Comments on: Game 138: Angels at Tigers

By: Chris in Dallas

Chris in Dallas — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:15:41 +0000

Dre: Sorry it took me so long to respond to that one. I logged off and didn’t log in again until now. Anyhoo, I think that up the middle defense is more important, simply because more balls are hit in that area of the field. Not that Polanco is bad per se, but his range is fairly limited. He catches everything he gets to, but there’s a lot of 2B in the league that get to a lot more.

By: Smoking Loon

Smoking Loon — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:46:05 +0000

“Did you by any chance get “Cabrera’s 4 Best Friends” as one of the results?”

He shoots! He scores!

By: Coleman

Coleman — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:49:43 +0000

Smoking Loon: “Just for fun, I Googled “40 foot pole.”

Some guys have all the fun.

Did you by any chance get “Cabrera’s 4 Best Friends” as one of the results?

By: Dr Dre in Chicago

Dr Dre in Chicago — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:40:08 +0000

Just curious Chris, why 2B over 3B? Polly is average defensively, if not incredibly reliable when it comes to making plays on balls he reaches. I would guess that there are more prospects who could fill in at 3B than 2B. Thoughts?

By: Chris in Dallas

Chris in Dallas — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:29:49 +0000

Agreed Dr. Dre. Though of the 3B-2B-SS trio, I’d be apt to replace the 2B and SS first. Maybe Guillen can catch. Flip flop him and Inge. Now there’s an out of the box (and completely idiotic) solution.

By: Dr Dre in Chicago

Dr Dre in Chicago — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:05:55 +0000

Conversely Guillen’s defense is likely to be offensive from here on out. If he’s playing as anything but DH next year…expect more hits down the left-field line.

By: Chris in Dallas

Chris in Dallas — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:53:54 +0000

Well in Guillen’s defense, he’s still rocking a 114 OPS+ which is good enough for me. Of course the fact that he’s missed a lot of games is not so good. He’s reverting to ‘04/’05 era Carlos in that department. I still think he’d be a good trading piece in the offseason, particularly if he’s able to return for a couple of weeks and produce in his usual fashion.

By: Dr Dre in Chicago

Dr Dre in Chicago — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:29:48 +0000

I think there’s a chance Sheffield turns into the sleeper surprise for next year, as he’ll finally have a full offseason that won’t be spent just recuperating from surgery. I mean expectations are already pretty low for the guy, and if there’s a chance for him to make good on some of the money they’re paying him, I think he’ll play. Sad to say, but I see Guillen as being a bigger disappointment than Sheff next year. I don’t think the organization foresaw his body degrading as fast as it has.

On the bright side, if enough adjustments are made in the pitching and defense depts., it won’t matter if those two guys can’t contribute. It’ll be expensive for Illich and sad to watch two guys at the end of the road, but as long as they aren’t taking ABs away from guys that produce (which the team has) the Tigers should be in better shape.

By: Smoking Loon

Smoking Loon — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:20:35 +0000

I don’t know what happened with Sheffield. By most accounts, he still has the tremendous bat speed. Maybe not the same approach, not the same judgement, not the same eyes.

By: Chris in Dallas

Chris in Dallas — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:50:13 +0000

Yes I saw all 3 of those HR at the park last year and each one was an absolute missile. Which is why I suppose I wish he could still do that. It was only a little over a year ago. What happened?

By: Smoking Loon

Smoking Loon — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:45:23 +0000

If Sheffield gets to 500, will he retire, maybe? Not that I’m hoping for this or anything.

By: Smoking Loon

Smoking Loon — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:44:11 +0000

The last time Sheffield went on a HR binge like that was early June of 2007.

Maybe he’ll get to 500 against Texas alone. 3 of 5 HR in the stretch from 2007 I mentioned were against the Rangers, and he was 6 for 13 with a HR the one Texas series he was in this season.

By: Chris in Dallas

Chris in Dallas — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:30:37 +0000

I hope that Sheffield hits 5 HR between now and 9/13, so I can see him go for #500 here in Arlington. That would be kinda cool. Though considering he hit 5 for the entire month of August I guess that’s kinda wishful thinking.

By: Smoking Loon

Smoking Loon — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:22:44 +0000

I’ve decided that the Tigers can keep Renteria if – and only if – they agree to put Inge back at 3B.

I’ll assume, for the sake of argument, that there simply isn’t anything that can be done to move Sheffield. The question then becomes: What if he starts 2009 like he did 2008, injured again or no? Where do you go from there? Do you just wait, even ride it out for the whole season? If he can’t cut it as DH, what good is he on the bench? Talk about being on the spot. Maybe that’s part of what makes him so uncomfortable about being in the DH role.

By: Smoking Loon

Smoking Loon — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:15:26 +0000

Well, one thing you can say about most DTW threads, which Billfer should also appreciate, is that people actually converse with one other in a semi-coherent fashion, in a way that makes them come off as semi-actual people, and the topics even include baseball once in a while. Look at some other baseball blogs. No coherence. I get a headache looking at them. Maybe I’m biased.