Tiger Geist

Jason Beck writes that Brandon Inge will start catching more, and wonders if it is a nod to next year. I wonder if Inge read my blog earlier this year, ran the numbers, and saw that he’s worth more as a catcher. Or, maybe he’s been slightly humbled by no teams asking about him and his $6mil /year salary.

Interesting aspect: Putting Inge in the field could hurt Leyland’s ability for matchups late in the game. Consider the scenario: If Guillen has a day off, Inge is at third and is 0-3 through 8 innings. Men on second and third, one out, tie game, and the opposing team puts in a right-handed reliever. Leyland’s natural move would be to pinch-hit with Guillen (a switch hitter). But now he has to remember… close game that could go into extra innings… and no backup catcher. I guess this goes on a lot in the national leagues, but do you take that chance with a 36 year old behind the plate? Similarly, Inge can not DH, or, in case of injury to Pudge, Detroit has to play musical chairs NL style to avoid the pitcher batting.

Crazy? Last year, SF lost two catchers in one game (double switch and an injury to the backup), put Pedro Feliz behind the plate (first time ever), and had pitcher Noah Lowry in right field.

I also think this states a lot as to what the Tigers expect to get from Vance Wilson this year… that is… not much.

There are some decent articles on the Detroit News’ Site today, basically summing up what we’ve been saying all along:

• Detroit has too many DHs
• Pitching has been bad
• Carlos Guillen’s knees got bad, fast.

A little more elegantly written, but thats basically it. However, yesterday Orel Hershiser, doing color (with Steve Phillips) on espn’s Tiger - Red Sox broadcast, had some interesting stats that i hadn’t heard, and commentary that was sound.

On Jeremy Bonderman:

• Bonderman needs an off-speed pitch. Not news, but notably:
• Bonderman led the league in sliders thrown last year, at 34% of his pitches
• The next major leaguer on the list with a high percentage of sliders was at 22% (Nate Robertson
• This is why he had arm issues, and must correct it with another pitch that doesn’t strain his arm so much
• He gets behind hitters too often, and they sit on his pitches. Because he can’t alter his speed, they know how to time his fastballs in the strike zone
• Because he can’t alter his speeds, he draws a lot of contact and will give up a lot of hits

On Detroit in general:

• they are ‘in-between’ in finding themselves
• They aren’t hitting enough to run a power hitting lineup out that can’t field
• They aren’t pitching well enough to put a defensive lineup out that can’t hit

On Boston’s lineup:

• Not enough flexibility due to all the veterans on the team

The last part I think was an important aspect of letting Jacque Jones go — they now have some flexibility with the roster, with both Matt Joyce and Ryan Raburn having minor league options.

Another interesting aspect, in terms of Detroit’s bench selection, is Thames and Inge. They’re keeping Thames because he’s a right-handed power hitter off the bench… on a team full of right handed power hitters in the starting lineup. They’re keeping Inge (partly due to his contract) as a defensive player on a team that can’t pitch well enough to use him.

I guess the next three weeks will show a lot as to how Detroit can compete this year. I wonder if they’re willing to make some serious roster adjustments (IE trades) — it doesn’t seem this team can win a playoff series, and I’m not sure how long a team with the second highest payroll can sit with a .500 record.