2011 MLB Season Thread

[Travis 576]

Seems to be the case every time he starts.....

I cannot watch live - only listen - since I'm out of market - but when the play by play guys start doggin you it's time to go....Rayburn needs to join Inge - painful to hear the plays - watching must really be brutal....

Well the great thing about Dan and Jim is that they don't mix words. Neither one of them are afraid to say a ball has been misplayed or that someone made a mistake. I love listening to it on radio because I think Jim is a great broadcaster, but I've always appreciated their fan-dom as well. Rod is great and all, but listening to he and Mario on TV is a much less enjoyable experience and I've noticed they have a penchant for taking it easy on guys when they screw up.

Regardless, Raburn is a nightmare at this point. Having Dumb & Dumber (Raburn and Betemit) in the infield is actually hurting our team at this point. Giving the lead to Minnesota right after we took it definitely changed the outlook of the game. Especially against a pitcher we could - and should - have buried.

[Travis 576]

8/17 lineup vs Twins:

CF Jackson

RF Boesch

LF Young

1B Cabrera

DH Martinez

C Avila

SS Peralta

3B Kelly

2B Santiago

I'm actually pretty happy with this line-up. Give Dumb & Dumber the night off. That 1 - 7 is monstrous, though. There's really no argument up there, though Jackson in the 9 spot turning the order over might be something to think about.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Well the great thing about Dan and Jim is that they don't mix words. Neither one of them are afraid to say a ball has been misplayed or that someone made a mistake. I love listening to it on radio because I think Jim is a great broadcaster, but I've always appreciated their fan-dom as well. Rod is great and all, but listening to he and Mario on TV is a much less enjoyable experience and I've noticed they have a penchant for taking it easy on guys when they screw up.

Regardless, Raburn is a nightmare at this point. Having Dumb & Dumber (Raburn and Betemit) in the infield is actually hurting our team at this point. Giving the lead to Minnesota right after we took it definitely changed the outlook of the game. Especially against a pitcher we could - and should - have buried.

Yeah, I agree. One in the infield is bad enough defensively, but both Betemit and Raburn is a disaster. I actually am in the real minority in that I don't mind Raburn. He's a really solid utility player who has hit well lately and is better suited to getting his starts in the outfield. Unfortunately, the Tigers go through second baseman like Leyland does cigarettes and the only real option left to get Raburn playing is back at second base. It is obviously an issue that has to get addressed this off-season. I'm with you guys though - the Tigers are giving up way too much defensively with Raburn at second. The best solution seems to be tell Magglio goodbye and call up Rhymes or Worth to split time with Santiago. I'm fine with Betemit's defense as we knew he was mediocre defensively coming in, but he has provided more than enough with his bat to compensate.

Also, the PTBNL in the Young deal was announced as Oliveros today. Still love the trade; wish Schlereth would have gone instead. Speaking of that, does anyone know who the Mariners got as the PTBNL in the Fister deal? I was on vacation when the trade happened and there was speculation it was going to be Ruffin, but I never saw anything further.

Edited August 16, 2011 by GoWings1905

[Travis 576]

Yeah, I agree. One in the infield is bad enough defensively, but both Betemit and Raburn is a disaster. I actually am in the real minority in that I don't mind Raburn. He's a really solid utility player who has hit well lately and is better suited to getting his starts in the outfield. Unfortunately, the Tigers go through second baseman like Leyland does cigarettes and the only real option left to get Raburn playing is back at second base. It is obviously an issue that has to get addressed this off-season. I'm with you guys though - the Tigers are giving up way too much defensively with Raburn at second. The best solution seems to be tell Magglio goodbye and call up Rhymes or Worth to split time with Santiago. I'm fine with Betemit's defense as we knew he was mediocre defensively coming in, but he has provided more than enough with his bat to compensate.

Also, the PTBNL in the Young deal was announced as Oliveros today. Still love the trade, wish Schlereth would have gone instead. Speaking of that, does anyone who the Mariners got as the PTBNL in the Fister deal? I was on vacation when the trade happened and there was speculation it was going to be Ruffin, but I never saw anything further.

I'd heard that as well, but it doesn't appear that Ruffin has gone anywhere. Seattle has 4 days to name the player, though.

Losing Schlereth would have made the trade an A+ move for me. Problem is no one wants him. I liked Oliveros out of the 'pen, but his numbers are pretty mediocre, so it's not a real loss.

I think Magglio can be effective in his new, part-time role; and any Illitch run team isn't going to show a veteran the door in such a way. Which is good, I think. I agree that Rhymes or Worth needs to come up and get time at 2B, though. All year we were looking for a solid bat in that spot, but now we have solid bats everywhere else. Only a handful of teams are without liabilities at the plate - right now it's important to get some good defense out of our second baseman. If we brought up a speedy 2B we could even run out a line-up like:

1. LF Young

2. 2B Worth

3. RF Boesch

...

9. CF Jackson

Bless You Boys also proposed perhaps batting Cabrera 3rd so that he actually has the chance to bat early with men on - instead of regularly leading off in the 2nd inning.

Also, I really like Will Rhymes - but he's obviously frustrated and has been sort of running his mouth (albeit rather harmlessly) on Twitter since being sent back down again. He should probably reel it in before it comes back to bite him.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Good point on the Tigers not just dumping Maggs. I don't think he deserves that either as I am grateful of everything he has done for the Tigers, but I don't see him having any value left for this season. Even if he pinch-hits against lefties and singles to right, you still have to take him out again for a pinch-runner in close games.

I also never have understood Cabrera batting fourth. Especially with Jackson, random player and Maggs hitting ahead of him like we have seen for stretches the past two years. I would personally prefer to see one of Peralta or Avila hitting in the top two. I never really considered Young batting leadoff, but I actually really like that idea. Just my thought... Young - Avila - Cabrera - Martinez - Boesch - Peralta - Betemit - Worth - Jackson.

Thanks for the info on the Mariners deal. I really hope it doesn't end up being Ruffin; he's going to be a great pitcher.

Edited August 16, 2011 by GoWings1905

[dropkickshanahans 463]

8/17 lineup vs Twins:

CF Jackson

RF Boesch

LF Young

1B Cabrera

DH Martinez

C Avila

SS Peralta

3B Kelly

2B Santiago

I'm actually pretty happy with this line-up. Give Dumb & Dumber the night off. That 1 - 7 is monstrous, though. There's really no argument up there, though Jackson in the 9 spot turning the order over might be something to think about.

I think I'd much prefer Cabby at the 3 spot, but a solid lineup.

Also belated congrats to Thome, I've always liked him as a player even though it seems like he'd never leave the central.

[rwfan007 18]

Santiago at 2b = win

Raburn at 2b = loss

I wonder who to play?

[Travis 576]

Santiago at 2b = win

Raburn at 2b = loss

I wonder who to play?

Right?

Seriously, though, solid win. You need to do that to teams that are scuffling, too bad they don't do it often enough as of late.

Regardless, strong win. Here's hoping for another tomorrow.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Paws could have played second tonight with Verlander pitching. Seriously though, I think it does make quite a bit of sense to start Santiago based on the pitcher. Porcello and Fister both pitch to a ton of contact. Maybe field a "stronger" defensive line-up those games like tonight with no Raburn or Betemit.

I think Justin gives up a couple singles once in awhile to challenge himself. He just toys with hitters when there are guys on base. I think he really should be in the MVP discussion. He means more to the Tigers than any other single player on a contending team.

[dropkickshanahans 463]

18 wins with about 7-8 starts left for Verlander. What a season he's having.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Let's Go Brewers!

[rwfan007 18]

Let's see if Penny is up to the task of beating a team he should beat. ChiSox beat Cleveland last night, so we have a 3 game lead over the Indians and a 3.5 lead over the sox. Best case scenario for us is they split the next 2 games.

[Travis 576]

Let's see if Penny is up to the task of beating a team he should beat. ChiSox beat Cleveland last night, so we have a 3 game lead over the Indians and a 3.5 lead over the sox. Best case scenario for us is they split the next 2 games.

Yeah, here's hoping they even each other out so neither team makes any gains.

The line-up for tonight is as follows:

Dirks CF

Boesch RF

Young LF

Cabrera 1B

Martinez DH

Avila C

Peralta SS

Kelly 3B

Santiago 2B

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

Let's Go Brewers!

[Travis 576]

Per our conversation yesterday, Chance Ruffin has been sent to the Mariners to complete the Doug Fister / David Pauley deal.

[rwfan007 18]

pardon my yelling here, but KEEP RABURN THE HECK OFF THE BASEBALL FIELD. oh my gosh, every time he is on the field he craps something out. I cannot believe that jim put him in especially to pinch hit. and you didn't need to put Valverde in either. the whole bullpen was fresh with verlander pitching yesterday. ugh, so many bad decisions today. reel the division back in close, jim.

end rant. sorry, just frustrating watching him manage sometimes.

[Travis 576]

pardon my yelling here, but KEEP RABURN THE HECK OFF THE BASEBALL FIELD. oh my gosh, every time he is on the field he craps something out. I cannot believe that jim put him in especially to pinch hit. and you didn't need to put Valverde in either. the whole bullpen was fresh with verlander pitching yesterday. ugh, so many bad decisions today. reel the division back in close, jim.

end rant. sorry, just frustrating watching him manage sometimes.

I agree with you on all accounts. It's not surprising that Raburn popped out in that situation. I'm actually surprised he didn't ground into a double play, not that it matters.

Good thing I'm borderline drunk at this point, or I'd probably be a lot more annoyed that our team is only playing well enough to lose the AL Central... again.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Ugly, ugly loss last night on so many levels. Those are the type of games that cost you a division. I don't know what I hate more about Jim Leyland: his beyond bizarre line-ups or his horrible bullpen management. So, on Monday in a one-run game he uses Daniel Schlereth who ruins the Tigers chances of winning. Tuesday, he brings in two of his three actual reliable arms on the roster right now with a six-run lead. Wednesday, he uses a long reliever in the 8th inning and his closer who has nearly a 7.00 ERA in non-save situations.

I actually don't mind Raburn pinch-hitting in that spot. What the hell is Jackson going to do besides strikeout? Maybe Raburn runs into one and ends the game. The only other player left on the bench was Magglio and he's a double play machine.

I dislike the Mariners trade quite a bit now. This is why the Tigers farm system can never catch up. Overpayment big time for a 4th starter and a reliever who has looked brutal in very few appearances so far. I don't mind losing Furbush all that much, but Wells and two of the Tigers top ten prospects is a joke. Ruffin could have easily become a huge part of the Tigers bullpen next season if they don't bring Valverde back.

This Cleveland series scares the hell out of me. Especially since Jimmy feels it's better to send Porcello and his 5 ERA out there on Sunday instead of the best pitcher in baseball. I do not understand that at all. Then again, I guess that's par for the course with Leyland.

[Travis 576]

How Jim Leyland is hurting the Tigers - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN

Something we've been discussing with some regularity as of late.

edit: To add my two cents - the article leads to an interesting train of thought. We aren't a fast team, we don't play small ball, and the only guy we have with truly good speed is Austin Jackson; but he's rarely ever on base. So why keep building a line-up like we have a 'typical' ball club? We don't have a typical ball club, we have a batting order full of mashers that don't stretch singles into doubles and sometimes can't even stretch doubles into doubles. We go base to base unless the ball leaves the yard, so let's accept it and move on.

Given what the article says about the top OBP guys we have, what if we turned the line-up into something like this?

LF Young

RF Boesch

1B Cabrera

DH Martinez

SS Peralta

C Avila

3B Betemit

2B Guillen

CF Jackson

Or, if you desperately want Cabrera in that clean-up spot - but Peralta or Avila in front of him.

(At the risk of exposing myself, I think I might be the blueadams of the baseball thread.)

Edited August 18, 2011 by Travis

[rwfan007 18]

alrighty, time to see what this team is made of. 1.5 game lead going in to the series against the indians. this could be the make it or break it of our season.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

GREAT win tonight! That's the Max Scherzer the Tigers need to win the division.

I have to say the news after the game dampered the win a bit for me. Apparently, the Tigers aren't done giving dead weight playing time. Here, I thought they were on the right track with no more Guillen and Maggs. .177 is back on the team because... I guess Betemit hitting .285 isn't cutting it for Leyland. If Inge is anything more than a defensive replacement or an OCCASIONAL starter against left-handed pitching, it will be a complete joke. Though I expect nothing less from the manager that batted a .220 hitter with no power third every night until the GM forced his hand. The defense blows as it is and Kelly was starting quite a bit and coming in late in games as it was. That situation was playing out fine IMO.

If any roster move needed to be made before September 1st, it should have been to get another catcher up to give Avila some rest. V-Mart can barely run still and Avila's bat is too important to wear him out for September.

[Travis 576]

GREAT win tonight! That's the Max Scherzer the Tigers need to win the division.

I have to say the news after the game dampered the win a bit for me. Apparently, the Tigers aren't done giving dead weight playing time. Here, I thought they were on the right track with no more Guillen and Maggs. .177 is back on the team because... I guess Betemit hitting .285 isn't cutting it for Leyland. If Inge is anything more than a defensive replacement or an OCCASIONAL starter against left-handed pitching, it will be a complete joke. Though I expect nothing less from the manager that batted a .220 hitter with no power third every night until the GM forced his hand. The defense blows as it is and Kelly was starting quite a bit and coming in late in games as it was. That situation was playing out fine IMO.

If any roster move needed to be made before September 1st, it should have been to get another catcher up to give Avila some rest. V-Mart can barely run still and Avila's bat is too important to wear him out for September.

It's Betemit's horrendous defense, I'd assume.

To be fair, Inge is batting .287 with 7 HR and 19 RBI in Toledo. Hopefully that translates to the bigs.

[rwfan007 18]

Yeah, with Young coming in and Maggs on the bench, Dirks was going to get fewer and fewer ABs. This way, hopefully Brandon's right handed bat can bring some pop to the 3B position against lefties. Dirks will get full time play down in Toledo and get him primed for a September playoff push. Scherzer was awesome last night, should have been a shutout had the umpire not forgotten what a strike was.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

WOO! The Tigers have looked like the best team in the division easily the past two nights. Scherzer and Fister both with very impressive starts and the offense rolling too.

Since I've been quite tough on him, I will give credit where it's due. Brandon Inge went to Toledo to work hard and that HR tonight was a well-deserved moment. I still don't think he should start every day, but I am happy he was able to come back up and show signs of improvement at the plate. That double was the hardest I have seen him hit the ball in a very long time. Props to a classy teammate and professional.

I want to sweep the Indians so bad tomorrow. You can sense this division tilting to the Tigers and putting the Indians 4.5 back would be really nice heading to Tampa and Minnesota. Wish JV was starting still, but maybe Porcello can continue the trend of solid starting pitching from someone not named Verlander.

Edited August 21, 2011 by GoWings1905

[Travis 576]

WOO! The Tigers have looked like the best team in the division easily the past two nights. Scherzer and Fister both with very impressive starts and the offense rolling too.

Since I've been quite tough on him, I will give credit where it's due. Brandon Inge went to Toledo to work hard and that HR tonight was a well-deserved moment. I still don't think he should start every day, but I am happy he was able to come back up and show signs of improvement at the plate. That double was the hardest I have seen him hit the ball in a very long time. Props to a classy teammate and professional.

I want to sweep the Indians so bad tomorrow. You can sense this division tilting to the Tigers and putting the Indians 4.5 back would be really nice heading to Tampa and Minnesota. Wish JV was starting still, but maybe Porcello can continue the trend of solid starting pitching from someone not named Verlander.

Yeah, great night for Inge. And for the Tigers as a whole. Happy to see them put big runs on their closest division rival.

Things were going great today until Porcello wasted the 7 runs his teammates gave him. It's 7 - 5 now with Jackson having just stole 2nd.

It will due my heart well if the Tigers can answer back here.