14th
April
2008
How to fix the Tigers
posted in 2008 season |What’s wrong with the Tigers is the question I get from most people who know I’m a Tigers fan who follows the team a bit closer. (The whole “Stay away from sharp objects” joke has really got to end if they want an honest answer). But that’s now the only thing people want to know. How do you fix it?
Well I’ll say this about the Tigers blogging community: we don’t presume to know everything. Of the 10 or so Tigers blogs I read, I don’t think any of us are presumptuous enough to think we can do it better than Jim Leyland. Heck, none of us are even calling for the smoker’s head. That’s almost shocking in and of itself. So I offer these observations and suggestions humbly. I don’t presume to know all the answers. Unless ESPN wants to pay me to rant. Because a little extra money never hurts!
Before we can fix them, we need to look at the possible problems:
- The team lacks chemistry. Think about this: Of four infielders in 2006, only Placido Polanco still plays the same position. You have a first baseman who is used to playing shortstop. You have a shortstop and third baseman who are new to the team. And apparently the third baseman has problems avoiding getting tangled up with umpires and third-base coaches. So the Tigers defense is sorta, er, awful, in the infield. The outfield seems acceptable.
- The team sucks in the cold. Observe: The blue dots are the runs scored by the Tigers plotted against the temperature. The Red spots are the runs allowed. I have made my guess as to a decent line showing how the Tigers would be expected to score based on the weather. Sure, there’s limited information, and all those other sabermetric warnings. And I warn you it’s been a few years since I did this in college and I forgot how to make the chart give me the line. (KIDS IN SCHOOL: PAY ATTENTION! YOU MAY NEED TO REMEMBER WHAT YOU LEARNED FOR YOUR BLOGS SOME DAY!) But as you can see, if it’s cold, the blue dots are shorter. If it’s warm, the blue dots are higher. Looks like a trend to me!
- Yes, I know, if it was 100 they’d be expected to score like, 35. But this is the greatest lineup in baseball, right?
- The team swings at too many first pitches. I don’t have a lot of empirical evidence for this. And it’s not so much the team as Magglio Ordonez, since the team seems to take walks pretty good and you don’t do that if you grounded out on the first pitch. But Maggs, take one. Or two. A strikeout’s as good as half a double play!
- The Tigers are lollygaggers!!! That one comes from Ian. But even lollygaggers go 8-16. I don’t know how they won eight either, because the Tigers have won two. zzz
- The pitchers nibble. I don’t have any emperical evidence for this either. But they have issued the most walks in baseball (62). So if it’s not nibbling, they just can’t find the plate.
- Other teams are mean. Observe, the red monster is attacking the blue Tiger guy.
- Injuries. This Tigers team isn’t the same one that will be playing all season. We hope. The disabled-list Tigers: Fernando Rodney, Joel Zumaya, Dontrelle Willis, Curtis Granderson. The aching Tigers: Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Guillen, Gary Sheffield, Placido Polanco.
- Bad luck. Hey, it happens. Some portion if baseball is you. Some portion of baseball is the other guy. And some portion of baseball is pretty random.
Solutions:
- Wait it out. Like it or not, this solution has to happen by the team and fans alike.
- SCREAM!!! Jim Leyland tried this tactic Sunday. I’ve tried this tactic with much less luck. But I don’t manage the team. So maybe his yelling will work better.
- Stop swinging at the first G*D*#@ pitch. This might help avoid double plays. Take a pitch. Take two. The pitchers KNOW you’re going to swing at the first pitch, and frankly, aren’t giving you squat to hit. So hey, your way isn’t working, let’s try mine.
- Try a defensive lineup. The offensive lineup isn’t working. So like a basketball team that found big ain’t working, let’s try small. Instead of Cabrera at third, go with Brandon Inge. Put Clete Thomas in center field. Those are your two best fielders and, frankly, hitters at this point. MCab can play first or DH. Or sit for a day or two to let both his quad and hamstring heal. Or you can sit Carlos Guillen. Or you can sit Gary Sheffield. I don’t care. One of those guys plays first. One DHs. And the other heals. Because big sure ain’t scoring any playing hurt, and it they can’t play defense either.
- Deal with the devil. Not me, personally. But if you feel like you have to help the team in any way you can, feel free.
- Don’t play small ball. I know a team who gets shut out four times may think “Let’s play some small ball and manufacture a run!” Sounds great for your Little League team, where the catcher might field a bunt and throw it into right field. But not for the Tigers. Unless they’re playing the Phillies, where Chase Utley may field it and throw it into the dugout. This is not a small ball lineup. Don’t try to force the issue, no matter how tempted you are. Unless it’s the bottom of the ninth and you need a run, one isn’t going to be enough with this team. All you’re doing is avoiding the shutout and assuring you’re not going to get the big inning. So don’t give in to temptation.
- Giant magnifying glass. Maybe directing the sun’s rays in great magnification might heat the playing surface above 45 degrees.
- Good luck. Find some. Manufacture some. Whatever superstitions you were clinging to, they’re not working. Throw them out. Find new superstitions. Knock on wood not working? Knock on steel. Or cement. I don’t care. Knock something, wear your underwear backwards, whatever it takes.
- Win. Winning solves everything and makes you forget the bad times pretty quick. The sooner the Tigers can do that, the better for all of us.
“Don’t play small ball”
YES! YES! YES! A thousand times, YES!
I hate all the calls for “small ball.” There is a place for it, but only in games where 1 run will end the game, and even then, I have reservations.
That some fans think taking the bat out of hands of hitters who have track records of being able to punish the ball is asinine. Give me an offense of 3 run home runs anytime over “manufacturing” your offense. This isn’t the Punch and Judy NL, it’s the AL, where you have to score, and score in bunches.
Now if the Tigers would actually start to hit, my comment would make even more sense…
Resentment. There is lots of it on this team. But they’re not really a team yet and probably won’t be.
Kathy said:
“Resentment. There is lots of it on this team. But they’re not really a team yet and probably won’t be.”
How do you know this, Kathy? Got any friends in the clubhouse? Who resents who? Why? Am I supposed to believe that the new Tigers don’t get along with the old ones? Keep in mind that Cabrera is a countryman and friend to two of the biggest clubhouse leaders in Ordonez and Guillen. I’m willing to bet that everyone on the team is grateful for the increase in talent and the improved chances at winning that talent is supposed to (in theory) bring. The two biggest candidates for resentment would be 1) Guillen, having been moved to first (yet every media person says Guillen is by far the most professional person you will ever find, so unlikely); and 2) Inge, who seemed to be pretty bitter at first but has to be placated by the realization that yes, he will start quite a few games and is very valuable to this team. Thames I suppose could have a beef with Jacque Jones taking his at bats, but Marcus seems like one of the happiest-go-lucky people in MLB.
One of the things I’ve liked most about the Tiger resurgence of the past couple years is that it seems like there are no big egos, everyone gets along, there’s a team camarderie and everyone is a pretty nice guy. Even Gary Sheffield has noted how much better this clubhouse is than those of the Yankee teams he was a part of. I will allow that there are some on-field chemistry issues which are bound to occur when you completely overhaul your infield, but I am interested to see what evidence you have that suggests these guys don’t like each other.
One thing for sure, when the Tigers made the big comeback tonight, everyone was up out of the dugout cheering.
If you can find it, read the interview with C-Mo. Poor guy is still full of resentment. Everyone agreed C-Mo had to go and he was pretty professional about it but it seems he still has issues about being let go. If you watch the games every day, watch who talks to who, and who interacts with each other and who doesn’t it’s as plain as day. I’m sorry if no one else sees it or pretends they don’t see it. But there is resentment on this team. Last night they shelved it.
Can someone explain to me how an ex-player’s resentment about being dealt from a contender in the midst of a playoff chase reflects on the current team’s feelings about one another? He probably does resent what happened. So? Of course he’s going to be pissed. Guess who else is pissed? DY. I guess that means that the Tigers don’t like each other because that fat malcontent got what he deserved.
FYI, I wasn’t too happy about C-mo getting broken off either. But it happened and it’s business and it’s life. I think the Tigers are over that episode, by and large.
C-Mo is resentful because he got DFAd and then traded for a PTBNL. In fact, he also said that he still likes Leyland and most of his teammates. How does the feelings of someone no longer on the team affect the clubhouse, anyway?
I see the dugout during the games. They seem to interact as much as any other team does. Sure they probably seemed a little down after the 2-10 start, but even the most cohesive unit won’t be happy about that.