Always A Tiger

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[mfbmike]

2008 was a tough year in Detroit. Both of the major auto companies contracted corporate AIDS, and watched their stock prices plummet like t-cell totals. Eminem’s popularity has faded. And yes, the Detroit Tigers, the sexy pre-season pick to win it all last season, staggered to an unexpected last-place finish in 2008. Now, the “Big Two” auto makers could conceivably improve upon their miserable year, and Eminem could release a new album in which he fantasizes about killing another family member, but can the Tigers claw their way out of the cellar? Let’s see.

Detroit Tigers
2008 Record: 74-88
2008 Finish: 5th place, AL Central

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2009 Detroit Tigers Preview (Pitching Rotation)



1) Justin Verlander
2) Armando Galarraga
3) Jeremy Bonderman
4) Rick Porcello
5) Dontrelle Willis

Let’s talk about ERA and FIP. ERA, or “Earned Run Average”, is basically a measure of how effective a pitcher was at preventing runs from scoring. While ERA is probably the most commonly used pitching metric these days, its major flaw is that it can be skewed by the quality of defensive plays (i.e., a slick-fielding shortstop could snag a line drive that would normally go for a double, thereby reducing his pitcher’s ERA even though the pitcher just gave up a bullet). FIP, or “Fielding Independent Pitching”, attempts to factor out the effect of fielders on ERA. You can subtract one from the other and get a rough idea on how lucky (or unlucky) a pitcher was in 2008. Armando Galarraga, Detroit’s best starter last season, had the highest FIP-ERA difference in the majors. So, it can be assumed that he was a lucky, and will probably come down to Earth next season.

Injuries to Jeremy Bonderman, and lackluster performances fromm ace Justin Verlander helped the Tigers to a last place finish. Rick Porcello has been called up to bolster what was an disappointing rotation in 2008. Porcello, who is widely considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, was selected with the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2007 draft. He has a low-to-mid 90s fastball, a slider, changeup and a curve, but it’ll take time for that array of pitches to be mastered. Dontrelle Willis could be decent (assuming he can bounce back from a forgettable 2008). Verlander still has some of the best stuff in the game and could easily rebound, and Bonderman might be a good #2 if healthy. Even if Galarraga’s carriage turns into a pumpkin, the rotation could still be OK.

Rotation Grade: C

[T.Dot]

I'll follow, looks nice Mike

[mfbmike]

2009 Detroit Tigers Preview (Bullpen)




Fernando Rodney (CL)
Joel Zumaya
Juan Rincon
Aquilino Lopez
Bobby Seay
Edwin Jackson
Zach Miner

Zumaya and Rodney are both overpowering and effective and should prove to be sufficient in late innings. Rodney is less of a gimp than Zumaya, so assume he spends more time in the closer’s role over the course of the season. Miner and Jackson will both start games here and there, but these guys are both batting practice pitchers right now. A bullpen stint for both of them can change their approach and help them gain some effectiveness in the process.

Overall, it’s a bullpen with some decent late-inning options and plenty of long relief depth available.

Bullpen Grade: C+

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2009 Detroit Tigers Preview (Offense/Defense)




1) Curtis Granderson CF
2) Placido Polanco 2B
3) Magglio Ordonez RF
4) Miguel Cabrera 1B
5) Carlos Guillen LF
6) Marcus Thames DH
7) Brandon Inge 3B
8) Gerald Laird C
9) Adam Everett SS

Bench:

Josh Anderson - OF
Matt Treanor - C/1B
Ramon Santiago - SS
Ryan Raburn - 2B

The offensive potential will decrease a bit from 2008, as Ivan Rodriguez and Edgar Renteria have been replaced by Gerald Laird and Adam Everett. It’s one of the better lineups in the American League, especially 1 through 5, but there are question marks in the Motor City. You know Cabrera will be a monster, but what about Ordonez, Polanco, and Guillen, all in their mid-30’s? Can these guys consistently hit over the course of the season? My take on this lineup can be best described as cautiously enthusiastic. Josh Anderson will prove to be a much needed speedster off the bench to help the Tigers manufacture some runs as well.

Offense Grade: B

It’s pretty clear that the Tigers made some moves with leather in mind, as both Adam Everett and Gerald Laird immediately improve their respective positions. Carlos Guillen was a terrible infielder, but he’ll move over to LF and Brandon Inge (a pretty good fielder) will assume 3B duties. Polanco is a great defensive 2B, Granderson is above average in CF, and Ordonez is just about average in RF. Cabrera and Guillen are both butchers, but will have their shoddy gloves mitigated at 1B and LF.

Defensive Grade: B+

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2009 Detroit Tigers Preview Wrap-Up

The Big Question: Can the pitching bounce back?
There’s no doubt that if the lineup stays healthy, the Tigers will score plenty of runs this season. But this club produced a 4.90 ERA last season, which was good for third worst in the AL and 27th overall. After amassing an 18-6 record in 2007, ace Justin Verlander sputtered to an 11-17 record and a 4.84 ERA. Verlander struggled mightily with his control (he walked 87 batters in 201 innings) and it’s unclear if he was battling arm/shoulder injuries or if he just had a bad year. Regardless, he’ll need to bounce back in a big way this season and lead a rotation that posts uncertainties in Jeremy Bonderman and Dontrelle Willis. The lone bright spot last year was Armando Galarraga, who led the club in wins with 13. But 2009 marks only his second full season in the big leagues.

Outlook:
Two major factors will likely play into whether or not the Tigers bounce back after underachieving greatly in 2008. The first was discussed in the aforementioned “The Big Question” section; the Tigers need the starting five to rebound from a disastrous ’08 campaign and it all starts with ace Justin Verlander. The second factor is the overall health of the club, which was a major issue last season. Curtis Granderson and Jeremy Bonderman missed significant time last year and it sunk this team’s fortunes. The lineup is absolutely stacked from top to bottom and offers an excellent balance of speed, power and average. When healthy, Granderson, Placido Polanco, Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Guillen comprise one of the best offenses in all of baseball. But again, is this club destined to stay healthy all season? Can the starting pitching produce like it did during the Tigs’ World Series run a couple years ago? The Tigers are definitely contenders and with the uncertainty surrounding the Indians, Twins and White Sox in the AL Central, Detroit could easily win the division. But they’re going to find out quickly if they’re a balanced club or if the offense will have to carry them throughout.

Projection: 2nd AL Central

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Opening Day Series Preview:

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Rogers Centre in Toronto

Projected Matchups:

Game 1:


Justin Verlander 0-0 , 0.00 ERA | Roy Halladay 0-0 , 0.00 ERA

Game 2:


Armando Galarraga 0-0 , 0.00 ERA | Jessie Litsch 0-0 , 0.00 ERA

Game 3:


Jeremy Bonderman 0-0 , 0.00 ERA | Ricky Romero 0-0 , 0.00 ERA

Game 4:


Rick Porcello 0-0 , 0.00 ERA | David Purcey 0-0 , 0.00 ERA

Blue Jays Lineup:

SS Marco Scutaro
2B Aaron Hill
CF Vernon Wells
DH Adam Lind
RF Alex Rios
1B Lyle Overbay
3B Scott Rolen
LF Travis Snider
C Rod Barajas

[goDawgs1433]

This fucking blows, Mike. :waitwhat:

[chazmaniandevil]

w00t, starting a new one too, fucking the show and all of there fucking updates

[mfbmike]

Tigers Solve Holliday And Pull Out A Win In Toronto On Opening Day

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The Tigers Venezuelan Trio celebrate after Miguel Cabrera's 2 run homer in the 1st inning.

On the road in Toronto, the Tigers won a close game on opening day, 3-2 in front of 36,298 fans at Rogers Centre. Miguel Cabrera's 1st at bat of the season was a 2 run shot that put the Tigers out in front early, 2-0. Starter Justin Verlander pitched 5 shutout innings before giving up a 2 run homer to Vernon Wells in the 6th. Working in relief of Verlaner, Edwin Jackson came into a 2-2 game and pitched a flawless 7th inning and was able to vulture his 1st win of the season, after Magglio Ordonez was able to bring in Adam Everett in the top of the 8th to put the Tigers out in front 3-2. The Blue Jays would threaten in the home half of the 9th after managing to string together 2 hits against closer Fernando Rodney but a solid defensive play on a groundball by Brandon Inge would seal the deal for the Tigers in this one.

The Tigers and Blue Jays play game 2 tomorrow night, with Armando Galarraga (0-0 , 0.00 ERA) and Jessie Litsch (0-0 , 0.00 ERA) the probable starters.



Tigers Pitching:
Justin Verlander 6IP | 6H | 2ER | 0BB | 4SO | 3.00 ERA
Edwin Jackson (W, 1-0) 1IP | 0H | 0ER | 0BB | 1SO | 0.00 ERA
Joel Zumaya (H, 1) 1IP | 1H | 0ER | 0BB | 0SO | 0.00 ERA
Fernando Rodney (S, 1) 1IP | 2H | 0ER | 0BB | 1SO | 0.00 ERA

Blue Jays Pitching:
Roy Halladay 7IP | 6H | 3ER | 1BB | 2SO | 3.86 ERA
Shawn Camp 2IP | 2H | 0ER | 0BB | 2SO | 0.00 ERA

Tigers Lineup:
CF Curtis Granderson 0-3
2B Placido Polanco 1-3 | BB | K
RF Magglio Ordonez 2-4 | K
1B Miguel Cabrera 1-4 | K
LF Carlos Guillen 0-4
DH Marcus Thames 1-4
3B Brandon Inge 1-4
C Gerald Laird 1-4
SS Adam Everett 1-3 | K

HR: Cabrera (1)
RBI: Ordonez (1) , Cabrera 2 (2)
R: Ordonez , Cabrera , Everett
SAC: Granderson
GIDP: Ordonez

CS: Polanco (1)

Blue Jays Lineup:
SS Marco Scutaro 3-4
2B Aaron Hill 1-4 | K
CF Vernon Wells 1-4
DH Adam Lind 0-4 | 2K
RF Alex Rios 1-4 | K
1B Lyle Overbay 1-4 | K
3B Scott Rolen 1-4
LF Travis Snider 1-4 | K
C Rod Barajas 0-3

2B: Snider (1)
HR: Wells (1)
RBI: Wells 2 (2)
R: Wells , Lind

Player Of The Game:

Miguel Cabrera

Cabrera blasted a 2 run shot in his 1st at bat of the season that put the Tigers out in front early.

[chazmaniandevil]

nice win, interesting choice on having edwin as a LR

[mfbmike]

Miner and Jackson have the lowest overall rating of all my possible starting pitchers so I moved them both over to long relief. Not to mention, I struggled hard with Jackson in my 1st Tigers chise and have found he is better in stints out of the pen as opposed to starting.

Verlander was pitching a great game but Vernon Wells just got the best of him in the 6th and absolutely crushed one. I let him finish off the inning before bringing in Jackson in the 7th.

If any of my starters struggle, I will definitely switch up the rotation. Having two possible starters in the pen gives me some flexibility that I like.

Miner and Jackson will both start games here and there. A bullpen stint for both of them can change their approach and help them gain some effectiveness in the process.

[mfbmike]

Yeah, what's funny is though he walked Polanco in the 1st inning. I tried to steal a base but unfortunately got gunned down at 2nd. Magglio ends up getting on base after a strikeout pitch gets away from their catcher. Miggy comes up and blasts either the 1st or 2nd pitch for a home run.

It could've been a 3 run shot had I not tried to steal. lol, I was kicking myself after that one. After that 1st inning though, he was in control.

[mfbmike]

Tigers Haven't Had The Best Luck With Closers



Ahh, what could have been.

Four outstanding closers who have totaled 1,081 saves were let go by the Detroit Tigers. Each now ranks in the Top 45 for all-time saves, but only 18 of those saves came for Detroit.

Troy Percival, No. 8 all-time with 352 saves, had eight saves during an injury-plagued year with Detroit.

John Wetteland, 11th with 330 saves, was a Rule 5 draft pick the Tigers sent back to the Los Angeles Dodgers after spring training in 1988. They opted to give the last roster spot that year to utility infielder Jim Walewander instead of Wetteland. Who knew?

Mike Marshall, the 1974 Cy Young Award winner for the Dodgers with 188 career saves, was an expansion draft pick of the Seattle Pilots after getting 10 saves for Detroit in 1967.

Francisco Cordero didn't get any saves in 20 appearances for the 1999 Tigers before being traded to the Texas Rangers in the ill-fated Juan Gonzalez trade and accumulating 211 saves. He had 49 saves for the 2004 Rangers.

John Smoltz is best known for his 210 wins. But Smoltz, traded by Detroit to the Atlanta Braves for Doyle Alexander in 1987, also had 154 saves.

Fernando Rodney, the current Tigers closer did manage to earn his 1st save of the season in lastnight's opening day game against the Blue Jays despite giving up 2 hits in an inning of work. A win is win and the Tigers will take it but here's to hoping the Tigers luck as far as closers go can turn around in 2009.