This pitching thing of theirs
The whole “detroit tigers pitching situation” is probably at defcon 2 in most fan’s minds; going into the spring it was closer to defcon 4. But with Dontrelle set to join the rotation, and Bonderman hopefully getting healthy as well, let’s look at a couple of areas.
Rick Porcello:
The way the entire staff is throwing, I want this kid as close to Rick Knapp as possible. The issue I see is his workload — if they really do contend for a playoff spot, or even better, win one, what do you do with him — how can he be used when he’s on a pitch limit in October? I guess you’ll probably shorten your staff during the playoffs anyway, or you can use the september call-ups to give him some additional days off. In that scenario, you could use those September roster spots as ways to give everyone an extra few days off, and position your rotation for certain games — and the way Verlander is pitching right now, maybe thats the way to go.
Justin Verlander:
He’s been amazing. Can he keep it up? It seems like any mechanical / arm slot issues have been addressed, and he has the results to show for it. Now the bad part: He’s going to get very very expensive for 2010 (arbitration). While it sounds like he and Leyland don’t get along (I get that impression because Leyland basically said “we don’t get along”), you’d hate to make JV angry by stringing him along in his arbitration years. But I’m not sure they can afford to sign him long term right now — they might have to string it out another year or two while they figure out the Guillen / Ordonez / Robertson / Willis contracts.
Dontrelle Willis:
I have no faith that Wednesday’s start is going to work out. Why? It sounds like Dontrelle has already checked out. Jason Beck writes that he’s at “peace” with the situation; I think it sounds more like Dontrelle’s agent finally told him that he gets paid no matter what. I think he’s going to be a distraction to the team if things don’t go well (and that is probably more of a media issue then Dontrelle actually being a distraction) and Detroit will have to make a move — they can’t hide him in the bullpen. I’m hoping for the best, but I feel that Dontrelle is upset about the DL stint and no longer wants to be apart of a team that thinks he needs medication. For his first start, he’s going against a super fast team, and Dontrelle is guaranteed to walk at least three. Godspeed Mr Willis.
Jeremy Bonderman:
Not sure what to do with him either, when he returns to health. I wish he was healthier during spring training for more work with Knapp, but we still have is a 2-pitch starting pitcher that has a history of problems in the first inning. Will he be bullpen bound upon his return, and then return to the rotation in 2010? Maybe thats not a bad road for either him or the team.
Left handed starting pitcher:
Its May 12th and we still don’t have a left handed starting pitcher (caveat: if Dontrelle does well, maybe this will change). How long can this continue? Will they make an attempt to move Robertson to the starting lineup? What about a roster move / trade?
I’m slightly concerned about the current attendance figures (averageing 27k / game). Hopefully this will go up with the next homestand, and then even more into the summer. But what if a team can offer a decent (and cheap) left-handed pitcher for, say, a good player with a large contract? (Staying local for me) San Francisco has Jonathan Sanchez to dangle, and, oh, by the way, need a third baseman. Could the team pull a salary dump and declare it a ‘need for a starting pitcher’ by moving Brandon Inge? I don’t see Miguel Cabrera going anywhere, but there are some other salaries that are moveable that might make the potential 2010 salary dump class more palatable for the Illitch family.