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Morning Prowl: A statistical look back at July (cover your eyes)

By Kurt Mensching

The Tigers finished July at 11-15. Of course they were 7-1 before falling into a 4-14 spiral after the all-star break. Think run scoring is the Tigers' biggest problem? (OK, maybe after Magglio Ordonez was lost it is!) Think again. The pitching is no better. Here's a look back at July. All stats found either at ESPN.com or the Tigers notes this morning.

Some July stats (at the plate)

  • The Tigers were 9th of 14 American League clubs with 106 runs scored
  • Their on-base percentage was fifth
  • They saw intentional walks 11 times for the most in the AL. (Tied with Boston)
  • They were caught stealing eight times and stole just six bases for a 43% success rate. That is the worst in the league by 10% and a full 47% behind the leader.
  • But Miguel Cabrera had his boom-stick. He hit .398 with a .477 on-base percentage, .761 slugging average. If you just look at after the all-star break, each of those numbers is higher. He has six homers an 15 walks.
  • Johnny Damon has a .325 / .409 / .571 line for the month, including four home runs and 11 walks.
  • Austin Jackson rounded out the top three Tigers with .314 / .358 / . 461. He led in strikeouts with 28 and steals with three.
  • The bottom? No. it's not Brennan Boesch. The catchers. Gerald Laird is at .163 / .176 / .224. Alex Avila is even worst at .159 / .245 / .227.
  • Boesch by the way: .209 / .311 / .353. He hit four doubles, and struck out 17 times.

Some July stats (on the mound)

  • The Tigers had a 4.52 ERA for a ranking of 11th of 14. They were ahead of just Seattle, Baltimore and Kansas City.
  • They ranked second in strikeouts (186) but 12th in walks (91). And this is the post-Willis era!
  • Opponents hit .276 off them (10th) and got on base 34.5% of the time (12th). The 1.46 WHIP was 12th.
  • The Tigers had just five save opportunities.
  • Predictably enough, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander lead the ragtag bunch. Scherzer has a 2.31 ERA in the month and has 36 strikeouts. Verlander had a 2.88 ERA with 37 strikeouts.
  • The other starters: Armando Galarraga, 3.86 ERA; Rick Porcello, 3.38; Andy Oliver, 12.60; Jeremy Bonderman, 7.77
  • Jose Valverde had the most strikeouts per nine innings at 13.50 but his ERA was 8.25.

After the All-Star Break

  • OK so those July stats could look better than they really are because the start of the month went so well? So here's a quick glance after the break.
  • Their .240 batting average leads just Seattle. Their .675 OPS is 12th, ahead of the Mariners and Orioles.
  • Their 4.73 ERA is 12th ahead of just the Orioles and Royals. They gave up 1.46 walks and hits per inning, which curiously is .001 ahead of the Yankees but still ranks 11th.

Some other stats of interest, full-season version:

  • Here's some other fun and interesting stuff. Unless you realize Tuesday is the worst day for the Tigers to play on and they're only hours away from a double header with the White Sox. Ruh-roh.
  • Record by day: Monday, 5-6; Tuesday, 4-10; Wednesday, 8-9; Thursday, 9-2; Friday, 7-8; Saturday, 9-9; Sunday, 10-8.
  • Record by starting pitcher: Bonderman, 10-8; Bonine, 0-1; Galarraga, 8-4; Oliver, 1-4; Porcello, 4-11; Scherzer, 8-12; Thomas, 2-0; Verlander, 14-8; Willis, 4-4.
  • Starters' ERA: 4.73; Relievers' ERA: 3.65
  • Relief pitching by inherited run percentage (best to worst): Enrique Gonzalez, 1 scored of 6 inherited, 16.7%; Jose Valverde, 1 of 6, 16.7%; Ryan Perry, 4 of 24; 20%; Robbie Weinhardt, 2 of 8, 25%; Phil Coke, 12 of 35, 34.3%; Brad Thomas, 13 of 26, 50%; Eddie Bonine, 13 of 22; 59%.
  • Brad Thomas retired 19 of 28 first batters faced for a team-high 68%. Lowest: Gonzlez retired six of 13.

Some links to check out:

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