Baseball By Paul

After getting swept, the team bounced back to get a much-needed win in Boston. The sweep gets the critics swarming unfortunately, as they wonder whether this is the beginning of the end or a bump in the road. Not just because I am a fan, but because I’ve seen nearly every single game this year, I am inclined to believe the latter. It could not have come to a worse team, but it happens. The team needs to handle the sweep with poise and rationality realizing that it is not the end of the world. By the way, mandatory overtime is the devil. Much more, much later (maybe on lunch or after 10 hours of work or in September!).

First round pick, Andrew Miller, has been signed to a four-year deal with the Detroit Tigers. Miller, a star at North Carolina, had 13-2 record with a 2.48 earned run average in his final collegiate season. He won the Roger Clemens Award given to the NCAA’s best pitcher and set a school-best mark in strikeouts with 325 in his career.

Though the terms haven’t been announced, Jon Paul Morosi of the Free Press cites a source: “The Tigers did not announce terms; however, one source with knowledge of the negotiations said it included a $3.55 million signing bonus with a guaranteed value near $5.5 million. Incentives could bring the total value above $7 million.” He will be placed on the 40-man roster making him eligible for a September call-up. I don’t know if there is a precedent for a college pick getting much action in the thick of a pennant race in the year he was drafted, but we’ll see as he will almost certainly be part of the team in September.

Welcome to the team Sean Casey. After being brought in from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, he did something he hadn’t done since May 31st. His fifth inning home run was his first in 169 at-bats, it was also his fourth of the season. Casey’s arrival signaled the departure of Chris Shelton to AAA Toledo. When thinking back to the April he had, it is tough to figure that Shelton was a candidate for demotion, but a quick check of his painfully bad numbers justifies the move. After a 1.186 April OPS, he has posted months of .703, .642 and .730. None of those even top his April slugging percentage let alone touch the OPS figure. I pegged Dan Johnson and Shelton to have similar seasons, but I didn’t mean they would both be demoted to AAA.

This year, it seems that when the Tigers bring someone in either from their farm or via trade, they immediately perform. Rookie hurler Justin Verlander notched his 14th win on Tuesday evening powered by Casey’s bomb and rookie Brent Clevlen‘s two home runs. Another rookie, Zach Miner, has filled in brilliantly for Mike Maroth (who is scheduled to make his first rehab start on August 9th) with a 6-2 record and 3.95 earned run average. Backup catcher Vance Wilson has hit .291 while giving Ivan Rodriguez a break in 37 games and more recently filling in for him while Pudge nurses a bruised right thumb.

Dmitri Young has continued his succesful return to the lineup with 16 hits in 37 at-bats (.432) including five home runs, 11 runs batted in and four walks against seven strikeouts. His resurgent partner in crime, Craig Monroe, is hitting .340 with six home runs in his last 100 at-bats. The two have squeezed Marcus Thames‘ playing time and it will continue if both keep hitting like this. Thames is one of my favorite players on the team, but he is just 14 for his last 70 (.200) in his first downslide of an otherwise great season.

So the 10-game road trip ended at 6-4 after a 2-2 split with the Devil Rays. Home for six against Cleveland and Minnesota before a socky road trip against Boston and Chicago. I have no idea what “socky” means, but it’s very early and I’m very tired. Though it goes without saying considering it’s August of a hotly contested pennant race, this month is very important for the team because they don’t get a break from here out. Cleveland has underperformed severely, but they will come to play and they represent the “worst” team they face all month. Seven against Chicago, four against Texas, three against Minnesota and New York fit in with the six against Cleveland.

As the season moves on and the Tigers continue to assert their will on opponents, talk has shifted to assessing their post-season ability. I am in no way going to discuss that at any length right now because there is far too much season left for it, but let’s just say that I’m saving every penny I can to make sure that should they find themselves playing in October, I will be there.

While I love my job, I hate that it has taken away from my ability to update daily, however as I get settled into the new schedule starting tomorrow, that should be less of a problem.

After taking the first two games of the series, the Tigers get to face Johan Santana while going for the sweep. Things aren’t much easier for the Twins as Jeremy Bonderman toes the rubber for Detroit. Powered by seven hits from the first three hitters in the order (Granderson, Polanco & Monroe), the Tigers jumped out to a 6-0 lead yesterday. Nate Robertson and Joel Zumaya labored through the seventh inning as the Twins drew within one. Dmitri Young took Pat Neshek deep in the eighth inning to give the Tigers a much-needed insurance run. They added another in the top of the ninth and Todd Jones slammed the door gently moved the door into a closed position for the 8-6 win after allowing three hits and a run to raise his earned run average to 4.97.

Young has been white-hot since his return to the team. In seven games, he has posted a .400/.429/.760 line with three home runs and seven runs batted in. If he continues to hit, the Tigers will have to juggle at-bats between Young, Monroe and Thames unless one of them is moved today or tomorrow in a trade. Monroe has auditioned nicely in July as well with a .341/.353/.585 line in 21 games with three home runs and 16 runs batted in. Meanwhile, Thames has struggled mightily for the first time all season. Production from Young alleviates the primary need of a left-handed hitter, but a seven game sample isn’t going to convince anyone that he will put up numbers for the next two months.

I expect some type of move from the Tigers, but not necessarily the blockbuster for Bobby Abreu or Alfonso Soriano. The Tigers added a hitter to the bench from the farm with Brent Clevlen being called up as reported at the Detroit Tigers Weblog. In terms of the choice, it is a bit of surprise that Clevlen won out given his season, but as Billfer points out it is likely because of his place on the 40-man roster.

With two-of-three locked up, the Tigers have won their sixth straight series. They are going for their first series sweep since back-to-back series sweeps of St. Louis and Houston in late June.

The weekends are very casual at work and as such I’m rocking the Tigers jersey today to hopefully bring home the sweep.

With the emergence of the Tigers in 2006 and the re-emergence of the Twins within the 2006 season, the AL Central remains one of the most hotly contested divisions in all of baseball. Three of baseball’s best teams reside within it including the World Champion Chicago White Sox. With two of the game’s best pitchers and a resurgent back half of the rotation, the Twins have pushed themselves into the heart of the wildcard race. The Tigers face the best of the best in Minnesota including a tilt against Francisco Liriano tonight. After Brad Radke pitches Saturday, the Tigers face baseball’s best pitcher in Johan Santana on Sunday afternoon. While I don’t know the exact scheduling rules that ESPN adheres to, I’m sure they could have somehow featured this game on Sunday Night Baseball as opposed to the Florida-Philadelphia battle for futility.

Offensively speaking, Joe Mauer takes most of the Minnesota press with his gaudy batting average and on-base percentage. Not enough is made of how Justin Morneau turned his season around to the point where he is delivering average and on-base in addition to his incredible power.

Morneau By Month:
Apr – .208/.274/.416 5 HR, 15 RBI
May – .274/.333/.505 5 HR, 21 RBI
Jun – .364/.400/.737 10 HR, 29 RBI
Jul – .393/.418/.702 7 HR, 19 RBI

Morneau is hitting .377 since June 1st with 17 home runs. Incredibly, Ron Gardenhire insists on batting him fifth when he should clearly be batting cleanup despite the lefty-lefty combo of he and Mauer. Twins guru Aaron Gleeman has felt the same way since mid-July.

As a team, the Twins are hitting over .300 in July (.317) and getting on base at a .368 clip. Nick Punto is in the midst of an 18-game hitting streak in which he is hitting .390 with a .452 on-base percentage. Jason Tyner has come out of nowhere to contribute 18 hits in 51 at-bats (.353) and even Rondell White has exploded with a 1.043 OPS in 11 July games. Imagine if the team were healthy. Currently, Torii Hunter, Lew Ford and Shannon Stewart are all on the disabled list forcing performances from the likes of Tyner and White.

I actually have to cut this a tad short because of work, but here are the pitching matchups for the huge series:

Fri, Jul 28 7:10 pm CDT—F.Liriano vs. Z.Miner
Sat, Jul 29 6:10 pm CDT—B. Radke vs. N. Robertson
Sun, Jul 30 1:10 pm CDT—J. Santana vs. J. Bonderman

Despite the tough pitching matchups, the Tigers will win this series as they gear up for what is sure to be an exciting August and September. I’ll be sure to try and check in during the weekend. GO TIGERS!!!!!!

The Tigers finally tamed the South Siders by taking two of three and allowing them just three runs in the final two games after giving up seven in the first. Kenny Rogers went six strong before turning it over to Joel Zumaya and Todd Jones as the Tigers extended their Central Division lead to five and a half games with a 2-1 win. It was the second loss in a row for Chicago’s Jose Contreras after winning 17 without losing. It was also the eighth straight start of Rogers’ that the Tigers have won.

BBP posterboy Marcus Thames‘ take out slide of Tadahito Iguchi has been labeled the play of the game that allowed the Tigers to get the lead in the 7th inning. A double play would have ended the inning, instead Chris Shelton ‘s RBI double turned out to be the difference. The Tigers are now 3-6 against the White Sox after being swept in an early season series in Detroit. The two teams have 10 more games against each other including a three game set in Chicago September 18th-20th. Next is a three-game set against Oakland in Detroit before hitting the road for 10.

Trade Winds
Nothing particularly new on the Alfonso Soriano dealings. It seems that the Nationals are asking for the world and being rebuffed at this point. Bobby Abreu no longer appears to be on the team’s radar with focus shifted to Soriano. The Toronto Blue Jays recently designated Shea Hillenbrand for assignment, but given the fact that the incident was related to personality, I’m not too eager to add a cancer to this clubhouse. Plus, the Tigers are primarily looking for a left-handed bat, which Hillenbrand is not. Nor is Soriano, but he has the luxury of being Alfonso Soriano!!! Jon Paul Morosi mentions Sean Casey, David Dellucci and Matt Stairs as potential options should the Soriano talks reach an impasse. I think this current incarnation of the team is fully capable of a stretch run, so I won’t be terribly angry if they don’t make a move.

Young Returns
Dmitri Young is scheduled to return to the team very soon, but questions regarding where and when he will play remain. I think a Sunday afternoon, Monday or Thursday spot start is the best he can hope for right. The only place to put him is the DH/LF area and you can’t take Thames out of the lineup outside of a rest here and there. Craig Monroe, the hero of the Chicago series, has been swinging a big bat in July out in left, so it’s tough to remove him. He did leave Thursday’s game with pain in his right leg, but it doesn’t appear to be serious at this point. Even still, I might prefer Alexis Gomez to Young if Monroe can’t go. Gomez is 14 for his last 46 spanning 32 games in June and July.

Down on the Farm
From freep.com:

Double-A Erie shortstop Tony Giarratano will have season-ending surgery Monday for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Giaratanno, who played briefly for the Tigers in 2005, hit .263 with no homers and 19 RBIs.

Craig Monroe‘s fifth inning grand slam propelled the Tigers to a 5-2 win on Wednesday night making today’s afternoon game the rubber match. Jeremy Bonderman went just over seven strong with two mistakes to Joe Crede and Juan Uribe. I’m off to work, but I’ll have more on this afternoon’s game and the trade rumors for the Tigers when I get home tonight.

Some names have been attached to the Alfonso Soriano talks in today’s Free Press. Jon Paul Morosi reports that the Washington Nationals initially wanted Cameron Maybin, but that Tigers (wisely) declined. The prime candidate now is Humberto Sanchez. Sanchez is 10-5 between Erie and Toledo with a 2.89 earned run average with 121 strikeouts against 41 walks. Prospects Brent Clevlen and Jair Jurrjens are the two other names that Morosi mentions.

Enjoying a rare day off, I was watching the New York Yankees obliterate the Chicago White Sox on FOX. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver were talking with Ken Rosenthal. The discussion focused around the Yankees and what they would or wouldn’t do at the break. GM Brian Cashman has been adamant that they are not going to gut the farm system for deadline help. Rosenthal said the Mets, Yankees and Red Sox were players for Bobby Abreu. Then Buck put Rosenthal on the spot asking where Alfonso Soriano would end up. His answer? The Detroit Tigers. He said although the Tigers would love left-handed help, specifically Abreu, he just had a feeling that Soriano would end being their lineup help. Soriano has been excellent in his first season with the Washington Nationals hitting .275/.344/.559 with 27 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press wrote about Soriano yesterday, but was less optimistic about the chances of him ending up in Detroit.

The Detroit Tigers are baseball’s best team with a 59-29 record on July 12th, 2006. Even if I had had the audacity to predict something like that back in March, I don’t know if I’d have even believed myself. I know that the people I talk to about baseball on a day-to-day basis would have laughed me out of the room. Nevertheless, the Tigers have shown that they are not only contenders, but a force to be reckoned with in the American League Central. A lot can happen in 74 games and things will shuffle amongst several teams from now until the July 31st trading dealine, but I like the direction this team is headed in, both now and in the future.

Here is my third look at the pace of the offense for 2006:

Four players are on pace to top 25 home runs, including Brandon Inge at 31. Inge’s other numbers aren’t very good at all, but he continues to deliver big power at the bottom of the lineup. Surprisingly, just one player is on pace for 100+ runs batted in. Magglio Ordonez has been able to stay healthy and is producing just as the team had hoped when they signed him from the Chicago White Sox last year. He has already played one more game than he played all of last year. Ordonez is battling Carlos Guillen for the offensive MVP of the team and if both kept at their current pace, I’d be inclined to hand Guillen the prize. He is just two games away from matching his 2005 total. The health of these two have been every bit as instrumental in the team’s success as the excellent pitching. I have to make the standard comment about Curtis Granderson‘s exorbitant strikeout total. Obviously, I don’t like it, but you can’t say enough about what he has done as the team’s leadoff man this year.

Chris Shelton weathered a horrible June and has started out July very nicely putting him on pace for a very solid season after his white-hot April. One thing I’d love to see improve in the second half is Placido Polanco‘s plate patience. The .318 on-base percentage he currently sports is his lowest since a 94-game stint with St. Louis in 2002 (.316). Given that he has a full-time job now, Marcus Thames‘ numbers remain skewed because he could play as many as 20 more games than his 112 pace. Pacing is by no means a perfect science. I’d like to see some separation in Thames’ home runs and RBI totals.

How about the pitching?

Few were more critical of the Kenny Rogers than myself. This blog was not yet in existence, but I was livid. I’m here to say that I was (obviously) wrong. Rogers started for the American League All-Stars last night and is on pace for 20 wins. His 2nd half durability is a question mark after a hot start in 2005, but at least some of his fall off could be attributed to the camera man incident. Even if he doesn’t win 20 games, he has been a true asset to this staff.

Justin Verlander has been one of the biggest surprises in all of baseball this year, but Jim Leyland appears to be set on not over-extending his prized rookie. In fact, Verlander won’t start again until July 18th. Despite his amazing success, he might not even win Rookie of the Year in the American League because of division opponent, Francisco Liriano. I’d rather Leyland protect the arm for the future (and maybe playoffs) than run him out there to accumulate stats for some award.

How great has Zach Miner been? Mike Maroth was pitching remarkably well before going down with an elbow problem and Miner has filled in beautifully. I don’t he can be expected to continue with a 2.57 earned run average, but if he can give six-plus innings and get the game to the bullpen with a lead, he will make plenty of fans happy. I haven’t even mentioned Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson, who have both been excellent this season. Bonderman is really showing that he has the stuff to be an elite pitching moving forward. His starts have been an absolute treat to watch.

Finally, I’ll just say that Joel Zumaya is the man. Hardly groundbreaking, insightful information but what more needs to be said of him and his greatness? I can’t wait to watch this team come out for the 2nd half and I look forward to seeing how they maintain and deal with their early success during the dog days of summer. I think a few moves, though maybe nothing major, are in forthcoming, but we’ll just have to see how the next 19 days play out.