Yardbarker: Justin Verlander

Dombrowski: Pitching and Defense

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:25:43 -0500

In a recent email to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowksi, I asked where he would like to improve over the offseason. Personally, I think the Tigers have a solid core of middle relievers, but lack the late inning guys to put the game away. With that said, Dombrowski responded through a media assistant: "...pitching (including the bullpen) and defense." The Tigers have a fairly large payroll and may have trouble convincing the owners to throw in more money.A

One step they could make would be to trade either Jeremy Bonderman or Nate Robertson for a pair of prospects with some upside. Both pitchers have failed to take big strides in their pitching and have only hurt the team, especially now with a weaker bullpen. Signing someone like Jon Garland, Ryan Dempster, or Derek Lowe would help the rotation, probably even take some pressure off Justin Verlander.A

As for the bullpen, I would not recommend doing what the Orioles did in 2007, signing the three top relievers based on the previous season. Signing a closer, perhaps Brian Fuentes, and then going after a pair of late inning relievers like Juan Cruz, Will Ohman, or maybe even LaTroy Hawkins would do best. They were interested in Michael Wuertz last year, and could pull off a trade this offseason because the Cubs have a lot of depth.A

The Tigers currently have Brandon Inge behind the plate. Finding a starter would be nice, maybe Jason Kendall, but in terms of finding a defensive savvy catcher, Paul Bako is your guy. He is one of the best defensive catchers in the games, and has a great reputation of handling his pitchers. If the Tigers were to trade Nate Robertson to the Padres, they could possibly land Khalil Greene and a prospect. They could try Greene at shortstop and if he struggles, call up prospect Danny Worth, who is on the fast track to the big leagues (mostly because the Tigers are rushing him).A

The Tigers have a lot of work to do this offseason, especially after finishing in last place when they were predicted to go to the World Series. Dave Dombrowski is smart, and I don't doubt he can make some big steps this offseason to get his team on the right track.A

This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

2008 Offseason Preamble

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:54:12 -0500

With a disastrous season completed it is time to head into the offseason. Given the gravity of the collapse, you know with the high payroll and the last place-edness, there is probably a tendency to overreact and second-guess. While a deep dive analysis is definitely called for, there is also some inaccuracy being [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "2008 Offseason Preamble", url: "http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/10/2008-offseason-preamble/" });

2008 Fantasy Baseball Least Valuable Players

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:14:08 -0500

Now that the fantasy season is just about over — save for Tuesday's Twins-White Sox matchup — it's time to hand out the 2008 awards. I'll get to positional Most Valuable Players later this week, but since more than 90 percent of you didn't win your leagues and are probably cursing certain players right now, let's start the offseason with the Least Valuable Players. I don't want to pick on injured players too much, so we set minimum qualifications of 350 at-bats for hitters and 150 innings for pitchers (except closers). Each player's value is relative to how he was regarded before the season. So, even though Houston catcher J.R. Towles fell on his face in April, he was viewed as more of a sleeper than a star, and we didn't expect too much. Got a disagreement or suggestion of your own? Leave a comment below.

Game 159: Rays at Tigers

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:44:13 -0500

PREGAME: NOT ON OUR FIELD! Maybe that's the rallying cry as the Tigers try to prevent the Rays from clinching the AL East - at least as much as the Tigers can have a say in the matter. Tonight it is Justin Verlander and Andy Sonnanstine. Sonnanstine shutdown the Tigers for 6 innings [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Game 159: Rays at Tigers", url: "http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/09/game-159-rays-at-tigers/" });

What Does That Even Mean?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:44:10 -0500

"The days of babysitting and milking along are over." - Quoth, Smokin' Jim Leyland Can anyone explain to me what in the hell he's talking about? What kind of an old coot rants about babysitting and milking? In fact, who's been getting babysat and milked? Certainly not Justin Verlander, who throws something like 300 pitches per outing. [...]

MLB Buy 'n Sell - Week 26

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:15:35 -0500

Screaming Sports' Billy Smith break out MLB Buy 'n Sell and runs down a short list of players you should be buying or selling. Jose Reyes? Believe it or not, it's time to sell. Ryan Braun? Grab him while he's hot!

Game 153: Tigers at Indians

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:42:11 -0500

PREGAME: Pregame is kind of a misnomer, since the Tigers just finished the top half of the first with a 1 run lead. Sorry for the tardiness. It's the first time this season. Fine me, bench me, do what you have to do. Jeremy Sowers and Justin Verlander. Let's get it [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Game 153: Tigers at Indians", url: "http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/09/game-153-tigers-at-indians-2/" });

Verlander and Leyland do lots of talking, and Hernandez chimes in

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:48:51 -0500

As the Tigers season has slid out of control, Jim Leyland has taken to reading and the newspapers and responding to what his players say in the newspapers. The latest was with Justin Verlander. Verlander mentioned a tight strike zone as a reason for his Labor Day labors. Leyland didn't like the excuse making. [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Verlander and Leyland do lots of talking, and Hernandez chimes in", url: "http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/09/verlander-and-leyland-do-lots-of-talking-and-hernandez-chimes-in/" });

Game--2: Tigers at Twins

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:07:53 -0500

PREGAME: Woo hoo. Saturday afternoon baseball on Fox. There was a time when this match-up would have been about the Tigers. Not so much anymore. Justin Verlander takes the mound for the Tigers. He's coming off the shortest outing of his career, which actually bodes well for him pitching [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Game 142: Tigers at Twins", url: "http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/09/game-142-tigers-at-twins-2/" });

Day Game Notes

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:41:53 -0500

The Twins have finally returned home, and in their homecoming knocked off the Detroit Tigers 10-2. With the win, they remained a game and a half back of the Chicago White Sox in the division. Scott Baker will face off against Justin Verlander today at 2:55 CT.

** Francisco Liriano is pretty good, we all know that. Since his call-up, Liriano has made seven starts and is 5-0 with a 1.44 ERA. In the win last night, Liriano walked just one Tiger and struck out nine.

** The Twins have had a tough go of it with their 14-game roadtrip in the past two weeks, but the White Sox have just hit some trouble. Third basemen Joe Crede could miss the remainder of the season with a back injury, and the team just found out yesterday that MVP candidate Carlos Quentin could be out for the season as well after having wrist surgery.

** Justin Morneau hasn't crushed thirty homeruns this season, and he likely won't as he needs eight more in the month of September to do so. However, he is still hitting .311 on the season with 22 homeruns and 113 RBI's.

** While talking about stats, you can't pass up on catcher Joe Mauer. Through Friday's victory, Mauer is hitting .322 on the season. While the average is good, Mauer finds himself in third place in the batting title race behind Boston's Dustin Pedroia (.332).

** On a final note, the Twins are now just three home victories away from the 50 win mark at the Metrodome.

MLB Punchlines: Will Joba Remain in the Bullpen in '09?

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:40:12 -0500

Hey, Bay Area baseball fans have you had enough for one season? (San Fran Chronicle)

This is not what you want to hear from one of your top pitchers heading down the stretch: "I don't know if it's a confidence thing, but I'm not trusting myself right now." (Philly Inquirer)

Tampa might be winning games, but you would not be able to tell by the numbers at the gate. Cliff Floyd is not impressed. (New York Times)

Is it good news or bad news to Brian Cashman that the Steinbrenner's want him back as GM next year? (NY Post)

Depending on free agent moves the Yankees make this offseason Joba Chamberlain could start the 2009 season in the bullpen. (NY Daily News)

Ben Sheets' groin is a little sore, but he expects to make his next scheduled start vs the Padres on Saturday. (Journal Sentinel)

Adam Wainwright is fully aware that chicks dig the long ball. (Miami Herald)

Kaz Matsui was activated off of the DL yesterday and no he did not have anal fissures again. Your gross. (Houston Chronicle)

Jim Leyland thinks Justin Verlander needs to be more accountable for bad outings. (Detroit Free Press)

MLB Busts of the Week - Week 22

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:05:01 -0500

Which fantasy studs dropped the ball last week? And which "sleepers" fell short of their hyped billing? Screaming Sports' Billy Smith runs down an six-player list of fantasy bombs.

Daily Linking - 8/26

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:29:21 -0500

Links of note, or stuff I find interesting, or stuff I think you might find interesting Tigers to try Larish at third - Jeff Larish heads to the Arizona Fall League to work on fielding the hot corner. Smart move since he's effectively blocked at first base. At the very least maybe he increases [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Daily Linking - 8/26", url: "http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/08/daily-linking-826/" });

Game 128: Tigers at Royals

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:00:42 -0500

PREGAME: The Tigers return to Kansas City for a 3 game set. Tonight it will be Justin Verlander trying to reclaim his ace stuff. In his last start he held the Orioles to 2 unearned runs on 4 hits in 6 innings. He hasn't had back to back quality starts in [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Game 128: Tigers at Royals", url: "http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/08/game-128-tigers-at-royals/" });

Game 124: Orioles at Tigers

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:18:14 -0500

PREGAME: I'm heading down for my first back to back games this season. I saw Nate pitch bad last night, and I already saw Justin Verlander pitch poorly this week, so I'mdue for some decent baseball right? It will be Dennis Sarfate who will try to stymie the Tigers for 7 or 8 innings [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Game 124: Orioles at Tigers", url: "http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/08/game-124-orioles-at-tigers/" });