The results from yesterday’s simulated game between Dontrelle Willis and Freddy Garcia must have been positive as both will make starts next week.
Willis will start on Monday and Garcia will start on Wednesday. Both pitchers face the Rangers in Texas. Talking about jumping right into things.
Chris Lambert heads to the bullpen for the time being.
The Tigers are going to be mixing and matching down the stretch it appears. Kenny Rogers will miss his next start. This is due to hip pain that is believed to be rendering him completely ineffective. (Yes, the old guy has a bad hip. The jokes seem to easy to make, but too easy to ignore also.)
In his place will likely be Nate Robertson. I think it’s a safe assumption that this has more to do with needing a starter than Robertson pushing his way back.
Also, it looks like Dontrelle Willis may get a start. Willis and Freddy Garcia will pitch against each other in another simulated game on Tuesday, and the decision will probably be made at that point.
If Willis is healthy and the mechanical tweaks are in place, then by all means start him. I know it would be nice to wait until everything is perfect, but Willis needs to be in game situations, and at this point it won’t cost the Tigers anything. But the key is if he’s healthy.
Between the knee and more recently the forearm, you have to question if Willis has been healthy at any point this year. Sending an injured pitcher out there to see what you’ve got doesn’t help anyone.
As the Tigers season has slid out of control, Jim Leyland has taken to reading and the newspapers and responding to what his players say in the newspapers. The latest was with Justin Verlander. Verlander mentioned a tight strike zone as a reason for his Labor Day labors.
Leyland didn’t like the excuse making. The two had a chat and everyone is happy now, but Verlander still isn’t pitching well. So his pitching coach comes out and makes an excuse for Verlander. Verlander was trying too hard in many of those starts. Whatever.
Chuck Hernandez screwed up Justin Verlander from the start this year. His intentions were fine, trying to make Verlander a more efficient pitcher and keep him strong for later in the season. Unfortunately Herandez took something that wasn’t broken and broke it. Verlander altered his mechanics, with poor results. He switched back, and had some success as he regained velocity and bite. But now he’s back to struggling again and back to working on his mechanics.
When Verlander was drafted there were concerns about control and mechanics, but the Tigers got those straightened out quickly and turned him into a stud pitcher. Now he’s still trying to regain what he once had in his first 3 years in pro baseball.
Hernandez has been under considerable scrutiny over the last year and a half. Not being privy to the coach/player interactions it is hard to know how much is the coach’s fault and how much is the player failing to execute. The pitching staff has just done too poorly though at this point for Hernandez to retain his job, and the management of Verlander may be the most damning evidence.
Nate Robertson is out of the rotation and headed to the bullpen. I don’t know if being in the pen for the remainder of the year will help a pitcher who is getting shelled like this, but he couldn’t stay in the rotation either.
Robertson is fighting through something right now. I don’t know if it is mechanical, injury, or if he has completely lost it. But I’m actually a proponent of Robertson as a bullpen – and maybe even closer – candidate in the future, like next year. To that extent this could be a nice trial period.
UPDATE: While Dontrelle Willis is on the same schedule as Nate, Leyland said it wouldn’t be Willis getting the Tuesday start. Willis struggled with his command while Robertson was struggling with homers on Wednesday night. Chris Lambert is a pretty likely candidate, and last pitched on Tuesday meaning that he’d have an extra day of rest.
Also, Beck has some Robertson quotes. Nothing shocking, just an athlete saying all the right things. Trying to work on the slider…low point…understands why the skipper did it
After Justin Verlander’s 130 pitch outing, I flailed wildly in frustration at the stupidity of the situation. I didn’t care for the move from an in game management decision, and I hated the thought of increasing the risk of injury to the prized arm in the organization. The feedback was mixed. Some agreed with me. Others thought I was crazy. Pitchers used to throw a lot more. Justin Verlander was still throwing hard. He’s been throwing a lot of pitches this year so he’s conditioned for it. He hasn’t been injured the in the past. He’s the ace. Some of these arguments don’t hold a lot of water, but others are harder to refute. But what if we table the injury concern for a moment and instead look at performance?
Continue reading Managing Verlander’s Workload
Jim Leyland before the game:
Zumaya’s right shoulder remains a point of concern. Leyland said Zumaya reported “normal soreness” and indicated that he was able to pitch, but Leyland said that description was “not defined enough for me.”
“I’m not going to have it on my plate that I got Joel Zumaya hurt, getting greedy,” Leyland said. “I’m not going to do it.”
Justin Verlander last night:
This is categorically stupid. From an in game management sense, the team was only down two runs and still very much in it. You starter has done his job and worked into the 8th inning. After the Dye double, even if he is still throwing in the high 90’s, get him out of there and bring in a fresh arm. Try and keep the game close. Instead he throws 11 more pitches taking a lofty pitch count to insane. That Lopez finally came in and allowed a single is immaterial.
From a pitching management standpoint it is inexcusable. With last night’s start, Justin Verlander now leads all of baseball in pitcher abuse points. He’s thrown more pitches than any other pitcher in baseball this year. And for what? A 5-1 loss in a season that is already decided? The Tigers just wanted to make sure that all their young pitchers end up on the DL?
It seems that this type of move happens when the manager is on his way out of town.
Jim Leyland hasn’t been shy about making changes to established roles this season. He quietly announced a big one on the radio pre-game show with Dan Dickerson when he said that Todd Jones is out as closer and Fernando Rodney would primarily assume the role.
It had become clear over the last couple weeks that Jim Leyland was losing confidence in Todd Jones. Leyland announced a couple weeks ago that he was going “to watch him” speaking more about his usage and indicating that Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney would receive some opportunities. In Baltimore he let Joel Zumaya pitch a second inning to try and get the save instead of Jones.
On Friday night Aquilino Lopez was warmed up and at the ready if Jones started to unravel – the type of move Leyland would NEVER make in the past. We all remember a certain game in Cleveland last year where Jones didn’t have it, got hammered, and Leyland refused to get anybody up in the pen. Jones blowing the Friday game after coming so close to securing the win was apparently the last straw.
Even with 2 blow-ups, Rodney has been the Tigers most effective reliever since coming off the DL*. Since June 16th Rodney (and not counting today) has thrown 14 innings and has allowed 8 walks, 10 hits, and he’s fanned 12. Over the same period Todd Jones has thrown 14.1 innings and allowed 22 hits with 2 walks, 4 HBP, and only 4 K’s. (And if you were wondering about Zumaya he’s gone 16.1 innings with 16 hits, 15 walks – ouch, and 16 K’s)
*Actually Bobby Seay probably deserves to hold that title. Over the same span he’s allowed just 6 hits and 6 walks in 12.1 innings with 13 strike outs. Why are the Tigers looking for a lefty reliever?
Rodney is much maligned though among Tigers fans. I attribute it to the fact that he wears his hat crooked. And when he blows up he really blows up. Still he is capable of extended periods of dominance – like 2006 for example. Or even last year after he returned from the DL and allowed all of 3 hits and 4 walks in his first 11 games back while fanning 17.
Now there are questions about this move. Primarily what role does Todd Jones play? He can’t be brought in to tough jams. Does he fill the Aquilino Lopez role of keeping a deficit from expanding, or eating an inning or two with a multi-run spread? And second there has to be concerns about Rodney’s health. He looks great at the moment, but he’s missed big chunks of the last 2 years and a 45 pitch outing today probably isn’t the best strategy.
I like seeing Rodney get the opportunity, and I like the willingness of Leyland to make a move. Stubborn is a difficult tag to hang on the skipper this season in that he’s tried a number of things. I think Rodney will probably fare okay, but be ready for a different type of rollercoaster. Jones would take you through highs and lows in any given outing but would typically get the job done in most outings. Rodney will wow you sometimes and kill you other times. It’s a matter of inter-outing rollercoaster versus intra-outing rollercoaster.
UPDATE: The Detroit News has some audio with Todd Jones. He says all the right things, but the guy is crushed. And yes, he’s struggled and the move is the right one to make, and he’s a professional, and he gets paid millions of dollars, and he’s made some questionable comments in his columns. I know for all those reasons people aren’t supposed to feel sympathy, but I can’t help it. I do.
The question of the 5th starter has been answered – for now. Zach Miner will take the spot formerly occupied by Eddie Bonine and before him Dontrelle Willis. Miner had some struggles with control out of the pen this year. But in two “stretch-out” starts for Toledo he has posted a 12:2 strike out to walk ratio in 8.1 innings. I’m in favor of giving Miner a shot, but I think there will be a pretty quick switch if he starts running every count full and walking people.
There have been deadline extenstions, and votes to keep some parts, and votes to knock the whole thing down. But now the Daily Fungo points to a news release on Carl Levin’s web site that there is $4 million earmarked for Corktown preservation and redevelopment. Presumably this is the money that the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy is hoping to obtain to save a portion of the stadium.
When the Tigers traded away their stud centerfield prospects middle infield became the organizational position of strength. Instead it’s become the organizational position of DL stays and ibuprofen. Edgar Renteria is battling a hamstring injury that he reagravated tonight.
Cale Iorg, the Tigers big time bonus pick from last year just hit the DL for Lakeland. His keystone partner Scott Sizemore has missed a big chunk of the season with a broken bone in his hand. Danny Worth, another draft pick from last year who has been a defensive whiz for Erie is now missing time. And high ceiling shortstop Audy Ciriaco just went on the DL for West Michigan.
And while they are health now, both Ramon Santiago and Mike Hollimon missed time this season due to separated shoulders.
It must be something they are putting in the water at second base.
With the All Star break upon us, now’s a good time to deviate a little from the day to day game post-reaction loop. Over the next 3 days there will be a different discussion topic each day. Today we start with building the ideal pitching coach.
Chuck Hernandez caught a lot of heat early in the year. That criticism has quieted somewhat with the staff posting a 3.95 ERA since May 13th. But this discussion is less about the merits of Chuck Hernandez and more along the lines of role playing. You’re the manager/general manager. What are you looking for in a coach?
Some things to consider:
Finally, once you’ve selected someone, how do you evaluate whether they are doing a good job? How do you decide how much credit/blame is due to the coach and those he has to work with?
I don’t mean this to be a Chuck Hernandez bash (or love) fest. But feel free to cite examples of what you like or don’t like about Hernandez or any other pitching coach to help explain your preferences. And if there are any other qualities or traits you’d look for, feel free to include those as well.
Most of the time when you read the beat reporters game stories and quotes, you get pretty much the same thing. But every once in awhile, you’ll get some pretty different takes. Take for example the conversation that Dontrelle Willis had with reporters yesterday.
In the mlb.com article the focus is on Dontrelle’s attitude and the minor league process. Willis says all the right things, accepting responsibility and all that stuff you like to hear:
“Not at all. You definitely don’t think about the money you’re making when you’re walking guys,” Willis said. “I don’t think that was the case at all.”
…
Willis said the demotion to Class A hasn’t been tough. He called it “necessary,” and said it has not affected his confidence. The lefty appeared humble, not bitter or angry.
“I’m accountable for everything,” Willis said. “I’m just not throwing the ball how I want to. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to play baseball anymore. I still love the game. It’s just making an adjustment. Sometimes you work hard, but you have bad habits.”
The Tigers have a plan in place to fix those bad habits. Willis has a plan to pitch in Detroit again this season.
“You have to be a man and understand that everybody wants to be a .900 hitter and everybody wants to be undefeated, but that’s not the case,” he said. “You continue to work hard and continue to have fun and, in the end, you’ll be happy with what you’ve done.”
In the Free Press article the emphasis is on Willis drastically changing his wind-up.
Willis acknowledged during a 10-minute session with reporters Saturday that he is currently attempting to change his mechanics through work with the organization’s coaches. He did not provide specifics of what the new delivery looks like.
I can’t imagine that Willis will make huge changes in his mechanics, at least not changes that will be really evident to the layman. The initial coiling might not be as dramatic, and the kick might not be as high, but I still believe it will be the same general concept.
Kenny Rogers was pitching a mighty fine game on Friday when he decided he needed a little something different. So he “invented” a cutter during the game.
“It keeps guys a little honest,” said Rogers, who ran into trouble in the eighth, allowing a walk, a hit-batsman, and a two-run double to Jose Lopez . “I just didn’t use it in the eighth. “But it’s a pitch I can throw inside to righties. It makes the plate that much wider.”
I find this pretty remarkable on a couple fronts. First that he tries out a new pitch in a game and is able to command it and be successful with it. Second, and more surprising, is that he hasn’t tried it out in the past. For a guy that hasn’t been relying on “stuff” for quite some time and has been looking for every edge he can get (insert pine tar joke here) I can’t believe he wouldn’t already have it in the arsenal if he could command it.
Dontrelle Willis’s latest start resulted in more walks than outs. Charged with 8 runs he lasted only 1.1 innings and was done in by 5 walks and 2 homers. All the damage was self inflicted and thus ended the 2 game winning streak.
The Tigers hands are tied with Willis unless he agrees to go on a minor league assignment (and I’m not even sure of the roster legalities of that). He’s shown flashes of control amidst a consistent struggle with the strike zone since donning the English D.
Willis stood up in front of reporters and accepted responsibility and said all the right things. He gets credit for that. But it doesn’t help the team.
Does he stay in the rotation? It’s muddy at best right now. When Jim Leyland was questioned about Willis in the post game he simply spoke of Dontrelle’s struggles tonight and refused to answer any inquiries after issuing a terse statement. There was no talk of Willis and his status in the rotation. In other words, Leyland doesn’t seem to know any better than we do right now about D-Train’s immediate future.
Willis is too important to flounder at the big league level. If a minor league assignment is a possibility it’s probably best for all parties involved. As for back-filling? I’d guess Fossum joins the rotation and Lopez returns from bereavement leave.