Just a few things I’ve pondered lately.

Should Gary Sheffield go on the disabled list?

YES! All-caps because it’s so emphatic. I do not see what good is served by having an injured Gary Sheffield using on a spot on the 25-man roster. Sheffield first said he would miss the homestand against Cleveland and New York. So that’s seven games. Now he says he will not travel with the team to Kansas City and Oakland (6 games) because his shoulder is too sore to even do light exercisers. So, there’s 13 days he is unavailable out of the 15 day stay on the DL. Why, then, is he keeping a minor league bat (or arm) from helping out in the week leading up to the expansion to a 40-man roster? This makes no sense, whatsoever.

Update: They listened! 

Who will pitch Friday?

We know Kenny Rogers will not fill in for Jair Jurrjens (who was uhm, filling in for Kenny Rogers). It could be Chad Durbin, of course. But this bouncing him back and forth beween starter and bullpen, I don’t know, I don’t favor it. I believe Virgil Vasquez will be named the starter. He was on the same pitching schedule as Jurrjens, as he pitched Sunday. He allowed two runs in five innings in a spot start in July. He’s on the 40 man roster. It all pretty much adds up.

What’s up with all these injuries?

The popular theory is Detroit’s postseason appearance, and subsequently playing until nearly November, wore down the pitchers and kept them from having enough offseason recovery time. There could be something to that. I wouldn’t doubt it at all. Jeremy Bonderman and Justin Verlander have both stumbled recently. Nate Robertson went on the disabled list for a tired arm. Kenny Rogers was hurt even unrelated to his blood clot surgery. And the bullpen stinks.

But I don’t know, some of it is probably bad luck. Rogers had surgery for a blood clot. Zumaya hurt his finger. Rodney hurt his neck. And then we a guy like Jair Jurrjens who was down in Erie in 2006. Those injuries aren’t related to playing in the snowflakes.

It’s probably some combination of everything. I expect the team will be healthier next year, but there’s never any guarantees.

What do you think of the bullpen?

I like it. Dave Dombrowski was right to think the Tigers bullpen would be much improved when he got Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney back. I still worry, wonder, etc, if not making a move at the trading deadline cost the Tigers 2 or 3 valuable wins over the first three weeks of August. This AL Central race is probably going to be decided by the narrowest of margins. You just hope, if the Tigers should miss the playoffs, it’s not by one win.

But going forward, yes, I like the bullpen. Players are pitching in roles that better suit them now that the setup men are back. It’s not great, but I’m fine with the situation.

Is this a playoff team?

Bennie and Jeff asked me that twice(!) for their radio show last night. My first reply was, I’d love to know myself. Anyone who follows the Tigers routinely would be hard pressed to say for sure. There are just so many injuries. It’s hard to overcome that. The prolonged slump has been awful.

And yet, the team can still go head to head with the Yankees and get two beautiful bullpen performances for two victories. The batters can still put up nine runs without Gary Sheffield. And the schedule comes down from the stratosphere and gives the Tigers a bit of a break. Yes, the teams they face aren’t going to roll over, but they just don’t have the weapons the Yankees and Indians do.

But they pressed me a second time. Simple yes or no. My answer? “No.” There’s so much to overcome, it’s going to be a tough challenge. It’s not that they can’t do it. But let’s say, i’m 45/55 on the Tigers making the playoffs. They survived the weekend. They can win a series today and take some momentum to Kansas City and Oakland.

In a week, it may be a whole, new ballgame.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 12:42 pm and is filed under 2007 ST, Q&A. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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