A little bit of this, a little bit of that

  • I had a great time last night hanging out with Brian, Rob, and Brian at Duggan’s last night. We covered a lot of topics including of course the Tigers, other Detroit sports, Detroit sports media, and blogging. It’s something that I’d definitely like to do again later in the season
  • Bobby Higginson underwent elbow surgery yesterday and is expected to miss 8-12 weeks. It wouldn’t surprise me if Bobby has played his last game as a Tiger. I could see a situation where in two months the Tigers want to send him on a rehab assignment to Toledo. I can also see Higginson refusing the assignment and end up being cut.
  • Tigers Talk has a Q&A with West Michigan Whitecap Brent Dlugach. Dlugach is off to a solid start hitting 280/335/420.
  • In other minor league notes, Joel Zumaya pitched 7 2/3 innings of no-hit ball yesterday before being relieved after 123 pitches. He finished with 14 strikeouts, 4 walks, and a hit batsman.
  • After a week full of defensive miscues the Tigers have slipped to 5th in the AL in defensive efficiency. The team had been bouncing between 2nd and 3rd for the bulk of the season
  • If your a stathead, and if you’re reading this there is a decent chance you might be, Baseball Digest Daily posted an interview with Bill James.
  • The Tigers offense got as they were supposed to face Erik Bedard tonight. Bedard has a strained knee and so the Tigers will face Sidney Ponson tonight, and Hayden Penn will make his major league debut on Saturday.
  • On a final note, I’d like to wish everybody a safe and happy holiday weekend. I’d also like to salute all those who have died protecting our country and our freedoms.

    Also, a heartfelt thank you to any members of the military that may be reading this. I get some hits from various military domains and from middle-eastern timezones, so I imagine there are a few of you. So Thank You and God Bless.

8 thoughts on “A little bit of this, a little bit of that”

  1. Your blog is a work of art. I’ve been trying to find a site like this for years. The Freep and the rest just don’t give this level of info on the Tigers.

  2. Chris Shelton was 3-5 last night with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs. How much longer does he have to excell before he gets a shot at first over Pena. I realize that he’ll be a bit of a step down on defense, but I’m not sure if he could be much worse offensively.

  3. Josiah – I’m glad you found my site and I’m glad you like it. Thanks for the kind words.

    Brian – I’m suprised Shelton isn’t with the team already.

    Jeff M – Thanks for the link to that article. The funny thing is, Danny Knobler ran an article the same day speculating Shelton would be up any day. Who knows what will happen?

  4. Jeff – I watched Chris play the last few days while he was down here in Columbus. He looked playable at first base in my opinion. I know he’s going to make some mistakes, but I’m pretty sure he’ll at least bat Dmitri Young’s weight, which is apparently too much to ask for Pena right now.

  5. I wouldn’t mind having him up here, but i think there are enough question marks that it’s not going to happen until they’re absolutely 100% sure of a few things. His offense will obviously be a plus, but… Will his defense negate his offense? Will his inexperience hinder his offense? Will the necessary roster moves to bring him up negate his offense? Will benching/sending down pena remove whatever little hope they have that he might remember how to swing a bat and thus whatever trade value he might be able to regain?

    I honestly haven’t bothered to look for those answers, but i’m sure that’s what the DD/AT are worrying about. There isn’t a whole lot of point in making the move if there’s a strong chance that it would only shift some of your problems and result in a zero net gain.

    Makes for fun discussions though 🙂

  6. Having watched quite a few games this year, I’m not at all in agreement with the description of Pena’s defense. Overall defensively, he is a bit above average. Yet, for every two nice plays or scoops, there is a dropped foul fly or a positional error. That, IMHO, is not enough to warrant 2-3 KOs (many w/ runners on) and an occasional double-play ball every stinking game.

    I’d like to see a comparision of putouts recorded and runs produced for Pena and Shelton (AAA). My money says Shelton comes out golden.

    As for roster moves, with as well as our starters are pitching we could probably replace a RP with Shelton. Keep Pena as a defensive replacement w/ occasional spot start. He deserves to be on this team until the end of the year, but I’d make him work for the opportunity to start. Right now he’s starts because of his (now diminished) potential, flash-pan history, and our investment in him. Not for his play on the field.

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