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"It should be open season on the rookie as the team has showed absolutely no signs of slowing down with the bats."
— Me, this morning
Instead it was open season on Bonderman, who yielded seven runs on eight hits in less than four innings. The offense now have their work cut out for them, facing a 7-0 deficit as they enter the bottom of the 4th.
Courtesy: Freep.com
The opening game of the Cleveland Indians series was a confidence builder for this young team. Coming off of a sweep at the hands of the Chicago White Sox hurts no matter how you slice it. To say it was demoralizing is probably an overstatement. None of the games were blowouts (seven runs decided the three-game set), the team continued its hitting success (.321 AVG, .889 OPS), and Jim Thome owns the Tigers! That said, a big 5-1 win against the Indians to snap the four-game skid was in order on Friday night to right the ship.
The Tigers hit Indians' starter Jake Westbrook early and often posting runs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings. Westbrook yielded all five of Detroit's runs on nine hits (six were extra-base hits including three home runs) in six innings of work. It was the back of the lineup that did the most damage. Sixth, seventh, and ninth hitters went 6-for-11 with four runs batted in powered by Brandon Inge's two-home run evening and of course, the continued mashing of one Chris Shelton. Shelton stayed in the yard but knocked his fifth double and third triple. Carlos Guillen, hitting seventh, was 2-for-4 to raise his average to .289 on the season. Curtis Granderson hit his third home run of the season.
Starting pitcher Kenny Rogers put 10 men on, but allowed just one run while striking out five in eight innings of work to notch his second victory in a Tigers' uniform. The start comes after Rogers was touched up for 12 hits and five runs against his former team, Texas, on Sunday. He will likely start on Wednesday the 19th in Oakland against Joe Blanton. He has a career earned run average of 4.30 against the A's, but was 4-0 with a 2.70 five starts against them in 2005. Rogers also spent nearly two seasons in Oakland from 1998-1999 making 52 starts before moving to the New York Mets mid-season.
Designated hitter Dmitri Young left the game in the sixth inning after straining his right quad while running the bases. He is expected to hit the 15-day disabled listed opening up some playing time for power-hitting reserve Marcus Thames. Young is hitting .219 with a .492 OPS in eight games.
Today, the Tigers face a rookie in Fausto Carmona. Carmona, 22 years old, posted a 4.50 earned run average in 10 innings of work with the Buffalo Bison. He struck out nine batters while walking just one. It should be open season on the rookie as the team has showed absolutely no signs of slowing down with the bats.
All the hype and build up surrounding the Tigers after a hot opening week has dissipated after a three-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago Thomes. Jim Thome continued to pound the Tigers in a 13-9 victory yesterday with his sixth home run, this time punishing Justin Verlander. The third and final defeat came despite Chris Shelton's seventh home run of the season.
The luster may have worn off for the mainstream media, but I didn't expect Detroit to play at a 5-1 clip all season, so this doesn't erase hopes of a good season in one fell swoop. The negatives are that it was the home opening series, it was against the stiffest competition they've faced yet, who just happen to be both the World Champs and division rivals, and of course the fact that it was a sweep! That said, the games were close and this team is still hitting very well.
Verlander struggled early and often yielding seven runs in just two and two-thirds innings of work. The Tigers were able to get Chicago starter Jon Garland (for seven runs in five innings) drawing as near as 10-8 with their 21 hits, but it wasn't enough. Only leadoff hitter Curtis Granderson failed to notched two or more hits yesterday, going just 1-for-6, leaving a game-high six men on base. The 2-3-4 combination of Placido Polanco, Ivan Rodriguez, and Magglio Ordonez went 7-for-14 with five of the team's nine runs driven in including Ordonez' third home run of the season.
In fact, the trio is hitting .337 (34-for-101) so far this season, which is promising to the team given the lack of production from Ordonez and Rodriguez a season ago. Both appear healthy and able to perform at the level the Tigers had in mind when doling out their large contracts in the past two off-seasons. All three have been integral to the league-best .935 OPS posted by the Tigers.
The Tigers, now 5-4, host Cleveland for four games before starting a West Coast swing in Oakland on Tuesday.
Probable Pitching Matchups:
Kenny Rogers (1-1, 4.76) v. Jake Westbrook (2-0, 1.98)
Jeremy Bonderman (1-1, 3.29) v. Fausto Carmona (0-0, 0.00)
Mike Maroth (1-0, 1.69) v. Cliff Lee (1-0, 3.97)
Nate Robertson (1-1, 4.38) v. Paul Byrd (1-1, 10.24)
It didn't take much for Daniel Cabrera to improve on his opening start in which he allowed seven walks in an inning and a third of work. Today, he last nearly four more innings and struck out 10 batters, but still walked nine in five innings of work. He left with the lead having allowed just one run, but his bullpen couldn't hang on for him as the Orioles lost 7-4 in Tampa Bay. Jonny Gomes hit a grand slam in the 8th inning off of rookie Sendy Rleal to give the Devil Rays the lead for good.
When the Chicago White Sox traded for slugger Jim Thome, a resounding "oh crap!" was heard from 305 miles east in the heart of Detroit. Thome, a former Cleveland Indians first baseman, returned to the American League after a three-year hiatus in Philadelphia. Worse yet for the Tigers, he returned to their division and in the first two games of the opening set in Comerica Park, he has continued to exact his prowess over the team. Thome is 3-for-8 with two home runs (5 for the season) in Chicago's two wins over Detroit. The two home runs give him 44 lifetime off of the Detroit Tigers, most of any team. Through 130 games against Detroit:
427 AB
.309 AVG
.459 OBP
.682 SLG
44 HR
97 RBI
103 R
22 2B
3 3B
He even has three triples against Detroit. THREE TRIPLES! Only Minnesota has yielded as many triples. In fact, prior to this series, the two teams were tied in home runs allowed by Thome at 42. Look for more Thome fireworks in late April when the Twins visit Chicago for a three-game set starting April 21st. The 4-3 loss this afternoon pushed the Tigers to 5-3 overall.
As the mayhem from Chris Shelton's sizzling open week subsides with Shelton mired in a 1-for-8 slump, the ideas of his ability from here on begin to fly. Immediately, naysayers point to his competition and suggest flash-in-the-pan status, others are more imaginative projecting (reading: hoping for) a true breakout season complete with 30+ home runs and 125+ runs batted in as the Tigers storm to the top of the Central Division standings. Me? I think he and Dan Johnson will have very similar numbers at the end of the season. Yes, the same Dan Johnson that has started the season 0-for-19 thus far.
Anyone who thinks that either will keep up their current pace of hitting (or not in Johnson's case) is fooling themselves. Shelton is a very good, professional hitter. He showed it last year in a 107 game stint with the Tigers banging out 18 home runs while hitting .299 and getting on base at a .360 clip. Johnson played 109 games in Oakland and put up a similar 15-.275-.355 line. The two each played just under 50 games in AAA before being moved up last year and posted equally similar lines with Shelton batting .331 AVG/.417 OBP/.569 SLG with eight home runs and a 1.32 K:BB rate, Johnson was .324/.424/.549 with eight home runs and a 0.75 K:BB ratio.
Looking at their minor league careers, each five years worth of play, continues the likeness:
Shelton 162 Game AVGs
567 AB
188 H
23 HR
108 RBI
1.26 K:BB
.332 AVG
.428 OBP
.539 SLG
Johnson 162 Game AVGs
598 AB
177 H
30 HR
121 RBI
1.29 K:BB
.295 AVG
.381 OBP
.514 SLG
Chris Shelton is a good baseball player and provides great value for the Detroit Tigers especially when you consider his status as a Rule 5 Draftee. His opening week has brought him into prominence on the baseball landscape in the same way Brian Roberts' white-hot start did a season ago. Roberts didn't fall into obscurity, rather he has retained a reputation as a solid player coming into 2006. His explosion was justified by his previous numbers and despite an injury, he posted a very respectable season. Shelton's opening week is much the same in that we aren't staring down the power surge as if Juan Pierre or Jason Kendall just knocked nine extra bases hits. Shelton may remain hot for rest of the month, but remember one thing: the baseball world saw about 17-20% of his home run production just last week. He and Dan Johnson can celebrate the end of the season knowing they were patient, quality hitters that achieved the 25-home run plateau in just their second seasons of play.
History Lesson
As mentioned above, Shelton is a Rule 5 Draftee, so what kind of company is he in with that status? While there have been 100s of $50,000 flameouts, there is some elite company for Shelton to strive for:
Hall of Fame
Roberto Clemente
All-Stars
George Bell
Kelly Gruber
Mike Morgan
Johan Santana
Notables
Luis Ayala
Jay Gibbons
Wil Ledezma
Hector Luna
Shane Mack
Andy Sisco
Adam Stern
Courtesy: Wikipedia.com
After a giant collapse last night in Chicago that included a Michael Barrett grand-slam, the St. Louis Cardinals' bullpen is at it again. With two-out and nobody on, Braden Looper and Jason Isringhausen allowed a double and two-RBI singles, drawing the Brewers to within two runs, 6-4. Now, Gabe Gross bats with Prince Fielder on second and Corey Koskie on first.
Update: Gross hit a slow grounder down the first base line that was fielded by Pujols, who applied the tag and ended the game. So they hold on, but it was far from pretty. If the bullpen continues to struggle, rest assured that general manager Walt Jocketty will make the necessary moves.
Granted, this is a predominantly baseball blog, but some things you just can't let go by without comment. Phil, seriously, what's up with the hair man?
Meanwhile, it's tough sledding for this 2K6 outlook on Phil found here.
Sunday was for streak snapping:
-So my beloved Tigers weren't able to put together an undefeated week as Kenny Rogers gave up five in 5 1/3 innings of work against his former team giving Detroit their first loss, 5-3 in Texas. They are the talk of the town for now and hopefully they are able to continue their success. To suggest they will outlast their division, a tall order for any of its members let alone the youthful Tigers, is a bit overboard based on one week's worth of play. Their long-term success will be critically tied to their ability to stay healthy. Namely, Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen, and Ivan Rodriguez. Hopefully they are conservative in their usage of young studs like Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya as well seeing the big picture instead and not burning out either arm. This isn't to say that the Tigers can't make things happen in big way this season, just that it is highly unlikely barring a move or two and piles of luck. The team plays their home opener on Monday afternoon against the World Champion Chicago White Sox.
-The Seattle Mariners snapped a 27 2/3 innings scoreless streak in the eighth inning against the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, but their comeback fell short and they took the loss, 6-4. Had they topped the 29 inning mark, they would have set a new team record for futility. During the rally, Ichiro pushed Nick Swisher:
Photo courtesy of Yahoo! Sports
–Travis Hafner extended his streak of reaching on consecutive plate appearances to 11 when he drew a walk off of Johan Santana in the first inning, but a sharp lineout to Torii Hunter in the fourth inning ended the run.
Barry Zito has limited the Seattle Mariners to just one hit through six innings of work as his A’s bat in the top of the seventh. This on the heels of Joe Blanton’s masterful performance last night when he combined with Justin Duchscherer for the 2-hit shutout in a 5-0 win. Zito is bouncing back from a horrendous Opening Day start against New York in which he lasted just one and one-thirds innings giving up four hits to go with four walks allowing seven runs.
Update: The bullpen carried on the shutout giving the A’s back-to-back goose eggs on the M’s. Huston Street logged his first save of the season.
Baseball By Paul 