Detroit Tigers 2013 Season

[TribeFanInNC]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

Last night was one of those examples (in hindsight obviously) where Jimmy left a pitcher in too long. That's not the first time he's done that with Justin this year. He's not the same Justin this year as in past years and the number of hits he gave up before the eighth was a good indicator of that.

Of course, you have to balance that with the bullpen performance this year. Tough call either way.

[RandyTiger]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

Last night was one of those examples (in hindsight obviously) where Jimmy left a pitcher in too long. That's not the first time he's done that with Justin this year. He's not the same Justin this year as in past years and the number of hits he gave up before the eighth was a good indicator of that.

I agree, and I wonder if the bullpen status had anything to do with it - Rondon, Smyly, and Benoit had pitched the night before, and Putkonen was warming up when Reed got that final out. Not a lot of arms left if you need to save some for the next day in case Porcello doesn't last long (always a possibility with him).

Remember, they don't have any dependable long-relievers left - Smyly's moved into the set-up role and pitches 2 innings at the most these days. I'm wonder when they're going to make a move and send Reed or Alburquerque back down to the farm for someone with some stamina. Neither of them are capable of throwing at the ML level, if their stats are any indication. I'd like Coke to go, too, but they need his left arm in there.

At least none of the 'pen guys threw very long yesterday, they'll be available for short duty tonight. (Let's hope they ain't needed, none of them are the Rock of Gibraltar...)

[RandyTiger]

And I don't know if anyone's realized this yet, but Miggy's 29 homers are the most for any Tiger before the ASG, beating the record of 28 hit by Cecil Fielder in 1990.

Well done, Miggy.

Also, he's withdrawn from the HR Derby - those side/back muscles are bothering him, as you could see from a leaping catch he made last night. The ASG couldn't have come at a better time, if only for the rest these boys need.

[RandyTiger]

Tigers 8, White Sox 5. [Boxscore]

Summary: Offensively flurry propels Tigers past Sox.

Pitching: Rick Porcello performed excellently tonight, tossing his 10th quality game in 17 starts this season as he went 6 innings, yielding 3 runs (1 HR) on 7 hits (and no walks) while whiffing 6 Sox. He was credited with the win, so he stands at 6-6, 4.80 ERA, 1.26 WHIP.

Rondon took over in the 7th, and his wildness returned during his 1-inning stint as he gave up 2 runs on 2 hits (HR, Double) and a walk to go with his 2 wild pitches (one right after another). At his age, some days you have it, some days you don't. His record goes to 0-1, 7.04 ERA, 2.09 WHIP.

Smyly tossed the 8th, and he did his usual blue-collar job as he earned his 10th Hold of the season with a punch-out in a flawless inning. That makes him 4-0, 2.00 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, with 2 saves (1 blown) and 10 Holds.

Benoit issued 2 walks during the final inning, but other than that, he held the line to pick up his 8th Save. He's 2-0, 1.69 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, with 8 Saves (zero blown) and 9 holds.

Offense: The Boys collected 15 hits and 2 walks, the vast majority of them from the top 5 guys. Since they all had good nights, I'll just list them in lineup order.

Jackson went 2-5 (.289) with a run-scoring triple (2, and 23rd RBI) [Video]. He got caught stealing (2) in the 8th.

Hunter, 2-5 (.305) with 2 runs (52).

Miggy, 3-5 (.366), 1 run (70), and an RBI (93).

Fielder, 3-4 (.267), with a 2-run, 373-foot homer (16) to RF in the 1st inning [Video]. He scored 2 runs (47) and picked up 3 RBI (69).

Martinez continued his hitting streak, which now stands at 12, by going 3-4 (.254) with a run (36) and RBI (47). It's good to see him finally getting started, the Tigers will need him in the 2nd half if they want to win the whole tamale.

The bottom 4 (Peralta, Dirks, Avila, and Santiago) went 2-14 with 2 walks.

Next game: Thursday, White Sox (35-53, 16-32 away) @ Tigers (50-40, 27-17 home) for the rubber game of this series, 1:08 Eastern. TV: FS-D, MLBN. Radio: 97.1 The Ticket.

Projected starters: Sale (5-8, 2.78) vs. Sanchez (7-5, 2.70).

[RandyTiger]

Josh Katzenstein of the DetNews wrote a really nice piece chronicling 3 days in the lives of Grand Rapids Whitecaps (Tigers Low-A) players. It really gives some insights into what these young men experience during the season. I highly recommend it, if only for color and some background into what it's like in the Bush leagues.

[RandyTiger]

Roster update (sorta):

Rick Porcello, who had appealed his 6-game suspension for throwing at a batter, dropped the appeal - and was handed a 5-game sentence in exchange for doing so.

Not that it really matters, since he was not going to start any of the 4 remaining games before the ASG break or either of the 2 games after the break, so his suspension means absolutely nothing.

Masterful plotting on the part of the Tigers head office. Kudos to those guys.

[RandyTiger]

Chicago 6, Detroit 3. [Boxscore]

Summary: Jekyll/Hyde syndrome strike the Tigers again as Sox take series.

Pitching: Sanchez was ineffective right from the beginning, allowing at least one base-runner every inning, a situation that came back to bite him in the 6th when he surrendered a grand-slam HR to Phegley. His final line was 5.1 innings, 7 hits, 3 walks, 1 HBP, 5 runs (1 HR), and 6 strikeouts. Saddled with the loss, he falls to 7-6, 2.93 ERA, 1.17 WHIP.

Putkonen lasted just 1/3 of an inning before getting tossed - see details under "Note" below. He's 1-1, 2.70 ERA, 1.20 WHIP.

Alburquerque took over, and while he didn't allow any runs, he was ineffective at keeping the Sox off the bases, giving up 3 singles and notching 1 K in 1.1 innings of work. Record: 1-2, 4.24 ERA, 1.84 WHIP.

Coke was completely ineffective and unable to find the plate, giving up a solo HR and then 3 straight walks after getting a ground-out. I wonder how much longer the Tigers will tolerate this kind of shoddy work?

For the game, he threw 1/3 of an inning, 1 hit, 1 run (HR), and 3 walks, and he's now 0-5, 6.18 ERA, 1.59 WHIP.

I should note that only 6 of his 19 pitches were strikes. Give the guy a radio telescope, someone...

Reed came aboard, and he held the line admirably in his 1.2 innings of work, allowing only 1 walk and getting a punch-out. His record goes to 0-0, 3.86 ERA, 1.50 WHIP.

Offense: The team collected a grand total of 10 hits and 2 walks, but as usual, when the chips were down, they couldn't pull the trigger, as they were only 2-7 in RISP and left 6 on base.

Martinez continued to sizzle, going 3-4 (.260) with a double (18) and a run scored, extending his hitting streak to 13 games. So far in July, he's gone 17-41 (.415) with 4 doubles, 1 HR, and 4 walks. It's good to see him finally rolling!

Hunter was the only other Tiger with more than 1 hit, going 2-4 (.307) with a double (23) and triple (3).

Tuiasosopo slugged a 2-run HR (6) to RF in the 2nd inning, the third straight game he's homered in (he's played 3 of the last 4). [Video]

Miggy deposited his 30th HR of the year, a solo shot, in the RF bleachers in the 5th. [Video]

According a ESPN research note (at the bottom of the boxscore during the game, now gone - guess it was for the play-by-play guys on TV/Radio), Miggy's homer marked the 7th straight season of 30+ homers for him, and he "reached 30 HR in the Tigers' 91st game of the season. The only Tigers player to get there faster was Hank Greenberg, who hit his 30th in their 87th game of 1938." Wowzers! Man's a beast...

Note: There were fireworks in the park for the 6th inning, courtesy of Jim Leyland. Here's what transpired:

After Miggy slugged his homer in the 5th, Fielder was thrown to up and in. Skipper took offense at that in the dugout, spreading his hands as if to say, "Where's the warning?". There didn't appear to be any issued that I could see on the television, and Rod/Mario (FS-D commentators) mentioned the same thing.

In the 6th, after Sanchez had been chased by a grand slam, Pukonen came in. One batter retired, no issues. Then Luke threw behind Ramirez, the next batter. It didn't look deliberate to me, but the home plate ump tossed Pukonen as Raminez started towards the mound. Benches emptied, but no displays of MMA occurred.

Leyland argued, argued, and argued, getting tossed in the process. He returned to the dugout and came back... 4 times (!) as Alburquerque warmed up on the mound, giving the umps quite an earful. THEN the umps warned both benches.

Man, the whole thing was surreal, and I really don't think the umps handled the situation correctly. It would be one thing if Putkonen had hit the first batter he faced, but he didn't - it was the 2nd, and way behind the back to boot. It could have simply gotten away. Why toss him when a warning would have been sufficient? Umps blew this one. Completely.

Oh, when Ramirez reached base on a single off Alburquerque, he injured his hamstring while running and had to be helped off the field. You should have heard the crowd - very unprofessional cheers. Hmm. Think they were just a little miffed at the guy? Really, it was the umps they were pissed at, but why quibble over details?

Next game: Friday, Texas (53-38, 26-19; record does not include the results of tonight's game vs Washington) @ Detroit (50-41, 27-18 home), 7:08 Eastern. TV: FS-D, MLBN. Radio: 97.1 The Ticket.

Projected starters: Grimm (7-6, 5.88) vs. Fister (6-5, 4.07).

[RandyTiger]

Tigers 7, Rangers 2. [Boxscore]

Summary: Combined attack help Tigers maul Rangers.

Pitching: Fister put in a solid game tonight, going 6 innings and yielding just 2 runs (1 HR) on 8 hits and 2 walks while whiffing 5. Credited with the win, he goes to 7-5, 4.02 ERA, 1.25 WHIP. It was his 12th quality start in 19 games this season.

Rondon took over in the 7th and tossed a perfect 1.1 innings, striking out 2 as he did so. He only needed 10 pitches to get those 4 outs, and all 10, if you can believe it, were strikes! Impressive, to say the least. He's 0-1, 6.00 ERA, 1.78 WHIP.

Smyly took over with one out in the 8th, and went 1.1 innings total, giving up 2 hits. He got into a little bit of trouble in the 9th.

After getting 1 out, Martin got on base thanks to an error by Fielder, and then Kinsler singled. Murphy grounded into an FC, leaving runners at 1st and 3rd. With a righty coming up, Cruz, Skipper correctly decided it was time to switch gears, and so he pulled Drew. Smyly goes to 4-0, 1.95 ERA, 0.98 WHIP.

That brought in Benoit, and he dispatched Cruz on 3 straight pitches. 2-0, 8 SV, 1.67 ERA, 1.06 WHIP.

Solid effort by everyone, that's what we love to see!

Offense: The Cat Attack had 11 hits and 3 walks tonight, and every starter save Dirks and Santiago had at least one hit. Kinda hard to decide who had the most impact tonight, so I'll just list the 2-hit guys.

Jackson, 2-5 (.286) with a double (14) and 2 runs scored.

Hunter, 2-4 (.309) with a double (24) and RBI (43), and 2 runs scored.

Fielder, 2-4 (.270) with 1 run scored.

Peralta, 2-4 (.300) with a 2-bagger (25) and 2 RBI (44).

Martinez continued his hitting streak (14 games now) with a double (19) and 2 RBI (49), and Miggy notched his 93rd RBI.

Just a solid effort by the Boys.

Next game: Texas (53-40, 26-21 away) @ Detroit (51-41, 28-18 home), 7:15 Eastern. TV: Fox National. Radio: 97.1 The Ticket.

Projected starters: Holland (7-4, 3.19) vs. Scherzer (13-0, 3.06).

[The Game]

I voted for Joaquin Benoit for the ASG (only because he is on my team in 2008) (sucks 5.28 ERA in 2007 optioned him to AAA out of ST in 2008) and received this in my email. Enjoy!

[RandyTiger]

Rangers 7, Tigers 1. [Boxscore]

Summary: Tigers embarrass themselves on National TV... again.

Pitching: Scherzer struggled tonight, working 6 innings and giving up 4 runs (1 HR) on 8 hits and 2 walks while punching out 6. This marks his 19th straight game of 6+ strikeouts. By taking the loss, his record goes to 13-1, 3.19 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, with 152 K's in 129.2 IP.

Putkonen started the 7th, and after one out, he ran into trouble by giving up 2 straight singles. The left-handed hitting Pierzynski was up next, so Skipper yanked him rather than risk things getting out of hand. His record stands at 1-1, 2.66 ERA, 1.28 WHIP.

Coke came in, and he promptly got Pierzynski to ground into a double play, ending that threat. He tossed an additional inning after that, and to everyone's relief, performed splendidly, giving up nothing and punching out one Ranger. Record: 0-5, 5.83 ERA, 1.50 WHIP.

Alburquerque took over for the 9th, and he was a disaster. Walk, SB, run-scoring infield single, and a 2-run HR. His record: 1-2, 5.18 ERA, 1.89 WHIP.

Wish they would get some competent help in the BP, just to send Coke and Alburquerque to Toledo where they bloody well belong.

Offense: A whole lotta nothing happened, as Texas pitchers showed their quality, limiting the Cats to 1 run on 6 hits and 5 walks.

The best-hitting Tiger was Hunter, who was 2-4 (.312) with 2 singles. Peralta had a SB (3), and Martinez had his 14-game hitting streak snapped.

The team was 1-6 with RISP, and left 8 on base.

Next game: Sunday, Texas (54-40, 27-21 away) @ Detroit (51-42, 28-19 home), 1:08 Eastern. TV: FS-D, TBS. Radio: 97.1 The Ticket. Last game until Friday due to the ASB.

Projected starters: Perez (3-1, 2.08) vs. Verlander (9-6, 3.71)

[cephasjames]

No hitter through six. 97 pitches. The decision to keep Verlander in if he keeps up the no-no could get interesting.

[cephasjames]

Not any more.

[RandyTiger]

Tigers 5, Rangers 0. [Boxscore]

Summary: Verlander and the Boys roar, Rangers wilt.

Pitching: Verlander threw what was undeniably his best game this season, utterly dominating the Rangers. He flirted with a no-hitter, but lost it in the 7th when Moreland doubled. When he experienced right quadriceps tightness at the end of the 7th, he was pulled as a precaution.

His final line for the game was 7 innings, 1 hit, 3 walks, and 3 whiffs. He goes to 10-6, 3.50 ERA, 1.34 WHIP.

Smyly took over at that point, and he was his usual rock-solid self, tossing 1.1 innings and giving up 1 hit and collecting a whiff. He finishes the first-half at 4-0, 2 SV (1 BS), 10 Holds, 1.91 ERA, 0.97 WHIP.

Benoit closed out the game, hitting 1 batter and getting 2 strikeouts in the 2/3 of an inning he worked. His final stats for the 1st half are: 2-0, 8 SV (0 BS), 9 Holds, 1.64 ERA, 1.04 WHIP.

Offense: The Boys had 7 hits, 5 walks, and 3 HR, which was more than good enough to guarantee a win in this one.

Hunter opened up scoring with a 397-foot solo shot to LF in the 1st [Video], his 7th homer of the season. He finished 2-3 (.315), adding a walk (17) and another run (56) later in the game.

Martinez went 1-4 (.258) with a 414-foot solo blast (8) to LF in the 4th [Video].

Peralta was the offensive star in this one, going 2-3 (.303) with his 8th HR, a 380-foot solo shot to RF, which followed Martinez's for back-to-back homers in the 4th [Video]. He also drew his 31st walk, and added another RBI (46 total) on a single in the 6th.

Note: The Cats finish the half 52-42 (29-19 home, 23-23 road), leading the division by 1.5 games over Cleveland.

Next game: Friday, Tigers (52-42, 23-23 road) @ Royals (43-49, 22-22 home), 8:10 Eastern. TV: FS-D. Radio: 97.1 The Ticket.

Projected starters: TBA.

[RandyTiger]

Contract news:

The Tigers signed RHP Jeremy Bonderman to an AAA contract, and he will report to Toledo Thursday for their game in Buffalo.

Bonderman, who was attempting a comeback after missing the 2011 and 2012 seasons, was DFA'd by Seattle on Monday, July 8th, after some poor starts.

He started the season in Tacoma, Seattle's AAA affiliate, and in 11 games, he was 2-4, 4.52 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, with 33 strikeouts in 63.2 innings. He was called up to Seattle on June 2nd to fill a hole in the rotation.

In 7 games with the big club, he went 1-3, 4.93 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, with 16 K's in 38.1 IP, in the range of 5 innings per game.

He's definitely had big ups and downs, getting rocked for 7 runs in his return to the Show, and 2 starts later, threw an 8 inning, 3-hit shutout against Houston.

Think the Tigers will convert him to the bullpen for some help?

Granted, he may not have overpowering stuff, (After the surgery he had, I'm surprised he's still in baseball, period.) but he sure couldn't be worse than Coke or some of the other guys in the 'pen now, could he?

If nothing else, insurance, but I can't help wondering what Dombrowski was thinking when he did this, or what he was drinking...

[RandyTiger]

Anyone planning to watch the HR Derby this year? I'll probably watch at least some of it. It's on ESPN @ 8 Eastern.

Here's the list of players participating:

AL:

Robinson Cano
Yoenis Cespedes
Chris Davis
Prince Fielder

NL:

Pedro Alvarez
Michael Cuddyer
Bryce Harper
David Wright

Should be interesting! Pity Miggy decided to sit out, but his reasons are valid. I think he would have won the whole tamale, Davis notwithstanding.

[CONN CHRIS]

It's too bad what has happened to Bonderman, he had such promise.

As much as I liked him, I hope he is plan G or something further down the list. The Tigers need to make a move or two and time is slipping away.

[TribeFanInNC]

Originally Posted by RandyTiger

Pity Miggy decided to sit out, but his reasons are valid. I think he would have won the whole tamale, Davis notwithstanding.

That is disappointing but understandable. Anybody remember the old school Home Run Derby show from like the 50s? I think watching Cabrera v. Davis in that format would be awesome.

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by TribeFanInNC

That is disappointing but understandable. Anybody remember the old school Home Run Derby show from like the 50s? I think watching Cabrera v. Davis in that format would be awesome.

I would much prefer seeing homerun derbies done this way.

[RandyTiger]

Fielder didn't make it out of the first round, sadly.

Cespedes put on one heck of a display, beating Harper in the finals. Just a terrific display of power abilities.

Harper surprised me a little bit - I've never thought much of him, always thought he was overhyped, but maybe he does deserve some of the accolades he's been getting.

We'll see. I generally don't take to youngsters until they've proven themselves after 4, 5 years in the Show, just like I'm taking a "wait-and-see" approach to Trout and the other kids.

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by RandyTiger

I generally don't take to youngsters until they've proven themselves after 4, 5 years in the Show, just like I'm taking a "wait-and-see" approach to Trout and the other kids.

There have been too many young stars who simply flame out after a year or so of stardom to get caught up in the hype (Alex Avila is a Tigers' example). I sometimes wonder if all the hype causes some of the flame outs; players feel too much pressure and just can't handle it. But mostly it's just reality kicking in, pitchers figure batters out and vice versa, the waxing and waning of confidence over a career (rather than a season) which some can handle and some cannot, etc.