Jim Leyland, circus monkey

Seriously. This dude is as predictable as Sidney Crosby crying.

8th inning, Tigers up 3-1, one on one out for the Blue Jays. Lefty coming up.

Jim Leyland: goto Seay.
Seay gets ground out, right hander coming up.
Jim Leyland: Take out Seay.

Idiot. This is your best reliever. Bar none. He has faced exactly one batter, and that bastion of power is Marco Scutaro coming up. Not to mention he is BETTER AGAINST RIGHT HANDED BATTERS! Even Mario and Rod mentioned that Bobby wanted to work on getting better against leftys. For the love of everything good, leave him in to face what would have been the last batter of the inning.

Jim Leyland: goto Lyon.
Lyon gives up single and home run. Tigers now down 4-3.

FIRE.LEYLAND.YESTERDAY.

The Tigers hat ban starts early this year.

UPDATE: Oh, and we sure are glad the Tigers got Edgar Renteria instead of having this guy on the pitching staff. Dave Dombrowski WIN.

2009 Tigers preview, part 2

Projected starting lineup (Projected Avg/OBP/SLG from baseballprojection.com)

CF: Curtis Granderson (.276,.350,.474)
2B: Placido Polanco (.303,.350,406)
RF: Magglio Ordonez (.302,.368,.481)
1B: Miguel Cabrera (.314,.388,.553)
LF: Carlos Guillen (.288,.366,.447)
DH: Marcus Thames (.249,.314,.506)
C: Gerald Laird (.249,.308,.389)
3B: Brandon Inge (.233,.312,.392)
SS: Adam Everett (.238,.289,.331)

The hole in the bottom third of the lineup is going to be something the Tigers fight all season long. Dombrowski brought Gerald Laird and Adam Everett in for their defense, for obvious reasons, and should help out the pitching staff with their confidence, as well as shrinking the ERAs by actually catching and throwing the ball. But from an offensive standpoint, the Tigers will take a step back from their top five offense from last season. An offense which, by the way, should have been number 1 if not for an over-managing skipper constantly handcuffing them into one run innings. This lineup 1-5 should still be a force. And sitting at #6 is Marcus Thames who will get an everyday spot in the lineup for the first time, which should actually help those projected numbers get a little higher. This lineup works out well, if Thames can hit bombs and clear the bases so the bottom three of Laird, Inge, and Everett dont end up leaving the bases loaded every inning.

Defensively, the Tigers are strong up the middle. Laird is a solid catcher who will shut down the running game to a great extent. Polanco and Everett are gold-glove candidates every year, and should be able to make the difficult look routine all year long. Granderson in CF patrols the vast Comerica Park outfield as well as any outfielder we have ever seen. On the corners, Miguel Cabrera learned a lot last year about playing first base and has turned into a positive, and Brandon Inge is the best defensive 3B in the league. He has huge range and a rocket arm, and rounds out a Tiger infield that should rank in the top three in baseball. In the outfield, Ordonez has a rocket arm, but is losing a step in range, and Guillen is trying his third position in three years, and we have no idea what to expect from him out there.

The Tigers will be vastly improved defensively this year, and that will help out a pitching staff that will need them to turn batted balls into outs on a regular basis. They will take a step back offensively, but that's all right. We run Jim Leyland a lot crap for his in game decisions regarding bunting and playing small ball Ty Cobb era ball in a 3-run HR era. But no one can argue against his ability to put players in position to succeed. He has consistently done this wherever he has gone, and this lineup is no exception to that. Given that, this lineup gets a C for offense, and an A- for defense.

Prediction: With the questions on the mound, and the gaping hole at the bottom of the lineup, don't expect a return to the playoffs for this team. They will look great at times, but if the bats are quiet, they will struggle mightily, and will fial to make it back to .500 yet.

80-82, third in the AL Central.

Tigers Preview, Part 1

With Opening Day slowly coming upon us, it is time to go through the Tigers lineup and try to predict where the Tigers end up this season. My thoughts on the pitching staff are followed by the baseballprojection.com predictions.

Rotation:
Justin Verlander: Should bounce back from a below-average season last year. He fights with his consistency, and it seems like innings affect him more than other pitchers. After he threw the no-hitter two years ago, at almost 130 pitches, he never recovered to have a strong season. He is dominant the first two times through the lineup, but fades after that. Leyland and new pitching coach Rick Knapp will hopefully see this and adjust. I can see him as a 16 game winner, with an ERA around 3.50. (12-8, 3.94)

Jeremy Bonderman: Bondo fought injuries all of last season, but don't expect a repeat of 2006 JB. He is a solid starter, and will win more than he loses, but he is not a 20 game winner. Bondo will return with a 12 win performance. (8-6, 3.99)

Armando Galarraga: Armando jumped on the scene last season as a rookie, surprising everyone when he was called up to fill in spots in the MASH unit that was the Tigers rotation. Any high hopes for this season are tempered by the sophomore jinx that always seem to come with these guys, although he pitched well in the World Baseball Classic. I see him around 10 wins, with an ERA hovering around 4.50. (8-7, 4.27)

Nate Robertson: We will be surprised if Nate lasts until the All-Star break in the rotation. He is built as a bull pen guy, dominant in spurts, and a BP pitcher in others. If he stays in the rotation, he will be around a 7 or 8 win guy and an ERA just under 5.00. (10-9, 4.53)

Edwin Jackson: The newest starter, picked up from the AL Champion Red Sox Yankees Devil Rays (they will always be the Devil Rays), is a young version of Zach Miner. An innings eater, with a little upside. He is not dominant, but he will go out every fifth day and give you solid innings and a chance to win. We can see him going 10-8 with an ERA around 4.25-4.50. (8-8, 4.78)

Dontrelle Willis: Who. F'ing. Knows. (7-8, 5.09)

Overall, this rotation is not going to scare anybody. Verlander will go out every fifth day when his arm doesn't hurt, and put the fear of zero in the opponents. But after that, nobody will have managers going out of their way in fear putting a lineup together. But, they won't have to. If the Tigers can get 6 or 7 strong innings, and hand it over to the bullpen, the offense is strong enough to get some wins.

Bullpen:
Zach Miner (5-3, 3.72)
Bobby Seay (3-2, 3.78)
Fernando Rodney (4-2, 3.67)
Joel Zumaya (3-2, 3.64)
Acquilino Lopez (4-3, 4.11)
Brandon Lyon (5-3, 3.84)

Zumaya is a question mark, but dominant when he's healthy. Fernando Rodney can be dominant when he's hitting the strike zone. Brandon Lyon was brought in to be a closer. Zach Miner is an innings eater. And then there's Bobby Seay. Bobby Seay has been the best, most reliable relief pitcher in the Tigers bullpen for two years, and is the most ill-used releiver in baseball. Leyland loves him some lefty-lefty matchups, at the expense of getting good pitchers in the game, and keeps Seay as his LOOGY (lefty one out guy). Leyland needs to drop the "closer" from the bullpen, and put in the pitcher who is hottest in at the most critical time, which might, believe it or not, be the 7th, not the 9th inning. This bullpen is fine, if used properly. But proper use will be about as often as Comerica Park seeing perfect games this season.

Overall, this is not a pitching staff that will win the Tigers a lot of 2-1 or 1-0 games. They will need a lot of help if the offense starts slowly like it did a year ago. Overall, the staff gets a C-, and would lead the Tigers to about 75 wins with an average offense. We'll come back with the offensive preview later.

Open Letter to Jim Leyland

Last may, we made a decision to no longer wear our Tigers hat in public again until Jim Leyland was no longer the manager of the Detroit Tigers. It looks like that isn't going to happen any time soon, so the hat will head back into rotation on an interim basis. But in the meantime, we have a couple requests for the skipper:

- Keep moving guys around to find their comfort zone. You have a knack for solving personnel problems and getting the right guys in the right positions. Very much a positive aspect of your tenure here in Detroit. But. . .

- The Tigers at the plate have a top 10 if not a top 5 offense. Please do not hog-tie it by bunting while down a run in the 4th inning. Jim, you have no idea how many runs the other team will end up with, please do not prevent run scoring for the sake of a 4th inning tie.

- You have no closer. This is actually a good thing. Learn that a closer is not the only guy in the bull pen who can handle the "pressure" of the 9th inning. Sometimes, Jim, facing 3-4-5 in the 8th is more important, and worthy of your top reliever, than facing 6-7-8, just because it happens to be the 9th inning.

- Enough with the LOOGY (Lefty One Out GuY). Your best reliever last season was Bobby Seay, but you refused to use him for more than the one lefty you had him warm up for. Here's a tip: when you did actually leave him in, he was better against rightys than leftys. And a 0.010 benefit from the RHP vs RHH does not overcome the 0.100 drop in talent when you go to someone else.

- Pitch counts. Use them. Know them. Live them. I realize this one will be the hardest to understand, but sending a guy out there to throw 130 pitches every five days does take a toll. It is documented. I know- they used to do it back in the day. But those pitchers, even from the 70's were not facing the batters 1 through 9 they see today. Every pitch is a big one, and it is also proven that pressure pitches take a larger toll than non-pressure pitches.

The Tigers entered play last season prohibitive favorites to win the Central, and finished last. This is directly attributable to the management of the team on the field, costing them countless runs in games that were winnable. The Central is very winnable this season, but they cannot be giving up runs at the plate, and making poor pitching decisions in the late innings.

Tigers Hot Stove

The latest rumors have Dumb-rowski chasing Kerry Wood from Cubs fame to backstop the bull pen. Just what they need -- another guy to fill up the M*A*S*H unit back there.

Pittsburgh is looking at Matt Joyce and Jeff Larish in return for Jack Wilson. Wilson is no better then Renteria at the plate, but can wield a mean glove in the 6 hole. The Tigers don't need offense, they need defense and pitching, so I don't hate this move. They are also reportedly looking at Adam Everett from the 'Stros. A little better at the plate, but loses a little as a shortstop. Renteria has a reputation as a solid defensive shortstop, but the Tigers didn't see it last year. He was an error machine. Everett wouldn't be bad, depending on how much scrilla DD is going to throw at him.

More to come from Las Vegas.

Tigers reportedly Interested in Hoffman

Ugh. The dismantling of the Tigers continues. According to the Freep, Dombrowski is reportedly interested in signing all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman. In his defense, he is only interested in signing him for one year, because DD believes the farm will produce a closer for the 2010 season.

Putting aside my absolute disdain for the "closer" position for a second, the last thing the Tigers need is a guy in the bullpen who is almost as old as Chris Chelios, who has never won a single thing in his career, who has blown more big-time saves over the last 7 years, in the bull pen. Please, DD, disregard Hoffman, and dump some overpriced offense you have handy, and get some young arms. Get some young, starter arms, and move some of the failed starters into the pen.

DD is quickly eating into his free pass for taking the worst team in baseball to the World Series.

Last Place

Dead last. This team was the favorite to win the division at the beginning of the season, and they have been swept at home by the Royals (sound familiar?), outscored 21-6, and overtaken for fourth place.

This is the biggest mail-it-in job since April 14th of every year. Poor managment to start the year, and poor management the rest of the year. The prospects for next year are horrible. They are hemorrhaging salary, and need to dump as much as $25M. Because Dave Dombrowski took a top 5 offense, and sacrificed pitching to get more, we are left with the 1993 Tigers.

Way to go Dombrowski. Thus beginneth the next stage of Tiger crap-iocrity.

A pitch every ten minutes

The Tigers can't do anything right. I tune in last night to see Freddie Garcia make his first start as a Tiger, and get home from school in the top of the fifth. It is 2-1 Detroit, so I figure Garcia is doing OK, and want to see what kind of stuff he has. 35 minutes, 11 hits and 9 runs later, he takes the field with an 11-1 lead. He pitches a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth, using about 8 pitches, and then the Tigers go off for another 4 runs in the sixth, only to send Nate Robertson out for the bottom half.

So, after over an hour of baseball, I got to see 8 pitches from Garcia.

Fire. Leyland. Yesterday.

Unbelievable.

In football, the head coach and his assistants are as important as the players in setting up a game plan for a given opponent, calling plays on the field, making both strategic and tactical decisions at every step of the way. A great coach makes an average team good, and a bad coach makes them the Lions. In basketball, it is similar, but more decisions are made on the fly by the players. The head coach will make tactical decisions in certain situations, but for the most part, they just lay out the strategic plan, and the players execute. In hockey, most of the coaching is done before the players ever hit the ice at gametime. The strategic decisions are already made, the tactical decision making process is in place for the players, it's just a matter of go out and execute.

Which brings us to baseball. Being a baseball manager is more like a babysitter. You make sure everybody is happy, give a guy a lollipop every now and again, but is for the most part, once the game starts, very hands off. There are small things a manager can do to gain a small tactical advantage in certain situations, steal, hit-and-run, and the intentional walk are some examples. But these should be minimized to those situations where the game requires such tactics. A great manager in baseball knows his role is minimal, and he will not elevate his team too much. But a bad manager can sink a team like a stone.

There was one situation late in last night's game that handed the White Sox first place back. Bobby Seay is on the mound with a 6-5 lead with two out in the bottom of the 8th. Bobby Seay, who has been the best reliever all season long. Bobby Seay who has given up 1 run in his last 15 outings over 17 1/3 innings, and had just mowed down three straight easily. He has good stuff tonight. The ChiSox weren't getting good wood on the ball. But a right-hander is coming up in the form of Alexei Ramirex, who had 9 HR's to that point. So Leyland brings in Kyle Farnsworth, who proceeded to leave a 1-2 slider right in the heart of the plate, and ended up bouncing off the Muskegon-Milwaukee ferry in the middle of Lake Michigan.

Let's take a closer look at the decision. Farnsworth has pitched pretty well this season, but has been susceptible to the long ball. Bobby Seay has given up 2 HR's in 37 1/3 innings. You are playing in a band box in Chicago. "But you want the RHP/RHB matchup- it's better." Is it? Farnsworth has pitched (.255/.286/.457) against RHB, and (.282/.387/.628) against LHB, so yeah, there is definitely a split there. Most of his 13 (!) HRs (8) came against LHB in about the same amount of PA's. Now Bobby Seay: Against LHB (.290/.359/.420), and against RHB (.190/.284/.254). Do not adjust your television set, Bobby Seay has been absolutely lights out against RHB. Yes, even when conventional (read: Tony F'n LaRussa baseball) "wisdom" says otherwise. Now, Ramirez has hit much better against LHP (.354/.379/.488) vs. (.290/.307/.459), but the fact remains: Bobby Seay is much stronger against RHB than Kyle Farnsworth. Kyle Farnsworth is susceptible to the HR, in a park that is susceptible to HRs. Bobby Seay is warm, feeling good about himself, had just set down three in a row is very convincing fashion, and is NOT susceptible to the long ball. He had good stuff last night.

This is the kind of managing that loses ball games, and has taken the Tigers out of the AL Central race. Jim Leyland has cost the Tigers upwards of half a dozen to a dozen ball games with this old school RH vs RH, hit-and-run, sacrifice happy, play-for-one-run mentality.

Fire him now. Last night made me literally absolutely sick to my stomach. He cost two games against the Rays, and now one against the ChiSox, and they're done. They could possibly come back from 8 games back against one team, but not two. They are done. and it's against the FUCKING WHITE SOX!

I have not worn my Tigers hat since mid May after he was on about three or four games blown. I always hoped I would have to eat crow and put it back on when they made their run. But its over. This is my last Tigers post this season until a post mortem when I get the gumption to do that. That won't be for a while though.

R.I.P.

It's over.

Go Twins. Beat Chicago.

Go Sawx.


Bobby Seay. Dude's given up 1 run in his last 14 appearances.

Joe Maddon knows this. Joe Maddon also knows that Jim Leyland refuses to let him face right handers. Joe Maddon brings in a right handed batter off the bench, knowing that Leyland will being in Rodney. Leyland follows suit. Rodney gives up two runs on one hit (ONE HIT!!!!) by walking Carlos Pena (!) with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the tenth. Tigers lose.

Joe Maddon > Jim Leyland

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.

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.

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?

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!

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?

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...

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.

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.

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.