Category Archives: Injuries

Dmitri Young hurting

Dmitri Young left tonight’s game with a strained right quadricep. It’s the same injury that slowed him in spring training. It sounds like this could be an ongoing struggle all season. The Tigers could use another left handed bat to fill the DH role. I hear Carlos Pena is still available…for now.

UPDATE: According to the post game show, this sounds like it will be more than a day to day injury. At the same time there is no news about DL time.

If he does hit the DL possible replacements are Josh Phelps, Alexis Gomez, and Don Kelly are possibilities.

Maroth hurting

Mike Maroth will miss his scheduled start on Thursday. The elbow tenderness he experienced during spring training has apparently flared up again.

The Tigers aren’t overly concerned, but I am. Maroth’s start on Friday was his first long outing of the year because he was limited in spring training. My guess is that it didn’t feel right the next day, and the pain hasn’t subsided. If there is any good news in this, it is that Maroth appears to be taking the cautious route instead of trying to pitch through it. Continue reading Maroth hurting

Pick your pleasant surprise

Excuse my enthusiasm, but winning is fun. I certainly thought that 3-0 was possible, but the manner in which the Tigers are doing it has certainly left surprised. Some pleasant Tiger surprises after a thumping of the Rangers:

  • Tiger starters have yet to walk a batter. While Nate Robertson wasn’t dominating like Kenny Rogers and Jeremy Bonderman were, he did extend the starter’s walkless streak to 17 2/3 innings. In the meantime the starters have racked up 17 strikeouts.
  • Pudge Rodriguez already has two walks.
  • I’m not really surprised that Chris Shelton can hit, but 4 homers in 3 games to lead the managers is a little more than I expected.
  • The Tigers homers are prime. The first game they hit 3 home runs. The second game they hit 5 home runs. Against Texas in the third game they hit 7 home runs. Now the next prime number is 11. Do you think they have a shot? In case you were wondering last year it took them 17 games before they hit their 15th homer. And the 15 homers in the first 3 games is a major league record.
  • Every decision that Jim Leyland has made has worked out. Curtis Granderson coming off a 3 for 6 day doesn’t get the start in favor of Marcus Thames – who homers. Brandon Inge takes Granderson’s leadoff spot – and homers. Later in the game Granderson comes in as a defensive replacement, and makes a diving catch. It’s absolutely uncanny.

Continue reading Pick your pleasant surprise

Tiger Links – and quick

A lot of interesting stuff the last couple days, but I’m short on time so here’s a Joel Zumaya -fastball-esque link round-up:

Tiger Stuff

Other baseball stuff you might care about

  • striketwo.net: Summarizing the latest news and discussions from 678 MLB blogs: This is a newish site that I’ve become a big fan of. It tracks discussions across the blogosphere. You can view the hottest topics, or keep up to date with what others are saying about your favorite players or teams.
  • Ballbug : This is another tool that tracks discussions on the hottest topics in baseball. Ballbug just launched on Monday. If you’re familiar with memeorandum, this is the same thing but for baseball.
  • ATM Reports: Lee Sinins who publishes the very popular Around the Majors newsletter is doing it via a blog now.

detroit tigers, baseball, ballbug, striketwo

Todd Jones Injured

With one out to go in spring training, Todd Jones left the game with a pulled hamstring. According to Danny Knobler Jones is headed to the DL. A replacement hasn’t been determined yet, and I’d guess that the Tigers are waiting to see the severity of the injury.

I’m not worried about the loss of Jones as closer. I actually think that Fernando Rodney, who is yet further removed from Tommy John surgery will have a pretty good year, and should post comparable numbers to Jones. It’s more an issue of cascading roles with the loss of Jones in a bullpen that has several question marks.

If it looks like Jones will only miss a couple weeks, I’d imagine that the Tigers would go with one of the players currently on the 40 man roster like Mark Woodyard or Roman Colon. My guess would be Woodyard because I really think the organization wants Colon working as a starter.

If it looks like the injury will take a long time to heal, the team may be more inclined to look at a non-roster player. Unfortunately, there don’t appear to be any likely candidates in that group.

If you’re wondering about Franklyn German taking the last spot, I wouldn’t count on it. To me it didn’t seem like German was that close to making the team. His longevity in big league camp was probably more due to his option status than him being the last player cut. Adding German also gets tricky because he’s no longer on the 40 man roster. While there is room to add him, I believe a later demotion would mean him once again clearing waivers.

In other roster moves, the Tigers officially designated for assigment the contracts of Franklyn German and Rob Bowen. They also put Troy Percival on the 60 day disabled list and Craig Dingman on the 15 day DL. Why only the 15 day DL for Dingman? I’m not really sure.

Training Regimen

For the second time in a week, Detroit Tigers strength and conditioning coach Javair Gillett has received national press. This time it was part of a Wall Street Journal profile on new workout routines in Major League Baseball (WSJ reg required)

Javair Gillett, the Tigers’ strength coach, says the team has long visited players during the off-season, but he has stepped up his travels lately, even flying down to Venezuela this winter to see shortstop Carlos Guillen. Drills he runs in his visits include one in which the player stands on an unsteady platform and tosses a medicine ball back and forth with a partner, which works the abdominal muscles, the back and the arms while also aiding hand-eye coordination and balance. Mr. Gillett follows up with players once or twice a month by phone and also consults with personal trainers that some players hire for themselves. “If they don’t come back stronger and faster and quicker, that looks bad on me,” Mr. Gillett says.

It’s nice to hear about the efforts that Gillett and the Tigers’ organization have made to keep the players ready to perform. It becomes especially relevant for a team that is playing veterans at so many physcially demanding defensive positions (catcher, shortstop, second base).
detroit tigers

St Patty’s Bracket Busting Tiger Round Up

The Boys are Back in Town

	
Detroit	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Granderson, CF	3	1	1	1	1	0	1	.364
Guillen, SS	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	.250
Santiago, SS	2	0	0	0	0	1	2	.281
Ordonez, RF	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.222
Taylor, RF	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	.379
Young, D, DH	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.429
Pena, 1B	3	0	2	0	1	0	0	.194
Inge, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	2	4	.308
Gomez, LF	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.317
Wilson, C	3	1	2	1	0	0	0	.400
Peterson, B, C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Infante, 2B	3	0	1	0	0	1	1	.455

How about that lineup? It’s nice to see some regular names in there. Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez saw their first action since Venezuela was eliminated from the World Baseball Classic. The game also marked Dmitri Young’s return to the lineup from his quadricep injury. Todd Jones should be on his way back, and we should also be seeing Pudge Rodriguez shortly. That leaves only Placido Polanco and Fernando Rodney MIA.
Continue reading St Patty’s Bracket Busting Tiger Round Up

Wind Blown Tiger Updates

Ten homers were hit in a 14-10 slugfest that saw the Detroit Tigers beat the Indians. Me thinks that the wind may have been a factor. With that, on to some Tiger news:

Injury Update

There has been mixed news the last couple days on the injury front. Mike Maroth made the start on Sunday, and so far things sound good. Omar Infante has also returned to game action, and he did so with a flourish. He went 3-3 today with a homer. In other news, there is a chance that Craig Monroe may be starting the season on the DL. While it is bad news for Craig, it is probably good news for Marcus Thames and/or Nook Logan (who has been struggling mightily). Finally, Dmitri Young may be close to returning.
Continue reading Wind Blown Tiger Updates

Dog Days of Spring Training

After the initial excitement of pitchers and catchers reporting, and the surge of enthusiasm after the first few spring training games, baseball settles into 3 weeks of games that become somewhat tedious while fans anxiously await the beginning of real games. The World Baseball Classic has helped break up the monotony, as has some interesting developments in the Tigers camp.

After Gammons blogged about the possibility of Carlos Pena being cut in a financial move, Danny Knobler followed up a day later saying that Pena and Nook Logan just weren’t manager Jim Leyland’s type of players. What remains to be seen is what becomes of players who aren’t Leyland’s type. Does the manager have the final say or does Dave Dombrowski hold the trump card? I’d say when it comes to which members of the 40 man roster head north with the big club (the Nook Logan scenario), Leyland might have more say, but when it comes time to decide who is on the payroll (Pena) Dombrowski’s vote probably carries more weight.
Continue reading Dog Days of Spring Training

Tiger Spring Training Round-Up

Bullpen Retiring the Side

First there was Craig Dingman’s artery injury that will probably force him to retire. And then there was Troy Percival’s failed attempt to come back that has resulted in his retirement. Then yesterday the oft-injured Matt Mantei strained his oblique. Mantei had been impressing everyone this spring and was a likely candidate to make the team. Now it looks like Mantei is a likely candidate to retire as well.
Continue reading Tiger Spring Training Round-Up