Twins 4
Tigers 1

Recap:

• So, we had a pichers’ duel to watch for the first five innings. The Twins were up 1-0, then 2-0, in a pretty close game. Then Craig Monroe hit a home run off Justin Verlander in the sixth inning and it was 4-0.
• Well, the Tigers managed to score a run off Twins reliever Pat Neshek when Curtis Granderson homered, but they couldn’t string together any of the hits they had on Scott Baker or Brian Bass.
• The best scoring opportunity came when Granderson was stranded at third after reaching there with one out in the sixth inning. Scoring there would have tied the game at 1-1 and maybe affected the outcome.
• Tigers reliever Clay Rapada got into some trouble when he allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base, but no one scored, so that seems like a successful appearance in the Todd Jonesian mold.
• The Tigers have now lost 2 in a row. They had a chance to reach and possibly leave Minnesota at .500, but now just hope to get out of town without being swept after scoring two runs in 18 innings.

Analysis

• Tigers hitting destroys bad pitching. It does really good against average pitching. And apparently it sucks against actual good pitching. I’m pretty sure that’s what we’ve seen from Minnesota. They may not be the big names, but they’re good pitchers.
• I don’t think there’s any sort of “hangover” going on after sweeping the Yankees in the Bronx. I don’t think they got all full of themselves or anything. I just thing Minnesota has put together some nice performances on the mound and the Tigers have given away some at bats — which Jim Leyland criticized Miguel Cabrera for doing, but he’s not the only one.
• Plus I think the bats were bound to have a game or two off at some point.
• So basically, yeah, I’m not making too much of this. Both teams defended their home field against the other so far.

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Some people may say the Tigers are better off without Jason Grilli — I don’t know, maybe they’re right, though I don’t think so. As quirks of baseball love to do, three days after the Tigers traded Jason Grilli, they placed setup reliever Denny Bautista on the disabled list. This resulted in the callup of right-handed minor league reliever Freddy Dolsi, who started the season in High-A Lakeland before moving north to Double-A Erie.

Jason Beck’s article added:

Dolsi … was the recommendation of player development director Glenn Ezell and pitching instructor Jon Matlack.

• Dolsi’s Baseball Cube entry
• Dolsi’s First Inning entry.
• Dolsi’s Baseball Minors Reference entry
  

After the 25-year-old gave up seven hits and 5 runs in 7.1 innings in Lakeland, along with 11 strikeouts and three walks, he moved up to Erie and made two appearances. There he had one strikeout, allowed one hit and one walk in three innings. So I’m thinking it’s quite a jump to the majors myself.

In Danny Knobler’s article, Jim Leyland said he will use Dolsi, fellow newcomer Francisco Cruceta, Bobby Seay, Clay Rapada, “whatever comes around.” So looks like the bullpen roles are still kinda up in the air.

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Twins 11
Tigers 1

Recap:

• The Tigers squandered a chance to get to .500 on the year for the first time since being 0-0.
• The worst part of the squandering occurred in the second inning. After Magglio Ordonez homered to tie the game, Detroit looked to be getting something big started when it loaded the bases.
• Pudge Rodriguez flied out, and Jacque Jones hit into a double play, and that was that.
• The Twins took the lead again in the third inning and went up 4-1.
• But it was the seventh and eighth innings that made the game out of reach.
• Aquino Lopez got just one out and gave up four runs. Denny Bautista got the Tigers out of the seventh, but then fell victim himself in the eighth before Francisco Cruceta ended it with a strike out of the only batter he saw.
• UPDATE: Bautista’s shoulder “felt something” and will be evaluated, Jason Beck updates.
• The Tigers had eight hits, yet only the homer resulted in a run.
• Tigers starter Armando Galarraga gave up four runs — two earned. Guillen’s error at third resulted in two being unearned.

Analysis:

• I didn’t see much of this game, and when I did get a chance to look at the game, bad things happened anyway. So not much I can add to the recap. But I wanted to get back in practice.

Site news:

• After a solid 12 hours of sleep or so, I hope to catch up on the later topics of the week and sum up my thoughts on the Yankees series.

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The correct answer to yesterday’s question — who gets squeezed out of Detroit when Francisco Cruceta comes to town — was Jason Grilli. The reliever was sent to Colorado in exchange for 23-year-old, high-a pitcher Zach Simons. I’m going to echo Bilfer’s surprise in this move.

Relief pitching at the major league level is sort of random. Jason Grilli, while having a bad week here or there, is that not that bad of a pitcher. He is a major league caliber reliever. In 2007 after June 1, he had no month worse than 3.86 ERA. This year, he stumbled badly the first week but since got his ERA down to 3.29. He is not a close-and-late reliever, but he pitched fine for his mop-up role. You do need a guy like that.

So my real problem with this move is, it took a major league reliever out of the Tigers’ system, because Zach Miner did have an option to go to Toledo. And Grilli was basically given away. No offense to Zach Simons, and I hope he proves us wrong, but based on his minor-league stats, his chance of becoming daily major leaguer is pretty low.

I get that the Tigers had to make a corresponding 40-man roster move to get Cruceta to Detroit — something that totally slipped my mind yesterday. And trading Grilli allowed that to happen. But I don’t know. I’m just not a real big fan of this move at the moment.

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As a quick site note, my schedule this week makes my recaps sketchy at best. They will return. But for now, I’m just askin’ and answerin’.

When the Tigers call up Francisco Cruceta, who is going to be sent to Toledo?

The way I see it, and most observers, it’s not a matter of if Cruceta gets the call up to the Tigers bullpen, it’s a matter of when. That when is coming soon. He has pitched in Toledo three times since receiving his visa and warming up in Lakeland. But the Tigers have to either bring him to the majors or put him on the waiver wire by May 10. He’s made three appearances in Toledo. He’s got 15 strikeouts in 7 innings to go with three walks and one run allowed.

That leaves three possibilities for taking the trip to Toledo (or the waiver wire), in order of most likely to least:

• RHP Zach Miner – He struggled mightily and was the worst pitcher — statistically — for most of the season. He may be the worst pitcher statistically still. His ERA is still 9.00, his WHIP 1.80 and he has allowed more runs than hhe’s struck out batters. On the other hand, he has allowed just one earned run in the 7 innings he has thrown since a meltdown against the Indians in mid-April. Oh, and he has an option remaining. He’s not safe.
• LHP Clay Rapada – I do have some fear for Rapada based on his inexperience and Jim Leyland’s decision earlier this year to go with just one left-hander. Now I think it makes no sense to send him down myself — his has a 0.38 WHIP in 8 innings and can pitch to right- or left-handed batters — but I think we have to entertain the possibility it could happen. He’s probably not safe.
• RHP Jason Grilli – He melted down twice in the first week. He was awful. The home crowd boo’d him, and who could blame them? But since then, he has not allowed a run since April 8, and his ERA is down to 3.29 for the year. So that’s 11.1 scoreless innings. Now I know he’s allowed a couple of other pitchers’ runs in. I don’t have the exact figure on how many. So it’s not all roses and peaches. He has nearly a strikeout per inning, more than a groundball per inning and has faced just four batters over the minimum required to complete his work in his past five appearances (29 batters for 25 outs). He’s safe.

So, you can tell, my best guess is Miner is the disposable one. He is pitching better — the whole bullpen is. And that’s a good thing. But with an option remaining and probably the worst stuff of the three, he should be sent back to Toledo. Maybe the Tigers should try to stretch him back into a starting pitcher, which you may remember is how he came to Detroit in the first place back in 2006. But they probably won’t. In any case, a little work in Toledo and a callup if there are any injuries to the pitching staff seems the best move to me. Rapada both deserves his spot and he contributes quite a bit. And Grilli really isn’t that bad. (No, I swear, he’s not!) He may not be popular — inexplicably, because he really hasn’t struggled nearly as much as the public perception goes — but he’s a deserving member of the team.

Now the corollary question: Whose role does Cruceta replace in the bullpen?

This is a more tricky question, because we can’t really assume Cruceta replaces Miner’s mop-up position. For a guy as hyped — and apparently as effective — as Cruceta, that would a waste of talent, wouldn’t it? Aquino Lopez should has been effective as a late-inning reliever. Denny Bautista has walked a lot of guys, which makes me think Cruceta has a chance to surpass him in tight situations, though I think Leyland’s going to want to see him prove himself first. So he should be a 7th inning guy to start. If he proves himself, I could see him filling the classic Joel Zumays c. 2006 role of bridging the gap from starter to 8th inning in a tight game, no matter if that takes 1 out or 6.

But I admit that’s totally a guess.

Update: On further review, I believe the short answer is, he fills in Bobby Seay’s one-inning role….

But that’s still just a guess.

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What should the Tigers do about Gary Sheffield?

“If you don’t think he’s going to hit,” (Jim) Leyland said, “you don’t play him. [Fans ask], ‘Why bat him three? Why don’t you bat him eighth?’ If you don’t think a guy’s going to hit, why even bat him at all?

“I like our lineup. I like Sheffield in the three spot. If he’s hitting, he’s a No. 3 hitter.” (Quoted at Tigers.com)

Here’s a glance at how Gary Sheffield has done the past four Aprils.

April 2005: .330 AVG / .380 OBP / .458 SLG

April 2006: .341 AVG / .390 OBP / .516 SLG

April 2007: .200 AVG / .369 OBP / .306 SLG

April 2008: .159 AVG / .329 OBP / .254 SLG
Here’s how those seasons ended:

2005: .291 AVG / .379 OBP / .512 SLG

2006: .298 AVG / .355 OBP / .450 SLG

2007: .265 AVG / .378 OBP / .462 SLG

2008: ?

So, you would think, just looking at the numbers, maybe Gary Sheffield’s going to be able to put his season back together. I mean, there’s some bad signs there. The April stats have trended downward pretty much. But they haven’t been great predictors of his season stats. If his paced continued, he’d set a new high for strikeouts in a season and a low for home runs in a season he played at least 100 games in.

However, there’s a mitigating factor at work here that I think it would be folly to ignore, and it’s pretty front and center: HIS SHOULDER(S)!! You can’t just assume that since in the past he’s been a good hitter, he’ll continue to be a good hitter, because his 2007 season was hindered in the latter months by shoulder pain and he had surgery for it in the offseason. And right now, his shoulder is still hurting and has had multiple cortisone shots. He also tore a tendon in his ring finger while sliding earlier this month. And oh yeah, he’s 39.

His strikeout rate is up. His isolated power (SLG-AVG) is continuing a downward trend, as it has for a few years.

I’m not saying he’s washed up. Will Carroll noted in an Under the Knife column (sub. req.), “Once the inflammation clears, tests revealed that he’ll have nearly full range of motion which should mean that his swing will return to normal.” He also wrote at the time (April 24) Sheffield could be an ideal “buy-low” candidate and can be effective.

And one thing you can note on the more detailed graph, Sheffield’s line drive rate often starts low, which might give some evidence to the “slow April” crowd.

Leyland, too, noted there are signs Sheffield’s career isn’t over yet:

“It’s not like he’s getting balls blown by him. It’s not that his bat is slowing up, and they’re blowing balls by him. He’s hitting balls hard foul. His timing is definitely not right, but his bat isn’t slow. I’ve seen guys throwing 95-96 [mph], and he’s hitting it to left field foul.” (Tigers.com)

I guess, although my gut still kinda tells me otherwise, the best bet right now is just to keep sending Sheffield out there for a few weeks and see what happens. Maybe he had to shake off some rust (almost literally!) or play through pain a bit more before he settles in. Or maybe he won’t settle in and be the old Sheffield any more. Who’s to say yet? So we play him.

Now, maybe we can disagree with Leyland on his original point: If Sheffield is good enough to be in the lineup, he’s good enough to hit third. I reject this because if Sheffield is ineffective, he’s creating a hole in the middle of top of the batting order. All along, it’s hard to make an argument against Miguel Cabrera batting third. He’ll be nestled in a good spot in the line and get a few more at-bats. It should end up in more runs for the team when the No. 3 guy isn’t making key outs.

So I return to the question: what should we do about Sheffield? Keep playing him for now, but bat him sixth and return to the question in another two weeks or so.

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Some questions and possible answers from the past week of baseball:

What happens if Armando Galarraga keeps pitching this good?

And can he?

Obviously that’s a problem the Tigers would like to have. After three starts, he’s 2-0, and the team has won all three games. His ERA is 1.50. His WHIP is .72(!) And he manages to pitch out of jams. But it’s also the kind of problem where fans and the team may not necessarily come to the same conclusion.

Before we get too far into the answer, it’s best to remember Galarraga has at least a couple more starts before it becomes an issue. Dontrelle Willis is not expected to hit Toledo until late this week, and Jim Leyland wants to him to pitch in at least two games down there. So you a safe bet is another two starts for Galarraga. As a 26-year-old who has all of six starts under his belt in the majors — and half of those this month — you have to wonder if he’s a late bloomer, or if he’s pitching way over what you could expect of him for a full season’s worth of starts. But I guess no one is debating whether Galarraga’s going to be able to keep pitching so phenomenally.

The real question is whether he’s going to be one of the top five starters the Tigers can put on the mound. I feel like the Tigers have to find a way to keep running him out there every five games, especially when you compare him to Kenny Rogers, who just doesn’t look like he has anything to offer any more. After Rogers’ surgery last season, he tried unsuccessfully to come back before heading back to the disabled list. This year, he has an ERA near 8, a WHIP near 2 and he’s 1-3. Texas was teeing off like it was batting practice in his last time on the mound. I just don’t see how you can keep him in the rotation past Memorial Day unless he shows something in his next few starts.

Ultimately, I don’t think Rogers is going to turn it around and become effective and I feel like when that realization comes, Galarraga’s going to be the one to replace him.

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Game 24:
Angels 4
Tigers 3

Game 25
Tigers 6
Angels 4

• The Tigers’ starting pitchers are continuing to settle in. Other than Kenny Rogers. On Friday, Nate Robertson just had the one bad inning, giving up all four runs during it. On Saturday, Armondo Galarraga took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
• He gave up two three runs — one earned though the other two were on his own throwing error.
• The difference between the two games was timely hitting. Friday, Detroit had multiple chances to tie the game or go-ahead in the late innings and could not do it.
• Saturday, with maybe a little help from the Angels’ defense, the Tigers were able to punch in the go-ahead and insurance runs late in the game. Curtis Granderson broke the 3-3 tie Saturday after tripling and getting some help from a Gary Sheffield bouncer. Maggio Ordonez doubled and Jacque Jones drove the sixth run with a sac.
• As for the bullpen, it tossed five innings so far this series and allowed seven hits. No runs scored in two innings Friday. Saturday, Aquilino Lopez let in one of Galarraga’s runs, and Denny Bautista gave up one of his own.

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Detroit 8,
Rangers 2

Recap:

• The Tigers swept a second team in a week. They beat the Twins in two games last week.
• Magglio Ordonez homered in the third and fifth inning, accounting for four runs for the game.
• Curtis Granderson had a lead off home run. Ol’ Grandy’s back all right.
• Brandon Inge and Ryan Raburn homered back-to-back.
• It’s hard to believe the Rangers only scored two runs because it felt like Jeremy Bonderman had a rough game. He gave up just a solo homer in the first and a walked in run in the fifth.
• The Tigers’ bullpen again came through, however.
• Zach Miner pitched out of the bases loaded jam left by Bonderman in the fifth. He earned the win for it.
• He went on to pitch for 3 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings.
• Bobby Seay pitched a Todd Jones’ian ninth, giving up two hits but no runs.
• Carlos Guillen sat out the game due to the ball he fouled off his knee Tuesday.
• Jacque Jones rammed himself into the wall and flipped into the crowd in an attempt to make a catch. He didn’t make the catch and injured himself.

Analysis:

• I didn’t get to see anything after the fifth inning so I can’t really comment how Miner or Seay looked but I continue being pleased with the turnaround by the bullpen.
• The Tigers held the Rangers to two-runs twice this series. Not too shabby.
• Bonderman struggled to find the strike zone, even walking a No. 9 hitter. But like Justin Verlander earlier this week, it didn’t bite him. Except that one run.
• I think a fair question to ask is why the Tigers starters walk so many batters. The team is second in the MLB in walks issued (behind Texas). It gets frustrating to watch.
• But in any case, the Tigers saw a struggling Rangers team this week and took advantage of the situation. That’s what they needed to do, and it was pretty fun to watch.

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Tigers 19
Texas 6

Recap:

• CURTIS GRANDERSON IS BACK!!!!
• Well, I could list everyone who did good, but that’s the batting order 1 through 9, so I’ll make these notes.
• The Tigers’s 19 runs were helped by an 11 run sixth inning.
• The scoring output helped Detroit jump past the 5 runs per game mark for the season. They now have 111 in 22 games. Second most runs in the A.L. (behind Boston, another team that faced Texas … no coincidence? Plus Boston cheated, they got to face the Tigers’ pitching, too!)
• The  outburst also helped the Tigers pitching staff  no longer be the worst in the American League. That would, of course, be Texas now, by eight runs (134-126…eew).
• The A.L. Central is starting to tighten up as well. Having played two more games than Cleveland, the Tigers are tied in standings terms, 3 games behind the first-place White Sox, 1.5 behind the second-place Twins and 1 behind the third-place Royals.
• Detroit has won 7 of 10 games since the Leyland outburst.
• OK, so now some stats and stuff.
• The Tigers took 10 walks and were hit twice.
• They rapped out 14 hits.
• Grandy had three runs, two RBIs, two hits (including a double).
• Jacque Jones had his first homer as a Tiger; Miguel Cabrera  his fifth.
• Carlos Guillen broke out of his slump to go 3-for-4.
• Pudge had a pair of hits too. So the top three of the lineup had 7 hits and 9 RBIs if you’re counting.
• Oh, and I forgot to mention, the Tigers rallied from a 5-0 deficit due to Kenny Rogers’ inability to keep the Rangers from hitting the ball. He gave up 9 hits and three walks in 21 batters faced.
• Plus a couple runs scored when defenders couldn’t curtail Rogers’ throws. Guillen missed a pickoff and Pudge a wild pitch in the first inning.
• The Tigers’ bullpen again slammed the door.
• Clay Rapada came in for Rogers, pitched out of Rogers’ jam and picked up the win for the assist. His second in the majors.
• Aquilino Lopez allowed two innocuous hits in three innings.
• Even Jason Grilli pitched a perfect ninth inning.

Analysis:

• HOLY MOLY that was awesome.
• GRANDY IS BACK!  Hmm. Granderson makes his first appearance of the season and the Tigers score 19 the same day?
• I don’t believe in coincidence.
• Being on the wrong end of a couple drubbings already this season, I found myself feeling a bit sorry for Texas. But I really enjoyed seeing the Tigers play so well, so I didn’t feel tooo sorry for Texas.
• I like the Tigers’ bullpen. I think it’s settled in and has proven to be reliable against the good hitting clubs it has seen recently. The moves helped.
• Funny how after the bad start to the season, the Tigers are starting to balance things out. The runs are pretty close to what you’d expect to be scored. (And I might say, probably a bit higher than should be expected when you consider the strength of the pitching the Tigers have faced).
• The standings, well, you’d have expected the Tigers in first, not tied for fourth, I’m sure. But the important factor is, they’re positioned fine. The A.L. Central is a tight race, it’s April, there’s really nothing to worry about. Well, not nothing.
• The starting pitching still sucks, and yeah, that’s kind of something to worry about. But otherwise.
• Can we expect all 5 starters to continue to suck? Probably not. But am I worried about Rogers? Maybe a bit.
• I’m also worried about Jeremy Bonderman, who starts Wednesday as the Tigers hope to sweep the Rangers. Hopefully he can assuage those worries.

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