The Detroit Tiger Weblog

Author: billfer

  • Off Day Linking and Site News

    • It appears that comment spam problem is taken care of. It wasn’t a specific attack on me, but Akismet, which is a service that does spam filtering went down. The tide has been stemmed so no need to register for now
    • Tiger blogger night is one week from Tuesday. Big Al will be joining the ranks and I received emails from a couple readers as well. If you’re interested in joining us, we are sitting in mezzanine section 212 row 1.
    • Greg Eno draws parallels between the upcoming series, and a labor day series against the Yankees from 1961.
    • Baseball stat guru Tom Tango (aka TangoTiger) and author of The Book is conducting his annual Fan Scouting Report. In past years the Tigers have been underrepresented in the polling. With a little more interest this year, there might be more response. (Hat Tip Tiger Tales)
    • Kurt broke down the Tigers recent string of losses. It just goes to show there are many ways to lose a game.
    • While I disagree with Pat Caputo on a regular basis, we’re on the same page in terms of Neifi Perez. While other local writers are still defending the move and Leyland’s decision to play him everyday, it’s nice to see one member of the media see what everyone else is seeing.

  • Tigers Minor League Wrap – August 28th

    Durham 8, Toledo 7
    Alexis Gomez got in one last game before heading to New York and he went 1 for4 with a walk. Josh Phelps was 3 for 5. Chris Shelton was 0 for 5. Jordan Tata started and allowed 5 runs, 3 earned, in 5 innings before being lifted after 73 pitches.

    Erie – PPD

    Lakeland 5, Dunedin 5 (in progress)
    Jim Essian was 3 for 5. Eddie Bonine lasted 7 2/3 innings and allowed 3 runs on 8 hits, 1 walk, and 9 K’s.

    West Michigan 3, Lansing 1
    Mike Hollimon homered and walked. Cameron Maybin took and 0 for 4. Sendy Vasquez was excellent over 6 innings. He allowed 1 run on 3 hits, no walks, and 9 K’s.

    Oneonta 11, Tri-City 4
    Scott Sizemore had 3 hits and a walk. Ronnie Bourquin was 2 for 4 as was Jeff Junkel. Duane Below, up from the GCL, allowed 4 runs, 3 earned in 5 2/3 innings. Lauren Gagnier pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief.

  • Playoff Roster Eligibility Explained, Maybe Sort of

    UPDATE 08.25.09: This post is a little outdated. An up to date, less confusing (I hope), and more accurate (I hope again) explanation can be found here.

    With the Tigers venturing into uncharted territories, Detroit fans are probably a little confused on how playoff rosters work. Even if you weren’t confused, you probably will be after this explanation.

    The first rule seems simple and straight forward enough:

    According to Rule 40(a), a player must be on his club’s active big league roster or disabled list (or bereavement list, suspended list, or military list) on August 31 in order to be eligible for post-season play.

    But does anybody remember the 2002 playoffs where Francisco Rodriguez was on the playoff roster despite being in the minors on August 31st? In fact Rodriguez didn’t pitch in the majors until September 18th that year. If a team has a player on the disabled list, they can be replaced. Now depending on where you look, this rule can vary. One variation says that this exception is only for the 60 day DL, and the eligible player can be anyone in the organization. Jim Callis from Baseball America doesn’t specify the DL type, but that the player must be on the 40 man roster.

    The only real catch is that the replacement player must play the same position, like a catcher for a catcher, and infielder for an infielder, etc.

    Much of the confusion comes from the fact that the rule isn’t really publicized with other Major League rules. The cleanest and simplest expanation I’ve come across is at Mike’s Baseball Rants:

    Playoff Rosters: Playoff rosters must be set at 25, not including disabled players, on August 31. For each player on the 60-day DL, teams may add players to the eligible list during the playoffs at the same position, provided that they were in the orginization on August 31… Teams must choose 25 players from their playoff eligible list before each round of the playoffs.

    As for what it might mean for the Tigers, they currently have 2 pitchers on the 60 day DL in Craig Dingman and Troy Percival (Mike Maroth is also, but he will most assuredly be activated regardless). So the Tigers could make 2 more players eligible, as long as they were pitchers. If they were to exercise this option Jordan Tata or Chris Spurling could be possibilities – albeit longshots.

    As for position player possibilities, as I covered yesterday the Tigers could recall and then DL Tony Giarratano meaning that another infielder such as Chris Shelton could be added. The only hit for the Tigers is that they would incur a month of service time for Giarratano, which I don’t see having any significant ramifications.

  • Making Room for Marcus

    He’s leading the team in homers with 23 despite having only 289 at-bats. He’s one of only three Tigers with slugging percentages north of .500 and the only one with an OPS above .900. And yet Marcus Thames can’t get regular playing time on a team that has been struggling to score runs with any sort of consistency.
    (more…)

  • Roster Shuffling – Andrew Miller’s up

    The Tigers made several roster moves today.

    Brent Clevlen was sent back to Erie and Alexis Gomez was called up.

    And on the pitching side, Colby Lewis was returned to Toledo and Andrew Miller will be joining the bullpen. Also, tenderness in Mike Maroth’s elbow will mean that Wil Ledezma will take Maroth’s spot on Wednesday in New York.

    I suspect these moves are highly fueled by setting up the playoff roster. As near as I can figure to be eligible for the playoff roster, a player must be on the active roster or the disabled list as of 9pm August 31st.

    Essentially the Tigers believe that they’d rather have Alexis Gomez than Brent Clevlen for the playoffs. This is certainly a debatable point given what Clevlen has shown. In terms of defense, Gomez is solid, but Clevlen certainly can hold his own. Offensively Clevlen showed quite a bit during his MLB stretch, but keep in mind he’d only been hitting 220 at the time he was called up. Sample size issues abound. Also, Gomez has been hitting very well for Toledo going 308/360/681 in August. I’m not taking sides on this move, just presenting information.

    The good news for Clevlen is that this demotion will only be until Friday when the team can expand its roster.

    As for Miller, his first few games have certainly been impressive in Lakeland, and he very well may be ready. But this is a huge jump for any player. It’s not just moving to the big leagues from essentially college, but doing it for a team intent on locking up a post season spot.

    Now back to that playoff eligible roster thing. There are loop holes in that a player of the same position (OF/OF, IF/IF, P/P, etc) can replace a player that is on the 60 day DL. I believe (but I’m not sure) that the Tigers could add a minor leaguer, such as Tony Giarratano, to the 60 day DL and then be able to replace him on the playoff roster with any other infielder in the organization – say Chris Shelton. Now I bring this up because the recall of Gomez means a 40 man roster spot needs to be created. Mike Maroth’s activation will also require a 40 man roster spot.

  • Game 131: Tigers at Indians

    PREGAME: For the 3rd time in the last 3 weekends the Tigers come into Sunday looking to avoid a lost weekend. It will be Kenny Rogers and Cliff Lee today.

    On another note, I’ve been bombarded with spam comments over the last 12 hours – to the tune of 300. The spam filters are catching many, and others are being held for moderation, but still too many are getting in. I’m considering switching to a system where you’d have to register with the site to leave comments. Would any of you be opposed to that?

    Game Time 1:05

    POSTGAME: Sigh. Last night the Tigers put a hit and run on, and the ball was hit right back up the middle – right to the 2nd baseman covering on the play. That’s pretty much what the Tigers fortunes had been for the last 20 games. Today, in the 6th inning with Kenny Rogers trying to end a threat with runners on 1st and 2nd induced a foul ball bouncer down the third baseline. Inexplicably it bounced back fair right before the bag, and right into Brandon Inge’s glove. Inge stepped on 3rd and the rally was thwarted. Like the ball changing directions, hopefully the Tigers fortunes will be also.

    The Tigers needed a pitcher to put a stop to the bleeding, and they turned to the old man with the history of 2nd half collapses to shut down a very potent offense. Rogers gave the team 7 innings or 1 run ball when they needed it the most. If nothing else it tells you how ludicrous it is to have discussions about post season rotations before the All Star break.

    Marcus Thames got a rare start, hit a homer, and was of course lifted for a pinch hitter. I don’t get it.

    Curtis Granderson really seems to be getting his stroke back with a homer, double, walk, and most importantly no strike outs. Strike outs typically don’t bother me, especially if they come with a high OBP or big power numbers. Granderson hadn’t been providing those other elements making the K’s more of a concern.

    Another good day for Omar, hope he enjoyed it. He had a couple hits and made nice defensive plays to both the glove and barehand sides.

  • Tigers Minor League Wrap – August 26th

    Louisville 13, Toledo 2
    Chad Durbin started and allowed 3 runs over 6 innings. Bobby Seay, Steve Green and Lance Davis allowed 10 runs in 3 innings of relief. Chris Shelton had the night off.

    Binghamton 7, Erie 4
    Kody Kirkland hit his 21st homer and made his 22nd error. Jon Connolly allowed 7 runs, 6 earned in 4 1/3 innings.

    Fort Myers 3, Lakeland 0
    Jeff Larish doubled and Brent Dlugach singled for the entirety of the L Tigs offense. Eleazar Aponte allowed 3 runs, 2 earned, on 5 hits, 2 walks, and 4 K’s. Andrew Miller pitched 2 scoreless innings allowing 1 hit and fanning 3.

    West Michigan 3, Fort Wayne 0
    Cameron Maybin hit his 8th homer. Burke Badenhop allowed only 5 base runners and none came around to sore. Anthony Claggett who has assumed the closers role pitched a scoreless 9th.

    Lowell 3, Oneonta 1
    Deik Scram had 3 hits and Scott Sizmore was 1 for 3 with a walk. Tom Thonrton allowed 3 runs in 3 2/3 innings. Casey Fien pitched 3 scoreless innings in relief. Randor Bierd pitched one inning striking out the side.

  • Maroth on Wednesday

    Jason Beck reports that Mike Maroth is back in the rotation and Zach Miner is out. Nate Robertson will be moved up a day to Tuesday, and the rotation will remain intact barring injuries the rest of the season,

  • Game 130: Tigers at Indians

    PREGAME: This afternoon I watched Tiger Town. You remember the movie right? A made for TV, Disney Sunday night movie about Billy Young, a Tiger legend who was nearing the end of his career and the boy that believed in him.

    I only bring this up because if Roy Scheider can lead a team from 16 games back to capture the division, than anything can happen right?

    Tonight the Tigers once again turn to Justin Verlander to play the role of stopper. Last month he pitched in Jacobs Field when the Tigers bullpen had been pretty worn out and went toe to toe with CC Sabathia for the victory. Here’s hoping he can have the same fate against Jake Westbrook.

    Game Time 7:05

  • Tigers Minor League Wrap – August 25th

    Toledo 10, Louisville 4
    Mike Maroth made his 4th rehab start. He allowed 2 runs on 7 h its, 1 walk, and 4 K’s while throwing 79 pitches over 6 innings. Ryan Ludwick was 2 for 4 including his 27th homer and Alexis Gomez singled and doubled twice. Chris Shelton was 0 for 3 with a walk and 3 K’s.

    Erie 3, Binghamton 2
    Jair Jurrjens pitched 5 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks, and 5 K’s.

    Binghamton 5, Erie 0
    PJ Finigan started and allowed all 5 runs on 8 hits. Chris Maples picked up 2 singles, which was exactly half of the team’s offensive output.

    Lakeland 7, Fort Myers 6
    Jeff Larish was 1 for 2 with 2 walks. Kevin Ardoin allowed 5 runs over 5 innings. Kevin Whelan picked up the save fanning 4 of the 5 batters he faced.

    West Michigan 3, Fort Wayne 2
    Matt Joyce homered and Cameron Maybin was 2 for 4. Matt O’Brien allowed 2 runs, both unearned, over 6 innings.

    Oneonta 12, Vermont 3
    Ronnie Bourquin and Brennan Boesch each had 3 hits. Scott sizemore took a rare 0 for 4. Zach Piccola allowed 2 runs, 1 earned, over 6 innings. Jonah Nickerson allowed only a walk and a solo homer in 3 innings of relief.

  • Game 129: Tigers at Indians

    PREGAME: The Tigers head to Jacobs field in search of their first weekend win since, well since the last time they played the Indians and swept them with late inning heroics.

    Jeremy Bonderman meanwhile will be in search of his first August decision – preferably a win of course.

    He’ll be opposed by Jeremy Sowers who’ll be facing the Tigers for the first time this year.

    Game Time 7:05

    POSTGAME: The silver linings are getting harder and harder to come by. At least Omar Infante made the most of his opportunity for whatever it’s worth.

  • Tiger links and such

    • Management by Baseball commends Jim Leyland from a management perspective. This isn’t a discussion of baseball tactics, but of how Leyland’s response to being swept by the White Sox was dead-on and helped lead to the Red Sox series victory.
    • There’s a great story about the challenges that 10 year minor league vet and Erie Seawolve Jackson Melian has encountered since being a top Yankee prospect. Early in his career, both parents were killed in a car accident while accompanying Melians team on a roadtrip.
    • The Tigers have announced their Arizona Fall League contingent. Jair Jurrgens, Preston Larrison, Jordan Tata, Kevin Whelan, Mike Rabelo, Kody Kirkland, and Brent Clevlen will be representing the Tigers and playing for the Phoenix Desert Dogs
    • .Carlos Guillen has signed on with Scott Boras. Fortunately the Tigers still have Guillen through 2007.