Comments on: Chatting up scouts about the Tigers

By: stephen

stephen — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:17:42 +0000

Great post. Points #3 is something I’ve feared from the day he signed that big contract before a game had been played. #4 makes me want to personally come to Detroit and fire Leyland. This team largely blew the World Series because of terrible fundamentals and nothing seems to have changed.

By: judpma

judpma — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:48:18 +0000

on Willis 5 more walks and 2 hits in four innings …did he get picked for the All Star team yet!

By: judpma

judpma — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:45:17 +0000

I was sitting at a spring training game against Cleveland and Clete Thomas was the runner on third as the bases were loaded.Thames hit one to the wall .It looked like it was going out,only it was caught. Thomas was not tagging up but trotting in for the grands slam that didn’t occur. The next time up he was on second and tried to go to third on a GB to the SS and was thrown out without a slide….the Next day in Lakeland he was a pinch runner and went to second on a base hit but was thrown out trying to get back to the bag…So much for the base running ability of Clete Thomas

By: T Smith

T Smith — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:58:46 +0000

On the Guillen comment — I disagree, but only half-way disagree.

The mistake was playing Guillen too close to the line. This is Leyland’s mistake more than Guillen’s inability to field the ball. I’m not even sure Inge gets to that ball if he’s playing right on the line.

The ball wasn’t hit hard but there was such a HUGE hole between Guillen and Renteria, it gets through. I understand the thinking that you want prevent the double down the line, but more balls are hit through the hole, probably 3:1, than hit down the line.

But Inge should have been playing in that situation anyway — so that’s the half I agree with. I’m trying to forget that series so I can’t remember exactly why Inge wasn’t in there, but I’ll go out on a limb and say it was a boneheaded managment move to begin with, even without knowing all the facts.

By: cib

cib — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:01:21 +0000

Amidst all of the gloom and doom, enjoy this article as I did:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....;type=lgns

By: Kurt

Kurt — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:39:02 +0000

Thanks Craig for gathering and writing about those observations!

Fundamentals are definitely killing them this year. When they play the A’s or the Angels, it really stands out.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:19:57 +0000

Basically the same thing many of us have been saying all along: Gene LaMont very often gets screwed up on when to hold and when to let a runner go. The second thing is not being prepared right from the get-go out of spring training. I’ve done an about face on Leyland after not critisizing/questioning him at all for 3 years. The only one worth his salt, imo, is Andy VanSlyke. Dump the rest!

By: greg

greg — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:50:54 +0000

Great post. Most of it smacks of truth. The only thing that sticks out as suspect is the ‘too many moving parts’. Leyland stayed with the same lineup too long at the beginning, and what we’ve seen are ultra minor tweaks that, if you’re truly belong among the best baseball players in the world(mlb level players) or even if you’re not, really, these types of extremely minor changes should not be a big deal.

Numerous other managers shuffle at least part of their lineup continuously from day one just to keep things fresh.

On the Guillen comment, sadly, when I watch the Tigers, its rare that I don’t say that about Guillen 2-3 times a game when he’s at 3B. In that light, that’s a big reason why I can’t see his moving to LF can hurt the team any worse….I know, I know, DH is where he really belongs, but I wanted to get a good look at Larrish and his tremendous power, unfortunately, he looks overmatched at the plate, seems like he has good bat speed, but his swing is a little long. I haven’t seen him all that much, but I’ve only seen him go the other way once, every other time he was dead set on pulling the ball, which I think will be a problem if he doesn’t adjust.

By: Sean C. in Illinois

Sean C. in Illinois — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:31:14 +0000

Yes, I don’t have a problem with different lineups or batting orders per se, either.

“Fundamentals are killing them.” Yeah. Fundamentals killed them in the 2006 World Series, too. I can’t believe it’s still happening, same manager, mostly the same players.

Wait a minute.

By: Eric Cioe

Eric Cioe — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:51:12 +0000

Leyland has always used different lineups. I can’t see how that is a problem.

I agree that the defensive changes have probably goofed up the team, though.

By: Vince in MN

Vince in MN — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:02:35 +0000

Suddenly Leyland is going to stop fiddling and stick with a plan? – don’t hold your breath. It’s been bad enough with the lineup and bullpen shuffling, but this year he has added positions to the equation too.

By: Lee Panas

Lee Panas — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 05:31:50 +0000

Very interesting post. It’s always interesting to hear a scout’s perspective. I’m glad they think Willis can still pitch. Some seem to be writing him off but I think it’s way to early to do that.

The “too many moving parts” comments was interesting. I think moves had to be made but I think they’ve got the parts in the right places now – Inge at third. Cabrera at first, hopefully Guillen will work out in left (although I’d rather see him DH and Sheffield released). I hope Leyland just goes with that for the home stand and see what happens.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:40:19 +0000

It really nice to get these prospectives on this team by scouts.

Thanx to West Coast Tiger for relaying the conversation and to Bilfer for posting it.