Yesterday, in my latest Motor City Bengals post, it was all talk about Justin Verlander and his quest for MVP. Today, I'll I'll try and reach back and crudely look back at a few offseason moves that have (or have not) shaped this season.
The easy winner here is Victor Martinez. Victor signed a 4-year, $50MM contract w/ the Tigers in the offseason, and has been worth every penny so far. The other "coveted" free agent bat of the offseason, Adam Dunn, signed a slightly larger contract with the Chicago White Sox (4 years, $56MM) was rumored to be on the Tigers radar, except word was he wasn't interested in being a full-time DH, so he was out of the Tigers plans then. Good for the Tigers too. In a tale of 2 seasons, V-Mart is batting .324, with 11 HRs and 94 RBIs (.385 with runners in scoring position), while Adam Dunn is batting a cool .165, with only 11 HRs, 41 RBIs, and 163 strikeouts. Not exactly a good return on the investment. The Tigers can only hope for this in all 4 years of this deal.
The easy loser here is Brad Penny. I actually liked this deal in the preseason when it was made. Not a ton of money invested (only $3MM for this season, incentives would have made it $6MM), and if he made it through the season healthy it would have been a good deal. Except he's had an awfully inconsistent season, and his gameday pace and lack of command haven't set well with Tigers fans this season (though I'll theorize that after only 9 starts last year he may not have had the endurance for a full season). It'll be over soon, as I'd be totally be shocked to see Dave Dombrowski re-sign him beyond this season - as Jacob Turner figures to battle for the last rotation spot next spring.
Two in-house moves I also moderately embraced in the offseason were the re-signings of Magglio Ordonez and Brandon Inge. In the beginning, the signing of Ordonez was great, in my opinon: Maggs was having a productive season last year when he was lost for the season with a broken ankle. This season, his bat swing is slower, and his batting average is remarkably lower as a result. The last couple of weeks for him have been better, as he's raised his batting average up to .252. As for Brandon Inge, it's been - for the most part - a season to forget. He signed a 2-year, $11MM contract just before the winter free agency period started, citing his desire to remain in Detroit. However, his putrid offense (.170 before being designated for assignment/sent to Toledo) and his declining defense have been a season-long problem for the Tigers. Fans were getting on his case, and his alleged stubborn attitude towards getting help for his hitting woes weren't helping his cause with the Tigers. They would trade for Wilson Betemit, and DFA Inge. Inge did accept his demotion to Toledo where he was a moderately productive hitter, and has since been back with the big club where he has raised his average to .200, while fielding his position well. He's not being thrown out there everyday, which is probably helping. My hope is he works on his offense in the offseason. Doing so and improving his batting average to .250 would even be relatively acceptable to me and a few legions of other Tigers fans who can't stand the strikeouts or the lazy pop ups.
Now, while I've appeared to be more negative than positive here, keep in mind that there's room for improvement here, and even winning the AL Central should be a great accomplishment in spite of some of the downfalls. I hope that they're aiming higher this postseason, because I'm going to assume that any failure in this playoff year will result in fans wanting more this offseason, and there isn't too much the Tigers can do to make any improvements.
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You can now read more of my Tigers musings on the Fansided Tigers blog, Motor City Bengals.
Showing posts with label Victor Martinez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Victor Martinez. Show all posts
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Random Thoughts: The Week That Was
Sitting here typing while listening to the Indians/Rangers game - a game I cannot watch because of MLB's and ESPN's "exclusive broadcast window" - wishing there was some Tigers baseball tomorrow. But, since the schedule says so, we'll have to live with the night off. But that might be a good thing as we look at Victor Martinez.
Victor went down like a bag of stones after coming home on a grounder to second base, trying to dodge a tag. At first glance, he had needed help off, putting no weight on his knee. During the broadcast, we were informed that it was a sprain, and it would be further evaluated on Sunday. Well, even as early as the post game locker room questioning, Dr. Jim Leyland had convinced all who would listen that he'd probably be fine. I guess we'll see, when that Tuesday lineup comes out.
Here's the issue: Victor never should have put himself in that position, with the play dictating he should have stayed at third base. With a drawn in infield, the ball was hit directly to the second baseman. Even the fastest runner probably gets thrown out. In this case, the ball was there with plenty of time to spare. Unnecessary. Poor baserunning has doomed the Tigers at spots this season (Paging Jhonny Peralta), and in a pennant race, slow and steady wins the race.
Sure, we saw the successful debut of new Tigers acquisition Doug Fister earlier this week, but it may have been a little to close for comfort. Another problem spot for the Tigers has been their defense. Fister had some errors behind him, but held on for the win. Run support has been an issue for Fister with his days in Seattle, but with one of the top (yet inconsistent) offenses that should ultimately change. Ultimately, that's why I'm not worried about the fact that he's now 4-12 on the season. Judging by his body language so far on his new team, he seems to be excited about his new role in a pennant chase.
The Rangers rallied tonight to beat the Indians, and as a result, the Tigers will have a 4 game lead in the standings over their next opponent.... the Indians, and on the road. The Tigers recent history on the road hasn't been great, but this season they've turned a bit of a corner with their efforts. Big wins on the road would be lovely, this week is no exception. The Tigers are poised to finish better on the road this season than last season, and all they have to do is win 2 games (we hope more though). The Tigers were an awful 29-52 on the road last year, and so far this year they are 28-28. Sure, .500 ball isn't anything to write home about, but I'll accept it after what they did last season. Sure, the Tigers lost their game today to the Royals, but they still won 2 out of 3. Keep winning series like that, especially on the road, and the division is theirs to lose.
And it sets up well for the Tigers down the stretch. The common cliche, "controlling your own destiny," is well in play here. The Tigers non-divisional opponents down the stretch include the Orioles on the road next weekend and the Rays on the road later this month. In September, they will have a 4-game series in Oakland in the middle of a 9-game road trip, and a 4-game series at home vs the Orioles before the season finale (vs Cleveland). All teams who don't factor into the playoff chase, but can be dangerously scrappy because of that. In short, all series that need to be won, not lost. Easy, right? And as we do come down the stretch we marvel at the amazement of the schedule maker, bringing Cleveland in for the final series of the year.
Stretch run time: bring on the Indians.
Victor went down like a bag of stones after coming home on a grounder to second base, trying to dodge a tag. At first glance, he had needed help off, putting no weight on his knee. During the broadcast, we were informed that it was a sprain, and it would be further evaluated on Sunday. Well, even as early as the post game locker room questioning, Dr. Jim Leyland had convinced all who would listen that he'd probably be fine. I guess we'll see, when that Tuesday lineup comes out.
Here's the issue: Victor never should have put himself in that position, with the play dictating he should have stayed at third base. With a drawn in infield, the ball was hit directly to the second baseman. Even the fastest runner probably gets thrown out. In this case, the ball was there with plenty of time to spare. Unnecessary. Poor baserunning has doomed the Tigers at spots this season (Paging Jhonny Peralta), and in a pennant race, slow and steady wins the race.
Sure, we saw the successful debut of new Tigers acquisition Doug Fister earlier this week, but it may have been a little to close for comfort. Another problem spot for the Tigers has been their defense. Fister had some errors behind him, but held on for the win. Run support has been an issue for Fister with his days in Seattle, but with one of the top (yet inconsistent) offenses that should ultimately change. Ultimately, that's why I'm not worried about the fact that he's now 4-12 on the season. Judging by his body language so far on his new team, he seems to be excited about his new role in a pennant chase.
The Rangers rallied tonight to beat the Indians, and as a result, the Tigers will have a 4 game lead in the standings over their next opponent.... the Indians, and on the road. The Tigers recent history on the road hasn't been great, but this season they've turned a bit of a corner with their efforts. Big wins on the road would be lovely, this week is no exception. The Tigers are poised to finish better on the road this season than last season, and all they have to do is win 2 games (we hope more though). The Tigers were an awful 29-52 on the road last year, and so far this year they are 28-28. Sure, .500 ball isn't anything to write home about, but I'll accept it after what they did last season. Sure, the Tigers lost their game today to the Royals, but they still won 2 out of 3. Keep winning series like that, especially on the road, and the division is theirs to lose.
And it sets up well for the Tigers down the stretch. The common cliche, "controlling your own destiny," is well in play here. The Tigers non-divisional opponents down the stretch include the Orioles on the road next weekend and the Rays on the road later this month. In September, they will have a 4-game series in Oakland in the middle of a 9-game road trip, and a 4-game series at home vs the Orioles before the season finale (vs Cleveland). All teams who don't factor into the playoff chase, but can be dangerously scrappy because of that. In short, all series that need to be won, not lost. Easy, right? And as we do come down the stretch we marvel at the amazement of the schedule maker, bringing Cleveland in for the final series of the year.
Stretch run time: bring on the Indians.
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