February 2009
A Short One on the WBC 09
So I’ve been looking at the rosters for the World Baseball Classic, and I’ve made some mental notes on who the Tigers will lose to the event, and any impact that might have.
Cabrera, Granderson, Guillen, and Ordonez can go play for their countries without fear of losing their locker spots in the clubhouse.
Yurendall de Caster, Andrew Graham, and Brendan Wise can go out and have the time of their lives. These guys do not currently play into any big league plans this year.
Armando Galarraga and Fu-Te Ni have something to be concerned for, in my opinion. While it is pretty much given that Galarraga has a spot in the rotation locked up, his absence from the clubhouse could provide the outside runners for the rotation the chance they need. A poor performance in the Classic, and management might forget to pencil in Galarraga on the season opening roster. For Ni, he is the interesting prospect from across the ocean that people wanted a look at. For him, a great showing on the world stage could propell his career. Look at what happened for Daisuke Matsuzaka.
There are quite a few players who were associated for the Tigers who are on rosters for the classic. Hiram Bocachica, Frank Catalanotto, Karim Garcia, Jason Grilli, Gene Kingsale, Orber Moreno, Ivan Rodriguez, Randall Simon, and Matt Stairs will all suit up to win it all. Most of these former Tigers are still playing somewhere, but Rodriguez, Moreno, and Bocachica are all playing for jobs, as none of these three are listed as being with a team, major league, foreign, or other. There are a few of these guys who play foreign baseball, and may be hoping that shining in the classic can be a ticket back to MLB, but I’m just guessing.
Another Case of Then and Now
In my latest installment of “where are they now”, I’ve come across six players who were in camp late into March last year and I decided they deserved a little recognition.
First up is Aquilino Lopez. He did pretty much anything you could want out of a reliever last year. He pitched a career high 78.1 innings over the course of 48 games, which is the only time besides 2003 with the Blue Jays that he hung around for that much of a season in the bigs. His 2008 stats include a 4-1 record with a 3.55 ERA. These were his first ML wins since 2004, and also managed to lower his career ERA to 3.78. While many have said over the offseason that the numbers are skewed, I don’t see what they see. Only 2 unearned runs were scored against him. Opponents hit .277 against him and only one blown save. Maybe the Tigers thought he could have done a better job. Maybe he was one of the many casualties of the economic crunch of free agents. Oh, by the way, he’s still looking for a job this spring.
Second on today’s list is Max St. Pierre. I don’t have much on him other than he is on his second stint in the Tigers organization. While he was gone, the Brewers tried to make a pitcher out of him. He’s in camp this year as one of four or so non-roster invites at catcher. My opinion is that he goes 1 and 1A with Dane Sardinha. Add Dusty Ryan to the mix and the 3rd catcher/first callup for injury becomes a log jam that doesn’t work in St. Pierre’s favor at the moment. He’s going to need to be electric this spring and into the season to rise on the depth chart.
Next I bring up Virgil Vasquez. Here was a guy who had potential. He’s somone my dad would call “not ready for prime time”. This was proven when his first or second ML start actually was on prime time to a national audience. To be fair, that was 2007. He didn’t earn a callup in 08, for good reason. Since anyone who could throw was called up at some point, that says something. Since the offseason began, Vasquez has been let go by the Tigers, Red Sox, and Padres. Currently he is in camp with Pittsburgh, but they’re already speculating that he won’t make the team out of camp.
For the sake of expressing opinions, I’m bringing up Freddy Dolsi next (he was in the game I watched from last years archives). He exploded onto the scene with his early May callup. His spring 07 outing that I just finished watching wasn’t great though. The commentators were comparing him to Pedro Martinez (it was a Tigers-Mets game which Pedro pitched in). They said “Pedro is a pitcher, and right now Mr. Dolsi is a thrower.” With that said, Dolsi appreared in 42 games over a couple callups last year. He went 1-5 with a 3.97 ERA and went 2 for 3 in save opportunities. The record obviously isn’t good, but I didn’t think the loses were all his fault when they happened. A sub-4.0 ERA is very good for a rookie pitcher on last years team. Dolsi hadn’t been above A ball before the 08 season. Some might like to think that he has an inside track on making the ball club out of camp because of his experience. I, on the other hand, see what he did raw and think that begining the year at Toledo would make him better prepared for his next callup, which is why I didn’t pick him in my initial 25-man roster the other day.
Now I come to a surprise on my radar, pitcher Orber Moreno. He pitched well in the game I saw, not great, but well. He’s seen big league action in 1999, 2003, and 2004 with the Royals and Mets. Not real sure what the story is on him. This was the first game out of five or so I’ve seen him appear in. I remember seeing his name on the camp lists last year, and that’s about where it ends. He looks like the kind of veteran arm I would have given an inside track to as far as looking for arms. He was last known to be in the Tigers organization, but at the moment isn’t with any club that I know of at all. MLB.com and MiLB.com link him with Detroit because no one else is available to lay claim. At the same time there is not connection to being on any club whatsoever, like I said. His last visable stats were from the 2008 Venezuelan Winter League. The bright side to this story is that Moreno is currently on the roster for Team Venezuela in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. I hope he catches on somewhere.
Last on today’s trip through memory lane is Nick Trzesniak. Who is Nick Trzesniak? I had the same reaction myself. I saw him in an early spring game (from last year) and dismissed him as a random player from Tigertown. But today I saw in another game (again, from last year) that was a few weeks later. The comentators had expressed that he might have been a viable option as backup catcher, since Vance Wilson wasn’t yet done for the year and Inge was still supposedly on the trade block. So I decided to investigate and answer for myself who Mr. Trzesniak was. Turns out that he is a relative nobody, no major league experience and is in camp this year with the Padres, I think. But he had a good spring statistically from the archives I saw, and now I’m a bit of a believer that he will get his cup of coffee in a big league clubhouse before he hangs up his cleats.
Stay tuned when some of my next writings will be about my expectations for the 2009 team and an update to my stats-driven fantasy roster game.
A Different Kind of Game
The Tigers are two games into the spring schedule, with a record of 1-1, which doesn’t matter at all. I made my prediction for the 25-man roster, and I stick by that. However, if I were to play it another way, I’d make my team performanced based. I’d take the best batting averages and lowers ERAs and figure it all out from there. As a way to track the grapefruit league progress I’ll make more rosters every now and then to see if players get better, worse, or stay consistent. So, my stats driven roster, as of today, is…..
Brandon Inge
Casper Wells
Gerald Laird
Ramon Santiago
Curtis Granderson
Adam Everett
Placido Polanco
Clete Thomas
Miguel Cabrera
Magglio Ordonez
These are the only players with a batting average so far. Since I need at least 12 position players, I’ll add….
Cale Iorg
Ryan Raburn
Both with .500 OBP
Pitching will be….everyone. Since only 13 pitchers have been used, everyone makes the team in this game, for now.
Kyle Bloom
Edwin Jackson
Brandon Lyon
Macay McBride
Zach Miner
Fu-Te Ni
Clay Rapada
Justin Verlander
Bobby Seay
Joel Zumaya
Eddie Bonine
Nate Robertson
Rick Porcello
On this grins and giggles team, we have five guys who have never seen a major league roster before. The only one who this doesn’t effect is Bloom, the Rule 5 pick who’ll have to stay on the roster all year if he makes the team at all, otherwise he gets offered back to Pittsburgh at half price.
Also, Robertson and Porcello are on the bubble, having ERAs at 9.00 (aka 1 ER per inning). So the next pitcher who does better than that knocks one or both off my performance list. Likewise, Raburn and Iorg have no batting average to speak of, so the next two or three Tigers to get a hit will be above them.
Practicallity wise, I have 5 players who could start, Brandon Lyon, my projected closer, and seven other pitchers to fill out a bullpen. Position wise, I have one real catcher in Laird and two guys who could catch in a pinch (Raburn and Inge, if you look past the fact that they will never really catch again). I can put together a real outfield, with real position players and backups/utilities/supersubs to provide depth anywhere, infield or outfield. So go ahead and call the all-performance team crazy, even if it has only been two games and the regular season is like 40 days away.
Rememberance of the Ones Lost
As I wait for this spring’s games to be televised, I continue to watch the games from last year. It occurs to me that some words are needed in regards to the players who were in camp last year and now hindsight has produced odd results.
Ivan Rodriguez: I was not a fan of trading him away at the time. Still, when/if he signs with another team, wouldn’t there still be compensation near the kind we got when we “lost” Kyle Farnsworth to the Royals? Luckily, the Yankees didn’t get much offensively out of Pudge. He hit .295 for us, .219 for them. He only drove in 3 RBI (2 HR) for the Yanks in 33 games, so the Tigers easily won that end of things.
James Skelton: When camp broke last year, everyone was talking about Skelton and how he would be the future of the team. Now, he still might be, but nobody is talking about Skelton right now. Now there is a whole new set of backstops in Detroit, with Dusty Ryan and Dane Sardinha most likely calling games in Toledo. In fact people are talking about Ryan like they used to talk about Skelton, so the short term future doesn’t look good for the guy, too bad.
Edgar Renteria: Ok, so we figured out he is DEFINATELY not an AL player. In his last two years in St. Louis, Renteria hit .330 and .287. In Atlanta, he hit .293 and .332. In his two seasons in the AL (Boston and Detroit), Egar hit .277 and .270. Not a terrible drop off, except that his Detroit .270 is the second lowest batting average of his career. Career low in stolen bases in 2008. Fewest walks since he was a rookie, but at least it was his fewest strikeouts in five years. Lowest RBI total since leaving Flordia. Hits, runs, and doubles were also his lowest since 2001. Whether he didn’t want to be here, or just flat out cannot play in the AL, I’m not going to miss him. P.S. Lowest fielding percentage since season in Boston.
Todd Jones: Simple, quality player and a better man. Didn’t deserve to go out on an injury.
Macay McBride: Injuries hurt his 2008. I’m looking for him to rebound in AAA and be the first lefty to get a call when there is an injury or a need for another southpaw. At the same time, he could be one that gets moved for his near term upside to get someone with a longer term upside.
Tim Byrdak: I was sorry to see him go. He was a feel good story in 2007. He had a quality season with Houston in 2008. Played in more games in 08 versus 07, and with that in mind his Tigers numbers were a little better. Still, he is still with the Astros, which means he’s doing better than Rodriguez right now.
Francis Beltran: Like Renteria, Beltran is with the Giants organization. With the bullpen by comittee last year, his face blended in with the others who came through the revolving door. His highlights included his first ML win in 4 years (didn’t see ML service between 05-07). Otherwise the only thing I can say for him is that he lowered his career ERA while in Detroit.
Clete Thomas: I mentioned this in my last blog, there’s no room for him on this years team without someone else getting tradded or hurt. Injuries really cut his 2008 season short. I see him having success in the big leagues if he becomes the Placido Polanco of the outfield. His .284 average in 40 games is promising.
Brent Clevlen: Stop me if I repeat myself, but there is no room for Clevlend either right now. He’s out of options, so he is going to have to play his way on to the team and thensome. Not a whole lot to brag about from his 2008 callup. Increased his walks. He is a career .233 hitter, but his shining stat of the moment is that he is still 100% on his fielding.
Timo Perez: I can’t believe he didn’t get a look in 2008. He killed the ball in his 07 callup. Had a heck of a spring training in 08. I mean, you have to be doing something really right to hit .389 over 90 AB. Plus, unless I missed something, he can play anywhere in the outfield and can run very well.
Mike Hollimon: Another one bit by the injury bug. I don’t see a spot for him either out of spring training, but probably the first callup if we get an injury in the middle infield. Mostly played SS, but also some 2B and 3B. I’m thinking he’ll play mostly for his defense and not for his bat, but he’ll still need to hit to get on this club at some point. Just because Dane Sardinha did it doesn’t mean all the backups can.
Yorman Bazardo: Another of the lost faces in the bullpen shuffle. Currently in camp with the Phillies. There is nothing I can say other than he pitched for us in 08, and that he had higher expectations when we had him.
Matt Joyce: I’m going to miss Joyce. Obviously, he was the most attractive piece of the near future, which is why the Rays agreed to trade Edwin Jackson. I saw Joyce as the future of the outfield just like Thomas and Clevlen were/are the future. Yeah, he finished the season batting .252, so there is room for improvement. The 12 HR was pretty attractive from a rookie, and they always seemed to be loud ones. Struck me as a dependable and capable outfielder, hopefully this won’t bite us too badly.
Mike Hessman: I can’t stress this enough, Hessman should be on a national league roster. There is no room for him in Detroit without injury. He’d be a great backup corner infielder and pinch hitter. Granted, he only had 27 AB in 2008, but you have to be happy with his .296 batting average. Actually hit a career high 5 HR in 08 with the second fewest AB in his brief stints over four seasons. If someone gets hurt on the infield, I’d like to see what he can do with Marcus Thames-like ABs. Also, Hessman is out of options, so while I might be right about the NL roster, I’d still miss having him in the system.
Denny Bautista: Not going to miss him. With the Pirates now, but I expected more out of the Jose Capellan trade. Truth be told, he has is lowest ERA ever with his time in Detroit, and until he went to Pittsburgh later in the season, also had a career high in games with Detroit. Compared to other players’ ERAs, we probably should have kept him a bit longer than we did, but instead Bautista was lost in the roster shuffle. Opps.
Vance Wilson: I will miss his leadership. Probably one of the best backup catchers we’ve had in a while. Completely lost the last two years to injury. In 06 he batted .283, compared to .197 in 05. I’d like to think that he’d do .250 or better still. Considering he was playing once every two weeks or so backing up Pudge, what more could you really ask. I wanted to see him get a camp invite to at least prove himself, but what are you going to do?
Jacque Jones: BUST!!! I would definately take Omar Infante back compared to what we went through with Jones. On the other hand, we could probably have gotten any other left-handed bat who played LF and done better. Or….. Timo Perez could have gotten a shot, he bats left, played LF in 07, and I still say he earned better than he got in camp last year.The bright side of Jacque Jones….he played worse for Flordia last year than he did for us. With Cincinatti now, good luck to the Reds.
Chris Lambert: Nothing spectacular to say about his rookie 08 campaign. Still too early to judge him versus Mike Maroth, whom he was traded for. This spring and the season to follow should be a statment for Lambert to see if he is in future plans.
Freddy Guzman: Didn’t make it to Detroit in 08. Looked impressive in the spring games I was able to watch. In camp with Seattle now. Best of luck.
And that’s my roundup from 2008 camp players who warented a mention.Still going to watch more of last year’s games as I wait for this year’s to be broadcast. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll do another of these look back blogs when other former or lesser known players show up.
I’m calling my shot now
Ok, so Spring Training games start tomorrow. I’m going to use my awesome powers of intuition to pick what I think will be the Tigers opening day 25-man roster, barring injuries or trades, obviously.
Catchers
Matt Treanor
Gerald Laird
Infielders
Brandon Inge
Miguel Cabrera
Adam Everett
Placido Polanco
Ramon Santiago
Outfielders
Magglio Ordonez
Curtis Granderson
Carlos Guillen
Marcus Thames
Ryan Raburn
Designated Hitter
Gary Sheffield
Starting Rotation
Justin Verlander
Jeremy Bonderman
Armando Galarraga
Edwin Jackson
Dontrelle Willis
Bullpen
Nate Robertson
Zach Miner
Bobby Seay
Joel Zumaya
Fernando Rodney
Brandon Lyon
and…….
Scott Williamson
The way I like to play it is by taking a veteran hand (Williamson) over younger players who wouldn’t be hurt by further conditioning (Freddy Dolsi, Macay McBride). However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Tigers front office did something with Nate Robertson. He is in a position like Inge was this time last year. Yeah, he can start. Yes, he’s been a reliever in the past. It’s not the worst idea ever to have Robertson and Miner split time as long men, depending on the situation. Or, if Jim Leyland was looking for a wild idea, how about a six-man rotation, with Robertson and Willis as lefties to split up the righty-dominant rotation.
The other names on the bullpen list can be debated until the cows come home, but the point is that someone on that roster would have to pitch their way off the club to not make it. On the position player side, its the same thing. Either someone has to get injured, traded, or play their way off the team. Brent Clevlen and Clete Thomas can’t prove themselves unless they get the playing time like Matt Joyce did. With Carlos Guillen beginning the experiment in left field, there just isn’t room to take on more outfielders. As it is, I see Ryan Raburn getting much more time in as an infielder than outfielder this year. Also, if the Guillen experiment does work, Marcus Thames will probably be the first backup at first base. Is it just me, or does anybody else see the Dmitri Young 1st-3rd-LF experiment all over again?
The same thing goes for the spare infielders. With a healthy Sheffield and again so many outfielders who can play infield, there is just no room for Jeff Larish, Mike Hessman, or Michael Hollimon. I was going to save this point for my next blog, talking about spring training from last year, but Mike Hessman should be a backup corner infielder and pinch hitter on a National League roster somewhere, instead of becomming an all-time home run king of AAA.
Anyways, looking forward to the first Grapefruit League game tomorrow and seeing how my predictions pan out over the spring.
Spring Training for us All
So I just bought the MLBtv package today, getting ready to see as much Tigers baseball as I can this year. I was determined to get every last game to watch as I can, since I lost much of the 2006 World Series run to Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training. Since the Tigers don’t play for a few more days, I was wonderfully surprised to see that I could look back on last season’s games in the archives. So here I sit today, watching the few Tiger’s spring training games from 2008 that are in the archive. I’m using this time to remember all the promise the team had this time last year, as well as to note to myself the players who never played in the regular season, didn’t last the whole season, and those who didn’t make it back to Tigertown for this season. This should be a good year.
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