Archive for May, 2005

May 10, 1935 Tigers 8, Senators 4 (8-10)

Since starting 2-9, the Tigers had won six out of their last seven games. In three of those wins, rookie Joe Sullivan brought home the win as he tried to single handedly get the Tigers back in contention for the pennant. Sullivan gave up four runs on seven hits, but two of those runs were given up in the ninth when the game was out of reach.

Hank Greenberg had the big blast of the day as he hit a three run homer. Sullivan helped out his own cause with two hits and two RBIs, and Gee Walker scored twice.

Yesterday afternoon I returned to work after a week-long vacation. As I often do, I sought out my co-worker who is also a Tiger fan and started to discuss recent events with the team. At that time I had no prior knowledge about the injury sustained by Troy Percival this weekend. As we were discussing their current pitching staff, I made mention that I thought the Tigers had made an error by not re-signing Esteban Yan, who would be significantly cheaper than Ugueth Urbina. I also mentioned that I thought Yan had done pretty well, except when being asked to serve as the team’s closer. I also supported this idea by saying that Urbina’s trade value has done nothing but diminish since the season has started and the Tigers would have been better off trading him before the season. I am not afraid to say that I was incredibly wrong. Not only was I wrong, but I am thankful that the Tigers had Ugueth Urbina to insert into the closer role as opposed to Esteban Yan (or any one else on the roster for that matter). Urbina’s value may currently be increasing for other teams with his recent improved performances, but his value to the Tiger’s has now increased exponentially. My assumptions was based on my naive belief that somehow Percival would remain healthy throughout the entire season (at least most of it).

I should have known better to succumb to this type of unhealthy optimism. Not only has Percival logged a lot of miles on his arm as he has advanced in age, he is coming off of an injury-plagued 2004 season. We all acknowledged prior to the season that the acquisitions of Troy Percival and Magglio Ordonez were risky propositons at best. At this point, with hindsight, would these moves have been made? Do you think Dave Dombrowski may be sweating a little bit today? I give Double-D a lot of credit of having the courage to make the moves. Had these moves been successful, they very well may have been enough to nudge the Tigers closer to being a more competitive organization. Still, what type of long-term ramifications may these signings hold. They have a lot of money committed to Percival and Ordonez and a fifth of the way into the season, their is a little hope that either will be much of a contributor to the long term success of the team. Will these two players, due to the economic commitments made to them by the team, now just be impediments blocking the paths of valuable younger players who need big-league experience so that they may be given the chance to contribute? The Tigers are certainly no longer in a position where they can consider trading Triple U.(Urbina)

An even more interesting scenario has now arisen. What will Trammell do if Urbina thrives in the closer’s role and Percival is able to return from the DL before the end of the season? How can you re-insert a poor performing, injury-plagued, aging reliever back into the closer’s role? Especially, if by some miracle of chance the Tigers remain in contention upon his return, this will be an interesting, if not crucial decision. With the emergence of a more reliable Franklyn German, the impending return of Fernando Rodney, and the promotion of Chris Spurling, maybe Percival should be the arm that has become expendable. I hate to suggest that the Tigers should cut bait, but I am strongly suggesting that the Tigers must cut bait with Percival while they may still have the opportunity to do so, assuming Percival returns to health.

Two more things, I am REALLY pleased by the recent performances by the starting pitchers. If this continues they may have no need for Percival’s return. I know that Jason Johnson will have his ups and downs. I know that Mike Maroth will also have some poor outings from time to time. Still, with the recent slumping Tiger hitting, the starting pitcher’s have done a wonderful job keeping the the team competitive. Finally, will Carlos Pena ever realize the magnificent talent he appears to posess?

As baseball commentators from all around the crowded ‘net have opined, we’re entering a bit of a silly-season for talking about baseball. The time for predictions is long past. Comments on hot or cold starts have already been made, and while the sample sizes they’re based on are trickling towards relevance, they’re not there yet. It’s also too early for talk about pennant races or contenders, and it’s too early to determine who should play for next season and who should, to borrow an expression that’s gone from obscure to overused in the course of a few months, go all in. No problem, though. We can watch games, or even go outside and enjoy the springtime.

We can also look ahead to the Midsummer Classic, to be held this year in lovely downtown Detroit. For years the Tigers have been merely incidental participants, granted a lone player but without a star or a storyline aside from whether or not a Detroit player will actually enter the game. Last year was an exception. Two Tigers made the roster for the first time since 1994. Ivan Rodriguez started, batted second, and went 2-4 with a triple, though Carlos Guillen, the fourth shortstop on the AL team, didn’t get any PT on the 30-man team.

I think we can be fairly sure that any Tigers that squeak onto the roster this year will make appearances in front of the hometown fans. What are the chances that we’ll get more than the obligatory one player? Let’s take a look.

Alan Trammell, odds: 1:10,000. This one’s cheating a bit, as Trammell has already been named a coach for this year’s team, under BoSox manager Terry Francona. It seems to be something of a tradition to name the home team’s manager a coach. Jerry Manuel was on the squad for the 2003 game at Comiskey though he would be fired at season’s end, and Jimy Williams received the same “honor’ last year in Houston even though he’d be fired the next week. Trammell is in no such immediate danger, however, and deserves a chance to receive a lusty cheer on national TV during the intros.

Ivan Rodriguez, odds: 2:3. Pudge was named starter by the fans last year, but may lose out to Jason Varitek as the inescapable outpouring of Red Sox love extends into the All-Star voting. Furthermore, though he’s off to a decent start, Varitek, Javy Lopez, and Joe Mauer are all off to significantly better ones. Still, Pudge is well-liked, will be hitting .300, and is seen as the best player on the team. It says here that if Mauer stays healthy for the first half of the season, Francona squeezes four catchers onto the roster. Maybe they should always have a DH in the All-Star game so they can overload a position. At catcher, I think they’re going to need to for some of these guys to get a chance, because the era of Mauer is about to begin.

Carlos Guillen, odds 2:3. Guillen is the AL batting leader, and his odds are only this low because of the chance that he could get hurt. He, Miguel Tejada, and Derek Jeter should make the team. The only thing, aside from the DL, that could keep Guillen out is a serious slump coupled with Red Sox nation throwing Edgar Renteria or even Orlando Cabrera into the mix as the starter.

Jeremy Bonderman, odds 3:1. Bonderman just needs to keep it up. He’s currently tied for second in the league in wins, he’s third in strikeouts, and 19th in ERA. If a couple of bad outings push his ERA up into the upper fours, he’ll struggle to make it. If he’s got 11 or 12 wins with an ERA under four come selection time, he’ll be hard to deny.

Dmitri Young, odds 8:1. Nothing wrong with Dmitri’s start: .302/.362/.528, 15th in the AL in OPS as of this writing. The fact that he’s quotable, gregarious, and made headlines on opening day doesn’t hurt, either. He’ll need to pick up the home-run pace, however, not to be denied by a decent cornerman from a one-player team. Players like Mike Sweeney, Aubrey Huff, and Travis Hafner stand directly in Young’s path.

Brandon Inge, odds 15:1. Inge’s fast start has been tarnished by a flu-influenced slump, and he’s clearly behind the likes of A-Rod, Melvin Mora, Hank Blalock, and Adrian Beltre in the ranks of most valuable AL third basemen. Still, Beltre is off to a horrific start, Blalock a mediocre one, and Mora’s emergence is not so widely recognized that should he get cold and Inge hot, the true order of things might get reversed. It’s not terribly likely that he’ll be better than Mora, but that doesn’t mean that Inge’s improvement over the last couple of years is any less remarkable.

Ugueth Urbina, odds 40:1. Troy Percival’s injury opens the door here. Urbina has started to pitch well; no reason he can’t uncork 20 saves in 35 games if the team gets hot and Percival doesn’t come back.

Troy Percival, odds 70:1. No reason he can’t uncork 20 saves in 35 games if the team gets hot and he comes back in the minimum 15 games.

Jason Johnson (100:1), Nate Robertson (95:1), and Mike Maroth (80:1). All three pitchers are off to reasonable starts with ERAs under 4.00. It’s not likely however that they’ll both improve on their performances and vulture some wins. Maroth has the best chance, as he’s striking out more hitters than at any point in his career and might seem like he deserves a reward for 2003. Robertson and Johnson are walking as many batters as they strike out.

While I always like to hear what Will Carroll has to say about any injury, for now I’ll have to accept the vague mainstream reports that call it “some kind of forearm injury.”

While 3.65 is hardly a good ERA for a closer, it was coming down after topping out well above five for most of April. It’s too bad that the Tigers “other” big free agent acquisition has also gone down with an injury. The officlal report is putting him out for 4-6 weeks.

In the meantime, Urbina will close. Chris Spurling was called up to fill Percival’s roster spot.

And if you’re don’t subscribe to Baseball Prospectus’ premium content, Will Carroll’s injury report, Under the Knife, is well worth the subscription by itself. Be sure to check it out.

May 8, 1935 Athletics 7, Tigers 6 (7-10)

Schoolboy Rowe had leads of 4-0 and 6-2 before giving up three runs in the eighth and two in the ninth as the Philadelphia Athletics handed the Tigers their tenth loss of the season. In all, he gave up fourteen hits and seven runs over 8 1/3 innings.

Hank Greenberg hit a homer as the Tigers drew nine walks. Unfortunately the Greenberg homer was one of only four hits.

Game 1 (Final Score: 3-4, Angels win)
The Tigers started Wilfredo Ledezma against the AL West leading Anaheim Angels of LA, or whatever their name is. To motivate the team, he gave up a first inning run on a Garret Anderson single (0-1). Fortunately Kelvim Escobar gave up a first pitch solo home run to Marcus “the River” Thames in the top of the second (1-1). The score remained tied until Ledezma allowed base runners on a pair of singles by Anderson and the light hitting Juan Rivera in the fourth. Up comes Steve Finley and out goes Ledezma’s third pitch for a two run triple (1-3). Things stayed quiet until the sixth when Dmitri Young and Thames waste the leadoff walk drawn by Ivan Rodriguez and Rondell White’s one out single by grounding out to second and watching strike three respectively. Ledezma imitates Escobar’s sixth by issuing first base to Rivera on a lead off walk and getting Orlando “You want to pay me how much?!” Cabrera to fly out. The similarities ended there because it seems Finley liked second base so much the last time on his way to third, he decided to double himself there, scoring Rivera (1-4). Jamie Walker enters the inning and gets out of it when Finley’s age catches up to him as he tried to steal third and Jose Molina pops out. In an effort to make things close, Rodriguez and Carlos Guillen hit back-to-back doubles off Escobar and his relief, Scot Shields (2-4). A White walk is followed by a Young double scoring Guillen and we have a ball game (3-4). This valiant rally is snuffed out by another Thames strikeout and a Ramon Martinez groundout. Franklyn German holds the score close with a 13 pitch eighth inning allowing the Tigers the privilege of facing Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth. Ugh. Carlos “176” Pena pinch hits for Omar Infante and promptly become Carlos “174” Pena. Nook Logan sees 10 F. Rodriguez pitches before whiffing on strike three. Brandon Inge walks on the 23rd pitch of the inning bringing up I. Rodriguez who grounds out on the 24th.

Game 2 (Final Score: 2-1, Tigers win)
Jeremy Bonderman was sent to the mound to halt another losing streak against Bartolo Colon. It was a quiet game until the bottom of the third when Dallas McPherson decided to atone for his throwing error in the top half by hitting Bonderman’s first pitch into the seats in right field (0-1). The only event that occurred to break the tedium of the middle innings created by good pitching and poor hitting was the ejection of both Craig Monroe and Alan Trammell in the top of the fifth. Monroe didn’t like the close call at first and slammed his batting helmet on the ground right after crossing the bag; Trammell didn’t think Monroe’s action warranted an ejection and argued until he got tossed. It seemed that this was part of Trammell’s master plan because Carlos Pena and Jason Smith managed a single each. Nook Logan advanced Pena to third on a fielder’s choice giving Brandon Inge runners at the corners with two outs. Two pitches later Logan was picked off at first to end the inning. The top of the eighth featured a leadoff single by Pena who was advanced to third on Colon’s balk and Smith’s sacrifice, and scored on Logan’s single (1-1). Inge sent Logan to third on his single and Ivan Rodriguez got him home on his sacrifice fly and our first lead of the series (2-1). Inge made it to second on Steve Finley’s throwing error (it was his arm that felt his age this game) giving Carlos Guillen a man in scoring position, who he wasted with a foul out to left field. Bonderman held serve in the bottom half Colon did in the top half of the ninth, which brought Troy Percival a chance to ice his old mates. Percival allowed only one base runner on a Vladimir Guerrero single and finished the inning in 12 pitches (9 strikes). For those of you that are complaining about Trammell’s game management, please note that’s a victory by one (1) run.

Game 3 (Final Score: 10-1, Tigers win)
The rubber match featured starters Mike Maroth and Jarrod Washburn duking it out to see if the Tigers could win a series in Anaheim for the first time since Jimmy Carter was president. Brandon Inge continued the Tigers’ winning ways with a leadoff home run in the first (1-0). That was pretty much all the scoring. OK, I guess the third inning was pretty exciting, if you like that kind of thing. The Tigers batted around with Omar Infante, Nook Logan, Brandon Inge, and Rondell White (RBI) all collecting singles, Dmitri Young hitting a double (no RBI – White scored on the error by Garret Anderson), and Ivan Rodriguez (3 RBI) hitting a triple (6-0). That was it for Washburn, who was replaced by Kevin Gregg. Gregg proceeded to no hit the Tigers the rest of the inning but gave up a run anyway. Craig Monroe, Infante, Logan (RBI), and Inge (RBI) all walked (8-0). The two guys with long faces in the dugout were Carlos Guillen and Ramon “I can’t believe I’m still getting a million dollar major league paycheck either” Martinez who didn’t reach base safely. Maroth threw two scoreless innings and looked good even with the sixth inning solo shot by Robb Quinlan (8-1). This run was quickly earned back with interest by the Tigers in the bottom half when Chone Figgins scored White on his throwing error during Monroe’s infield grounder with two men on (9-1). With Monroe on second, Martinez made me feel bad for insulting him by doubling Monroe home (10-1). Ex-Tiger Esteban Yan finished the sixth with an Infante fly out. The game went scoreless the rest of the way and the Tigers earned a sweet series win on the road.

Hitters AB R H RBI BB TB AVG SLG
C Guillen 12 1 4 1 0 5 0.333 0.417
O Infante 6 1 1 0 1 1 0.167 0.167
B Inge 11 2 4 2 3 7 0.364 0.636
N Logan 10 2 3 2 1 3 0.300 0.300
R Martinez 8 0 2 1 0 3 0.250 0.375
C Monroe 6 2 0 0 1 0 0.000 0.000
C Pena 4 1 2 0 0 2 0.500 0.500
I Rodriguez 11 2 2 4 1 5 0.182 0.455
J Smith 3 0 2 0 0 3 0.667 1.000
M Thames 7 1 1 1 0 4 0.143 0.571
R White 11 2 3 1 1 3 0.273 0.273
V Wilson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0.000
D Young 13 1 4 1 0 6 0.308 0.462
Totals 103 15 28 13 8 42 0.272 0.408

Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO ERA WHIP
J Bonderman 8 4 1 1 0 8 1.76 0.50
F German 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00
M Ginter 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00
W Ledezma 5.1 7 4 4 3 3 7.06 1.96
M Maroth 8 3 1 1 2 2 1.76 0.63
T Percival 1 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 1.00
J Walker 1.1 0 0 0 1 1 0.00 0.91

My apologies for the unreadable nature of the statistics. Anyway, those are totals calculated for only this series and I used the box scores at ESPN. Any mathematical and typographical errors are mine and I welcome corrections.

May 7, 1935 Tigers 5, Athletics 3 (7-9)

After a very rough 2-9 start, the Tigers have bounced back and won their fifth in a row as they inch closer to the .500 mark. Tommy Bridges was very solid in his third win of the season as he went the distance and gave up only three runs on five hits while striking out five.

Billy Rogell had a big game as he went three for four with two RBIs. Gee Walker also drove in two runs.

For the second straight series, the Tigers won the first game, only to lose all of the remaining games. Jeremy Bonderman came through on Monday with a gutsy performance (i.e. he struggled but still held on to win), but since then, the Tigers have lost three straight.

And the schedule doesn’t get easier. The Tigers get to travel to Anaheim to play the Angels this weekend. The Angels have been hot as of late, so we’ll see how the Tigers can do.

Yesterday’s game was particularly disappointing. Jason Johnson threw his best game of the season (7 innings, one run, eight hits) only to see the Tigers’ bats go dormant. Urbina lost his third game of the season, and the Tigers could only manage three hits.

And with the White Sox on fire, the Tigers already find themselves 8 1/2 games back of first place. The time to win is now, so hopefully we’ll be able to take 2 of 3 against the Angels.

I’d like to introduce Jeff into the small Tigerblog family of writers. In his first column, he takes a look at the Tigers legacy, or soon to be lack thereof. Nice work, Jeff.

* * *

The current era of Tiger baseball began with a whimper in 1994. In that strike-shortened season, Lou Whitaker and Kirk Gibson were 37, Alan Trammell was 36, and Tony Phillips was 35. Save Trammell, though, they all had big years, as did relative young tykes Cecil Fielder, Mickey Tettleton, and even Junior Felix. The pitching, however, was atrocious, and Detroit fell short of .500 by nine games. (Can you name the only Tiger starter to lead the team in ERA twice since then? It’s Felipe Lira in 1995 and 1996. He was 15-27 over that stretch.)

We all know what happened after that. The hitters got older and promised reinforcements either never quite showed up (Milt Cuyler, Raul Casanova, Robert Fick), or were nothing but drops in the slop bucket (Tony Clark, Bobby Higginson). The pitching never improved, and even the occasional inspired personnel move – like the trades both for and of Mark Redman – weren’t enough to overcome so much negative inertia. That 1994 season kicked off a streak of eleven straight losing seasons, a streak the Tigers are still trying to bust.

Sitting here in 2005, it’s easy to forget how different the Tigers were in 1993. Pieces of the 1980s’ best team were still in place, supplemented by a recurring diet of bashing free-agent and trade acquisitions like Fielder, Tettleton, and Rob Deer. The Tigers weren’t necessarily poised for greatness, but they were coming off of 13 winning seasons in 16 years, they scored more runs than anyone else, and greatness hadn’t yet grown faint in the rear-view mirror.

It’s also easy to see what the years 1994-2004 – we’ll call them the Lost Years — have done to the Tigers’ legacy as a franchise, as the Lost-Years indignities stack up. Tiger Stadium sat empty while hope surrounding Comerica Park faded amidst stadium debt and general indifference. The Tigers slunk out of the AL East, away from traditional rivals they could no longer compete with. Free agents with other choices never hesitated to seize them.

At the end of the 2004 season, though, the Tigers had still won more games than they lost, 8150-7959. That’s good for a .506 winning percentage, eleventh-best in the majors and ahead of franchises like the Braves, A’s, and Mets. It’s also 191 games over .500, which seems like a reasonable figure. But it’s not, not for Detroit. In 1993, the Tigers were 518 games over break even, or two-and-a-half times better than they are now. When Trammell and Whitaker reached the majors for good at the end of 1977, the Tigers were 389 games ahead. After Al Kaline’s rookie year of 1953, Detroit had won 290 more than it had lost, good for an all-time winning percentage of .518.

The Tigers’ franchise winning percentage stayed at .518 until their last winning season in 1993. Since then, they’ve been 694-1021, good for a .405 mark, plunging the franchise record all the way to .506. Eleven years have been enough to wreck a long history of competitiveness. If the Tigers keep losing at this horrid pace, they’ll drop below .500 as a franchise early in the 2011 season, or if you’re an enternal pessimist, just about the time Jeremy Bonderman wins his second Cy Young Award as a member of the Diamondbacks. Perhaps the saddest thing about these Lost Years is that 2003’s historic 119 losses aren’t even that much of an outlier.

If the 2005 Tigers break .500, or make a run at second place in the watered-down AL Central, will that usher in a new era, one to which we can assign a less-depressing nickname? Clearly the answer is no – they need to sustain a decent (or even a good) run to change the way their fans and the competition perceive them. One 82-80 season won’t make a difference, just like 2000’s 79-83 season didn’t. But it sure was good to see the Tigers at the fringes of the wild-card race in July and August of 2000, to have something Tiger to discuss aside from new marks for futility. That’s what’s at stake this summer – the opportunity to be a Tiger fan, not a Tiger apologist, the opportunity to build a bandwagon, even a short-lived one, for people to jump on. Every sustained run starts somewhere.

May 4, 1935 Tigers 5, Red Sox 2 (6-9)

The Tigers won their fourth straight, and have inched their way back up towards the .500 mark. After three straight rain outs, the Tigers were happy to get back onto the field. Rookie Joe Sullivan did a nice job shutting down the Red Sox as he went the distance and gave up only two runs on eight hits and a walk.

Backup outfielder Gee Walker had a big day as he went two for four with two doubles and two RBIs. Three other Tigers had two hits off of four time 20 game winner Wes Ferrell.

I know it’s pretty easy to start your own blog these days, but I’m looking for people who’d be willing to write for the site. I’ve tried this in the past with mixed results. While it doesn’t have to be completely Tiger specific, it should have a definite Tiger slant (so an AL Central weekly round up would be something along these lines).

I have a few ideas in mind, but I’m limiting myself to them, so if you’re interested in devoting at least one column a week, drop me a line at brianbor@yahoo.com .

Things really looked like they were falling into place. The Tigers had won five in a row, and they had a nice two run lead on Saturday. The White Sox came from behind to take that game, then Jon Garland threw his second four hitter of the week today as the Sox destroyed the Tigers 8-0.

Now the Tigers are riding two straight losses and they have the struggling Red Sox coming to town looking to get their footing back. Fortunately Curt Schilling is on the DL, so we won’t see him. And Matt Clement threw today. Bonderman is throwing tomorrow, but according to Yahoo, both he and Maroth are facing John Halama the next two days. Not sure who will get him, but the Tigers should have their top two guys throwing against pitchers they should be able to hit.

With the word “should” being the operative word. It’s encouraging that we’re playing them at home, because Fenway is always a tough place to play. At this point, splitting the two game series would be acceptable, but with the pitching woes of the Red Sox, you can always hope to take three of four.

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