Official Tiger of DTW and Billfer, Curtis Granderson, will be hosting his second annual charity basketball game. The game supports the Grand Kids Foundation, which in turn supports Michigan’s Inner City schools.
Continue reading Help a centerfielder out
The Bill James Handbook is always one of the first baseball books to come out each year. It’s not a riveting narrative by any means and it consists largely of tables of numbers. But there are always some interesting pieces and there seems to be something new every year. Last year it was the Young Talent Inventory. This year it is a bullpen analysis. They sit alongside managerial stats, baserunning stats, and the Fielding Bible awards. But one of my favorite sections is the leaderboard.
I’m not going to copy a bunch of leaderboards for you here. That might be kind of tedious and boring for everyone, and it would definitely be a copyright violation. But I will point out some Tiger related items that are either interesting, or surprising, or noteworthy.
You see, when you’re a rookie in MLB there is a certain hazing process. The junior member of the bullpen is responsible for bringing out the snacks. The snacks usually reside in a Dora the Explorer backpack or something similar. But if you’re fortunate enough to be on a roster for the last roadtrip of the season, you get to wear something fancy. Curtis Granderson is kind enough to share the lineup.
Freddy Dolsi — French maid
Armando Galarraga — Cha Cha girl
Chris Lambert — Bridezilla
Clay Rapada — Female cop
Dusty Ryan — Caveman with a club
Dane Sardinha — Hercules
Jeff Larrish — She-devil
Matt Joyce — Neverland fairy
Now if only he’ll be kind enough to share photos.
By the way, Fossum isn’t a rookie, but he should be forced to dress up in something as well.
Baseball Prospectus just released what they call “The Ultimate Fantasy Draft.” Essentially they throw contract status out the window and rank the 50 players that teams should build around. Curtis Granderson earned a ranking of 16, right between Ryan Braun and Tim Lincecum (and two spots behind Miguel Cabrera).
Nate Silver had this to say in the Curtis blurb:
Somewhere around Webb or Braun, we really turned a corner into the next tier of talent. Granderson is just a superlative ballplayer, excelling in every phase of the game, and his work ethic is so strong that he could wind up getting even better.
Now what does this have to do with Matt Joyce? The Spot Starters recently looked at Granderson’s first extended opportunity at playing time, and Matt Joyce’s first extended opportunity. Both seasons occurred when the players were the same age (23). Here’s the kicker, Joyce’s debut has been more impressive than Granderson’s, and its not that close. Joyce hit for a slightly better average, substantially more power, gets on base better, is striking out less…
Continue reading Grandy’s a stud, is Matt Joyce?
I’ve got to give this Tigers team credit for one thing. There’s no shortage of news. Last week I tried to put together a timeline of all the announcements and news coming out of Jim Leyland’s office. I couldn’t get it legible at less than 1200 pixels wide. And that was before all the news from the last week.
Wilson received awful news in that he needs to do Tommy John times 2. His contract with the Tigers is up this year and with a 12 month recovery period, he is done as a Tigers player and may be facing retirement. He’s well respected in the Tigers organization and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Wilson back in another capacity in a few years. Best wishes to Vance.
Clay Rapada was optioned to Toledo to make room for Eddie Bonine. This isn’t a merit based demotion but a matter of the guy with options getting sent down. It’s something we may see again next week when Rodney and Zumaya return. Dolsi could be one of the guys out based on contract status. Fossum, Seay, Bautista, and Lopez are all out of options.
Detroit Tiger Tales takes a look at Curtis Granderson’s struggles. He finds among other things that Granderson is taking a lot of pitches, both out of and in the strike zone and it’s possible he’s being to passive. That’s something I could buy, and his timing seems to be off as well with a lot of ball popped up to the left side. I trace it back to the Tim Wakefield game. Look at his gamelogs and see what happens from May 6th onwards. It’s a 554 OPS with only 4 walks. Right now his OBP is the same as Pudge’s.
I think I spied Joel Zumaya in the Tigers dugout last night. But he is experiencing some soreness in his side. If everything goes as planned he’ll pitch tonight, and then back to back on Monday and Tuesday with a possible return to the team for the San Diego series.
As for Rodney, he had a terrific outing for the Mud Hens last night and will be back Monday provided he feels alright today.
Man I’m getting tired of adding to the injury lists. Gary Sheffield and Placido Polanco were both out of today’s lineup. Polanco was actually out of Canada and back in Detroit to get his back examined. It sounds like Sheffield is close behind him to get his shoulder looked at.
Gary Sheffield hadn’t been hitting early on, but he’d still been getting his walks and has 12 for the season. But on Friday night he looked too much like the Sheffield from last August. He fanned 3 times and was chasing pitches out of the strike zone. His line drive percentage is only at 11% (he’s normally in the 16-18% range) and he’s hitting infield flies at an alarming rate of 36.8%. Unfortunately a DL stint looks inevitable at this point.
Continue reading Injury roundup
Louisville 5 Toledo 0
Curtis Granderson doubled and singled, and like the night before in Grand Rapids that was it for the highlights. Virgil Vasquez allowed 5 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks with only 1 K in 5.1 innings. Cassey Fossum went 2.2 innings allowing one hit while fanning 3.
Jason Beck was in Toledo and said that there is still some concern about Granderson having to make a throw which he hasn’t yet on his assignment. Also, Francisco Cruceta is likely to join the Hens this week and Mike Hollimon isn’t too far away. Plus our friend Roger DeWitt found Jordan Tata throwing off a mound in Lakeland meaning his return should be close as well.
Erie 2 Alttona 3
Freddy Guzman tripled and singled. Deik Scram doubled and walked. Dan Christensen allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 k’s with one strike out over 6.2 innings. Casey Fien took the loss allowing a homer and 2 other hits in 1.1 innings of work.
Lakeland 0 Tampa 3
Rick Porcello went 6 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, a walk, and 4 strike outs. Lakeland only managed 3 hits. LFT Blog notes an interesting subplot and wonders whether Porcello was asked to throw at a hitter as retaliation for the hitter breaking up a no hitter with a bunt the night before.
Burlington 7 West Michigan 8
Ronnie Bourquin homered and singled. Roger Tomas and Adrian Cassanova each had 3 hits and a walk. Lauren Gagnier allowed 6 runs in 5.1 innings with 3 walks and 5 K’s. Rudy Darrow went 2 innings of relief fanning 3 and allowing 1 hit.
Being at the game last night, I’m way behind on the injury updates. But let’s get caught up…
It’s not quite official, but it’s looking like Fernando Rodney might be toast – at least for this season. He is headed to Alabama for a consult with Dr. James Andrews. Given his injury prone past, and the pattern or not being able to stay healthy for two months at a time last year, and the inability to throw without pain right out of the gate this year, it’s all bad news.
And some good news for Curtis Granderson who took
live batting practice today. He also ran the bases, which I’m less concerned about. I haven’t seen anything from the team about a return date, but I’m guessing it is next week.
Detroit Tigers Thoughts points to an analysis of Gary Sheffield’s shoulder. Reports of tearing scar tissue don’t sound good, but the results have been impressive the last 3 days. Was it what was needed, or is it a short term gain in exchange for longer term risk?
This is brand spanking new, but he left tonight’s game with some lat pain on his throwing side. In the locker room Nate said the plan was for some anti-inflammatory medicine and he doesn’t expect to miss a start at this time.
Okay, don’t freak out. He may not be injured at all. But Dave Cameron blogging for Fangraphs notes that
Verlander’s velocity is down significantly and his other stats are moving in the wrong direction as well. I think it’s too soon to call it an injury at this point but it is something to watch.
Bless You Boys delves into Craig Monroe’s quotes about being bitter. Like Ian I can appreciate Monroe’s view point. Yes if he’d played better this wouldn’t have happened and so on and so forth. And to his credit he didn’t slam the organization on the way out or after the fact.
A flurry of link worthy items, plus just being behind in general leads to the mother of all link round-ups:
Bless You Boys picked up a Buster Olney report that scouts were speculating that Dontrelle Willis may be injured. That could certainly be part of his control problems. Then again, Willis has battled increasing control issues the last couple years so it may be a continuation of a trend. But it sounded like Tigers scouts were confident that the problem had been licked. But what if it isn’t?
Assignable cause is always nice when trying to identify shifts in output (I’m an industrial engineer by trade). Usually if you can find the assignable cause and fix it. But in this case fixing it may mean rest & rehab or even surgery if there is an elbow problem.
Big League Stew has some more. Well, not much more but I like BLS and there’s a cool picture.
Things aren’t going well for Clay Rapada either who is experiencing more soreness.
Fernando Rodney was examined by the team orthopod and no structural damage was found and he will resume throwing. That’s the good news portion of this update.
Let’s hope Granderson heals as fast as he gets out of the box for triples. The mending time is estimated to be really quick where he only misses the first week (via John Fuller, his publicist/manager type guy) or it could be a month if Chone Figgins can be used as a comp. While he could probably start swinging the bat right away, it will likely effect his grip strength. And man, I’d imagine hitting in cold weather would be especially painful.
In his stead Edgar Renteria will leadoff and Brandon Inge will manner center field – at least initially. I have a felling there will be some mixing and matching with Ryan Raburn perhaps getting some extra at-bats as well.
Speaking of Granderson, The Grandy Report was able to interview him last week. It turns out Granderson’s favorite subject was math. I wonder if he’s a saber?
Also, Dontrelle Willis got together with Ryan Howard and David Wright during a Topps shoot. Willis grabbed the mike and conducted the interviews himself. This interview keeps getting taken down, so catch it while you can.
I think it’s only appropriate that THE TRADE spurred THE CONTRACT. There is little new news about THE CONTRACT except that it is a 7 year extension as I had speculated initially. My guess on how it breaks out is $15 million in 2009 and then $21 million in each of 2010-2015. It hasn’t been officially announced, but it hasn’t been denied. And Cabrera’s Dad seemed to confirm it to a Venezuelan newspaper. (translation via Google)
“We were expecting this contract,” said Cabrera Navas. “There were two very important things for him to accept the deal: first, that there are other Venezuelans, as Magglio (Ordoñez) and Carlos (Guillen), and second, that we have a good chance to win and go to a World Series.”
The story also said that there are incentives for MVPs, All Star Games, and the like.
Mack Avenue Tigers beat me to the punch and rounded up the opinions on the valuation of the deal. The opinions vary greatly. I’m still sticking with my initial feelings that it is a pretty fair valuation for both sides. In terms of Cabrera’s actual value it seems fair. In terms of Cabrera’s perceived value it appears to be favorable for the club.
Finally wrapping this thing up we look to the Marlins who decided to send Cameron Maybin to the minors for more seasoning. Probably a good move and Maybin will probably still be the starting centerfielder by the end of the year. But Jair Jurrjens locked up a spot in the rotation after a strong spring.
And lastly, Brennan Boesch had some bathroom problems today.
Remember when the Tigers made the Edgar Renteria trade and everyone was so happy? Meanwhile Joel Zumaya was being evaluated from having his shoulder crushed and the news he’d be out put a big damper on the euphoria. Well, now Curtis Granderson’s finger (middle no less) is sticking it to Tigers fans basking in the Miguel Cabrera glow.
Jason Beck reports that when he was hit by a pitch yesterday, it fractured his finger. This means a couple weeks in a splint and a couple weeks of missed time. And to make things even better, it’s his right hand which is kind of important for someone who throws right handed.
This could be that regular playing time that Inge was looking for. Or it could solidify Ryan Raburn’s spot on the team. Or it could open the door for Freddy Guzman.
Long term this doesn’t figure to be significant. Short term it is irritating to say the least.
Some of my Tiger blogging brethren have clever names for their link round up posts, like Bless You Boys “Like Stripes on the fur coat of a Tiger” or Mack Avenue Tigers “Bunt Singles” or Roar of the Tigers “Pug Marks.” Here’s my foray and we’ll call it Junkballing: Continue reading Junkballing: Baserunning, blocking, projections
ESPN.com followed Curtis Granderson around on the first day of spring training. See Curtis sign autographs, reminisce about being a minor leaguer in camp, and get heckled by his skipper while taking BP.