Delights and Disappointments
by NCDee on Jun 2, 2011 2:45 PM EDT
Email
PrintSince we're a third of the way through the season and it's an off day, I thought it was time for a little retrospective on the season so far. And I decided to approach it from a little different perspective -- to look back at my thoughts during the preseason and talk about who has been my biggest disappointment and who has been the nicest surprise.
I'm not talking Maggs -- I didn't expect a whole lot from him this year. I'm not talking Victor, because I didn't know WHAT to expect from him. I'm talking about the players who have either under-performed or over-performed from what I thought they would achieve this year.
So here goes:
Biggest Delight: Jhonny Peralta. He's been surprisingly effective (even lights out) as a hitter, hitting .314 with a .908 OPS. He is Mr. Dhependable. He's also been no slouch in the field, either, even showing some flashes of range. My preseason expectation of him was "meh."
Biggest Disappointment: Brandon Inge. I never expected him to bounce back as a power hitter, but I did think a year after knee surgery would mean some improvement.. I was hoping he'd bat around .230 and continue his stellar defense at third. But he's batting a paltry .211 with 5 errors so far. I know he wasn't the pre-All Star Game 2009 Inge last year, but I was hoping to see some of that spark return. Brandon, you disappoint.
So who are your Biggest Delights and Disappointments so far?
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Bless You Boys writing staff.
50 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Peralta and Mags
I thought Perlata would play well but not this good. I also thought Mags would bounce back and clearly he hasnt yet. GO TIGS!!!
AJ has been my biggest disappointment
I expected him to improve in OBP and cut down on his K’s. That hasn’t exactly happened.
I would say the strating pitching as a whole has been the biggest delight. JV stellar as always, Max was solid early and I expect him to get back on that tract, Kid Rick has been solid for the most part, and Penny and Coke better than expected.
Definitely Agree
I’m very surprised that Peralta as been playing this well. I knew he had the potential to play pretty decent but not this well as of late. He’s on a 10 game hitting streak and has an insane batting average during that streak
Inge is terrible. I’ve never been on the Inge bandwagon. It’s sad because a few years ago, we could have recieved someone decent in return if we would have traded him. Now, no one would take him, and if someone did, it would be for so-so prospects. The only reason why Inge hasn’t been sent down to Toledo is because of his defense, and that itself has declined this season.
Wait for David Wright to get of the DL and make a play for him or maybe Jose Reyes and move Peralta to third.
Isn't Reyes a FA at the end of the year?
I would assume if we were gonna make a play for him, it’d be then, after Guillen’s contract comes of the books and we wouldn’t have to give up a Turner or Oliver.
I know the Royals wouldn’t trade him, but that Escobar kid is one of the best defensive shortstops I’ve ever seen.
I'm pretty sure he is, and he's arb eligible
Whether DD goes after him now or later depends on what the Mets ask for in return. If they can get him without giving up Oliver or Turner (or Fields, Castellanos, etc.), I don’t see why DD wouldn’t pull the trigger. The bigger question is whether DD would actually offer Reyes arbitration or not. If he does, Reyes either accepts and we “overpay” for a year or he declines and we get more college relievers draft picks.
Inge
First of all in response to your comment – I am not sure we ever could have gotten much return on an Inge trade, even a few years ago. He was making $6.2mil per year during his last contract. He was performing essentially the same as now plus a couple ticks on the AVG and more HR power.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think he is good. But I am seeing a lot of bashing on this forum saying his defense is quickly deteriorating. Does anyone want to take it on themselves to do a post analyzing his defense? I don’t understand the sabermetrics and uzr and all that jazz well enough to do it. I can tell you that his fielding percentage is in line with his career average (.964 2011 vs .961 Career 3B). His range factor is basically unchanged over the last 3-4 years as well.
Oh, and baseball reference says he is a similar player to Damion Easley and Phil Garner through Age 33. Sounds like a hall of famer to me!
But really – I think people acting like Inge’s defense has deteriorated are just mad about his offense. His defense is still good. I watch most of the games, I see him making most of the same plays he has always made.
INGE FOR PRESIDENT IN 2016*
*This advertisement has been paid for by “INGE FOR PRESIDENT IN 2016” fanclub
Fire Gerald Laird had a good post about this
http://firegeraldlaird.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/the-brandon-inge-problem/
Kurt posted this link at about the same time I was writing my post so I didn’t see it before I hit Enter. But these are the numbers and they’re actually worse than I thought. In the words of Spinach Girl, euccchhhh.
"Some guy told me I should walk with the Lord. I'd rather walk with the bases loaded" Ken Singleton
thanks for the link
His UZR stat is definitely eroding fast. It is weird though, because I don’t see him struggling when I watch games. His errors are either on somewhat difficult plays or a bad throw or something (which is bound to happen from time to time). I guess the difference is that he is not able to get to balls that he once could.
It is definitely a sticky situation considering his contract. And really, it is Inge or Don Kelly. I’d still take Inge…but it is a mystery as to why he can’t hit a HR right now. Probably because he is hardly making any contact to begin with, so, many less chances for one to sneak out of the park.
I guess we are screwed because we know he is unhappy as a utility guy, and we don’t have other options anyways. Maybe if Raburn can heat up eventually, it won’t matter nearly as much. But I don’t see drastic improvements ahead for him. Love the guy, but I just don’t think he’s a good enough package anymore. But hey, he’s a hell of a golfer! (ps – i wonder how much better he’d be without golfing…I know golfing effs up my softball swing bad).
I think Inge's defense is declining, for sure
I base that comment on both a look at statistics and at what I see on the field. Subjectively, it seems obvious, at least to me, that balls are getting down the 3B line that Brandon would stop almost every time. It was very rare to see a ball getting down the line. One horiffic thought came to mind, that is that he may be “cheating” away from the 3B line to atone for a serious lack of range that Jhonny has going to his right. That would be foolish, as a ball down the line goes for an extra base hit more often than not, while a ball up the middle is generally a single. He also seems to have lost some velo on his throws, whether that is due to weaker knees or whatever.
One thing that observers should not do is to lump all of those that pick on Inge’s defense into the same bucket. There was a percentage of Inge detractors out there that simply refused to give him credit for the stellar defense that he gave the Tigers for years. To that crowd, the most important part of a player’s defense is how many times he strikes out while batting. Those types seem to find their way into being gold glove voters.
Then there are those like myself that see Inge’s RZR and UZR declining, and see more balls getting through, throws arriving late and in the dirt, etc. Over time, I have to add that Inge finally quit trying to make plays that he shouldn’t try to make. He had a habit of turning infield singles into wild throws where he had no chance to get the guy at first. He stopped doing that about 3 years ago, and was about the best defensive 3B in the league for a while, IMO.
Back to the point of this thread- I can’t rate Inge as a disappointment because he’s not so far below expectations. I’m also not hastily writing him off as an every day player, but I definitely would be sitting him down more frequently unless and until he heats up at the plate. Failure to pinch hit for him in clutch situations, (while Leyland doesn’t hesitate to pinch hit for a red hot Dirks, for example) is just maddening.
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
all good points
Can’t really disagree with you as all of that seems true to me. Now that Inge has landed on the 15 day DL with Mono, we will see what life without him would be like. I hope he hits the HGH for 15 days and comes back strong (just kidding).
Looks like two more players have stayed in the lineup despite being unhealthy
I appreciate their desire to play, but if they’re injured or sick and not performing as a result, they have to come out for the good of the team.
Hopefully, the poor performances of two long term Tigers- Maggs and Inge- are indeed related to their health, and they’ll both be stronger when they return. Maggs in particular is critical to the success of the Tigers, because neither Boesch nor anyone else in the organization can consistently get on base with enough pop to justify batting third ahead of Cabrera. Having men on base gives Miggy just as much “protection” if not more, than who hits behind him.
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
Nice thing about Boesch is that he's scoring a ton of runs batting 3rd
He’s scored 23 runs in 98 AB’s in the 3 spot.
Magglio scored just 2 times in his 89 AB’s in the 3 spot.
Even if Magglio does get on base more often than Boesch, he’s not going to score as much. He’s just too slow. He hasn’t been good at scoring runs since 2007.
Nothing like a couple lines at the end to kill an otherwise great post
INGE FOR PRESIDENT IN 2016*
*This advertisement has been paid for by "INGE FOR PRESIDENT IN 2016" fanclub
Biggest Delight: Alex Avila. With a high K rate and BABIB, it won’t be surprising when he tapers off and hits close to his career line of .250/.333/.425 the rest of the way. But still, after the disappointing 2010, I didn’t have many expecations. This turn-around has me confident about the long term prospect of a left-handed catcher with power.
Biggest Disappointment: Magglio Ordonez. Maybe you didn’t have high hopes, Dee, but I certainly did. With the reports coming from the offseason workout, I thought we’d get a reasonably healthy and productive Magglio for one more year. There’s still time though. I mean, Jim Thome just had an OPS over 1.000 at age 39, so surely Maggs can still have an 800 OPS at 37, right? Right? Please?
I'm not so sure Avila's BABIP will drop that much...
He’s got a good stroke, hits the ball hard, tends to hit line drives, and he’s young. I think he could continue to get better at the plate…
I’m on the Avila bandwagon.
Drink, and Drink, and Drink, and Drink, and Drink, and Drink, and Fight!
by Brand New Hero on Jun 3, 2011 9:45 AM EDT up reply actions
Most Impressive: Phil Coke Most Disappointing: Ryan Raburn
Great transition to SP for Coke. Very solid back-end starter for us when this was one of the biggest question marks coming into the season.
Raburn was going to be the everyday LF, his defense would get better with extra time there, and his hot bad would continue to a 20-25 homer season, batting about .275 with 90 or so RBI. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Maggs: Disapointing, indeed. But it’s not TOTALLY unexpected coming off an ankle injury at that age.
Binge: Really? Did anyone not see this coming?
Jhonny: A surprise, but he could always hit pretty well. His defense looks pretty good, but he is hitting with a bit of luck dragon, so we’ll see if he can maintain it. He looks good, though, so no complaints, but not as big of a surprise as Coke, in my opinion.
Oh, and also AVILA!
Dude is my new man crush with his start.
But mostly because he's on my keeper fantasy team
His regression needs to hold off, though, to get me some more wins and secure a playoff berth.
Maybe you should sell high
That dude would probably bring in a boatload in a keeper league right now.
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
I was thinking about it
I do need pitching, and I’m still not sure if he’s really a keeper catcher. He’s no Posey or McCann…
Do it
Don’t let your fanboyism (no offense intended, so don’t take that the wrong way plz) blind you. Be selective though, especially with pitchers.
Guys in my league seem not to be interested in Avila
More-so Chris B. Young and Carlos Gonzalez. Go figure.
If he’s not a bonafide star catcher, the guys in my league don’t care about acquiring him as theirs are “good enough”.
I may keep him anyway. My offense has been rolling and I can always trade some guys in the off-season and draft young pitchers.
Disappointment, Magglio- even though I think (and hope) it's due to injury
I DID expect a lot out of Maggs. Of course, there was the chance that his ankle wasn’t healed, and the chance that he’d regress or decline just due to aging. But his stat line when he went on the DL last year was on pace for .300+ 20 HR/ 100 RBI. If not Maggs, then the Tigers absolutely needed a big bat, and I don’t mean someone that’s a nice call up, to fill the 3 hole in the lineup. It’s been the biggest disappointment for me thus far in 2011. AJax gets runner up for biggest disappointment. Some regression was inevitable, but not this much. He should not be leading off, and there is no other internal answer.
Best surprise- Jhonny edges out Phil Coke. Peralta is having a career season. He even gets on base at an incredible rate, for him. Coke has allowed two or fewer runs in six of his eight starts. He hasn’t gotten much run support, but I think he should have ended any debate about the decision to put him in the rotation. Now, the decision to not replace him is another matter. Avila gets a mention for big surprise as well. I thought this was possible, but man it’s nice to see in 3D!
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
Tough one
Most impressive: J-honey. His bat has made up for Mags being terrible/injured.
Most disappointed: Tough. Toss up between Austin Jackson and Raburn. I’ll go with Jackson because he was supposed to be good and build off a good season. instead he’s working hard to break .230. Yeah, not a good thing.
I hate Jonathon Ericsson.
You should pick Raburn
Jackson was probably expected to hit .260, maybe a bit higher. He’s at ,224, so he’s really only about .040 under expectations. We had hoped his K rate would go down and BB rate go up. Well, the K rate is up a bit, but so is the BB rate, so he’s half way there. Unless you hoped for much higher than .260 BA, than he shouldn’t be a HUGE disappointment.
Raburn was probably expected to hit .280 or higher, while showing extra base power, So far, he’s hitting about .085 under expectation and not really showing any more power than Jackson. Raburn is a slam dunk over Jackson in disappointment factor! (Now, bring Maggs into the equation and you’ve got a battle!)
The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981
I think...
People forgot Peralta does have a decent bat, making the biggest surprise his stellar defense.
My biggest delight is Alex Avila, we knew he was solid behind the plate in limited action last year but he has carried that into the full time gig doing it night in and night out. The offense we have seen from him is leaps and bounds what we have had out of catchers the past few years. He has locked that spot down, and in my eyes is the first to do so since Pudge left.
My biggest disappointment is Jim Leyland. Yes, Leyland. Why is Raburn being run out there every game? Making errors, and striking out. Why does he do the same with Inge? I liked Leyland and let stuff go last year but his misuse of the bullpen, letting guys not pitch for 10 days? And why is Don Kelly even in the major leagues? He has held his own, but I don’t see him in the MLB on many other teams in the American League.
If I have to choose a player it is Sizemore. He is gone and for good reason, lack of hitting…You are not that good when you cannot hit a fastball in the big leagues. That’s all I have to say about him.
Biggest delight: Jhonny
Biggest disappointment: the lack of a permament 2nd baseman
Your 2k11 Detroit Tigers "AL Central Division Contenders" So get over it.
There's too many to name
Biggest delight: Avila. I was down on Martinez’s defense from the day we signed him, but grew to like the idea as the offseason progressed. Avila has pushed Martinez into the full-time DH role as opposed to the 50/50 split many predicted. Plus, he’s given us the left-handed power bat we’ve been lacking for years (other than Boesch’s half season last year).
Biggest disappointment: Raburn. I can’t say that I’m surprised that Raburn is stinking up the joint, but I thought that the pro-Raburn ppls on this site had a decent argument about Raburn being better once given consistent ABs. Argue about whether he’s actually gotten “consistent ABs” all you want, but he’s been downright turrible all year long both offensively and defensively.
Honorable mention: Brad Penny and the Rhymes/Sizemore combination.
Biggest delight: AlA. I love how foolish he makes people look. Honorable mention: Alex avila because I love how he has been completely competent at the plate this year and has greatly helped the offense
Biggest Dissappointment: Jim Leyland-okay not really but his lineups and “set in stone” positioning (Austin is a leadoff hitter no matter how bad he hits, Benoit is our 8th inning guy no matter if he is pitching bad or if he is good and the seventh is a higher pressure situation) and what seems like random favoritism annoys me. Feels like its worse than usual this year.
I’m going to have to go Austin: Raburn was a tossup, Inge couldn’t have expected much with/without injury, Maggs I’m always scared about people coming off injury. The top of the order has been less than stellar and I really want him to solidify the top of the lineup. If Austin can get on base more often and help get us through to the heavy hitters more often that would be excellent.
Best band of all time. In my opinion, of course.
Avila/Peralta and Raburn
It may be copping out, so if I had to pick one, it would be Avila. I expected him to hit, but not this well this early. Peralta has been a pleasant surprise, but there is precedent for him hitting well, and he’s only 28 or so.
Raburn is the big disappointment. A-Jax has regressed with the bat, but he’s still playing stellar defense in center. Maggs has been a bust so far, but it’s not his fault his ankle has taken longer than expected – I still think he can provide some offense this year. Raburn, however, was supposed to nail down a full-time job and provide some pop. He’s done neither, although in fairness, he’s been jerked around since the beginning of the year. The so-called “starting left fielder” got a 180 pulled on him and was stuck in a platoon by the season’s 3rd game, and they have yet to be in any way consistent with his playing time for 3 straight seasons now. If I got screwed with that much, maybe I’d start to press and swing at everything too!
Great post NCDee
Biggest Delight. BYB Game threads. I love "watching" Tiger games with such knowledgeable fans
Biggest Disappointment Lloyd McClendon
Where do I start? I think I’ll start with Granderson, now hitting left handers and having 17 home runs, I just have zero confidence that McClendon can really get any hitter out of a funk, whether it is a couple of games or a season.
And I’ll throw in this:
Biggest Surprise The number of rain outs this year.
This is going to play havoc on the starting pitching and the bullpen the rest of the season.
"But the point is, finger-pointing is just what sports fans do when something doesn't go right." -- Kurt Mensching
by RealityIsOptionable on Jun 2, 2011 6:58 PM EDT reply actions
Biggest Delight: Jhonny Peralta
Where do I start? I think I’ll start with Lloyd McClendon, who is always blamed for hitters not improving. I had zero confidence that Peralta was going to contribute because of Lloyd being the hitting coach and working with him. However, jeebus or Dr. Magic Fingers must have secretly helped Peralta, who was pretty much done in Cleveland, return to form in Detroit because it couldn’t have been Lloyd!
Biggest Disappointment: Ryan Raburn not being traded. Screw that guy!
I have a grand idea: let's win a game.
I like your style
"But the point is, finger-pointing is just what sports fans do when something doesn't go right." -- Kurt Mensching
by RealityIsOptionable on Jun 2, 2011 8:02 PM EDT up reply actions
Peralta had been an All Star a couple years ago in Cleveland
but McLendon screwed up Raburn and AJax royally!
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
Sure did.
If you credit Lloyd with Peralta’s success, you must credit him with the failures of: Ajax, Raburn, Inge, and anyone else batting below career averages.
And Granderson seems to have found his stroke in NY… I don’t like McClendon.
Drink, and Drink, and Drink, and Drink, and Drink, and Drink, and Fight!
by Brand New Hero on Jun 3, 2011 9:48 AM EDT up reply actions
I credit Lloyd with nothing
I suspect that Granderson was dealt, in part, because he wouldn’t listen to the legend’s tips on hitting. Lloyd has no credentials to be a hitting coach, IMO, other than being Leyland’s buddy. He was made the bullpen coach in JL’s first year, then moved to batting coach when Don Slaught left. Amazing how he goes from pitching expert to hitting expert over night! I’d can him and call up Bull Durham.
I don't care what the Chinese say, 2011 is the Year of the Tiger!
I'll go with Avila
As biggest surprise, I don’t think anyone expected him to contribute in the way that he has so far. He’ll probably regress a little but to echo what others have said a left handed catcher with power is invaluable and it looks like that’s exactly what we have.
Raburn, hands down for biggest disappointment. I try not to focus too much on the negative, but good god! Inge at least plays passable, if declining, defense. In what was supposed to be Raburn’s break out year he has made a case to be DFA’d. The only saving grace at this point is he could still get hot with the bat and drive in some runs later in the year, whereas Inge is just Inge. For us to have a winning season and playoff hopes, SOMEone will have to step up and be a big contributor like Peralta, Avila, Cabrera, and Martinez have been. It will either have to come from Raburn, a healthy Magglio, or a trade. My thinking and my hope is Magglio will do the trick, but maybe RR will, once again, surprise us all. Just not yet.
Wait til October...
A few good choices for biggest delight, actually
Peralta is a great choice, but so is Avila and I think Porcello as well. Obviously everyone expected Verlander to be great, but seeing him find the next level is a real delight.
For biggest disappointment I go with A-Jax, thus far. I’m not panicking on him at all, and he hasn’t been awful, but I’ve had high hopes for him, whereas I didn’t really have high hopes for Inge, Magglio, or any of the crumb bums at second base.
On twitter @BisonMessink
Quickly
Best delight: Probably Peralta, but maybe Avila. We knew both had it in them but we weren’t sure if either of them would really do it.
Biggest disappointment: Probably Ryan Raburn. Hard to think it could be anyone else really.
Choices
Disappointment the not hitting Austin Jackson
delight al Albuquerque
Tiger tweets @ www.twitter.com/explenture
An impatient optimist not a patient pessimist
Boesch has been a nice surprise
Mainly because I really didn’t expect anything from him at the beginning of the year. His defense has been vastly improved and, while he is slumping, he is showing signs of being a 270-280 hitter with very legit power. AA(both of them) has been a treat too
Worst disappointment—Scott Sizemore. He was supposed to be the man of the future at second, the fruit of the minor leagues loins for an infielder, and now after 1/3 of the season he is no longer here. His departure and lack of production while he was here was not what we were told he should do and now leaves a pretty gaping hole at that position.
Biggest delight is Phil Coke
He is doing quite well and much better than I expected.
Biggest disappointment was Rhymes. I knew he wasn’t Polanco or anything, but he worked himself out of a job.
Second biggest disappointment? Being in 2nd place in early June.
Second biggest delight? Sweeping the Sux and Twins so far this year!
"This is the Motor City. And this is what we do."
by murrajo on Jun 3, 2011 12:36 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
my takes
unexpected delights
Jhonny
Avila
Penny being serviceable
Albequerquequerquequerqueque
Twins sucking
Unexpected disappointments
Rayburn being absolutely terrible at everything he does.
Jackson at the plate
Indians
Other than that everything else is on par. Stars being stars, Inge being Inge and Tigers fans jumping off of bridges one day, and printing World Series tickets the next.
Country Strong
My Picks.
Biggest Delight: Alex Avila. I wasn’t high on him coming into this season. Now, I don’t think his bat can be replaced. I can’t remember the last time any team had a full-time and back-up catchers that could actually hit. It’s a great situation to be in as a fan. Thank goodness the Laird and Sardinha era is finally over.
Biggest Disappointment: AJax. I didn’t think he’d have a sophomore slump. Maybe that muscle he added during the off-season changed his swing somewhat. The result is hitting more pop-ups and weak grounders to the right side of the infield. I just hope when the weather heats up that extra mass will melt away, and he gets his swing back. Same thing happened to Mark Teixeira last season. It’s a long slow process.
Most impressive is Alex Avila
Most disappointing has got to be Joaquin Benoit.
"Aside from the stuff I haven’t been diagnosed for yet, I don’t have a problem."- Phil Coke
Contributor, Bless You Boys
Delights & Disappointments
My biggest delights have been Alex Avila, Jhonny Peralta, and Andy Dirks.
My biggest disappointment has been Austin Jackson (surprising even myself)….I suppose I can’t even list Don Kelly as a disappointment, since I didn’t expect much from him to begin with.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bless You Boys
Related FanShots on Bless You Boys
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Keeping good company: Albert Pujols becomes fourth-youngest player to hit 450 home runs
- Giancarlo Stanton misses cutoff man, and Logan Morrison is thankful he did (Video)
- Snoop Dogg delivers memorable first pitch at U.S. Cellular Field
- The Juice: Mesoraco’s grand slam helps Reds complete four-game sweep of Braves
- Please hold: Indians’ Joe Smith jumps the gun on relief appearance
