Category Archives: Pitching

2006 Season, Injuries, Offense, Pitching, Statistics

Pick your pleasant surprise

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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.

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Minors, Pitching, Roster Management

Jordan Tata Takes Jones spot

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Jordan Tata - Photo Credit: Roger DewittJordan Tata who was set to open the season with Erie will be the beneficiary of Todd Jones’s hamstring injury according to Danny Knobler. Tata had an excellent season for Lakeland last year (2.79 ERA, 3.27 K/BB ratio) as well as a solid spring.

The move surprises me. Tata hasn’t pitched above A ball, and there are other pitchers (namely Mark Woodyard) who have a little more experience and would have been a decent fit. That said, Tata probably won’t see that much action over what will hopefully only be a 2 week stint. Tata is also 25, so while he lacks experience at the higher levels of the minors, he isn’t exactly a kid, and this doesn’t feel like a “rush job” that could be detrimental to his development.

As for other roster implications like option years and service time, these will probably both be a non-factor. This is already an option year for Tata, so calling him up won’t make a difference in terms of options. As for service time, if this is truly only a stint that will last a couple weeks, it is doubtful that it would advance his arbitration clock significantly.

Injuries, Pitching, Roster Management

Todd Jones Injured

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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.

2006 Season, Pitching, Players, Previews

A heaping helping of Zumaya

There were several Detroit Tiger mentions over the last two days, and many of them included references to Joel Zumaya.

The Free Press had a piece on Zumaya’s new curveball/slider.

“My curve can be a slider,” he said. “If I throw it from over the top, it’s a curve with a 12-to-6 break. If I lower my arm angle, it has more of a slider movement. You’ll see me do that when the count is 0-2.”

His secondary pitch combined with the fastball has Buster Olney making Zumaya his Rookie of the Year pick. (Insider link)

Joel Zumaya has added a curve to his repertoire. I’m picking him to win AL Rookie of the Year. Based on what scouts are seeing in him, he won’t be in the Tigers’ bullpen for long.

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Pitching, Previews, Roster Management, Trade Rumors

Tiger Linkfest

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Roster Issues

I’ve said pretty much all I have to say about the Carlos Pena release in that I don’t like how the roster sets up. Knobler’s blog today didn’t make me feel any better

Leyland raved again after the game about Ramon Santiago. Santiago is very likely to make the opening day roster, in part because they need a backup shortstop and Omar Infante’s right shoulder tendinitis makes it hard to consider him for that spot. Infante is on the team, though. In fact, they had Infante and Alexis Gomez work out today at first base. They need someone else able to play first, in case they pinch-run for Shelton in a game where Dmitri is the DH. Pretty good indication that Gomez has a very good chance to be on the team as the extra outfielder, too.

If Infante can’t be the back-up infielder because of his arm, maybe he needs to go on the DL. I’ve got nothing against Infante, and I think he’ll probably do okay this year, at least along the lines of his 2004 season. However, if he is your best pinch hitting option and he can’t play the left side of the infield there will be problems. I have a bad feeling that this bench is going to scare me more than opponents.
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Pitching, Roster Management, Spring Training

Zumaya reactions

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I liked reading this quote from Leyland in today’s Freep

“Our 13 position players — and this is a big factor — would look at me like I was nuts if I didn’t take those two guys,” Leyland said. “I think I would lose some credibility. They’d look at me and say, ‘What are these guys doing? What are they looking at?’ “

Alan Trammell made a mistake last spring by taking Bobby Higginson instead of Marcus Thames. Higginson was clearly on his last legs while Thames tore up spring training. In the process it seems like he lost some other members of the team. Leyland seems very aware of the situation and didn’t want to make the same mistake.

However, I didn’t like reading this quote, also from the Freep

Leyland doesn’t rule out that Zumaya will someday return to starting. But he doesn’t plan to insert him in the rotation if a starter gets hurt soon.

“We’ve got him programmed,” Leyland said of the relief role.

Zumaya being typecast into a relief role is my only qualm about him moving to the bullpen. While that may ultimately be his best role, he has way too much potential at age 21 to not be given the opportunity to start.

Pitching, Roster Management, Spring Training

Verlander and Zumaya Are In

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It appears that the rotation is set. Leyland hasn’t announced the 5th starter, but the common belief is that the job is Justin Verlander’s. Verlander was the favorite going into spring training, and after a couple shaky outings, has pitched very effectively. Today he only pitched two innings due to the rain, but in those two innings were 19 strikes on 26 pitches as all 6 hitters were retired.

Knobler also indicated that it appears that Joel Zumaya has made the team via the bullpen. Again, there isn’t an official announcement but given the way Zumaya has pitched, it would be hard not to take him. He also pitched two scoreless innings allowing only a bunt single.

A bullpen role may have some definite benefits for Zumaya. First, it might prove an effective way to break him into the Majors. Second, at age 21 there could definitely be some long term benefit to his arm only accumulating 100 innings or so.

My only concern is that Zumaya becomes pigeonholed as a reliever. While many believe this will be his best option long term, I want to see him given a chance as a starter. Given his performances at the higher levels of the minors as a 20 year old, I want to see what he can do in the rotation.
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Pitching, Players, Previews, Spring Training, Uncategorized

Off Day Tiger Round Up

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The Tigers still have 45 players in camp, so there are a couple of sizable cuts coming.  The next one will probably be before the end of the week.  Until then, here are some items of note:

The rotation is set – sort of

Jim Leyland had already decided that Kenny Rogers would take the first turn, followed by Bonderman.  Now it appears that Nate Robertson will be the number 3, with Mike Maroth being number 4. There’s still no decision on Detroit’s 5th starter of course. While Leyland has said Joel Zumaya still has a shot (and really, he’s pitched good enough to deserve it), he’s slated to come out of the bullpen on Thursday. According to John Lowe, Zumaya could be the one to come in and face left handers, in lieu of another southpaw in the pen.
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Pitching, Roster Management

Tigers have too much pitching

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Joel ZumayaWell, no team ever really has too much pitching, but right now it looks like the Tigers have enough talent to build decent rotations in both Detroit and Toledo. There are still 4 legitimate candidates for the 5th starter spot, and none of them are making the decision easy on Jim Leyland. Justin Verlander, Joel Zumaya, Jason Grilli, and Roman Colon seem unwilling to surrender their shots at the position.

Justin Verlander

Justin Verlander started off the spring shaky, but has made improvement with each start. That improvement culminated in yesterday’s outing against the Dodgers. Granted, the team LA fielded was devoid of starters, but 4 scoreless innings with no walks and 3 strikeouts is still impressive. The Dodgers managed 3 hits, two of which were bloop singles.

Verlander certainly would be a sexy pick for the rotation. He has Rookie of the Year potential, and it is always exciting to see home grown talent excel. The argument against is that if there are other capable arms, why rush someone with only one year of pro experience.
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Injuries, Pitching, Spring Training, Tiger History

Wind Blown Tiger Updates

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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.
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2006 Season, Managing & Strategy, Pitching

Keep an eye on: Chuck Hernandez & the Pitching Staff

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Over the last few weeks of spring training, I’ll be writing about the storylines that I think will be most interesting, or at least most vital to the team’s success. The first subject will be pitching coach Chuck Hernandez and how he sets the tone with Tiger pitchers and throughout the organization.

One of the least reported on changes this past offseason has been pitching coach Chuck Hernandez. Given the youth and potential of the pitching staff the topic seems especially relevant.

In the case of Kenny Rogers, I’m not all that concerned. At age 41 he’s probably his own pitching coach anyways.

It does become much more interesting though with the other 3 veteran starters – Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, and Mike Maroth. For those 3, especially Bonderman, the bulk of their professional instruction has come through Bob Cluck.
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