Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Wednesday's Tigers Lineup; What the Heck is Leyland Thinking?!

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

The Tigers are struggling, that's obvious. They have run into the second best offense in the American League in Boston and are scuffling to score runs. Even their ace Justin Verlander couldn't give them a win, so Manager Jim Leyland sent down the wallowing Ryan Raburn and brought up catcher Omir Santos from the Toledo Mud Hens.

Why would he do that? Bringing up Santos gives the Tigers three catchers on the roster with Alex Avila and Gerald Laird; well Leyland's lineup for Wednesday's game with the Red Sox shows why he called up Santos.

Quintin Berry CF
Danny Worth 2B
Miguel Cabrera 3B
Prince Fielder 1B
Delmon Young LF
Brennan Boesch RF
Jhonny Peralta SS
Alex Avila C
Gerald Laird DH

First off, what the hell is Leyland thinking? Oh the team just lost two games to the Red Sox and we're trying to avoid being swept; let's put Delmon Young, the worst left fielder possibly to ever play baseball in the field and have him to to catch wall balls off the Green Monster. And you know what? We've shown absolutely no confidence in Worth to this point, so lets throw him in at second in the order and see what happens.

But wait, there needs to be a designated hitter and we already put the butcher in left field so who can give us a big bat in the order? Certainly not Andy Dirks, one of the best hitters on the team, let's put Laird out there as the DH, he can get us some big hits.

Santos was needed specifically for this lineup, because with Laird DH'ing, if Detroit needs to replace Avila they can't use Laird or else they would lose the DH, so Santos fills that void. Because of that reason Tigers fans can expect to see this completely idiotic lineup several more times before Austin Jackson returns from the DL. 

This lineup is complete lunacy and shows that Leyland has no idea what to do with this team and his lack of a consistent lineup is hurting this team. If the Tigers can go out and have the same lineup each day they would begin to gel as a club and begin to hit.

Boston has Jon Lester pitching tonight, which if you look at it could be why Leyland pulled Dirks out of the lineup "to play the matchups," but Lester is 0-4 against the Tigers in his career; put the best team on the field every day, regardless of the pitcher and you will win games.

Sorry, but if this doesn't put a fork in Leyland, nothing will. 

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Tigers Demote Ryan Raburn; Who Do They Call Up?


 By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

It finally happened, the Tigers were out of options to deal with the struggling Ryan Raburn and opted to send him down to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens after Tuesday's game with the Boston Red Sox. Raburn had a very respectable spring training, but once the season started so did Raburn's troubles. When he was demoted on Tuesday he was hitting just .146.

While it has been his style to struggle in the early portion of the season before flipping a switch and playing like an all star after the break, but this season's swoon, coupled with the team's struggles, caused Detroit to pull the leash on their second baseman.

Following the Tigers loss to the Red Sox on Monday, Jim Leyland said that he thought that he may have given Raburn too much leash so far this season and that he would have a much shorter one from then on. Well, it must have been very short.

There was no corresponding roster move made in Toledo after Raburn was optioned down tonight; one is expected to come on Wednesday. Raburn's struggles have been historic for him; the only time his on-base percentage was lower was in 2004 when he played just 12 games with the Tigers and had only 29 at-bat's. Currently, his OBP is sitting at .209 with a on-base percentage plus slugging of .420, which is terrible in the major leagues.

There was speculation abound Tuesday night as to who would be called up to replace Raburn in the Detroit lineup; first instinct was that the Tigers would call on another second baseman in Eric Patterson. But that was quickly shut down when Tigers beat writer Jason Beck tweeted that the player to be called up would not be a second baseman, per Jim Leyland.

That being said, speculation shifted elsewhere that the Tigers would go and bring up a reliever. Only problem with that is that the Tigers already have seven relievers in the bullpen and five starters. By carrying 12 pitchers on staff, Detroit limits itself on the bench.

The Tigers should bring up Mud Hens designated hitter Brad Eldred to replace Ryan Raburn. By recalling Eldred, Detroit would maintain a more normal bench and would add a big bat that they could bring into a game in the late innings. As it stands, if the Tigers need to go to the bench in the late innings they can turn to Danny Worth, Gerald Laird or Don Kelly. Not exactly murder's row is it?

By adding Eldred the Tigers would be able to have pop off the bench that they dont currently possess and because he can't play a position in the field they would have no problem sending him back down to Toledo when Austin Jackson comes off the disabled list.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Avila Helpless As Opponents Run Wild on Tigers


By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

Last season the Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila threw out 32 percent of runners attempting to steal on his pitcher and himself, this season it's a different story, Avila's caught stealing percentage is at 27 percent. Over the last several series his caught stealing numbers are below 14 percent, but it's not Avila's fault, and here's why.

When a runner takes off from first base in an attempt to steal second, he is not stealing on the catcher, he is stealing the base off of the pitcher. Runners typically do not take off on the first delivery to the plate by the pitcher, why? They are watching his motion and timing his delivery to the plate, once they have figured out how the pitcher works, they run for it.

Throwing out a runner at second base is a tough task for a catcher. There are many factors that go into catching the would be base-stealer like; pitch selection and location, is the batter swinging or bunting, how fast is the runner, and who is covering the bag.

First things first, it takes the entire team to hold the runner at first base, not just the pitcher and not just the catcher. The pitcher needs to vary his delivery to the plate to throw off the base-runner, he needs to step off the rubber or throw over to first just to keep the runner close to the bag and honest. Catchers and infielders have the job of watching the runner and alerting the pitcher to when he is leaning too far off the base.

If it gets beyond picking the runner off first base it comes down to what and where the pitch lands. A catchers dream pitch to catch a runner is a mid-90's fastball down the middle where they can get it out of their glove, pop up and fire across the diamond. More often than not it's not a fastball, it's a slider on the inside corner with the batter swinging. Not only does the catcher have to follow the ball across the plate, he has to avoid the bat and try to bring the glove up so he can get the ball out and throw it to second.

Over the last several games, especially in the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins series, opponents have been running on Tigers pitching like crazy. It helps that both teams have speedy players on the roster, but there has been no help given to either the pitcher or Avila during those series. Prince Fielder, Ryan Raburn and Jhonny Peralta have not been watching the runner so they could help out their pitcher, which allows the runner to get a huge jump off the bag, making it much easier to steal second.

Manager Jim Leyland has said that he hasn't been calling for pitchers to throw over to first base much lately, saying that when Justin Verlander is on the mound he allows the Tigers ace to do his own thing with the runners. This lack of any kind of threat while taking a lead is allowing opponents to move multiple runners into scoring position a game, something that almost cost Detroit the game with the Twins on Sunday.

Listening to the Tigers radio broadcast one can hear Dan Dickerson and Jim Price lament each time another opponent steals a base and explain how Avila has done everything right but is not getting a chance to throw runners out. He gets the ball late and the runner is allowed to get a massive jump on him making his throw, no matter how on target, too late to catch the runner.

Detroit is slowly starting to score runs and pitch better than they have been, but they will struggle to continue to win games if they don't stop runners from stealing bases on a regular basis. A runner stealing second may not seem like a big play, but it is huge. A steal of second gets the runner into scoring position and with the amount of steals the Tigers are allowing those become runs. When a team can't stop an opponent from stealing, they lose.

Someone in the infield needs to step up and help out the pitching staff and Avila, and fast, before these stolen bags start to become stolen games.

Friday, May 25, 2012

What Can Berry Do For You?


By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

Austin Jackson was having a renaissance season, he was hitting and drawing walks as well as playing the elite center field that Tigers fans have come to expect. But a funky swing in an at-bat in Chicago tweaked something in Jackson's back and it just wasn't right. He rested it for a number of days and when he felt it could be ready to go he stepped into the batting cage for some batting practice in Cleveland. However, Jackson's back disagreed with his time table for returning to the lineup and after re-aggravating it in BP the Tigers placed him on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to a week earlier, and called up Quintin Berry from the Toledo Mud Hens.

So who exactly is Berry and what can he do for the Tigers? First things first, he can play a tremendous center field. He has the range, plus some, of Jackson and so far with the Tigers he has shown that he has a decent arm from center field as well. While he might not have the arm that Jackson does in the field, he won't need to use it with the speed that he possesses.

Tigers fans have come to see Jackson as the only source of speed on their roster, and for the most part they are right, but the addition of Berry to the lineup gives the Tigers something they haven't had in a long time; blistering speed. Berry isn't just fast, he's Usain Bolt fast. With the kind of raw speed that Berry has, he can steal a base despite the entire stadium knowing that he is going to try for the steal.

That kind of speed can change games. Just think about the last time the Tigers played the Angels; every time one of their runners reached base they at least threatened to steal second, or even third, base. And because of that threat Tigers pitching threw over to the bag multiple times and the pitcher was unable to focus on the batter because he was thinking about the runner on base.

One thing that this Detroit team lacks is speed. Jackson was the Tigers only speed and possible base stealer, and opposing teams knew that. Once Jackson was off the bases there was no urgency paid to the runners and the pitcher was able to focus wholly on the batter. With the addition of Berry opponents will have to implement all the tools at their disposal to keep him from stealing; throws to the bag, look overs, pitch-out's, snap throws by the catcher.

But when the dugout and pitching battery are strategizing about the runner who has already reached base, that is a mental victory for the Tigers. Berry has stolen 55 bags in a season while in the minors, he is the real deal. When Jackson returns to the lineup, Berry should stay with him if the Tigers truly want to make a run.

Beyond stealing bases Berry makes the opponents rush every play that he is involved in. For instance, in Cleveland there were two plays where Berry's speed helped the Tigers despite neither of them being the theft of second base. Berry laid down a bunt, presumably to try to catch the Indians off balance, but due to his speed he pulled the second baseman out of position and turned an ordinary bunt into a bunt double and his first major league hit.

Another instance was when Berry rolled over a ball and the pitcher charged off the mound to grab it and throw him out at first. This is an ordinary play, but because the pitcher knew in the back of his head how fast Berry was he rushed the throw and pulled his first baseman off the bag.

While his bat hasn't shown up yet with Detroit, the sample size is still small and he should be given more of a chance. But if he does begin to get hot at the plate when Jackson is ready to return the Tigers need to keep him in the every day lineup. Berry could be shifted over to left field and Jackson would be able to reclaim his position in center field. Andy Dirks, who is currently manning left field, could be moved to the DH position.

The odd man out in that situation would be Delmon Young, who prior to his arrest in New York was the Tigers every day left fielder. Since his incident he has been the DH in almost every game that he has played. Seemingly Detroit would like to keep his bat in the lineup without sacrificing defense in left field. However, his bat hasn't really showed up and something needs to be done to spark this team and keep them hot.

Berry is that spark and that spark should be tindered and cared for until it goes out. Detroit needs to ride their lightning bolt as long as they can.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Starlin Castro to the Tigers?


By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

It's probably safe to say that the Chicago Cubs will not be winning much of anything this season, and because of that, they will most likely be sellers at the trade deadline to try to build up their stockpiles of young talent. Chicago has plenty of talent available that is enticing enough that other teams will come calling; Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster and Alfonso Soriano.

One player that has long been on the Cubs "untouchable" list is Starlin Castro, their phenom short stop. But with the Cubs in need of young talent to restock the club, Castro could prove to be just too much of a cash cow for them not to use.

Castro would bring in top prospects into the Cubs organization and General Manager Theo Epstein has shown in Boston that he is not afraid to trade talent to get talent back. The 22-year-old short stop will more than likely have his name come up many times before the trade deadline passes, and if the team that mentions his name is willing to offer enough for him, then the Cubs could part ways with Castro.

A player the caliber of Castro would require at least two top-tier prospects to begin to grease the wheels, it may take even more to land him. ESPN's Buster Olney says that the number of prospects that Castro could be worth will depend on where other teams see him playing defensively in the future. Olney says that during his time at short stop he is making too many mistakes, but his bat is a plus at the position. Should the teams think to move Castro to third base, his defensive numbers improve but his bat becomes only average at the position.

But as of now the Cubs are playing Castro at short stop and that is most likely what he will continue to play; at short stop just about every team would be able to make room for him, including the Detroit Tigers. Detroit has been rumored to have been in contact with Epstein since he made the trip from Boston in regards to acquiring RHP Matt Garza.

Garza could easily slip into the second or third spot in the Tigers pitching rotation and give them a boost, but it would be irresponsible for Detroit to not inquire about the availability of Castro. While a deal for Garza was rumored to take top-prospect Jacob Turner and current right fielder Brennan Boesch; a deal for both Garza and Castro would take just about everything the Tigers have in the farm system.

With Detroit's farm system as lean as it is a deal for Garza and Castro would more than likely take Turner, Boesch, top positional prospect Nick Castellanos and catching prospect Rob Brantly. The cost may be staggering for the Tigers, but if they truly are in a win now type of situation, then this is a deal that could likely happen.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Is Mud Hens Cale Iorg Criticizing Peralta After Verlander's One-Hitter?

From the Toledo Blade
By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

Story updated May 19 at 11:12 p.m.

It's hard to find anything wrong with Justin Verlander's one-hit performance from Friday night, so Mud Hens short stop Cale Iorg found fault with someone else on the Tigers; Jhonny Peralta.

In the world of social media athletes can find themselves compelled to talk about the things that they would never say if there was a microphone in front of their face, but when it's a cell phone screen or computer monitor, things are different.

Verlander had mowed through the Pittsburgh lineup and gotten into the ninth inning with a no-hitter intact. He retired the first batter of the inning before Pirates' Josh Harrison hit a ball back up the middle, just out of the reach of Detroit's short stop Jhonny Peralta, for the Pirates only hit of the night.

Most fans were disappointed, and it even looked like Verlander mouthed the word "sorry" to the crowd following the final out, but most people attributed it to baseball being baseball and let it die. Not Iorg, who took to Twitter following the Mud Hens impressive comeback game.

At 11:04 p.m. Iorg posted this Twitter message;



That seems like a shot at Peralta by Iorg. Saying that Peralta didn't do enough to try to get to the ball to try to preserve Verlander's no-hitter. Iorg may say that now, but when it comes time to play the field in the ninth inning of a major league no-hitter, if he is so lucky, he may not be so sure about diving for anything "a few feet away."

Perhaps if Peralta had dove he may have been able to get the webbing of his glove on the ball and it may have slowed the ball down, but would he have been able to get up and gun it over to first in time to beat the runner? Maybe, maybe not.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and Iorg believes that Peralta should have at least attempted a dive at the ball. Tigers fans can think what they will about the game and the play, but Iorg may want to think before he presses send from now on.

A tweet was sent to Iorg asking for clarification on his original tweet, seen above. He responded with this tweet;



So perhaps he wasn't criticizing Peralta, but it sure sounded that way. Could just be chalked up to a young player getting excited after a chance at a no-hitter and not thinking before sending a tweet. Iorg is a solid young player and this is nothing in the grand scheme of things, he could be on his way to playing in the field in a no-hitter bid rather soon.

Calvin Johnson Goes Yard During Tigers BP

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

With Austin Jackson sidelined for a few games with a sore back, it looks like the Tigers may have found their new center fielder in the stadium right next door, Calvin Johnson.

The Madden cover boy headed to Comerica Park for batting practice before the Tigers game with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday and may have surprised a few people with his power in the cage. It took swing a few swings but Johnson eventually hit a ball to left field that cleared the bullpen wall for a home run.

With his hat turned backwards Johnson reminds you of Ken Griffey, Jr. doesn't he? Maybe the Tigers might want to run the thought of having Johnson roam center field for a couple games past Lions management. The answer would undoubtedly be a resounding no, but hey, this team needs some kind of spark.

Check out the video of Johnson going yard, courtesy of Fox Sports Detroit.

http://www.foxsportsdetroit.com/05/18/12/Calvin-Johnson-goes-deep/landing_tigers.html?blockID=731578&feedID=3706

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Tigers Second Base Trade Targets


By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

It's safe to say that the Tigers struggle a little bit at second base right now, with Baseball America projecting the 2015 starting second baseman to be Ramon Santiago there is a problem. Either the Tigers give Danny Worth the at-bats he requires to see if he could be their option or they move uber-prospect Nick Castellanos to second from third in the minors to develop him, which may be the way they ultimately go; but what does Detroit do at the trade deadline?

There are a couple of players that could be on the Tigers radar, they are solid players, nothing worthy of a blockbuster, but good players that could bring a bit of consistency to the line up. One Tigers fans have seen for years and is a Michigan native, the other isn't as familiar to Detroit fans but they will get a chance to see him soon.

Neil Walker - Pittsburgh Pirates

2011 - .273 BA  .334 OBP  .408 SLG  
2012 (34 games) - .269 BA  .321 OBP  .336 SLG
Career - .279 BA  .336 OBP  .415 SLG

Walker plays both second and third base, but is primarily a second baseman. A native Pennsylvanian, he stands 6'3" and weighs 210 lbs.

The 26 year-old was drafted 11th overall in the first round of the 2004 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates and debuted in the majors on Sept. 1, 2009. Walker was pre-arbitration eligible this season and is being paid $500K, he is eligible for arbitration in 2013 and stands to make a bit more money at that time. Under contract until 2017, Walker could be the bridge the Tigers need to get them from their current state to one where Castellanos has made the transition to second base.

Pittsburgh is once again out of the race early and will surely be sellers at the deadline, but Walker is seen to be a promising young player and may take a few pieces of eight (see what I did there?) to pry away from the Pirates. Detroit has a stable of young arms in the minors that may be just tempting enough to persuade the Pirates to part ways with Walker.

Would only take mid-level talent to get Walker; Jacob Turner and Castellanos will not be remotely considered in the deal. Could be a Casey Crosby or Adam Wilk type player or two to land Walker.

Chris Getz - Kansas City Royals

2011 - .255 BA  .313 OBP  .287 SLG
2012 (26 games) - .282 BA  .333 OBP  .408 SLG
Career - .255 BA  .316 OBP  .314 SLG

Getz is a prototypical second baseman, standing 5'11" and weighing 185 lbs. the Michigan native and University of Michigan alum could be a cheap get from the Royals.

Despite preseason hype, the Royals are once again near the bottom of the American League Central. Their rookies are not producing as they had hoped and their pitching is just as bad. The Royals will once again be sellers at the trade deadline, their big name players will be untouchable, but players like Getz could be an easy...get.

The 28 year-old was drafted in the fourth round of the 2005 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox and played with Chicago in 2008 before heading to Kansas City in 2009. Getz was eligible for first-year arbitration in 2012 and is earning $968K this year. He is eligible for full arbitration in 2013 and is under contract until 2015.

A trade for Getz may be very similar to the one it took for Detroit to acquire Wilson Betemit last season. Now stop and think, who did the Tigers give up in order to get Betemit; and don't cheat and look it up. Exactly, you have no idea. Detroit gave up two Class-A minor-league prospects Antonio Cruz and Julio Rodriguez in that deal.

While a trade for Getz may take just a bit more than what it took for Betemit, it wouldn't take much more. So if Dombrowski can find a few minor leaguers that the Royals are interested in Getz could be coming home.




 

Monday, May 14, 2012

What Do Tigers Do With Nick Castellanos?


By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

At the beginning of the 2012 season many Tigers fans were lamenting their team's defense, it was thought that the Miguel Cabrera experiment at third base wouldn't last 100 games because of his poor play - now that that has been proven false the Tigers are left with a problem, what to do with star third base prospect Nick Castellanos.

The Tigers are high on Castellanos, which explains why they drafted him 44th overall in the 2010 MLB Draft, but they drafted him as a third baseman and eventual replacement for Brandon Inge. Well, two things have changed. Inge is no longer with the team, and an all-star took his spot at third for the foreseeable future.

General Manager Dave Dombrowski has said in the past that they would continue to develop Castellanos as a third baseman, but that was before Cabrera showed that he could field the hot corner admirably. The question has continued to press on Dombrowski about Castellanos' future; he was moved from Single-A West Michigan to Single-A+ Lakeland this season and has tore the place up.

The Lakeland Flying Tigers have played Castellanos in all 34 games this season, at third base, but in those games he has had 134 at-bat's and has responded with a .403 batting average a .450 on-base percentage and a 1.009 on-base percentage plus slugging. In short, he's really good.

It is obvious that it is time to move Castellanos up a league to Double-A Erie, but when that move comes does he make the trip to Pennsylvania as a third baseman, shortstop or second baseman? With Cabrera occupying the hot corner at present and looking like he likely won't relinquish it any time soon it appears that Castellanos needs to be moved to a new position, but what?

Detroit just resigned Jhonny Peralta to a two-year extension, which means that shortstop is filled for the time being but that could change in the next couple of seasons. Castellanos has played shortstop in his baseball career, it was in the distant past, but not impossible for him to move one spot over.

Second base is where the Tigers have the overwhelming majority of their problems at the moment. Currently on the major league roster Detroit has three "second basemen," in Ryan Raburn, Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth. Raburn has set a new standard for poor play this season, so he is clearly no threat to Castellanos. Santiago has been, and remains, a utility player and backup at best, meaning that he is not and never will be an every day player.

Worth is still a bit of an enigma for Detroit as they have not gotten him enough at-bat's to be able to tell what they have in him, but even if he settles in and solves the Tigers problems at second for the time being, it would be hard to favor him over the kind of talent that Castellanos brings.

According to Baseball America, Castellanos is the Tigers second best prospect in their system right behind Jacob Turner. He is also ranked as the best hitter for average and best power hitter in the Tigers entire farm system. The projections came out prior to the Prince Fielder deal and Cabrera's shift to third base, but Baseball America has Castellanos projected to be the Tigers 2015 starting third baseman.

The same projection of the 2015 Tigers has Santiago as the starting second baseman, meaning that Detroit has no other options at that position. So if Cabrera, who is projected to be the 2015 first baseman, will still be playing and Detroit has no better options at second than Santiago, then Castellanos may have just found his spot.

Castellanos is not built in the typical second baseman form, he stands 6'4" and weighs 220 lbs., quite big for a second baseman. Although it is not unheard of for a second baseman to be 6'4", Cal Ripken was also 6'4" and 200 lbs., it is rare. With his power, a switch to second would draw comparisons of Dan Uggla for Castellanos.

Uggla stands 5'11" and weighs 205 lbs., but a comparison of Castellanos to Uggla would be a fair one. Both are power hitters who can field their position. Both have extra base power, after 34 games in Lakeland Castellanos has 15 extra base hits and both have obscenely good OPS numbers.

At third base Castellanos has drawn comparisons to Evan Longoria. Longoria is 6'2" and 210 lbs. and possesses the kind of power that many players dream of. If Castellanos can draw comparisons to both Longoria and Uggla, the Tigers need to hold onto him and treat him like the once in a lifetime prospect that he is.


Saturday, May 12, 2012

There's No One Thing Going Wrong with Tigers, It's Multifaceted

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

With their loss on Saturday night in Oakland the Detroit Tigers fell below .500 for the first time since May 29, 2011. But it's early, right? Detroit was right around .500 at this time last season and ended up going to the American League Championship Series; so what's there to worry about, right?

Wrong. Everything clicked last season. Remember the Tigers chasing the 2002 Oakland A's consecutive win's streak last season? That helped a little bit. But so many players had career years in 2011 that it skewed peoples expectations for this season.

If there was just one thing going wrong with the Tigers they would find it and fix it, but there isn't just one thing wrong with this team. It permeates every facet of this team and makes it impossible to fix this club with one fell swoop.

Rick Porcello's last start aside the Tigers rotation is probably the only good thing going for Detroit right now. In Detroit's last 13 games the starters have combined for a 2.62 ERA. While Doug Fister struggled a bit on Saturday, he has been good since coming back from the disabled list. Porcello couldn't keep his pitches down in the zone and when you're a ground ball pitcher that is death. But the starters aren't the problem.

Over the same 13 game span in which the starters have compiled a 2.62 ERA the Tigers bullpen has consistently imploded and has a 8.90 ERA over 13 games. Among the pitchers currently in the pen, the bullpen has averaged a 1.36 WHIP this season. These are supposed to be the most clutch pitchers on staff, they are supposed to be able to come into a game and slam the door, not give up runs. And when your relief pitchers are giving up an average of about one and a half base runners per inning there is a major problem.

On to hitting. Or lack of hitting for that matter. Over the Tigers last seven losses the offense has scored; 2,2,2,2,1,4 and 1 runs in each loss respectively. The lack of runs stems from the team's inability to get on base; this season the regular nine starters have averaged just a .321 on-base percentage.

A more telling statistic is the on-base percentage plus slugging, or OPS. The same nine starters that factored in to the on-base percentage stat were averaged for their OPS. First, an explanation of what a good OPS is. An OPS between .700 and .800 is mediocre, anything over .800 is a solid starter and anything over 1.000 is elite status.

That being said, when an average is taken of the OPS' of; Alex Avila, Prince Fielder, Ryan Raburn, Jhonny Peralta, Miguel Cabrera, Andy Dirks, Austin Jackson, Brennan Boesch and Delmon Young they average out to .740. With a team OPS smack dab in the middle of mediocre-ville nothing will ever get done offensively with this club.

Those same nine players have combined this season for a sub-par .264 batting average, while failing to drive in very many runs. Over the Tigers first 32 games they have allowed 144 runs while only scoring 138; with those numbers being crunched they spit out a figure that puts their win/loss at 15-17, while their record actually being at 16-16.

Consistency is something this team lacks; second base is the major offender there. With all three candidates; Ryan Raburn, Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth fairing quite poorly it is obvious that something needs to be done, but what? First of all, Raburn should never be near the lineup, starting or otherwise, ever again. Trade him for a bucket of baseballs, at least they would be useful.

Santiago has been solid defensively, but poor offensively. With a .163 BA, .208 OBP and .432 OPS he is far from the answer Detroit needs at second base. Santiago could be used later in games as a defensive replacement but should not see his name on the starting lineup card for some time. Worth is a bit of an unknown still as he has not been given enough at-bat's. He has 14 at-bat's this season, no where near the 100 that he needs to get for the Tigers to be able to judge what they have in him.

Worth has a .214/.353/.567 split, not too bad in the OBP column but in each of the other categories he needs improvement. It is too soon to tell if that is because he is not starting material, but he needs to get more at-bat's more consistently in order for the Tigers to find out if he is the answer to their problems or if they need to go out and trade for Chris Getz or Neil Walker.

So while the Tigers are struggling and the talk radio show phone lines will fill up with people who have "pin pointed" to all of Detroit's problems, but they are wrong. There is not just one problem for this team, there are many problems and not near enough solutions.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Oh Brandon, Do You Think Tigers Fans Are Stupid?


By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

Oh Brandon, when will you learn? Tigers fans don't want to hate you, they really don't. These people still come to Tigers games sporting jerseys and shirts with "Inge" plastered across the shoulders. Believe me, they want to still like you, but you're making it difficult.

First you sound like a two-year-old when you get to Oakland when you say that it didn't matter that Detroit released you because you were going to ask to be released soon any way. Really? Because that's what a professional and grown-up sounds like. That was your first offense; now this.

Following his grand slam against the Tigers on Thursday, Inge's second in three games, he was asked by a member of the Oakland press corps what the difference was between the Tigers last year and Oakland this season in getting RBI. In response to that question Inge again made the fans in Detroit have to hate him.

"There weren't a lot of runners on base for me. (Alex) Avila had a great year and hit a lot of home runs in front of me so it is difficult to stay focused...," said Inge.

Really, Brandon? Really?

There weren't any runners on base and that's why you couldn't get hits last season? Well what about the 73 at-bat's where there were runners in scoring position? Yeah, Inge only got 10 hits in his 73 chances with runners in scoring position, which equates to a .137 batting average with runners in scoring position.

So, Inge, do you want to try that one again for us all here in Detroit? Why is it that your batting average was so low here, because we aren't stupid, and we for sure know it wasn't because there weren't runners in position.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Ryan Raburn Needs the Inge Treatment; He Needs To Be Gone


By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

Let's face it, there is no earthly reason why Ryan Raburn consistently suits up and takes the field as the Detroit Tigers starting second baseman; there just isn't. Statistically, he is one of the worst second basemen, if not the worst in the entire league.

The offense is the problem for the Tigers right now, they are not getting the clutch hits and they are leaving runners on base. Detroit's starting pitchers have a sub-2 ERA over their last seven starts but only have three wins to show from it. The offense is not picking up their pitchers and Raburn is a major offender.

Raburn has played in 23 games for Detroit so far this season, mainly at second but occasionally being shifted to left or right field for defensive purposes late in game. In those 23 games Raburn has had 71 at-bats and in those at-bats he has only nine hits, just three of which were for extra bases.

His terrible at-bats has pushed his batting average all the way down to Brandon Inge territory at .127 and an on-base percentage of just .192. But another stat that shows just how poorly Raburn is playing is his on-base percentage plus slugging or OPS. A mediocre OPS is between .700 and .800. Anything over .800 is a mark of a solid every day starter, if a batter has a 1.000 OPS he is elite in the league. With that in mind, Raburn's OPS is a mind blowing .361.

When a player has a .361 OPS they better be giving the team the defensive skills of a Hall of Famer or be sitting in the Super 8 motel because they aren't playing. There is no excuse for a player with numbers this bad should ever see the field.

Raburn can't get on base in any fashion; he can't hit the ball and he can't draw walks. In his 71 at-bats Raburn has drawn just four walks, compared to his 19 strike-outs, he is by far the worst second baseman in the league.

Delving into sabermetrics on Raburn gives better insight on his mediocrity. In 2012, Raburn's WAR, or wins above replacement, is at -0.9, meaning that he costs the Tigers about one win per season. His dWAR, or defensive wins above replacement, is also negative at -0.3 meaning that once again Raburn isn't helping the Tigers, he's hurting them.

Raburn isn't making much money, just about $2 million, so he isn't commanding a whole lot of the Tigers pocket book, meaning that they need to give him the Inge treatment and get him out of town as soon as the wheels touch the tarmac in Detroit. Give Danny Worth 100 at-bats and see what he can do and if that doesn't work, throw some players the quality of the Wilson Betemit trade the Royals way and get Michigan-native Chris Getz to take over at second for Detroit.

 

Could Patterson Be The Answer At 2B?

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

Second base is one of the most glaring areas of need for the Detroit Tigers right now, all three of their options in the majors, Ryan Raburn, Danny Worth and Ramon Santiago are all hitting under .200. While Raburn typically has a slow start to the season, things are reaching a breaking point for the Tigers.

Manager Jim Leyland has said that he is trying to get Raburn going but if things don't go his way soon, there will have to be changes made. Perhaps the answer is Worth, who only has eight at-bats this season but has only recorded one hit in that time.

With Worth hitting .125 and Santiago also hitting under .200 there don't seem to be many options for the Tigers at second right now. Either they stick with Raburn and hope to ride it out or they give Worth every day playing time and hope more at-bats could lead to an increased batting average.

Or they could dip back into their reserves in Toledo. Eric Patterson is lighting the International League on fire this past week and the rest of his season has shown that he could be ready for a call-up.

In 28 games with Toledo this season Patterson, 29, is hitting .286/.433/.327. Those numbers are impressive, but when you look at how he had performed over the past 10 games things get really good looking. In the past 10 games Patterson is batting .323/.475/.387 with nine walks and two stolen bases.

Those numbers are solid and he brings another left-handed bat to the Tigers lineup, and one can never have too many lefties in the batting order. While Patterson hasn't fared that well in his past big league time, he could be a good stop-gap for General Manager Dave Dombrowski while he looks into the trade market for a more permanent solution such as Pittsburgh's Neil Walker or Kansas City's Chris Getz.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Weekly Tigers Fan Card Revoking


By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

This is going to be something new; every week I will post something dumb a fan has said or done that proves that they deserve to have their Detroit Tigers Fan Club card revoked - temporarily or permanently.

First up - Random 97.1 The Ticket caller

After the Tigers loss on Saturday where Jose Valverde blew the save, his second of the season, 97.1 opened up their phone lines to people who wanted to talk about it. And of course, instead of some one getting on the air and showing that they understand the game of baseball this guy got on.

His suggestion; call up the New York Yankees and package Ryan Raburn with Jose Valverde to get Curtis Granderson back.

Sure, the team with the most championships in Major League Baseball is going to trade one of their best outfielders for a guy who isn't hitting his weight at the plate and a closer who is shaky at the moment. Yeah, that'll happen.

Not to mention the Tigers would have no room for Granderson in their already filled outfield or that the Yankees already have Robinson Cano at second base and have no need for Raburn. While he was at it, the caller suggested that the Tigers throw in Don Kelly in order to get Cano away from the Yankees.

I'm not even going to try to evaluate this one, this guy has no baseball sense whatsoever. When will fans learn that trades have to hurt both ways - you can't get one of the other guy's best players without giving up someone of value.

About your fan card random 97.1 caller...it's just been revoked.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

What's Wrong With Jose Valverde?


By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

Jose Valverde blew his second save of the season on Saturday afternoon when he allowed a two-run home run to the White Sox' Adam Dunn that put the Sox ahead 3-2 in the ninth inning. The Tigers had not trailed all day, after scoring two in the second inning and taking a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning.

In 2011, Valverde was perfect in save situations, leading the Tigers to pick up his club option for the 2012 season. They expected him to continue his perfect ways this season, but that has not been the case. He has looked shaky in almost all of his outings this season and has blown two saves while winning two games so for this year.

When your closer has two wins in the first week of May, things are not good. It shows signs that the closer isn't on top of his game and has to rely on ninth inning heroics to propel the team to the victory instead of counting on the arm of the man put out there to secure the win.

Because ERA's and closers don't usually agree due to the low number of innings they pitch a look at the WHIP is more showing of how they are throwing. Valverde has a 1.78 WHIP, meaning that for every inning that he pitches, he is allowing almost two base runners. That is not a good number to have.

An even more telling statistic of how off Valverde has been this season is is H/9, which is a measure of the number of hits given up per nine innings of work. Valverde is allowing 10.1 hits per nine innings, which is well off of his career average of 6.8 H/9.

His BB/9 and SO/9 have both also seen drastic changes over the past year, in 2011 Valverde's BB/9 was 4.2 but that has ballooned to 5.9 in 2012. Meaning that per every nine innings pitched Valverde is walking nearly six batters, up nearly two from last season. Over the same period, Valverde has seen his SO/9 drop from 8.6 in 2011 to 5.9 in 2012. While he is walking two more batters a game, he is also striking out about 1.5 less batters per nine innings.

While these numbers do not justify relieving Valverde of the closers role at this time, they do indicate that he should be watched carefully over his next several outings in order to try to identify what is going wrong with the usually perfect Papa Grande. 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Miguel Cabrera Stars in "La Cueva del Fanatico"


By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

In their recent trip to New York City several of the Tigers paid visits to the MLB Fan Cave; Justin Verlander surprised a young fan and Miguel Cabrera and Collin Balester starred in a MLB Fan Cave telenovela production of "La Cueva del Fanatico."

The title translates to, "The Fan Cave," and features many of the members of the fan cave along with Cabrera and Balester. Cabrera fits right in as the prototypical Spanish soap opera villians in his role as "Miggy Pocco." With bat in hand and eye patch on Cabrera threatens the fan cavers until Jon Glaser, posing as Jim Leyland steps in and tells him, "they aren't worth it."

Balester is involved in a love triangle with two of the fan cavers, and his love leaves her beau to be with Balester who plays the role of "The Tourist" in La Cueva del Fanatico.

Cabrera ultimately ends up killing one of the members of the fan cave and throws him down a slide before Glaser's Jim Leyland dies in Cabrera's arms.

The telenovela ends with the remaining cavers and Balester standing around an apparently dead Miggy Poco; when one of the cavers asks if he is dead Cabrera opens his eyes causing screams and the episode ends.

One can only hope that when the Tigers return to the Big Apple Balester and Cabrera reprise their roles in a sequel. You can see the whole video on MLBfancave.com.



Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Brandon Inge May Be In Oakland, But Still Taking Shots at Tigers

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

It took Brandon Inge until nearly the end of April to record his second hit of the season for the Detroit Tigers, but after being released from the team last week Inge signed with the Oakland Athletics and in his debut went 1-for-3.

While the A's lost to the Boston Red Sox 11-6, it was a good start for Inge who had struggled in his nine games in Detroit this season. During his time with the Tigers he only recorded two hits; a double and a two-run home run. Inge will turn 35 this season and now that he is playing with the A's he is with his first new ball club in 12 seasons.

When the Tigers released Inge they still were on the hook to pay him the remainder of his contract, $5,308,743, but when Oakland signed him to a contract they agreed to pay $412,000. A deal for a veteran third baseman that they desperately needed.

After finding out that he had been released Inge said all of the right things to the Detroit media, he hugged Manager Jim Leyland and thanked the club and the fans for all of the good times that he had in a Tigers uniform. That good will didn't seem to last though as his tune changed in a recent interview with the Detroit Free Press.

"It was frustrating, because I has 20 at-bat's. Twenty at-bat's is nothing. Twenty at-bats is not even enough time to really see what you're capable of. Some guys go 0-for-40 sometimes," Inge said. He has not seemed to learn any humility from the situation and continues to think that his performance was acceptable.

"I hit the ball well," Inge said. I had two hits, but it was a matter of being a foot right or left and I probably could've had 10 hits out of those 20."

While Detroit had had enough of Inge, the Oakland Athletics were the perfect fit for him. Prior to the start of the season the A's lost their every day third baseman, Scott Sizemore to a season ending injury. This left Oakland with a gap at the hot corner and Inge was a perfect fit.

It looks like Inge has gotten what he wants, he is starting every day, for now, at the position that he is the most comfortable with - and he was "close to asking for a release from the Tigers anyway." Well, here's to you Brandon.