Monthly Archives: March 2008

2008 Season, Game Post

Opening Day 2008 Postmortem

39 Comments

Yes, it’s only April and there will be losses, but the Tigers let one get away today. The offense created opportunities, and the pitching was decent enough. But the pieces just didn’t come together. I’m not making conclusions based on what I saw today, but I did observe some stuff while sitting behind the left field foul pole.

  • The clouds covered up the flyover. You could hear it, but not see it. But, since that was the only weather related calamity of the day I can let it slide. It was otherwise quite comfortable.
  • Verlander looked quite sharp after the first innings. It took him 20 pitches to get through that first frame, and less than that to get through the next 3. I’ll be honest, I can’t judge stuff when I’m sitting in the outfield (and really even when I’m sitting other places), but the Royals looked uncomfortable.
  • The bullpen as a whole was OK. There’s no way you could reasonably expect Jason Grilli, or most other pitchers, to hold a one run lead with nobody out and runners at the corners. One of the runs was bound to score. Of course limiting to one run should have been within the realm of possibility.
  • I know he takes the loss, but I’m impressed with Denny Bautista. After a cheap ground ball hit it appeared he was going to unravel when he through 3 straight balls to Alex Gordon. But then he fired back to back strikes that tickled 101mph on the scoreboard gun leading to back to back strikeouts. I was actually hoping that Leyland would take him out after that inning where he should have been brimming with confidence.
  • Lead-off walks led to costly runs in two different innings. Once for Bautista and once for Verlander.
  • Todd Jones with a 1-2-3 inning in a non-save situation. That was nice.
  • The new guys – Jones/Cabrera/Renteria – combined for 7 strikeouts on the day. Miguel Cabrera had a homer, which is cool. At least that monkey is off his back right away.
  • Clete Thomas should be happy tonight. He makes his big league debut and doubles in his first at-bat.
  • The crowd seemed kind of dead today, and the stadium never really filled in all the way. Part of that may have been people in lines, and part of it may have been people staying at the bars rather than getting misted on (which it didn’t). The place only really came alive when Brandon Inge threw the bullet from the outfield.
  • Speaking of Inge, very nice game today. The throw was obvious, but he hit a couple balls well and took a walk. And on the diving play, he wasn’t close, but I also don’t know if he’s able to cut that off regardless – at least from my vantage point it didn’t seem a given.
  • And the other play in question, the ground ball in the hole between Renteria and Cabrera, I don’t know that he’s able to make that throw regardless. The Royals had some well placed hits (including the game winner). What are ya gonna do.

And that’s that. I hate the day after opening day.

2008 Season, Game Post

Game On! Opening Day Game Thread

110 Comments

gameon.JPG
Opening Day has finally arrived in Detroit for the most anticipated Tigers season that I can remember. Before we get into the game thread portion of this, let’s check out some of the vitals on the day:

Weather: Looks to be 50’s and overcast according to Accuweather. The rain looks to hold off during the game.
Tickets: The game will set a Comerica Park attendance record, but tickets can still be had from StubHub. As I write this at 6:30 there are 161 ticket listings. Many of the tickets are in the $60-75 range so it’s even affordable. Tickets can be picked up at 1555 Broadway.

Hanging out

As for me, I’ll be hanging out at Casey’s on Michigan Avenue in the shadow of Tiger Stadium. It’s a long time pre-game haunt for us, in this our 11th consecutive Opening Day (I think). I will try to file some reports from the pregame and game as well.

Now on to the actual game thread. Continue reading Game On! Opening Day Game Thread →

2008 Season, Previews

Tigers Season Preview – 2008 Edition

After re-reading my 2007 season preview, I had to admit I was a little leery of doing another one this year. It’s all just such a crap shoot. And even after digesting the most dynamic offseason in franchise history and tracking the team’s progress over six weeks of spring training, I’m still not clear on the fortunes of this team. But without further preamble and sentences started with conjunctions – The DTW Preview.
Continue reading Tigers Season Preview – 2008 Edition →

2008 Season, Fan Experience

Getting ready for Opening Day

7 Comments

Here we are on the eve of Opening Day eve. Here’s some information to get you ready for the festivities:

Tickets

Good news for those of you still looking for tickets, the prices appear to be dropping fast on Stubhub. You can now get pairs together for less than $100 a ticket. Most of these are in the newly erected risers. But there are also relative deals on better seats, like infield box for $179 per ticket.

Of course there isn’t time to ship these, but Stubhub offers an on site ticket pick-up location.

Getting There

It’s Detroit and it’s spring time. The robins are back and so are the construction barrels. MDOT has directions and maps for getting to the stadium.
Continue reading Getting ready for Opening Day →

2008 Season, Roster Management

Tigers set 2008 Opening Day Roster

4 Comments

It’s done. After 6 weeks of simmering, the Tigers now know who will be heading North. Clete Thomas gets the last position player spot. Yorman Bazardo and Aquilino Lopez round out the bullpen. The additions of Thomas and Lopez require both to be added to the 40 man roster which now stands at 37.

It also means that Casey Fien won’t be coming with the team. Going from Low A to the big leagues would be quite the jump, still he caught the skippers eye meaning that he’d be on a short list of potential call-ups.

The organizational tree and roster pages have been updated accordingly.
Continue reading Tigers set 2008 Opening Day Roster →

2008 Season, Minors, Roster Management, Statistics

Junkballing: Cuts like a knife

With spring training winding down, things are getting ironed out throughout the organization. For some players their dreams may be coming true, while others receive a sobering wake-up call.

Minor issues

My blogging brethren has done the heavy lifting on this, but there are a number of cuts and roster machinations taking place. (As an aside it’s amazing to me the number of sources to turn to for information on the Tigers minor leagues. And all of these blogs are well informed and authored by logical, thoughtful folks. Tremendous resources one and all) The Lakeland Flying Tigers blog I believe was the first to report that Jeff Frazier, the player the Tigers sent to Seattle for Yorman Bazardo, is now back in the organization. Detroit Tigers Thoughts and Take 75 North both examine the Erie and Toledo roster implications of the signing, as well as the additional cuts that came down today (Jason Perry, Colin Mahoney, Eleazar Aponte, Chris Homer, Chris Maples among others).

DTT also notes that Randor Bierd, the reliever the Tigers lost in the Rule 5 Draft, has made the Orioles roster.

Also of note, Mike Hessman was outrighted to Toledo today. By my count, the Tigers only have 35 players on their 40 man roster meaning they have quite a bit of flexibility going into the season – and few high level prospects ready to contribute.

What a Fien

LFT Blog is also hearing that Casey Fien has made the roster. While Fien has made an impression on Leyland, this one would really surprise me. I’m not saying LFT is wrong, but it’s just surprising news. If he has made it, I’d assume it is at the expense of Aquilino Lopez. Lopez is only a minor league contract, so there are no implications for him not making the team. The other strong bullpen candidate is Yorman Bazardo who stands a high likelihood of being claimed when the club would have to place him through waivers to remove him from the 40 man roster.

In case Fien makes the team, Detroit Tiger Tales has a profile already put together.

UPDATE: Moments after publishing this post, the Tigers announced that the last two bullpen spots would go to Lopez and Bazardo.

More links

  • View from the other side: Ian was interviewed by Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star. It’s a great read and actually part of a 2-way interview as Ian interviewed Sam as well. Check out both interviews.
  • Changes coming to MLB Gameday: I love the Gameday app and it appears to be getting even better. The one piece missing from the pitch f/x element was pitch identification. The new version has it. Tonight’s Tigers game was played in Houston, and it used the new system. It looks like they’ve done a nice job, and there are still more changes to come.
  • Consolo passes: Long time Sparky Anderson assistant coach Billy Consolo passed away due to an apparent heart attack.
2008 Season, Roster Management, Spring Training

Clete Thomas needs a tailor

6 Comments

One more cut took place today with outfield bench candidate Freddy Guzman being passed through waivers and outrighted to Erie. That leaves two players competing for the last bench spot (assuming that Ryan Raburn and Ramon Santiago make the team). Will it be back-up catcher Dane Sardinha or will Clete Thomas make the jump from AA Erie?

It definitely sounds like Thomas is the favorite to make the roster. At least if Jim Leyland suggesting that Thomas get a sport coat for traveling on the team plane is any indication.

Tiger Tales and Mack Avenue Tigers have already profiled Thomas.

To call him a long shot to make the team would have been generous at the start of camp. That’s not to say he wasn’t a prospect. Baseball Prospectus thought enough of him to run him through PECOTA which pegged him for a .239/.296/.356 line.

While the projection certainly isn’t overwhelming, I like the move. Thomas isn’t going to be relied upon to be an offensive force. He’s there to pack up centerfield for a couple weeks and perhaps be a pinch runner/defensive replacement. Thomas can handle both those duties because he sports some wheels and a very strong outfield arm. Plus, quite frankly I like the watching prospects make their debuts.

Fan Experience

Tigers add more seats to Comerica Park

4 Comments

The Detroit Tigers have added 778 seats to Comerica Park, which will increase the ballpark’s seating capacity to 41,782 on Opening Day.

The seats have been added on risers along the main concourse behind existing seating sections and in newly created auxiliary sections on the Dew Deck/Pepsi Porch in right field. The seats in the new locations will cost between $12-$25 each and be available for all home games on the schedule, with the exception of Opening Day. Seats in these locations for the home opener against the Royals on March 31 have already been sold.

“With the unprecedented demand for Tigers tickets in 2008, we have been looking for opportunities to increase our seating capacity without impacting the aesthetics of Comerica Park,” said Tigers President, CEO & General Manager David Dombrowski. “These additions will provide more fans an opportunity to enjoy Tigers baseball this season.”

New Seating Locations & Costs

Riser Sections at 112, 113, 141, 142, 143: $25

Riser Sections at 144, 147, 148: $15

Riser Sections at 104, 105, 107, 109 & Auxiliary Sections on Dew Deck/Pepsi Porch: $12

2008 Season, Injuries, Roster Management, Spring Training

Another wild day in Lakeland

19 Comments

News has been flying out of the Tigers camp fast and furious lately. Today the main topics of discussion are Dontrelle Willis, Clete Thomas, and Tim Byrdak.

Dontrelle Willis

Willis is struggling. He’s having a heck of a time finding the plate. His problem last year was control, and that had to do with missing his spots. But right now he’s missing the strike zone with 4 more walks, a HBP, and a wild pitch in a miserable 3 inning outing.

I don’t put a lot of stock in spring training numbers, but something is wrong here. It’s at the point in the spring where pitchers have moved beyond “working on things” to a large extent. It is time to be concerned because Willis’s last two starts have been bad.

Ian speculated about an injury following Dontrelle’s last start. I sincerely hope he’s not trying to pitch through an injury all of 0 games into a 3 year contract. If it’s not an injury, it’s on Chuck Hernandez to figure out the problem.

Clete Thomas

It sounds as if Thomas may have played himself on to the roster, well the injury to Granderson was the catalyst of course. Jon Paul Morosi reports that Thomas has a shot at coming North. The 24 year old out of Auburn was the Tigers 6th round pick in 2005. Last year he posted a solid 280/359/405 line for Erie.

If he does make the roster it would be over Freddy Guzman which would be surprising. Guzman has had a good spring, is on the 40 man roster, and is out of options (though he’s not really a threat to be plucked off of waivers). Timo Perez who was in the mix was cut, along with Mike Hessman yesterday.

Tim Byrdak aftermath

We’ve already discussed the Byrdak release, but the beats have some more info. Danny Knobler has some quotes from Jim Leyland, including the fact that he’d like it a lot of if there was a second lefty.

My guess is that a trade happens in the next two days. I’m not sure for who, but I think that the Tigers would be parting ways with Ryan Raburn. It’s not a scenario I’m particularly fond of, but that’s my idle speculation.

Also, my initial speculation that something happened behind the scenes was probably too ominous. It could simply be that the Tigers gave him his outright release so that he’d be free to sign with any other team, in essence doing him a favor.

2008 Season, Roster Management

Tigers release Tim Byrdak

38 Comments

The Tigers today announced that they have unconditionally released Tim Byrdak. This coming 12 hours after he walked 4 in a game against the Astros. Byrdak came into spring training as a lock for the bullpen, but pitched horribly.

I’m surprised by the outright release. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him turn up on the DL, or to see him passed through waivers. The outright release makes me think something might have happened behind the scenes.

Byrdak was a journeyman who turned into a nice surprise for the Tigers when he fanned better than a batter an inning last year.

It appears there is another spot in the bullpen open. Will Bobby Seay be the only left hander? Clay Rapada is hurting so he isn’t an option. Or is this a precursor to a Scott Schoenweis trade (ugh).