Month: July 2010

It’s Starting to Smell Like 1982

Old Tigers Logo.jpegAs the Tigers’ tumble from contender to irrelevant bystander accelerates, I’ve been thinking about other seasons that began with promise only to result in an unexpected death spiral. One that jumps to mind is 1982.

You’re forgiven if that season brings back only memories of Harvey Kuenn’s Brewers — Harvey’s Wallbangers — which marched to the World Series after dispatching the Orioles on the last weekend of the season, and defeating the Angels in the five-game ALCS after trailing two games to none.

Milwaukee was a tremendous club in 1982, but it didn’t start that way. After 47 games, they were just 23-24 under manager Buck Rodgers, seven games behind the first-place Tigers. On June 2, Rodgers was fired and replaced by Kuenn, his hitting coach. That’s when the Brewers began their surge, going 72-43.

Meanwhile, things in Detroit finally seemed to be clicking under Sparky Anderson. The young talent he inherited looked to be maturing into the type of club that could win over the long term in the bruising American League East.

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Tigers Make a Droplet of a Trade in Getting Peralta

Peralta.jpgJhonny Peralta.

It’s precisely the move we expected the Tigers to make. That is, a drip not a splash.

Not only is he the Tigers’ new and temporary third baseman until Brandon Inge returns, he’s also the new and temporary shortstop until the Tigers acquire Stephen Drew.

Ahem.

What’s more, you present a writing dilemma for me. Do I add “Jhonny” to my spell check dictionary and run the risk of misspelling someone who’s name is Johnny, or live with the annoying red line under “Jhonny”?

[callout title=Jhonny Peralta 101]Here’s what we know about the Tigers’ newest acquisition:

  • Age: 28

  • Born: May 28, 1982 in Santiago, Santiago, D.R.

  • Signed by the Indians as an amateur free agent in 1999.

  • 2010 Salary: $4,850,000

  • 2010 Stats: .246 / 7 HR / 43 RBI / .698 OPS

  • Lifetime: .264 / 103 HR / 456 RBI / .751 OPS

  • Lifetime vs Tigers: .256 / 11 HR

  • Lifetime vs. White Sox: .237 / 7 HR

  • Lifetime vs. Twins: .238 / 11 HR

Source: Baseball-Reference.com’s Play Index
[/callout]

This isn’t exactly like 2006 when the Tigers scrambled to find a replacement at second base for the injured Placido Polanco and made the mystifying trade for Neifi Perez. Peralta will help the Tigers a lot more than Perez, but the bar is set fairly low in that regard.

Even though the Tigers appear on the brink of collapse, they still are 9-1/2 games closer to first place than the Indians are, which means Peralta could be energized and be a big help.

Again, it’s all relative.

Perhaps the way to view this trade is how Baseball Prospectus 2010 sums up Jhonny Peralta:

Peralta has enver been the most consistent player, but given the gross similarities of his 2007-2008 seasons, any bounce back seems likely to be similar in form — good, but just barely that.

On the bright side, the Tigers have made a trade. Let’s savor it; this might be all we get.

No Hitters? No-Hitter!

Thumbs Down.jpgIt seems awfully unfair for a guy to throw a no-hitter against a team that evidently has no hitters, doesn’t it?

In the spirit of full disclosure, I didn’t see any of Monday night’s bizarro-rama — Max Scherzer also had a no-hitter going into the sixth?! — because I was out at a family thing. (I think I would have put my marriage in jeopardy had I attempted to participate in Baseball Tonight Live on ESPN.com while at the restaurant.)

Nevertheless, I listened to the Rays’ announcers call the ninth inning on XM Radio on my way home. What a weird experience that was. The last time the Tigers were no-hit — June 2, 1990, by Randy Johnson — I couldn’t have listened to the Seattle feed even if I wanted to.

Whoa. Got off track there.

Anyway, what are Tigers fans supposed to do now? Their team is still — astonishingly — a mere three games out of first place at the end of July. You can’t give up on them, can you?

After all, on July 26, 2009, the eventual division champion Twins were one game under .500 and in third place just four games out.

Apple to apples? Not even close. Even though the Twins lost Justin Morneau they surged. Without Magglio Ordonez the Tigers are already showing signs of retreat.

So what if the Tigers pick up a hitter or two this week? Does Adam Dunn give them enough of a jolt — and protection for Miguel Cabrera? More than Aubrey Huff did last year. Would it help to bring Jermaine Dye back from retirement home? What about Carlos Delgado? Or Joe Crede?

Now this post has taken a turn toward the absurd. But that’s what we’re facing, isn’t it?

Even if Dave Dombrowski manages to add a few pieces will they be enough. It’s hard to believe they would be.

But he better get someone to hit the ball. Otherwise, Matt Garza‘s no-hitter might not be the last we see against the Tigers this year.

Checking in on Carlos Guillen’s Move to Second Base

GuillenHead.jpgIt’s been two months since the Tigers announced that Carlos Guillen, not rookie Scott Sizemore, would be the Tigers’ second baseman in 2010.

Who at the time would’ve guessed that the brittle Guillen could stay healthy for two months and regain his status as a productive member of the Tigers’ lineup?

But let’s be honest: the concern wasn’t Guillen’s offense, it was the defense. How many ground balls would he, could he, get to…without pulling a hamstring? Could he turn the double play with Adam Everett (and now Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth)? The answer to all those appears to be yes.

Let’s see if the numbers bear it out.

Continue reading “Checking in on Carlos Guillen’s Move to Second Base”