Tigers Minor League Wrap 4-15-08
Toledo 1 Lehigh Valley 4
Timo Perez was the offensive star with 2 hits and a walk. Jackson Melian hit a solo homer. Recently promoted Jon Connolly allowed 2 run over 5 innings on 2 walks and 1 strikeout.
Bowie 5 Erie 6
Jeff Frazier had 2 hits and a walk. Freddy Guzman added two hits and is sitting at .345. Josh Rainwater took the loss with 3 runs allowed in 4.1 innings. Casey Fien pitched 2 scoress innings.
Sarasota 3 Lakeland 17
Cale Iorg and Scott Sizemore each had 2 hits, each homered, and each had 4 RBI. Brandon Timm, Michael Bertram, and Jeff Kunkel all had 3 hits. Jonah Nickerson allowed 2 runs over 5 innings fanning 4 and walking none.
West Michigan 5 Peoria 1
Joseph Tucker and Jordan Newton each had 3 hits and Audy Ciriaco added 2. Alfredo Figaro pitched 7 innings allowing only 1 unearned run on 4 hits while fanning 8 and walking 4.
Junkballing: Injury updates and more
Being at the game last night, I’m way behind on the injury updates. But let’s get caught up…
Rodney
It’s not quite official, but it’s looking like Fernando Rodney might be toast – at least for this season. He is headed to Alabama for a consult with Dr. James Andrews. Given his injury prone past, and the pattern or not being able to stay healthy for two months at a time last year, and the inability to throw without pain right out of the gate this year, it’s all bad news.
Granderson
And some good news for Curtis Granderson who took
live batting practice today. He also ran the bases, which I’m less concerned about. I haven’t seen anything from the team about a return date, but I’m guessing it is next week.
Sheffield
Detroit Tigers Thoughts points to an analysis of Gary Sheffield’s shoulder. Reports of tearing scar tissue don’t sound good, but the results have been impressive the last 3 days. Was it what was needed, or is it a short term gain in exchange for longer term risk?
Robertson
This is brand spanking new, but he left tonight’s game with some lat pain on his throwing side. In the locker room Nate said the plan was for some anti-inflammatory medicine and he doesn’t expect to miss a start at this time.
Verlander
Okay, don’t freak out. He may not be injured at all. But Dave Cameron blogging for Fangraphs notes that
Verlander’s velocity is down significantly and his other stats are moving in the wrong direction as well. I think it’s too soon to call it an injury at this point but it is something to watch.
Leftovers
Bless You Boys delves into Craig Monroe’s quotes about being bitter. Like Ian I can appreciate Monroe’s view point. Yes if he’d played better this wouldn’t have happened and so on and so forth. And to his credit he didn’t slam the organization on the way out or after the fact.
Game 14: Twins at Tigers
PREGAME: Last night’s win was great and dramatic and uplifting. It reminded me in some respects of a dramatic come from behind victory against the Blue Jays last September. The win was supposed to propel the team back into the playoff hunt. Instead Chad Durbin came out and gave up 5 runs without making it out of the 3rd inning. So there’s some pressure on Nate Robertson tonight to let last night’s effort emotion carry over.
Robertson hasn’t been sharp in his first 2 outings, but not awful either. Working in his favor are 11 K’s in 10.1 innings. Not working in his favor are 19 baserunners and 198 pitches in those 10.1 innings.
Scott Baker is taking the mound for the Twins. He turned in a gem of a game in Comerica Park where he lost a 1-0 duel on an 8th inning Marcus Thames homer. That might be part of the reason Thames is in the lineup over Jacque Jones tonight despite Baker having 846 OPS allowed against lefties as opposed to .735 for righties.
MIN @ DET, Tuesday, April 15, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com
POSTGAME: Now that is the powerful middle of the order in action. Sheffield-Ordonez-Cabrera-Guillen, or 3-4-5-6 all went deep tonight. Maggs doubled in the tying run and the foursome accounted for all 6 RBI. Continue reading Game 14: Twins at Tigers
Tigers Minor League Wrap 4-14-08
Abridged version today:
Toledo 2 Buffalo 7
Bowie 10 Erie 3
Dusty Ryan had a 3 run homer
Sarasota 9 Lakeland 4
Cale Iorg doubled, homered, and walked.
West Michigan 0 Peoria 4
Hey Detroit, baseball is fun again
It’s amazing what a big come from behind victory can do for the spirits of a team, or a fanbase, or a blogger. I was freezing in the stands for this game. Cracking sarcastic remarks about the fates of our Tigers. I saw a glimmer of hope when the team plated 4 runs in the 6th inning to cut the lead to 1 run. I seethed in the top of the 7th as I began to compose my post game report in my head. Needless to say it had a very different working title. But then everything turned around as the Tigers batted around in the top of the 8th inning.
Continue reading Hey Detroit, baseball is fun again
Game 13: Twins at Tigers
PREGAME: Jeremy Bonderman and Nick Blackburn.
The mind is a strange thing, men. We must begin by asking it…
…”What is losing?”
Losing is a disease…as contagious as polio…
Losing is a disease…as contagious as syphilis…
Losing is a disease…as contagious as bubonic plague…
… attacking one… but infecting all.
But curable.
I’m off to the game.
MIN @ DET, Monday, April 14, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com
Game Time 7:05
links for 2008-04-14
-
The Dodgers invited a group of bloggers for a night in a suite and some conversation with Ned Colleti, Frank McCourt, and Tommy Lasorda.
-
Pretty much what the title implies
When managers attack: Part II
With the Tigers struggling the first two weeks, there has been a lot of grumbling that manager Jim Leyland needs to light into the team. Well, Mount Leyland erupted following today’s game.
Leyland had previously downplayed such a tactic saying that it can’t be a show. It has to be something that is real and genuine. As I watched today’s debacle, specifically the Zach Miner sequence that involved an intentional walk, followed by a wild pitch, followed by an unintentional walk, followed by a grand slam I wondered to myself how could Leyland not muster up the necessary vitriol. Not that Zach Miner deserved to be the sole recipient, it’s not like the team was even in the game up to that point. It was just a glaring manifestation of the poor play that has overtaken this team.
Details of the rant are scant but it sounds like Leyland and the players have been doing some soul searching.
“We look bad,” he admitted Sunday. “You always feel from a manager’s standpoint that you’re not pushing the right buttons. Are you saying the right things? You beat yourself up harder than anyone else. You ask yourself whether you’re doing something different from what you did the last two years.”
We all remember in 2006 when Leyland went off on the team following a lackluster effort on get-away day against the Indians. It was credited with propelling the team forward. My own take is that the rant probably played a small role, but a come from behind win against the A’s a couple days later was the bigger factor. Still, with the last two games coming on top of a 7 game skid to start the season, something or anything is needed. And let’s pray it works. It’s the kind of tactic that you can’t go to over and over again.
Tigers Minor League Wrap 4-13-08
Toledo 6 Buffalo 4
Jeff Larish doubled twice and walked. Brent Clevlen and Matt Joyce each homered. Derek Wathan and Jackson Melian each had 3 hits. Eddie Bonine went 6 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk, and 4 K’s.
Erie – PPD
Lakeland 0 Clearwater 5
Rick Porcello had his roughest outing to date lasting only 4 innings. Still he allowed all of 4 hits and 2 walks while fanning 5 so only 2 runs crossed the plate. Cale Iorg had 2 hits to lead the “attack.”
West Michigan 2 Clinton 6
Chris Carlson had 2 hits, and that was the only noteworthy performance. Jon Kibler pitched 6 innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, a walk, and 5 K’s.
Game 12: Tigers at White Sox
PREGAME: Now that the first pesky win is out of the way, as is the second win, can we get a series win? Am I being greedy?
The Tigers send out Kenny Rogers who was fairly efficient his first time out against the Royals, but who labored against the Red Sox. Javier Vazquez will be throwing for the Sox. He notched a quality start his last time out against the Twins, but allowed 9 baserunners over 5 innings in his season debut against the Indians.
DET @ CHW, Sunday, April 13, 2008 Game Preview – Baseball-Reference.com
Game Time 2:05
POSTGAME: At least they didn’t hit into any double plays today.
I’ll have more later tonight.
Tigers Minor League Wrap 4-11-08
Toledo 0 Buffalo 3
The Tigers weren’t the only team to get blanked today. The Mud Hens were held to 3 hits. Chris Lambert took the loss allowing 3 runs in 5 innings on 7 hits, a walk, and 3 K’s. Casey Fossum threw 2 scoreless innings fanning 2.
Binghamton 11 Erie 10
Max St. Pierre was one of 5 Seawolves with 2 hit games. St. Pierre homered for one of his hits and he also drew a walk. Andrew Kown allowed 10 runs in 4 innings on 12 hits.
Lakeland 5 Clearwater 4
Cale Iorg had a 4 hit day and Michael Bertram added 3. James Skelton singled and walked twice. Jeramy Laster had 2 hits and 2 stolen bases. Luis Marte struggled with control walking 4 in 4 innings leading to 3 runs. Freddy Dolsi struck out 2 in picking up the save.
West Michigan 7 Clinton 8
Cory MIddleton had 2 hits. Justin Henry singled and walked and Kyle Peter walked twice. Kody Kaiser tripled and walked. Manny Miguelez didn’t make it out of the 2nd inning before allowing 6 runs on 3 walks and a strikeout.