The Tigers optioned struggling right-hander Rick Porcello to Triple-A Toledo this morining. It is not yet known who will take his place on the roster. Porcello has been a disappointment this year as he has posted an ERA 6.14. Last year, his ERA was 3.96.
His peripherals have declined across the board. In particular, his rate of strkeouts per nine innings has dropped from an already low 4.69 to 4.22. Most notably, his groundball rate has plummeted from a league leading 54.2% to 47.4%. The reason for the latter result is lack of command of the sinker which was the key to his success last year. He will work on that, as well as probably refining his breaking pitch and change-up in Toledo.
The leading candidate to replace Porcello in the rotation may be Enrique Gonzalez, who has not allowed a run in two relief appearances so far. Gonzalez had a 3.31 ERA and 53/16 strikeout to walk ratio in 11 starts for Toledo this year. He started 18 games (along with 4 relief appearances) for the Diamondbacks in 2006 posting an ERA of 5.67.
Other possibilities to replace Porcello include Alfredo Figaro (4.30 ERA in 12 starts for Toledo) and promising left-hander Andrew Oliver. Oliver, the Tigers second round pick in the 2009 draft, has a 3.61 ERA and 70/25 K/BB ratio in 77 1/3 inning for double-A Erie this year.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Inge Helps Tigers Extend Streak to Seven
The Tigers broke a 5-5 tie with a two run rally in the eighth inning and beat the Diamondbacks 7-5 tonight. After Brennan Boesch reached first base on an uncharateristic ten pitch walk, Brandon Inge slugged a triple over center fielder Chris Young's head to give the Tigers the lead. Alex Avila followed with a single scoring Inge with an insurance run. The win was the seventh in a row for the Tigers and it pulled them to within a half game of the first place Twins, who lost 9-5 to the Phillies tonight.
The Tigers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead versus old teammate Dontrelle Willis. Magglio Ordonez belted a two run homer in the first to give the Tigers a 2-0 edge. The Bengals added two more in a second inning highlighted by doubles Brandon Inge (three hits on the night) and Danny Worth.
Starter Armando Galarraga was unable to take advantage of his good fortune allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings and leaving with the game tied 4-4. It was the first poor performance for the right hander since his imperfect game on June 2. As has often been the case this year, the Tigers bullpen bailed out a starter and won the game. Tonight it was Eddie Bonine, Phil Coke and Jose Valverde throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings.
Red Hot Tigers
Magglio Ordonez is batting .413 in his last 24 games. His .331 batting average is seventh in the American League and his .410 OBP ranks him fifth.
Brandon Inge has hit in 15 of his last 17 games at a .361 clip. He has raised his batting average from .229 to .264 over that period.
Injury Report
Austin Jackson missed his fourth straight game with a lower back strain. With the Tigers winning without him, he may be held out until the series opener versus the Mets in Tuesday at New York.
Miguel Cabrera left tonight's game due to dizziness in the fifth inning. There is no report at this time on the cause of the problem or whether he'll miss any additional time.
The Tigers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead versus old teammate Dontrelle Willis. Magglio Ordonez belted a two run homer in the first to give the Tigers a 2-0 edge. The Bengals added two more in a second inning highlighted by doubles Brandon Inge (three hits on the night) and Danny Worth.
Starter Armando Galarraga was unable to take advantage of his good fortune allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings and leaving with the game tied 4-4. It was the first poor performance for the right hander since his imperfect game on June 2. As has often been the case this year, the Tigers bullpen bailed out a starter and won the game. Tonight it was Eddie Bonine, Phil Coke and Jose Valverde throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings.
Red Hot Tigers
Magglio Ordonez is batting .413 in his last 24 games. His .331 batting average is seventh in the American League and his .410 OBP ranks him fifth.
Brandon Inge has hit in 15 of his last 17 games at a .361 clip. He has raised his batting average from .229 to .264 over that period.
Injury Report
Austin Jackson missed his fourth straight game with a lower back strain. With the Tigers winning without him, he may be held out until the series opener versus the Mets in Tuesday at New York.
Miguel Cabrera left tonight's game due to dizziness in the fifth inning. There is no report at this time on the cause of the problem or whether he'll miss any additional time.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Another Sweep for Tigers
The Tigers continued their domination of National League opponents by defeating the Washington Nationals 8 to 3 to complete a three game sweep. That gives them six victories in a row and back to back sweeps over Washington and Pittsburgh. With the Twins 5 to 1 loss to the Rockies today, the Tigers are now just a game and a half out of first place. They were four and a half out a week ago.
Jeremy Bonderman pitched another strong game retiring the first 11 batters and allowing two runs on five hits to go with seven strikeouts and no walks. With the inconsistent pitching of Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer, Bonderman has been a life saver for the Tigers rotation this year. He has a 4.06 ERA and an impressive 59/20 strikeout walk ratio for the season and has gotten better as the season has progressed. In his last eight starts, he has seven quality starts and has pitched at least seven full innings five times.
Unlike some of his recent starts, the Tigers gave Bonderman plenty of hitting support today. They bombarded starter Luis Atilano and four relievers for 19 hits. Every starter had at least two hits except Don Kelly. Ramon Santiago (four hits) and Magglio Ordonez (three hits) paced the attack. This was all accomplished without the services of Austin Jackson (out with a sore back) and Johnny Damon (a day of rest).
For the series, the Tigers pounded Nationals pitchers for 23 runs on 38 hits. On the other side of the ball, Tigers pitchers struck out 32 while walking just three. The Tigers will attempt to continue their streak in a three game weekend series versus the Diamondbacks.
Jeremy Bonderman pitched another strong game retiring the first 11 batters and allowing two runs on five hits to go with seven strikeouts and no walks. With the inconsistent pitching of Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer, Bonderman has been a life saver for the Tigers rotation this year. He has a 4.06 ERA and an impressive 59/20 strikeout walk ratio for the season and has gotten better as the season has progressed. In his last eight starts, he has seven quality starts and has pitched at least seven full innings five times.
Unlike some of his recent starts, the Tigers gave Bonderman plenty of hitting support today. They bombarded starter Luis Atilano and four relievers for 19 hits. Every starter had at least two hits except Don Kelly. Ramon Santiago (four hits) and Magglio Ordonez (three hits) paced the attack. This was all accomplished without the services of Austin Jackson (out with a sore back) and Johnny Damon (a day of rest).
For the series, the Tigers pounded Nationals pitchers for 23 runs on 38 hits. On the other side of the ball, Tigers pitchers struck out 32 while walking just three. The Tigers will attempt to continue their streak in a three game weekend series versus the Diamondbacks.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Raburn Finally Comes Through
Who guessed that Ryan Raburn would hit his first home run of the 2010 season on June 15? It took a long time but he made it count. He hit a three run blast to left field in the bottom of the fifth to put the Tigers in front 7-4. That would be the final score as the Tigers won their fourth consecutive game in interleague play.
Raburn, who had two hits and 4 RBI today, is now hitting a paltry .180 with a .575 OPS in 97 plate appearances. Keep in mind that he also got off to a fairly slow start last year when he was batting .243 with four homers in 85 PA through June 15. From June 16 to the end of the season, he batted .310 with a .933 OPS One can only hope that he can have a similar rebound this year. However, barring an injury to one of the outfielders (something we certainly don't want to see), he's not going to get a lot of at bats.
It was great to see Magglio Ordonez return to the line-up today after missing six games with a sore oblique muscle. He celebrated with a four hit game, his first of the year and 22nd of his career. It's a much different team with Ordonez in the third spot and they can't afford to have him miss a lot of games. What a difference a year makes. Many fans were singing a different tune last year hoping he would miss enough games so that his vesting option would not kick in.
Gerald Laird started versus the left-handed John Lannan and got three hits today. Yes, three hits for Laird and all of them were hit pretty hard. He did make a throwing error which led to a run but who needs defense when you can hit like that? His batting average soared to .178 with the performance.
Max Scherzer allowed three earned runs on seven hits but struck out nine in six innings. He is a new pitcher since returning from Toledo. He was averaging 5.6 strikeouts per nine innings prior to the demotion. Since coming back to the majors he has struck out batters at the rate 12.4 per nine innings. Phil Coke, Joel Zumaya and Jose Valverde nailed down the victory with three scoreless innings of relief.
Raburn, who had two hits and 4 RBI today, is now hitting a paltry .180 with a .575 OPS in 97 plate appearances. Keep in mind that he also got off to a fairly slow start last year when he was batting .243 with four homers in 85 PA through June 15. From June 16 to the end of the season, he batted .310 with a .933 OPS One can only hope that he can have a similar rebound this year. However, barring an injury to one of the outfielders (something we certainly don't want to see), he's not going to get a lot of at bats.
It was great to see Magglio Ordonez return to the line-up today after missing six games with a sore oblique muscle. He celebrated with a four hit game, his first of the year and 22nd of his career. It's a much different team with Ordonez in the third spot and they can't afford to have him miss a lot of games. What a difference a year makes. Many fans were singing a different tune last year hoping he would miss enough games so that his vesting option would not kick in.
Gerald Laird started versus the left-handed John Lannan and got three hits today. Yes, three hits for Laird and all of them were hit pretty hard. He did make a throwing error which led to a run but who needs defense when you can hit like that? His batting average soared to .178 with the performance.
Max Scherzer allowed three earned runs on seven hits but struck out nine in six innings. He is a new pitcher since returning from Toledo. He was averaging 5.6 strikeouts per nine innings prior to the demotion. Since coming back to the majors he has struck out batters at the rate 12.4 per nine innings. Phil Coke, Joel Zumaya and Jose Valverde nailed down the victory with three scoreless innings of relief.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Win a Free Copy of Beyond Batting Average
There will be a series of contests this week where you can win a free copy of my book Beyond Batting Average. I will keep track of them in this post which I will update throughout the week. Three of them are up now at the following sites:
Crashburn Alley, a Phillies blog written by Bill Baer.
Crawfish Boxes, an Astros blog authored by David Coleman.
Talking Chop, a Braves blog written by Martin Gandy
You can get more information about the book including a 30-page preview here.
On another note, Michael Street reviewed my book at his site LoveMyTeam last week. Here is an excerpt:
Crashburn Alley, a Phillies blog written by Bill Baer.
Crawfish Boxes, an Astros blog authored by David Coleman.
Talking Chop, a Braves blog written by Martin Gandy
You can get more information about the book including a 30-page preview here.
On another note, Michael Street reviewed my book at his site LoveMyTeam last week. Here is an excerpt:
Lee Panas, a baseball writer, Detroit Tigers fan and research analyst at Brandeis University, has written Beyond Batting Average, a book that breaks down every baseball statistic you can think of (and many you may never have heard of) to show what the stat measures, where it came from, and what problems it presents. This incredibly helpful guide needs to be on the bookshelf of every baseball fan, and should be required reading for anyone wishing to be a baseball analyst...
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Walk-Off Homer for Guillen in 10th
Carlos Guillen played the part of a goat for the first nine innings tonight. He managed to fail in the field, on the bases and at the plate. In the top of the second, Pirates shortstop Ronny Cedeno reached safely when Guillen was late to cover first on a bunt back to the mound.
Then, in the top of the second, Guillen was too slow to tag up on a fly ball by Gerald Laird and was thrown out at third. The play cost the Tigers a run as the next batter Danny Worth smashed a double which would have scored Guillen.
The Tigers second baseman then hit into a double play with the bases loaded ending a threat in the fifth inning. He left three additional men on base by making the final outs of the third and seventh innings.
Guillen atoned for all his earlier sins when he lined a two balls, no strikes pitch from reliever Brendan Donnelly over the right field fence leading off the bottom of the tenth inning. The home run gave the Tigers a 4-3 victory, their second in two nights versus the Piates in interleague play.
Until Guillen's homer, it was a frustrating night for the Tigers offensively. They had 16 batters reach safely in the first nine innings but managed only three runs. They scored a run in the second on a sacrifice fly by Gerald Laird. That was the same play as Guillen's baserunning gaffe, so Laird hit the ball 400 feet and still managed to hit into a double play. It's been that kind of season for the Tigers catcher.
The Pirates then gave the Tigers two runs in the seventh. Reliever Evan Meek fielded a hard grounder from Miguel Cabrera which should have been an inning-ending double play. Instead of going for the easy two, Meek went to third to get the runner there. The next batter Brennan Boesch then tapped one back to Meek, who threw to first baseman Ryan Doumit for what once again should have been the final out. Doumit missed a ball he probably should have caught and two runs scored.
Jeremy Bonderman tossed seven scoreless innings allowing just two runs on six hits. He was hit pretty hard early in the game but retired the last twelve batters he faced. It was a nice rebound from his awful outing versus the Royals last weekend. He left with a 3-2 lead but Joel Zumaya gave up a run in the eighth on three hits. Jose Valverde retired struck out the side in the ninth and Phil Coke pitched a scoreless tenth to give Guillen his opportunity.
Then, in the top of the second, Guillen was too slow to tag up on a fly ball by Gerald Laird and was thrown out at third. The play cost the Tigers a run as the next batter Danny Worth smashed a double which would have scored Guillen.
The Tigers second baseman then hit into a double play with the bases loaded ending a threat in the fifth inning. He left three additional men on base by making the final outs of the third and seventh innings.
Guillen atoned for all his earlier sins when he lined a two balls, no strikes pitch from reliever Brendan Donnelly over the right field fence leading off the bottom of the tenth inning. The home run gave the Tigers a 4-3 victory, their second in two nights versus the Piates in interleague play.
Until Guillen's homer, it was a frustrating night for the Tigers offensively. They had 16 batters reach safely in the first nine innings but managed only three runs. They scored a run in the second on a sacrifice fly by Gerald Laird. That was the same play as Guillen's baserunning gaffe, so Laird hit the ball 400 feet and still managed to hit into a double play. It's been that kind of season for the Tigers catcher.
The Pirates then gave the Tigers two runs in the seventh. Reliever Evan Meek fielded a hard grounder from Miguel Cabrera which should have been an inning-ending double play. Instead of going for the easy two, Meek went to third to get the runner there. The next batter Brennan Boesch then tapped one back to Meek, who threw to first baseman Ryan Doumit for what once again should have been the final out. Doumit missed a ball he probably should have caught and two runs scored.
Jeremy Bonderman tossed seven scoreless innings allowing just two runs on six hits. He was hit pretty hard early in the game but retired the last twelve batters he faced. It was a nice rebound from his awful outing versus the Royals last weekend. He left with a 3-2 lead but Joel Zumaya gave up a run in the eighth on three hits. Jose Valverde retired struck out the side in the ninth and Phil Coke pitched a scoreless tenth to give Guillen his opportunity.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Tigers Win in Return to Comerica
After a disappointing 2-4 road trip to Kansas City and Chicago, the Tigers returned home tonight and beat the Pirates 6-2. Some notes on the game follow:
- Justin Verlander was not dominant (3K, 4 BB) but allowed just two runs on four hits in seven innings. He now has a 2.39 ERA in his last nine games after a rough start to the season.
- Austin Jackson went 0 for 5 and is now just 2 for 31 since June 4. His batting average is down to .306 from a high of .377 on May 3. He did make another outstanding play tonight though. He made a long run to track down a fly ball to deep right center with his back to the plate.
- Brennan Boesch had two hits including his 8th home run. If he had enough plate appearances, his .643 slugging average would be third in the league behind Justin Moeneau and Miguel Cabrera.
- Brandon Inge went 3 for 4 to raise his batting average to .251. He is now 17 for 43 in his last 11 games.
- Alex Avila went 3 for 3 and is now 9 for his last 21. He has struck out just two times in his last 10 games after whiffing 21 times in his first 24 games this year.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
What's Wrong with Porcello?
The Tigers were routed by the White Sox 15-3 tonight and Rick Porcello was the victim again. Porcello got through the first three innings allowing just one run but completely fell apart in the fourth as the White Sox scored seven runs. In all, Porcello allowed eight runs on eight hits and not many of the hits were cheap ones. The damage included two home runs, two doubles and and some hard hit singles.
Porcello has now seen his ERA rise from 3.96 in his rookie year to 6.09 this year. His peripheral stats have regressed across the board from 2009 to 2010. His ground ball rate has plummeted from an American League leading 54.2% in 2009 to 48.9% this year. His strikeout rate which was already low at 4.7 per nine innings last year is down to 4.0 this year. His walk rate per nine innings has increased from 2.7 to 3.1.
Opinions vary on the reasons for his problems but there is a consensus on a couple of points. His sinking fastball is not working this year like it did last year. He seems to be getting it up in the zone more often, which is the likely reason for the decrease in ground ball rate. According to FanGraphs, he was 16.1 runs better than average with his fastball last year. This year, he was 3.1 worse than average before today's disaster.
Beyond his fastball, the 21-year-old right-hander doesn't have any plus pitches as of yet. Both his breaking pitch and change-up need work. So, when he has trouble locating his fastball, he's not an effective pitcher.
It's way too early to panic about the career of a pitcher as young as Porcello. But what about this year? Is it time for the Tigers to send him to Toledo to refine his game? They sent Max Scherzer down a few weeks back and he has come back with better stuff just two weeks later. I'm think that Porcello could be next.
Porcello has now seen his ERA rise from 3.96 in his rookie year to 6.09 this year. His peripheral stats have regressed across the board from 2009 to 2010. His ground ball rate has plummeted from an American League leading 54.2% in 2009 to 48.9% this year. His strikeout rate which was already low at 4.7 per nine innings last year is down to 4.0 this year. His walk rate per nine innings has increased from 2.7 to 3.1.
Opinions vary on the reasons for his problems but there is a consensus on a couple of points. His sinking fastball is not working this year like it did last year. He seems to be getting it up in the zone more often, which is the likely reason for the decrease in ground ball rate. According to FanGraphs, he was 16.1 runs better than average with his fastball last year. This year, he was 3.1 worse than average before today's disaster.
Beyond his fastball, the 21-year-old right-hander doesn't have any plus pitches as of yet. Both his breaking pitch and change-up need work. So, when he has trouble locating his fastball, he's not an effective pitcher.
It's way too early to panic about the career of a pitcher as young as Porcello. But what about this year? Is it time for the Tigers to send him to Toledo to refine his game? They sent Max Scherzer down a few weeks back and he has come back with better stuff just two weeks later. I'm think that Porcello could be next.
Monday, June 07, 2010
Tigers Draft Third Baseman and Reliever with Early Picks
The Tigers lost their first round pick in the 2010 First Year Player draft to the Houston Astros when they signed free agent reliever Jose Valverde this off-season. However, they did gain two supplemental picks at the end of the first round for losing Fernando Rodney and Brandon Lyon to free agency.
They used one supplemental pick (the 44th pick in todays' draft) to sign high school infielder Nick Castellanos. The 6-4 225 pound Castellanos played shortstop for Archbishop McCarthy High School in Southwest Ranches, Florida. The Tigers have already revealed that Castellanos will play third base as a professional. He reportedly has good power potential and the skills to be a solid defender at the hot corner.
Baseball America had Castellanos listed as the 14th third round pick in their final mock draft. He slipped to the Tigers due to sign-abilty issues - he has committed to the University of Miami. The Tigers have been aggressive in selecting and successfully signing these types of picks in the past.
The Tigers then selected reliever Chance Ruffin of the University of Texas with the 48th pick. The six-foot-one right-hander had a 0.73 ERA and 96/18 K/BB ratio in 61 2/3 innings this spring. He is a polished pitcher, who could move quickly through the system. Ruffin is the son of former major leaguer Bruce Ruffin.
They used one supplemental pick (the 44th pick in todays' draft) to sign high school infielder Nick Castellanos. The 6-4 225 pound Castellanos played shortstop for Archbishop McCarthy High School in Southwest Ranches, Florida. The Tigers have already revealed that Castellanos will play third base as a professional. He reportedly has good power potential and the skills to be a solid defender at the hot corner.
Baseball America had Castellanos listed as the 14th third round pick in their final mock draft. He slipped to the Tigers due to sign-abilty issues - he has committed to the University of Miami. The Tigers have been aggressive in selecting and successfully signing these types of picks in the past.
The Tigers then selected reliever Chance Ruffin of the University of Texas with the 48th pick. The six-foot-one right-hander had a 0.73 ERA and 96/18 K/BB ratio in 61 2/3 innings this spring. He is a polished pitcher, who could move quickly through the system. Ruffin is the son of former major leaguer Bruce Ruffin.
Beyond Batting Average on Amazon
It was a long process but my book Beyond Batting Average is finally listed on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. I make more money if you purchase at Lulu but I know that some people prefer to shop at well known sites and they now have that option. If you want to preview the book before buying, Lulu is the only place you can do that at this time. Lulu is also the only place where you can get a pdf version for $7.00. The paperback book costs $14.00 plus shipping.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
test
| Opp 1-3 | Adv | Opp 1-4 | Adv | Opp 2-4 | Adv | Opp | Adv | Outs | % | |
| Renteria | 28 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 14 | 52 | 25 | 0 | 48% |
| Sheffield | 19 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 27 | 19 | 56 | 29 | 1 | 46% |
| Guillen | 24 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 10 | 50 | 22 | 0 | 44% |
| Polanco | 30 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 32 | 17 | 74 | 32 | 0 | 43% |
| Monroe | 13 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 12 | 35 | 15 | 0 | 43% |
| Casey | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 29 | 10 | 0 | 34% |
| Rodriguez | 19 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 10 | 42 | 20 | 2 | 33% |
| Ordonez | 32 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 22 | 13 | 67 | 25 | 1 | 33% |
| Granderson | 39 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 34 | 15 | 80 | 29 | 1 | 33% |
| Inge | 17 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 10 | 40 | 15 | 1 | 30% |
| Cabrera | 21 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 23 | 9 | 52 | 15 | 0 | 29% |
| Jones | 19 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 9 | 38 | 13 | 3 | 11% |
| Team Totals | 247 | 65 | 79 | 34 | 242 | 138 | 568 | 237 | 8 | 38% |
| MLB Averages | 228 | 60 | 67 | 28 | 198 | 117 | 493 | 204 | 10 | 36% |
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
George Kell passes away
Today is a sad day for Tigers fans as the beloved George kell passed away at age 86. Kell's connection to the Tigers spanned six decades starting in 1946 and continuing as a broadcaster on both radio and television from 1959 to 1996.
Kell played 15 years (1943-1957) for five Major League teams including the Tigers from 1946-1952. He was a lifetime .306 hitter and a ten time all-star. he had some of his best years with the Tigers including 1949 when he batted a league leading .343. He led the league in both hits and doubles in 1950 and 1951.
Detroit fans remember him best as a broadcaster who spanned generations of Tigers fans. As a Massachusetts fan, I unfortunately did not get to hear him broadcast games. My link to the Tigers was Ernie Harwell. Those who did hear Kell have fond memories:
Billfer
Ian
Michael interviewed him two years ago
Kell played 15 years (1943-1957) for five Major League teams including the Tigers from 1946-1952. He was a lifetime .306 hitter and a ten time all-star. he had some of his best years with the Tigers including 1949 when he batted a league leading .343. He led the league in both hits and doubles in 1950 and 1951.
Detroit fans remember him best as a broadcaster who spanned generations of Tigers fans. As a Massachusetts fan, I unfortunately did not get to hear him broadcast games. My link to the Tigers was Ernie Harwell. Those who did hear Kell have fond memories:
Billfer
Ian
Michael interviewed him two years ago
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