A series that had so much promise for 6 innings on Friday night ended with a thud in the afternoon on Sunday.
The Tigers were shut out for the seventh time only a month and a half into the season by father time himself, Randy Johnson. The Big Unit was far from dominant, allowing seven baserunners in seven innings. He did strike out five, but the Tigers helped him along by stranding runner after runner (including a no out double by Miguel in the 4th).
Nate Robertson was hit around pretty well, giving up seven base hits and four walks in just 5.2 innings. He was having decent luck until he gave up a two-run double to Chris Young in the 5th. In the 6th Robertson loaded the bases full, with one of those being a walk to Randy Johnson after intentionally walking Miguel Montero. Freddy Dolsi came in to relieve him, and immediately walked Chris Young to bring in a run. The D-Backs tacked on another run off the Tigers bullpen before Zach Miner shut them down for the remainder.
In addition to the offensive ineptitude, Jim Leyland provided a nice head scratcher as well. He batted Pudge Rodriguez leadoff again because of the lefty on the mound (which he's done before, so it wasn't so surprising). But the problem was in the three-hole. Rather than just moving Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera up in the order, he hit Edgar Renteria third. Edgar has been good this season against lefties in a pretty small sample size at only 20 ABs. Over his career he slugs around .450 against southpaws, but with Cabrera and Ordonez around he shouldn't be hitting any higher than 5th.
Next on the agenda? A series with that other disappointing AL team, the Seattle Mariners.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Brooms Ahoy
Confidence isn't a word I would really use too often when talking about the 2008 Detroit Tigers. But going into Thursday's finale in KC, it was pretty safe to assume that the Tigers were probably pretty confident in their chances. They wouldn't be swept by the lowly Kansas City Royals. Kenny Rogers was taking the hill, on a roll with three consecutive quality starts. And they were facing a starter that they victimized in the season opener.
All that came to a screeching halt as the Gambler fell victim to a three run first inning, and a two run second shortly thereafter. By the time he'd exited after the fourth inning, KC had a seven-spot on the board, and fourteen men had reached base.
Gil Meche gave one back in the second inning, but looked nothing like the man Detroit had seen the first go round. It was just another day at the office for a Kansas City pitcher, going seven strong and keeping the foot on the Tigers' throat all day.
You know there is something seriously wrong when Matt Joyce (not really trying to slight the man too hard here) is seemingly the entire offense. Another home run was crushed to the right field grass, and he also added a sac fly.
The AL Central is still a jumbled mess, with first place and fourth place only 2.5 games apart. But the Tigers aren't even in that discussion because they're sitting in dead last, 3.5 games away from the nearest team (the Royals). The Indians have claimed first place, already have a six game cushion to work with, and all of their pitchers throwing zeros.
If Detroit doesn't make some sort of adjustment soon (cough, Gary Sheffield DL, cough), they could be in severe trouble. A visit to arguably the best team in the NL (the Snakes) is not going to help matters at all, and interleague play as a whole is not going to be a laugher for the AL this season.
All that came to a screeching halt as the Gambler fell victim to a three run first inning, and a two run second shortly thereafter. By the time he'd exited after the fourth inning, KC had a seven-spot on the board, and fourteen men had reached base.
Gil Meche gave one back in the second inning, but looked nothing like the man Detroit had seen the first go round. It was just another day at the office for a Kansas City pitcher, going seven strong and keeping the foot on the Tigers' throat all day.
You know there is something seriously wrong when Matt Joyce (not really trying to slight the man too hard here) is seemingly the entire offense. Another home run was crushed to the right field grass, and he also added a sac fly.
The AL Central is still a jumbled mess, with first place and fourth place only 2.5 games apart. But the Tigers aren't even in that discussion because they're sitting in dead last, 3.5 games away from the nearest team (the Royals). The Indians have claimed first place, already have a six game cushion to work with, and all of their pitchers throwing zeros.
If Detroit doesn't make some sort of adjustment soon (cough, Gary Sheffield DL, cough), they could be in severe trouble. A visit to arguably the best team in the NL (the Snakes) is not going to help matters at all, and interleague play as a whole is not going to be a laugher for the AL this season.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Falling Down
After a heartbreaking loss on Tuesday, the Tigers absolutely needed a good start from Justin Verlander. Only one of his starts has been quality, and the rest (seven of them) have been at least four earned runs or more. He was not the problem today.
The offense, on the other hand, was.
Kansas City rookie pitcher Luke Hochevar pitched six very strong innings of shutout ball. He threw less strikes than Verlander on a comparable amount of pitches, but was bailed out routinely by the Tigers thin bats. He walked three batters, but only allowed four base hits (none for extra bases), and struck out five. Detroit's bats looked, for the lack of a better word (by my choice), pathetic. In the season series so far against the Royals, the Tigers are 3-36 with runners in scoring position.
The Tigers young ace looked good, but not quite as good as his counterpart. The only real mistake came on a two RBI single by Joey Gathright in the second inning. It wasn't really a mistake as much as it was a decent piece of hitting on a very low breaking ball by the KC speedster. After that blip, he didn't allow another run to score in his 6+ innings of work. It really was just what the Tigers needed from him. It would be nice to see him throw more first pitch strikes, and not get behind on hitters that he should be challenging, but this start was very encouraging nevertheless.
Down 2-0 in the top of the 8th inning, Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen both got on with singles. On the first pitch of the next at bat, Magglio Ordonez grounded into a double play. A Miguel Cabrera ground out later, and the mild crisis was averted. After that poor showing by the heart of the order, it was left up to six, seven, and eight hitters in the 9th to salvage something. That was put to rest before anyone could blink. Joakim Soria struck out the first two batters he faced, and got a groundout to record his 10th save of the season.
That, my friends, is how you completely waste two quality starts from a couple of struggling starting pitchers.
The offense, on the other hand, was.
Kansas City rookie pitcher Luke Hochevar pitched six very strong innings of shutout ball. He threw less strikes than Verlander on a comparable amount of pitches, but was bailed out routinely by the Tigers thin bats. He walked three batters, but only allowed four base hits (none for extra bases), and struck out five. Detroit's bats looked, for the lack of a better word (by my choice), pathetic. In the season series so far against the Royals, the Tigers are 3-36 with runners in scoring position.
The Tigers young ace looked good, but not quite as good as his counterpart. The only real mistake came on a two RBI single by Joey Gathright in the second inning. It wasn't really a mistake as much as it was a decent piece of hitting on a very low breaking ball by the KC speedster. After that blip, he didn't allow another run to score in his 6+ innings of work. It really was just what the Tigers needed from him. It would be nice to see him throw more first pitch strikes, and not get behind on hitters that he should be challenging, but this start was very encouraging nevertheless.
Down 2-0 in the top of the 8th inning, Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen both got on with singles. On the first pitch of the next at bat, Magglio Ordonez grounded into a double play. A Miguel Cabrera ground out later, and the mild crisis was averted. After that poor showing by the heart of the order, it was left up to six, seven, and eight hitters in the 9th to salvage something. That was put to rest before anyone could blink. Joakim Soria struck out the first two batters he faced, and got a groundout to record his 10th save of the season.
That, my friends, is how you completely waste two quality starts from a couple of struggling starting pitchers.
Friday, May 9, 2008
May 9th-11th Pitching Matchups
Finshing up the season series with the Boston Red Sox was an exercise in futility, as the Tigers only managed to win two out of six overall. Detroit will have the opportunity to play the aggressor this weekend as they close out their season series with the other AL East power, the New York Yankees.
The bombers come in just as hobbled as they were before, and maybe even more so. Alex Rodriguez is still out, as is Jorge Posada. The pitching staff has become even more thin, with Phil Hughes making a trip to the disabled list, and Ian Kennedy being sent down.
Friday: Kenny Rogers vs. Kei Igawa
Kenny had one of his better starts this season in his first encounter with the Yankees, allowing only two earned runs in six innings of work. That was Rogers' second quality start of the season, and he followed it up with his third in the very next start (against the free swinging Twins). Eating innings and giving a quality start here and there is all the Tigers have asked of Rogers, and he hasn't been worse than most of the other Detroit starters.
Kei Igawa's rookie season didn't go the way anyone in New York would've liked it to. He had pretty good strikeout numbers with 54 punchouts in 67.2 innings, but was very prone to the longball and the walk. He walked almost five batters per nine innings, and the 15 home runs allowed in that sample size is astounding. This season for Scranton-Wilkes Barre (Yankees AAA affiliate) Igawa hasn't been very dominant. In almost 40 innings he's sporting a 3.86 ERA, and walking three batters per nine innings. It's not all dreary though. He's only allowed 3 home runs in those innings, and has struck out a batter per inning. This is probably going to be a high scoring affair.
Saturday: Jeremy Bonderman vs. Darrell Rasner
I'm not quite sure what to think of Rasner's only start of the season for the Yanks. It was indeed a quality start, but it was against the vaunted Seattle Mariners juggernaut. His groundballs and flyballs were almost half and half, and he did allow a home run. At the same time he managed to strike out four batters, walk no one, and only gave up five hits. The fact that he's been in the Yankees system for 3 years now and has only had 20 innings of work at a time leads me to believe that his ceiling is a league average starter. If that is indeed the case, this may be the only favorable pitching matchup of the series.
The more I look at his stats, the more I wonder if Nate is just the victim of a high BAbip. He's on pace to strike out more batters than any point in his career, and he's keeping his walks at about the same rate as he ever has (maybe even less, surprisingly enough). Even the 6 home runs he's given up aren't really out of the ordinary for him. Nate Robertson: Enigma
Pettitte had arguably his worst start of the season in his last tango with the Tigers, getting touched up for 5 runs in 6 innings of work. Other than that game, and an earlier encounter with the Cleveland Indians, he's been excellent. His last start against the aforementioned Indians was a 6.1 inning affair in which he struck out a season high 6 batters. As always, he can almost certainly be counted on for a quality start.
It may be a blessing in disguise that the Tigers are getting the Yankees season series out of the way in these first two months, because they won't be struggling this much for the rest of the season. If Detroit doesn't manage at least two, I will be a very shocked young man. But these are the Tigers, and they care not about your foolish predictions and expectations.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Wild Night
If Kevin Youkilis would've had a day off, Armando Galarraga's start probably would've looked a whole lot better.
As it stands though, the young righty was touched up for 5 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk in 5.1 innings. The aforementioned "Youk" smacked a pair of home runs totaling three RBIs. While Armando was touched up a little bit in the hit column, he only walked one batter, and brought his strikeout total back up to six. The bullpen provided him no relief as far as a decision is concerned, giving up a grand total of four runs in only 3.2 innings. Zach Miner gave up two runs in only an inning of work, and Francisco Cruceta proved that he can be shaky as well. Cruceta walked two (and struck out two), and gave up a 3-run home run to Mike Lowell (one of the baserunners belonging to Miner). Todd Jones had his normal scary ninth, but didn't allow any runs to cross the plate, and kept Detroit within one run.
Young ace Clay Buccholz showed why his off-speed stuff has earned him the Red Sox minor league pitcher of the year for two consecutive seasons. The fact that he couldn't locate his fastball took away from the effectiveness of his excellent breaking stuff, and allowed the Tigers to pick him apart. Ten hits, one walk, and five runs chased Buccholz from the game.
The Tigers offense exploding in a game where their pitcher wasn't dominating was a welcome respite. Placido Polanco and Gary Sheffield were the unlikely heroes of the day, going 5-6 and 3-4 (with a walk) respectively. Polanco's final hit being the game winning bloop over the head of Julio Lugo, to cap the victory and Jonathon Papelbon's first blown save of the season. That hit moved the Tigers to five games under .500, and Josh Beckett is tabbed for tomorrow.
As it stands though, the young righty was touched up for 5 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk in 5.1 innings. The aforementioned "Youk" smacked a pair of home runs totaling three RBIs. While Armando was touched up a little bit in the hit column, he only walked one batter, and brought his strikeout total back up to six. The bullpen provided him no relief as far as a decision is concerned, giving up a grand total of four runs in only 3.2 innings. Zach Miner gave up two runs in only an inning of work, and Francisco Cruceta proved that he can be shaky as well. Cruceta walked two (and struck out two), and gave up a 3-run home run to Mike Lowell (one of the baserunners belonging to Miner). Todd Jones had his normal scary ninth, but didn't allow any runs to cross the plate, and kept Detroit within one run.
Young ace Clay Buccholz showed why his off-speed stuff has earned him the Red Sox minor league pitcher of the year for two consecutive seasons. The fact that he couldn't locate his fastball took away from the effectiveness of his excellent breaking stuff, and allowed the Tigers to pick him apart. Ten hits, one walk, and five runs chased Buccholz from the game.
The Tigers offense exploding in a game where their pitcher wasn't dominating was a welcome respite. Placido Polanco and Gary Sheffield were the unlikely heroes of the day, going 5-6 and 3-4 (with a walk) respectively. Polanco's final hit being the game winning bloop over the head of Julio Lugo, to cap the victory and Jonathon Papelbon's first blown save of the season. That hit moved the Tigers to five games under .500, and Josh Beckett is tabbed for tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
April Progress Reports: Offense
With the first month of the season coming to a close, there has been more than enough of a sample size to get an idea of what the offense should look like. David Dombrowski saved me a good chunk of negativity, and showed mercy on Tigers fans, by cutting Jacque Jones (a whole barrel of awful). I'll start from the top:
1. Curtis Granderson - 32 PA, 11 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 8 BB, .531 OBP, .958 SLG
Despite only starting six games in April, Curtis scored as many runs as Gary Sheffield, and more than Brandon Inge. Seven of his nine hits went for extra bases, and he's showing that last year was no fluke. He also walked more times than he struck out, which is a tremendous sign as far as his patience is concerned. The fact that he's tearing the cover off the ball, and is in his prime, make it very disappointing that Jim Leyland will never move him down in the order.
2. Placido Polanco - 93 PA, 12 R, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 12 BB, .344 OBP, .342 SLG
If it weren't for the twelve walks, Polanco's April could have been a lot worse. The .686 OPS is terrible, but with the hitting he's been displaying lately, his slugging should pick up and bring him around. I'd highly doubt he would keep up a .222 BABIP for the whole season.
3. Gary Sheffield - 87 PA, 9 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 14 BB, .333 OBP, .310 SLG, 3 SB
Folks, Gary Sheffield has been outslugged by Placido Polanco. His OBP is lower than Polanco's (and Placido is not a man known for his walks). Gary Sheffield hit in the three hole all month. What is wrong with this picture? It wouldn't be a good idea to give up on Gary, though. He hit almost exactly like this in April of last season, and proceeded to go on an absolute tear for the next few months.
4. Magglio Ordonez - 119 PA, 16 R, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 15 BB, .387 OBP, .515 SLG
Magglio has really continued the roll he was on last season. A .313 BABIP shows that he could easily keep this up, and could even improve. I don't really know what else to say, because I really think that his numbers do a pretty good job of describing him.
5. Miguel Cabrera - 117 PA, 15 R, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 14 BB, .359 OBP, .470 SLG
Magglio and Miguel's lines look very similar, but Magglio has about a point of OPS on him. Some of this may be because of Miguel's .279 BABIP. You can't really look down on someone who's got an .829 OPS. But when that person is going to be your franchise for the forseeable future, it's concerning.
6. Carlos Guillen - 100 PA, 15 R, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 14 BB, .414 OBP, .524 SLG
After starting the season white hot, and doing his best to keep the Tigers afloat, he's returned to Earth. This isn't a bad thing, as he's still got an OPS above .900. When your 4-5-6 hitters (now 3-4-5) can do that, you're obviously in good shape. His home run total is a little low, but he's not a guy who's going to hit 30 or anything.
7. Edgar Renteria - 116 PA, 15 R, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 5 BB, .336 OBP, .436 SLG
Edgar has a decent line so far. Nothing as earth-shattering as his performance last year (and if David Dombroski though he was trading for that, he's got another thing coming), but decent. The bad thing is that he's only taken as many walks as Pudge Rodriguez. So when his .344 BABIP comes down, so will that already league average OBP. He's in his mid thirties now, so we're probably looking at production somewhere in between his only season in Boston, and his first in Atlanta. Nothing to scoff at from the seven spot, but certainly nothing to write home about.
8. Ivan Rodriguez - 107 PA, 12 R, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 5 BB, .302 OBP, .388 SLG
Pudge's offensive decline is proceeding on schedule. Unfortunately for the Tigers, it's accelerating pretty quickly. His OBP is below average as usual, but there are a couple more walks mixed in. It's a good thing he was cool with moving to the bottom of the order, because that's where he belongs at this point.
9. Brandon Inge - 93 PA, 10 R, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 13 BB, .374 OBP, .446 SLG
That OBP figure is not a typo, people. Brandon Inge has seemingly learned how to take a walk. The fact that Inge is not the worst hitter on this team so far is baffling to me. If he were to start for the whole season, he's on pace to rack up 120 Ks.
I would do something like this for the pitching staff, but I may wait until they (possibly) see some better times so I don't pull my hair out.
1. Curtis Granderson - 32 PA, 11 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 8 BB, .531 OBP, .958 SLG
Despite only starting six games in April, Curtis scored as many runs as Gary Sheffield, and more than Brandon Inge. Seven of his nine hits went for extra bases, and he's showing that last year was no fluke. He also walked more times than he struck out, which is a tremendous sign as far as his patience is concerned. The fact that he's tearing the cover off the ball, and is in his prime, make it very disappointing that Jim Leyland will never move him down in the order.
2. Placido Polanco - 93 PA, 12 R, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 12 BB, .344 OBP, .342 SLG
If it weren't for the twelve walks, Polanco's April could have been a lot worse. The .686 OPS is terrible, but with the hitting he's been displaying lately, his slugging should pick up and bring him around. I'd highly doubt he would keep up a .222 BABIP for the whole season.
3. Gary Sheffield - 87 PA, 9 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 14 BB, .333 OBP, .310 SLG, 3 SB
Folks, Gary Sheffield has been outslugged by Placido Polanco. His OBP is lower than Polanco's (and Placido is not a man known for his walks). Gary Sheffield hit in the three hole all month. What is wrong with this picture? It wouldn't be a good idea to give up on Gary, though. He hit almost exactly like this in April of last season, and proceeded to go on an absolute tear for the next few months.
4. Magglio Ordonez - 119 PA, 16 R, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 15 BB, .387 OBP, .515 SLG
Magglio has really continued the roll he was on last season. A .313 BABIP shows that he could easily keep this up, and could even improve. I don't really know what else to say, because I really think that his numbers do a pretty good job of describing him.
5. Miguel Cabrera - 117 PA, 15 R, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 14 BB, .359 OBP, .470 SLG
Magglio and Miguel's lines look very similar, but Magglio has about a point of OPS on him. Some of this may be because of Miguel's .279 BABIP. You can't really look down on someone who's got an .829 OPS. But when that person is going to be your franchise for the forseeable future, it's concerning.
6. Carlos Guillen - 100 PA, 15 R, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 14 BB, .414 OBP, .524 SLG
After starting the season white hot, and doing his best to keep the Tigers afloat, he's returned to Earth. This isn't a bad thing, as he's still got an OPS above .900. When your 4-5-6 hitters (now 3-4-5) can do that, you're obviously in good shape. His home run total is a little low, but he's not a guy who's going to hit 30 or anything.
7. Edgar Renteria - 116 PA, 15 R, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 5 BB, .336 OBP, .436 SLG
Edgar has a decent line so far. Nothing as earth-shattering as his performance last year (and if David Dombroski though he was trading for that, he's got another thing coming), but decent. The bad thing is that he's only taken as many walks as Pudge Rodriguez. So when his .344 BABIP comes down, so will that already league average OBP. He's in his mid thirties now, so we're probably looking at production somewhere in between his only season in Boston, and his first in Atlanta. Nothing to scoff at from the seven spot, but certainly nothing to write home about.
8. Ivan Rodriguez - 107 PA, 12 R, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 5 BB, .302 OBP, .388 SLG
Pudge's offensive decline is proceeding on schedule. Unfortunately for the Tigers, it's accelerating pretty quickly. His OBP is below average as usual, but there are a couple more walks mixed in. It's a good thing he was cool with moving to the bottom of the order, because that's where he belongs at this point.
9. Brandon Inge - 93 PA, 10 R, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 13 BB, .374 OBP, .446 SLG
That OBP figure is not a typo, people. Brandon Inge has seemingly learned how to take a walk. The fact that Inge is not the worst hitter on this team so far is baffling to me. If he were to start for the whole season, he's on pace to rack up 120 Ks.
I would do something like this for the pitching staff, but I may wait until they (possibly) see some better times so I don't pull my hair out.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Tigers/Red Sox Pitching Matchups
Monday- Jeremy Bonderman vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka
Jeremy Bonderman is on pace to strike out 108 batters. That would equal his career low, set in his rookie season of 2003 (and that's IF he throws 210 innings). He only has 18 Ks in 35 innings (with 7 of those coming against Texas), leaving many to wonder what the problem is. Jeremy's start earlier this season against the Sox doesn't look too shabby, on paper. One earned run in five innings is very respectable, but asking the bullpen to throw four scoreless innings was too much (Tigers loss 2-1). He walked four batters in those five innings, allowed another five hits, and only struck out two (all while throwing 90 pitches).
Strikeouts have not been a problem for Boston's Matsuzaka, as he's fanned 32 in 35.2 innings. His control has been spotty on occasion, with games featuring four, five, and six walks. But even in those starts (with a game against the Yankees being an exception), he's been masterful. The highest hit total in one game against him is five, and he's doing a decent job of reigning in the longballs (only three this season). The Red Sox are getting their money's worth.
Tuesday- Nate Robertson vs. Tim Wakefield
Nate had arguably his best start of the year against the Red Sox. However, this isn't saying much, as he still allowed four runs in 5.1 innings. It was way too many baserunners on way too many pitches. There hasn't been a whole lot of good to say about Nate's season up to this point.
The last time the Tim Wakefield saw the Tigers he had his shortest start of the season, but didn't see any repercussions in the loss column. Only three men reached via base hit (a season low for Wakes), but the knuckler walked five and mixed in a couple of hit-by-pitches as well. Wakefield has gone at least five innings in every start this season, so a patient approach like last time would serve well.
Wednesday- Armando Galarraga vs. Clay Buchholz
People are still waiting for Galarraga to have that one horrific "blowup" start, but it hasn't happened yet. The positives are that he's keeping his walks down, his WHIP is still paper thin at 0.87, and that his ERA is sitting at 1.88. The bad news is that his strikeout numbers have gone down in each successive start, and he's been giving up more hits in each start as well. These don't seem to be good indicators, and the league may be catching up to him. The fact that Boston is not only patient, but can hit with the best of them is probably not going to help matters either. I don't do predictions, but keep an eye on this one.
Clay is the other reason to keep an eye on this young pitching duel. While Josh Beckett may be the Red Sox ace at the moment, he's keeping the seat warm for Mr. Buchholz. At only 23, the Boston righty is striking out everything he sees (33 Ks in 34 IP). The 3.71 ERA is nothing to scoff at since he's so young, but the fact that there's room for improvement is scary. He's been hit around a decent amount, which has led to his 15 runs allowed. But his walk total has been pretty good, and he's only allowed three home runs so far.
Thursday- Justin Verlander vs. Josh Beckett
Justin was having himself a pretty darn good game against the Twins on Saturday. That was until Craig Monroe deposited a two-run home run into the Left Field seats. He allowed seven hits in that game, but only walked two. It may just be one of those two steps forward, one step back things, but he'll get there eventually.
To close out the series, Boston will send Josh Beckett to the hill. The only concern Red Sox fans may have is if Beckett approaches the number of home runs he allowed in 2006 (36, wow). He's been tagged for four of them in only five starts. Luckily for him, that has been darn near the only negative. His 4.17 ERA is very deceiving. He's sporting 0.96 WHIP, has struck out a batter per inning (34), is not walking anyone, and has gone at least 6.2 innings in each start since his first. He's going to be the same horse this season that he has in the past, and the Tigers had better take notice.
Jeremy Bonderman is on pace to strike out 108 batters. That would equal his career low, set in his rookie season of 2003 (and that's IF he throws 210 innings). He only has 18 Ks in 35 innings (with 7 of those coming against Texas), leaving many to wonder what the problem is. Jeremy's start earlier this season against the Sox doesn't look too shabby, on paper. One earned run in five innings is very respectable, but asking the bullpen to throw four scoreless innings was too much (Tigers loss 2-1). He walked four batters in those five innings, allowed another five hits, and only struck out two (all while throwing 90 pitches).
Strikeouts have not been a problem for Boston's Matsuzaka, as he's fanned 32 in 35.2 innings. His control has been spotty on occasion, with games featuring four, five, and six walks. But even in those starts (with a game against the Yankees being an exception), he's been masterful. The highest hit total in one game against him is five, and he's doing a decent job of reigning in the longballs (only three this season). The Red Sox are getting their money's worth.
Tuesday- Nate Robertson vs. Tim Wakefield
Nate had arguably his best start of the year against the Red Sox. However, this isn't saying much, as he still allowed four runs in 5.1 innings. It was way too many baserunners on way too many pitches. There hasn't been a whole lot of good to say about Nate's season up to this point.
The last time the Tim Wakefield saw the Tigers he had his shortest start of the season, but didn't see any repercussions in the loss column. Only three men reached via base hit (a season low for Wakes), but the knuckler walked five and mixed in a couple of hit-by-pitches as well. Wakefield has gone at least five innings in every start this season, so a patient approach like last time would serve well.
Wednesday- Armando Galarraga vs. Clay Buchholz
People are still waiting for Galarraga to have that one horrific "blowup" start, but it hasn't happened yet. The positives are that he's keeping his walks down, his WHIP is still paper thin at 0.87, and that his ERA is sitting at 1.88. The bad news is that his strikeout numbers have gone down in each successive start, and he's been giving up more hits in each start as well. These don't seem to be good indicators, and the league may be catching up to him. The fact that Boston is not only patient, but can hit with the best of them is probably not going to help matters either. I don't do predictions, but keep an eye on this one.
Clay is the other reason to keep an eye on this young pitching duel. While Josh Beckett may be the Red Sox ace at the moment, he's keeping the seat warm for Mr. Buchholz. At only 23, the Boston righty is striking out everything he sees (33 Ks in 34 IP). The 3.71 ERA is nothing to scoff at since he's so young, but the fact that there's room for improvement is scary. He's been hit around a decent amount, which has led to his 15 runs allowed. But his walk total has been pretty good, and he's only allowed three home runs so far.
Thursday- Justin Verlander vs. Josh Beckett
Justin was having himself a pretty darn good game against the Twins on Saturday. That was until Craig Monroe deposited a two-run home run into the Left Field seats. He allowed seven hits in that game, but only walked two. It may just be one of those two steps forward, one step back things, but he'll get there eventually.
To close out the series, Boston will send Josh Beckett to the hill. The only concern Red Sox fans may have is if Beckett approaches the number of home runs he allowed in 2006 (36, wow). He's been tagged for four of them in only five starts. Luckily for him, that has been darn near the only negative. His 4.17 ERA is very deceiving. He's sporting 0.96 WHIP, has struck out a batter per inning (34), is not walking anyone, and has gone at least 6.2 innings in each start since his first. He's going to be the same horse this season that he has in the past, and the Tigers had better take notice.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Weekend Pitching Matchups
Friday- Armando Galarraga vs. Livan Hernandez
Despite becoming somewhat of a joke in the last few years, Hernandez had actually pitched pretty well in his first three starts of the season for the Twins. He's always been known to eat up innings, and he's doing more of that this year as five of his six starts have been for six or more innings. In his last three starts, however, the wheels have started to come off. His ERA has ballooned to 5.05 (up from 2.57), he's not striking many out, and his groundball/flyball rate is getting worse. Facing the rolling Tigers offense may not be the cure for what ails him.
Galarraga, on the other hand, has not allowed more than three hits in any of his three starts. His strikeout numbers won't wow anyone, but he doesn't walk a ton either. The Twins are not a team with a ton of punch in the lineup, so if Armando keeps the ball over the plate and doesn't beat himself with walks, he should be in good shape.
Saturday- Justin Verlander vs. Scott Baker
Like Hernandez, Scott Baker has shown that he's able to go deep into a game as well. He hasn't been amazing, but he's been consistent. Unfortunately, when he's consistent, it's mediocre. He's had one nice outing, but other than that it's been four starts of three runs or more. One of those three run games was an April 15th start against the Tigers. There wasn't a whole lot of offense in that game, but Baker did show one weakness, and that was the longball. He's been taken deep six times this season (three in that game against Detroit). His strikeout numbers are good, with three games of seven or more, and he doesn't walk many. All this means is that the ball will be there, and the Tigers aren't slumping like they were before.
This doesn't need to really be said, but I'm going to say it anyway. Justin Verlander has been absolutely atrocious so far. In his six starts he's allowed at least four runs five times, and has only gone past the 7th inning once. This all adds up to a 6.50 ERA, a WHIP that would make Daniel Cabrera blush (1.47), and a strikeout to walk ratio that is almost 1:1. Simply put, he needs to stop walking so many batters (consistently) and start throwing strikes. And one other thing that might help is not allowing a HR per game (he's got at least one in five starts)
Sunday- Kenny Rogers vs. Boof Bonser
Bonser's season so far has reminded Minnesota fans why they had hope for him after the 2006 campaign. He's brought his WHIP back down to around 1.22 (it was 1.57 last year), and his ERA is sitting at 3.75. The only start where he didn't go at least six innings was a rough tango with the Tampa Bay Rays (don't worry, I almost typed it wrong) where he got roughed up for six runs in four innings. With the pace he's on, he'll walk about 20-25 less batters this season, and his strikeout rate is the same as it has been. As another feather in his cap, he hasn't been overly susceptible to the home run so far either. Boof could prove to be Detroit's toughest task of the weekend.
Imagine everything I said about Justin Verlander, but worse. With the way Kenny is pitching (pretty well below league average), he may finally be breaking down. In his best moments this year, he's only been able to muster six innings with a couple of earned runs allowed. For some icing on the cake, he's also walked more batters (19) than he's struck out (13). His last start against the Yankees was encouraging, but be prepared for this one to get ugly.
Despite becoming somewhat of a joke in the last few years, Hernandez had actually pitched pretty well in his first three starts of the season for the Twins. He's always been known to eat up innings, and he's doing more of that this year as five of his six starts have been for six or more innings. In his last three starts, however, the wheels have started to come off. His ERA has ballooned to 5.05 (up from 2.57), he's not striking many out, and his groundball/flyball rate is getting worse. Facing the rolling Tigers offense may not be the cure for what ails him.
Galarraga, on the other hand, has not allowed more than three hits in any of his three starts. His strikeout numbers won't wow anyone, but he doesn't walk a ton either. The Twins are not a team with a ton of punch in the lineup, so if Armando keeps the ball over the plate and doesn't beat himself with walks, he should be in good shape.
Saturday- Justin Verlander vs. Scott Baker
Like Hernandez, Scott Baker has shown that he's able to go deep into a game as well. He hasn't been amazing, but he's been consistent. Unfortunately, when he's consistent, it's mediocre. He's had one nice outing, but other than that it's been four starts of three runs or more. One of those three run games was an April 15th start against the Tigers. There wasn't a whole lot of offense in that game, but Baker did show one weakness, and that was the longball. He's been taken deep six times this season (three in that game against Detroit). His strikeout numbers are good, with three games of seven or more, and he doesn't walk many. All this means is that the ball will be there, and the Tigers aren't slumping like they were before.
This doesn't need to really be said, but I'm going to say it anyway. Justin Verlander has been absolutely atrocious so far. In his six starts he's allowed at least four runs five times, and has only gone past the 7th inning once. This all adds up to a 6.50 ERA, a WHIP that would make Daniel Cabrera blush (1.47), and a strikeout to walk ratio that is almost 1:1. Simply put, he needs to stop walking so many batters (consistently) and start throwing strikes. And one other thing that might help is not allowing a HR per game (he's got at least one in five starts)
Sunday- Kenny Rogers vs. Boof Bonser
Bonser's season so far has reminded Minnesota fans why they had hope for him after the 2006 campaign. He's brought his WHIP back down to around 1.22 (it was 1.57 last year), and his ERA is sitting at 3.75. The only start where he didn't go at least six innings was a rough tango with the Tampa Bay Rays (don't worry, I almost typed it wrong) where he got roughed up for six runs in four innings. With the pace he's on, he'll walk about 20-25 less batters this season, and his strikeout rate is the same as it has been. As another feather in his cap, he hasn't been overly susceptible to the home run so far either. Boof could prove to be Detroit's toughest task of the weekend.
Imagine everything I said about Justin Verlander, but worse. With the way Kenny is pitching (pretty well below league average), he may finally be breaking down. In his best moments this year, he's only been able to muster six innings with a couple of earned runs allowed. For some icing on the cake, he's also walked more batters (19) than he's struck out (13). His last start against the Yankees was encouraging, but be prepared for this one to get ugly.
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