Archive for the '2009 Tigers' Category

This time, the Cardinals took care of the Tigers 5-2.  Chris Duncan took Zach Miner deep with a two run shot in the first inning and from there on, the Cardinals never yielded the lead.  Miner gave up another run in the third in a rough outing in which he lasted just three innings.  He was touched up for seven hits but he struck out two without giving up a walk.  Four of the hits were extra bases (three doubles and the homerun).

Ryan Perry pitched another shutout inning and we could have 2006 all over again when Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya made the team as a starter and reliever respectively.  This time, it’s Rick Porcello and Perry.  Perry allowed on hit and while he didn’t strike anyone out, it was a solid inning none the less.

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Marcus Thames put the Tigers on the board with a solo shot in the second inning, his second homer of the spring.  He and Brent Clevlen both had a pair of hits to pace the Tigers six hit attack (or lack thereof).  Ryan Raburn doubled, drove in a run and filled in for Jeff Larish out in rightfield midway through the game.

Tomorrow, the Tigers take on the Yankees in Lakeland.  Should be a good one because team aces Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia square off.

I’m listening to the game, and Zach Miner is having a tought time again.  So far it’s single, home run, double in the first.  2-0 Cardinals and Miner hasn’t gotten an out yet.

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***UPDATE***

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Miner recovered nicely and got the next three batters.  It’d be nice if he calmed down and put together a nice outing.

While the Tigers took the 1-0 loss to Florida tonight, the fact that the pitchers didn’t allow a single walk must have brought a smile to his face after the last few days.  Rick Porcello continued his early ascent to the Tigers rotation with three shutout innings.  He struck out just one and he gave up five hits, but nobody crossed the plate.  The outing brought Porcello’s spring ERA down to 2.25.  Not too shabby for a kid who could be just wrapping up his sophomore year of college had he gone that route.

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The lone run came off of Brandon Lyon and even that was unearned.  Freddy Dolsi was particularly impressive with two strikeouts in a perfect inning.   Lyon gave up two hits but he also struck out two.

Adam Everett was the lone Tiger with two hits in the shutout loss.  Jeff Larish had a tough time and while he singled, he also struck out three times.  Clete Thomas also had three strikeouts while Mike Hessman and Ryan Raburn both struck out twice.

Zach Miner gets the start tomorrow. It’s a day game against the Cardinals.  The Cardinals have it on the radio so I’ll be able to listen to most of this one.

The Yankees took it to the Tigers in  12-3 loss this afternoon and it looks like neither Nate Robertson nor Dontrelle Willis realy want that fifth starter spot.  Robertson kicked things off with his best Willis imitation.  He gave up three runs on three hits and, more importantly, four walks in just two innings.  Willis was then knocked out early after he gave up two runs in his two innings.  Unfortunately, those outings look sharp compared to the six runs Scott Williamson gave up in just 2/3 of an inning.

The top performer on the mound was Fernando Rodney.  He struck out the side in his single inning of work while Juan Rincon continued to shine with a perfect eighth inning.

Prospect Will Rhymes accounted for most of the Tigers offense with a two run homer in the sixth inning.  Jeff Larish had a pair of hits and a run and unfortunately, those two hits were half of what the Tigers picked up as a team.  I know the Tigers have a lot of guys in the WBC (I’m watching five of them right now in the USA/Venezuela game) but the team has to pick it up.

Rick Porcello will take another stab at forcing the Tigers hand in a night game against the Marlins.  Tomorrow is one of the first days I can think of in a long time where I don’t have anything I REALLY need to do so I was looking forward to catching the game but their not on until the evening, when it’s tough because my son doesn’t go to bed until 8:30.  It’s not even on the radio anyway so I’ll probably watch the Orioles/Mets game.

If you’re a fan of the minor leagues like I am, be sure to check out Matt Wallace’s proposed newsletter.  He’s looking for stake holders in getting his newsletter going so stop by and say hello (and bring your checkbook).

Two bad innings were all it took to turn this afternoon’s game into a route.  Edwin Jackson was humbled and gave up three runs in the first before he calmed down and threw shutout innings in the second and third.  Then Rule 5 guy Kyle Bloom was hammered for five runs in the fifth inning.  The good came from a pair of prospects although I’m sure the Phillies had checked it in with their reserves.  Ryan Perry struck out two in 1 2/3 innings while Alfredo Figaro struck out three and didn’t allow a baserunner in the final two frames.

On the hitting side, the Tigers scored both of their runs via the long ball.  Clete Thomas and Scott Sizemore both went deep with solo shots.  Ramon Santiago went three for three with two steals while Mike Hessman went two for three with a walk and a strikeout.

I missed most of the WBC action today.  I just checked in and I’m watching a decent game between Italy and Venezuela.  In fact former Tiger Jason Grilli is throwing right now for Italy and former Tiger Frank Catalanotto put Venezuela on the board with a solo homer.  It was nice to see the US take care of business in a well fought game against Canada today.

The Tigers take on the Yankees tomorrow.  Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis are supposed to get some innings.  It’d be nice to see some solid innings from both of these guys.

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It wasn’t a good day for Justin Verlander.  He was solid in his first two starts this spring but tonight he was knocked around for four runs on four hits and a walk and just as important, he lasted just 2 1/3 innings.  Zach Simons (who I don’t think was originally supposed to pitch) was also beat up for two runs in the eighth inning.

The Tigers managed just six hits in the loss.  Alex Avila drove in a pair of runs that cut the lead to 4-3 but the Yankees opened the game up later and won 7-3.  Brandon Inge reached base twice with a pair of walks while Placido Polanco doubled and scored a run.

Tomorrow, we’ll get Edwin Jackson on the mound.  Joel Zumaya, Kyle Bloom, Ryan Perry and Clay Rapada are all schedule to pitch as well.  Jackson has thrown five shutout innings so far in two starts and hopefully his success continues.  I’m probably most interested in seeing how Bloom throws.  He’s thrown four shutout innings with three strikeouts.  I didn’t think he had much of a chance as the Tigers Rule 5 pick but so far, he’s shown he can get it done.

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CC Sabathia gets the start for the Yankees tonight as the Tigers head to Tampa for their first night game of the spring.  Justin Verlander gets the start for he Tigers and he’s been sharp in his two short starts so far this season.  Brandon Lyon, Bobby Seay and Freddy Dolsi will all get some time on the mound as well.

Korea took care of business against Chinese Taipei this morning as Pool A in the WBC continued this morning.  No big surprise because it was Korea and Japan who walked out of this bracket the last time around.  That means we’ll get to see the two power houses go head to head Saturday night.  The United States begin their run Saturday afternoon and they’ll play Canada at Rogers Centre. 

I missed this yesterday, but Gerald Laird left the game yesterday with a quad strain.  Right now he’s day to day.

If you’re an ESPN Insider, you can read this.  If not, here’s the long and short.  Lou Piniella says he might have to add a firstbase/third base infielder before the spring is done.  You wonder if the Tigers could move Jeff Larish to the Cubs and get something that might help immediately (maybe another reliever or if not, then at least a prospect that’s younger).  I’ve always been a fan of Larish, but there’s no where for him to go and his big league call up wasn’t all that great last year.  He’s also getting old as far as prospects go (in fact he’s six months older then Miguel Cabrera, who’s the Tigers starter at first).  Finally, you have another first base prospect in Ryan Strieby who’s coming up though the system.

I’m not sure how much progress Larish has made at third base, so I wonder how much that would play into things.  I also haven’t checked to see who the Cubs might have that the Tigers would find useful so it’s just a little bit of speculation.

Jeff Larish had a big day at the plate as the Tigers took care of Washington 10-2.  Larish hit a pair of homeruns and he also doubled en route to a three run, three RBI day.  His second inning solo shot put the Tigers on the board and he also drew a walk.  It was a nice game from Larish, who hadn’t done all that much this spring (although he had just four at bats going into the game).

Matt Treanor and Marcus Thames also homered in the game.  Treanor’s was a three run shot.  In all, seven of the Tigers thirteen hits were for extra bases.

Believe it or not, the Nationals actually led 2-0 in this game.  Zach Miner gave up a pair of runs in the top of the second inning in a mediocre start, but the pen looked very sharp.  Juan Rincon struck out three in two shutout innings while Scott Williamson gave up a walk and a hit, but he struck out one in his shutout inning.  Casey Fien struck out two as he closed out the game.

Tomorrow, the Tigers take on the Yankees in Tampa and it’s the Tigers first night game.  Unfortunately, it’s not on television although WXYT is picking it up.  Doesn’t look like the Tigers will be MLB.TV until their first televised game on March 16th and that’ll be on FSN Detroit anyway.

The first game of the WBC is in the books and Japan took care of China 4-0.  I might watch some of the replay tonight although I find it hard getting into that game.  I’ll probably opt for the White Sox/Cubs game.

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Good news for Tiger fans.  Jeremy Bonderman played catch 8MM move and it looks like his shoulder is doing better.  He’ll have another throwing session on Friday, the Tigers will then move him to the mound.

So far, the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation has seen several players fall flat on their faces at the starting line.  Dontrelle Willis, Nate Robertson and Zach Miner have all been roughed up so far this spring and the lone standout has been Rick Porcello.  Keep in mind though, Porcello has yet to be really tested.  Panama has some solid players but it’s not like he was going up against a top tier team like Japan or the US.

Still, Porcello pitched two shutout innings and he struck out three so his progress bears watching.  I know he’s probably a fan favorite, but the Tigers would probably rather go with their veterans then rush Porcello.  Of course if Jeremy Bonderman can’t bounce back, then all bets are off.

The Story of Us psp Wilkin Ramirez had a nice day at the plate.  He went two for five with a triple, and RBI a run and a stolen base.  No other Tiger had more then one hit and as a team, the Tigers struck out ten times (Wilkin Ramirez also struck out twice).

Grapefruit league action continues today as the Tigers take on the Nationals.  There’s no coverage so I’ll probably listen to the USA team take on the Philles.  Zach Miner gets his first start of the season and a slate of relievers follow him.  I’m particularly interested in seeing how Scott Williamson does.  I’ve always been a fan of his.

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Make sure you stop by Baseball Musings.  David Pinto is having his annual pledge drive and if you want to help out one of the top notch bloggers out there, try to give whatever you can.  His site makes working on mine a lot easier.  Make sure you check out his lineup analysis of the Tigers.  Looks like the projected linup is almost in line with the optimal lineup so hopefully that sticks.

The Tigers took on Veneuzuela this afternoon and it was a pair of Tigers that dominated for Venezuela.  Miguel Cabrera drove in a pair of runs while Carlos Guillen had a pair of hits and two runs to lead Team Venezuela.  Still, it was enough because Brent Clevlen singled, doubled, drove in three and scored a run in the Tigers 7-5 win.  Marcus Thames was the only other Tiger with two hits and he scored a run.

The pitching was pretty rough and at this point, the whole Miner/Willis/Robertson race could come down to who sucks the least.  Willis walked three and gave up two runs in his three innings while Robertson gave up three runs on five hits and two walks in his three innings.  Brandon Lyon, Bobby Seay and Freddy Dolsi all pitched a scoreless inning as they held Venezuela scoreless in the final three frames.

I’m watching the archive of the Team Canada/Blue Jays game and Mike Maroth got the start.  He walked his first two batters but got out of that jam but in the second, he was tagged for two runs.  Apparantly he has a knee problem that’s still limiting him but he struck out three in his two innings. Earlier today I was watching the Yankees versus Team USA.  I love MLB.TV.  I’m halfway tempted to get up early to watch the start of the WBC but 4:30 is a bit extreme.

Tomorrow, the Tigers take on Panama.  I won’t be around to check that out but there’s a couple of late games I’ll be able to watch while I do some taxes.

If you’re a Padres fan and you want the definitive guide to the team, be sure to check out the Ducksnorts 2009 Baseball Annual.  Geoff has been blogging longer then I have (and longer then just about anyone) about his favorite team and it even includes a foreward by Paul DePodesta.

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Outside of some inflammation, it looks like Jeremy Bonderman’s shoulder is in decent shape Ken Park film .  The exam showed no structural damage, so now it’s just waiting game.  Bonderman will be begin throwing when the swelling goes down and the pain goes away.  It’ll be interesting to see how this affects his development because he’s basically a start or two short of where the other pitchers are at right now.  Guess we won’t know until we finally figure when he’ll be throwing in a game.

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The Tigers play Florida Southern right now.  The game never makes the radio, it never counts, yet it’s become such a tradition that I’m always intriuged at how the Tigers do.  Anyway, I’ll follow along and give you mini updates through 2 pm, when I have to leave.  Al Kaline’s grandson, Colin, is getting the start at third base for Florida Southern.

Top of the First

Edwin Jackson gave up a double to Wade Kirkland (any relation to Kody) but got out of the inning unscathed.  He struck out the leadoff hitter, Trae Gore.

Bottom of the first

Tigers didn’t get anything.  Cale Iorg led off with a pop out to second, Marcus Thames flew out to centerfield and then Casper Wells flew out to right.

Top of the second

Listening to the Yankees game while I follow the Tigers.  Yanks scored a run already against the Astros (think Mike Hampton is throwing for Houston).  Anyway, Edwin Jackson gave up a lead off single to catcher Zach Maggard.  Andrew Grutka flew out to center and then Edwin Jackson struck out Will Cherry for his second k of the game.  Maggard moved to second on a wild pitch (Yankees lit up Hampton for three in the first inning) and then Jordan Guida flew out to center so for the second straight inning, Jackson got out of the inning with a runner in scoring position.

Bottom of the second

Mike Hessman (three true outcomes) struck out to lead off the second for the Tigers.  Jeff Larish drew a walk and then Wilkin Ramirez flew out to right.  Alexis Gomez singled with two outs and Larish moved to second base before Wil Rhymes singled to load the bases up.  Finally, Jeff Kunkel flew out to left to strand three ducks.

Top of the Third

I had to confirm but Colin Kaline (a Birmingham Groves graduate) was the Tigers 25th round pick in the 2007 draft.  He drew a walk to lead off the third and then Gore struck out for the second time tonight.  Kirkland doubled for the second time today and that put runners at second and third.  Robbie Shields struck out to make it two outs (three strikeouts for Jackson) and then Stanley grounded out to end the inning.   Rough inning by Jackson, but he pitched out of the jam.  I’ll be leaving soon, and he’s probably done for the day.

Bottom of the third

Cale Iorg sturck out to lead things off then and Marcus Thames drew a walk.  Casper Wells walked and then Mike Hessman singled to drive in the first run of the game.  Jeff Larish then opened things up with a three run blast.  Wilkin Ramirez singled and Alexis Gomez popped out.

With that, I have to leave.  Have a great afternoon for those of you who tagged along.

***UPDATE***

The Tigers ended up with a 7-1 win.  Joel Zumaya looked strong in his single inning while Will Rhymes added a two run homer for the Tigers in the Tigers big third inning.

Five runs on seven hits in two innings of work.  That was the line on Zach Miner as he got hammered out of the game in the Tigers 6-4 loss to the Pirates earlier today.  Outside of that, the pitching wasn’t too bad.  Justin Verlander gave up a run in three innings while Ryan Perry shined with two strikeouts in his single inning of work. 

Curtis Granderson belted his first spring homerun as he gets ready to leave the team for the WBC.  With Grady Sizemore on the shelf, Granderson should get the start out in centerfield for the US team.  Brent Clevlen had a big hit with a two run triple and Mike Hessman singled home a run as they fight for a roster spot (both he and Mike Hessman are out of options so the Tigers have some tough decisions to make).

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The Jeremy Bonderman thing is a little disappointing.  He was supposed to throw a simulated game on Saturday but even that got held back because of some shoulder soreness.   He’s going to be shut down for a few days so we’ll have to wait and see with regard to him.

The Tigers play Florida Southern tomorrow and Max Russell gets the start.  Rick Porcello and Joel Zumaya will both get some innings and they’ll be the two guys I’m most interested in seeing how they perform.

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***UPDATE***

According to John Lowe, Bonderman has returned to Detroit to have his shoulder looked at.  Let’s just say, I have my fingers crossed.

I’m watching the archive of the Indians/Padres game from today and I’m impressed with the Indians new spring training home in Goodyear, AZ.  The Reds will be playing there next year as well. 

With that, the Tigers have been at Joker Marchant longer then any other team has with their spring training partner.  Still, a trip down to Florida this time of year isn’t what it used to be because beginning next year, there will be just as many Arizona teams as there will be in Florida.

Well, it seems like I haven’t been locked out of my site today and after some much needed maintenance, I’m hoping it won’t happen again.  In the meantime, the Tigers are in the eighth inning of their third spring training game so there’s quite a bit to catch up on.

I have been able to listen to at least parts of the last two games.  Rick Porcello got an inning in yesterday and he gave up a run and Nate Robertson had one rough inning and one nice one.  Edwin Jackson looked strong in his start so hopefully he’ll prove my doubts wrong.  In the meantime, a Tiger hasn’t gone deep yet (not sure what’s happening today against the Jays, neither team is picking it up on the radio).  Three Tigers (Ramon Santiago, Brandon Inge and Gerald Laird) have two hits so far. 

Next week should be fun because the Tigers play Venezuela and Panama leading into the WBC.  They also play their exhibition game against Florida Southern on Monday. I’m loving my MLB.TV subscription already.  It’s good timing to because I’m back to being self-employed (the contract job I was on ended today) so in between my work as a CPA, the goal is to get as much baseball in as I can.

Scratch the no home run thing.  Don Kelly went yard for the Tigers in the seventh inning.  Alex Avila has a pair of RBIs but Dontrelle Willis had a tough inning.  He didn’t walk anyone, but he gave up three hits and four runs (two earned).  Cale Iorg has three errors in the game.  Fernando Rodney has walked two in his tough inning, but one of my dark horse fifth starter candidates, Chris Lambert, didn’t allow a baserunner in two innings of work.

I was going to do another spring training questions piece, but with the games already going, it seems a bit late.  Next in line was a look at the closer candidates so I’ll probably put something up over the weekend.

It’s been a rough February.  Between Tigers Corner (which I’ll eventually get to) and now my current problems, I’ve been unable to login in to WordPress for a week.  Not sure what was different today, but I’m not going to argue.  Anyway, I’m having some problems with my host and I’m working through them so if I go dark again, you’ll know why.  Figures that it would have to happen right when we get some actual games.

You can tell spring training has started because there’s plenty to write about.  Jason Beck went wild recently and seems like he’s writing a handful of columns a day.  His latest is a nice piece on Brandon Inge and his most recent move to third base.  I know he hasn’t been able to hit much, but I’ve always been a fan of Brandon’s, if not for his couple of solid seasons he gave us at third base as well as the fact that he’s been with Detroit longer then any other player.

There’s another story on how Clete Thomas won’t be 100% ready to take part in the festivities because of the Tommy John surgery he had.  This opens things up a bit for maybe a guy like Freddy Guzman to slip in and possibly secure a spot on the team.  Of course it’ll probably be somewhat short lived and odds are the Tigers will go with a multi-purpose guy like Ryan Raburn who can play anywhere.  It also depends on how many pitchers Leyland brings up to Detroit.

Finally, there’s a story on Armando Galarraga and his exceptional season in 2008

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.  A lot of people are betting that he won’t repeat and I hope he proves them all wrong.

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1)  Justin Verlander

2)  Jeremy Bonderman
3)  Armando Galarraga
4)  Edwin Jackson

While the order may change slightly, there’s about a 99% (and barring an injury) that this is how the front four of the Tigers’ rotation will shake out.  The big question is, who becomes the fifth starter heading out of spring training.  In the past, teams have been able to get away without using a fifth starter until the middle of April, but without a day off for the first week and a half of the season because of some scheduling issues due to the World Baseball Classic, whoever gets the nod will get two starts before the Tigers even have a day off.

Speaking of schedules, and not to get too far off topic, I find it strange that the Jays and Tigers open the season at night.  I can’t remember that happening to the Tigers in quite some time.  In fact the first three games for the Jays are at night.  I guess you can get away with that in April when you have a dome.

Anyway, here are the contenders for the fifth spot in the rotation.

The Big Three

1)  Dontrelle Willis – While it’s easy to say that Nate Robertson and Kenny Rogers had poor seasons last year, Willis’ was an absolute train wreck (no pun intended, D-Train).  Also like Nate, Willis was locked up to a three year deal and he’ll make $10 million this year.  Willis will have to show he can find the strike zone this spring in order to warrant consideration for the rotation.

2)  Nate Robertson – If you look at VORP over at Baseball Prospectus, Nate Robertson was one of the worst pitchers in baseball who also managed to keep his job mst of  the year.  He was tenth worst or 691 best if you like.  Value Over Replacement Player is a cumulative statistic so it takes not just mediority, but also longevity to make this list (unless you have an exceptionally bad nine innings like former Tiger hurler Eulogio De La Cruz had for the Marlins last year).  Nate will get paid $7 million this year because he was also locked up to an untimely three year deal like Willis.  One thing to say about him is, he’s left handed.

3)  Zach Miner – Again, if you like to use VORP, Miner was the Tigers third best pitcher on the Tigers with a 17 VORP.  That put him just ahead of Justin Verlander’s 12.3 in over half of the innings.  Miner’s good season will put him in the front running but he has some things working against him.  If he’s makes the nod, it’ll give the Tigers an all-right handed rotation.  In addition, he’s been good out of the pen so his strengths might actually work against him.  He’s also never thrown more then 118 major league innings so we’ll probably hear about some durability concerns.

On the Outside Looking In

1) C hris Lambert – One of the Mud Hens top pitchers last year, I always felt Lambert should have gotten the nod when they sent Willis down rather then Eddie Bonine.  Lambert is one of the those guys who doesn’t have a ton left to prove in the minors, there’s just too much in front of him unless he has a dominating spring.

2)  Rick Porcello – While Porcello might have had that great season for the Flying Tigers, it’s a safe bet the Tigers will be careful with him unless he’s so good this spring that the Tigers can’t not (yes, I know, please bear the double negative) bring him up.  With that, there’s a solid chance that Porcello is with the team in the second half of the season.

3)  Jon Kibler – This is a big time darkhorse, but he did get an invite to the big league club.  He’s left handed, which helps, and he’s a college guy (he’ll turn 23 in August) and he threw 154 solid innings last year.  Maybe it’s just my fondness for the Sparty out there, but Kibler’s season was very good in 2008.  Of course the fact that he’s never pitched above A ball will probably preclude him from having too much consideration.

Conclusion

Zach Miner should be the team’s fifth starter heading into the spring season.  He’s shown he can get it done and the way he pitched once he got a rotation spot last year shows he can have some success pitching every five days.  He’s never going to be a front of the rotation kind of guy, but here at the back end, he’s the Tigers best option.

With that, who gets the job and who deserves it are two different things.  I think the Tigers want a left hander in there, and they’ll be looking for reasons to get Dontrelle back in the rotation.  He’ll probably find the strike zone just enough to get his job back, of course the question then becomes how long will he keep it.  Miner will be long relief, where he’s been good before and Nate Robertson will start in the pen as a left handed option as he waits for Dontrelle to melt down so he can get his job back.  Lambert goes back to Triple A, Porcello starts out a Erie and Kibler goes to Lakeland.

Next time, we’ll take a look at who’s got the best shot to close for the team.

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