Tiger Geist

Who knows.  Will Detroit take the next few series by the balls and attempt to get back into the playoff race?  Or will they do their best to walk as many players as possible and attempt to blow up their bullpen yet again?  We’ll know by Sunday.

Sheffield talks about how he’s feeling great now (awesome, thanks for tanking it all year) and how the strike zone favors the pitchers.  Somehow I wonder why Detroit’s pitchers haven’t taken full advantage of this expanded strike zone.

I don’t know what to think about Sheffield right now.. if he just smokes it the rest of the year, does that mean they try to bring him back?  I wish his arm would fall off and just make the decision easier.

Blah.  Oakland is playing like poop and they’re in town, and pitching three straight left handers.  Detroit’s best starting pitchers right now are 1)  a cast off from Texas and  2) their former long reliever.

Interesting news is Leyland wants Zumaya to throw this winter.  I thought that Zumaya would still be a solid reliever even if his fastball didn’t come back, since he had such a devastating curve ball in 2006.  It looks like that is giving him trouble now, turning him into a Billy Koch.

I haven’t quite reached my moment of zen and come to grips with last night’s defeat.  But here’s a thought I had last night:  Isn’t the bullpen costing themselves a lot of money?  Zumaya, Rodney.. they’re all on short term restricted deals.  Farnsworth is a free agent… he might not want to pitch in detroit next year, but doesn’t he have the sense to try to sign another multi-year deal with someone?  He’ll be pitching for Pittsburgh if he’s not careful.

At this point, Bobby Seay can’t pitch multiple innings every day, and the bullpen seems hell bent on having at least one person blow the game.  Maybe it will work at home on some nights, when Detroit can bat in the bottom half of an inning.  But the playoff window is closing fast.

What does Detroit do now?  Do they try to figure out if there is a place on next year’s team for Hessman (upon return from China), Larish, Clevelen, Hollimon?  Maybe try out some of the relievers (Clay Rapada, San Francisco Cruceta) again?  Do they offer up some of the dead weight now (Renteria, Sheffield)?  What about some of the starting pitching from Toledo?  Virgil Vasquez has been inconsistent in Toledo, but is he any worse then Nate Robertson?  Is there any chance a team would need Kenny Rogers for a stretch run?  If so, would we make him avaiable for the right deal?

Its getting to the point where i’m more interested in reading about how Toledo and Erie are doing.  Thats not a good sign during the playoff run.

In a chat wrap today:

We’re at the stage of the season where a 6 1/2 game deficit is tough to make up on one club, much less two. As of yesterday, the Twins and Sox had winning percentages of around .560. If they play close to that the rest of the way, Detroit has to go something like 35-16 to win the division. The Tigers simply aren’t that good.

He certainly has a point.  My fear (post-all star break) was around the schedule, and the lack of games against Minnesota, in that we can’t easily gain 4 games on the leader in one week.  That, in conjunction with our inability to bury Chicago last week, worries me.  The upcoming schedule with Toronto, Texas and Oakland may be beneficial, however.  But Detroit really has to make a run… and soon.

Not sure how it might work out, but Livan Hernandez is somewhat available, having been designated for assignment by Minnesota.  He’s listed at 33 years old, but could very well be 137.

Would he be an upgrade to the starting rotation?  Currently he’s sporting a 5.48 ERA, but at least he’s not walking many (29 in 139 innings).  If they could figure it out, he would be reunited with Jim Leyland, another Marlin connection, where he was the 1997 NLCS and World Series MVP.

ESPN is reporting the Mets and Rockies as possible suitors if Hernandez clears waivers… but why not Detroit?

Side Note:  If you want a great baseball read on Cuban baseball, including details on the Hernandez half-brothers, pick up The Duke of Havana.  Great read.

Yesterday’s loss was quite hard to take.  I turned off the almighty iphone when I went to see the Dark Knight, right after Granderson tied the game.  After leaving the theater with mixed feelings on the movie, my mood went south after reading the play by play of extra innings in yesterday’s Tiger loss.

I talked with my sister who watched the game, and apparently Rodney was close to killing the guys with his lack of control.  This is after Leyland blew up at the media about possible changes (we’ve heard this before).

I took the day off from writing anything until I could calm down.  This morning, i’m much more subdued.  But I’m still angered by this team.  I think they have to make some changes now.. even though I doubt the minor leaguers are ready for full time action.  Thoughts on changes:

• Demote Rodney.  I like his potential; maybe he’s hurt.  Maybe he just sucks.  But if he’s going to kill a batter, might as well kill someone in AAA.
• Put Zumaya on the DL.  If he can’t pitch every few days, shelve him for two weeks.  His control problems appear to be mechanical (i hope) and his mechanics are related to his health.  I’d almost consider shelving him for the season in better hopes of next year.
• Move Robertson to the ‘pen.  I’m sure he’s on high alert that his next start better be good anyway, but why wait?  He’s had a bad year, and really only had one good year in his seven year career.  Make a statement.
• Offer Gary Sheffield to the Rays for a bag of baseballs and a lobster dinner.  He likes playing in Tampa, they could probably use his leadership, and even if he warms up for Detroit its too late.  Bring up someone who can play in the field.  Or has some hope of hitting.  Maybe they just option Sheffield to the Olympic team.
• Rotate catchers for a week.  Inge is having some problems receiving the ball (or maybe the pitchers are all mental at this point).  Give him some time to solely study catching, and not worry about playing third.  Let him focus on finishing the season strong behind the plate.

Other interesting items:

• Cabrera is nearly hitting .300 (.298).  Solid.
• Thames has come back down to earth.
• Guillen’s average is at a five year low (hitting .269 over the last month), and his power numbers are way down.

You keep looking at this team, and it seems they have the ability to make a run for the playoffs.  Then you realize that the starting shorstop, DH and catcher are hitting .258 / .230 / .221 with a combined 23 home runs.  Looking back, it sure seems like Mike Hessman could have had a role on this team.

Going into tonight’s game, Detroit appears to be both 5 1/2 games behind in the division lead and the wild card.  Big series tonight against the (Devil) Rays.  It would have been nice for a gem from Verlander yesterday, especially with the Indian fielders looking more like monkeys humping a football then baseball players, but with the lack of a bullpen there wasn’t much Leyland could do to stop the bleeding.

Interesting article out of New York (thanks Buster Olney) about how one NY Yankee writer doesn’t seem to think NY got enough for Farnsworth.  When both sides filled a need and both sides thought their player was worth more then they got in return, it sounds like the right move by Dombroski.

I did like this comment from the article:

So this is a case of buyer beware. Dombrowski and Jim Leyland are as sharp a GM-manager duo as there is in the major leagues. Yes, they desperately needed bullpen help, and they had Brandon Inge to play catcher. Nevertheless, I’d always be wary of anyone these two are willing to give up.

I’m hoping Zach Miner continues to give Leyland the big F-U by going seven strong innings tonight.