The Sports Beat

Tigers relief pitching collapses again, Royals win series opener.

Detroit Tigers        at        Kansas City Royals

          1                  -                       3

Friday, April 6, 2007

By Cory Smith

If the Tigers could find a way to pitch effectively in the sixth through eighth innings, they might be unstoppable. Unfortunately, that is currently not the case.

The Kansas City Royals snapped a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning on a triple with one man on by Tony Pena Jr. against the Tigers Jose Mesa, who relieved Justin Verlander after six solid innings. Two pitches later David DeJesus singled to left field sending Pena home to put the Royals up 3-1. After Mark Grudzielanek hit a line drive to right field for the first out, Wilfredo Ledezma replaced Mesa to close the inning with a walk, a foul popout, and a strikeout to finish.

Detroit would manage just one more hit in the top of the eighth, giving De La Rosa his first win on the season. De La Rosa held the Tigers to just 4 hits, and kept the Tigers frustrated, preventing them from taking the leading at any one point during the game. The Tigers couldn't find their way home, as 5 runners were left on base throughout the game.

The Tigers only run came on a sacrifice fly hit by Craig Monroe in the second inning. Monroe also got his first hit of the season on a double in the fifth inning.

Verlander looked phenomenal in his 2007 debut. Allowing only two hits, the Royals managed just one unearned run on an error by Magglio Ordonez. Verlander struck out four, walked five, and crossed the 100 mph mark four times. Verlander threw 97 pitches in his six innings at the mound, 57 of them strikes.

Players of the Game

Detroit – P Justin Verlander – 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 4 SO, 97-57 PC-ST

Kansas City – P Jorge De La Rosa – 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 103-59 PC-ST

 

The Tigers Starting rotation, after 3 games, has been solid. Bonderman, Robertson and Verlander have each kept the Tigers in position to win, but with the Tigers lack of hitting, combined with shoddy relief pitching has the left the Tigers to start 1-2 on the year. With Moroth making his debut tomorrow, and Bonderman up again on Sunday, the Tigers should hold the Royals to minimal runs. The quesion is, can the Tigers lineup put up enough runs to combat the runs that teams score against the Tigers relievers? Lets hope so.

The Tigers play again Saturday April 7 at 2:10 pm. against the Royals. Mike Moroth will make his debut, pitching in what one can only assume will be a chilly Saturday afternoon. Moroth spent the latter of the 2006 season on the DL after surgery on his left elbow. Moroth returned to the Tigers three months after surgery, but as a relief pitcher.

Cold weather, gusting winds Postpone Tigers series finale vs. Blue Jays.

Toronto Blue Jays at Detroit Tigers

Thursday, April 5, 2007

By Cory Smith

Apparently rain and lightning aren’t the only things that can prevent a scheduled game of baseball. Light flurries and a temperature of 27 degrees, combined with high winds reaching 32 miles per hour created a wind chill of 14 degrees, which acted as the sole motive in today's cancellation.

The game has been rescheduled for September 10^th at 7:05 pm. ET at Comerica Park.

Justin Verlander will move back a day in the rotation, pitching at Kansas City on Friday, April 6 at 8:10 p.m. ET. Jeremy Bonderman has been moved up in the rotation, and will pitch the series finale against Kansas City on Sunday, April 8 at 2:10 p.m. EST. Sandwiched in-between is Mike Maroth, who will pitch Saturday, April 7 against the Royals at 2:10 p.m. EST.

Chad Durbin, who is replacing the Injured Kenny Rogers, will make his season debut for the Tigers (1-1) in the series opener in Baltimore against the Orioles (0-3) on Monday, April 9 at 3:05 p.m. ET.

Kansas City (1-2) is coming off a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox (2-1). More importantly, Kansas City lost 4-1 today, after Daisuke Matsuzaka tallied up 10 strikeouts in seven innings in his MLB debut with the Red Sox.

In Verlander’s short career, he has held the current Royals lineup to a combined batting average of .205. The Tigers went 14-1 against the Royals last season before losing their last three games of the season to finish 14-4 against them overall. At Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium the Tigers were a perfect 9-0 in 2006.

Courtisy of "Grand-er-slam", Tigers defeat Blue Jays after blowing 9 run lead.

Toronto Blue Jays at Detroit Tigers

Wednesday, April 5th, 2007

By Cory Smith

What better way to start a Tigers baseball game than watching the players receive their American League Championship rings from the Tigers magical 2006 season? How about opening up a game 9-0 in 4 innings? If you asked me, I’d take both.

Detroit (1-1) roared off to a quick 8-0 lead on Wednesday against Toronto (1-1), all 8 runs scored in the third inning. Curtis Granderson started the inning with a walk, off of Blue Jays pitcher A.J Burnett. But that wasn’t satisfying enough. With Placido Polanco at the plate, Granderson sprinted off of first, successfully stealing second base. One pitch later and Polanco singled to right field, sending Granderson across home plate. The Tigers took the lead 1-0.

Maybe Polanco was jealous of Granderson. With Gary Sheffield at the plate, Polanco followed suit and stole second base in similar fashion. Sheffield was walked three balls later. Then, on a count of 2-2, Magglio Ordonez singled to left field which loading the bases with no outs.

With the bases loaded, Carlos Guillen singled to center field sending both Polanco and Sheffield home to score. With men on first and second, and nobody out, the Tigers took the lead 3-0.

Next up was Ivan Rodriguez who singed out to right field loading the bases for Sean Casey.

With the bases loaded for the second time in one inning, Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons sent in right hander Shaun Marcum to relieve Burnett.

With a chance to crank out a grand slam Casey popped one up, but it was caught in mid center field for the first out of the inning. No worries though, as clutch hitter Craig Monroe was on deck.

Known for cranking out a few homers when the time calls for it, Monroe did indeed send someone home, but I doubt he planned on doing it with a walk. Rodriguez strolled across home plate and put the Tigers up 4-0.

With the bases still loaded Brandon Inge approached the plate, but three strikes later Inge struck out swinging.

If you have been keeping track up to this point, you realize that the batting order has fully cycled, putting Granderson back up to bat.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Granderson stepped up to the plate. On the second pitch he blasted one out to right field, and with no power to spare. Granderson’s ball hit the fence just above the right field wall, clearing the mark by just a few feet. Granderson recorded the first grand slam of his career, not to mention putting the Tigers up 8-0.

After the bases cleared, Polanco kept the excitement going with a single out to center field, but three pitches later Sheffield struck out swinging to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth inning Craig Monroe found himself with the bases loaded once again. With one out, Monroe grounded to shortstop, resulting in an out at second base, but that was enough to put the Tigers up 9-0 as Ordonez scored from third.

Nate Robertson pitched 5 2/3 innings without allowing a run, but with a man on third and two outs, Aaron Hill homered over the left field wall, scoring two runs for Toronto. With the Tigers now leading 9-2, Manager Jim Leyland relieved Robertson, sending Jason Grilli to the mound. Robertson, done for the day, allowed 7 hits, 2 runs, and had 4 strike outs.

In the top of the seventh inning, Granderson continued to excel. Granderson tripled to deep right field, sending Brandon Inge home for the score to put the Tigers up 10-2. Unfortunately, the inning ended with Granderson and Ordonez left on base.

As good as the Tigers had been all day, the eighth inning belonged to Toronto.

Grilli loaded the bases with one out to start the inning, and the Blue Jays took advantage. Gregg Zaun singled, sending in one run, leaving the bases loaded once again. Though Jason Smith couldn’t duplicate the efforts of Curtis Granderson, his triple to right field was good for three runs, closing the gap on the Tigers, who now led by just four runs, 10-6.

Without hesitation, Leyland sent in Fernando Rodney to relieve Grilli. Reed Johnson singled off of Rodney sending Smith home for another score, cutting the Tigers lead to three runs. Lyle Overbay then doubled to deep center field, putting two men on base with just one out. Three pitches later Vernon Wells doubled to left field sending Johnson and Overbay home. Detroit’s lead, decimated to just one run, now led 10-9. When it seemed like Toronto was finally going to tie it up, Rodney forced two pop ups, ending the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers managed to put two men on base, threatening to extend its lead once again, but Jason Frasor relieved Victor Zambrano and sent the Tigers next three batters back to the dugout, ending the inning.

The ninth inning began with closer Todd Jones on the mound. Jones forced Alex Rios to pop up into right field for the first out. However, a single and a walk later, Jones had two men on with only one out. Lucky for Jones, pop ups would be the theme of the inning, as Toronto’s last two batters both popped up for the final outs of the game. And with that, Jones earned his first successful close of the year.

Tigers escape with the win 10-9 over the Blue Jays.

Players of the Game

Detroit – CF Curtis Granderson – 5 AB, 5 RBI, 2 H (Triple, Grand Slam), 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 R

Toronto – SS Jason Smith – 2 AB, 3 RBI, 1 H (Triple), 1 R

Robertson shined in today’s win, but the Tigers relief pitching struggled for the second straight game, specifically Fernando Rodney. If the Tigers can win tomorrow, without struggling late in the game, it can erase some of the suspicion that the Tigers relief pitching may not be as strong as originally thought.

The Tigers play again Thursday April 5 at 1:05 pm. capping off the three game series against the Blue Jays. It’s Justin Verlander’s 2007 debut, so I suggest you do your best to catch him in action. It should be an exciting, cold, and windy game.

Tigers begin season with loss – Bonderman shrugs off sluggish start.

Toronto Blue Jays at Detroit Tigers

Monday, April 2nd, 2007

By Cory Smith

The raising of banners, a presentation of tribute videos, and a fireworks display that could rival most 4^th of July festivities brought roaring fans to their feet as the Tigers (0-1) took the field on opening day of the 2007 season.

A record crowd at Comerica Park took to their seats as Reed Johnson of the Toronto Blue Jays (1-0) approached the plate. With plenty of hype left over from last year’s venture into the World Series, fans watched with the highest of expectations as Jeremy Bonderman threw out the first pitch of the game.

It was a ball - followed by another ball, and then another. One strike and one ball later, Johnson found himself on base without a swing of the bat. Johnson then stole second after Lyle Overbay took a strike while looking, and on the following pitch Overbay singled to center field sending Johnson home. Nine pitches into the game the Blue Jays took the lead 1-0. 

Vernon Wells stepped up to the plate. Facing a count of one ball and two strikes Wells singled to center field sending Overbay home for the score – Blue Jays on top 2-0.

Two pop fly outs later, Alex Rios doubled to left center sending Wells home for the third score of the inning. After taking a strike while looking, Gregg Zaun grounded out to first to end the inning for Bonderman.

Roy Hallady took the mound for the Blue Jays, who now sat comfortably with a 3-0 lead.

Detroit would stay quite until the bottom of the third when a sacrifice fly hit by Gary Sheffield gave the Tigers their first run of the season. The Tigers ended the inning with just one run, but in the bottom of the 5^th they closed the gap. After a single to left field by Placido Polanco that sent Brandon Inge home, and another sacrifice fly by Sheffield, the Tigers tied the game at 3 apiece.

After Bonderman’s rusty first inning, the Cy Young prospect returned to the spotlight holding the Blue Jays without a run for the next 5 innings. Bonderman continued his dominance holding the Blue Jays to just two hits, striking out three batters in the process. Bonderman finished the game allowing five hits and three runs.

Bonderman was relieved by Joel Zumaya, who pitched the seventh and eighth innings. He allowed no hits and struck out one batter. Todd Jones took the mound for the Tigers in the top of the ninth. With one out Jones put the go ahead run on base with a walk, but the Tigers forced a double play to enter the bottom of the inning.

Casey Janssen pitched the bottom of the ninth for Toronto and kept the Tigers without a score, - thus the game entered extra innings.

Fernando Rodney took the mound in the top of the tenth inning and started out on the right foot scooping up a ball hit by Reed Johnson and throwing him out at first. But a single, a walk, and an off target pitch that hit batter Frank Thomas loaded the bases with just one out.

On a count of 0-2, Rodney sent a heater down the middle only to be hit out to left field by Troy Glaus, sending in the go ahead run. The Jays took the lead 4-3. Alex Rios then grounded out to third on Rodney’s second pitch, but that didn’t stop Vernon Wells from leaving third and crossing home plate putting the Blue Jays up 5-3. Rodney ended the inning striking out Gregg Zaun for the final out.

Down 5-3 in the bottom of the 10^th, Toronto sent B.J. Ryan to the mound. Curtis Granderson batted first, but struck out swinging on a count of 1-2. Placido Polanco then singled to right center field on a count of 0-2, instilling the Tigers with a little hope. Gary Sheffield approached the plate, but struck out swinging on a count of 1-2. B.J Ryan then walked Magglio Ordonez, which set up the tying run for the Tigers. Faced with two outs, Carlos Guillen stepped up to the plate with a chance to be the opening day hero, but swung on the first pitch that resulted in a pop fly to second base to end the game.

Toronto defeated Detroit 5-3 in 10 innings.

Players of the game

Toronto – 1^st Baseman Lyle Overbay – 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI, 1 BB.

Detroit – 2^nd Baseman Placido Polanco – 5 AB, 3 H, 1 RBI.

Though the Tigers lost, there is little to be concerned about. Toronto is a good team, and will be a challenger in the AL East. If the Tigers can take the next two from Toronto, they should be able to boost a bit above .500 when they head out to Kansas City to face a weaker team in the Royals.

The Tigers will host Toronto again on Wednesday at 1:05 pm. eastern time. Nate Robertson will start for the Tigers.

 

Detroit Tigers - Destined to Return

Finishing the season as American League Champions, but failing to claim victory in the World Series has left a bitter taste of disappointment in the mouths of Tiger Fans this off-season. Those who marveled at the “feel good story” of the Detroit Tigers are left to ponder if the team's magical season was anything but a one-year charade.

You can lay your uncertainty to rest.

                      ***

In a busy off-season that has lead to the acquisition of veteran power hitter Gary Sheffield (Traded from the N.Y. Yankees) and the re-signing of four of Detroit's top hitters and fielders (Monroe, Infante, Inge, Casey) the Tigers may have just written the "to be concluded" chapter to their feel good story - ending in a return trip to the World Series.

The Tigers entire starting pitching rotation will be back for another season. A talented, youthful lineup that includes Justin Verlander (2006 American League rookie of the year) and the timeless veteran "King Tiger" Kenny Rogers (3.84 Earned Run Average in 2006) re-creates one of the most feared rotations in the Majors - with or without starting pitcher Nate Robertson's amusing "rally chew."

The Tigers feverish pitching finished 1st in the League in ERA (3.84) and shutouts (16) in 2006.

The Tigers bullpen, however, will have to adjust.

The Loss of Jamie Walker (2.81 ERA in '06) will hurt, as good left handed pitchers are hard to come by, but the Tigers are bringing in a couple of young lefties that should complement the remaining staff. With Fernando Rodney (3.52 ERA in '06), Todd Jones (37 Saves in '06), and Joel Zumaya (1.94 ERA in '06, not to mention his 103 mph fastball!) coming back after noteworthy seasons, the Tigers can smooth out their adjustments in spring training - maturing the bullpen for the regular season.

The Tigers batting was very streaky throughout the year. Detroit opened the season outscoring their opponents 39-12 in the first five games. They would continue their scoring dominance, finishing eighth in the league in runs scored (822).

The Tigers projected '07 starting lineup had a combined batting average of .283 in '06. That's an impressive stat on its own, but the team average was a few steps down at .273, 8th overall in the American League. If the Tigers are going to make some strides this off-season it will have to come with an improvement in hitting.

The Tigers were 2nd in the AL in strikeouts and 8th in on-base-percentage - two statistics that help explain why the Tigers were shutout 8 times during the season. Though the Tigers lost only 67 games, 20 of those losses were decided by just one run. Detroit scored a dismal average of 3.1 runs per loss.

With the addition of Sheffield, and some quality batters sitting in the dugout (Clevlen, Shelton, Infante, Thames, Wilson), the Tigers should be primed to improve upon last year's statistics and bring down the number of close losses.

The Tigers fielding is adequate, leading the American League in stolen bases (only 49 bases stolen in 06') and also picking off attempted stolen bases (9 pick offs in 06').

Good defense aside, the Tigers were far from excellent.

Detroit's fielding woes can be rooted to their numerous errors.  They finished 4th in the American League in errors (106) a disappointing 40 more than the Boston Red Sox (66).

In the World Series alone the Tigers made 8 errors, setting a new Series record for errors committed by pitchers (5).

With a trip to the World Series in the books, and the stern antics of Team Manager Jim Leyland keeping the players on their toes, a solid spring training should be enough to mold the tigers fielding into one of the better units in the Majors.

The Tigers can satisfy the desires of their fans by making it back to the World Series, but more importantly, winning the American League Central to get there. The Tigers lost the last 5 games of the 2006 season to finish one game shy of winning the division. The last time the Tigers won the ALC was in 1987.

The Tigers will face slightly weaker opponents in the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins this season. Both teams are looking to fill big holes in the pitching staff, and lack the team chemistry that the tigers continue to display. The real competition will come out of the American League East.

The Yankees had but only a few changes to make, with none to the batting order. Last season they lead the league in wins (97) and runs scored (930). The Yankees have parted ways with "The Big Unit" Randy Johnson, in exchange for a plethora of young talent. What the Yankees lack in pitching, they will make up for in scoring. This should fare well for the Tigers however, as Detroit's pitching rotation should be able to calm the power hitting of the Yankees. If Detroit can improve their hitting, they will have the advantage over the youthful pitching of the Yankees.

The Red Sox are still searching for answers. The addition of Daisuke Matsuzaka will guarantee at least 15 wins, but that makes for only 3 potential pitchers on the roster who will reach double digits in the win column. The projected 2007 batting order had a 2006 batting average of .269. Combined with its questionable pitching staff, the Red Sox will have to get to work this year to even think about contending with the likes of the Tigers and Yanks.

As far as the American League West is concerned, the Wild Card won't be coming out of it, and no team poses too dangerous of a threat to the Tigers. The Angels need help fielding. The Rangers need better pitchers. And the Athletics stand out as the only returning contender for the playoffs. They have a very complete team. A little more run support and they could make a splash in 2007.

The Tigers have the best chance of any team to take home the American League Championship once again - returning to a second consecutive World Series. A more mature, talented Tigers team will show that last year was no fluke. This franchise is on its way to restoring itself to glory, and will prove its worth by heading back to the World Series in 2007.

Who they will play? Now that's another story...

All Photos taken by Cory Smith.