ROB SANFORD

How many times have we seen this in the past? The Tigers make a trade and the player immediately goes into a slump, or gets hurt. Maybe it’s a bad MotorCity Mojo. Such is the case of Jarrod Washburn and Aubrey Huff. Both trades make good sense….Washburn was having a career year with Seattle, while Huff had almost 80 RBI’s. Both have looked lost in a Tiger uniform. The club needs them to shake it off now…and do what they came here to do, provide the team the spark to win the division.

There is no need to feel like the Lone Ranger when it comes to trades or acquisitions not doing what a team had hoped. The White Sox picked up Alex Rios and his huge, overpaid contract…and so far he hasn’t hit .200 in a Chicago uniform. Let’s not forget pitcher Jake Peavy who hasn’t even thrown a pitch yet for the White Sox. While on a rehab assignment for an injury, it appeared he was ready to join the club…when he took a line drive off his throwing elbow last week. Now that’s what I call bad luck.

I have never seen anyone bring this up…or if they have, I didn’t see it. I love Brandon Inge at third, and he has some amazing power at times…but every at-bat…and I mean everytime…he checks his swing. Many times it’s called for a strike, which I find very frustrating to watch because it leads to so many strike outs. I’m not a hitting coach, nor profess to be an expert, so I don’t know if anything can be done about it, but I felt compelled to say something. So if anyone sees me with little hairless areas on my head…it’s from pulling it out watching Inge at the plate.

ROB SANFORD

Finally…the Tigers win a series on the road….and now come home. Now it’s time to put some distance with the White Sox and Twins. The White Sox have been slapped around by the Boston Red Sox and will now play this week end at Yankee Stadium. The Twins are at home but will be playing the Texas Rangers. In case you didn’t notice, the Rangers are in the thick of the wild card chase and have become a pretty decent team. Back to the Tigers…who will be playing the Rays. Tampa has a better record than the Bengals so they will be a tough opponent. But if Detroit can catch fire…and their two Central Division foes stumble…it would be an ideal opportunity to go into September with a decent lead.

ROB SANFORD

With the loss on Sunday….the Tigers have now lost 10 straight road series. Unbelievable.  Like my buds….Greg, I have no idea on what their problem is when they leave Motown.  Maybe when wives and girlfriends aren’t keeping close track of them….they stay out too late. (just kidding) I’m not optimistic about their chances when the play the Angels. I’ve said in other posts just how much I admire their style of play…”old school.” Take the extra base…making the other team pay for their mistakes, and moving runners along…ect. That’s what makes the Angels so tough to beat.  In reading my last post…I positively gushed over the Bengals….stop me before I make the same mistake again.

I’ve ranted in the past about fantasy baseball, football, ect. I don’t take part, and never will. First….it irritates me to see someone who doesn’t know the difference between a bunt and a field goal to do well. (I know, I’m a jerk) Now I’ll really make some people mad….I also see it a past time for people with no real lives. Before you come to the station with lighted torches…to tar and feather me…I have some admissions as well. I’m maybe a bigger geek than these people.  Yes, I keep score at home and at the ballpark….and I also am facinated with the numbers that define the sport.  One such publication is BASEBALL PROSPECTUS, a subscription service…that analyzes the sport up and down.  In a recent issue….it figured the 2009 win-revenue efficiency of each team in the Majors. The PROSPECTUS ranks The Tigers and GM Dave Dombrowski as the 12th m0st efficient franchise this year. The conclusions come from using something called “Sabermetric”…..whatever that is. In case you’re wondering….the New York Yankees are #1….followed by the Tampa Bay Rays. The Tigers spot is remarkable when you consider more than $62 and a half million of the $115 million in payroll are either injured or ineffective. That’s figures to more than 54% of the total payroll.  The top deadweight players were listed as Jeremy Bonderman, Magglio Ordonez, Nate Robertson, Dontrell Willis, Joel Zumaya, and Gary Sheffield. Yes…Gary Sheffield. When Sheff was shuffled to the Mets…he was making $13.6 million….but to close the deal…the Tigers had to pay $13.2 Million…this season.

GREG BOWMAN

Why have the Tigers been so successful at Comerica Park and had so many problems on the road this year?  I don’t have the answer to that question, and  I guess Jim Leyland doesn’t either, or he would be doing something differently.  Unfortunately, they can’t play all their games at home, and now they’re back out west, where they have not played well for the past couple of seasons.

Let’s hope the Tigers can score a few runs for Edwin Jackson, who has received the worst run support of any pitcher…

The tigers come from behind win against Seattle Thursday was one of their most impressive wins of the season,  coming back from a six to two deficit to beat the Mariners 7 to 6.   It was nice to see Brandon Inge come up in a key situation with the bases loaded and not TRY to hit a home run, which all too often winds up in a strikeout.   Inge hung in there for a quality at bat and got a sacrifice fly to tie to the game before Clete Thomas got the game winning walk off hit..

Uh-Oh.   That’s my assessment so far of Jerrod Washburn’s performance since he put on a Tiger uniform.  He’s had one good outing and three lousy ones, and is giving up way too many home runs, four in Thursday’s game alone.  Every pitcher gives up home runs, but not that many.   And he’s serving up too many batting practice type fat  pitches that don’t seem to have any movement.

ROB SANFORD

You have to hand it to them, the Tigers know how to play exciting baseball. What a homestand…4-2 with several wins in the final at-bat. Now….they head out for an important west coast road trip….they simply have to find a way to win. Now, I’d like to offer some thoughts on some individual Tigers.

Alex Avila….Before you put him into the Hall of Fame…remember he’s played at Erie all year so it may take awhile for his scouting reports to make it around the league. Having said that, I’m very impressed with his poise and a great knowledge of the strike zone. He also has a smooth stroke at the plate. It helps to hang around big league ballplayers when you’re growing up, an advantage of being the son of an executive. All in all, I believe the Tigers have gone from no real catching prospects..to  a very promising one.

Magglio Ordonez….In his last 20 games, Mags is hitting .357 with some extra base power. That’s a vast improvement over what he did before the All-Star break. That’s the good news….the bad news is that he’s hitting only .167 with runners in scoring position over that same time.

Brandon Lyon,,,,Remember in April and May??? When he came out of the bullpen, you could hear the groan go up at Comerica Park. He got off to a horrible start…but whatever he did to get on track…lets hope he continues. Over his last 5 appearances Lyon is 2-0, with an ERA of 0.00 and is tied for second in the American League for wins in relief with 6. Oh…and since May 20th..he’s limited hitters to an average of .087 with runners in scoring position.

Finally…I can’t see Curtis Granderson getting booed for anything by fans…you know he’s trying as hard as he can to start hitting again. The good part is that he hasn’t let his problems at the plate affect his defense. He’s as good a centerfielder you’ll find in the American League. For the just completed homestand…Curtis was just 4 of 20…and 0 for 13 in his last 3 games. Maybe getting some time off will help

ROB SANFORD

When Aubry Huff played for the Tampa Bay Rays….I was always impressed with him. So when he became eligible for free agency….I was hoping the Tigers would get into the bidding. I figured he wasn’t all that well known…but was a good hitter, left handed….and could be a bargain. That didn’t happen…so now after a stint in Baltimore he comes to Detroit in return for a minor league pitcher. While a batting average of .253 won’t turn any heads…but the fact he has over 70 rbi’s….more than any Tiger right now…has to be impressive. I’ll keep my fingers crossed this will work out well

ROB SANFORD

Here we go again…..failing to drive in runners in scoring  position…..leading to a 3 to 2 10 inning loss Sunday to the Royals.  Detroit was 0 for 16 in the game when runners reached second or third. So while you blame Ryan Rayburn and his 3 errors in the loss….don’t forget the Bengals had more than an ample chance to win the game in regulation. I’ve got to say the pitching in the series was outstanding….from Jarrod Washburn to Armando Galarraga….the starters were terrific and the bullpen did its job. The quietest effective reliver is Fu-Te Ni….who doesn’t throw all that hard, really doesn’t blow hitters away….but does his job.

From the time Al Avila joned the Tigers braintrust under Dave Dombrowski….his last name was prounced Ah-liva….but now that his son Alex joined the team….they prounce it Ah-leeva. Whatever….it’s just one of the small things I wounder about in my pea brain.  Once Avila gets his throwing game in order….look for him to take over the catcher’s job, while Gerald Laird will be #2.

ROB SANFORD

Does anyone want to take control of the A.L. Central Division?? The Tigers have looked like world beaters at home…..and patsies on the road. In the meantime, while the Tigers were bumbling and stumbling in Boston…the White Sox and Twins failed to take advantage of it. Right now…I’d have to say it’s nothing less than a miracle the Bengals remain on top.

ROB SANFORD

It wasn’t all that surprising that a brawl broke out between the Tigers and Red Sox. It started the night before when Brandon Inge was hit with a pitch….followed by Kevin Youkilis getting drilled. As Youkilis walked to first base he was swearing at Edwin Jackson…and it was easy to see he was on “go.” Then in game 2….Miguel Cabrera was hit in the hand and was forced from the game….and Rick Porcello responded by drilling Youkilis. Now the young pitcher claims he didn’t hit the hitter on purpose….something I absolutely don’t believe. I would like to think he was delivering a strong message to the Red Sox, and the rest of the American League, if you throw at our hitters….the Tigers won’t stand for it and will respond. I blame the umpires for letting this thing get out of hand. At no time was either team warned…and as it heated up…you can’t tell me they didn’t know what was happening. If you’re handing out disipline….I think the umpires should not be left out. By the way….Porcello accounted for himself admirably…throwing down a charging bull. Thank goodness no one got hurt….like a brawl involving  retired Tiger pitcher Dave Rozema years ago. He severely injured his knee when he tried to give a karate kick to a charging hitter. Most believe the injury played a major role in ending his career.

ROB SANFORD

Maybe the offense isn’t a dead duck yet. It just looks like we’re going to have to get used to seeing the ups and downs of Tiger hitting. You can’t really say happy days are here again….since they were shut out on Saturday against King Tiger Killer of 2009, Carl Pavano. Oh by the way….the guy is simply mediocre against other teams…what’s the deal. Are the Bengal hitters that bad, or is he that good??? Probably a little of both. Back on the topic of the offense. Since Jim Leyland was signed to a contract extension at the start of the year…someone will have to pay for the irregular hitting. I will be amazed if Lloyd McClendon  isn’t fired at the end of the season. Not because he’s not any good, but someone will have to be the fall guy,  since you can’t fire all the players, or Leyland….logically the onus falls on McClendon.

Is it me, or is Ryan Raburn one of the worse left fielders you’ve ever seen. The guy is an infielder, and has all kinds of trouble judging fly balls. In football, one of the first things you learn as a defender is to chase a ball runner by going where he will be rather than trying to catch him. It’s called taking an angle of “pursuit.” The same is true for playing the outfield…you decide where the ball will be going, then taking the shortest route to it. Raburn constantly mis-judges the fly balls, then  has to making a jumping or awkward looking catch. Many times balls will get past him to the wall, simply because he couldn’t cut it off because he took the wrong angle. Playing the outfield is more than just standing around and only react when something is hit….it requires some thinking and lots of practice.

When I used to broadcast baseball, my partner and I would constantly debate whether you’d rather face a hitter who is 0 for 4, or one who is 4 for 4….in critical situation. I know common sense might tell it would be better to face a guy who is an “o-fer”…but I’ve always maintained that it might be better to face the 4 for 4 hitter, because the odds  are against getting a 5th hit in a row, while maybe the o-fer is overdue. I bring this up because the Tigers are taking on a swooning Boston Red Sox team, who were swept by their rival Yankees over the week end. I think I would have preferred them to win on Sunday night in New York, but now they head home with a “mad-on” and the Tigers are  in their crosshairs.