Category Archives: Players

2007 Season, Managing & Strategy, Players

Thoughts in brief

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A mishmash of things I’ve been meaning to comment on…

Craig Monroe

I’ve read and heard much lamenting that Leyland is being too loyal to Craig Monroe. That was called for at the end of June, but it’s not really called for now. Monroe had lost his starting job prior to the Marcus Thames injury. After a brief reprieve, one in which he hit a couple homers against Kansas City, he subsequently lost his starting job to Ryan Raburn. When you’ve seen Monroe playing lately, it’s because someone else is getting a rest. When he played Tuesday it was because Polanco was DH’ing. When he played yesterday it was because Leyland rested Granderson against a tough left hander. For the last month it wasn’t Leyland’s loyalty to Monroe keeping him in the lineup, it was injuries to Thames and Sheffield.

Monroe’s days in Detroit are numbered. There was a reason he only had a one year contract and it’s so money wouldn’t be blocking Cameron Maybin in 2008. You can even argue that Monroe was unnecessary this year with Thames capable of filling the role at one tenth the cost. But even the most adamant Monroe detractors had no reason to expect a 221/265/387 line from a player that had posted 3 straight season in the 100-115 OPS+ range.

Ryan Raburn

Ryan Raburn has done way more than could have been expected of him and should have solidified his spot as a reserve outfielder on next years team. And I’m not reaching this conclusion on 50-some big league at-bats, but on a couple of strong seasons at AAA. Plus the added flexibility he brings by being able to play infield as well as all 3 outfield positions makes him a pretty valuable guy. I’m not expecting him to continue at his current rate, but near league average offensive production at a whole lot of positions for the league minimum is actually a pretty nice thing to have.

And for those who want to discredit his early success to small sample size, it’s fine to a certain extent in that he won’t keep up that production. But I’ve also heard comparisons to Brent Clevlen last year and those just aren’t apt. Clevlen has had one good year in the minors while Raburn has had several. Clevlen probably has a higher ceiling, and considering he’s at AAA and won’t turn 24 until after the season there is still reason for optimism. But in terms of being a productive player right now I’ll take Raburn.

Leyland having a tirade

I know that many want Jim Leyland to go and yell at all the players like he did last year. Because that will fix everything. He yelled last year because he wasn’t happy with the effort. Now he’s talking about the team not having an “extra charge” and things being dull in the clubhouse. If that’s the case Leyland needs to solve it.

It’s been my contention that Leyland’s strength is managing the clubhouse, and not his game strategizing. If he gets credit for last year and earlier this year, then a dull clubhouse is his responsibility to fix (and he admits as much). Bless You Boys has a take I tend to agree with

Well, where exactly is that going to come from? Yes, the players should provide it themselves. But would it really be a bad thing to close the clubhouse doors before they play the Indians or Yankees and remind them what’s at stake. No one’s saying he needs to rip his shirt off, throw a trash can across the clubhouse, and put out a cigarette on someone’s head. Leyland doesn’t need to put on a show. But he shouldn’t be content to send messages through the press, either.

But what I’d really like to see, and Sean Baligian brought this up on WDFN this morning, is for some of the guys in the clubhouse to take the lead on this. And maybe, this is Leyland’s way of trying to prompt it.

Players

You too can be Curtis Granderson’s friend

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Curtis Granderson launched a MySpace page during spring training and it got to be pretty popular. Only trouble is that this weekend while Grandy was hitting homers and taking away others, his page was deleted. With that went all 28,000 friends he had amassed. So clearly he’s a little lonely now.

So if you were a friend of Curtis or would like to be, send him a new friend request. His page can be found at www.myspace.com/curtisgranderson_official.

2007 Season, Players

Neifi Perez suspended 25 games

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The Ryan Raburn roster spot mystery has been cleared up. He’ll take Neifi Perez’s spot as Perez was suspended 25 games by MLB for use of a banned stimulant. This is according to WXYT.

So first it was Alex Sanchez, and now Neifi Perez getting nabbed by drug screens. I really didn’t see this one coming.

I am a little surprised (not disappointed mind you) they called up Ryan Raburn to fill Perez’s role instead of Ramon Santiago. Santiago held the same duty last year and is already on teh 40 man roster. Plus, while Raburn was formerly an infielder he has been working exclusively in the outfield this year. My guess is that Omar Infante is now the primary infield back-up and Raburn will serve as Granderson’s platoon partner in centerfield with occasional spot duty at 2nd base.

2007 Season, Pitching, Players, Research

A different look at Andrew Miller

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On Sunday, June 24th Andrew Miller took center stage on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and promptly pitched 6 shut out innings. Miller only allowed 4 hits and 2 walks and was never really threatened. Was this a dominant performance by a young stud pitcher, or just another day at the office for the slumping Braves? I don’t know if we can really say one way or the other, but with enhanced gameday data we can at least get some additional information.
Continue reading A different look at Andrew Miller →

2007 Season, Injuries, Minors, Players

Vance Wilson done for the year, Roman Colon suspended

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Not much in the way of good news for the Tigers today with Vance Wilson undergoing surgery and Roman Colon undergoing suspension.

Vance Wilson

So Vance Wilson finally gets a multi-year deal, and he’s going to spend the bulk of it on the DL. After spending 2 1/2 months trying to rehab his elbow, he underwent Tommy John surgery today. He will be out for 9 to 12 months.

Fortunately Mike Rabelo has proven to be a reliable back-up. Unfortunately, that’s one more element of depth that isn’t available. Let’s hope Rabelo and Pudge can stay healthy.

Roman Colon

I can’t imagine that Roman Colon had a lot of margin for error. So an off field altercation that results in injury probably did nothing to enhance his chances on the team, even one desperate for bullpen help. He’ll be suspended for 7 days.

I figured that the Tigers were hoping Colon could be a no-cost option to at least give a try in the bullpen, and possibly one of the reasons the Tigers have waited to make a trade. Eulogio De La Cruz may be the benefactor of this incident, as he’s strung together 3 good outings in a row for Toledo.

UPDATE: The Freep has more on the incident, which took place in the clubhouse. It appears that Virgil Vasquez, Kevin Hooper, and Jordan Tata all played different roles, but Jason Karnuth paid the biggest price with what amounts to a broken face. Colon was the only one suspended and had this to say:

“I should not be the only one suspended,” Colon said. “Why would I be suspended when they were calling me a (expletive) to my face?”

Asked why he believes he was the only player suspended, Colon said, “When they called people into the office to ask what happened in the fight, there were no Latino people in there. So, I was alone.”

Nice knowing you Roman. At least Zach Miner has panned out from the Kyle Farnsworth trade.

2007 Season, Pitching, Players, Tiger History

Verlander says no-no

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Verlander's No-No
Reuters
I wish I could type up something poetic or dramatic or chuck full of literary goodness. I don’t really have that in me, and I don’t think I could muster it right now anyways. But watching this unfold was a thing of beauty. Justin Verlander was good in the first inning, and better in the 9th. His defense helped him of course, but with strikeouts accounting for 12 of the 27 outs, he certainly didn’t overtax them. A triple digit fastball, a sharp curve, and a masterful change-up had a pretty good Brewers offense shaking their heads after flailing helplessly at the plate.

Selfishly, I could care less about the Tigers offense tonight. Brandon Inge was great again, and Curtis Granderson added his 13th triple (and only his 3rd at home), but mostly I just wanted to see Verlander take the mound. The 7th and 8th innings when the Tigers were up only served to help me catch my breath and sigh before moving back to the edge of my seat. I was doing the mental out count down starting in the 5th. “There’s number 14, half way home.” I cursed Bill Hall as he saw pitch after pitch and earned walk after walk. I was thinking that if anyone broke it up, it would be Hall – or worse yet he’d run Justin’s pitch count up too high to finish.

And yet in the 8th inning when Hall walked, it was the much maligned Neifi Perez who cut down Hall at second base on a fabulous play before Placido Polanco turned over the double play, saving Justin a few more pitches, and a little more energy.

Not that Justin needed more energy, he was feeding off the crowd that stood when Justin stood and didn’t sit down until they got in their cars to go home. Verlander reached back and hit 102 on the FSN gun at around pitch number 109. After hanging an 87mph curve on pitch number 111 he took a moment for a walk behind the mound. Dan Dickerson later asked if it was to soak in the moment, which was my first thought as well. But it was just so Verlander could harness his adrenaline before throwing pitch 112 which sealed history as it nestled into Magglio Ordonez’s glove. History. Awesome.

Some other thoughts that didn’t fit in the narrative:

  • Magglio Ordonez who gets hammered for his defense, has really been pretty good this year and a diving grab rescued a liner from a fate on the turf. Probably the closest threat to a hit in the game.
  • I flipped on the radio in the 9th, and if you missed it Dan Dickerson was money. He conveyed the moment without spelling it all out. People knew the situation, they could hear the crowd. Jim Price pretty much stayed out of the way, and Dickerson carried us on the tension in his voice. I’m not saying this just because Dan’s been nice enough to do some interviews for the site, but he is a very very very good broadcaster.
  • I love watching the emotion from Dave Dombrowski, and I love the fact that he keeps score during a game. The fact he’s a fan, just like the rest of us, I find to be very endearing.
  • This was Pudge’s 2nd no hitter after catching Kenny Rogers perfect game in 1994.
  • This was home plate umpire Ron Kulpa’s first no hitter. I thought he was quite good, but a called 3rd strike to Craig Counsell to start the game appeared off the plate. That set up a pretty big strike zone that Verlander used to his advantage. And he threw the same pitch to Counsell in the 9th with the same result.

A listing of all no-hitters.

2007 Season, Injuries, Players, Roster Management

Mesa released

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Yeah, I’m kind of late on this, but the news came down during my journey home from Cleveland.

The Mesa signing was kind of a mystery at the time. I guess the Tigers were hoping to get some better than replacement level bullpen depth. What they got was a whole lot less. I think Mesa’s stay was extended with the injuries to Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya, but he couldn’t do anything with the extra chances.

I’m thrilled that the Tigers are going to stick with the guys who have been performing well, and that Fernando Rodney will be back to stabilize the 8th inning.

2007 Season, Players

Casey hasn’t produced anything

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It’s a refrain that has been uttered by Tigers fans over and over again. This time it is a quote from Jim Leyland. Leyland was responding to questions about Marcus Thames playing 3 straight days and said:

“It’s an attempt to get some production in the lineup,” manager Jim Leyland said Thursday, before the Tigers’ 11-5 loss. “The fact of the matter is that Casey hasn’t produced anything.”

“When Marcus hits it, something happens,” Leyland said. “I love Sean Casey, and he’s going to play. But if Casey isn’t hitting, I’m going to play Marcus. That’s just the way it is. I need to get some thunder in there.”

Since Sean Casey became a Tiger he has hit 256/303/349 with 41 RBI and 5 home runs in regular season action. It isn’t exactly the production upgrade the Tigers were looking for when they found Chris Shelton’s production in June and July unacceptable. Shelton hit 246/310/374 over those miserable months.

Of course Casey’s struggles really don’t come as a surprise. Some will point to his World Series performance, but 4 months of poor performance have to trump 2 weeks of stellar production.

Some will also point to his clubhouse presence, which is fine. He is universally regarded as a really nice guy and a guy you want to cheer for. It also makes it very hard for the Tigers to cut him and it’s something I just don’t expect to happen. But reading Leyland’s quotes it seems like Thames will have an opportunity to dictate his playing time with performance. If Thames can hit, and this is the time of year he really turned it on last year (he hit 309/346/639 with 8 homers in June while filling in for Craig Monroe in left), it sounds like he’ll have his chances.

Given Sean Casey’s veteran-ness and attitude I don’t think this is a move by Leyland to light a fire and motivate Casey. This is simply about production. And quite frankly, if Carlos Guillen is going to be missing any time a hot hitting Marcus Thames can actually provide some protection hitting behind Magglio Ordonez.

2007 Season, Players

Why is Jose Mesa still a Tiger?

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Jose Mesa has been an unmitigated disaster as a Detroit Tiger. I couldn’t figure out why the Tigers signed Mesa in the first place, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why he’s still wearing the English D.

Somewhat surprisingly Mesa was actually effective in 9 of his appearances retiring the one or two batters that he needed to without incurring damage. So he can be serviceable some of the time. The problem is that when he’s bad, he is really really bad. And the real problem is that it isn’t that rare of an occurrence.

After tonight’s shellacking he has allowed 16 runs in 11 1/3 innings. He’s allowed multiple runs in 6 of his 16 appearances despite pitching more than an inning only once. This isn’t a case of a guy being left out for 3 or 4 innings at a crack. This isn’t one or two bad appearances that stain your ERA. This is a repeated pattern of bad pitching.

He has a double digit ERA. He’s allowing more than 2 base runners per inning. Opponents are hitting better than Ordonez in May against him. He simply needs to go. I don’t care who comes up to take his place. Whether it is a generic minor league free agent or a prospect, somebody has to be able to outperform him. He can’t keep games close, and he can’t pitch in mop-up duty. He provides no real value to this team.

I don’t care how far Mesa throws the ball in long toss. I don’t care what kind of physical condition he’s in. He simply hasn’t shown an ability to be able to retire major league hitters with any sort of consistency. Jim Leyland speaks of guys needing to step up and perform. That if you can’t do the job you’re out. Mesa simply can’t be counted on to do the job, and he’s hurting the team time and time again.

Mesa’s days in Detroit should be numbered, and that number should be no more than Fernando Rodney’s remaining days on the DL.

2007 Season, Players

Sneaking a peek at player of the month

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Magglio Ordonez is on top of the AL in pretty much every category. With him starting slow for the first 2 weeks of the season, I figured that he had put up such gaudy numbers since that he’d be a shoo-in for AL player of the month numbers. Using the day by day database I pulled his competition for the month through the games of May 29th.

It turns out that there is quite the battle, and it could come down to the last day of the month. There are 3 players who have a real legitimate claim and their numbers are strikingly similar:

Kevin Youkilis has been the toughest out. Magglio Ordonez has hit for the most power. Mark Texeira has the least protection, as evidenced by the 4 intentional free passes and has knocked in the most runs.

It’s a player of the month honor, so it’s really not that important. I’m of course pulling for my home town guy, but it is an impressive group nonetheless.

2007 Season, Players, Roster Management

Ledezma’s struggles

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Wil Ledezma began the season on a high note. In his first 3 appearances he allowed only 4 baserunners over 6 innings. He fanned 4 and didn’t allow a run. But since then he has been awful.

Not counting tonight’s collapse, he has made 9 more appearances. He’s amassed 13 1/3 innings and allowed 19 hits, 13 walks, 3 home runs, he’s balked, been called for baserunner obstruction, and was ejected. He’s become a mop-up man who hasn’t even been effective in that role as evidenced by his 1 1/3 inning, 47 pitch, 4 run effort on Sunday.

Now with Bobby Seay performing competently, Ledezma is seeing fewer high leverage situations. And now Tim Byrdak has come in and turned in 2 stellar performances. Could this be the end of Ledezma as a Tiger? He is out of options meaning that he would need to clear waivers before being sent to the minors. Even with his struggles, he’s a lefty that can throw in the mid 90’s meaning he’d be claimed by someone. So removing him from the active roster likely means removing him from the organization.

It is probably premature to assure Byrdak or Seay spots on the roster. As good as Byrdak has been, it’s only 2 appearances. Ledezma still looked good after 2 games. And in Seay’s case, he needs to continue to prove himself. However, as long as Byrdak and Seay continue to have success, Ledezma leash is only going to get shorter.