Detroit Tigers Ongoing 2013 Thread

[broncosmitty]

Upside to the off day... Dotel and the bullpen get to rest their ailing arms.

 

[broncosmitty]

Downs, Luke P., and Benoit are my top three picks for biggest relief disappointment, for the upcoming week. I think Coke will give us a couple uneventful innings over the next two series. Might be a big lead when he comes in, idk. Anybody else wanna guess which member of the bullpen will be on the mound when a winning run scores?

 

[Iffster]

I predict it will be Benoit...he is due. Then, JL will get blasted for not bringing in Dotel or Adam Wilk!

 

[Shanemansj13]

Time for the Tribe to tie this AL race up!

 

[Iffster]

Yankees shaft Brennan Boesch.

MLB Trade Rumors:
"Despite going 5 for 8 (with a HR) in his last 3 games for NY, the Yankees sent Brennan Boesch back to AAA today....in order to add another pitcher to the lineup. According to Joe Girardi, off field events contributed to Boesch's demotion. "We found a picture of Brennan on an online site that connects him to a rather questionable photo of bunny rabbits doing inappropriate things. We are hoping a trip to the minors will allow him time to rethink his priorities."

 

[gvsulaker82]

ill go with ortega

 

[Howie115]

As long as this board has succumbed to sarcasm, I'll go with Villareal.

 

[Iffster]

Time for the Tribe to tie this AL race up!

Looks like it was time for the Yankees to blast your ace!

 

[Cleaves2000]

I notice when the tigers are a losin this thread is a poppin.......gloating time for a "certain" tiger fan?

But hey? Its never leylands fault....even when he admits it is.

Alex avila needs to be sent down. Santiago needs to be sent down....call up kobernus or whatever his name is. Santiago needs to just step up and retire. Otherwise jimmy will keep him til hes 50.

 

[Iffster]

I notice that 99% of a certain poster's comments are about the same guy.

At yanking the short hairs.

I read an article today stating how poor the infield defense is..i.e, lots of infield hits, poor range ,etc. Author suggested getting a late inning defensive specialist...or two. SS John McDonald is my suggestion.

 

[Iffster]

By Michael Betzold
– June 4, 2013
Jhonny Peralta’s defensive ability isn’t well measured by his errors or fielding percentage. His limited range hurts the Tigers, especially late in close games.

If, like Rod Allen and Mario Impemba, you want to believe the Tigers are a good defensive team, there’s nothing stopping you but the facts.
Similarly, there’s nothing stopping you from believing the Tigers have a decent closer just because sometimes the hits off Jose Valverde land in gloves instead of the seats.
For weeks, the Fox Sports Detroit TV announcers kept crowing that the Tigers had the fewest errors in the league, and that proved they must be a great defensive team, as if fielding percentage were a meaningful measure of defensive prowess. It hasn’t been, at least not for the past 30 years, since Bill James arrived on the scene.
It’s really quite simple: in order to be charged with an error, you have to reach a batted ball. And if you have poor range, you don’t get there. Without good range, you’re usually handling relatively easy chances, so voila, fewer errors.
Sabermetricians haven’t agreed yet on one definitive measurement for defense, but that doesn’t mean the tools they currently use aren’t a vast improvement over fielding percentage.
So let’s use both the old and new tools to examine the Tigers’ infield, which is the leading suspect here.
At the end of May, according to ESPN.com, Detroit had a decent infield if you measured it with the highly flawed, old-fashioned tool, fielding percentage. Prince Fielder (.996), Omar Infante (.986), Jhonny Peralta (.986), and Miguel Cabrera (.961), were 17th, 18th, 13th, and 14th respectively among all MLB regulars at their positions: in other words, all resting in the middle-of-the-pack.
But if you look at the other two defensive stats used by ESPN.com, the picture is gloomier. In defensive WAR (wins above replacement), Fielder is -0.8 (tied for 27th out of 30). Infante is 0.4, tied for 8th. Peralta is 0.5, or 13th. Cabrera is -0.5, which leaves him tied for dead last.
As far as range factor, the tally is: Fielder next-to-last, Infante 18th, Peralta 17th, and, as you might expect, Cabrera last.
What these numbers, taken together, tell you is that the Tigers are average up the middle, better at second than at short, and statuesque at the corners (not in the sense of beautiful, but with the meaning of largely immobile).
This doesn’t mean that Cabrera and Fielder don’t occasionally make nifty plays, because they do, or that their prodigious offense doesn’t trump their defense, because it certainly does. It just means that a lot of grounders get through the holes on the right and left sides of the infield and, especially for a ground-ball pitcher like Doug Fister, that’s going to cost something.
In the outfield, the picture is murkier. Andy Dirks is one of nine MLB left fielders who hasn’t yet made an error this season, he is 9th in range factor, and tied for second in defensive WAR at 0.4 (these are surprisingly good numbers). Austin Jackson’s numbers are surprisingly poor, and so are Torii Hunter’s (they each have a -0.3 WAR and below-average range so far this season). But these defensive metrics are rather unreliable for outfielders. Jackson and Hunter are surely better fielders than Dirks, based on past seasons. In any case, there’s not much concern about the outfield defense, once Jackson returns — it is at least average-to-good.
But what about that porous infield? Given the lack of range in the inner pasture, the Tigers could use a defensive “closer.” Ramon Santiago is neither young nor a legend with the leather. The Tigers could use a great defensive shortstop to help protect late-inning leads. (The need is even more pressing at third base, but I doubt Jim Leyland would ever consider taking Cabrera out of a game.)
Fortunately, shortstops with better-than-Jhonny range abound, including two within the Tiger farm system: Eugenio Sanchez and Dixon Machado. Sanchez needs another season in the minors to get ready for 2014, when odds are he’ll be the Tigers’ starting shortstop when Jhonny’s no longer on the spot. But the very rangy defensive whiz Machado can’t hit a lick, so why not promote him now to be a late-inning replacement who will never even come to bat unless there’s a disaster? Surely the team could spare a bullpen arm (most of those guys pitch twice a week at most), or even do without Santiago, to open up a roster spot.
The Tigers need to augment their championship-caliber starting pitching and everyday lineup with complimentary players who can nail down victories, both in the bullpen and on the infield. If it were up to me, in fact, with a lead in the late innings I’d put a Machado at short and move Peralta to third, where he belongs. The massive upgrade in range on the left side of the infield would surely pay off in a few wins.
In the meantime, Mario and Rod can keep citing those fielding percentages. Nobody else who understands baseball does, but hey, they’re paid to talk, and talk is cheap.

 

[adrian2]

Alex avila needs to be sent down. Santiago needs to be sent down....call up kobernus or whatever his name is. Santiago needs to just step up and retire. Otherwise jimmy will keep him til hes 50.

sorry cleaves. we sent Kobernus back to the Nats. since he was a rule 5 pick the only way to keep him was to place him on the active roster for the full season or work out a trade with the nats. Nats would not accept a trade . meaning they knew he was a valuable prospect.

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

Yankees shaft Brennan Boesch.

MLB Trade Rumors:
"Despite going 5 for 8 (with a HR) in his last 3 games for NY, the Yankees sent Brennan Boesch back to AAA today....in order to add another pitcher to the lineup. According to Joe Girardi, off field events contributed to Boesch's demotion. "We found a picture of Brennan on an online site that connects him to a rather questionable photo of bunny rabbits doing inappropriate things. We are hoping a trip to the minors will allow him time to rethink his priorities."

LOL

 

[Iffster]

ATTENTION!!! ATTENTION!!! ATTENTION!!!

Quintin Berry was claimed off waivers by the Royals. Please make note of this muzz and cleaves....to avoid further embarrassment in the future. Berry cannot be called up by Leyland - he no longer is property of the Detroit Tigers.

 

[Spartan1Nation]

SportsHoopla.... Interesting article here

 

[Cleaves2000]

Oh that sucks adrian. I thought he was in our minors.

Anyone seen the great article about jimmy leyland, and his sub par managing this year? I guess his blunders over the weekend caught a few eyes.

Ill take a mediocre infield if they keep hitting the way they do......fielder, infante, peralta, and miggy.........can anyone name a better infield then what the tigers have? I was never a jhonny P fan, but he has seemed to work his butt off during the offseason and he looks to be in better shape. And its paying off at the plate.........an infield cant help you win the games when the other team is smashing the ball into the bleachers. The infield defense has been OK by my eyes. Beats having jimmy trot inge out there for his glove everyday.....or having a SS that can play some real great defense but hits .180.

The reason this team isnt where they should be is because of their bullpen.....our defense does a good job when the starters are in.....so when the RP comes in and blows a lead, the infield defense is to blame? I guess infante should of caught that 3 run homer sunday.

Just seems like nitpicking to call out detroits infield defense, especially when miggy, jhonny P, fielder, and infante are all doing well at the plate.

 

[Cleaves2000]

Ahaha spartan ty......just brought that up in my last post.

Lol @ don kelly should never pinch hit for anyone............sorry smitty

 

[adrian2]

especially funny that JL brought in DK to pinch hit for garcia with a righty on the mound. except that kelly hitting a robust .136 against righties in 72 tries.

 

[Cleaves2000]

Just as funny when he brings in coke to face a lefthander and he never seems to get them out.

 

[Iffster]

Not as funny as someone who claims others are bad Tiger fans....yet they have no clue about what players are in the organization or on the DL. Hey....maybe the Tigers can call up Carlos Pena to provide 1B defense, hey cleaves?