Detroit Tigers

Injuries have derailed the pitching staff of the Detroit Tigers this season

chinmusic — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:37:23 +0000

Injuries to Jeremy Bonderman, Dontrelle Willis, Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney helped derail the first half of the 2008 season for the Tigers. The Tigers are now 47-47 which has them in 3rd place in the American League Central, 7 games behind the White Sox. The Tigers are also 8 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card Race in the American League. One good thing for the Tigers is that Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney are both back to help fortify the back end of the bullpen. Zumaya might eventually bump Todd Jones (17 saves, 4.95 ERA) out of the closer’s job unless he starts to improve soon. Unless Dontrelle Willis gets his act together in A-Ball (doubtful) then the Tigers might need to make another move for a starting pitcher because rookie Eddie Bonine might not have the stuff to succeed at the major league level. He has started 5 games this season for the Tigers and he is 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. It hurts the Tigers that they traded so much of their farm system to get Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis and Edgar Renteria in the off-season as they don’t have a lot of prospects to offer a team for another starting pitcher.

Cale Iorg looks like he’s going to be a player for the Detroit Tigers in the future

chinmusic — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:01:40 +0000

The Tigers have traded most of their top prospects this past off season but they held onto shortstop Cale Iorg. The 22-year old righty swinging Iorg has looked pretty good this season. He has played in 79 games in A-Ball this season and he is 81 for 309 (.262 avg, .748 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 8 homers, 40 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Iorg was the #2 prospect in the entire Tigers’ minor league system coming into this season according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook and he’s showing why this year. Look for him to be playing ball in Comerica Park in the near future.

The Detroit Tigers have designated Dane Sardinha for assignment

chinmusic — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:48:46 +0000

The Tigers have designated catcher Dane Sardinha for assignment. He played in 5 games for the Tigers this season and he was 3 for 18 (.167 avg, .445 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. Sardinha will probably just go to AAA instead of becoming a free agent because he’s knows that he’s only an injury away from the majors in Detroit. Brandon Inge has been activated from the D.L. to replace Sardinha on the roster. Inge has played in 52 games with the Tigers this season and he is 31 for 144 (.215 avg, .728 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 6 homers and 23 RBIs.

Ian Ostlund is pitching well in AAA ball for the Detroit Tigers

chinmusic — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:23:56 +0000

29-year old lefty reliever Ian Ostlund is pitching really well in AAA ball for the Tigers. The next time the Tigers need lefty help in the bullpen they should give this guy a call. Ostlund has pitched in 29 games (0 starts) in AAA ball for the Tigers this season and he is 3-0 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He has whiffed 48 batters while only walking 9 in 42.2 innings this season which shows that he has pretty good stuff and control.

Armando Galarraga has been the ace of the rotation for the Detroit Tigers

chinmusic — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:20:56 +0000

Armando Galarraga has been the ace of the starting rotation for the Tigers this season. His acquistion last off season was considered very minor at the time but he’s been the most important player they added to this point. Galarraga has been without a doubt the best pitcher on the Tigers’ pitching staff this season and it will be interesting to see if he can keep up the good work. If the Tigers are to contend in the 2nd half of the season for the playoffs Galarraga will have to keep pitching solid because they don’t have a lot to offer other teams in trade as they moved most of the big prospects to the Marlins over the winter.

Placido Polanco keeps rolling along for the Detroit Tigers

chinmusic — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:08:02 +0000

Starting 2B Placido Polanco has been a player the Tigers have grown to rely on even when the rest of the team is slumping with the bat. Polanco has played in 74 games for the Tigers this season and he is 95 for 298 (.319 avg, .780 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 3 homers and 30 RBIs. Polanco is the perfect #2 hitter for the Tigers as he has only whiffed 22 times this season which is pretty remarkable. He will start scoring a lot of runs when the batters behind him start to wake up.

The Detroit Tigers place outfielder Magglio Ordonez on the D.L.

chinmusic — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:09:48 +0000

Just when the Tigers started to get everyone healthy they have to place one of their best players on the 15-day disabled list. Ordonez has a pulled right oblique muscle which will cause him to miss at least the next two weeks. Ordonez has played in 80 games for the Tigers this season and he is 92 for 300 (.307 avg, .866 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 12 homers and 50 RBIs. The Tigers have recalled lefty swinging outfielder Matt Joyce from AAA ball. Joyce played in 18 games earlier this season for the Tigers and he was 11 for 53 (.208 avg, .780 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 5 homers and 10 RBIs. Even if Joyce plays well the Tigers will still miss Ordonez who has been the best hitter on the Tigers this season.

The Detroit Tigers trade Denny Bautista to the Pirates

chinmusic — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:09:56 +0000

The Tigers have traded 27-year old righty reliever to the Pirates for 23 year old righty reliever Kyle Pearson. Pearson has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) in A+AA ball this season and he is 1-1 with 4 saves, a 6.85 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP. He has walked 16 batters in 22.1 innings this year. Bautista pitched in 16 games (0 starts) with the Tigers this year and he was 0-1 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP.

The Detroit Tigers place Brandon Inge on the D.L.

chinmusic — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:07:14 +0000

The Tigers have placed C/3B/OF Brandon Inge on the 15-day disabled list with a pulled oblique muscle. This pretty much means that Ivan Rodriguez will be playing almost every day until Inge is ready to return. Inge has played in 52 games this season for the Tigers and he is 31 for 144 (.215 avg, .728 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 6 homers and 23 RBIs. The Tigers have recalled catcher Dane Sardinha to replace Inge on the roster. The 29-year old righty swinging Sardinha was not playing well in AAA this season. He has played in 48 games in AAA ball this season and he is 34 for 165 (.206 avg, .610 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 6 homers and 16 RBIs. Sardinha has played in 2 major league games in his career and he is 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.

The Detroit Tigers designate Denny Bautista for assignment

chinmusic — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 04:49:03 +0000

Bautista got caught in a numbers game in Detroit and it didn’t help matters walking 14 batters in 19 innings this season. Bautista pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Tigers this season and he was 0-1 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He will likely hook on with another team because of his arm strength but the Tigers won’t lose any sleep over him being gone.