FanPost

We've got Al Alburquerque, so why don't we use him?

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

There are two sides to the Tiger bullpen, though perhaps two less distinct sides than most of us hoped at the beginning of the year. On the one hand, we've got Joe, Joba and at least as our late innings lefty, Phil Coke. These are our back end guys. The three who in theory come in to shut the door in the late innings. We'll add Joakim Soria to that mix when he returns. On the other side, we've seen a cast of characters like Luke Putkonen, Evan Reed, Blaine Hardy, Melvin Mercedes, and now former ace closer Jim Johnson among myriad others who've come and gone, or in Hardy's case been fantastic. This leaves one man in the middle, one lone wolf in the wilderness to languish. When a game is tight, Brad Ausmus goes with the three J's, when it's out of hand, we don't want to burn our (in theory) best guys in a game we're losing. So where does Al Alburquerque fit in?

I ask because since the unveiling of my beloved AlAl and the slider of absolute true outcomes in 2011, he's been one of my favorite Tigers, and a man I thought might one day wear the cherished crown of closer. I ask because he has the best ERA of anyone in our bullpen at 2.80, not counting Blaine Hardy's relatively short though excellent tenure with the 2014 Tigers.

What do we look for in a closer? A great strikeout rate? Al's got one, sitting at 10.80 per nine innings. A low walk rate? Sure that's always been Al's issue, but this year? 2.80 per nine. Pretty damn good right? Looks like the best right-hander in the bullpen, in fact. And yet until last night, Al hadn't pitched in five straight games. There's a repeated pattern of Al either being used in back-to-back appearances, or hardly at all for weeks at a time, and almost never in the 8th or 9th inning of a close game.

So what's the difference that leaves Al out in the cold as some sort of half fireman, half mop-up artist? I tend to think people just don't trust him, and yet when you look at our current options, it seems nuts to think there's anyone we should have much more confidence in. On top of his numbers, Al has everything you'd want in a big game closer. You want a guy who can put a bad day behind him? Hell, Al may not know what day it is, let alone what count he's in, how many outs there are or who the opponent is. This is a man who, on a comebacker to the mound, TO END THE NINTH INNING OF A TIED PLAYOFF GAME IN THE ALCS, took a moment to offer his sweet affection to the ball before throwing out Yoenis Cespedes to end the game.

Now some of that may not endear Al to some of you, though I think such an attitude is completely crazy and anti-fun, but OK — maybe you just think Al isn't trustworthy in a big spot. But to me his mentality, his swagger and his evil slider coupled with a vastly improved walk rate make him just the guy to pitch in the highest leverage situations. But there must be a weakness right? Brad Ausmus didn't go to Dartmouth just to overlook a savant-like genius in his midst. Okay there is a little one...

Al's FIP this year is 3.82. That's not too good. Must be getting bailed out by this vaunted Tiger defense to have an ERA of 2.80, right? Okay, that was cruel, and no, the issue is Al's own, as his xFIP is 2.91. The gist of these fancy numbers is that if Al were giving up home runs at a league average rate of 10%, his FIP would be 2.91, right in line with his ERA. But it isn't, and there's the issue. It all, like so much this year, comes back to the dingerz. Al has allowed too many of them; seven to be exact. And this may be why Ausmus won't go to Al much in the late innings. The slider is a bit of an all or nothing special. Kept away, or down to left handed batters and it's great. Hung over the inside portion of the plate and it gets flat out crushed.He's given up five of those seven home runs to lefties. Coupled with a pretty mediocre two-seamer to those same lefties, and we've found our hero's weakness. The question is, maybe he's not yet closer material, but can we work with that?

To me, we can. You can use Al in situations where he's not going to face a powerful left-handed bat, or you can pitch around said batters. Sure, I don't want to see Al taking on Kipnis, Santana and Brantley in a row or something. That sort of thing is begging for trouble. But I do hope, considering our troubles, that Ausmus will start using Al in higher leverage situations, particularly when it's not a terrible matchup for him. Take a look at opponents' lines in high leverage situations against Al over the past three years...

2014 High Leverage - .107/.167/.259 in 8 2/3 innings.

2013 High Leverage - .194/.342/./.391 in 8 2/3 innings.

2012 High Leverage - .000/.000/.000 in 3 2/3 innings.

These are TINY samples, no argument. In 2013 we can see Al's wildness costing a lot of walks in those few innings. But what I don't see is a guy who folds under pressure. A guy who gives up hit after hit. Hopefully Ausmus will start mixing Al in with his "A" team. I feel like we're wasting a pretty good weapon to a degree, and there's nothing in a comparison of Al to Joba, Joe or Joakim that should make us concerned to use him late in tight ball games, particularly when the matchups are in his favor. This is a guy who can help us, and who seems to have the most nebulous of places in the bullpen arsenal. Can we start using Al as a late inning option? Or even to close a game here or there while we wait for Soria to return to health and hopefully to form? What say you?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.