An update on four of the fallen Tigers and their progress:
Joel Zumaya
Jim Leyland said that if everything goes right Joel Zumaya could join the team on the next west coast swing when they get to San Diego, which is Zumaya’s hometown.
Of course I don’t know if tonight’s rehab outing is an indication of everything going right. In his first innning he allowed a walk, a single, and a line out but he also fannned a batter and hit 100 mph on the stadium gun. In his second inning of work he made a throwing error on a grounder and then allowed a double and a walk before being lifted.
Fernando Rodney
Rodney was back in Detroit working with Chuck Hernandez. He has another rehab outing on Friday and could be ready to join the team on the flight to San Francisco.
Jeremy Bonderman
Bonderman will be evaluated by Dr. Greg Pearl who did the Kenny Rogers surgery last year. At that point he’ll find out whether or not he needs a rib removed. Rogers is confident that Bonderman will be better off after having the procedure.
Gary Sheffield
Sheffield is ready to begin doing baseball stuff again. Let’s hope his shoulder has healed.
Hopefully, Sheffield’s “doing baseball stuff again” includes playing at least a week in Toledo so we can see if he can hit again. I personaly would like to see him play there the entire season or stay on the DL so we can keep the younglings in the roster and see what they can do.
Can we put the take sign on for all of his AB’s? I’m fine with him in the lineup if he can get his SLG over at least .400. I mean, his .344 OBP is VERY empty considering the .331 slugging.
With Zumaya and Rodney coming back, who is going to have to go in order to make to make room on the roster? I sure would be disappointed to see Dolsi sent down. Perhaps one of the left-handers, Rapada and Fossum, but who else? Maybe the Tigers will trade Bautista. A lot of clubs are in need of middle relief so there will be takers. It would be a bit risky to trade Bautista because we aren’t sure of the health of Rodney.
The other question is who is going to be the starter in place of Willis and who else will have to go down in order to make room for him? I still think Zach Miner should be given the job.
for now …one of them is activated,,,,Larish goes back down,,,,Miner goes into the rotation,,,,is my guess
Following Billfer’s link to the Shef story, and reading Sheffield’s account, I think I finally realize what an oblique strain is, and I think I’ve had the same injury. Bad news. Doing anything hurts. You can’t exactly stay off your torso. Laughing is the worst. You’ve got to avoid it at all costs.
I hope Gary Sheffield is ready to go when he gets back. He’s 100 runs of the 1000-run offense, and 2 1/2 months of it has already gone missing. Come back strong, Gary, and make all the doubters like me look foolish.
Or get off the team.
I wonder what the odds of Sheffield ever being “okay” again really are? He had his shoulder surgery early in the offseason so you’d think that bad boy would have been healed when play began. I’m not doctor but I wonder if this past month of rest could really get him any more healthy.
Blake
I’ve wondered how correct the assumption that Sheffield could hit just like mid-2007 again if only he was completely healthy is. I don’t know. I can’t know. The Tigers have counted on it, and I’m guessing they’re going to count on it again. But how long will they wait to find out?
I’m getting confused by the roster situation for pitching.
Does Fossum get a start against the Dodgers, or do they call up Bonine? I don’t see Miner getting the start. Dolsi and Fossum get sent to Toledo? Let go of Bautista, Rodney comes back, keep Fossum, Dolsi goes to Toledo? How many pitchers does that make? 4 starters, Fossum/Bonine, Jones, Rodney, Lopez, Miner, Seay, Rapada. That’s only 11. So it’s between Bautista and Dolsi? Bautista has problems, but Dolsi might be better off getting steady work in Toledo once Rodney and then Zumaya are back with the Tigers. I keep Dolsi.
Then Zumaya comes back and Miner is traded. It’s all so simple now. I’m glad I worked that out for the Tigers.
Assuming we are going to carry 7 bullpen pitchers, I’d like to see the bullpen consist of:
Jones
Zumaya
Rodney
Dolsi
Seay
Rapada
Lopez
with Bautista, Fossum, and Miner in Toledo as insurance (I mean, what are the odds that Rodney DOESN’T end up on the DL again before the end of the year?) I don’t know the options info offhand, so I don’t know if the above list is at all feasible.
Dave, that seems like the most likely bullpen to me. Or at least the one I like the most.
Zumaya’s outing wasn’t much to speak of. An error, and Indianapolis stole 3rd on him twice, in a close game. Hmmm. Sure, he’s there for rehab, but…
Mike Hessman with 3 straight Ks. Why did I want see him up with the Tigers again?
Somehow, Miner has be the odd man out. He’s out of options, so… don’t know how it’s all going to work out. A trade maybe? Dolsi and Bautista have to stay in the pen.
It’s also a unique situation. I’m all for Miner being a 5th starter, but he just blows out of the bullpen in close games. Put him on mop-up duty, or ask him to protect a four run lead, and you’d think you have a potential ace in your back pocket. God save the Queen if you ask him to protect a one run lead in the eighth, or if you ask him to get the final out with RISP.
I also go on the record, albeit with a few glasses of wine in me, that I don’t appove of Bonnie getting the nod above Miner on Saturday. Yet another experiment, at a crucial time, and right when the Tigers are geling as a team, finding a grove, and playing better baseball. I know next to nothing about Bonnie, except his ERA is a bit high and his favorable win/loss record might be more based on that slugging Hens team instead of solid pitching. I dunno. I do know what we get with Miner and would prefer to see him to start over Bonnie (at least until we have few games of cushion over one-more-loss-and-were-in-fire-sale territory).
Another point, perhaps not so salient, but nonetheless true:
The Tigers are geling, and winning, because they are mixing the younger players in with the Vets. It adds a winning dynamic. Clevelen, Thomas, Raburn, Larrish, Holliman (would like to see him play sometime) need to be on the 25 man roster. They add something intangible, even if they’re not producing as much at the plate — aside from vastly improving the defense. And they need to play. This team needs some life blood. It’s kinda like a legal way to inject some HGH into the team without enduring the wrath of Bud Selig….
Miner does have an option left so he can be sent down. As for him starting, he has been working out of the pen all season. There’s no way he could give you more than 3-4 innings at this point in the season. If you want him to start he needs to be sent down to be stretched out, and that may be what they do to make room for Bonine.
As for the young players, I think the wine is talking. Larish has done next to nothing (it would be nice if Leyland would let him play first for a game or two though). Raburn is scuffling mightily, especially with men in scoring position and less than 2 outs. Clevlen is flashing the leather but he hasn’t hit a lick yet either. I don’t think the team gelling has anything to do with a couple guys hitting under 200. It has more to do with Polanco, Guillen, and Cabrera starting to mash and the pitchers twirling gems. Thomas was on the team for the 7 game losing streak and Larish was on the team for the west coast debacle. But the HGH analogy is a good one because that doesn’t help either.
billfer:
Thanks for clarifying. If Miner has an option left, I think it’s a no-brainer. He goes down.
And to clarify my loosely-structured point — I know Raburn and Larrish have been dead weight at the plate — and you are absolutely correct; but generally speaking — I’d just like to try to continue to give a couple of younger and more hungry players a chance to contribute and balance out the AARP lineup/defense we’ve got — especially when the lineup is struggling. Maybe the Tigers don’t win the second game of the Sox series if Clevelen doesn’t thwart a late inning rally and get the assist at the plate? Just saying. Bondo was twirling a gem, too, in the game that we lost because Renteria and Guillen couldn’t figure out who was gonna catch a pop up between them.
But alas, the wine does get the best of me when I contemplate these things.