Tiger Geist

Buster Olney reports that Tampa Bay has another problem:  Troy Percival sprained his knee.

He writes here how Tampa may again be looking at Sheffield, though they really don’t want him.  And they have some pitching in the minors that Detroit might want.  Here’s an idea:  Give them Sheffield and Todd Jones (assuming Jones already cleared waivers).  Offer to pay all of their salary for this year, and at least half of Sheffield’s salary for next year.

Again, I think the distraction that Sheffield will provide next year will be a huge burden for a team with a lot to prove.  They won’t eat all of his contract, but if they can get rid of him, open up a roster spot AND get something in return, pull the trigger.  Don’t just pull the trigger — fly to Tampa and take out their GM and convince him how awesome the trade is.  Run don’t walk.
I’ve read an article that the Tampa GM earlier this year stated that they know they don’t have the cash reserves to make a run every year, they need to bulk up, make a run, and then lay low again for a few years until their time comes around again.  Well, no time like the present.  Maybe we can throw in another prospect to sweeten the deal.  Think about it — how great would it be just to see Tampa beat out both the Red Sox and Yankees for the division?  And it rids Detroit of some of their dirty laundry?  Win-win.

Alright, they’re not very good this year.  They might struggle to win 85 games.  The only current highlight is the late inning victory against Toronto, and the attempted surge two nights ago (to lose 4-3).  Why does it matter?  At least it feels that the team hasn’t quit.  They just might not be very good.

Not much to write about lately;  the season’s over and I try not to get too upset about ANOTHER blown save, or how the offense isn’t clicking, or how Leyland waited too long to make a change (moving Cabrera to the 4 spot, moving Miner to the rotation, etc).  Instead I’ve watched my wife go ape shit over Michael Phelps for the last week.  Its much more interesting.  Do you want someone to talk with about how awesome Phelps’ abs are?  Drop my wife a line.

Onto the Tigers… Gary Sheffield worries me.  He’s spouting off about his playing time, his role with the team, whatever.  I don’t know if he’s done (he’s probably not hitting 30 home runs next year even if he is healthy), or if he’s just being a baby.  I do know that every time he goes into a contract year, he starts making noise.  That’s why Detroit had to sign him to an extension as they traded for him — to keep him quiet.  New York had similar problems;  he seems to enjoy having a contract with a few years on it to feel ‘respected’.  I don’t see Detroit dumping him this year or this offseason just to eat his contract (though I think they should), but I fear the distraction going into spring training unless suddenly, at age 39, Sheffield learns to keep quiet.  If Tampa Bay, the team that makes the most sense to bring in Sheffield, doesn’t want him — who else would?

Barring a major collapse by both Minnesota and Chicago, Detroit’s basically out of contention.  But now they have to figure out what to do about next year — who will be able to step in.  Because they can’t go into the spring with this team intact, its already proven it won’t work.  Granted, injuries to Bonderman, etc haven’t helped.  But the 2009 Tigers have more question marks then the 2008 team did.

Another fear:  What if Justin Verlander is the new version of Jeremy Bonderman?  Started off great, great stuff, but just never puts it together?  From a Jason Stark article, quotes from a scout on Verlander:

Justin Verlander — “His stuff is now a grade below what it was. He’s become a two-seam sinkerball pitcher. Where’s the front-door hammer [curveball]? Where’s that four-seam fastball he used to bang guys away with? I’m not seeing it. I’m seeing a lot of contact, and the hitters look way too comfortable.”

Is the strain of pitching the entire year catching up to the still relatively young pitcher?  Its easy to blame the pitching coaches for not doing their best, but what is going on with Detroit’s pitchers this year?  Besides Gallaraga, have any of them progressed this year?  Dolsi showed a lot of promise, only to quickly fade.  Rodney & Zumaya’s problems I still think stem from a lack of spring training and trying to come back too fast (Rodney has had so many mechanical problems that I really think he was rushed back too quickly).  Zumaya was an unknown — his injury and resulting surgery had never been done on a pitcher before.  I don’t think anyone knew what they were going to get, or how long it would last.

What has improved seems to be the overall team defense.  Its been written how Thames has improved in the outfield, and the young outfielders all are above average (Granderson, Clete Thomas, Raburn, Matt Joyce, Clevlen) to start with.  But Guillen, Renteria, and Cabrera all improved as the year went on.

Back to Sheffield.  A major problem this year was his inability to play in the field, limiting a team who wasn’t playing well and had some health issues.  Going into next year, will Detroit limit themselves again with an inflexible lineup and roster?  If they must keep Sheff, I imagine Thames will have to go.  Too many DH’s spoil the pot.

Buster Olney chronicles about Tampa’s woes with getting help — Carl Crawford might be done for the season, and Boston is blocking them from waiver claims for other outfielders (notably Brian Giles so far).  If you claim someone at this point, the other team can just let you have the player — and you’re stuck with their contract (notably, an article here by Olney in 2000 on the Yankees / Jose Canseco deal).

Could, in some way, shape or form, Detroit work with Tampa for Sheffield, pray that Boston claims him, and just let them keep him?  That clears room for any other player on the team that feels like hitting over .230, and frees Detroit completely of next year’s contract of $14million.  Is there any chance this could happen?

I recognize that the answer to this is Mr Garrison’s “NO, NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!  YOU GO TO HELL!  YOU GO TO HELL AND YOU DIE!”.  Why?  Because Gary Sheffield isn’t very good.  But a motivated Gary Sheffield may be decent, and maybe playing in Boston or Tampa would re-motivate him.

But a man can dream.  A man can dream of a world where a $14million dollar DH who can’t hit or field and has attitude problems can somehow be desirable to a low-income baseball team in Tampa Bay that needs outfield help for a pennant race.

Right now it appears Michael Phelps has a better shot at 8 gold medals then the Detroit Tigers have of making the playoffs.  7.5 games back in the AL Central; 8.5 back of the AL wild card.

Sitting at 58-59, with the Chicago White Sox looking at 91 victories (currently with their .560 win percentage leading the central).  That means to keep up, Detroit needs ~33 victories (with 12 defeats) over their last 45 games…. a .733 win percentage.  When they can’t sweep the struggling Athletics, its looking dismal.

Sounds like they’re concerned about Thames’ shoulder (I wondered why he wasn’t playing), and dealing with Sheffield’s attitude.  I’m more concerned with Sheffield’s rapid decline of skill.

Dontrelle Willis had a game in Lakeland.. I still think they keep him shut down for the year.  To that point, once rosters expand in September, i think they need to basically shut down Rodney and Zumaya, if both figure into the team for next year.  Thoughts on their performance later.

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.