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BYB Flash Poll: Magglio's Last Stand?
by Ian Casselberry
on Jul 3, 2009 12:45 PM EDT
in News
21 comments
A dark could seems to be following the Detroit Tigers around right now, and it's hovering over Magglio Ordonez. Since returning from his "indefinite" hiatus, Maggs is 5-for-28 at the plate (.179), which has dropped his season batting line to .260/.330/.333. He has three extra-base hits in his last 28 games. And he's about halfway to reaching the 570 plate appearances that would trigger the $18 million contract option for next season.
I can't speak for the fanbase entirely, but there's a prevailing feeling in the Tigers blogosphere (or as we like to call it, "Tigersosphere") that Maggs is approaching his final days in the Old English D.
With the All-Star break just over a week away, this weekend's series in Minnesota could be Ordonez's last stand if he doesn't make a respectable showing. (Or perhaps the team will hold off until after the next six-game homestand, which might give the fans a chance to cheer on Maggs and thank him for what he's done for the Tigers one last time.)
So what do you think will happen? What do you expect to see? Please vote in the attached poll, and offer any opinions you have on the matter (or elaborations on the two poll choices) in the comments.
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What Do Bill Simmons and Keith Law Think of the Tigers?
by Ian Casselberry
on Jul 3, 2009 10:20 AM EDT
in News
3 comments
We're not sure how many people are in the office today, but if you're looking for something to listen to while stuck at work or during your holiday road trip, we recommend the latest episode of The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons podcast. Bill chats with Keith Law about the baseball season thus far, and a few Detroit Tigers-related items come up during the conversation.
- Law counts the Tigers among the "clear" buyers at the trade deadline, along with the Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Angels, and Rangers.
- Both Law and Simmons love Edwin Jackson.
- If you're still wondering why the Tigers struggled against the A's, Law thinks highly of their young pitchers, such as Brett Anderson.
- The best AL rookie pitcher isn't Rick Porcello or David Price, but... Ricky Romero. (You might remember him from the Tigers' third game of the season.)
- Neither Law nor Simmons are big believers in the Tigers, but concede that they might be the best team in the AL Central. (Though Simmons thinks Detroit will be under .500 by the end of the season.)
- Law, however, appears not to have watched Armando Galarraga in quite a while, and is called out on that by Simmons.
- Both Law and Simmons hate Fernando Rodney.
The two also discuss Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman, who came up in yesterday's Off-Day Open Thread. We're a little bit disappointed the two didn't talk a little bit about cooking, since it's a big part of Law's personal blog. (He writes a lot about books as well, for those who enjoyed yesterday's off-day step into literary discussion.)
You can listen to the podcast directly from the ESPN.com Podcenter page, or download it to your computer and MP3 player of choice.
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BYOBYB: Off-Day Open Thread
by Ian Casselberry
on Jul 2, 2009 12:20 PM EDT
in News
82 comments
Once again, we find ourselves asking: What a difference a week makes, eh? The tumultuous nature of this Detroit Tigers team continues to frustrate and astound. Last Thursday, this team looked fantastic. Top o' the world, Ma! Now, the lineup can't score any runs again. And the possibility of being tied for first place in the AL Central with the Twins after this weekend seems terrifyingly real.
Welcome to "BYOBYB," the off-day open thread where you can chat about anything you'd like: Your Detroit Tigers, Major League Baseball, Detroit sports, movies, TV, food, Fourth of July weekend plans, etc.
Possible topics for the afternoon? Well, it's up to you, of course, but here are a few icebreakers:
- Lots of talk about the need to release Magglio Ordonez in the comments to our last post. Are the Tigers finally at the point of no return with this?
- BYB HQ is probably going to take a field trip to see "Transformers" this afternoon. Is it just an assault on the senses? And is it really two-and-a-half hours long? Will we regret giving up that much of our lives to fighting robots? (Or does that last question just not compute?)
- A new FanPost has a suggestion for an outfielder Detroit should consider pursuing. But he has a past that could give the Tigers pause. Worth the chance?
- Better holiday cookout food: Hamburgers or hot dogs? Or is that a choice we just shouldn't ask you to make? (We're not sure we can choose, either.)
- Also worth your time is another FanPost about the Tigers' payroll, and how it's not quite the landfill of wasted money that it might appear to some. It's kind of a long read, but there's some fine analysis for you.
- Has anyone listened to "Wilco {the album)" yet? That is also on today's agenda at BYB HQ.
- Some of you might remember a GameThread from last weekend digressing into a discussion about books. Kurt has
demandedrequested that we pick up that conversation again, which sounds like a great idea to me. What are you reading now? Who/what are some of your favorites?
Did we miss any other Tigers-related topics? It kind of feels like we did. In the time since typing out this list, we may have talked ourselves out of "Transformers" and into "Public Enemies." The final decision might not be made until arriving at the theater, as the showtimes are pretty close to one another. Anyway, the thread belongs to you, BYB Bunch! Bring it!
P.S. Have you said hello in The BYB Introduce Yourself Open Thread yet?
82 comments | 0 recs
No Runs, Still Traveling: Athletics 5, Tigers 1
by Ian Casselberry
on Jul 2, 2009 12:45 AM EDT
in News
21 comments
I don't know how it was where you work and live, but in my business around town today, it sure looked like a lot of people had already checked out for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Should we include the Detroit Tigers in that group?
The Tigers' lineup appeared to already be on the plane to Minneapolis, thinking about what they'd do on their off-day, mustering just five hits against Dallas Braden. (This is the same Dallas Braden, by the way, whom the Tigers bombed for six runs and nine hits back in May.) The top four hitters in the Detroit batting order - Curtis Granderson, Placido Polanco, Miguel Cabrera, and Marcus Thames - went a combined 1-for-14.
Look, we're fans of Adam Everett here at BYB HQ (and think he could be back next year), but when he's the Tigers' leading hitter for the day, going 2-for-3 at the plate, it probably wasn't a big day for the offense.
But Justin Verlander shouldn't be given a pass, either. He gave up four runs and six hits to an A's lineup that hasn't exactly been smoking the ball. And on some days, a strong effort by the Tigers' offense might bail him out. But let's consider that Verlander served up home runs to Jason Giambi and Jack Cust today. At face value, that might not seem so bad. Those are Oakland's big boppers, right?
Well... Giambi came into today's game batting .197/.339/.366. Cust had been pushed down to the seventh or eighth spot in the A's batting order. Yet both of them hit two-run homers off Verlander this afternoon. And that was pretty much the difference in the ballgame. Cust's gave Oakland a lead it never surrendered, and Giambi's just piled on from there.
At this point, do we just have to accept that the Tigers' offense runs hot and cold? (They've scored one run in each of their last three losses.) Are they just a bad road team right now? (20-23 overall isn't terrible, but they've lost eight of their last 12.) Neither question bodes well for the Tigers as they travel to Minnesota with just a three-game lead over the Twins.
Whimper:
Marcus Thames looked like the ideal man for the cleanup spot when he hit two home runs against the Brewers on June 19. Since then, however, he hasn't hit another homer in his last 10 games, driving in only one run during that span. And his batting average has plummeted 40 points to .256, and his slugging percentage has dropped nearly 200 points. Have the Tigers already gotten the best out of him? Or is he just in a cold streak?
Comment of the Day:
fail. this game was sposed to improve my day
not make it worse
by allikazoo
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Game 78: Tigers at Athletics
by Ian Casselberry
on Jul 1, 2009 2:30 PM EDT
in News
337 comments
Justin Verlander (8-3, 3.40) vs. 
Dallas Braden (5-7, 3.26), 3:35 p.m. EST
After turning cold on Monday night, the Detroit bats showed some life last night with 12 hits. Can the offense keep it rolling, give their starting pitcher some runs, and get the Tigers out of Oakland with a series win?
Dallas Braden is winless in his past four starts, despite allowing two earned runs in each of those games. He gave up a lot more than that last time he faced the Tigers, however. During that May series in Detroit, Braden was knocked around for six runs and nine hits in five innings, one of his shortest outings of the season. In five career starts against the Tigers, his record is 1-2 with a 9.13 ERA.
Justin Verlander wasn't at his sharpest last Friday versus the Astros. Houston deserves some credit for a game plan that called for taking a lot of pitches and wearing Verlander out. (He threw 116 pitches in 5.1 innings.) But by only allowing three runs, he kept the Tigers in the game. And they probably would've won, had Joel Zumaya not decided to walk virtually every hitter he faced. Verlander has faced the A's six times over his career, compiling a 3-2 record and 2.61 ERA.
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When Did the "Cute Backpack" Thing Become a Baseball Trend?
"Fu-Te Ni is stuck with the team's High School Musical backpack, as he's the reliever with the fewest Major League innings under his belt."
-- From Adam Loberstein's notebook at Tigers.com
2 days ago
Ian Casselberry
18 comments
0 recs
Winning Ugly is Still Winning: Tigers 5, Athletics 3
by Ian Casselberry
on Jul 1, 2009 10:30 AM EDT
in News
10 comments
Is Armando Galarraga back? After breaking a seemingly endless 10-game winless streak in his last start, Galarraga gave up just two hits in 6.1 innings Tuesday night versus the A's. That's the good news.
The bad news is that it was hardly a clean outing, as Galarraga also issued six walks, the most he's given up this season, and a total he only allowed once last year (in one of his final starts of 2008). The optimists among us (such as Galarraga himself) might say that his control was off because his pitches had good movement. Galarraga's been trying to regain the feel for his slider and sinker since April, and last night, he may have found it.
But walking six batters is something that better teams won't let a pitcher get away with. (And Jim Leyland wasn't too happy about it after the game.) Nor does a team often still get a win despite two poor baserunning mistakes between third base and home, sloppy errors on catchable balls, and a two-run homer served up by its closer. Fortunately for the Tigers, these things happened against the Oakland Athletics.
Roar:
Do you think Placido Polanco ever walks by Magglio Ordonez's locker and flexes his arms? Or kisses his biceps? Are we really living in a world where Polanco has five home runs, while Maggs has just two three? Polanco's two-run homer in the first inning off Gio Gonzalez set the tone early, and quickly erased the memory of Monday night's lackluster showing by the offense. The early lead may also have settled Galarraga down a bit, and given him more confidence.
Joel Zumaya also had an encouraging outing, throwing 1.1 innings (and throwing 18 of 23 pitches for strikes) without giving up a hit or walk. And he is continuing to throw serious fire, routinely touching 100 m.p.h. with his fastball. Two of his pitches were clocked by MLB.com Gameday at 103.
Whimper:
It's now July. So I suppose we now just have to accept that Fernando Rodney pitching in a non-save situation is never going to be pretty, right? One walk and two hits, including a two-run homer by Mark Ellis? Oh, Fernando.
Comment of the Night:
I wonder what it is like to look forward to men on base instead of constantly wondering how your team is going to screw this opportunity up.
by 13194013
Imagining Leyland using Twitter was also funny stuff. That might have to continue in tomorrow's Off-Day Open Thread.
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Game 77: Tigers at Athletics
by Ian Casselberry
on Jun 30, 2009 9:30 PM EDT
in News
712 comments
Armando Galarraga (4-7, 5.65) vs. Gio Gonzalez (0-1, 8.03), 10:05 p.m. EST
The Detroit Tigers got this series off to a bad start, striking out 14 times in a 7-1 loss to the Oakland A's. Can they rebound tonight? Or will they inexplicably make yet another mediocre starting pitcher look good?
In his first start since being called back up from Triple-A Sacramento, Gio Gonzalez was pummeled by the Giants for six runs (four earned) and 10 hits in just 3.2 innings. He did rack up six strikeouts, however. Gonzalez faced Detroit last September at Comerica Park, giving up nine runs (eight earned) in just 1.2 innings. (Maybe you remember him giving up the 250,000th home run in major league history to Gary Sheffield, one of three longballs he served up that night.) That gives him a 43.20 against the Tigers.
Armando Galarraga finally ended his long national nightmare, a 10-game losing streak, with a win over the Chicago Cubs in his last start. He still allowed more runs than you might like to see, with four in six innings (falling behind 3-0 in the first), but the Tigers' lineup pushed him over the hump with six runs. (Two of those came on what's become an all-too-rare homer by Magglio Ordonez.) Galarraga also racked up five strikeouts, his highest total since April.
But his last start against the A's was a disaster. Galarraga couldn't even make it out of the first inning, giving up five runs, four hits and three walks. The Tigers rallied to win the game, in one of their more stirring comebacks of the season, but there was no bailing out Galarraga after that performance.
Detroit's lineup looks almost the same last night, except for Dusty Ryan getting the start at catcher. And if you're a Nomar Garciaparra fan, he's the designated hitter for Oakland tonight.
712 comments | 0 recs
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AL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Detroit
|
43 | 35 | .551 | 0 | Lost 1 |
|
Chicago
|
41 | 38 | .518 | 2.5 | Won 6 |
|
Minnesota
|
41 | 39 | .512 | 3 | Won 2 |
|
Kansas City
|
33 | 45 | .423 | 10 | Lost 3 |
|
Cleveland
|
31 | 49 | .387 | 13 | Lost 5 |
(updated 7.3.2009 at 12:11 PM EDT)
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
