• Would they deal Magglio Ordonez as some suggest?

I think if the right deal came up, they might deal Maggs. But I find it extremely unlikely, because the front office and team owner are likely aware and sensitive to public perception of the team. And the Tigers can’t afford to look like they’re punting the 2009 season, even if it makes them better in the long run. So unless a real exciting, major-league ready prospect comes back in return (which I doubt) Maggs is probably a Tiger in 2009 and beyond.

• How does Jeremy Bonderman recover?

Just based on the comparisons to Kenny Rogers, and recent news that Bonderman is coming along well, I think we can expect to see JB back in the Tigers rotation next April. And based on how Rogers recovered from a similar procedure, at an older age, I think Bonderman should be able to get back to some form of pre-injury ability. As much as we like to joke about the changeup, Bonderman was pretty effective without it. The Tigers may watn to give up on it and just let Bonderman be Bonderman. Maybe he’ll never be a true staff ace, but he did pretty good.

• Is Clete Thomas on the big club to stay?

Clete Thomas just strikes me as a tweener. Or a AAAA guy as some would say. He’s good enough to contribute at the major league level, but not good enough to hold his own year-in and year-out. He’s a decent role player with his play in the field, at least.

• Nate Robertson gave up five home runs as the Tigers lost 9-1. OUCH.
• Gary Sheffield hit into a game-ending double player. Not that it mattered given the first bullet point.
• Dontrelle Willis gave up five walks in five innings in an International League outing. also OUCH.

Your Detroit (and Toledo) Tigers!

• Can Dontrelle Willis bounce back?

Yes! I think we’re already seeing him bounce back. I think he’ll be in the majors again by the end of the season, and I predict we’ll see a solid start. If the question meant, “Can Dontrelle get back to where he was two or three years ago?” … well I have no clue there. We can only hope, but I find it unlikely.

But getting back to contributing to the Tigers? For sure. He only walked two in his last start, in six innings. And I think we can all agree, the issues with Willis were his control and his injury status. He’s been pitching deep into games and has walked only two or three per start most of the time.

• Can the Tigers deal Carlos Guillen?

While I do think Guillen may be going a bit downhill, a bit too fast, I’m not sure if you want to deal him. Actually, let me rephrase that. I’m not sure how much value you’d get if you did trade him. He’s owed 36 million over three years. If we, as fans, think his contributions are going down, why on earth would a living, breathing general manager trade for that contract? Answer is: he probably wouldn’t now that Bill Bavasi was fired in Seattle. And if he did, the Tigers would be paying a decent portion of it. And maybe not get much in return. So my answer is “no.” Not worth while. So, fact is, he’s a Tiger for awhile. But I’m OK with that.

• If the Tigers can get a catcher, do they — and do they move Brandon Inge back to third?

A qualified “Yes.” I don’t like Inge catching, personally. But despite having great defensive skills at third base, I don’t really like his batting for a third baseman.

Ultimately, this question is going to be answered by whether they can move Carlos Guillen to shortstop by finding an exit stategy for Gary Sheffield. If Sheffield is a Tiger, then Guillen is a third baseman, and Inge is (probably) the catcher.

But like I said, I don’t like Inge’s catching all that much and I’d rather he move back to the field. So I hope they move Sheffield and find a viable catcher to fill the role.

• Does Vance Wilson return at long last?

No. I suspect he’ll retire, actually. But I don’t think he’ll be a Tiger.

• Who’s the shortstop?

I have no idea. Whatsoever. Rafeal Furcal? Ramon Santiago? Probably Santiago if the team is going to be cost-conscious and think about 2010. Then again, depending on how much money they’re getting, maybe Edgar Renteria remains shortstop after all. He hasn’t been doing too bad lately at the plate. Compared to Edgar Renteria anyway. But he still can’t field.

I wanted to answer Daily Fungo Mike’s 17 questions. But that’s quite a few to do in one setting. So I present you the first of however many sessions it takes to opine on the topics that the Tigers might try to answer this offseason. (Or you can read Big Al’s responses, they’re all at once)

• Who’s the closer in 2009?

I’ll say it’s someone in the system right now. I’m about 90% confident in that. Also, this is the correct move. Yes, I know the Tigers lack for a good closer and good bullpen. But I also firmly believe you can’t go out and throw money around to get a good bullpen. You develop from within or pick up some unknown guys at a fair rate, and you’ll probably do just as good or better as money-wasteful teams.

But as there’s no heir apparent to Todd Jones, it will likely come down to spring training. I think the consensus pick is Freddy Dolsi will be strongly in the running. We could also see Fernando Rodney, who has redeemed himself after starting off so poorly in the closer role. But heck, it could be someone else in the system like Casey Fien for all we know.

It’s way too early to hazard an accurate guess, I’d say.

• Does Chuck Hernandez return as pitching coach?

No. I don’t know if he’s as to blame as a lot of fans like to think. I think a pitching coach looks good when his players perform well and bad when they don’t. Like a manager, he gets too much acclaim or blame based on the talent given him. And Chuck Hernandez is getting too much blame. But I think he’s fired as a scapegoat, because you know Mike Illitch will be looking for one.

To me, the problem seems to be more system-wide than just the major league club. A lot of Detroit Tigers have gone down with injury. Some freak (Kenny Rogers’ and Jeremy Bonderman’s bloodclots, Joel Zumaya dropping a box on his shoulder), some not (Bonderman’s elbow, Zumaya’s assorted other problems.) Meanwhile you have the manager using the star pitcher for 130 pitches. Maybe the pitching coach disagrees with that as much as many fans do. And then we have guys who were traded away like Humberto Sanchez, once a stud prospect who had to have Tommy John Surgery. I don’t know. Honestly. It seems to be a bigger problem  than Mr. Hernandez.

But on the other hand, the Tigers pitchers just weren’t properly prepared to begin the season. Is that the pitching coach? The manager? The system?

But short answer: he won’t be back.

• Is Nate Robertson a Tiger next season?

Robertson is clearly a Tiger. He likely can’t be traded. Even if he could be traded, his value is probably near record-low, as he has a lot of money hanging over his head (at least $17M), and a pretty ugly season to go with it.

The Tigers should go into 2009 with one sure start: Justin Verlander. After that, the next four guys have to earn their spots, be they Armando Galarraga, Nate Robertson, Jeremy Bonderman (if he’s healthy enough by then), Zach Miner or anyone other than a big free-agent acquisition (also a bad idea if he wants more than 4 years on his contract, maybe even a bad idea at four years!)

And if Robertson can’t cut it as a starter, I’m more than happy to entertain the thought he could go out there and battle for an inning or two at a time. In fact, I hazard a guess he’d make a pretty darn good reliever. I think Dontrelle Willis would make a great late-innings guy, too. (Hey, maybe he’s the answer to the first question!)

Robertson has a spot on this team, and likely, it’s as a valuable contributer to the bullpen. And to me, that’s not a demotion. To the pitcher, maybe*. But all I care about is team wins, and that’s what I suspect the players would profess to caring about as well. Besides, Robertson will earn a nice living and his family is set either way.

*That contract calls for Robertson to earn an extra million in 2010 if he pitches 200 innings in 2009 or 400 combined in 2008-09.

• Tigers lost 2 of 3 to the Orioles, allowing 30 runs in 3 games.

I didn’t realize the Orioles were such a hitting powerhouse. Of course they’ve now scored more runs than the Tigers this season (or any team in the A.L. Central for that matter). So they were no slouches either. But geez. It was not a pretty weekend.

Pitchers who stunk: Almost every one
Pitcher who didn’t stink: Armando Galarraga … but of course, that’s because he didn’t pitch! And OK, Justin Verlander did acquit himself pretty well Saturday, too.

The Tigers are 4 games under .500. And their August, like every August this decade except, I believe, the year 2000, stinks.

• Zach Miner’s problems — he didn’t make it out of the second Sunday — were kind of ironic given the headlines before the game. “Miner states his case for next season.”

Uh-oh then! Which isn’t really fair, of course. He pitched phenomenally his previous several starts and stumbled Sunday with a troublesome defense behind him. But he also clearly didn’t have his stuff. It was painful. Like the Tigers defense Friday.

• Todd Jones stunk Friday, went on the DL Saturday.
  

He’s just not the young walrus he used to be. He may be back in September, reports say.

• Gary Glover got called up.

This surprised me, and apparently most bloggers, because uhm, who exactly is Gary Glover and when did he become a member of the Tigers organization? Well, apparently he pitched for the Rays in 2007 and 2008, and some other teams before that. As is the rule of any pitcher in the Tigers bullpen this year, he has control issues. And he really doesn’t have the numbers to make you think there’s any purpose for him playing in the majors.

I know the Tigers aren’t going to make the playoffs. I know the Tigers know the Tigers aren’t going to make the playoffs. (This is turning into a Friends episode. Do the Tigers know I know the Tigers know they aren’t going to make the playoffs?) But this is ridiculous. It’s pointless. I had hoped there might be some moves in the late season of interest. I know they don’t want to just burn up waiver years on guys. But I’d also like to know if some of them can pitch next  year in a bullpen which needs an overhaul.

Well, whatever. At the start of the year, I felt like so many changes were made I barely recognized the team. Now, I don’t even recognize the decision making process.

• Conclusion: This team is painful to observe. In every day.

I think I’m going to stop doing daily recaps of the games, as they’ve become sorta meaningless in the grand scheme of the season. Strange feeling to have games where the results don’t matter. But I’ll try to blog on the issue of the day more consistently.

• Tigers claim Raul Ibanez claimed on waivers

The Tigers made life hard for the contending teams that wanteds to add Mariners LF/DH Raul Ibanez for the stretch run. Being the worst team to make a claim, the Tigers won him. The Mariners demanded a nice prospect and Detroit, I suspect, laughed at slapped its knees. Whether the Tigers were trying to pull a fast one to take advantage of his free agency status or what, I don’t know, because it wouldn’t have made any sense to add him. In other interesting news from that same link, the Mariners are nuts and overplaying their hand like mad. Not only did they want a player off the Twins’ 25 man roster, they wanted the Twins to pay the remaining $13M on Jarrod Washburn’s contract. Seriously. HUH? Why’d the Mariners even put Ibanez on waivers? Do they think any team would actually agree to such insane terms?

• Magglio Ordonez will bat third and Miguel Cabrera fourth this year and (probably) next

Leyland says he will use it next year. But, you know, that’s a long way off and who knows what might change or what Leyland will dream up in the offseason, so I’m not ready to commit to the idea the Tigers have done something right by getting the two batters a couple more at-bats during the course of the season. ANYWAY he messes it up by claiming he might keep Gary (Black Hole (for) Runs) Sheffield in the five-hole. Of course batting orders don’t matter all that much. But I would still like a better batter at No. 5

• Joel Zumaya to the DL for the rest of the season

Yup. Joel wasn’t right. Well, that’s too bad. Not unexpected, since Ian has taken to calling him Glass Joel (Glass Joe seen at right) for a pretty good reason. I am seriously beginning to doubt whether we’ll ever see ZOOM-aya in 2006 form again. He just keeps hurting his shoulder over and over. To me, he is definitely NOT the closer of the future. This time is arm blew up.

Well, he thought so anyway. Every time Zumaya feels pain, he’s pretty sure his career is over. He’s got a lot of negative vibes for a guy from San Diego. But it was just scar tissue tearing loose. Maybe that will actually make him more effective when he recovers. I’m no doctor. But I remember that being said about Gary Sheffield having better range of motion. I don’t know if that’s true for pitchers as well. But if it was, maybe it’s a good thing.

And we learned, Zumaya, like every other player on this team, was playing hurt. (How’d that work for Jeremy, Gary and Todd?) What is it with this team playing hurt? Someone’s got to pound it in their heads they’re not helping their team or their careers. (Sheffield alleges wrongdoing, naturally).

• Freddy Dolsi sent down; Todd Jones called up.

I’m not unsurprised by Todd Jones coming back to Detroit. If he’s feeling better, great. Put him back as closer. We learned while he was gone no one in that bullpen can close out games as good as Todd Jones. Sure, he’s a rollercoaster. Sure, he blows a few games. Sure, you don’t want him to be your closer. But unfortunately, everyone else sucks. So Todd Jones it is!

I was a bit miffed that Freddy Dolsi got sent down to the minors. I assumed it would be Francis Beltran heading back after a short stay in Comerica Park. But it really doesn’t matter. As of right now, I’d say Dolsi should just concentrate on being the Tigers’ closer in 2009, as they really should not try to buy a closer. (How often does that work out? Maybe on occassion. How often does that blow up in teams’ faces? All the time!)

• “Ace” Armando Galarraga is sixth in the AL in ERA with 3.11.
• Miguel Cabrera is tied for second in the AL in RBIs with 92, 20 behind the leader.
• Magglio Ordonez is fifth in the AL in AVG with .320, .003 behind the leader.

Jays 4
Tigers 3

Recap:

• Basically three things happened.
• Kenny Rogers pitched fine. Except for the part where the bases were loaded on a walk and some infield singles in the third inning and then Vernon Wells hit a grand slam. He pitched into the seventh otherwise.
• It rained, delaying the game 48 minutes.
• I fell asleep.
• The Tigers made the ninth inning interesting, including a two-run double by Edgar Renteria to cut it to 4-3.
• Brandon Inge struck out.
• Also I saw Gary Sheffield got kicked out for arguing in the seventh inning.
• Rogers lost his 4th staright, and the Tigers lost their 10th in 13.

Analysis:

• These recaps are getting harder to write.

Also to note:

• Joel Zumaya went on the disabled list. Francis Beltran was called up and threw 2-2/3 innings without allowing a hit or run.

A lot happened today. Here’s news and views

• Dontrelle Willis was moved to Triple-A Toledo from High-A Lakeland.

Willis may finally have his control issues under, er, control. He pitched into the seventh without a walk two starts ago, and into the eighth with two walks last start. He struck out six in both and allowed four runs in both. Whether the hits (quite a few) or runs really matter that much, I don’t know. He wasn’t in Lakeland to win games, he was there to work on things so he could return to the majors. Control was certainly high on that list. And he stretched his innings out nicely while maintaining it. So that’s definitely a good sign. Seeing how he dose against AAA competition will be insightful. With Miner pitching well and the playoffs quite unlikely, there’s no reason he has to rush to Detroit. But it would be nice to see him in a major league game or two before going into the offseason. I’m sure the organization agrees.

• Freddy Garcia was signed to a minor-league contract.

That’s an easy one. No risk. Little financial cost. And the Tigers get to look at Garcia and see if he can turn into a puzzle piece for next season. There’s no guarantees or anything that he’d sign with the Tigers after this year. But if he does pitch well, he has a couple of fellow Venezuelans on the team, so that’s a good selling point. Hopefully it turns out.

With Garcia in the mix, and I’d have to imagine Kenny Rogers remaining in the mix, that gives the Tigers several starters to think about for next year. Armando Galarraga, Zach Miner and maybe even Virgil Vazquez should be in the mix. And Nate Robertson’s spot in the rotation next year probably isn’t set in stone.

So the more options, the better I say.

• Gary Sheffield was either placed on waivers today, or the news came out that he was placed on waivers.

This, as they say, is a procedural move. Jason Beck explained the waiver process on his blog. The Tigers probably put several players on the list with him that will be a part of the team’s future. It’s really a way of fishing to see if there’s any trade interest, or just to see if there’s any interest period. If he clears waivers, the Tigers can then trade him this month if there was interest, which I doubt. Otherwise they could let him be claimed, or they can set up a trade with a team that claims him. So basically, this isn’t a real quality news item. It’s just related to Sheffield’s recent bitchiness and his minidrama with leyland over the definition of “platoon.” (Jim wins that one easily!)

• Marcus Thames’ MRI showed no big problems.

Beck reports Thames will be back within days. Definitely a good sign. Not much to add!

• Bilfer looked at managing Verlander’s workload.

Nothing to add there either, just pointing to a well-written piece.

• Joel Zumaya ain’t right.

Duh? He just doesn’t have the control or movement on his fastball and it’s costing the Tigers again and again and again. Leyland wants Zumaya checked out closer. Maybe the Zoom experiment should be shelved a bit as the team gets ready for next year. Send him to the minors, send him to Lakeland, it really doesn’t matter where he goes. What matters is preparing him for 2009 when hopefully he contributes and hopefully it matters.

• Related: Seay calls Tigers fans “bush league” for booing Zumaya.

Same article as above. And I have to agree, if it’s true. Not being at the game and with FSN going to commercials on pitching changes, I don’t really know whether he’s making a mountain out of a mole hill or if it was really something bad. But it brings up a point: Boo Sheffield all you want. He runs his mouth that he doesn’t want to be in Detroit and doesn’t perform, by all means, you can boo. But what’s with Tigers fans suddenly booing everything? I don’t like it one bit. Sure, they paid a lot for their tickets and the team didn’t live up to expectations. But do you think Zumaya wanted to do bad? Do you think they purposely are playing poorly? When Dontrelle was booed off the mound while battling an injury and not being able to find the plate, I foudn it to be awful. Are we from New York or Philadelphia suddenly? Boo the guys who don’t run out the ball, but don’t boo the guys with heart.

• Tigers to cut payroll?

Lynn Henning must be reporting whispers from inside the front office because nothing is particularly sourced. But he says the team will slash its payroll by about $40M next season. Which, let’s be honest here, puts it right about where it should have been all along: $100M. I don’t know how they’ll do it though, as several players will see their salary rise due to contract structure. I know several guys won’t be back (Jones, Rogers? Pudge obviously, Renteria) but that leaves a lot of cutting. Should we expect some trade of a high-cost, high-value player like Magglio Ordonez this offseason? Let’s face is, he’s not part of the core for Tigers 2.0 that involves guys like Curtis Granderson, Miguel Cabrera, Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello. It’s probably a good idea to look at a two-year plan while trying to maximize next year.

Jays 6
Tigers 4

Recap:

• Maybe it wasn’t “Miner good, Tigers bad” so much as “Miner good, Tigers bullpen smells like a bag of weekold doggie doo left in the steamy hot sun.”
• Miner allowed 1 run on 1 walk and 5 hits in 6 innings while striking out 5. He took 103 pitches to get there and Leyland pulled him after the sixth. The only run was on a home run.
• Then it all went to hell.
• Bobby Seay, who rarely stumbles, did. Joel Zumaya, who rarely bails out a pitcher, failed to help.
• I guess Farnsworth didn’t do anything wrong. And Dolsi allowed in another run in the ninth, walked two and allowed two hits.
• On the offensive side, well, Gary Sheffield hit a pair of solo home runs. Mad Sheff = Hitting Sheff!
• Magglio also homered.
• The Tigers fell back to 3 under .500.

Analysis:

• Same storyline, different day.
• The emergence of Zach Miner as a viable starter is great news for next year. I think it’s really too early to begin to analyse or predict any of that stuff. But he’s definitely proving he deserves the opportuntiy next year. It could save the Tigers some money, which is good, while giving them a nice change of pace pitcher.
• Did Sheff drive up his value any? I doubt it. But as I suspect he’ll be a Tiger this year and likely next, it’s nice to see him proving he can still hit. Just needs to do it a lot more often.

Not much backgrond to do on this. You know the story. Sheffield ran his mouth about his displeasure with being “just” DH in Detroit — you know, the position he agreed to play before signing an extension and being traded for.

Jim Leyland was “blindsided” and “flabbergasted.”

Leyland:

When we made the trade for Gary Sheffield, we received permission from the Commissioner’s Office to speak with Gary, which I did. I told him that all I had here for him was the DH role, and maybe play in the outfield once in a great while. [I told him], ‘If you do not want to accept that, do not accept the trade. (Quoted in Beck’s article)

You’re doing what you think is right and somebody’s mad because they got a blow? I don’t buy that. I’m sorry. I looked at the games. Thirty-nine [games played] out of 51 before he got hurt, and about seven [more] he would’ve played, except his shoulder was clicking and he needed some time off. So that’s about 46 out of 51. Since the [stint on the disabled list], it’s 36 out of 43. I hardly consider that platooning, I’m sorry.

He shouldn’t be sorry. Sheffield is paid a lot of money and is producing very little. He deserves every “boo” from the home crowd. Anyone who remembers Sheffield’s history with pretty much each of his previosu six baseball teams was … not surprised in the least. He just never wants to leave on good terms. He forces the hand of his former team so they’re just happy to get rid of him. And so it is again.

This, after all, is a guy so selfish he won’t let the team call him a designated hitter on the roster — meanwhile in 2007 the much-more deserving Curtis Granderson wasn’t on the ballot for the All-Star game.

While Eddie and ESPNNews tried to get me excited maybe the Rays were interested in taking Sheffield off the Tigers’ hands via the waiver wire, nothing has been reported as even a rumor. I can only dream. And I think at this point most Tigers fans dream the same dream:

Just get rid of Sheffield. Any way you can. Now. Pay half his salary if you have to. If you don’t want to be here, then leave. We fans don’t want to see you in a Tigers uniform either.