Is Johnny Damon the Tigers' best move?
by Mike Rogers on Jan 27, 2010 6:01 PM EST
in Hot Stove
93 comments
The New York Yankees signed Randy Winn today and indirectly told Johnny Damon, "Thanks but no thanks." To say the market for Damon is dry would be understating it. The reports are basically down to Detroit or Cincinnati now that Billy Beane officially shot down any Damon-to-Oakland talk even after the A's signed Ben Sheets yesterday.
Damon still brings skills to the table and with his market all but shut completely, he should come on the cheap. Dave Cameron is spot on in suggesting how close this is to the Bobby Abreu saga last year. He never got a deal signed until February and only got $5 million last year.
However, unlike Abreu, Damon brings above-average defense, along with a bat comparable to Abreu's. Damon's UZR dropped in 2009 to -12 runs in left field. But, if you average that out, he's an above-average defender. Damon's 2009 looks to be the outlier to me, and even if he has fallen off a cliff defensively what does that make him? How about Carlos Guillen with better health and better offense at this point.
Speaking of Guillen, the Tigers would be better served by getting him out of the outfield and into the DH spot. I'm not concerned with having no open DH spot to rotate between Magglio Ordonez and Guillen, so this solution to left field works in my mind. Especially when you consider that the Tigers are still spending (foolish) money on a reliever and giving the impression that they aren't quitting on contending in 2010.
If Damon comes cheap, around $4 or 5 million for a single year, I'm a proponent for signing him. Two-to-three win players rarely come for the cost of a below-average player, and $4-5 million would be an underpayment of Damon's talents.
Wouldn't it be nice to underpay for a player?
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Being away from the Fuhrer, he’d be able to grow back the beard and long hair. So there’s that.
Underpay?!?
What’s that? I don’t know the meaning of that word. I’m a Tigers fan…
by DetroitTigersGeek on Jan 27, 2010 6:24 PM EST via mobile reply actions
If they're so dead set on *not* giving Raburn the LF job
I wouldn’t have a huge problem with letting Damon man LF and keep Guillen healthy by being the DH.
Ryan Raburn can’t catch a break.
Raburn will still get lots of playing time,
because Guillen, Ordonez, or Damon will spend some time on the DL. This would also help them limit Ordonez ABs.
Raburn as SuperSub
Give him time at 3B and 2B during Spring Training and we may have the second coming of Tony Phillips- just with more pop and less on-base skills.
President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.
by David Tokarz on Jan 27, 2010 8:09 PM EST up reply actions
Yes
I love Raburn. Any way we can get him into the lineup would be great.
If we sign Damon, don’t we almost have to trade one of our 20-something OFs? It feels wasteful keeping several MLB 4th OFs, like Clete and Kelly down in the minors.
A lifelong Tigers fan
Rayburn to CF
Why not move Rayburn to CF and let Jackson get a year in Toledo?
When there is a long term injury (60 day DL) then bring him up for extended playing time. Then you can go with Damon-Rayburn-Maggs and Guillen at DH and rotate Larrish in at LF/RF and Strieby at DH.
Don Kelly can play CF and maybe Santiago too. I think Santaigo has played CF in the last couple of years. He might not be great but 5 games there isn’t awful.
by Kman23 on Jan 27, 2010 9:57 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I'd be okay with this
Maybe not Streiby at DH though.
How about a starting OF of Damon/Raburn/Maggs with Guillen serving as DH and playing the corners on days when Damon/Maggs need a rest with Clete as the other OF reserve/defensive replacement.
President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.
by David Tokarz on Jan 28, 2010 12:04 AM EST up reply actions
I would take Damon...
…just not in CF.
it’s an important difference. considering his Total Fielding Runs Above Average numbers, he’s basically only ever been a middling CF. over his entire career, he’s almost 36 runs worse than the average CF. but in LF, he’s almost 45 better. sure, some of that is from playing the wacky CF in Fenway and the simple LF of ye olde Pinstriped Death Star, but his numbers from early in his career with the Royals still only had him as an inconsistent CF at best.
i’m personally less worried about him knocking ‘em out of the park – his HR are a Death Star wind tunnel phenomenon – than putting him in the field. yeah, he does not have a cannon for an arm, and the LF-CF alley is pretty deep, but if he catches it then it’s almost a moot point.
really, so long as he’s on base in front of the boomers (or really just Miggy, i guess), it’s a win. especially if he only costs around $4 mil.
and what’s the deal around the Jim Edmonds rumor?
by GreatGooglyMoogly on Jan 27, 2010 6:43 PM EST reply actions
Then isn't it a good thing
that Damon’s been used almost exclusively in left for, what 3 years now?
Everyone knows he’s done in center.
by FloridaownsFSU on Jan 27, 2010 8:13 PM EST up reply actions
so other than Raburn
most of the guys on this team will miss the ball in left field (if things go like they did last year)… if we get Damon, he’ll catch the ball! yay! he just won’t be able to throw it anywhere.
I don’t really like Damon much but at least he can hit. sounds ok to me.
Not a huge fan of this idea.
…and not just because I promised to “eat the Internet” if we acquired him. I’d just rather see Raburn every day.
I don't want to hear any weak sh*t from Jason Grilli.
I wouldn’t be against Raburn everyday in LF, but that’s just not going to happen unfortunately.
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Lower prices brings more buyers...
His lower asking price is bringing in more clubs, or so says ESPN. We might get him cheaper than he was originally asking for, but I don’t think it’ll be an absolute steal either.
It’s likely to bring in more teams that are in worse shape (in terms of wins) than the Tigers. And honestly, the teams that are reportedly open to it (Tampa Bay) don’t have a full time job to offer him like Detroit would have. Tampa’s stocked in the OF at both the major league level and in Triple-A with guys like Joyce and Desmond Jennings.
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Maybe the Braves
President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.
by David Tokarz on Jan 27, 2010 8:10 PM EST up reply actions
Jayson Heyward
one of the top prospects in the sport.
Besides that, they already have McLouth in center, and whatever combination of Diaz, Cabrera, and Hinske around him.
by FloridaownsFSU on Jan 27, 2010 8:20 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah
That’s two OF if Heyward is ready to make the jump. And the jump between Damon and Diaz/Cabrera/Hinske is a big one.
President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.
by David Tokarz on Jan 27, 2010 9:16 PM EST up reply actions
Dan Dickerson was on w/ Pat Caputo a couple nights ago and made it sound like there’s absolutely no way the Tygs would sign Damon.
by JB2 on Jan 27, 2010 7:21 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Good points
Almost convinced me, I just recalll his atrophyed arm last year. Runners might take 2 extra bases on him.
Baseball Geek
by StorminNormanCash on Jan 27, 2010 8:39 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Not if he’s catching the baseball.
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Good post.
I agree, obviously. A note on the home-runs: I took a few minutes and watched all of his home runs at NYS. Only 4-5 of them could be considered cheapies – the rest would be gone in any stadium. So I still think he’s capable of 15-20, but that depends where he hits in the order. Regardless, we need him for his contact and OBP skills.
I’ll have to look for it, but there were a few looks at it using hittrackeronline.com and showed he had some cheapies (can’t remember how many). Either way, we wouldn’t be signing him to hit 30 HR’s, so I’m not worried about that.
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YES YES YES
I’ve been waiting for this post! Johnny Damon is exactly what we need, and exactly what we should have spent $5 million on instead of Valverde. Now get your head out of your ass DD, and realize we need
A. Offense
B. a LF that is not Carlos Guillen
C. a guy that can leadoff or hit 2nd
is the puzzle coming together yet?
only if they did it
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by Kurt Mensching on Jan 27, 2010 9:15 PM EST up reply actions
Hes Not....
……much better then Guillen in left and Guillen can also hit number 2……Plus GUillen is going to be a DH anyway…..I wouldnt be surprised if Guillen has a big year.
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 27, 2010 9:16 PM EST up reply actions
Well, he is better than Guillen. And is Guillen going to have a big year on the DL or on roller blades considering his body is falling apart?
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#5 Not #2
Guillen is nothing but a DH player if you want him in the batting order for the whole season, and he is much better as the #5 behind Caby. In Comarica Park Damon will be a doubles machine and that is what we need out of our lead off batter, stay out of double plays & score more runs….His batting average will sky rocket……Way over .300
by TigersFan1957 on Jan 27, 2010 10:09 PM EST up reply actions
Sign Damon, Before It's To Late.......
Comarica Park is the perfect home for Damon as our next lead off batter. Put Guillen as the full time DH, he should be able to play a whole season that way and he can hit. Damon plays with guts, like Pete Rose, all out 100% of the time…..In my opinion he would be an asset to the unger players and the team as a whole…..The Best Move Of The Off Season….Do It Dave…….
Error
Younger not unger…..Sorry about that, long day……
by TigersFan1957 on Jan 27, 2010 9:59 PM EST up reply actions
Not a smart move at all
We already have two LF’s going into camp. If we need to improve our hitting somewhere, why not at SS? Filipe Lopez is still available. Filipe can also play 3B and 2B, just in case if Inge or Sizemore isn’t ready.
Lopez is a 2B. He hasn’t played SS regularly since 2007 and was well below average at the position.
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by Mike Rogers on Jan 27, 2010 10:35 PM EST up reply actions
but he can play other positions
Jeter was well below average also, but it doesn’t mean he can’t play SS.
Even if that’s the case, late in the game when we need better fielding, go ahead and put Everett in. All I’m saying, is that Lopez would be much more valuable to the team than Damon would be. Whether that be at 3b, 2b, SS, or playing all 3 positions as a utility guy. You need to better understand team dynamics, not just the numbers.
Well, Miguel Cabrera can physically stand at shortstop and be awful, but it doesn’t mean that they should. Felipe Lopez was moved off the position to full time 2B for a reason. The club is clearly looking to contend so an upgrade is an upgrade is an upgrade. Lopez’ offense is not good enough to overcome being bad defensively at SS (Hello Carlos Guillen circa 2-3 years ago…).
And we have an infield utility player in Ramon Santiago that the Tigers are clearly sticking to. Lopez would be an upgrade over Santiago but they’ve shown they’re committed to Santiago.
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by Mike Rogers on Jan 28, 2010 12:26 AM EST up reply actions
Really only 2 spots remain on the roster for position players
Right now it looks like they belong to Don Kelly and Clete Thomas, but they’ll have to earn those spots come Spring Training.
I’d be happy to have Damon at the top of line-up over anyone we have, but I don’t think he’s a good solution as an everyday LF. I don’t think he’s much of an upgrade over Guillen defensively. I heard Damon was a total mess in LF last season and that’s why the Yanks want nothing to do with him.
Lopez isn’t a perfect solution either, but he can play musical chairs in the infield and outfield. Yes, he lacks the range to be an everyday SS, but he’s still capable of playing either 3B/2B on a daily basis. He can even play some LF if needed. It just has to be realized that Inge might not be ready come opening day and might not be an everyday player. He should sit a few days a week.
Who was the better player last season? Lopez had a 4.6 WAR vs Damon had a 3.0 WAR. Lopez, 29, is still in his prime. He’s 7 years younger than Damon. He’s a bit more of a groundball/linedrive hitter than Damon also, which suits him a little better for Comerica.
All in all, it would be nice to land both players. It’s almost apples and oranges because they both could provide some much needed hitting. Lopez gives us more versatility and is a switch hitter. Damon gives us a much needed left handed bat in the outfield.
I think Lopez had Fool's Gold numbers last year.
A .360 BABIP? Totally unsustainable. Lopez had been pretty lousy the years before last, too.
.360 isn't unsustainable for hitters with extreme groundball/linedrive ratios
Jeter’s lifetime BABIP is around .360.
You need to understand BABIP better. Hardball times has a decent xBABIP estimator you can download. My method is just to factor in the batted ball ratio’s and speed when gauging xBABIP.
For hitters with average speed 24% of ground balls end up being hits. Nearly 72% of line-drives are hits, while 14% of all fly balls are hits. The only thing I change is the factor for ground balls and I base that on speed. The best way to measure speed from the batters box to 1st base is with a stop watch, but you can estimate it pretty good if you scout each individual player. Some people might base it on stolen bases, but that’s rather naive IMO.
A lefty speedster like Ichiro will get hits on about 34% of his ground balls. 55% of his balls in play are grounders, 18% line drives, 26% fly balls. His lifetime predicted xBABIP for me is about .371. In his best season, he had a BABIP of .401. Jeter had .400 BABIP before also, which isn’t surprising if you know what to look for.
As for Lopez. He had 22.3% line drive rate, a 51.8% Groundball rate, and 25.9% fly ball rate. I consider his speed Fast from the left side and above average from the right side. He should get hits on about 30% of his ground balls. I have his xBABIP at .353 last season. His actual BABIP was .356.
The formula I use is almost dead nuts for him. It works well for most players too.
Felipe Lopez's previous career BABIPs
.328
.283
.327
.322
.322
.292
.303
.304
You don’t think .360 is an outlier? Was his 23 HRs in 2005 not an outlier either? A guy, at 29, increases his previous BA high by over 20 points and his OBP high by 30 points with 10 lower then his career high in walks in the same year that he tops his BABIP high by 40 points, and you’re inclined to believe that his season was anything but a fluke? If that’s the case, I’ve got 40 Brandon Inge homers in the Gobi Desert to sell you.
And please, don’t try to use the example of Derek Jeter to support your love for Felipe Lopez ever again. It’s rather unbecoming.
Correction on Lopez, his BABIP only went up 29 points from the previous season, not 40 points.
If it was 50+ points over a previous benchmark, then it would be an outlier. Like Milton Bradley’s .396 BABIP in 2008. That was completely unsustainable.
Chone Figgins had a .359 BABIP last year, but that’s sustainable in my book. His .399 BABIP from 2007 wasn’t, but it didn’t surprise me either.
Lopez probably isn’t a .310 hitter, and I never said he was, but his BABIP wasn’t that far off from what it should of been.
A few trends I like about Lopez is that his BB/K ratio went up from .52 to .77. His UZR went up by 13 points also. Those are the positive kinds of things I like to see.
Here's an interesting article
that concurs with my pessimistic assessment of Lopez’s 2010 prospects.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/projecting-felipe-lopez/
Also keep in mind he was 1st round pick and 8th overall in the 1998 draft. Most coaches and scouts would say he’s been an under achiever most of his career, maybe with the exception for last year.
It’s also not unusual for a middle infielders to improve offensively in their late 20’s and middle 30’s. Carlos Guillen is a good example . Guillen was 28 in his breakout season for the Tigers. He had 3 straight years of .350+ BABIP’s when his previous best was just .315.
typo late 20's to mid 30's.
I’m thinking 33 years old not 36 when they should be thinking about retirement.
You know Granderson
had a .362 BABIP in 2007. I suppose you think he had Fool’s Gold numbers also.
he didn't sustain it
so why do you think Lopez will sustain his?
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by Kurt Mensching on Jan 29, 2010 5:08 PM EST up reply actions
He had ground ball and line drive rates that would give almost any lefty or switch with speed a .360 BABIP. He became more patient at the plate. Waited for his pitch. Took his swing. Got better results. That’s a skill.
I was just trying to bait you with Granderson’s BABIP.
well that's really constructive of you, isn't it?
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by Kurt Mensching on Jan 30, 2010 11:04 AM EST up reply actions
We have statistical backing
that tells us that he didn’t sustain those hitting numbers and that they were fool’s gold. I’ll take that over BABIP calculators any day. Two seasons of hitting proves much more then a simple prediction calculation. If it’s a skill, where the heck did it go? What happened to it? It’s been MIA for 2 solid seasons now. Hopefully, for the Yanks, he remembers this great “skill” he acquired.
Of course I do.
Granderson had one of the unique seasons of all time in 2007. His power may continue to go up, but he will never hit like he did in 07.
It’s not about who was the better player last year when Lopez had somewhat unsustainable numbers. Projections have Damon being the better player all around.
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Congrats. Whether that’s a good move in and of itself is debatable.
My old blog is Tigers By The Numbers.
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It water under the bridge anyway
Damon won’t be coming here and there is no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Guillen and the $24 million owed to him, is locked in at LF come Spring Training. It’s his job to lose, it won’t be taken from him.
by linuxit on Jan 27, 2010 11:18 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I think
that many of us are forgetting that Carlos Guillen is actually, you know, pretty good. His lifetime OPS is actually better than Damon’s. Their OBP’s are nearly identical (CG .358, JD .355). You also might say that Damon’s slugging numbers were inflated by Yankee Stadium III last year (his home slugging % was nearly 100 points higher in the Bronx). Now Carlos is no great shakes with the glove, but defense at the OF corner spots isn’t exactly at a premium anyway. If he’s healthy, he’s at least as good as Damon if not better.
But, defense is defense. If Guillen’s the better offensive player, it’s probably marginal at best. So, add in Damon’s defense (which is around average) advantage over Guillen, and it negates it all.
Then add in Damon’s edge in health and I’ll take Damon every day of the week, in a vacuum, over Guillen.
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I wondered when this would come up here.
We have been debating this at work for weeks…
Put Guillen at DH. He can stay healthier and provide a solid bat (he will whine but play).
Put Damon in LF. He can still field and brings a solid lead off lefty bat.
Raburn can play there too, but in a back up role for either Damon or Ordonez. Maybe he can could win the CF job.
Bring Damon in. If $5mil is a steal then even $7 should be affordable (with DD’s usual incentive carrots)
his noodle-arm makes me nervous
But he is a capable hitter at the top of the lineup, and he can still get to balls in the outfield even if he can’t throw them in like Ryan Raburn can. It isn’t as though he has the defensive acumen of a Manny Ramirez or anything.
Cheap-ish contract, I can get behind it. With all the bloated contracts on the roster the Tigers have to find someone to overperform, or they are in trouble.
"While there's life, there's hope." --Cicero
Andy Van Slyke...
probably would’ve transformed that arm into a rocket.
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He's good
But he ain’t that good.
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by David Tokarz on Jan 28, 2010 4:20 PM EST up reply actions
Hopes and Expectations
We expect and hope Mags has a first half close to last years second half.
We hope that Guillen stays healthy, and can still hit.
We hope that Cabrera’s personal problems are behind him.
We expect that Verlander has a year in10 like his 09 year, not his 08 year.
We hope that Raburn/Kelly/Jackson/Sizemore will be pleasant surprises.
We hope that DD can find a bat (cheap). Is it Damon?
That’s a lot to expect and hope. I know we have the same manager, so if we are in it in September he will find a way to dash our hopes again.
Damon
He just doesn’t strike me as a guy who will ever be signed cheap. I think he’d rather not play, maybe wait for an injury to strike a contending team, and sign with them. It would be good to bat him at leadoff, but it leaves out either Guillen or Raburn.
This one is like that one
They should give Damon the same contract they gave Valverde.
Realisticly
wanted would it cost to bring Damon to the Tigers. Kurt mentions one year at $4-5 million but we all know he is a Boras player and on MLBtr they have Boras saying that discussions with the Yankees were at 2 years 14 million (assuming the Yankees could not land Nick Johnson). There are definetly positives to landing Damon on the cheap but how realistic is that? Also, I have said this before but if you take Raburn’s numbers from last year (.291 avg. 16 hrs. 40+ RBI) in roughly 250 ABs and stretch those out over 550 ABs I see a guy who can be a difference maker in LF that would be far cheaper than one year at 4 million for Damon. Do you believe the way Raburn came on in the second half last year was a sign of a guy getting it or just a fluke? Even if the Tigers did land Damon relatively cheap I think I would prefer going into next year with an eye on seeing what Raburn can give us as an everyday Left fielder. Of course, whether you favor Damon or Raburn I feel like the most puzzling issue heading into spring training remains why is Gullien being given the LF job?
I can't believe I ate the whole thing!
by tigerfaninChicago on Jan 28, 2010 9:14 AM EST reply actions
That should start with What instead or wanted
Seriously, I need start editing before posting
I can't believe I ate the whole thing!
by tigerfaninChicago on Jan 28, 2010 9:17 AM EST up reply actions
Raburn will not keep those numbers across an entire season.
This is the same reason Ramon Santiago isn’t our everyday shortstop.
Small correction
Mike wrote this. This is a multiple-author site now so you need to look on top. I don’t want credit for oyhers’ work!
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by Kurt Mensching on Jan 28, 2010 11:50 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
By bad
I will make the appropriate corrections (starting with getting more sleep)
I can't believe I ate the whole thing!
by tigerfaninChicago on Jan 28, 2010 1:38 PM EST up reply actions
Damon likes playing baseball and being paid for it. Few players are willing to just give it up. The only one that i can ever remember is Kenny Lofton. Hell, Jim Edmonds is trying to kick around for a job. Johnny Damon will go where he’s wanted (monetarily), and we’re one of the few destinations where he could get a lot of playing time.
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Raburn...
I have mixed feelings, because I’ve been really looking forward to Raburn getting some play time this season. 16 HRs in 261 AB = not bad. Plus, I’ve been watching him in Toledo on and off for about 5 years now, every year thinking, “this guy should be with the big league club.”
I won’t be upset if we add Damon. He’s a great leadoff hitter, and really makes pitchers work. Plus, depth wouldn’t be a bad thing. But this really needs to be a 1 year deal, especially since Guillen and Maggs will both be around still in 2011, and we will have plenty of other options by then.
However, if we are really struggling to get JV locked up for 4-5 years, let’s spend the money there! Locking him up should be our top priority!
What do you guys think? Would Damon go for a one year $6-7 million deal?
A lifelong Tigers fan
Ahhhhhh... just do it already
this seems like a no brainer. Veteran, left handed, leadoff hitter, left fielder, will hit for power/average, clubhouse leader…
These all seem like things the 2010 Tigers are lacking.
I agree
He’d be a solid addition. Rayburn will be usd best coming off the bench with a few starts a week. Mags and Guillen are sure to be on the DL at some point.
by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Jan 28, 2010 11:14 AM EST up reply actions
Guillen
I don’t see this trade with Damon happening. Jim L. already said Carlos will be in left field everday, and Carlos has expressed he doesn’t want to be just a DH. DD has said before the Tiger’s are not interested in Damon, and I think that we have better options.
Cheryl
An incling...
I have an inkling that Guillen will end up full time DHing come opening day because I personally don’t think he can play the position. Jim’s not dumb. He knows that Guillen is unreliable anywhere defensively. He knows that Raburn deserves as much playing time as possible.
Part of my problem with Guillen defensively is that he just seems to lose focus at a position after a few games. Maybe Guillen is better served as the super sub off the bench? He can play 3 different infield positions but we’d only need him to play one and that being 3b. As I recall Guillen was better than Raburn there.
I’m not looking at any defensive stats right now but this idea does solve problems.
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I like this
Guillen as DH/backup 3b makes a lot of sense, not only because he is better at 3b than LF, but because he likes the infield better. The important thing is for Jim to make a decision on what position Guillen plays and stick to it. Carlos has only been getting pissed off because he’s been moved from SS to 3b to 1b to LF. If we are moving him from LF to DH to 3B, he won’t be happy.
A lifelong Tigers fan
really I'm thinking of Guillen as the 3b backup...
it keeps Inge from being overused as well and it’ll free up a bit more time for some of the many OF’s on our roster.
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I like this too
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by David Tokarz on Jan 28, 2010 4:21 PM EST up reply actions
I'm warming to the idea
There’s some question marks that could be covered by the Damon signing. We just need to remember not to snicker when he throws.
Baseball Geek
by StorminNormanCash on Jan 28, 2010 12:58 PM EST reply actions
guillen not the best option for LF.
Well I see it as this. Rayburn falls in this same catagory. I watched plenty of games where both Guillen and Rayburn totally lost the game for us in errors last year. That was atleast 5 or 6 games that would have put us in playoff spot. Perry totally not even close to an answer out there. I never seen someone get so lost from a routine fly ball to left. and he missed it still by atleast 10 to 15 feet. Being a little off I could understand more. It wasn’t a line drive but just a routine fly out that Justtin Verlander could have cought. I been to many Tigers games I watch the pitchers shag balls durring hitting practice and most of the pitchers can get some ground and catch pretty well. The only real difference between Rayburn and Damon is their arm strength. Raymond has an amazing throwing arm and I have seen him throw out amazing plays that no other outfielder would ever have a chance at and he is accurate at throwing. But Damon you don’t have to worry about him getting lost and misread the ball. Yeah he can’t throw that fast but his defensive skills are far more benificial to winning a much needed game. I still remember last years game against Cleavland where Rayburn had a ball hit to him and he move 2 steps back and fell on his but and there went the ball past him for a 3 run error. We can’t afford to have that anymore. As for Guillen he is slowley becoming more slow. His knees are bad and he is falling apart and has been having issues with his shoulder. So now he can’t run that fast but he can’t throw the ball either. His bat was awefull starting the year last year but improved when he went more to a DH slot. So idealy you would stick him there until his contract is up and ditch him. Don’t get me wrong here and I do have a lot of respect for Rayburn and he plays well and he can clutch hit. I wish we could put him in the infield somewhere. I don’t want to see santiago at second. His hitting is here and there but noting consistent. He plays ok defense but he could be better. Replacing Polanco will be hard shoes for him to fill.. Hopefully since Inge has had his surgery maybe he can get his batting on a good form and produce all year long. He has played third base very well and better than almost anyone in the whole MLB. But his hitting is so far scattered. But still getting almost 80 rbi’s from a seven slot hitter isn’t all that bad either with 26 home runs too. That worse thing is his strikeing out. If he could atleast make more contact with the ball more he could atleast get the sac flies in more or move them up to Scoring position. We overpaid for Valverde wich we could have atleast paid a couple million less and had more cap space to bring in a diffierent reliever. We lost a lot I mean a lot of games due to releaving pitching. Anywhere from a 2 to 4 run lead they blew. That was I think close to 17 games last year. I know and expect to lose some of these just due to the fact that it happens. But here it seems to happen all the time. I would atleast put Rayburn in C, Damon in L, and keep Mags over to R. And flip flop Thomas out there to fill in for the days off.
That was painful, nice try though.
Baseball Geek
by StorminNormanCash on Jan 28, 2010 4:10 PM EST up reply actions
What about Wilkin Ramirez?????
Why aren’t we looking more into giving Ramirez, Raburn, Thomas, and Strieby a btter look than going out and signing a vet???
It makes no sense to me. We are a W.S. contender this year anyway, so why not try and see what we already have with Ramirez instead of going the usual Tigers route of not playing a guy until he is 28 years old.
We are a W.S. contender this year anyway, …
Do you mean “aren’t a W.S. contender?”
"While there's life, there's hope." --Cicero
I was thinking that's what he meant as well...
we’re a playoff contender because of the sucky division but that really doesn’t lend much hope to WS contention.
Gotta love the optimism though.
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Ramirez could use another half-season in the minors
At least. Kid needs work on his discipline.
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by David Tokarz on Jan 28, 2010 8:45 PM EST up reply actions
left handed bat
instead of kickin out a bunch of cash for an aging damon…maybe tigers should look at signing endy chavez for a year, he can play both corner outfield positions, and would obviously come cheaper than damon, plus he’s lefthanded, albeit not a power hitter.
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