough night to say the least. He was 0 for 5 with 4 K’s. Nick McIntyre added 3 hits. After PJ Finigan had a hard time closing the game out, Kevin Whelan came in to get the last two outs which of course he did, via the strike out. He’s retired all 11 hitters he’s faced, fanning 8.

West Michigan 8, Southwest Michigan 5
Michael Hollimon was two for five with a home run and a triple. Despite a .500 OBP coming into the game, those were his first extra base hits. Justin Justice was 4 for 4 with two doubles. Cameron Maybin chipped in a single, and has hit safely in each game. He also threw out a runner at the plate.

2006 Season, Injuries

Dmitri Young hurting

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Dmitri Young left tonight’s game with a strained right quadricep. It’s the same injury that slowed him in spring training. It sounds like this could be an ongoing struggle all season. The Tigers could use another left handed bat to fill the DH role. I hear Carlos Pena is still available…for now.

UPDATE: According to the post game show, this sounds like it will be more than a day to day injury. At the same time there is no news about DL time.

If he does hit the DL possible replacements are Josh Phelps, Alexis Gomez, and Don Kelly are possibilities.

2006 Season, Minors

Tigers minor league wrap – April 13th

Scranton 7, Toledo 5
Chad Durbin started for Toledo and allowed 4 runs in 5 innings. Mark Woodyard blew the save allowing 3 runs while only retiring one batter. Jack Hannahan and Alexis Gomez homered for the Mud Hens. Don Kelly and David Espinsoa both had 3hit games to raise their averages to .276 and .333 respectively.

Bowie 9, Erie 3Kody Kirkland homered for the Seawolves. Virgil Vasquez allowed 7 runs, of which only 4 were earned. Brent Clevlen and Kody Kirkland committed errors. Eulogio De La Cruz, who has struggled thus far, pitched a scoreless inning, as did Chris Homer.

Sarasota 7, Lakeland 3 ()
Kevin Ardoin allowed 7 runs, 4 of which were earned. He was battered around for 12 hits in 5 innings of work. Jeff Frazier was 3 for 4 to raise his average to .353. Jeff Larish hit his second homer of the season and added a single. Larish also committed two errors on the same play.

Southwest Michigan 2, West Michigan 1
Ramon Garcia was strong in six innings, allowing only two runs. In his two outings Garcia has struck out 13 and walked none in 11 innings. Cameron Maybin had the night off, and the rest of the offense only managed 4 singles.

2006 Season

Tigers swept under by Sox

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Swept. At home. Tied for 2nd place. Ugh.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I took a late lunch and went down to catch a couple innings of the game with friends and coworkers Missy and Jim (they were hoping for a blog mention). A gorgeous day, $5 seats, and Justin Verlander on the mound just sounded too appetizing to miss. Unfortunately the White Sox did the feasting. We were only able stay for 3 innings, but that was long enough to see Verlander’s day end.
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2006 Season

A 3 game skid

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Remember those feelings of euphoria that we all experienced 4 days ago? That early momentum gained during a 5 game winning streak has dissipated after the Tigers dropped their third in a row. The Tigers now turn to Justin Verlander to try and avoid a sweep in their first home series of the year. Are you worried? Should you be?

Reasons to worry

It’s easy to think same old Tigers after the last few games. As Lee pointed out yesterday, the 2006 Tigers, much like the 2005 Tigers, have a high batting average, but only an average OBP. The team is still having a hard time drawing walks, and are still pretty good at striking out.

Another 2005 trait was perceived inability to get those easy runs – like when a runner is on third base with less than 2 outs. In each the the last two losses the Tigers put runners on third with one out and neither scored.

Also, Detroit the games the Tigers have lost have been decided by two runs or less. A hallmark of the last couple years was the Tigers difficulty in close games. So far this year it continues to play out that way.

Finally, even though the bullpen has been solid, do people really trust them yet?
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2006 Season, Injuries, Minors, Pitching

Maroth hurting

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Mike Maroth will miss his scheduled start on Thursday. The elbow tenderness he experienced during spring training has apparently flared up again.

The Tigers aren’t overly concerned, but I am. Maroth’s start on Friday was his first long outing of the year because he was limited in spring training. My guess is that it didn’t feel right the next day, and the pain hasn’t subsided. If there is any good news in this, it is that Maroth appears to be taking the cautious route instead of trying to pitch through it. Continue reading Maroth hurting →

2006 Season, Minors

Tiger Minor League Wrap – April 12th

Toledo 9, Scranton 5
Brian Peterson went 2 for 4 with a double, as did newcomer Tike Redman. Zach Miner started for the Mud Hens and allowed 4 runs in 4 innings.

Altoona 4, Erie 2
Humberto Sanchez wasn’t quite as sharp as his last start, and wasn’t helped by his own defense. He allowed 4 runs, two of which were earned, in 5 innings of work. He also allowed 7 hits and two walks while K’ing 4. Brent Clevlen was 1 for 3 with a walk and Tony Giarratano doubled in 4 trips.

Lakeland 6, Dunedin 4
Gil Meija was 3 for 3 with a walk, Brent Dlugach was 3 for 4 with a stolen base, and Nick McIntyre went 2 for 3 to power the Lakeland attack. Kevin Whelan retired all 3 hitters, including 2 strike outs to pick up his 3rd save. In 3 appearances he’s retired all 9 batters he’s faced, striking out 6.

West Michigan 7, South Bend 5
Wil Rhymes was 3 for 5 to raise his average to .414. At age 23 in low A ball, he’s not really classified as a prospect, but is still having a nice start to the season. Michael Hollimon reached base 4 times to raise his average to .409. With Rhymes and Hollimon at the top of the order it’s no surprise that Cameron Maybin has 7 RBI, 3 of which he picked up on his first professional homer. Lucas French got the start and only allowed two hits in six innings while striking out 4. The bad news is he also walked 4.

2006 Season, Minors

Tiger Minor League Wrap – April 11th

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Toledo 7, Scranton 0
The bats woke up in Toledo. Jack Hannahan and Ryan Ludwick homered while Josh Phelps, Don Kelly, Ryan Raburn, and Max St. Pierre picked up multiple hits. Wil Ledezma had his second strong outing throwing six shut out innings. Ledezma only allowed a walk and 3 hits against 4 strike outs.

Erie 6, Altoona 2
Kurt Airoso hit his second and third homers of the season, and Kody Kirkland mashed his first. Brent Clevlen also picked up multiple hits. Once again there was a solid effort from a starter as Nate Bumstead allowed a single hit and no runs (despite 4 walks) against 8 strike outs in 5 innings of work.

Dunedin 10, Lakeland 2
A rough night all around for the Lakeland Tigers. Dallas Trahern allowed 9 runs, 8 of which were earned, in only 3 innings. Wilkin Ramirez commited his 4th error of the season. Offensively Clete Thomas picked up two more hits to raise his average to .308.

South Bend 4, West Michigan 3
Cameron Maybin’s streak of multi-hit games ended, but he still added a single in 4 at-bats. William Rhymes was 3 for 4 with a double.