Bondo Returns

Photo: Leon Halip (Getty Images)

Short post today, as I have to go to work soon and I have not seen a lot of this game. From what I can tell, Jeremy Bonderman gave an impressive performance. He had one inning which ran his pitch count too high to give him a shot at six, but he did get the win. And the bullpen performed admirably on a day they were short-handed. Meanwhile, the offense performed the opposite of how they had been. This time, they scored some runs off the starter and didn’t do anything against the bullpen (except walk). I managed to sneak off for a few minutes and listen to part of the bottom of the third. I heard them call Brandon Inge’s RBI single and Alex Avila’s walk. I didn’t know that that would be the last hit for the Tigers. Still, it was enough to win.

Today wraps up this series against the Indians, and the Tigers will see Jake Westbrook for the first time since 2007 (at least, I don’t recall them meeting up against him in 2008). Westbrook’s coming back from Tommy John surgery, and his numbers during his career against the Tigers aren’t all that great (though I remember his very last start against Detroit he shut them out in an epic pitching duel between him and Nate Robertson). The other thing I remember about him is Rod Allen saying that he gets a lot of ground balls back to himself. Justin Verlander has actually put up the least impressive performance through one turn of the starting rotation, and I can’t imagine that sits well with his competitive nature. The Indians were a team that really gave him problems until last year, when he downright dominated them. Again, I’ll be at work during the game today, although there is a tiny chance I’ll be able to leave at 2:00.

Opening Day Win

Photo: Gregory Shamus (Getty Images)

Between radio and television, it turns out I actually got to listen to/watch most of this game. It wasn’t as exciting as last year’s home opener, but it didn’t have to be. Rick Porcello had some problems throwing strike one, but when that happens, two runs in five innings is a pretty good day’s work. The bullpen did a good job, outside of the two walks that Phil Coke had. And maybe it’s just me, but it seems like the Tigers have turned about thirty double plays so far this season. Which is better than hitting into thirty double plays, I might add.

I saw David Huff pitch a game against the Rays last May. I don’t really remember how he did (that was that weird game where Joe Maddon had accidentally submitted two third basemen in his lineup when he meant for Evan Longoria to DH, which meant that the Rays’ pitcher had to hit third, though luckily for the Rays their best hitting pitcher was on the mound that day and he even managed an RBI double), but even then he had a look about him which suggested that he might be tough against the Tigers. As it turns out, I was right. Still, win any way you can, I suppose, and it took a massive defensive failure by the Indians for it to happen. The swings got better against the Indians’ ‘pen, though they still only got one run out of it. Maggs and Inge in particular continued their hot starts.

Today, like every game on this homestand, features a day game. The Indians are starting Mitch Talbot, who apparently spent last year in Triple A. The only big league time he’s had was with the Rays in 2008. He must’ve pitched against the Tigers, because a few of them have had one or two at-bats against him, which isn’t a lot to go on. Brandon Inge has a triple against him, though. Jeremy Bonderman makes his first start of the year for the Tigers. He keeps saying his velocity is gone so he’ll have to be a feel pitcher (Yeah, right, and I don’t understand how his velocity would go away permanently, because his surgery didn’t involve anything structural like a labrum or rotator cuff). It’s been so long since he’s pitched against the Tribe that only six current Indians have a history against him. Hafner’s hit three home runs off him, and Sizemore’s hit two. Shin-Soo Choo has also hit him well. Leyland’s said that Zumaya, Valverde, and Coke all have the day off today (if there is a save situation, Ryan Perry will be your closer today). Alex Avila is catching, which is what I would’ve recommended anyways, and it has nothing to do with offense. Bonderman’s terrible at holding runners on, and he gives up a lot of stolen bases, so why waste your better defender when you have Verlander (who is good at holding runners) going tomorrow? Besides, if Avila’s going to be the next Johnny Bench as the whole of Tigerdom has practically proclaimed him to be, it’s time he get thrown in the deep end. However, I won’t see any of this game, as I’ll be at work. My only hope is to somehow find an internet connection (so if you live in the Toledo area and you have a prescription for Accutane, please drop it off at my pharmacy at about 1:30).

What a Relief...For the Tigers

My take on Dontrelle Willis? Not all that bad, actually. He had to deal with quite a few baserunners, but call it luck or call it smarts, he was able to get double play balls each time. Strangely enough, he only had trouble in the odd-numbered innings. In the even-numbered innings, the Royals went 1-2-3. And he only walked two, although you can’t exactly say he was pounding the strike zone. However, very few of his pitches were of the “knock the catcher over” variety that became so common with him in the past couple years. He was definitely missing the strike zone a lot, but not as wildly. But if he can repeat that type of performance for most of his starts, I’ll be happy with that. Ryan Perry had some strike-throwing problems of his own, and it ended up costing him a run, but by then the Tigers had already taken the lead. And Jose Valverde finally had a non-adventurous outing.

The Tigers didn’t do much against Brian Bannister, which is not real surprising when you consider his track record against them. Magglio did homer off him, but that was pretty much it. And then the KC bullpen came in. The Tigers’ production against the starters versus the relievers is dramatically different. Miguel Cabrera took care of that 2-1 deficit with one swing of the bat. He’s off to a good start, as are the other two members of the Venezuelan contingent. I’d like to see some more walks out of Austin Jackson, but he’s doing fine with the batting average so far.

And now it is time for the 2010 Tigers to make their Comerica Park debut. The Cleveland Indians are in town for the home opener, and I’ve still got a feeling that they should not be underestimated. They just took two of three from the much more heavily-favored White Sox, and their pitching wasn’t bad in the two games they won. They’ll be starting lefty David Huff in this game. He was in the Indians’ rotation for most of last year, but somehow he did not face the Tigers. As such, none of our guys have a history against him (I thought Johnny Damon might, but apparently he never faced the Yankees, either). Rick Porcello gets the honor of starting the home opener for the Tigers. He probably had the best spring of all the Tigers’ starters. And he does have a history against the Indians, and it’s a pretty good one. Really the only Indians who have hit him well are Jhonny Peralta and Travis Hafner (who is the only Indian to have homered off him). Unfortunately, I’ll miss the beginning of this game (stupid exam). As a matter of fact, I’m going to miss a lot of this homestand, due to school and work. At any rate, your Mood Music for today: Well, you can’t get much more appropriate than “The Boys Are Back in Town.”

So Much for 162-0

Maybe it was because I had to start the night listening to the game on the radio, but that game was tense from the beginning and you had a feeling throughout the whole thing that it would end that way. I can’t say much about Scherzer but from the sounds of things, he pitched real well. Everyone seemed to have too many problems with Kendall, Betancourt, Getz, and Podsednik, though. Then Valverde came in and battled with Callaspo for a while, and of course the logical move would be to throw him a fastball in a 3-2 count because he’s not really a home run hitter (though I do remember him hitting one off Porcello last year). Valverde also didn’t get much help from his friends. Don’t get me wrong, the Callaspo home run and the Ankiel double were hit very hard, but the trouble was the Billy Butler infield single. Santiago dove for it, but had a hard time getting up and then kinda bobbled the ball and by then it was too late. Butler doesn’t run very fast, so if Santiago had been able to get up right away, I think he would’ve had him. The more obvious gaffe was Sizemore’s. Not only did he drop the relay throw, but he kinda took his sweet time getting to the ball. I don’t really get that last part.

The offense didn’t really do anything against Luke Hochevar, who apparently made some sort of adjustment in spring training according to Dan and Jim on the radio. Some of the mainstream media postgame soundbites indicated that a lot of the Tigers were caught off-guard by him, for some reason. I suppose his next start will tell the tale. The swings got better later in the game, but it seemed like whenever they had a runner in scoring position with two out, whoever was at the plate would hit the ball right at Podsednik. And lost in all the complaining about Valverde is that BOTH closers blew saves in this game (and Tiger fans generally have a positive impression about Joakim Soria). Miguel Cabrera had possibly the best at-bat of the night before finally homering off the foul pole. Of course, he did have the mental error of breaking too early on a double steal attempt, allowing Farnsworth to spin around and throw him out, but he keyed two other rallies, so whatever.

So today we come to the final game of this series and it’s time to see what Dontrelle Willis will do. A lot of the blogosphere thinks that Willis hoodwinked the Tigers by having a good ERA in spring, but I still say the Tigers would not have departed with Nate Robertson without having some sort of backup plan. Willis, not surprisingly, doesn’t have a lot of history against the Royals hitters, although Jason Kendall bats .400 against him. Meanwhile, the Tigers haven’t done much against Brian Bannister in their meetings with him, and only Guillen and Damon hit him well. Still, they haven’t seen him since very early 2008.

And We're Off and Running

Photo: Getty Images
 
I should have known things would turn out all right, because I wasn’t as terrified as I had been during previous Opening Days. The starting pitching matchup turned out kind of strange. It seemed like Verlander was more on top of his game than Greinke, but he gave up more runs. Still, despite the bad critics reviews at Yahoo, no one in the Tigers blogosphere seems too concerned. But there was quite a strong outing by the bullpen, helped out by Austin Jackson a little. Valverde had a rocky ride in the ninth, though things were compounded by Santiago’s error and Valverde forgetting how many outs there were (though the perception of that play was completely different if you listened to it on the radio).  

The offense didn’t do a whole lot against Greinke, but they were able to get his pitch count up by the sixth inning and since it’s April, that was enough. It was an especially good day for the new position players, particularly in the seventh-inning rally. Scott Sizemore drew a leadoff walk and took third on Santiago’s pinch-hit single. Austin Jackson doubled him in, and Johnny Damon doubled in Jackson and Santiago to give the Tigers the lead for good. We also got some good stuff from Maggs, Cabrera, and Inge. And we got more fountain spray on the center field camera, which at one point led to a lovely shot of a blurry green towel wiping off the lens. 

After we get teased with one game, we now have to sit through this off-day before we get to enjoy another one. And this one is a night game (which my professors will probably appreciate, since that means I won’t be trying to follow a game on my iPod during class, like I was all through spring training). Max Scherzer will make his Tigers debut. Obviously he’s new to the American League, but the Baseball-Reference stats would seem to indicate that he’s made one start against the Royals in Interleague play. He’s 1-0 against them, having pitched six innings and given up two earned runs and striking out five. I’ll certainly take a repeat of that. Obviously, there’s not much to go on in terms of individual hitters, but Mitch Maier of all people is 3-for-3 against him. Since Gil Meche is on the DL, Luke Hochevar will pitch for the Royals. I remember him. He pitched in the game I went to last year. The Tigers scored a bunch of runs off him. I remember Santiago homering off him as well. And you think Miguel Cabrera’s licking his chops? He’s 8-for-9 off him. Hochevar is capable of putting together a really good start every once in a while, though (I do remember one game in 2008 in which he outdueled Justin Verlander and shut out the Tigers).

Happy Opening Day!

At last, at last, this painfully long offseason is over and it is time for baseball again. This afternoon, we’ve got a pitching matchup that a lot of baseball folk are interested in: Verlander against Greinke. Of course, when the matchup is that hyped, oftentimes one of the guys doesn’t show up. Verlander’s not had a lot of luck in his past Opening Day starts. Greinke’s never had one before. Both got roughed up in their final tune-ups in spring training. Most of the Tigers don’t have particularly great numbers against Greinke except for, of all people, Gerald Laird and Johnny Damon. Both are 6-for-17 (.353 average) against Greinke. Brandon Inge is the only current Tiger to have homered off of Greinke (he’s done it twice). On the flipside, Verlander’s owned most of the Royals except for Billy Butler (11-for-26) and Alberto Callaspo (3-for-7). Still, I’m sure all us Tigers fans will be biting our nails during this one. And now for the first Mood Music of the season. It’s my traditional Opening Day anthem: “Rockin’ the Paradise” by my favorite band, Styx. Enjoy, and go Tigers!

The Tigers Amateur Analysis 2010 Season Preview

Here it is, at long last. I would have had this done sooner, but spring training this year just so happened to coincide with a rather sizeable paper that’s due on Monday, and as much as I don’t want it to, school still comes first. At any rate, last year the theme of my preview was ability and execution, and that’s certainly true for this year as well. This is a hard team to guage. They could win as many as ninety or as few as seventy, but if they play the way they’re capable of playing, they’ll get close to the higher end of that scale. There’s also another word this year that may become a running theme: Redemption. After all, the Tigers were in first place for almost the entire season before treading water in September while the Twins just kept winning and winning (I still haven’t figured that part out). It’s time to take what should have been ours. Likewise, there are several individuals on the team who have redemption goals of their own, either through poor play, injuries, or off-the-field issues last year. Maggs, Cabrera, Guillen, Inge, Bonderman, Willis, and so on. Now, if these guys (or the team) tank in April, this redemption theme ain’t gonna get too far. But hopefully it doesn’t come to that.

Rotation: Wouldn’t it be great for Justin Verlander to build on his dominant season last year? He wasn’t all that impressive in spring training. I wouldn’t be concerned about that except for the fact that last year, I ignored the fact that I wasn’t impressed by the offense in spring training last year and that turned out to be significant. JV would be dominant for the most part, but in one inning would go all ADD or something and get hit hard, like in his last start. However, for what it’s worth, Zack Greinke got roughed up by the Padres for six runs in HIS last start, so take that for what you will. Rick Porcello, on the other hand, has had a fine spring, and hopefully that will translate into a sophomore slump-free season. Max Scherzer will likewise need to translate from the NL to the AL, which there has been surprisingly little press about. On the flipside, when Valverde signed with the Tigers, everyone seemed concerned about how he would adjust to the AL. I would think Scherzer would have a tougher time of it, simply because he’s used to facing the opposing pitcher. When Valverde comes into pitch and the pitcher’s spot comes up, he faces a pinch-hitter 99.9% of the time. Then there are our two bounce-back guys. Bonderman will actually pitch next Saturday because of that three-game suspension he earned from hitting Delmon Young. Bondo’s not my favorite guy to watch, but he’s got the ability to pitch a good game. And then the Tigers decided to take one more gamble on Dontrelle Willis. Now I don’t think that’s really the right move and I would much rather that they’d have gone with Nate Robertson, but I was amazed at how passionately angry people got when Nate was traded to Florida. It was like the Tigers had traded Justin Verlander for a bag of baseballs while taking on his contract. I’m not sure that much outrage was justified, especially since both guys are free agents at year’s end, but oh well. Nate will probably do better in the National League anyways. And I’d say 99.9% of Tigers fans consider Dontrelle unraveling to be a question of “when” and not “if,” but the Tigers need to keep a short leash on him. At any rate, I don’t think they would have traded Nate away without some sort of contingency plan in case D-Train implodes once more.

Bullpen: Not a whole lot to say about them. There’s no real surprises. Hopefully Phil Coke and/or Fu Te Ni can step up and fill the role vacated by Bobby Seay (because, realistically, a torn rotator cuff is a really hard thing to come back from). Likewise, Eddie Bonine fills in for Zach Miner. If there’s a “Juan Rincon” candidate this year (good spring that doesn’t translate), it might be Brad Thomas, but I hope not, because it’d be cool to have an Aussie on the team. It looks as though Perry and Zumaya (there’s another redemption case) will be setting up Valverde in some fashion.

Offense: Lots of redemption stories here, and you all know what they are. Pretty much all of them have had good springs except Guillen (No, Adam Everett is NOT a redemption story, because you’re not supposed to expect a lot of offense out of him in the first place). The offense got off to a good start in spring, but they’ve slowed down as of late, for what it’s worth (although I don’t think it’s fair to expect a lot of offense on Opening Day, with Greinke and all).

Defense: It was really good last year, and they’ve gotta keep it up. I still say Gerald Laird should’ve gotten the Gold Glove last year. I expect his caught stealing numbers will go down a little bit because Bonderman isn’t good at holding runners, and I get the feeling Scherzer isn’t that good either. Inge, Everett, and Cabrera need to continue to contribute solid defense. Scott Sizemore is the one unknown in the infield. He seemed rather error-prone in Toledo last year, but he’s been decent during the spring. Austin Jackson will have a lot of ground to cover in center. Maggs is regarded as a poor defender, but I wonder if that’s just because of his lack of range. He always struck me as someone who would catch the balls that he could get to. I’m not sure what to expect out of Johnny Damon, because I’ve spent the greater part of the last three years being taught that he’s the worst defender in the history of the game. Still, most Tigers fans think he’s better than Guillen, weak arm and all.

Health: The Tigers won’t have much wiggle-room when it comes to injuries. They’ve already lost Seay and Miner, and hopefully they can absorb that. But if someone like Cabrera or Verlander were to be lost for a prolonged period of time, it would be really hard for them to recover. That’s just a fact.

The Rest of the Central: Just about everyone was predicting the Twins to repeat. Then Joe Nathan got hurt and some (but not all) of them switched their vote to White Sox. The only vote I’ve seen for the Tigers was someone on AOL Fanhouse (and it was just a vote, with no rationale given). That doesn’t really bother me. After all, when was the last time the preseason favorite won this division? At any rate, the Twins have a powerful offense, but unless I missed something, their pitching doesn’t impress me all that much. Unless their guys have career years, their path to the playoffs will be to largely outslug their opponents. Everyone is speculating about how the Twins will do now that they’re outside, but let me remind you that the Twins only have nine home games in April, so weather might not play THAT big of a factor. The White Sox, on the other hand, look to be built on pitching. They’re not expected to do a lot offensively, although that will probably mean nothing when they play the Tigers. And I’ve had a feeling ever since the offseason to not count the Indians out. They’ve got Westbrook back, Carmona had a strong spring, and they’ve gotten a lot of talented prospects in the last couple years. If those prospects get things together sooner than expected, they might surprise. Kansas City probably doesn’t have to oomph to make a sustained run, but they have gotten off to quick starts the past couple years.

I suppose that’s all for now. I made one offbeat prediction on a Bless You Boys prediction thread game about Felix Hernandez throwing a no-hitter, but I also predicted that Armando Galarraga would be the fifth starter and that Johnny Damon would sign with the White Sox. Which is why I don’t make predictions. What does my gut tell me? I don’t know. I feel like something will disappoint, but not necessarily record and I’m not sure who (if it’s a person). So that takes me back to the beginning themes: Ability, Execution, and Redemption. By the way, I talked to the Baseball Guru tonight, and his weigh-in is that the Tigers’ offense will be fine, Verlander’s a stud, don’t be too worried if Willis walks a lot of guys so long as there’s not several in an inning and he doesn’t give up a ton of runs, the Yankees’ pitching staff is a concern (to him), Greinke is overrated, and Johnny Damon is a crappy defender. We’ll see if he’s right. And with that, Happy Easter to those that celebrate it, and I will see you all on Monday.