Panic!! (No, Just Kidding... Please Don't)

A few thoughts as the Tigers limp out of Minneapolis, having dropped two of three to the Minnesota Twins...

Sure, the Twins were picked by most of the baseball universe to finish in last place in the AL Central. Except you wouldn't know it from the reasonably clutch hitting they put on in this series.

And despite losing on Opening Day, they had their chances there, too: after Justin Verlander was lifted from the game after 5 innings and 91 pitches. Drew Smyly and his lack of command threw 1 1/3 innings of two run, three hit, three walk baseball. The rest of the pen who worked gave up just 1 hit the rest of the way, thus showing for at least one game the "closing by committee" can work.

If only for one game, however.

The second game of the series provided a couple of questions: both of which I asked at the end of the game...

• What the hell was Jim Leyland thinking bringing on Phil Coke to face right-handed batting?
•  And why didn't Austin Jackson catch that ball?

For starters, that first point. Phil Coke had righties hit a brain-busting .396 against him last year. So with that in mind, and Jim Leyland's penchant for "playing those matchups," you'd assume Coke would be nowhere near the pitcher's mound with right-handed bats coming up. And if it's truly a committee, then it would also beg the question of why your consistently used set-up guy (Joaquin Benoit) was pulled in favor of new-found closer (based on the body of work vs the Yankees last postseason). I mean, if Joaquin is who we consider the set-up guy in a "non-committee" role, then we saw no closer by committee yesterday, thus leaving a few of us scratching our heads.

Just be careful... too much head-scratching this early in the season, and we'll be down to brain in no time.

Better put blinders on these...

The fly ball that Austin Jackson probably should have caught  was to say the least, puzzling. I mean, we've seen him make numerous defensive plays. Including 1 diving catch! He was there, slowed down, and watched the ball land. Instead of a catch and an easy run on a sac fly, it turned into a game winning hit. 2 runs in, everybody go home.

What happened? Was it the infernal SHADOWS? This is really the only thing I could think of as I sat on my bar stool for this one. Austin came out of the shadows in deep left center field, and into the glaring sunlight and lost the ball. At any rate, it was a loss that can be likened by getting punched in the gut with a city bus. Walk off losses are the worst.

Today we saw Rick Porcello also have command issues. We also saw an incredibly stagnant offense. An offense that was actually given the gift of 2 runs (which were seriously gifts, both unearned), plus an opportunity to bust out of a funk in the 7th inning.

We'll try and make this quick: Omar Infante walks. Austin Jackson doubles (Good start, eh?). Torii Hunter whiffs. (Uh oh, one out, first base open). Miguel Cabrera... intentional walk. Prince Fielder whiffs (here it comes...). Victor Martinez pops out.

Yep. Second and third, no one out. Bases loaded, one out. Zero runs.

Remember that punch in the gut by a city bus? That keeps coming in the wake of Brayan Villareal's appearance today in the 8th inning: 5 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, 2/3 of an inning.

Kids, I'm willing to stay and watch the 9th inning, but you've been freezing all day, and the Tigers are getting hammered. Wanna go home?

Should we all worry? I mean, if the Tigers can't beat the "lowly" Twins, what chance do they have? And didn't the team sign some kind of potato to a minor league deal earlier in the day? That seems moderately desperate, RIGHT??

Three games in, we probably shouldn't worry too much. Three games into July, perhaps. But maybe when the weather heats up, so will the bats. And maybe the arms will command their pitches like they're supposed to. Just because it's not happening now, doesn't mean it won't happen later. Let's all just take heart and realize that the Tigers are on their way home to open Comerica Park against a team they ran out of the playoffs last season.


So enjoy the home cooking, Tigers. Bring on the Yankees.

How the Twins Lost This Season Ticket Holder

Even as Detroit Tigers fans, we're very much aware of one of their AL Central foes, the Minnesota Twins - a ball club that has seen itself move from a decrepit facility in the Metrodome to the more lavish surroundings of Target Field; a ball club who's seen their fortunes dip quite a bit since moving to said facility.

Naturally, new ballparks are a great way to generate new or more revenue. Aside from actually paying for the new park, the extra people through the gates (especially in the first couple of years) should help boost the coffers of any ball club, regardless of how well they play.

The Twins first season in Target Field was a success. A 94-68 record, good for a first place finish in the Central. Their attendance during the inaugural season was at 3,223,640.

However, seasons two and three at the new yard weren't very successful. For the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the Twins would finish in last place in the division, with 99 losses in '11 and 96 last season. Attendance for the 99-loss season? Not much worse than the 94-win season, at 3,168,107.

But last season's attendance showed a drop to 2,776,354. With the novelty of a new ballpark wearing off, the patience of Twins fans is wearing rather thin - it's hard to imagine that last year's attendance will be less than this season's attendance. Certainly, the crop of talent that the Twins will display on their roster to start the season will do nothing to entice more fans to spend on this ball club.

Here's an example of that - a co-worker of mine decided that he wasn't interested in renewing his season ticket package. Here's his reason, and the reply that he got from Dan Strong, a Twins season ticket and sales executive (the second paragraph of Mr. Strong's reply is one that had me laughing for 27 consecutive minutes):

I'm sorry, but the Twins haven't done much since then to change my mind about renewing my season tickets.  I did like the trades made to acquire some promising young pitchers (Worley, Meyer, and May), but this was quickly undone by (what I view as foolish moves and a waste of time and money) the free agent pick-ups of Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, and the very oft-injured Rich Harden (the Joel Zumaya of 2013?).  I don't think that this group of mediocre (in fact borderline major league talent) will do much to change the Twins' fortunes this year - it's just the same old group of retread pitchers with a different name on the back of their uniform.

I respectively disagree with your assessment that the Twins "provide a baseball experience second to none."  I would argue that winning is the most vital part in providing an excellent baseball experience.  The Twins have not won a World Series since 1991 and have only won one play-off series since then (and that was way back in 2004).  I do appreciate the good (not great) teams that the Twins have fielded over the years, but recently, this organization has definately taken a step back.  I am glad that you (and I assume the Twins office in general) are confident about the 2013 Twins - however, I do not share this confidence at all and expect the Twins to finsh last in the AL Central yet again.  It is likely that only the Astros will prevent the Twins from having the worst record in the AL this year.  I hope that I am wrong.  Yes, Target Field is a great ballpark to watch a game, but when the team is dreadful, and nearly unwatchable at times, the baseball experience is bad regardless of what kind of palace they're playing in.

As far as the Twins season ticket plans, I was very disappointed with how the whole seat selection process was conducted when Target Field first opened.  I realize that there are logistical issues involved, but the fact that my 10 years as a season ticket holder had virtually no impact on the quality of seats that I could purchase really made me angry.  Every Johnny-come-lately with deep enough pockets to afford a full or 40-game package immediately stepped to the front of the line.  Compounding this was the fact that 20-game buyers were limited to the fringe areas of the ballpark.  One equitable solution in my mind would have been to break every established season ticket holder into equivalent "full seasons".  Thus an account that had 8-20 game seasons in their history would be the equivalent of 2 full seasons, while one with 8-40 game seasons would have the equivalent of 4 full seasons.  This would've been fair, but the Twins organization decided to take the short view and simply reward those who had spent the most money most recently (disregarding the total amount of money that we loyal partial game holders had poured into the Twins coffers over the years).  I do appreciate the Twins' decision to start giving a 10% discount on concessions to season ticket holders - that is a smart move.

As I said below, I'm sure that tickets for the upcoming All-Star game will be handled in a similar fashion.  Small potatoes like me would get the chance to buy tickets to the dumb events like the homerun derby, but would likely just be thrown into a "lottery" to have the chance to buy 2 nose-bleed tickets to the actual game.

Anyway, I still remain a Twins fan - just not one who will blindly spend my money to watch vastly inferior baseball.  I continue to believe that the best way for me to make my displeasure felt is to not renew my tickets.  I've had to sit through far too many horrible games started by Nick Blackburn, Francisco Liriano, Sam Deduno, et al in the past two seasons - I won't make it a third with Correia, Pelfry, etc.  I am not concerned at all about losing my position as a long-standing season ticket holder.  From a practical point of view, it didn't do me any good anyway.

And the reply:

While we are sorry that you did not renew your season tickets for the 2013 season, it is my hope that we did everything we could have to keep you as a Twins Season Ticket Holder.

Over the years, the Twins organization has earned a reputation for building quality teams and providing a baseball experience that is second to none.  And as we look to the upcoming season, we are committed to restoring the Twins winning tradition and have confidence that the 2013 Minnesota Twins will be a team you will once again be proud of.

As you know, a Twins season ticket delivers more than just a guaranteed seat.  The 10% concession and merchandise discount and the opportunity to purchase 2014 All-Star Game tickets are just a fraction of the benefits and opportunities being offered to Season Ticket Holders this season.  And if you return as a Season Ticket Holder before Opening Day – you will retain your priority date with us, meaning your tenure with the Twins will remain uninterrupted. 

Thank you for your past support of the ball club.  If I can answer any questions, please contact me at the phone number or email address below.  I’m happy to assist any way I can.


Dan Strong 

----------
I know, I know... that second paragraph from Dan Strong, right?

Though he might be right - the Twins baseball experience may indeed be "second to none." I just wonder if they're expecting that experience for their fans to be *that different.*

 

Random Thoughts On An Off Day

It's Thursday, September 8th, the Tigers have an off day, riding a 6-game win streak, your 2 closest competitors face off against each other in a 4-game series this weekend, with 9 games separating said competition.  Things must be going well.

And they are, albeit with a little help.  But for some reason, I am a bit concerned with Justin Verlander.

Verlander now has a 22-5 record after beating Cleveland yesterday.  He hasn't lost since July 15th vs the White Sox.  He seems to be in full control of the American League Cy Young award.

Justin Verlander

But his last 3 starts have been somewhat alarming.  His numbers in that time: in 19.1 innings, he's allowed 9 runs (all earned), 18 hits, 6 walks, has struck out 20, and given up 5 home runs.  That's good for a 4.19 ERA... but the number that jumps out is his WHIP (walks + hits / innings pitched) in that stretch is 1.24, well above his 0.91 that he's averaging for the season.

Far be it for me to assume that the staff workhorse is wearing down as the season goes by, but it's hard not to think about that.  In all 31 of his starts this season, Verlander has thrown at least 100 pitches, with 9 of those starts breaking 120 and 1 beyond 130.  No matter what kind of shape you're in, even the best of us (not me, personally) get worn down.  Let's just hope he's not completely spent by the time October rolls around.  Assuming the Tigers make the playoffs, they'll need him to be ready.  So if in the next 2 or 3 starts I pray that he's pulled with minimal damage and pitches thrown, it won't be seen as the root of all evil that he's not throwing his arm off before the post-season.

-----

How about that Delmon Young?

Delmon Young

While not exactly fleet-of-foot defensively (watching him run down fly balls in left field is nerve wracking), his bat has been a welcome sight since he was traded to the Tigers from the Twins early last month.  Before he was dealt, he was hitting only .266 with 4 HRs and 32 RBIs... not exactly great numbers that earned him his $5.4M contract to start the year.  But since his trade, he's batting .312, with 3 HRs and 17 RBIs.  He even drew a walk for the first time, bringing that total as a Tiger to... 1.  Okay, that's not ground-breaking, but his early returns from his change of scenery are very good thus far.  It will be interesting to see what the Tigers do with him this offseason, as the organization is left with a minor surplus in outfielders.  So far though, it looks like he likes his new digs and that might be enough for Dave Dombrowski to offer Delmon arbitration after this season is over.

-----

The Tigers face the Twins this weekend for the final time this season and we may not recognize most of the current Twins lineup.  Last night's Twins lineup featured only 2 players from their opening day roster in the lineup, that being Joe Mauer and Danny Valencia.  The Twins have expanded their roster a bit, bringing up players from AAA Rochester as well as AA New Britain.  With what the Tigers offense has done lately, I'm going to try and hold off reporting a future 9-game winning streak, but it sets up well for the team as the White Sox and Indians battle each other this weekend.  Two or three Tiger wins this weekend could drive those nails further into Cleveland and Chicago's coffin.

Not JV's Best Day, but Good Enough

Justin Verlander was quick to point out that he didn't have his best stuff vs the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, saying "name a pitch, I had trouble finding consistency with anything," after securing his 20th win of the season.  A 6-4 win, and Verlander becomes the major's first 20-game winner of the season, and for the first time in his career.  Verlander also becomes the first pitcher to hit that mark before the end of August since Curt Schilling did it in 2002.

Justin Verlander (AP Photo)

But while he wasn't at his best, he was still helped by one of the better offenses in the American League.  Miguel Cabrera had a solo HR in the first, but his RBI hit following another Delmon Young RBI single gave the bullpen just enough insurance to help close this game out.  The Tigers recent run vs the Twins, which includes an 11-3 record this year, and 15 wins in the last 18 meetings, is reminiscent of the runs that Minnesota handed to the Tigers over the course of the last decade.

The injury-riddled and otherwise snakebitten Twins will send out struggling lefty Brian Duensing to the mound to face a suddenly, but maybe only moderately consistent Brad Penny as the Tigers face the Twins for the last time at Target Field this season.  They'll do so with a 6.5 game lead over the second place Indians, with the hopes of finishing the road trip 6-1 before they go home for 4 games vs the Royals.

-----

As for yesterday's Fox broadcast, Fox paired Tigers play-by-play man Mario Impemba with newly inducted Hall of Famer and resident self-lover Bert Blyleven to call the game.  Even with the Dick Stockton/Rod Allen combination, which may have been the most awkward pairing ever, the game calling wasn't horrible.  However, I was disappointed with the way Bert needed take over and interject during the course of the ballgame.  I think Bert is a decent analyst, but Saturday's display made me think that Mario wasn't needed at all in the booth.  Bert was also nice enough to joke about Miguel Cabrera's "donkey strength", which after 5 years of living in his market I knew he was joking, but that doesn't mean everyone did too.  I myself am fully aware that these regional telecasts need the balance, but having 2 potential alpha-dogs talking over each other makes the broadcast messy.  And with Hurricane Irene postponing a lot of games, this was probably broadcast with a bigger audience than just the Detroit and Twin Cities markets.  Do better, next time, Fox.  Though I know that's hard to do.

Anyone who did catch yesterday's game and watched some of the advertising, probably caught an MLB postseason moment that included this:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=12602373

Enjoy that.  Again and again.

Quest for 20

"Must See JV" takes its show on the road, as Justin Verlander tries for the first time in his career to win 20 games in a season.  He faces Carl Pavano and the struggling Twins, who have now lost 6 straight games, and have only scored 5 total runs in that stretch.  Pavano will essentially be asked to pitch a shutout, as he faces off with the potential Cy Young winner.

As for last night's effort, Delmon Young continues to punish his former team.  By punish, I mean having 3 softly hit balls go for singles, getting 3 RBIs in last night's 8-1 Tigers victory.  Rick Porcello, who needed a bounce-back type of outing, struggled over the first three innings, missing his spots, allowing baserunners aplenty, but getting help in each of those three innings by way of the double play ball.  Porcello only allowed a run (also helped with a blown call at first base, which would have scored the Twins second run; instead, ended the inning) and would settle down and pitch into the 7th for his first win of the month.

But for Porcello, struggling early against an offensively challenged team isn't a sign he might turn things around.  He got more ground balls last night, which is a sign his sinker ball might be working again, but his location and command are still questionable.  Naturally, run support would be the key last night, but it's not enough to convince me that he's even leaning back to his winning ways that we saw in the month of July.

Someone who might be back, as far as his control and energy might be one Phil Coke.  Coke, who came in for Porcello last night, pitch an inning and 2/3 of perfect ball, striking out 3 more, and showing Tigers fans that he may still belong in the back end of that bullpen.  Many fans loathed his time in the rotation, but this is the Phil Coke we can all appreciate.  And if the Joaquin Benoit haters can forget that April ever happened, the last 3 innings of any given game will be very much set, assuming Jim Leyland see it this way.

Lastly, for today's Fox broadcast of the game, we will be entertained by Tigers play-by-play man Mario Impemba, and Twins analyst Bert Blyleven, who may or may not remind us that he's now a Hall of Fame pitcher.  As far as these Fox combinations go, this one is tolerable as opposed to the Dick Stockton and Rod Allen experiment earlier this season.  I hate feeling awkward for the commentary when I watch a game.  We all know Rod and his penchant for certain outlandish statements, but it's broadcast dinosaur and potential dementia patient Dick Stockton who should never call a game anywhere again.  His tendency to be forgetful to go with his broken delivery is painful to watch and listen to.

Enjoy the game today.  Easy to say, of course... Justin is too good to miss.

Cy Verlander

A few questions were brought to my attention following another dominant performance by Justin Verlander last night: Why does it matter if his wins come after a win or loss? Would he approach the game any differently? Do the wins mean more?

The first question is easy to answer, mostly because his winning after the Tigers lose helps put at ease the common fans fears that during this second half run, any signs of a collapse doesn't stop the bleeding if he goes and loses.  It's just one game, right?  Except that without Verlander, especially lately, the Tigers record is below .500.  As far as his approach, most of us realize that Verlander is a fierce competitor and he's going to go pitch when it's his turn the same way he would no matter what the Tigers did the game before.  But since it's happened so often this season, we have to take notice, and it has shown that it's rather meaningful since he's now 14-3 in games pitched this season following a Tigers loss.

And I'll concede to some MVP talk too, in addition to the Cy Young award he's almost certain to have won already.  I have said that the MVP award should be given to a position player, mostly since they can't win the Cy Young.  But when you talk about who you give that award to, players are brought up by not only their numbers, but on their team's successes too.  And with those 14 wins after Tigers losses, his 18 wins up to this point, there's not another player that is more important to his team's success than Justin Verlander.  Yes, he's not an everyday player.  But it's impossible to believe that the Tigers would be in first place right now without his services.  The rest of the rotation hasn't been very consistent, and never mind how badly inconsistent the Tigers bullpen has been this season.  As far as the award goes, there isn't a clear cut runaway at this point of the season from any team (that includes Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox fans: he's SUPPOSED to put up those numbers, his contract says so), so it's hard for me to even fathom anyone taking votes away from Verlander.

In the end, whether or not he goes out there one way or another, Verlander shows up and does what he's supposed to do: win games.  The dominance he brings is just a very welcome bonus.

-----

We all got a bit of a jolt when news of Dombrowski making a trade within the division (again) happened again on Monday, when he traded a couple of minor league pitchers to the Twins for former number 1 overall draft pick Delmon Young.  At the time of the trade, Delmon was hitting .266 with only 4 HR, and also brings with him very suspect defense out in left field.  The true definition of an underachiever, right?  Well, his first game was a relative success, as he homered in his first plate appearance vs his former team and made a nice running catch in left.  I can only hope the change in scenery will do him some good, perhaps rejuvenate his desire to play up to his potential, especially now that he's back in a pennant chase.  He's still only 25 years old, and it's hard to give up on a guy like that but the Twins (and their fan base) had finally had enough.

Of course, with a couple of the trades DD has made, it might have improved our offense, but if you downgrade an already suspect defensive unit, it may make for a few frustrating games down the stretch.  As usual, I hope I'm wrong here.

Wrapping Up the Roadie

Newly acquired Doug Fister, pitching for the Detroit Tigers today, is used to not having a whole lot of run support in his starts.  Today, 9 runs would have been a lot to ask for.

Fister's first shaky outing as a Tiger was today in Baltimore, giving up 8 runs (6 ER) on 12 hits, had no real command of his pitches this afternoon and wasn't fooling anybody.  Usually in good control, he didn't have it today as the Tigers finished up this 9 game road trip by losing 8-5 to the Orioles.  As previously posted, the Tigers road woes have been well documented in the past, but at least this season they can boast a better record on the road than last year, which for me is progress.  As for Fister, no reason to worry about him, as he had a bad day.  No need for Tigers fans to blow up about the trade being good or bad for either the Seattle Mariners or the Tigers, as there hasn't been nearly enough time passed to make that kind of judgement (get back to me in 3 years, then we can discuss that).  He'll get his next start at home, and we'll all hope it's a better outing than today.  Call off the dogs.

As for the road trip, they did go 5-4, which from here looks like a winning record... albeit I'm reaching a bit by boasting that a single victory over the losses is a successful road trip.  To a degree, I am reaching: the 2 series wins were against 2 last place teams in the American League (KC and Baltimore) but the series loss was vs AL Central competitor, the Cleveland Indians.  Sure, winning this series would have been nice, but for me it's still about road trip success.  The Tigers can take care of their business at home, and bringing home more wins than losses on a long road trip is never a bad thing.

The Tigers road show comes home to face the Minnesota Twins, a team snakebitten by injuries and relative "UnTwinslike" play in the field this season.  A real chance for the Tigers to continue their recent dominance over this ballclub, having won 8 of 9 meetings so far this season.  They play the Twins 9 more times, with 6 of those games at home.  Take care of these guys, because those Indians are back in town for another big series next weekend.  And they'll need to play better against the Tribe next weekend, with Justin Verlander pitching in the middle of the Twins series, he won't be a savior this time around.  It'll be time for someone else to step up and have a good pitching performance, against a team that seemingly won't go away.

It still sets up well for the Tigers, they just need to remember that and take full advantage of their opportunities.