Archive for March, 2007


John Smoltz – The One That Got Away

While the Tigers have made a lot of big trades in their day (Rocky Colavito for Harvey Kuenn probably being the biggest), probably the one that rankles the fur of Tiger fans the most in the last 20 years is the deal that sent John Smoltz to the Braves for Doyle Alexander.  I still contend the Tigers made the right move at the time, but when it comes to the long term implications of the trade, there’s little to haggle about.

In an interesting prospect retro, John Sickels takes a look at John Smoltz’ minor league career (mostly with the Tigers) in a prospect retro.  Nice write up and a nice blast from the past.



New Sheriff in Town

Ian Cassleberry, who you all know from the Detroit Sports blog Sweaty Man Endeavors, recently took over the reins over at Bless You Boys.  Be sure to stop by and say hello and if you haven’t made the site a regular stop, now’s the time.



Jeremy Bonderman Pitches Four Strong as Tigers Edge Devil Rays

Jeremy Bonderman threw four shutout frames today as the Tigers beat the Devil Rays 3-2.  Todd Jones also got some work and he threw a perfect frame while Yorman Bazardo was touched up for the two runs that the Devil Rays scored.  With three weeks left to go, the spring games will starting taking on more and more of the air of a real game and while starters will usually be limited to around five innings, you won’t see any many throwers in a given game. 

Ivan Rodriguez hit his third homerun of the spring and with a lefty on the mound, he once again hit leadoff.  Marcus Thames doubled home a run and Omar Infante had an RBI with a sac. fly to account for the other two Tiger runs.

The Tigers also made some cuts but there were no major surprises.  You can check it all out at Tiger Minors.

Nate Robertson gets the start tomorrow on the road against the Dodgers.  It’s a 1:05 start time and the Dodgers affiliate will have the game on the radio.



Jeremy Bonderman – Cy Young Sleeper?

If everyone is expecting Jeremy Bonderman to contend for a Cy Young this year, is he really a sleeper any more?  Now you can add Beyond the Boxscore to the list of people/sites expecting big things from Jeremy Bonderman before.  There’s not a whole lot of new information here then what i’ve talked about before here on the site but it’s nice seeing some validation.  And if I’m wrong about Bonderman, a lot of people are going to be wrong.  I also like the Javier Vazquez pick.  I’ve always been a big fan of his (although now we see him more times then I’d like) and he usually ends up on my fantasy team.  It will be cool though to see these two guys go head to head if the rotations lineup correctly this season.



Mike Maroth Hit Hard Early in Spring Loss to Mets

The Mets tagged Mike Maroth for four runs in the first inning but then he went on to throw three scoreless frames to at least go his alotted four innings.  Joel Zumaya had another mixed outing.  He walked one and gave up a hit but he struck out two and got out of it to keep his ERA at a nice, cool 0.00.  Fernando Rodney pitched a perfect ninth to close things out.

Timo Perez of all people accounted for most of the Tigers offense in the 4-2 loss.  He hit his first homerun of the spring and he scored both Tiger runs. 

In the “B” game, the Tigers beat the Phillies 5-3.  Chad Durbin pitched three innings and the only hit he gave up was a solo homerun.  Marcus Thames hit his first homerun of the spring and Brent Dlugach had a big day.  He went three for four with a homerun and three RBIs.

It looks like some good news on Magglio Ordonez.  He should be back by Tuesday, which is definitely good news.  Jeremy Bonderman gets the start tomorrow against the Devil Rays.  1:05 start time.



Justin Verlander Hit Hard in Spring Loss to Red Sox

Justin Verlander was bounced after only two innings of work in which he gave up six runs on five hits and three walks (wonder where the walks came from, that’s unlike him).  Most of the damage came on Eric Hinske’s grand slam homerun.  Edward Campusano picked him up with two innings of no hit ball (I’m liking this guy more and more) and the rest of the pen pen pitched pretty well outside of Jose Mesa, who gave up a run on four hits in an 1 2/3.

Verlander wasn’t the only guy who was hit hard.  Magglio Ordenez was hit hard, in the head.  He was taken to a hospital and hopefully everything there will be okay.  Before having to leave, he singled and drove in two runs as did Carlos Guillen.  Ivan Rodriguez hit his second homerun of the spring and Placido Polanco scored twice in the 7-6 loss.

The Tigers have two games today as they split up the squads.  Three weeks until real baseball starts though.



Tigers Tops When it Comes to Starting Five

I missed this from earlier in the week, but this MLB.com story lists the Tigers as having the best starting rotation in baseball.  No major surprise based on how they did last year.  Ironically, the Tigers division rivals, the White Sox and Indians, also had a good showing.  The Tigers also showed up as the fourth best bullpen.

The



Mike Hessman Drives in Four Runs in Tigers Spring Win Over Mets

Mike Hessman had quite the day for the Tigers today in their 9-5 win over the Mets.  He homered, doubled and drove in four runs and he split time between third base and first base.  Ramon Santiago hit his second homerun of the spring and Kody Kirkland doubled and drove in three runs.  Cameron Maybin continued an impressive spring with a single, a walk and two runs.

Kenny Rogers gave up two runs on five hits with four strikeouts in four innings.  Kyle Sleeth threw another scoreless inning while Preston Larrison was knocked around for two runs in a single frame.  Justin Verlander will get his third start of the spring tomorrow in a day game against the Red Sox and Josh Beckett.



Two on Two at Baseball Analysts

I recently took part in a four person roundtable discussion at Baseball Analysts on the American League Central.  You get everyone’s impressions of each team as well as an overall look at the division.  I’ll probably take some heat because I have the Tigers finishing second (and I was the only one to have the White Sox even in the top two, much less the division winner) but it is what it is.  I’m also tempering my expectations for the team.  We can’t have a division winner every year :-).



Nate Robertson Sharp in Spring Game Against Reds

The Tigers are up 4-1 against the undefeated (for now) Reds in the fifth inning.  Oops, Ordonez just drove home Curtis Granderson so it’s now 5-1.  Nate Robertson was particularly sharp.  He struck out five Reds in 2 2/3 innings.  He gave up a single hit and he walked two.  A solid start for the team’s fourth starter.  Fernando Rodney gave up a solo shot to Adam Dunn.  Blade should be proud.  Regardless, unless the Reds can score a bunch of runs, they’re going to take their first loss.  Placido Polanco and Chris Shelton have both hit their first homeruns of the spring.

***UPDATE***

The Tigers held on to win today.  They jumped out to a 9-4 lead then Zach Miner gave up three runs in the ninth to make things interesting.  Wil Ledezma also got roughed up for three runs in one inning.  Vance Wilson went yard and Ryan Rayburn was a perfect two for two with a with two RBIs.



Carlos Guillen to First Base

In a recent THT Mailbag, David Gassko takes on the question of whether a move to first base by Carlos Guillen would dramatically decrease his value to the team.  As a shortstop, Carlos Guillen is an elite hitter but as a first baseman, he’s probably only considered good.  He concludes that while Guillen’s value to the team would go down, he’d still make a formidable and productive first baseman.  He also takes into account the three year projections that are part of the Hardball Times 2007 Preseason Book.  Interesting and to the point analysis here.



Jason Grilli Mention

This story isn’t about Jason Grilli, it’s about Padres reliever Scott Linebrink.  A lot of people forget that Jason Grilli was once a top prospect and he was taken fourth overall in 1997 draft by the Giants.  The Giants second round pick that year was Linebrink and you get some mentions of Grilli in the column.  I found the excerpt about how Grilli has narrowly missed out on three World Series rings the last three years particularly interesting.



Andrew Miller Prospect Smackdown

I should have passed this on to Mike at Tigers Minors but I found it first.  John Sickels has an interesting prospect smackdown that pits two pitching Millers against each other.  Most people know who Andrew Miller is by now but the Indians have an equally good, if not better pitching prospect in Adam Miller.  Nice write up though and you’ll learn a lot about Andrew Miller, as well as Adam Miller who we’ll be seeing quite often in years to come when the Tigers play the Indians.



Tigers and Braves Tie in Spring Contest

The Tigers and Braves played an eleven inning 4-4 tie in which plenty of pitchers got some work.  Jeremy Bonderman was touched up for a run (and it came on the only hit he gave up, a solo shot by Craig Wilson) in his three innings but he struck out two.  I talked about Edward Campusano today and he pitched a scoreless inning in which he struck out one although he got into trouble when he gave up a walk and a hit.  And Jordan Tata had a rough outing in which he walked two, gave up two runs and threw a wild pitch in a single inning.

Eleven different Tigers scattered eleven hits and probably the guy who had the best day at the plate was Neifi Perez.  He went one for three but he walked twice.  Vance Wilson had the only extra base hit on a double that he eventually scored a run on.  Nate Robertson will get the start tomorrow against the undefeated (at this moment, they take on the Yankees tonight) Reds.



Ty and the Babe

One of my favorite baseball author’s, Tom Stanton, has a new book coming out in May about the relationship between Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth.  While considered rivals, it looks like there was more to the two then the competition between the two and they eventually turned out to be good friends.  I had a brief email conversation with Mr. Stanton and he told me it might blow away a lot of the assumptions people make about the Georgia Peach so Ty and the Babe is definitely a book I’ll be picking up.

I also had the chance to meet Mr. Stanton about a year ago when he was presenting on a book he edited called the Detroit Tigers Reader, which is also a great book for Tiger fans.  Stanton blends a nice mix of home town flavor with diligent research in all of his books and while anyone can learn a thing or two, they’re especially good if you’re from the Detroit area. 



Edward Campusano and the Rule 5 Draft

I’ve quietly pushed for Edward Campusano to get the chance as the Tigers LOOGY (Left Handed One Out Guy) in 2007.  He was plucked in the Rule 5 draft from the Cubs by the Brewers then traded to the Tigers and if he doesn’t make the team, we lose him.  81 strikeouts in 54 innings is impressive at any level and that’s what he did last year.

I’m now not alone.  In a recent column at Baseball Analysts, Marc Hulet breaks down the 2006 Rule 5 draft and agrees that Campusano should be put into that left handed role.  This is a good read and while it’s not really surprising, the Tigers have made more Rule 5 picks (although the time frame isn’t specified, it’s probably the last five or so years) then any other team in baseball as of late.



A Few Positives in Tigers Spring Loss to Blue Jays

It’s spring so while a loss is a loss, it’s not always a negative and the Tigers had a few positives in today’s ten inning loss fo the Jays.  First off,  Mike Maroth threw three shutout innings and he’s looked sharp in his two starts so far.  Second, Jose Mesa struck out two in his single inning as he slowly tries to make a fool out of me for being down on him.  Third, Placido Polanco has been absolutely on fire.  He’s now hitting .714 with seven RBIs.

So it’s not all bad even though the Tigers spring standing has come pretty close to evening out at .500.  Jeremy Bonderman will get the start tomorrow against the Braves and it’s on the radio here in Detroit.



Hardball Times 2007 Season Preview

The Hardball Times has published their first season preview and you can read the details in this column.  For $9, you get a quality pdf with a ton of analysis as well as three year’s worth of projections for most players you’ll see playing in 2007.  It’s somewhat geared for fantasy baseball players and there’s a few essays in that regard but you also get a team by team look at what could and should happen in 2007.

On top of that, it’s a great way to support the site.  In my opinion (yes, I’m biased), the Hardball Times is the best free baseball website out there.  Every day you can check in and read some great baseball analysis.  By dropping $9, you get a great book and you help the site do more (like the fielding stats I mentioned, this stuff costs money).



Ninth Inning Homerun Costs Tigers Win Over Yankees

Journeyman reliever Felix Heredia gave up a walk off homerun to Yankees prospect Bronson Sardinha today in the Tigers 6-5 loss to the Yankees.  The Tigers blew a lot of chances and I know they had the bases loaded in both the first and second innings (at least, they might have also loaded them up in the fourth) but walked away with only a pair of runs (and they were both on bases loaded walks).

Justin Verlander was knocked around for three runs including a two run shot by Hideki Matsui.  Andrew Miller gave up a run in his two innings of work but Zach Miner looked sharp with two shutout innings.

Ivan Rodriguez had two hits and two runs while Placido Polanco had two hits and two RBIs.  The Tigers play the Blue Jays tomorrow and it doesn’t look like it’ll be picked up by either the Tigers or the Blue Jays so all we’ll get is a box score.



Making Room for Marcus Thames

I just got my copy of Baseball Prospectus 2007 today.  BP was one of the first annuals I started buying and while it’s now become one of several books I pick up every year, it’s still a joy getting it in the mail and I still find myself flipping through an older edition now and then (which I did when I did my write up on Chad Durbin).

One of the first Tiger writeups that stood out was Marcus Thames.  His projection has him at .257/.342/.521 with 27 homeruns in 452 plate appearances.  No other Tiger has more projected homeruns and this is a guy who as of right now, has no every day spot in the Tigers lineup.  They’re trying him at first base to give the Tigers a left/right platoon at first but this is a guy who should be in the lineup every day.

Which gets us to Craig Monroe.  I know he came up with some timely hits last year but I’m still going to contend that if given the choice, Marcus Thames should be the starter in left field.  Monroe is probably the better fielder but not enough to warrant more at bats then Thames.  And of course Monroe’s projections come out at a more mediocre .265/.316/.458 with 21 homeruns in 553 plate appearances. 

And I don’t want to sound like I’m down on Monroe because I think he’s a good ballplayer, I just think Thames is better.  For some reason though, Thames has been on the short end of the left field stick and it looks like only a trade (whether it’s Thames or Monroe) will free up Thames.  I just have a feeling that if a deal is made, it’ll be the wrong guy that goes.

***UPDATE 3/6/07***

I didn’t notice this until today, but it’s Marcus Thames’ birthday.  He’s now 30.  Happy birthday Marcus.



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