Tagged: Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander Socked Again
Justin Verlander has not been himself this season.
Even after manager Jim Leyland chose him as a personal pick for the A.L. All-Star team, and announcing that a flaw had been discovered in his mechanics that was to be corrected, he was pounded by the lowly Chicago White Sox Tuesday. He got through 7, giving up 12 hits and 5 earned runs, including two long-shots. He only struck out 3.
The White Sox, coming in with a dismal .296 OBP (good for 28th in the league) and having only scored 314 runs this season (good for 29th in the league) made mincemeat of Tigers pitching Tuesday, clocking 23 hits. Has Verlander been bad this year? Certainly not. I think the bullpen issues magnify Verlander’s struggles, but as Tigers fans, we have been spoiled for the past several years with his dominance on the mound every 5 days. It was must see TV every time he took the mound. Now, he appears to be just another part of a strong rotation. He still has an ERA that is only .3 higher than his career average. But not since May have we seen more than 10 K’s in an outing, and not since June 12th have we seen any more than 5 K’s. Four outings have also come with at least 5 earned runs.
What do you think? Has Verlander lost his dominance, and will he ever be able to regain his form to be what he was in his MVP season a year ago? Max Scherzer has filled in admirably, but I think every fan is crossing their fingers that #35 will return to his old form to help carry this team down the stretch.
Game 2 – Starting Lineup and Thoughts from Opening Day
Today’s game against the Boston Red Sox is nationally televised on FOX at 4:05 PM.
Here is the lineup:
1) Jackson (8)
2) Boesch (9)
3) Cabrera (5)
4) Fielder (3)
5) Young (6)
7) Avila (2)
8) Dirks (DH)
9) Raburn (4)
SP: Doug Fister
As far as opening day goes, the excitement didn’t really start until the late innings, finally giving something for fans to get on their feet for, with the exception of reigning AL MVP Justin Verlander putting on a pitching clinic. He was absolutely lights out for 8 innings and his curveball looks as good as I have ever seen it…and it’s the first day of the year. Bodes well for Tigers fans, as long as Jose Valverde doesn’t blow the gems in future outings like he did Thursday, giving up 2 runs in the 9th to tie the game. But Austin Jackson, who had a solid day at the plate and actually looked comfortable for once, came through with a bases loaded single in the bottom of the 9th for the walk-off win on opening day. There were a lot of positives to take away from the first game of the year, not to mention a record opening day crowd. The city is hungry and I think this team will produce.
Cross your fingers for no repeats of ’08.
Spring Roundup
A week ago I tweeted (@optimisttiger) that the Detroit Tigers had started the spring 6-0.
And a week later, they have lost 1 game (12-1). The biggest reason? The 8 pitchers who could be considered starters for the 2012 season have a combined ERA of 2.35. Some notables:
- Andy Oliver – 0.00 ERA. 9 IP, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. Opponents are batting .071 off this lefty.
- Justin Verlander – 0.93 ERA. 9.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 K. Could he possibly be on track to avoiding another rough April?
- Doug Fister – 1.00 ERA. 9 IP, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Beginning right where he left off. Poised for a huge year.
- Drew Smyly – 1.13 ERA. 8 IP, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. The 22 year old is having a fine spring and may be a dark horse for the 5th spot.
- Rick Porcello – 1.80 ERA. 10 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Hopefully there is less pressure on him starting the year, having a similar type of pitcher in the rotation in Fister who he can work with.
You’ll notice that in those 45.2 innings, only 10 walks have been given up combined by these pitchers. Max Scherzer is pitching less remarkable so far (3.38 ERA, 8 IP, 3 ER, 5 BB) but still solid for it being March.
Also of note, a player who we might see at some point in the Tigers bullpen and was signed mid-December is Chris Bootcheck. He has appeared in 5 games with 5 IP, 0.oo ERA, 1 BB and 4 K. I like a trusty reliever out of the pen who keeps runners off the bases. I will be keeping an eye out on him.
All of this talk about pitching, but the Tigers hitters have had some hot bats this spring, as well. Some notables:
- Delmon Young – .519 BA. 8 R, 3 HR, 15 RBI. I know there are some questions about his defense, but it is clear the Tigers are favoring bats over covering the field this year.
- Ryan Raburn – .458 BA. 6 R, 5 HR, 16 RBI. 5 of his 11 hits have been homers, and 5 of his 6 runs have come from those homers, which irks me. Having a good spring, but he is still a player that needs to be more consistent with his bat throughout the year.
- Brandon Inge – .240 BA. 6 hits in 25 ABs. 2 doubles. 1 HR. I wish he would realize he is not a power guy and would try to hit more opposite field. He would be a much better all-around player.
Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder are both putting up solid springs and I did not feel the need to note their stats. They are going to be at the top of the league in nearly every major category at the end of the year, granted there are no injuries or unexpected issues. Danny Worth (.353 BA) is having a steady spring as well, and I hope that he gets a chance to stay with the team. I would much rather have him at 2B than either Raburn or Inge, but manager Jim Leyland will give both of the veterans every opportunity in the world to succeed. You cannot expect to run a player out once a week and have him perform the way he is capable of, and I don’t think Worth has been given the opportunity to perform to the best of his ability. Don Kelly (.385) and Andy Dirks (.429) are also having great spring’s so far.
One player of concern right now is centerfielder and lead off man Austin Jackson. He has a .276 average, but has struck out 11 times in 29 ABs. That is far too many yet and really needs to be corrected if he is going to continue to be a lead off hitter. Imagine what type of havoc the team could create having a lead off man get on consistently with Boesch, Cabrera, Fielder, and even Young coming up next. There is nothing to pitch around.
Again, I do not put much stake in spring training, as other teams are running out pitchers who may never see a major league mound during the regular season, and a lot of fine tuning goes into pitching and at bats, but if the spring is any indication of the year the Tigers are going to have, it should be a fun ride.
Verlander wins MVP!
Just-INCREDIBLE!
Justin Verlander becomes the first starting pitcher since Roger Clemens in 1986 to win the MVP award. He edged out Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox and Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays in the voting Monday afternoon, doing something that many predicted would never happen again.
Hats off to one of the finest seasons any pitcher has had in the last 25 years. Congratulations!
Tigers bringing back Laird?
The Tigers haven’t made a ton of news this off-season, with the exception of Tuesday’s announcement of Justin Verlander winning the AL CY Young award in a unanimous vote, but today reports came out that the team was bringing back Gerald Laird to back up starter Alex Avila.
I like this move as it brings in a proven defensive plug. It is hard to expect a backup catcher to produce significantly at the plate, and a catcher’s first concern really should be his defensive play. He may be frustrating to watch at the plate, but he played exceptional defense during his stay in Detroit.
In other news, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News posted an interesting article on the rumor that Detroit is looking to get Atlanta Braves 2B Martin Prado in a deal for Delmon Young. While I think Young is a solid bat in the lineup and had a fantastic ALDS, his defense is weak and the Tigers are loaded with young outfield talent, and an outfield position is much easier to fill through trade or free agency than 2B. Adding a 2B this offseason has to be one of the biggest conerns for GM Dave Dombrowski. The platoon that the Tigers used last year is not ideal and adding Prado, a career .293 hitter, would immediately be an upgrade, both offensively and defensively, over any option that the Tigers currently have (17 errors in nearly 200 games in his career at 2B).
ALCS Game 2 – Weather not a factor?
In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that I didn’t think weather would be as much of a factor in the ALCS with Texas as it was with New York in the ALDS.
Well, I was wrong.
Two rain delays extended game 1 and the Rangers held on for a 3-2 win, doing some damage to Justin Verlander before he exited after the 2nd rain delay in the 5th.
There is also a threat for more rain in game 2 tonight, when Max Scherzer takes the hill. This is an important game for Detroit as, if necessary, games 6 and 7 will be played back in Texas. Detroit left the bases loaded twice last night and could do nothing against the Rangers bullpen, getting only 1 hit on Ramon Santiago’s bunt single to lead off the ninth.
I thought it was a curious decision to bring in Wilson Betemit in the 9th, who was 0-6 with 3 strikeout’s in his career against Feliz. He walked back to the bench increasing that number to 4 strikeouts. The Tigers outfielders also have to really clamp down on their defense. Magglio just doesn’t have it anymore and Jackson cannot afford mistakes like he made early in the game that extended Verlander’s pitch count. Had the rain not forced him out of the game, Verlander would not have been in the game much longer anyway, having already thrown over 80 pitches through 4 innings.
Look for the Tigers to come out swinging tonight. They cannot afford to not attack tonight and let the Rangers’ dangerous lineup run away with the game. It’s a toss up, but I like the Tigers to take game 2.
EDIT: Game 2 has been postponed until Monday afternoon due to rain in the forecast. Does this benefit either team or hurt one more than the other?
ALCS Opens Tonight in Texas
The American League Championship series opens tonight versus the defending AL Champion Texas Rangers. Justin Verlander will be on the mound for Detroit after manager Jim Leyland opted not to pitch him in the decisive game 5 against the New York Yankees.
In a major blow to the offense, the team announced that OF Delmon Young, who set a club record for most homeruns hit in an ALDS with 3, will not play in the series against Texas. Leyland must now find a viable bat to fill that 3 spot in the order ahead of slugger Miguel Cabrera. One option would be to move Jhonny Peralta, but my instinct says that Magglio Ordonez will be inserted into that spot. We will have to wait and see.
My prediction for the series: Detroit takes it in 6. I think that Detroit’s pitching is too strong and their bats will be alive. Weather should not be as much of a factor as it was in the New York series, and even without Young’s bat in the lineup, I think Detroit poses a major threat to take back the pennant from the Rangers this year.
A Few Early Morning Thoughts
It’s been awhile since I was last able to sit down and post my thoughts. I don’t have a whole lot of time on my hands being a senior in college and holding a full-time live-in professional job, but I do still follow the Tigers avidly. Most of my writing time, however, comes in the form of assignments instead of on a blog!
But I wanted to post a few of my thoughts before I call it a night:
1) Justin Verlander is the MVP of the American League.
This is going to be tough because there are several deserving candidates for the AL MVP award. However, if you compare Verlander’s stats to those of Roger Clemens when he was named the MVP (the last pitcher to do so), they are better in every category. And taking into consideration Verlander’s growth from being a guy with a very powerful arm into a pitcher who flat out dominates every time he goes out on the mound, it is easy to see why Detroit fans and some national writers say the award should be his. Of course, it is difficult to justify someone being named the most valuable player of the entire league when he only plays once every 5 days, but in this case, Verlander is an exception. He means more to the Tigers than any other candidate means for their ball club.
2) Doug Fister is the Tiger’s #2 pitcher.
When the team traded away Casper Wells and Charlie Furbush, along with Martinez and Ruffin, I was not disappointed to see those players go in exchange for Fister. Fister was in an unfortunate situation in Seattle where he had zero offense behind him. Having been a pitcher in high school, I understand how frustrating and difficult it is to maintain consistency and composure when your team is doing nothing for you. It was a brilliant move by Dombrowski to bring him to Detroit and the fans are now seeing his worth to the ballclub.
3) After Verlander and Fister….
….yeah I still don’t know. Scherzer has his days and I thought that Porcello was breaking through after the all-star break, but neither has provided consistent numbers. Brad Penny will most likely not be used in the playoffs (assuming we don’t have another catastrophic collapse and actually win the division) but he has provided some veteran stability in a young rotation. I am hoping that either Scherzer or Porcello steps it up in these last few weeks and gives the Tigers coaching staff a better idea of who they can rely on in October.
4) The Tigers’ bats can keep up with any team, but….
…can their rotation and bullpen keep them alive come October? It will be the difference between winning and losing in the playoffs. The Tigers are not going to surprise anybody by coming in and driving in runs. But what will surprise people is if Tigers pitching (minus Verlander) can keep opponents from crossing the plate. It’s the biggest knock on the team right now and it’s my biggest concern heading to October.
Just a few thoughts for the night/early morning. I’ll try to get more in once I figure out how to get in a groove with my work load. Comments are appreciated!
Series Preview – Tigers vs. Indians
Preview
The AL Central leading Tigers head to Cleveland to take on the 2nd place Indians in a pivotal matchup that can really give the Tigers some ground in the standings or allow a young Cleveland team to gain more traction on the race to October.
The Tigers come in having taken 2 of 3 games from Kansas City over the weekend. They held the hottest hitting team in the AL to nine runs in 3 games. It’s weird saying that about a Kansas City team but like I’ve mentioned several times now, manager Ned Yost has that team playing some very solid baseball with a young and talented lineup and rotation.
Cleveland arrives back home after a 7 game stretch that saw them go 3-4 against Boston and Texas. 
The pitching matchups-
Tuesday: Fister (4-12, 3.29 ERA) vs. Masterson (9-7, 2.63 ERA)
Wednesday: Porcello (11-6, 4.49ERA) vs. Jimenez (6-9, 4.64 ERA)
Thursday: Verlander (16-5, 2.30 ERA) vs. Carmona (5-11, 5.19 ERA)
Game times: All games are at 7:05 pm ET
Analysis
The first two games of the series have 2 phenomenal matchups with newcomer Doug Fister going up against Cleveland’s ace Justin Masterson in the first game, and Rick Porcello facing Cleveland’s big addition Ubaldo Jimenez in Wednesday’s contest.
The Indians are only batting .229 off of Fister (Shin Soo-Choo has somewhat impressive numbers against him, but is currently on the DL), which I think it going to make tonight’s contest a pitchers duel. Masterson has been great this year for Cleveland and, like Fister, has received little run support in his starts. However, in his career, Masterson is 0-2 with a 6.10 ERA, having given up 14 runs in 20 innings. Cabrera, Kelly, Ordonez, and Martinez all have batting averages of .400+ against Masterson in their careers.
The Porcello – Jimenez matchup is the one I want to see. Most of the Tigers have only had one encounter with Jimenez in their career, but he is a very solid pitcher. The asking price for him included both Jacob Turner and Nick Castellanos, and obviously the Indians were willing to give up more than the Tigers were to get him at the trade deadline. In 7 starts against Cleveland in his career, Porcello has never lost to the Indians. He is 4-0 with a 2.28 ERA and has held them to a meager .232 average. What has impressed me most with Porcello since the all-star break? 26 1/3 innings pitched, 2 walks. He is not giving teams free passes, and it has helped him tremendously.
The final game of the series pits a short-rested Justin Verlander against Fausto Carmona. Not that being short-rested should make much of a difference for Verlander, who has been more than stellar this season. He was not great in his last start, but definitely good enough to win on most nights. He pitched a complete game shutout versus the Indians earlier this year but is only 11-11 in his career against the Indians, posting a 4-8 record at Progressive Field. These numbers should not phase him, as the current Indians have a .219 batting average against him, and he obviously was sharp in his only encounter against them this season. Carmona is 8-4 in his career with a 3.48 ERA. He did not pitch well the first 3 months of the year (6.07 ERA), but had a very solid July (2.53 ERA).
Prediction: I like the Tigers in 2 of 3 here. I can’t bet against Verlander or Porcello right now, and Ubaldo has not done well against the Tigers in AL parks in his career. I would not be entirely surprised to see a sweep, however. If Victor Martinez is in the lineup, it really gives Detroit an advantage.
Game 113 – Detroit Tigers Lineup
After blowing the lead last night, the Tigers will look to avoid the same tonight when they send Justin Verlander out to the mound. Here is tonight’s lineup.
1) Jackson (CF)
2) Boesch (LF)
3) Ordonez (RF)
4) Cabrera (1B)
5) Martinez (DH)
6) Peralta (SS)
7) Guillen (2B)
8) Raburn (3B)
9) Avila (C)
Starting on the mound is Justin Verlander.
Interesting lineup this evening. Raburn will be playing 3B for the 2nd time this year. I’m having a difficult time understanding why Betemit isn’t playing more than what he is, other than the fact that he strikes out rather frequently. Brandon Inge played more and produced far less than what Betemit has since he has been here. I’ve been one of the strongest critics of Ryan Raburn and I think I have a legitimate gripe – he is not an every day player. I don’t mind seeing him out there as a role player because I honestly think he plays better and thinks less when he isn’t constantly looking over his shoulder at who might take his place the next day if he doesn’t hit a home run that day or commits an error.
Verlander will look to continue his dominance over the Royals. When I say dominant, I mean 1 man wrecking crew: 12-2, 2.31 ERA. 117 1/3 innings pitched, 110 K’s compared to 32 walks. Billy Butler has good numbers in his career against Verlander, but I’m not sure that matters much this year. Verlander is on a mission, and I have already sat both of the Royals I have on my fantasy team for this game.
I’ll sit back with a bowl of popcorn and watch the show.
The Optimist Tiger 