7/31/08

Atta boy Jimmy!

The Tigers faced the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner last night. Jimmy Leyland did not play small ball, giving up outs for the sake of one run. The Tigers scored 14 runs.

Now before I go giving Jimmy too much credit, they were playing from behind. So, I'm gonna go ahead and give Jimmy the same advice I (would have, if he would listen to me) gave Lloyd Carr- play like you are behind all the time. Open it up. Let the boys play ball.

And you know what? The boys will put up 14 runs. Against the best pitcher in the league.

Griffey to the White Sox

The White Sox acquired Ken Griffey Jr this morning. I have a one word answer – Why?

Junior is a defensive liability in center field any more, and they have Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin on the corners, both of which who are having unbelievable years. Jim Thome is their DH, and will be for the rest of this season. Will they try Griffey at first, where Paul Konerko is playing at a level below replacement? Or will they put Jim Thome back at first, and hit Griffey at DH?

Even when they find a place in the lineup for him, why? Griffey is hitting below .250, with 63 K’s already this season. When he hits it, he hits it hard, and won’t suffer much going from GAB to the cell. But that is the problem – he can’t hit it. Griffey walk a lot, 61 BB’s to offset those K’s, but that brings his OBP up to “only” a respectable .357. He doesn’t bring the speed like he used to, he doesn’t bring the defensive ability he used to, and doesn’t have much of a bat any more. For the team with the second best offense so far in the bigs, I am interested to see what they gave up for him.

I like Griffey, and hate to see him go to the Sahx. Now I have to boo him. But looking at this objectively, if the ChiSox gave up anything more than a Pibber and a bag of balls, this is a complete failure of a trade.

With the details of the trade still pending – Grade: D-

UPDATE: Looks like Chicago gave up right-handed innings eater Nick Masset and AAA 2B Danny Richar. Masset is not much to give up, 40-something innings, ERA below 5, not a lot of K's and too many BB's, he was just an innings eater. But Richar has spent this season in AAA hitting the snot out of the ball for a 2B(.305/.365/.505). Alexei Ramirez has played well this year, and is only 26, but that's a lot to hang your hat on considering they have basically nobody behind him other than Richar. The ChiSox better hope Ramirez stays healthy for a long time.

The talk is that Ozzie is going to bring Swisher in from CF to play 1B, and put Griffey in CF, which makes the most sense of any combination. But they are basically giving up offense and defense in CF for the sake of some offense at 1B. Does it make them better? Marginally. Not enough to warrant forsaking a position in the future to get 2+ months out of an old CF.

Meanwhile, the Reds dump half of a salary hole (Chicago and Cincinnati are sharing his salary next year), and address an organizational need at 2B. Nice work.

Updated Sahx grade: D
Reds grade: B+

7/30/08

Pudge is a Yankee; Hell freezes over

DD traded Pudge for Kyle Farnsworth today. I would rate this trade from the Tigers perspective a B. I hate the fact that they traded for a reliever just to trade for a reliever. I am a much bigger fan of trading for a starter and moving a starter into the bull pen. That said, the Tigers dump a huge liability at the plate, and don't really lose much going to Sardhina and/or Inge. But they pick up a guy who has over 40 innings, almost a K per inning pitched and an ERA of 3.65. Trade from a position of depth (batting, not necessarily the C position) to pick up a position of weakness.

Not enough yet, I dont think, but considering the market, a good move.

Oh, and the update pitcher below? The Tigers don't need to trade anybody for him. It's Bobby Seay. Yes, THAT Bobby Seay.

Blakeslee Power Rankings

All right, I've been working on some ratings for a while, and here they are. I'll try to publish these every Monday or Tuesday, depending on when the majority of the series' finish. They are a compilation of runs for and against, record, and a strength of schedule component. Then I figure out what an average team would do in the league, and rate each team's season from 0 to 100. For the nerds out there, it is based on a normal distribution of the teams and where they lie on the curve, so a team 1 standard deviation better than the mean would have a rating of 84.1, 2 standard deviations better would have a rating of 97.7, etc...

For reference:
2003 Detroit Tigers: (43-119) 0.19
2001 Seattle Mariners: (116-46) 99.62



Ratings through games of Sunday, July 27
Team Rating Last Week
1 Boston 93.1 2
2 Chi_Cubs 91.7 1
3 Chi_White_Sox 89.2 5
4 Tampa_Bay 89.1 3
5 LA_Angels 89.1 4
6 NY_Yankees 81.9 11
7 Milwaukee 80.0 7
8 Philadelphia 79.9 6
9 NY_Mets 74.2 12
10 Minnesota 71.7 9
11 Oakland 71.6 8
12 Toronto 67.2 13
13 St_Louis 62.4 10
14 Detroit 59.4 14
15 Arizona 55.2 20
16 LA_Dodgers 52.0 15
17 Atlanta 49.2 17
18 Texas 45.3 18
19 Florida 41.2 19
20 Baltimore 38.6 16
21 Cleveland 30.7 21
22 Cincinnati 26.7 22
23 Houston 25.5 23
24 Colorado 25.3 26
25 Pittsburgh 22.3 25
26 Kansas_City 14.9 24
27 San_Francisco 7.7 27
28 Seattle 4.6 28
29 San_Diego 2.6 30
30 Washington 1.5 29

Trade deadline

30 hours to the deadline. 5.5 games out playing (and being managed!) like crap. This team could turn it on and make a significant run into August and September. So...

Does DD get a pitcher? (Hopefully)
Does DD become a seller and restock the farm? (Not likely)
Why is Pudge not available at this point?
Will anybody listen to offers for Renteria?
Will DD steal Washburn from underneath the Yankees cold fingers? (HA!)

The latest I have heard is DD looking at Eddie Guardado.

Get a starter- move Robertson to the pen. There has to be a team looking for a closer that you can ship Todd Jones to (where is Randy Smith these days?). Just dont raid the farm any more.

Thoughts?

Update: There's a guy out there with these numbers:
2007: In 49 out of 58 appearances, he gave up 0 runs. ERA 2.33, 38 K, 15 BB, and 1 HR in 46 1/3 innings.

2008: In 30 out 36 appearances, he has given up 0 runs. ERA 2.73, 27 K, 14 BB, and 2 HR in 33 innings.

What would you give up for him?

7/29/08

Tommy

Most of you know of my man-crush on Tom Brady. If not, here you go...


The original, which is hilarious in and of itself...

7/25/08

Fire. Leyland. Yesterday.

1st inning. Slow delivery pitcher on the mound. Worst defensive catcher in the league behind the plate. Fastest guy on the team on first. Best bat in the league at the plate.

Hit and run? ARE YOU KIDDING? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You take the bat out of the hands of the guy with the best hands in the league and give away an out so dude can get to second, WHICH HE COULD HAVE WALKED TO ANYWAY!!!! The only reason they got a run was a tremendous slide by Guillen to break up a double play.

9th inning. One run lead. Top of the lineup. Jones. Need I say more?

I dont like to swear on the blog.

FUCK YOU LEYLAND! I've had it. This is a first place team without Leyland giving away runs on offense AND defense.

FIRE LEYLAND YESTERDAY!

And to make it worse, it was the Fucking White Sox. THE FUCKING WHITE SOX!

FUCK YOU LEYLAND! I will not watch the Tigers the rest of the season as long as that idiot is at the helm. Fuck you Leyland and your 1903 managing style. Turn the fucking calendar! It's 2008! Teams score more than 1 run a game! Fuck you Leyland!

Pure comedy

Devin Hester is a holdout in Chicago.

Devin Hester, who had one great year as a kick returner, and a below mediocre year as a WR, is holding out.

Nobody who plays on a team that was beaten twice in the same year by the Lions should be able to hold out. Ever.

7/22/08

Oy

Both embryos took.

One split.

2 + 1 = HOLYCRAPWHATHAPPENED!!!!!one!!!eleven!!11!!!!!


7/21/08

Oct. 9, 2008

Toronto at Detroit.

The Banner is raised. You know what banner. The one the Leafs haven't seen since Cito Gaston was a spry center fielder for the Braves.

7/16/08

Marlins want Pudge back

From MLBTradeRumors.com...


Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes of the Marlins' pursuit of a catcher, which has been going on for several weeks now.

The Fish would like to find an upgrade on Matt Treanor, who is currently on the DL with a hip strain. However, they're not impressed by available backstops Paul Lo Duca, Yorvit Torrealba, and Dave Ross. Jackson adds an interesting name - the Marlins asked the Tigers about Ivan Rodriguez, but he's not available at this time. They could always sign him in the offseason if the price is right.

We revisited the trade market for catchers about a week ago. Two names I haven't heard much for the Marlins are Gregg Zaun and Rod Barajas of the Jays.


$5 to anyone who can give one good reason why Pudge is not available at this time. He is a bases empty double play waiting to happen at the plate, and the Tigers could use some pitching. Getting anybody at this point would be better than getting nobody for him in the offseason wouldn't it?

Go Blue

Kinda campy, but pretty cool...

7/14/08

DB's production to wane

In addition to a full slate of law school, full time job as an engineer, and #1 helper to a now pregnant wife, I will be studying for finals for 5 weeks, and studying for the patent bar which I hope to be taking in December or January.
So by all means post some crap:

EJ: Let us know what you would do at the deadline to turn the 7.0 GB into a first place playoff position for the Tigers.

Chad: Let us know how TO will overcome the locker room cancer that he is, and turn Tony "I broke my nail....WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" Romo into Tom Brady. T-O baby, T-O!

Tajas: Fill us in on how the Blue Jays will....um, never mind. How about them 49ers?

Phil: Raiders. HAH!

Dave: Seen Jeter around? Hit him for me will ya. (Yes, pure unadulterated jealousy. So what?)

And I'll be sure to post I Hate Leyland posts from time to time.

Anheuser-Busch No Longer American

According to Market Watch, they have been sold to a Brazilian-Belgian company.

I am not a fan of Anheuser-Busch products, but holy crap. It doesn't get much more American with clydedales and the dalmation and whatnot. I have sort of been following this but never expected it to actually go through.

But if we get commercials with Brazilian women instead of horses and dogs, who am I to complain?

7/13/08

No headline necessary

From MLive.

This is YOUR Detroit Lions.

7/10/08

Unbe-friggin-lievable


Dump. Jones. Today.

Fire Leyland for using the idiot.

These are not spring training games. This is not Toledo. This is not even Grand Rapids. You are not trying to gain experience for certain guys. You are now 7.5 games back, three days before the All-Star break, and blowing games against the team you are trying to catch.

F-U Leyland
F-U Todd Jones

How many F'n times are we gonna put up with this crap? Enough is enough. How many blown saves do we have to see before Leyland gets it through his smoke filled skull that Jones is worse than Dan Blakeslee, whose fastball, according to the machine at Cedar Point, tops out at 58 MPH?

Leyland has cost the Tigers at least four games this season, including this one, and without the second best lineup in baseball, that number would be 7 or 8. It's time to get someone else in there who doesn't subscribe to the Tony LaRussa school of "this guy is my closer. None other shall pitch in the ninth inning, if the game is within three runs."

I would rather see Brandon Inge close than Todd "Holy crap my shoes are on fire" Jones.

Yes, Joyce made an error, but it didn't cost the Tigers 2 runs...

Hell is freezing over

My buddy DP from school, the biggest Lion hater and Patriot nut swinger on the planet, has picked the Lions to win 10 games this year.

Crikey!

Walk it Off Big Boy, Part 2



Down 6-0, the Tigers come back with 6 in the 6th and 7th, and 2 in the 9th on Cabrera's line shot HR that I don't think got over 20 feet in height. Unfortunately, the ChiSox also came back from being down 5-0 in KC, so no ground was made up.

Todd Jones (4-0) got the win. By pitching one inning and trying all he could to give up a run, he gets a win. Casey Fossum struck out 6 in 3 1/3 innings, including three in a row with the bases loaded in the 5th, and two in a row with runners on 1st and third in the 6th. Eddie Bonine had another bad start, and will probably give way to another Mud Hen after the break.

Now, the Tigers have four at home against the Twins. They cannot have games like this against Minnesota, because they will not come back. 3 out of 4 is acceptable, obviously 4 is better, but they cannot settle for a split at home against a team they are trying to pass to make the run at first place.

7/9/08

Tigers sign 1st Round Pick

According to the Detroit News, Ryan Perry has signed with the Tigers, and it is their hope to get him to Detroit at the roster expansion.

If he does well, who will DD trade him for in the off-season? Rickey Henderson?

Just kidding. Rickey's too young.

Go Miggy Go

Finally!


The kid has struggled through his first season with the Tigers, but DD may finally be reaping some of the benefit of discarding his top two prospects during the offseason. Cabrera went four-for-four with two HR's last night, and the Tigers got off the offense schneid scoring 9 times, 7 with two outs, and going 3 for 4 with runners in scoring position. Verlander gave up 2 runs on 2 hits, with only one walk against 7 K's, and Lopez pitched two shutout, walkless, hitless, 3 K innings.

And Jimmy only made one substitution, after the Tigers had a good lead, putting Joyce in for Thames as a defensive replacement.

Keep sitting on your hands Jimmy. Let the kids play.

7/7/08

Be Afraid. Be VERY Afraid.

After 2 1/2 years of trying, Gretchen is pregnant. And there is a very good chance they are twins.

The government better do something very quickly about the hops shortage. Local breweries will need all they can get their hands on!

LET. THEM. PLAY.


I didn't get a chance to watch a whole lot of baseball this weekend, but I watched a little of Sunday's game. I think I was able to watch innings 2-8.

Inning 5: Ryan Raburn (.306 OBP/.438 SLG/.744 OPS) pulls a high fastball about 450 feet off a left-handed Ryan Rowland-Smith into the left-center crowd to tie the game 1-1.

Inning 6: With Rowland-Smith out of the game, in comes right-handed Mark Lowe. Raburn's numbers drop off to (.311/.449/.787) vs RHP (for those of you keeping score at home, yes those numbers did go up. Raburn is hitting better against RHP than LHP). So, naturally, with two out and a guy on first, Jim Leyland takes Raburn out, and puts in left-handed Matt Joyce, he of the (.273/.507/.780 total; .280/.522/.802 vs. RHP) lines.

So, let's take stock. Jimmy takes a guy out of the game in the sixth inning, with two outs and a guy on first. He removes a player who hit a monster shot an inning ago, who is feeling pretty good about himself, for basically the same player who happens to hit left-handed, even though the guy he removed hits better against RHP than LHP, and oh by the way, has NOT been sitting on the bench all game. And for what? With a runner on third and less than two outs, I can see doing it. The 50 points extra SLG might get a warning track fly ball that brings in the run, which helps an offense that is sputtering. But with a guy on first and two outs, you should be letting the players play the game, and if a specialized situation presents itself, then go ahead and remove a player for one with 50 points more SLG. Maybe in the 8th or 9th.

Now, as it turns out, Joyce had a good at bat and drew a walk, which was followed by another walk, which was followed by a pop out. No runs scored, and a player who had to that point accounted for 100% of the offense to that point is no longer available.

Overmanagment is killing this team. Jimmy- please- put a lineup together before the game and do not touch it until the 8th inning at the earliest at home, 9th inning on the road, and even then, only if you need it.

7/2/08

Great job Tigers!!!!

6-0 MIN Top of 6th .... great job Tigers!!!!!

Other news Red Wings sign Hossa to 1yr deal.

No swingy swingy

In Minnesota today, two Twins batters, no swings. One bunt hit and a sacrifice.

Thanks Gardy!

UPDATE: E5 costs the Tigers 3 runs. 5-0 in the 5th. Ugh.

UPDATE: 7-0 in the 8th. Count these two games among the 60 any given team won't win, not in the 40 that "matter."

From Sparky Anderson- Every team will win 60 and lose 60; its what you do in the other 40 that matter.