Tigers Minor League Wrap – July 8th

Toledo 7, Indianapolis 6
Josh Phelps picked up 3 hits including a double and homer, and is now hitting 314/373/540. Dustin Mohr also singled, doubled, and homered. Lance Davis lasted only 4 2/3 innings as he was touched for 7 hits and 4 runs (3 earned). After 2 1/3 scoreless innings from Mark Woodyard (1 H, 1BB, 3 K) Chris Spurling came in and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits.

Erie 3, Altoona 0
Nate Bumstead allowed 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out 6 in 7 shut out innings. Dmitri Young continued his rehab with a 1 for 2 night plus a walk. Brent Clevlen and Kody Kirkland were both 1 for 4.

Tampa 5, Lakeland 3
Clete Thomas was 2 for 5 with a double. Jeff Frazier’s slump continues with another 0 for 4 night and he’s now hitting 228/269/337. Eddie Bonine went 5 innings allowing 5 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits.

West Michigan 1, Cedar Rapids 0
Burke Badenhop allowed on 2 hits and 3 walks in 7 innings of work. Anthony Claggett pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief lowering his ERA to 0.46. He has a 40/13 K/BB mix in 39 1/3 innings. Michael Hollimon was 2 for 3 and Matt Joyce added two singles and a walk. Cameron Maybin had the night off.

Oneonta 9, Jamestown 6
Ron Bourquin was 1 for 3 and walked 3 times. He now has a 13/15 BB/K ratio in 60 at-bats and a .434 OBP. Deik Scram added 3 hits and 3 RBI. Chris Cody allowed 1 run on 5 hits and a walk over 4 innings. Derek Witt finished the remaining 5 innings and allowed 5 runs on 9 hits.

GCL Indianas 10, GCL Tigers
Alredo Figaro allowed only 1 hit in 4 innings. Guillermo Moscoso followed with 3 innings of one hit ball before giving way to Eric Beattie. Beattie is still looking for his first taste of success. He was the 2nd round selection in the 2004 draft, and has struggled to say the least. Last night he allowed 3 hits and 2 walks and only retired one batter.

This, That, and The Other

News and links that just don’t seem to fit anywhere else…

  • It’s old news now, but Magglio Ordonez is an All Star, Justin Verlander isn’t, and Kenny Rogers might be starting the All Star game based on availability. I’m happy Rogers made the team, but he probably isn’t the most deserving even amongst his Tiger teammates let alone the rest of the AL. He’s a possibility because of the timing of his last start. Now the pitchers probably won’t be throwing more than an inning or two, so why would any of the pitchers be more available in the first inning than the 5th?

    On another note, I’m not one of those bemonaing the inclusion of Mark Redman. I still like every team having a representative. The problem isn’t Mark Redman keeping more deserving players off the team, it is Ozzie Guillen (and other manager’s before him) keep more deserving players off the team.

  • Reader Chris sent me a heads up on this ESPN Page 2 article that compares all of the AL teams to 1984 Tigers. It’s hardly an in depth piece, but it is fun nonetheless.
  • My ESPN the Magazine came today and featured a large article by Buster Olney about the Tigers and how their play is effecting the city. It is insider content online, but there is a picture of Justin Verlander, Joel Zumaya, and Curtis Granderson on the carousel that is worth making a point of checking out at your local convenience store.
  • I was looking to get 4 tickets for the weekday afternoon game against the White Sox on July 20th. It turns out if one wants 4 tickets you are already relegated to standing room only.
  • I caught this on the MotownSports message boards as well as on 1270, but Ken Rosenthal said today that the Tigers have been pursuing Alfonso Soriano. He isn’t the best of fits in terms of need, but he is a heckuva player. He has a rep as a hacker at the plate, as do many Tigers, but his OBP is better than 4 of the Tigers current starters. Plus he brings speed to the team. I know the desire is a left handed bat, but it is better to get a good hitter from any side, than to settle for someone based on which side of the plate they stand on.

Game 87: Tigers at Mariners

PREGAME Tonight the Tigers play their final West Coast night game – at least of the regular season. The also look to ensure a winning road trip by securing their 5th win of the 9 game swing.

Zach Miner looks to continue surprising everyone and win his 6th straight game. He’ll be opposed by Jarrod Washburn. The lefty is a flyball pitcher and the Tigers are a home run hitting team. Craig Monroe, Brandon Inge, and Marcus Thames all have a history of success against Washburn.

Game Time 10:05pm

UPDATE: Omar Infante is starting in centerfield and leading off.

POSTGAME: I confess, I went to bed early last night because I’m fighting a cold. I also confess that I woke up at 6:45 and couldn’t fall back asleep because I wanted to know who won. After watching the game through the magic of DVR, there’s a lot to comment on.

Miner was very good again, if not particularly efficient. He was lifted after 5 innings and 100 pitches. I love that the entire bullpen contributed, and as Anne pointed out a full inning of work for Jamie Walker. Fernando Rodney got back on track and Todd Jones got that coveted 1-2-3 inning albeit with more drama than one would hope for.

Chris Shelton appears to be back. I know I’ve thought it before, but he has sustained this over his last 8 games now.

I love Marcus Thames, but he really is better suited to DH as two balls got by him tonight.

As for the various arguments, the right calls were made. Tip to Ichiro – don’t swing at balls that bounce and then stare down the ump. While Raul Ibanez didn’t foul the ball, it was a swing nonetheless. I guess the M’s had an argument that the wrong call was made, but it resulted in the right outcome. And as for Ted Barrett, an umpire should never need to be seperated from an agrument by his crew chief. I hate when umpires carry on arguments.

I really like Yuniesky Betancourt as a player, but this clearly wasn’t his best effort. He botched the double play ball and then getting caught with premature celebration is embarassing to say the least.

Tigers Minor League Wrap – July 7th

Toledo 5, Indianapolis 1
Brian Peterson homered twice and Josh Phelps added a homer and a single. David Espinosa chipped in his 7th triple of the year. Chad Durbin started and went 7 2/3 innings. He allowed 7 hits, 1 unearned run and fanned 8 while walking none.

Altoona 5, Erie 4
Dmitri Young is working his way up the organization on his rehab stint. He started at first base and was 1 for3 with a walk. Brent Clevlen homered in 4 at-bats. Dpn Kelly continues to struggle and was 0 for 4 with 2 K’s and 2 errors. Jon Connolly started for Erie and allowed 9 hits in 5 2/3 innings for 4 runs ( 3 earned).

Tampa 14, Lakeland 8
Chris Robinson and Nic McIntyre both went 3 for 5. PJ Finigan was knocked around for 8 runs, 7 earned, in 3 2/3 innings.

Cedar Rapids 7, West Michigan 0
The Whitecpas managed all of 4 singles. The offense was supplied by Cameron Maybin, Pedro Cotto, Mike Hernandez, and Dusty Ryan. Erike Averill lasted 7 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits while walking one and fanning 7. The majority of the damage came off of Loren Fraser in relief.

Oneonta 12, Tri-City 1 18 innings
The O-Tigers have to be a little bit sleepy this morning. Brennan Boesch was 4 for 7 with a walk and Ron Bourqin was 3 for 8. Matt O’Brien went the first 8 innings and allowed 1 run on 6 hits. He was followed by some impressive relief appearances by Chris Krawczyk, Casey Fien, Jose Fragoso, and Brett Jensen.

GCL Tigers – PPD Rain

Game 86: Tigers at Mariners

PREGAME: Back in April the Tigers managed to come in and sweep the Mariners in 3 pitchers duels. Seattle’s offense was anemic at the time. However things have changed. While the offense still isn’t a juggernaut, Ichiro is doing that Ichiro thing again and Raul Ibanez and Kenji Johima are doing their part. The two highest paid M’s sluggers still are stuggling though. Richie Sexson has a sub 300 OBP and Adrian Beltre has a sub 400 slugging percentage.

Jerermy Bonderman will look to keep the M’s in check. He’s been awesome over his last half dozen starts, and he should be well rested. His last outing was cut short when he was pinch hit for after only 72 pitches, plus there was an off day since his last start.

He’ll be opposed by Joel Piniero. Piniero’s last start was only 2 2/3 innings. It was short enough to allow him to come in and record the last out in a relief appearance on Monday. He posts only a 46/35 K/BB mix in 98 innings.

POSTGAME: Bonderman was once again awesome. He didn’t have the gaudy strike out totals, but was in complete control the whole game. He was pitching ahead in the count and attacking the strike zone. Of his 110 pitches, 83 were for strikes. Most impressive was that he only went to a 3 ball count on 3 batters (twice on Yuniesky Betancourt). And in what was unusual for Bonderman, his offense gave him some runs to work with.

The Tiger bats comtinued to hit well getting men into scoring position with satisfying regularity. And once again, it was a total effort int that every body contributed with the bat. Even Curtis Granderson who was the only starter not to get a hit, walked had a HBP, hit a sacrifice fly, and stole a base.
Game Time 10:05pm

Tigers Minor League Wrap – July 6th

Louisville 4, Toledo 3
Dustin Mohr was 3 for 4 and provided most of the Hens offense. Corey Hamman went 4 1/3 innings and allowed 3 runs on 9 hits. Bobby Seay pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief before Chris Spurling took the loss giving up one run in 1 2/3 innings.

Akron 2, Erie 0
Brent Clevlen was 1 for 3 with a walk and Kurt Airoso added 2 hits. The recently acquired Adam Haley had 2 hits as well. Preston Larrison worked 5 2/3 innings allowing only 2 runs before giving way to Eulogio De La Cruz who finished the game allowing 1 hit and 1 walk against 3 K’s.

Lakeland 10, Clearwater 4
Jeff Larish homered and walked. Dmitri Young was 0 for 2 before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the 5th inning. Jeremy Johnson allowed 3 runs in 4 innings.

West Michigan 3, Lansing 2
Wil Rhymes had 2 hits and Cameron Maybin was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and his 16th stolen base. Josh Rainwater went 6 1/3 innings and allowed only 2 hits and 1 walk while fanning 7.

Tri-City 10, Oneonta 7
Ron Bourquin was 2 for 5 with a double and Brennan Boesch doubled and tripled in 5 at-bats. Zach Piccola allowed only 3 hits in 5 innings. Tim Robertson took the loss in relieve allowing 6 runs – all unearned – in 1 1/3 innings. Randor Bierd went 1 2/3 innings allowing 2 hits and striking out 2.

GCL Tigers 4, GCL Braves 3 (10 innings) Gorkys Hernandez went 3 for 5 and Audy Ciriaco picked up 2 hits in 4 at-bats. Kyle Sleeth started but only last one inning. He allowed 3 runs on 4 hits. Paul Hammond made his 6th appearance and has yet to allow a run. He has 6 K’s and 1 walk in 6 1/3 innings.

Inge’s Offense

Brandon Inge’s offensive contributions the last few years have supplied me a ton of material. Iin the early years he was very, very bad. But then after a demotion to Toledo in 2003 he came back as a different hitter. He sustained that for 2 years into mid 2005 and had me declaring that he had transformed into an offensive threat. But then he swooned late last year, and this season he is once again a different hitter, an all or nothing masher.

Let’s start by looking at the various stages of Inge’s career, picked somewhat arbitrarily and summarized using the Day by Day Database:

		GS	AB	BA	OBA	Slug%	OPS	AB/HR	ISO	BB/K
pre 7/1/2003	148	677	.183	.242	.292	.534	61.5	.109	.241
7/1/03-7/1/05	232	869	.284	.350	.446	.796	36.2	.162	.489
> 7/1/05	163	598	.227	.281	.420	.701	23.9	.193	.313

While there was a definite shift in Inge’s career with his 2003 demotion, another change seems to be in progress. From his peak, he seems to have given up 50 points of batting average, and some additional OBP in exchange for 30 additional points of ISO (isolated power: Slugging-Batting average). And while not a huge number of at-bats, the totals are probably indicative of more than just luck. Continue reading Inge’s Offense

Tigers Minor League Wrap – July 5th

Toledo 8, Louisville 0
Jordan Tata built on his Pitcher of the Week performance by throwing 7 shut out innings. He only allowed 3 hits and 2 walks and made it through on 93 pitches. Ryan Raburn was 2 for 2 with 2 doubles. Josh Phelps had a 3 for 3 night including his 12th homer. Chris Maples in his 2nd game for Toledo homered.

Louisville 4, Toledo 1
Ryan Raburn hit his 17th homer and David Espinosa had the Mud Hens other hit. Steve Green allowed 2 runs on 7 hits over 5 innings.

Erie 10, Akron 4 (in progress)
Brent Clevlen seems to be showing signs of life. Tonight he homered and walked twice. Don Kelly was 3 for 5 and Nook Logan was 2 for 5. Jair Jurrjens allowed 2 runs, 1 earned, in 5 innings of work.

Clearwater 4, Lakeland 3
Dmitri Young started at DH for Lakeland. He singled, doubled, and walked in 4 plate appearances before being lifted for a pinch runner. Dallas Trahern went 6 innings and allowed 8 hits and 4 runs (3 earned).

West Michigan 5, Lansing 1
Cameron Maybin was 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 stolen bases. Dusty Ryan added two doubles. Justin Justice was 3 for 4 with a double and a homer. Sendy Vasquez threw 6 shut out innings and only 3 hits while walking 4 and fanning 7.

Oneonta 9, Tri-City 2
Scott Sizemore and Brennan Boesch were 2 for 5. Santos De Leon doubled and hit his 2nd homer. Thomas Thornton allowed one run on four hits in four innings. Derek Witt allowed only one walk in 3 innings while fanning 2.

GCL Tigers 2, GCL Phillies 0
Luis Arlet was 3 for 4 with 2 stolen bases and Chris Carlson hit his 3rd homer.

Game 85: Tigers at Athletics

PREGAME: The Tigers look to avoid their first sweep since the opening homestand against the White Sox. It will be Kenny Rogers against Kirk Saarloos. Game time 3:05pm.

POSTGAME: That was an impressive win. The bats finally put everything together after struggling the last couple days. Everybody picked up a hit except Marcus Thames who reportedly hit the ball hard a few times.

Kenny Rogers was hit pretty hard for the 3rd consecutive start. The first one I attributed to a small strike zone against the Cardinals. The last two make me a little more concerned. Oakland is not hitting the ball well right now, and yet they were consistently hitting line drives against Rogers today.

The good news from the pitching department was 3 1/3 scoreless innings from Roman Colon. He retired 10 of the 12 batters he faced to pick up the save.

Tigers Minor League Wrap – Jully 4th

Toledo 10, Louisville 7
David Espinosa and Ryan Raburn both contributed a homer, a double, and a walk. Ryan Ludwick chipped in 2 homers and a triple. The newly promoted Chris Mazples added 3 hits and a walk. Colby Lewis started and allowed 5 runs in 5 innings. Mark Woodyard went 1 1/3 and allowed 2 runs before handing the ball to Lance Davis. Davis is on his 2nd tour with the Hens this season and has also pitched for Lakeland and Erie. Today he picked up the blown save and win.

Akron 2, Erie 1 (10 innings)
The Wolves only mustered 4 singles all day, so there aren’t any offensive stars. Don Kelly was sent to Erie after posting a 228/304/312 line in Toledo. Virgil Vasquez went 8 strong innings allowing only 1 run on 8 hits, no walks, and 5 K’s.

Clearwater 8, Lakeland 5
Clete Thomas was 2 for 4 and is now hitting .258. Andrew Kown allowed 10 hits and 4 walks, but they resulted in only 5 runs (4 earned).

West Michigan 5, Lansing 3
Cameron Maybin was 3 for 4 including his 3rd homer of the season. Lucas French allowed 3 runs on 9 hits, no walks, and 4 K’s. Orlando Perdomo pitched a scoreless 9th striking out one.

Vermont 5, Oneonta 3
Jeff Kunkel getting the start at DH doubled in 4 at-bats while catcher Jordan Newton was 1 for 2 with 3 walks. Jeff Gerbe allowed 5 runs in 5 innings. Casey Fien threw 3 scoreless innings allowing 3 hits.

GCL Tigers-DNP

Game 84: Tigers at Athletics

PREGAME One year ago today, a hot shot pitching prospect made his major league debut – and didn’t pitch well. Today, that same pitching prospect is a rookie of the year candidate and has a very real shot at making the All Star game. (speaking of which, what have you done to get Justin Verlander to the All Star game today?)

Justin Verlander will make his second start against the A’s this season. His first effort was solid, but resulted in a loss due to 2 Carlos Guillen errors and 2 Nick Swisher homers.

Verlander will be opposed by Dan Haren who the Tigers missed back in April.

Happy 4th of July to everyone, especially those men and women who work to protect our freedoms and independence.

Game Time 5:05pm

POSTGAME: To quote Jim Price, “Oh those base on balls.” They came back to haunt Fernando Rodney as arche-nemesis Jay Payton did in the Tigers again. To both Payton and Rodney’s credit, the hit that won it came on a pretty good pitch on the outer edge of the plate. The Tigers didn’t lose because of Rodney though. Okay, he helped, but the offense that could barely muster a scoring threat was as much to blame.

Of the Tigers 6 hits, 4 came from back-up players. The only starters to look comfortable at the plate were Carlos Guillen and Chris Shelton. Each gathered a hit, but also contributed in other at-bats as well. Carlos Guillen drew a walk, and Shelton hit a ball well enough to plate a run early in the game. The trouble was it was a one-hop smash right at Bobby Crosby.

The Tigers have another afternoon tilt tomorrow as they look to avoid the sweep.

Tigers Minor League Wrap – July 3rd

Toledo 4, Indianapolis 3
Don Kelly was 2 for 4 with a double and Josh Phelps homered. Humberto Sanchez started and went 7 innings. He allowed 2 runs on 6 hits with 1 walk and 4 strike outs. He made it through the 7 innings on 85 pitches, 59 for strikes. Bobby Seay pitched a scoreless inning and Chris Spurling picked up the save despite allowing 2 hits, a walk, and a run in one inning of work. In other news Jordan Tata was named International League player of the week.

Reading 9, Erie 6
Nook Logan and Tony Giarratanto each picked up 2 hits. Logan added 2 stolen bases as well. Brent Clevlen was 1 for 3 with a walk. Nate Bumstead was knocked around for 5 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks. He only lasted 4 2/3 innings. Ian Ostlund also struggled and allowed 4 runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Lakeland 6, Sarasota 0
Nick McIntyre and Chris Robinson both turned in 3 for 3, one walk performances. Gil Meija homered and walked twice. Jeff Larish added his 14th homer of the year. Eddie Bonine made his first start and pitched 4 scoreless, 2 hit innings. PJ Finigan followed with 2 scoreless to pick up the win.

Sarasota 1, Lakeland 0
Kevin Ardoin pitched 6 innings and allowed only 4 hits, but one of them was a solo homer. He walked none and struck out none. The L-Tigers only managed 3 hits of their own.

West Michigan 10, Lansing 8
Michael Hollimon homered twice and is now hitting 277/391/449. Wil Rhymes added a homer, a double, and a single in 6 at-bats. Cameron Maybin was 2 for 3 with 2 walks. Burke Badenhop was hit hard for 6 runs, 5 earned, on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Oneonta 8, Vermont 7
Scott Sizemore continues to rake and he added 2 more hits. In 13 games he’s hitting 375/397/536. Former University of Michigan catcher Jeff Kunkel picked up 3 hits. Chris Cody started and went 6 innings. He allowed one run on 6 hits, no walks, and 4 strike outs. Randor Bierd continues to struggle and was touched for 3 runs in 1 2/3 innings.

GCL Indians 1, GCL Tigers 0
Gorkys Hernandez doubled and singled in 4 at-bats. The 18 year old Hernandez is hitting 417/431/583 with 12 stolen bases and 1 caught stealing in 12 games. Christian Martinez went 6 innings and fanned 5 while walking none and limiting the hits to 4.