Turning the page roundup
posted in 2006-07 offseason, link roundup |It seems Tigers bloggers have turned the page. I’m seeing more posts popping up among us.
I read this last night when I set up the headlines on the sidebar (plug!), but Daily Fungo Mike has a full post to check out, too: Murray Chass of the New York Times writes about Marian Ilitch’s involvement with Ilitch Holdings, which owns the Tigers, as she also runs a casino. He waxes that while technically not against the rules, as she claims no involvement with the Tigers, it’s not a good idea. I agree. It’s probably not a good idea. It’s not one that concerns me. I doubt there’s any game fixing that 25 guys and Jim Leyland are going to agree to, so I don’t see it as a problem. That and I look at the Maloof Brothers owning casinos and the Sacramento Kings and the Illitch’s don’t look so bad. Like I said, I don’t condone it, but I’m not going to get too upset.
Speaking of Mike, he has many posts up at his new site. You fans out there, update your RSS feeds and bookmarks. We’re all starting to get the bug as the year ends.
Former Tiger Chris Brown died of burns he sustained earlier this year. Mike has a post on that, too.
Hardball Times had an article on what the average ERA is per rotation position. What makes an ace? What makes a No. 4 starter? And most importantly to us, how do the Tigers stack up?
In the AL, 3.70 is average for the ace of the staff, and 5.09 for the No. 4 guy.
What immediately jumps out at me is how high the #4 and #5 ERAs are. If there’s one thing most people agree on when they talk about rotation spots, it’s that a guy with an ERA over 5.00 ought to be your #5 starter. As it turns out, fewer than half of major league teams could claim an ERA under 5.00 from their #4 spot.
… In other words, an AL pitcher who managed an ERA under 4.00 over 32 starts very likely qualifies as an ace
The Tigers cumulative No. 4 slot had an ERA of 4.07. Obviously, 1, 2 and 3 were all better. So just think about that one for awhile. The top three pitchers would be considered aces under those parameters. (Team stats.) Jeremy Bonderman’s 4.08 with 200+ strikeouts was just outside the range. He’s actually the No. 4 guy. Nate Robertson (3.84), Kenny Rogers (3.84) and Justin Verlander (3.63) all would have qualified as ace, although Verlander only had 30 starts. And that is how good of a season the Detroiters had at the mound.
… I thought I had something else but if I do, I’ll add it in the morn… afternoon.
In trying to find comparable pitchers to help decide Daisuke Matsuzaka’s fantasy value, the pitcher Baseball Prospectus found most similar? Our very own Jeremy Bonderman. (Premium)
In today’s News, Lynn Henning looks at a possible lineup card. My opinion? (First, make sure to pull up a copy of Lynn’s so this makes sense!)
I like his 2-3-4. I think Granderson is fine at leadoff given that there isn’t a real great candidate to bump him. I’m even fine with Casey fifth given his left-handed bat and ability to clear the bases. But then, just spitting one lineup out, I’d go Polanco, Inge, Monroe, Pudge. Pudge might not like 9, but I view him as setting up the top of the order that way. Otherwise in Lynn’s lineup, flip him and Monroe. A radical idea, too, might be putting Pudge leadoff and Granderson sixth.
Sphere It
Finally there’s somemone who agrees that Polanco is the perfect #9 hitter, although I wouldn’t mind him in the #2 spot because he at least puts the ball in play even if he doesn’t walk much. But, please no, not leading off.
Pudge belongs in the middle of the order because he has a high average and strikes-out infrequently. He, like Ordonez should bat after the OBP guys like Granderson, Guillen and Sheffield.
1. Granderson
2. Guillen
3. Sheffield
4. Rodriguez
5. Ordonez
6. Casey/Shelton
7. Monroe
8. Inge
9. Polanco
You could interchange Guillen and Sheffield if you wanted to avoid three consecutive righties.
You could also interchange Pudge and Ordonez. No biggy. I like Pudge 4th only becaause I think (no supporting evidence) he’s more clutch.
I was playing around with the lineup analyzer at Baseball Musings and found the lineup Lynn put out would score 5.21 runs per game. A lineup with Guillen, Sheffield, Magglio and (surprise) Monroe in the top four would score 5.3. Not sure what yours would do. But of course at that point, it’s all splitting hairs.
For me, I still believe in the ability of Polly and Casey to drive in runs with their contact and would have them closer to the middle of the lineup.
I’ll probably do a post playing around with this soon.
PS- Shame not to be writing Thames in, isn’t it?