Category Archives: 2008 Season

2008 Season, Game Post

Game 139: Angels at Tigers

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PREGAME: Theoretically Jon Garland will pitch for the Angels and Zach Miner will pitch for the Tigers. But a storm was kicking up as I was leaving Detroit tonight (and this is a real storm, not the metaphorical cloud that has been hanging over Kwame Kilpatrick). Not sure if they’ll get this one in. If they do play, Mike Hessman starts at third base.

LAA @ DET, Wednesday, September 3, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

POSTGAME: Hey, we got a good one.

As an aside, I want to apologize for the lack of attention to the site. I was out of town this weekend, and went to the game Tuesday, and it’s back to school time, and some more excuses like that. I’m not bailing on the season or anything.

Some bulletized thougts on the game:

  • The top of the order appears to be clicking again. Granderson hasn’t really stopped since the end of June, but Polanco, Ordonez, and Cabrera have had some ups and downs. Never prolonged mind you, but enough to hamper the offense nonetheless.
  • We’re stuck rooting for things like 3rd place (half game out) and .500 (5 games under), but there are some individual accomplishments to cheer on. One that hasn’t gotten attention is that Granderson could get to a .400 OBP. He’s cracked the top 10 in the AL.
  • And did you see Granderson score from first on a double that didn’t even reach the wall? Aweseom.
  • Speaking of hop in the step, the team has looked faster the last 2 nights. Polanco, Ordonez, and Renteria all seem to have more giddy-up than they’ve had this year. Don’t know where it’s coming from, or where it was until now.
  • Mike Hessman had himself a game, with every other ball hit to him and he vacuumed them all. Oh yeah, and a monster homer too.
  • Zach Miner wasn’t awful, but not as good as he’s been either. As for the bullpen, they got the job done-ish. Rodney was shaky for the second game in a row.
  • Chris Guccione did not have a good game behind the plate. I’m not saying it hurt one team more than the other, but that strike zone was an absolute joke.
  • And speaking of not good games, how many catchable balls is Inge going to have go off his glove. The passed balls, 8 of them now, are simply ridiculous.
2008 Season, Game Post

Game 138: Angels at Tigers

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PREGAME: The Angels come to town and will send Joe Saunders to the hill. Saunders posts a 3.67 ERA and doesn’t strike out many people. He’s been bludgeoned in a Nate Robertson-esque fashion his last 2 times out, allowing 12 runs in 6.2 innings. The Tigers got to him for 5 runs in 5 innings back in May.

The Tigers send out Chris Lambert who will be making his second start. Lambert had 2 great innings, and one awful one in his debut against Cleveland. It also meant he didn’t make it out of the 3rd inning. Considering Justin Verlander’s 2nd inning exit yesterday, something a little longer would be helpful.

I’m heading down for this one. My personal losing streak was snapped last Friday, so I don’t know what to expect tonight.

LAA @ DET, Tuesday, September 2, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 7:05

2008 Season, Roster Management

The Call-Ups

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It’s September 1st, so it’s the annual rite of infusing of rosters with up and comers and AAA fill-ins. The Tigers announced their round of call-ups. They include: Dusty Ryan, Mike Hessman, Dontrelle Willis, Chris Lambert, Clay Rapada, and Freddy Dolsi.

Dolsi had some nice moments this season, is already on the 40 man roster, and could be a piece of the bullpen puzzle next year. He gets more evaluation time and can pitch some innings as the starters continue to falter. Ditto for Rapada.

Lambert is also a slam dunk, seeing as the Tigers will need to keep him on the 40 man roster if they are inclined to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Plus they need a 5th starter and they get a closer look at him.

Dusty Ryan has a legit shot at being the back-up next year, and like Lambert will be on the 40 man roster anyways. He’ll probably get a start or two before heading to the AFL.

Hessman hit a lot of homers and struck out a lot (139 times in 396 ABs). But he also plays a solid third base and the Tigers don’t have their regular third baseman. Chances are Hessman will be removed from the 40 at the end of the season.

As for Willis, who knows what will happen. He’ll pitch a simulated game tomorrow. But given his forearm issues, I don’t know if he’ll contribute anything.

As for the guys left out, Mike Hollimon, Brent Clevlen, Casey Fien, and Francisco Cruceta would seem to have been candidates. Hollimon struggled mightily once being sent back to AAA seeing his average drop to the low .200s. Fien and Cruceta were probably victims of roster machinations. Fien wouldn’t need to be added to protect him from the Rule 5, so it makes sense to defer his possible promotion to next spring. Clevlen is probably the biggest surprise. He will be out of options next year, and while he slumped late (.645 OPS in August) it wasn’t to the extent that Hollimon suffered.

2008 Season, Game Post

Game 137: Yankees at Tigers

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PREGAME: It’s Labor Day baseball, courtesy of some rain. The Tigers and Yankees will make up Detroit’s lone rain out of the season this afternoon. It also marks the return of Pudge Rodriguez to Detroit. It’s his first Comerica Park appearance since the trade, here’s hoping he gets a nice ovation.

The Tigers will face Sidney Ponson, one of the pitchers who will throw to Rodriguez (Pettite and Mussina prefer a Molina). The Tigers last faced Ponson in 2007 and lit him up good. He’s not much better now, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a lot given this season.

The Tigers send out Justin Verlander, who isn’t facing the Indians so things might go okay.

NYY @ DET, Monday, September 1, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 1:05

POSTGAME: Justin Verlander continues to flounder in a big way, with what was probably the worst start of his career. Nothing was working, not even hitting the ball at people with the Tigers making a couple errors, and another play that should have been an error in the first 2 innings.

Bobby Seay, not familiar with pitching in the 2nd inning, was just as bad.

Still, the Tigers were down 11-2 and managed to bring the tying run to the plate in the 5th inning so at least the offense didn’t just roll over. Of course facing Sidney Ponson probably helped in that regard.

At least Pudge Rodriguez got a nice ovation. Nice to see.

2008 Season, Game Post

Game 135: Royals at Tigers

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PREGAME: As college football descends upon us, Kenny Rogers will take on Brandon Duckworth. These two met last weekend, and it kicked off a 4 game losing streak for the Tigers. Rogers didn’t pitch well, the Tigers didn’t field well, and the Tigers couldn’t convert the 11 baserunners they mustered off of Duckworth into more than 3 runs.

KCR @ DET, Saturday, August 30, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 7:05

2008 Season, Game Post

Game 134: Royals at Tigers

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PREGAME: If you’re looking for a reason to get excited about tonight, it will be the first game in Comerica Park’s history with instant replay. Hey, I never said it was a good reason.

Zach Miner and Kyle Davies face off. Woot.

KCR @ DET, Friday, August 29, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

POSTGAME: Hey, I went to a game and the Tigers won! I got down there early with my daughter and watched the bulk of the Tigers batting practice. I was a little surprised to see Dontrelle Willis shagging balls, but it appears he’ll be activated on September 1st. It’s unclear if he’ll see game action, but given his forearm tightness and the way things have gone this year I’d expect him to pitch.

Something else that was surprising was Andy Van Slyke hitting fungoes to Justin Verlander for a solid 20 minutes. And Verlander could be an outfielder. I’m guessing this was just a way for Verlander to get some leg work in, but it was pretty intense.

One other note from BP, Marcus Thames crushed everything. Everything. And he wasn’t just hitting the ball to left. His last 3 balls were out by the hall of fame names on the brick wall in right center.

As for the game, it was good. Things were very quiet for the Tigers bats early on, as they continued to hit infield or opposite field pop-ups. Until they broke it open, fueled in large part by an error and a Curtis Granderson triple (I love Granderson triples).

Miguel Cabrera left with a pectoral injury, because the Tigers need more injuries. Two notes on this. One, it resulted in Brandon Inge playing third and making two slick plays to start GIDPs. Second, why the hell they can’t inform the fans when a player leaves injured is beyond me. You pay to go to the game, and you have less information than anyone.

2008 Season, Players

And that will close the book on Todd Jones

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It is looking more and more like Todd Jones has thrown his last pitch. He was with the team the past couple days, but the shoulder isn’t getting better and he is headed home to Alabama.

Jones called a team meeting before the Tigers went out on the field for batting practice and, with hugs, was saying good-bye to his teammates when the clubhouse doors re-opened to the media.

Jones said he’d continue rehabbing and will try to be back, but it doesn’t sound promising.

I know it’s hokey, but I was really hoping that Jones could come back and make an appearance at the end of the season. Just come in and record an out (yeah it might take a couple batters) in a low pressure situation so he could walk off the field to cheers. His last outings at home were atrocious, and he was booed off the field. For a guy that truly loved being a Tiger, and is the team’s all time save leader, you’d hope he could at least go off on a high note.

Jones made me nuts some times, or maybe even frequently. And when he’d blow up he’d face the music. My favorite quote the day after an awful 2006 performance in Toronto came when he was asked how he slept the night before. Jonesy’s response…

I slept like a baby. I woke up every 2 hours crying.

2008 Season, Game Post

Game 133: Indians at Tigers

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PREGAME: Please Tigers. Please show up tonight. Please Verlander, don’t crap out once again against an Indians team missing Hafner, Martinez, and Blake. Please offense, beat the stuffing out of Carmona. Please top of the order, drive in a run, or 12. I can’t take the sucking anymore.

Jeff Larish starts at third tonight and Matt Joyce bats 2nd. Polanco gets the night off and Santiago plays second.

CLE @ DET, Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

POSTGAME: The offense showed up. Seven runs should be enough. The bottom of the order continued to produce, and even Magglio Ordonez broke out of his slump. But the pitching, oh the pitching.

Verlander wasn’t good, again. It wasn’t the 7 hits as much as the leadoff walks and hit by pitches combined with the hits. And the fact he threw 115 pitches in 6 innings (which doesn’t bode well for his next start either).*

*And in case you’re keeping track of such things, Verlander threw 114 pitches in his last start. His average game score in subsequent starts when he throws 110-114 pitches is 45.2. Last night it was 43.

Gary glover was brought in, and promptly allowed a homer after a walk. I wanted bobby Seay at that point. Seay made me look smart when he had a scoreless inning in the 8th, but made me look dumb by allowing a couple hits (who would later come around to score) in the 9th.

2008 Season, Minors

Tigers heading to Arizona

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The Tigers announced the bulk of their Arizona Fall League representatives. They are sending Luis Marte, Rudy Darrow, Casey Fien, Zach Simons, Jeff Larish, and Clete Thomas.

Luis Marte is a nice selection. He emerged earlier this year as a rising prospect, but lost a chunk of the year to injury. This gives him some additional innings to build a full season’s workload. Also, he and Zach Simons are eligible for the Rule 5 draft if they aren’t protected on the 40 man roster. This gives the team a little more time to evaluate.

The Tigers will be sending one more position player who has yet to be determined. Teams are only allowed to send one player below AA, and Simons fills that quota meaning the player will be someone from Erie or Toledo. And that player would need to have been to Erie or Toledo no later than August 1st meaning James Skelton wouldn’t be eligible.

Jeff Larish, Clete Thomas among prospects headed for Arizona Fall League | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

UPDATE: The freep updated their story and catcher Dusty Ryan will be the 7th guy sent.

2008 Season, Injuries

Guillen’s back=not good

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Carlos Guillen continues to battle back problems, and the situation doesn’t sound good. He’s experiencing numbness in his right leg and soreness in both hamstrings. Hopefully the Tigers take it easy with Guillen, and Guillen takes it easy as well. If there is a silver lining it’s that the injury may give the Tigers an opportunity to do some evaluation for next year.

In the short term Ryan Raburn stands to get the bulk of the playing time. However, after the September 1st roster expansion, it could result in innings for Jeff Larish and Dusty Ryan.

The Tigers have already announced that Larish will head to the AFL to get work at third base. Might as well do it in the big leagues since there is little cost.

Dusty Ryan had a very good season for AA Erie. He’s since been promoted to Toledo where he has hit 322/385/559 in 16 games. He could get a look behind the plate with Brandon Inge making some starts at third. Although Inge needs the time behind the plate probably more.

2008 Season, Game Post

Game 131: Indians at Tigers

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PREGAME: I’m watching this one from the friendly confines of my couch, so the Tigers have a chance. On paper, this isn’t a good match-up for the Tigers. Then again on paper the Tigers looked like contenders.

The Indians send out uber pitcher and Cy Young (and maybe MVP) front runner Cliff Lee. Oddly, the Tigers have had some success off of Lee this year and have scored 8 runs in 10 innings, chasing him after 5 innings in both games.

Meanwhile, the Tigers send out Chris Lambert who is making his big league debut. I like watching debuts.

CLE @ DET, Tuesday, August 26, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com

Game Time 7:05

POSTGAME: So this one played out like it looked on paper. Chris Lambert had a good start, recording 6 outs on 18 pitches. But a bad finish, not escaping the 3rd inning. He was undermined by errors from Ryan Raburn and Marcus Thames meaning 4 of the 6 runs he allowed were unearned. Still he had his own issues.

I can’t kill him for allowing a homer to Jamey Carroll. I’d rather see him throw one down the middle to a guy like Carroll and take his chances. Carroll just got him. But the bigger problem was that Lambert went to his breaking ball wayyy too much. He’d get a head, but then throw 3 straight breaking balls out of the zone before having to throw a fastball down the middle. And by the 3rd inning it almost looked like the Indians knew exactly what was coming. Whether it was a matter of being predictable, or if he was tipping his pitches, it wasn’t good.

Still, there was some stuff to like from Lambert. He looked to have quite a bit of movement on the slider. He just needed to throw it closer to the strike zone to entice the hitters a little more.

I could talk about the offense, but why. For the second consecutive night all the RBI came from the bottom of the lineup. So nice job Brandon, Edgar, and Marcus (3 consecutive 2 hit games for Thames).

As for that interference call on Brandon Inge, as strange as it was, the umpires appear to have gotten it right:

Rule 7.08(b) Comment: A runner who is adjudged to have hindered a fielder who is attempting to make a play on a batted ball is out whether it was intentional or not.

Clearly Inge was trying to avoid the fielder, but even intent doesn’t play into the ruling.