2009 Tigers Challenge

[84Hammy]

Series 41 Vs. LAA

Game 124: L 5-2: Galarraga gave up 3 HR in this one where we couldn’t get a key hit to make it a game. Galarraga is now 3-12. Anderson went 3-5.

Game 125: W 7-4: We rapped out 14 hits in this one, winning it in the top of the 9th. Cabrarra gets his 100th RBI. Verlander gets the win, pitching the last 2 2/3 innings striking out 3. He is now 7-6 with a 6.61.

Game 126: L 7-3: Ben Sheets first start as a Tiger. He went seven innings, giving up 3 in the 1st, 2 in the 2nd, and then held them scoreless for the next 5 innings, striking out 5. Inge hit a homer and Polanco drove in 2.

Maggs comes back in 3 days...

Record: 59-67

[84Hammy]

Series 42: Vs. TBA

Game 127: L 2-0: The Rays score 2 in the top of the 9th off of Bobby Seay and Fernando Rodney. The Tigers only muster 2 hits off of J. P. Howell and waste a tremendous effort by Jackson who went 7 1/3 giving up only 2 hits.

Game 128: L 7-4: Galarraga loses his 13th by giving up 7 runs (4 earned) on 5 hits. Once again the offense had plenty of opportunity, but failed to come through.
Verlander Watch: He pitched a scoreless 9th to lower his ERA to 6.55.

Ordonez is back. Strieby was sent back to Toledo for now.

Game 129: W 8-7 (10): A poor outing by Robertson is erased with an RBI single in the 10th by Laird. Miner relieved Nate in the 6th and pitched 4 scoreless. Bobby Seay pitched the 10th for his 10th win.

Game 130: W 13-9: Sheets second start started great until the 5 run 7th. Brandon Inge hit 2 HR and drove in 5. We’ll take it.

Record 61-69

[84Hammy]

Series 43: VS CLE

September callup time: I called up the following to help my push to .500: LF Raburn, RF Wells, and MR Wolf.

Game 131: W7-5: We won this one late due to some timely hitting by Inge and Laird. Bonderman had a good start going 7 1/3, but Bobby Seay fell apart, squandering a 5-2 lead. Verlander came in to put out Seay’s fire and ended up with the win.

Verlander Watch: He pitched 1 1/3 today striking out 2. He is now 8-6 with a 6.48 ERA.

Game 132: W 8-3: A 5 run 6th wins this one. Jackson gets the win, and is now 6-16 with a 4.48 ERA. Of course Mags went down again, this time only for 2 weeks.

Game 133: W 7-5: Even Bobby Seay couldn’t blow this one, though he tried, giving up 2 runs in the top of the 9th. Cabrerra drove in 3, giving him 106 for the year. Galarraga gets the win to go to 4-13.

Record: 64-69: A 5 game winning streak means we only have to go 17-12 to reach .500. It seems possible now....

[84Hammy]

Series 44 @ TBA

Game 134: L 3-1: A nice outing by Nate, going 7 and only giving up 2 runs. We had a few chances, but other that Casper Wells first ML HR, not much to report.

Game 135: L 5-1: A pretty mediocre outing for Ben Sheets...I think Verlander gets his next start...And we could only muster 4 hits off of a mediocre Matt Garza (he now has a 5.05 ERA).
Everette suffered a short day to day injury in this one, 28%, so I called up Cale Iorg, the Canadian...

Game 136: L 4-3: Tampa gets the sweep on a Zumaya blown save–his 6th. Jackson went 6 giving up 2 hits and 1 run–his ERA is now 4.38 (remember, he is 6-16). We had 10 hits, but couldn’t get one when we needed one.

Record: 64-72 –The margin for error just got a whole lot slimmer. 17-9 is not easy to do.

[NYY #23]

I hate those three game sweeps that end winning streaks.

Good luck on finishing up 17-9, or better.

[84Hammy]

Series 45 @ KCA–the division leading Royals (80-57)

Game 137: L 9-3: This one was close until the 7th and 8th, when the Tigers committed 3 errors. Bobby Seay gave up 4 unearned runs. Galarraga was injured and will miss 2 weeks; I’ll likely keep Sheets in the rotation and just move Verlander in.

Game 138: L 4-0: A bit of a rough outing for Nate, and only 6 hits for the batters. I feel like a broken record. A 5 game win streak followed by a 5 game losing streak....terrible.

Game 139: W 3-0: Verlander started this one and went 5 1/3 before giving up a hit and being exhausted. Relievers covered him for the shutout.
Verlander Watch: He’s now 9-6 with a 6.19 ERA.

Record: 65-74

[84Hammy]

Series 46 Vs. TOR (68-72)

Game 140: W 7-2: An impressive start by Jackson. He gets the win, lowers his ERA to 4.27, while striking out 8 in 7 IP. Granderson had 3 hits including a homer. A nice balanced attack.

Game 141: W 8-2: Ben Sheets best game so far, he goes 6 2/3 giving up the 2 runs and striking out 7. Granderson came through again, hitting a bases clearing double in the 8th. Clete Thomas went 3 for 3 and Laird drove in a couple.

Game 142: W 1-0: A tremendous game for Bonderman. He’s having a great August/September. This one was won in the 4th inning on a RBI single by Cabrerra, his 110th RBI. Zumaya gets his 20th save.

Game 143: L 6-3: Robertson couldn’t get an out in the 8th, and a late rally was squashed by Everett, who already had 2 hits in the game, including an RBI double.

Record: 68-75: The .500 goal boils down to going 13-6 in the final 19.

[84Hammy]

Series 47 Vs. KC

Game 144: L 6-5: KC throws out a lineup that includes 6 left handed batters. Verlander wasn’t up to the task, giving up 6 runs in 6 IP. His ERA runs back up to 6.32. His stamina is back to normal, as he threw 120 pitches. We had a 9th inning rally, scoring a couple, but Marcus Thames stranded men on 1st and 3rd. Guilen was also injured in this one, gone for 6-7 weeks, so the rest of the season.
Game 145: W 3-1: Man, Jackson has really turned his season around. His record is still pretty bad at 8-16, but his ERA has dropped to 4.19. Granderson drove in the winning run in the 3 run 6th. We beat 19 game winner, Grienke. The game gets a lot of things right!

Game 146: L 6-4: Sheets was just okay, and Billy Butler was unstoppable going 3 for 4 and driving 4. Rodney took the loss which was facilitated by an error by Laird on a stolen base attempt.

Record: 69-77 (We can only lose 4 of the last 16–talk about Mission Impossible.)

[84Hammy]

Series 48 @ MIN

Game 147: W 11-1: Bonderman with a complete game victory. He only gave up 5 hits in this one, his ERA a respectable 4.29 now in 14 starts; he is 7-3. The Tigers rapped out 18 hits, lead by Cabrerra and Ordonez, who had 4 and 3 hits respectively.

Game 148: L 4-3: Nate couldn’t survive a 3 run 7th, though I have to take the blame on that. A kid, Dave Winfree hit a 2 run shot to give the Twins the lead and ultimately the game.

Game 149: L 5-4: We lost this one in the 9th. The kid, Ross Wolf (whoever he is) gave up his first runs of his Tigers career. Marcus hit a 3 run bomb. .500 seems so far away....

Record: 70-79

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by 84Hammy

Series 48 @ MIN

Game 147: W 11-1: Bonderman with a complete game victory. He only gave up 5 hits in this one, his ERA a respectable 4.29 now in 14 starts; he is 7-3. The Tigers rapped out 18 hits, lead by Cabrerra and Ordonez, who had 4 and 3 hits respectively.

Game 148: L 4-3: Nate couldn’t survive a 3 run 7th, though I have to take the blame on that. A kid, Dave Winfree hit a 2 run shot to give the Twins the lead and ultimately the game.

Game 149: L 5-4: We lost this one in the 9th. The kid, Ross Wolf (whoever he is) gave up his first runs of his Tigers career. Marcus hit a 3 run bomb. .500 seems so far away....

Record: 70-79

Not a lot of wiggle room anymore, you need to go on a heck of a run to finish out the year. Are you planning on continuing forward to 2010?

[84Hammy]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

Not a lot of wiggle room anymore, you need to go on a heck of a run to finish out the year. Are you planning on continuing forward to 2010?

Yeah, it doesn't look good...but I'll be pretty close I think. I am not planning on continuing from a dynasty standpoint, but I am going to move forward to the next year just to see how the game handles the off season with the default rosters. The Tigers do not have any money for extensions or free agents at the moment, and with our projected payroll not changing much, I am interested to see what will happen. This is one of the foibles of the game though; an owner like Illitch will just keep spending money regardless of the bottom line. The game has very strict budgets it follows. I may quick play the next year just to see.

[84Hammy]

Series 49 @ CLE

Game 150: W 7-4: A 4 run 9th wins this, including a 2 run double for Inge. Verlander goes 6, gives up 10 hits and 4 runs. His ERA still in the 6s at 6.31. Zumaya gets his 22nd save.

Game 151: W 6-5: Another late inning rally seals this one. Bonderman pitched okay, but as per usual, I left him in too long. Adam Everett drove in 3 today, and Laird drove in 2. Good production from the bottom of the lineup.

Game 152: L 8-3: Sheets and Galarraga combined for this turkey of a game. They gave up 13 hits in 7 innings. Mags drove in 3 runs. If only he had been healthy all season. He’s hitting .380 still in 258 AB.

Record: 72-80

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by 84Hammy

Yeah, it doesn't look good...but I'll be pretty close I think. I am not planning on continuing from a dynasty standpoint, but I am going to move forward to the next year just to see how the game handles the off season with the default rosters. The Tigers do not have any money for extensions or free agents at the moment, and with our projected payroll not changing much, I am interested to see what will happen. This is one of the foibles of the game though; an owner like Illitch will just keep spending money regardless of the bottom line. The game has very strict budgets it follows. I may quick play the next year just to see.

Very true in regards to budgets. There is no accounting for the "wild-card" factor of owners who are willing to open up their checkbook and chip in an extra $20 mil or so to get that one last player. It'd be nice to have that x factor, especially when teams are trying to win it all and need that added push.

[84Hammy]

Series 50 @ CHA

Game 153: W 6-3 (10): Jackson went 9 today and was pretty much in command except for the 3rd inning. Polanco won this one with his 5th homer of the season.

Game 154: W 10-4: Nate had a 3 hitter with 2 outs in the 9th before falling apart. I hate how sometimes these guys just can’t get that last out. So instead of giving up only 1 run, he gives up 4. Everett had 3 hits in this one, to raise his average to .269.

Game 155: W 5-1: Bonderman lasts 6 2/3 giving up the one run. He’s 8-3 now. Laird hit a 2 run homer and went 3-4. The White Sox are having a bad year, but it feels good to sweep them, especially so close to the end.

Record: 75-80 (Can we go 6-1 in the last two series? Both are at home, the first a 4 game set against Minnesota, who is 81-74 and tied for first in the wild card race. The last series is at home against the White Sox.)

[Picky]

Nice sweep! I hope you can go 7-0! Aim high.

[84Hammy]

I'm back from a bit of a vacation...here is the next to last series...

Series 51 Vs. MIN

Game 156: L 4-3: Verlander gave up a pair of 2 run bombs and we could only score 3 runs on 12 hits. Polanco and Inge had 3 hits apiece.

Game 157: W 9-5: Some great offense from Cabrerra tonight: 2 HR, 4 RBI. Mags went 4-5 too. Galarraga got the win, but he gave up all 5 runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3.

Game 158: L 10-3: Minnesota put a thrashing on us, getting 18 hits! Fernando had a heck of a time getting through the 8th inning when the Twins scored 5 runs.

Game 159: W 3-2: We won this one on a passed ball and a pretty good start for Bonderman. Marcus Thames went 3-4 with a couple of RBI.

Record: 77-82: Well the dream is over, but at least I know I came close. Minnesota is fighting for the Wild Card spot, so they are one of the better teams in the league. They are tied with Boston for the Wild Card.

[84Hammy]

Series 52 Vs. CHA

Game 160: W 3-2 (14): Mags won this one after Polanco and Cabrerra singled. Seay got the win, but he only pitched 2/3 of an inning–he’s 12-8 on the season. Wolf, Zumaya, and Sheets each went 2 innings after Robertson pitched well through seven. Nate finishes the year with a 3.91 ERA.

Game 161: L 6-2: Though we had 11 hits, we could only manage 2 runs. Verlander was pitching well until he tore an oblique in the 5th. Miner came in and gave up 5 runs over 3 innings. Verlander takes the loss to end the season at 9-9 with a 6.13 ERA.

Game 162: L 4-2: Again, we just couldn’t get it done offensively. Galaragga pitched well for his last start and Granderson hit his 15th homer.

Record: 78-84

Well the goal wasn’t achieved, but in the end I think I did okay. For a beta tester point of view, I also think the game handled things well also.

My next few posts will include some stats and I’ll sim the rest of the season and post the results. I’ll also look for a few players who surprised me with their performances throughout the league.

[84Hammy]

Final Stats for 2009 Tigers:

Name                    G  AB  R   H 2B 3B HR RBI  TB BB K  SB CS  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS 
Miguel Cabrera 1B     162 627 90 193 39  2 26 125 314 75 101 6  4 .308 .381 .501 .882 
Brandon Inge 3B       153 568 72 153 30  3 17  79 240 51 132 4  7 .269 .342 .423 .765 
Placido Polanco 2B    128 558 67 154 34  1  6  55 208 20  46 5  2 .276 .303 .373 .676 
Adam Everett SS       155 542 65 147 31  1  2  58 186 24  82 1  5 .271 .300 .343 .643 
Curtis Granderson CF  127 500 79 133 31 11 15  79 231 54 118 6 11 .266 .338 .462 .800 
Gerald Laird C        140 441 45 102 25  2  7  54 152 27  92 1  1 .231 .282 .345 .627 
Carlos Guillen LF     109 423 66 125 30  5 12  56 201 48  52 5  0 .296 .366 .475 .841 
Clete Thomas CF       120 363 55  96 26  0  9  46 149 26  75 2  4 .264 .318 .410 .729 
Josh Anderson CF       99 336 49  92 20  3  1  20 121 18  54 8  7 .274 .309 .360 .669 
Magglio Ordonez RF     77 295 48 111 22  3 12  56 175 20  28 2  2 .376 .418 .593 1.011 
Marcus Thames LF       96 294 42  84 17  0 10  36 131 20  61 2  2 .286 .331 .446 .777 
Jeff Larish 1B        112 250 24  60  3  0  4  25  75 30  58 2  2 .240 .329 .300 .629 
Ramon Santiago SS      44 108 15  22  4  0  0   2  26  6  21 0  1 .204 .265 .241 .506 
Matt Treanor C         60  99 11  25  3  0  1   5  31  6  24 0  0 .253 .292 .313 .606 
Brent Clevlen LF       21  65  9  14  3  0  0   7  17  4  19 2  1 .215 .268 .262 .529 
Casper Wells RF        21  56 11  14  5  0  2   4  25  2   9 0  1 .250 .271 .446 .718 
Mike Hessman 3B        19  48  7  11  2  1  3   9  24  5   7 0  0 .229 .315 .500 .815 
Santo De Leon 2B       17  46  5  13  2  1  1   4  20  0   4 0  0 .283 .277 .435 .711 
Ryan Raburn 2B         14  35  3   7  3  0  2   6  16  1   5 0  0 .200 .222 .457 .679 
Ryan Strieby 1B         6  22  2   2  0  0  0   1   2  2   9 0  0 .091 .167 .091 .258 
Scott Sizemore 2B       6  15  2   0  0  0  0   1   0  2   7 0  0 .000 .118 .000 .118

Most of the players played up to my expectations, and based on the information the game had from previous seasons, I think it did a good job. Perhaps the surprise performances include Everett and Magglio. I think our season would have been a bit better had Mags not been injured so often. You could say the same for Guillen. The only other aspect that catches my attention is the stolen bases. Granderson should have more and higher success rate, though the results might be due to my choosing to hit and run more often than just a straight steal.

[84Hammy]

Final Pitching Stats for 2009 Tigers:

Name                  W  L SV   ERA G  GS  IP    HA   R  ER HR BB  K  WHIP OAVG BABIP 
 
Ross Wolf MR          0  1  0  0.79  8  0  11.1  12   1   1  0  3   5 1.32 .267 .300 
Christopher Blazek MR 0  2  1  2.96 43  0  48.2  39  16  16  6 16  51 1.13 .222 .277 
Bobby Seay MR        12  8  1  3.24 64  0  77.2  77  39  28  7 28  58 1.35 .258 .300 
Rick Porcello SP     10  5  0  3.71 26 26 162.2 175  79  67 14 31  79 1.27 .271 .292 
Joel Zumaya CL        3  2 23  3.74 39  0  43.1  51  18  18  4 14  38 1.50 .288 .348 
Fernando Rodney MR    8  4  3  3.90 52  0  57.2  55  29  25  3 19  43 1.28 .259 .313 
Nate Robertson SP     7 10  1  3.91 37 21 184.0 196  89  80 22 41  88 1.29 .269 .281 
Jeremy Bonderman SP   8  3  0  4.07 17 17 112.2 117  53  51 15 22  86 1.23 .268 .304 
Edwin Jackson SP      9 17  0  4.22 36 36 224.0 247 118 105 28 72 103 1.42 .274 .285 
Zach Miner MR         3  2  0  4.76 30  4  68.0  67  40  36  9 28  39 1.40 .257 .272 
Armando Galarraga SP  5 15  0  5.09 31 30 199.2 230 124 113 35 58 106 1.44 .284 .292 
Justin Verlander SP   9  9  1  6.13 40 18 144.0 154  99  98 20 53 114 1.44 .273 .312 
Ben Sheets SP         1  3  0  6.13  7  6  39.2  51  27  27  6 11  24 1.56 .315 .341 
Brandon Lyon MR       0  1  0  6.83 16  0  29.0  45  28  22  6  6  18 1.76 .349 .371 
Juan Rincon MR        1  1  0  6.89 11  0  15.2  24  15  12  0  9   9 2.11 .358 .414 
Casey Crosby SP       2  1  0  7.13  4  4  24.0  29  19  19  7  9  15 1.58 .293 .286 
Freddy Dolsi MR       0  0  0 22.24  6  0   5.2  13  15  14  0  6   3 3.35 .464 .520

Well, in the end, the pitching seemed to level itself out, and as you can see, my bullpen performed fairly well with Seay, Rodney, Blazek, and Zumaya. The Porcello injury hurt in the end; I think he might have been good for at least 4 more wins. Jackson and Bonderman pitched about at expectations, while Verlander did not. The big surprise here was Robertson, who was pretty dependable.

[84Hammy]

2009 Final Standings:

American League Standings 
 
Eastern Division  

Team                  W  L  PCT  GB
New York (A) Yankees 95 67 .586 - 
Boston Red Sox       85 77 .525 10.0  
Tampa Bay Rays       81 81 .500 14.0 
Toronto Blue Jays    75 87 .463 20.0  
Baltimore Orioles    70 92 .432 25.0 

Central Division  

Team                   W   L  PCT  GB 
Kansas City Royals    96  66 .593 - 
Minnesota Twins       84  78 .519 12.0 
Cleveland Indians     82  80 .506 14.0  
Detroit Tigers        78  84 .481 18.0  
Chicago (A) White Sox 61 101 .377 35.0 

Western Division  

Team                     W  L  PCT  GB 
Oakland Athletics       93 69 .574 -  
Seattle Mariners        85 77 .525  8.0 
Los Angeles (A) Angels  76 86 .469 17.0  
Texas Rangers           71 91 .438 22.0 

AL Wild Card  

Team                     W   L  PCT  GB 
Boston Red Sox          85  77 .525 -  
Seattle Mariners        85  77 .525 -  
Minnesota Twins         84  78 .519  1.0  
Cleveland Indians       82  80 .506  3.0 
Tampa Bay Rays          81  81 .500  4.0  
Detroit Tigers          78  84 .481  7.0  
Los Angeles (A) Angels  76  86 .469  9.0  
Toronto Blue Jays       75  87 .463 10.0 
Texas Rangers           71  91 .438 14.0 
Baltimore Orioles       70  92 .432 15.0 
Chicago (A) White Sox   61 101 .377 24.0  
 
National League Standings  

Eastern Division  

Team                    W  L  PCT  GB 
Philadelphia Phillies  91 71 .562 -  
New York (N) Mets      85 77 .525  6.0 
Atlanta Braves         77 85 .475 14.0  
Florida Marlins        73 89 .451 18.0  
Washington Nationals   73 89 .451 18.0 

Central Division  

Team                 W  L  PCT  GB 
Houston Astros      90 72 .556 -  
Milwaukee Brewers   84 78 .519  6.0  
St. Louis Cardinals 81 81 .500  9.0 
Chicago (N) Cubs    79 83 .488 11.0 
Pittsburgh Pirates  79 83 .488 11.0 
Cincinnati Reds     71 91 .438 19.0 

Western Division  

Team                     W  L  PCT  GB 
Los Angeles (N) Dodgers 95 67 .586 - 
San Diego Padres        91 71 .562  4.0 
Colorado Rockies        79 83 .488 16.0  
San Francisco Giants    76 86 .469 19.0  
Arizona Diamondbacks    74 88 .457 21.0 

NL Wild Card  

Team                  W  L  PCT  GB 
San Diego Padres     91 71 .562 - 
New York (N) Mets    85 77 .525 6.0 
Milwaukee Brewers    84 78 .519 7.0  
St. Louis Cardinals  81 81 .500 10.0  
Chicago (N) Cubs     79 83 .488 12.0 
Colorado Rockies     79 83 .488 12.0 
Pittsburgh Pirates   79 83 .488 12.0 
Atlanta Braves       77 85 .475 14.0 
San Francisco Giants 76 86 .469 15.0 
Arizona Diamondbacks 74 88 .457 17.0 
Florida Marlins      73 89 .451 18.0  
Washington Nationals 73 89 .451 18.0 
Cincinnati Reds      71 91 .438 20.0

Well I guess we were only 7 games out of a playoff spot! I think KC is the biggest surprise here...even the game seemed to buy into all that young talent they have. Oakland also falls into that category. The White Sox were hit pretty hard in the injury department, though it is pretty hard to image in real life this type of season happening. In the NL, Houston and San Diego qualify as surprises. BTW Seattle beat Boston in the one game playoff.

I'll post playoff winners and award winners shortly.