Monthly Archives: June 2009

2009 Season

The benching of Magglio

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The Tigers announced that the slumping and entirely unproductive Magglio Ordonez will be benched indefinitely. I don’t know that means he’s out of the starting lineup, or in a deep freeze. Ordonez has been a harmless groundball machine of late (though he did manage a sac fly last night). The bigger issue though surrounds his plate appearance option for next season.

As has been well documented at this point, Ordonez has an option that vest if either of these criteria are met:

  • 135 starts or 540 PA’s in 2009
  • 270 starts or 1080 PA’s in 2008-9

In 2008 Ordonez amassed 144 starts and 623 plate appearances leaving him 126 starts and 457 plate appearances away from an $18 million option. So far this year he has started 57 of the team’s 65 games and he is at 243 plate appearances meaning he is 69 starts or 214 plate appearances away.

Ordonez has been playing less of late and batting lower in the lineup. Over the team’s last 27 games Ordonez has 22 starts and 92 PA’s or 3.4 PA’s per team game. At that rate going forward Ordonez would pick up 330 more PA’s this season. Avoiding the option would mean limiting his playing time by another third.

There are 97 games left in the season. We’ve discussed why his release is unlikely but there is a small chance the Tigers could limit his plate appearances enough that the option doesn’t vest. Of course, if Ordonez continues to struggle and it means more at-bats for Josh Anderson types that is likely bad news as well.

Uncategorized

Willis to DL, Figaro to rotation

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The Tigers have once again placed Dontrelle Willis on the DL due to anxiety disorder. Alfredo Figaro will be called up from Erie to start on Saturday.

I’ll have more on this in an hour or so. It’s been a little more than an hour now.

Alfredo Figaro - cr. Roger DeWitt
Alfredo Figaro - cr. Roger DeWitt

Alfredo Figaro got a little bit of a late start as a prospect. He dominated West Michigan last year, but at age 23 that wasn’t particularly exciting. He spent the later part of last year with Lakeland and was pushed to Erie this season where he has a 59/17 K/BB ratio in 68 innnings. In his last 2 starts he pitched 14.1 innings with 18 K’s. He’s also Fernando Rodney’s cousin.

As for the Willis DL stint, this will raise eyebrows. There were doubts with the initial anxiety disorder diagnosis for Willis and this will surely cause more questioning. Willis himself even said he was fine. The questions will continue because the Tigers were faced with a tough roster decision with Willis were it not for the DL stint. With it being more than 5 years since his debut he has the right to refuse a minor league assignment and he would need to pass through waivers.

I’m curious about the timing or the announcement, like why did the move not occur until today if he was hitting the DL? Couldn’t this move have been made earlier in the week and the Tigers could have had an extra player until Figaro’s start on Saturday? Then again I don’t know what is involved in diagnosing anxiety disorder and it may have been a several day process.

I still wish Willis the best, but at what point does the saga end? The team has supported him, the fans supported him, he’s been given many chances. It looks like he’ll get one more.

2009 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap 6/17/09

Erie 11 Portland 5
Deik Scram went 2 for 4 with a homer and a walk. Ryan Strieby doubled twice and walked. Casper Wells had 2 hits, and 3 K’s. Luis Marte fanned 7 and allwed 3 runs in 6 innings. Jay Sborz struck out the side in his inning of work, and allowed 2 hits.

Lakeland 3 Charlotte 7
Michael Bertram homered and walked. Charlie Furbush only last 4 innings as he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and a walk.

Fort Wayne 12 West Michigan 2
Brandon Douglas went 3 for 4. Maurico Robles was rocked for 6 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks in 3.1 innings. Brayan Villarreal fanned 4 and allowed 1 run in 3.2 innings.

2009 Season, Game Post

Game 2009.065: Tigers at Cardinals

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PREGAME: I figure we’re one bad game away before I have to post this backwards again. Hopefully the team will fare a little better. Did you know that through 64 games the 2008 team outscored the 2009 team 09 version has only outscored the 08 version by 7 runs?

Edwin Jackson is the man tonight and hopefully he can work deep into the game with Verlander leaving early yesterday and Porcello on the mound tomorrow.

Todd Wellemeyer hasn’t had a quality start since May 22nd. That doesn’t mean a lot given the Tigers recent struggles against struggling pitchers. Who knows, maybe tonight’s new look lineup will be the one to get it done:

  1. Granderson
  2. Polanco
  3. Cabrera
  4. Thames
  5. Ordonez
  6. Inge
  7. Laird
  8. Everett
  9. Jackson

Detroit vs. St. Louis – June 17, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

POSTGAME: Another day, another loss. I guess the difference is this wasn’t an awful game. Edwin Jackson was fine, 3 runs in 6 innings wiht 7 K’s, just not great. He hurt his cause with an error on a pickoff throw and Magglio Ordonez butchered what might have been caught and at the least should have been a double.

Curtis Granderson and Miguel Cabrera hit, but again that was it. The Tigers had some good at-bats early on, forcing Wellemeyer to throw a boat  load of pitches in the 1st and in the 3rd, but the big inning continues to elude them instead settling for solo homers and other 1 run innings.

And then there was Joel Zumaya who had another tough outing. He didn’t get hammered and he mixed in a number of curves. But he also couldn’t find the strike zone and he walked in the Tigers 13th run of the season. Nine of those have come in the month of June (the Tigers had 20 in 2008).

2009 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap 6/16/09

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Toledo 3 Scranton/WB 7
Brent Clevlen went 3 for 4 with a homer. Brooks Brown (with him pitching tonight he won’t make Dontrelle’s next start for Detroit) allowed 5 runs on 3 walks and 7 hits in 4.1 innings. Freddy Dolsi pitched 3 innings (are they stretching him out for Miner’s role?) and allowed 2 hits and fanned 2.

Erie 0 Portland 5
Erie only managed 3 hits. Casper Wells had one of them. Jonah Nickerson allowed 4 runs in 7 innings on 9 hits, 0 walks, 2 homers, and 3 K’s.

Lakeland 0 Charlotte 1
Chris Carlson and Santo De Leon each had 2 hits. Thad Weber deserved better after giving up just 1 run on 5 hits, no walks, and 6 K’s in 7 innnings.

Fort Wayne 3 West Michigan 7
Gustavo Nunez and Brandon Douglas each had 3 hits. Nunez also had 3 stolen bases pushing his season total to 33. Jordan Lennerton homered. Luke Putkonen lasted 5 innings and surrendered just 1 run on 4 K’s, 3 walks, and 6 hits.

Scott Sizemore

Tigers 2nd base prospect was promoted to Toledo on Sunday. Take 75 North provided some depth and background to the move and shows that it was definitely warranted and Sizemore has positioned himself as the top 2nd base prospect in the system. Beyond that, I read this as a fairly significant promotion as it relates to the big league club. This will give the Tigers 6 weeks to see what Sizemore can do at AAA prior to the trade deadline. Making a decision on 6 weeks of data is shaky, but Sizemore does have a decent track record beyond that. Sizemore’s and Polanco’s performance over the next 6 weeks, and possibly the season, will likely dictate whether or not Polanco is offered a contact for 2010.

2009 Season, Roster Management

Willis out…of rotation

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Dontrelle Willis will not take his next turn in the rotation. And that was the extent of the news from Jim Leyland’s pregame presser. I understand not naming a starter at this point as the Tigers probably consider options such as Zach Miner, Eddie Bonine, Luke French, and Alfredo Figaro (who coincidentally is on the same schedule as Willis). All are already on the 40 man roster so that doesn’t present a problem and any of them kind do as well as Willis.

But what I don’t understand is why Willis is still on the 25 man roster? Are they keeping him around for pinch hitting duties while in St. Louis? He hasn’t been moved to the bullpen. He’s just there and I don’t understand why. Option him out, release him, DL him, it doesn’t matter.

2009 Season, Game Post

Game 2009.064: Tigers at Cardinals

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PREGAME: So, is this game going to be first team to 4 runs wins? The Cardinals have scored more than 3 runs only 4 times in their last 15 games. The Tigers have scored more than 3 runs only 4 times in their last 15 games, and are riding a streak of 5 straight games without topping that mark.

Further complicating things is the pitching match-up which features Justin Verlander and Adam Wainwright. Verlander has been outstanding of late and is coming off a complete game, 1 run effort.

Wainwright has been solid with  7.5 K/9 and 2.1 K/BB ratios. Lefties knock  him around to the tune of an .822 OPS while righties struggle at a .602 clip.

Unfortunately the Tigers lineup only has 3 lefty hitters in it tonight (not that I’m stumping for Josh Anderson):

  1. Kelly, LF
  2. Polanco, 2B
  3. Ordonez, RF
  4. Cabrera, 1B
  5. Granderson , CF
  6. Inge, 3B
  7. Laird, C
  8. Santiago, 2B
  9. Verlander, P

Detroit vs. St. Louis – June 16, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

POSTGAME: That was just a pathetic display. Awful, and coming on the heels of the last 2 games, this is a very ugly 3 game stretch.

  • Verlander couldn’t get the swings and misses on the fastball and didn’t have good control of the curve. And he got beat-up. He made a fielding error. He balked. He wasn’t good. But he’s been awesome of late so he gets a pass.
  • Cabrera swung the bat well. A homer, a walk, and a sharp single is definitely a positive.
  • The Tigers had awful at-bats with runners on. In the first Polanco struck out with a runner on third and nobody out. Then Ordonez couldn’t get it past the pitcher. Polanco also fouled out on the first pitch with runners on first and second later int he game. Curtis Granderson tried to pull an outside fastball on a 3-1 count. Too many bad at-bats.
  • And the defense was poor also.
2009 Season

Ilitch: We’re going to do whatever we’ve got to do

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There has been quite a bit of speculation that the Tigers would have a fire sale this summer, including trading off Miguel Cabrera. But Mike Ilitch seemed to paint a different picture in a conversation with Drew Sharp:

“We’re going to do whatever we’ve got to do,” Ilitch said. “We’re three games in first. What are we going to do? There are a lot of things that we can do. We’re going to try to improve one way or the other.”

Doesn’t sound like a fire sale is imminent or that the Tigers are entirely locked into their current payroll or roster despite the economy and unproductive contracts.

Thrilled by Wings, Mike Ilitch hopes to help pennant push next | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

2009 Season, Awards

Vote Early, Vote Often, Vote Inge

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A vote for Inge is a vote for...
A vote for Inge is a vote for...

The campaigning has been going on since April when teams started to promote their players for the All Star Game. On basic principle I try to wait until at least June before filling out a ballot. So much changes so quick early in the season and hot starts can be misleading. But, with 60 games in and the game only a month a way it is time.

The All Star game doesn’t really matter, and when the fans and players and managers make mistakes in the voting people are sure to either a)complain or b) further announce the game doesn’t mean anything. Others say they don’t want their team’s players going and that they’d rather see them rest. I don’t buy any of it. The game is supposed to be fun and I know I have more fun when my guys are playing.

The trouble with the Tigers this year is that it is hard to find a candidate to throw support behind. Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson are certainly deserving at this point, but fans don’t get to vote for pitchers. Miguel Cabrera started off strong, but his recent fade and the seasons of Mark Texeira, Kevin Youkilis, and Justin Morneau don’t even leave  him in the top 3. Curtis Granderson has been okay but not nearly good enough to warrant a big push. But fans do have one position player who they can throw their support behind without feeling too homerish. The man, the myth, the most polarizing force among Tigers fans, Brandon Inge.

Continue reading Vote Early, Vote Often, Vote Inge →

2009 Season

How much would you give up for offense?

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The Tigers bats have been scuffling to say the least. The Tigers received unexpected offense from a number of places early in the year while Magglio Ordonez, Placido Polanco, Carlos Guillen, and to a lesser extent Curtis Granderson, were struggling or injured. But the thumpers still aren’t producing consistently and you can add Miguel Cabrera to the list of slumping bats. So the pitching which has been a very pleasant surprise has been pitching with little margin for error.

But that pitching has also benefitted from the lineup as it is constructed. The Tigers have one of the top defensive teams in all of baseball and we are looking at a 71 run swing due to defense from last year. A lot of the Tigers who aren’t carrying their bats to the dish are certainly carrying their gloves to the field.

So with an off day, how about a little discussion of how much you trade to improve the offense? How much defense would you sacrifice for offense? What prospects or current members of the team would you be willing to part with acquire a bat (and don’t mention people on the DL or those who are untradeable -like Wilils or Robertson)?

2009 Season, Roster Management

This has to stop now

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Dontrelle Willis came into action today with yet another chance to solidify his spot in the rotation and on the roster. He did neither today and his time on the Tigers roster has to have come to an end. This isn’t brilliant thinking by any means, and it’s late, but it’s time.

Today’s effort included 8 walks in 3.2 innings, 4 of those were to the leadoff hitter in each inning. He also allowed 6 hits and a lot of loud outs. That he was only charged with 6 runs was a matter of luck and not grittiness or some ability to bounce back. Sadly this carnage was a continuation of a pattern rather than a blip.

Whether this is anxiety or mechanics or another injury, Willis is not an effective big league pitcher. The Tigers have been patient, as they needed to be due to the contract. But he can’t be allowed to hurt this team anymore. He needs to be off the roster now. I don’t care if he gets optioned to the minors or outright released but he can’t be allowed to pitch for this team any longer.

I wish Willis the best of luck. He seems to be universally loved by players, media, and fans. The way he has handled his adversity the last 2 years is a testament to the type of individual he is. But if he is on the roster after today’s debacle it is nothing more than a charity case.

UPDATE: No moves have been announced and with an offday tomorrow they have some time to make a decision. In the meantime Jason Beck has blogged Dontrelle’s reaction to the start. I encourage everyone to check it out.

2009 Season, Game Post

Game 2009.063: Tigers at Pirates

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PREGAME: It appears that the Tigers Saturday/Sunday invincibility only applies to intra-league games as they have been stymied in their first 3 match-ups with the senior circuit.

Dontrelle Willis gets the ball for the Tigers and fans will get to see what is better, his hitting or his pitching. Despite his struggles in his last start, Willis’s stature in the rotation seems somewhat more secure with the news that Bonderman will be out for a couple more months.

Russ Ohlendorf is your typical back of the rotation starter. One of these days the Tigers will need to thump an opposing pitcher. Maybe this is the day. Five of the eleven homers that Ohlendorf has allowed this year have come on the first pitch. This could play into the Tigers approach.

Oh yeah, and they’ll be wearing 1909 throwback uni’s. Always a good time.

Detroit vs. Pittsburgh – June 14, 2009 | MLB.com: Gameday

POSTGAME: When the lineup was posted this game felt like a lost cause. When the Tigers sacrifice bunted in the first inning to play for one run and the plan backfired it was demoralizing. When Dontrelle Willis walked in 2 runs in the first inning it was the beginning of a disaster.

Nothing about this game felt good except for the fact that Don Kelly had a nice game. Willis was bad. Really bad. Miguel Cabrera and Curtis Granderson combined to not get the ball out of the infield. And Josh Anderson batted third. This was a couple days after Leyland was quoting he thought Anderson wasn’t cut out to be a leadoff hitter. Yeah, batting 3rd should fix it.

I think this is pretty good timing for an offday.