Bunt Singles: May 7
posted in bunt singles |Detroit Tigers news, views and stats
How the Tigers got their groove back
It wasn’t too long ago that I wrote the Tigers could go on a 5, 6, 7 game winning streak at the drop of a hat. The streak began mere days later. How did they do it?
The bats were alive and well. In the past 7 days, they’ve averaged 7 runs per game. That’s helped by the slugging power of 28 extra-base hits, including nine homers and 17 doubles. They also took 26 walks and stole six bases.
The pitching had an ERA of 3.67. Although the actual strikeouts stat wasn’t all that impressive and starters had quality starts in only half the games, the opponents batted just .223. The difference maker: The bullpen did its job. Joel Zumaya (1 game), Jose Mesa (1), Wil Ledezma (2), Jason Grilli (3) and Fernando Rodney (3) didn’t allow an earned run, though a few starters’ runs came in on their watch. Todd Jones was 4-for-4 on his save chances.
Bunt singles
Not a lot of Tigers news to report on today, other than the Joel Zumaya situation, which gets its own post.
- A Brian Lawrence update, in case you missed it: They offered him a minor league contract but he wasn’t interested. So the rumors were right, just not quite right.
- While it can be pointed out the Tigers are playing above their Pythagorean record, a good predictor of wins based on runs scored and runs allowed, the Indians are playing even more above it.
- Batting title update: Placi Polanco, .361 batting average. B.J. Upton, .371.
- The Tigers are second in runs in the A.L.
- Nate Robertson is fourth in A.L. ERA with 2.48. Oakland’s Dan Haren is first with 1.75
- Todd Jones leads baseball in saves with 12. Who’d have thought he’d be a fantasy baseball hot commodity?
Around the MLB
The Rocket in Pinstripes
Roger Clemens announced he is returning to baseball again this season (like anyone didn’t see that coming). He’ll be a Yankee (not a real shock either). Naturally the national media salivated all over itself, making quite a mess. Watching Baseball Tonight on ESPN last night, and some of the Giants-Phillies game, I was pleasantly surprised at the restraint of ESPN’s analysts. They did not hand the Yankees the World Series title and cancel the rest of the season. They pointed out he’ll help the club, but it has some serious problems to tackle if it wants to make the playoffs. So that was nice.
Now, what do I think of the Clemens signing? It obviously makes the Yankees a better organization than whoever they trot out to the mound right now. But what also made the better was getting Chien-Mang Wang back. And Mike Mussina. And Andy Pettite. And Philip Hughes.
And while Clemens is good, I think his contribution will be less than several of his fellow starters, as he just won’t be able to go as deep into the game as a 44-year-old on a 100 pitch count. Oh, and he’s going to be facing some of the best batting teams in baseball with some regularity, not the pushover NL as the past few years. And if Clemens hands over a lead in the fifth inning, the Yankees still have to somehow get it to Mariano Rivera in the innings inbetween. This signing is no magic bullet. It’s just as massively overhyped as the 5+ ERA Dice-K was with the Red Sox.
Just to throw out some numbers, I think it’s safe to say an ERA in the low 4s, probably 10-11 wins, probably not a lot of losses, and a pretty decent number of no decisions.
Oh, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yankees start waste no time in attacking the trade market for relief pitching, which may have some affect on the Tigers if they’re looking to get some help during Zumaya’s absence.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan analyzes the deal for SI.com.
- SI’s John Donovon thinks Clemens chose the wrong team if he wants a ring.
- Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal agrees.
Other stuff
- Joe Mauer went on the DL (Twinkie Town)
- The Milwaukee Brewers have the best record in baseball. Being in the U.P., I know one or two Brewers fans. It’s nice to see them going through the same feeling of excitement and fear as Tigers fans did last year.
