Tag: Mike Henneman

The Thursday Fungo: July 11

July 11, 1984: The All-Star Break Continues

‘Twas the final day of the 1984 All-Star Break and the Tigers prepared to start the second half with a four-game series against the Twins at the Metrodome.

So, let’s look at a game from this date in another season: 1977.

July 11, 1977: Tigers 9 – Blue Jays 7

W: Steve Grilli (1-0) – L: Dennis DeBarr (0-1) | Boxscore

Record: 38-46 — 6th place, 10.5 games behind Boston

Highlights

  • The Blue Jays tagged Tigers starter Dave Roberts with five runs in the top of the first. Detroit answered with a run of their own in the first, and another four in the second to make it 5-5 heading to the third.
  • Rusty Staub led the Tigers’s 10-hit attack, with a two-for-three night — including a second-inning three-run homer — and four RBI.
  • Roberts pitched 62/3, allowing seven runs on nine hits, and gave way to Steve Grilli who pitched 21/3 hitless innings to secure the win.

Miscellany

  • Venue: Tiger Stadium
  • Umpires: HP – Vic Voltaggio, 1B – Marty Springstead, 2B – Larry Barnett, 3B – Jim Evans
  • Time of Game: 2:30
  • Attendance: 9,057

Dickie Noles – RHP #27

The first, and perhaps last, thing to know about Dickie Noles‘ Tigers career is that he was the player to be named later in the trade that brought him to Detroit. On Sept. 21, 1987, he was traded by the Cubs to the Tigers for a player to be named later.

He appeared in four games:

Sept. 22: He entered the game against Boston with bases load and two out in the bottom of the ninth, and got Dwight Evans to hit into a 1-3 ground out. Noles earned the save.

Sept. 25: Facing the Blue Jays, he pitched 11/3 innings, allowing a hit, a walk and a run. The Tigers lost 3-2.

Sept. 26: This one still hurts. The Tigers took a 9-7 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Mike Henneman allowed a leadoff double to Jesse Barfield, an infield single to Willie Upshaw and then hit former Tiger Rick Leach. The next batter, Juan Beníquez, laced a triple to left off Noles and the Jays won, 10-9. We sobbed.

Sept. 27: Noles’ final Tigers appearance came in a huge, season-saving Tigers win. Doyle Alexander pitched the first 102/3 innings, and four relievers covered the final 21/3. Noles was the fourth; he entered with two out in the bottom of the 13th and they tying run on first. He got Barfield to hit it to shortstop for a force out at second. Tigers won 3-2 and that was it for Noles in Detroit.

On Oct. 23, 1987, he was returned to the Cubs. That’s a 32-day Tigers career. But given the mayhem of those final 10 days of the 1987 season, those were pretty good days to be with Detroit.

Birthdays

Johnny Barbato, Yorman Bazardo and the late Al Federoff

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 466 7/9: Rarity: 285

Ugly.

See you tomorrow.

The Thursday Fungo

Tigers’ Opening Day Record, 1977-1994

The wheelhouse of The Daily Fungo is the Ralph Houk, Les Moss and Sparky Anderson years. So, through that narrow lens in the Tigers’ much broader history, let’s look at how the teams from 1977 through 1994 opened their respective seasons.

* Indicates I was at the game.

YearOpening DayScorePitchers
1977April 7
Home
Boxscore		Royals 7
Tigers 4		W: Paul Splittorff
L: Dave Roberts
Save: Mark Littell
1978April 7
Home
Boxscore		Tigers 6
Blue Jays 2		W: Mark Fidrych
L: Dave Lemanczyk
1979April 7*
Home
Boxscore		Rangers 8
Tigers 2		W: Ferguson Jenkins
L: Dave Rozema
1980April 10
Away
Boxscore		Tigers 5
Royals 1		W: Jack Morris
L: Dennis Leonard
1981April 9*
Home
Boxscore		Tigers 6
Blue Jays 2		W: Jack Morris
L: Joey McLaughlin
1982April 9*
Away
Boxscore		Royals 4
Tigers 2		W: Larry Gura
L: Jack Morris
1983April 5
Away
Boxscore		Tigers 11
Twins 3		W: Jack Morris
L: Brad Havens
1984April 3
Away
Boxscore		Tigers 8
Twins 1		W: Jack Morris
L: Albert Williams
1985April 8
Home
Boxscore		Tigers 5
Indians 4		W: Jack Morris
L: Ernie Camacho
Save: Willie Hernandez
1986April 7*
Home
Boxscore		Tigers 6
Red Sox 5		W: Jack Morris
L: Sammy Stewart
Save: Willie Hernandez
1987April 6*
Home
Boxscore		Yankees 2
Tigers 1
10 innings		W: Dave Righetti
L: Jack Morris
1988April 4
Away
Boxscore		Tigers 5
Red Sox 3
10 innings		W: Jack Morris
L: Lee Smith
Save: Mike Henneman
1989April 4
Away		Rangers 4
Tigers 0		W: Charlie Hough
L: Jack Morris
1990April 9
Away
Boxscore		Red Sox 5
Tigers 2		W: Roger Clemens
L: Jack Morris
Save: Lee Smith
1991April 8
Home
Boxscore		Tigers 6
Yankees 4		W: Paul Gibson
L: Greg Cadaret
Save: Mike Henneman
1992April 6
Home
Boxscore		Blue Jays 4
Tigers 2		W: Jack Morris
L: Bill Gullickson
1993April 5
Away
Boxscore		A’s 9
Tigers 4		W: Bob Welch
L: Mike Moore
Save: Dennis Eckersley
1994April 4
Away
Boxscore		Red Sox 9
Tigers 8		W: Scott Bankhead
L: Storm Davis
Save: Jeff Russell

The result? An even 9 and 9, with Jack Morris notching a 6-4 record — not counting his win against the Tigers on Opening Day 1992 as a member of the Blue Jays.

Birthdays

Craig Paquette and the late Jimmy Barrett

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 361 9/9 – Rarity: 69

See you tomorrow.

Valverde Another in Long Line of Infuriating Tigers Closers

I’m sick of hearing about Jose Valverde‘s 49-for-49 save streak last season. We all know how that was constructed: with far too many saves that looked like Saturday afternoon’s harrowing win against the Royals.

A lot has been written about Valverde’s intensity being dialed down a notch – or, apparently, disconnected altogether – when he’s in non-save situations. After the Tigers escaped with an 8-7 victory which should’ve been an 8-4 W, Valverde told reporters, “I wasn’t throwing my fastball for strikes. I don’t know what’s going on.”

[callout title=WHIP Posted by Recent Tigers Closers]
2001: Matt Anderson. 1.32 WHIP, 22 saves

2002: Juan Acevedo. 1.22 WHIP, 28 saves

2004: Ugueth Urbina. 1.29 WHIP, 21 saves

2005: Fernando Rodney. 1.27 WHIP, 9 saves

2009 Rodney. 1.46 WHIP, 37 saves

2010 Valverde. 1.16 WHIP, 26 saves

2011 Valverde. 1.18 WHIP, 49 saves

And in case you were wondering, Todd Jones posted his best WHIP (1.26) in his eight seasons with the Tigers in 2006. And for his part, Valverde amassed his best WHIP (1.16) in 2010, his first in Detroit.[/callout]
Whatever the man’s excuse, it got me thinking again about how the Tigers, unlike other A.L. Central clubs, haven’t had a lights-out closer in the same realm as Joe Nathan and, for a shorter but no less irritating stretch, Bobby Jenks.

Nathan has owned the Tigers since 2004 when he came to the Twins from the Giants. In 59 games against Detroit, Nathan is 2-1 with a 1.48 ERA and 35 saves in 59 appearances; plus, he has 74 strikeouts in 60.2 IP and a 0.907 WHIP. (He’s saved more games against one other club, 37 versus the Royals in just an inning less.) In his A.L. career, including his time with the Rangers this year, his WHIP is 0.952, not to mention a 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

Now, on to Jenks. The Tigers mustered a bit more offense against him from 2005-10: 2-1, 2.68 ERA, 22 saves in 39 appearances; 44 strikeouts in 40.1 IP and a 1.091 WHIP. No, he wasn’t automatic, but darn close.

So I decided to look up Tigers closers with the best – or most Nathanesque – WHIP over the past 40 years, trying to find somebody – anybody – who came close to scaring opposing hitters late in the game.

Here’s what I found on Baseball-Reference.com: only two Detroit closers finished with a WHIP under 1.0 since 1972:

  • 1981: Kevin Saucier. 0.959 WHIP – 13 saves, 49 IP, 23 K
  • 1984: Willie Hernandez. 0.941 WHIP – 32 saves, 140.1 IP, 112 K
  • 1985: Hernandez. 0.90 WHIP – 31 saves, 106.2 IP, 76 K

That’s it for the shutdown closers.* Of course, Tigers relievers have posted stellar if not Nathan-
like performances in the past 40 seasons. Here are a few notable examples:

  • 1973: John Hiller. 1.021 WHIP, 38 saves, 125.1 IP, 124 K
  • 1977: Steve Foucault. 1.090 WHIP, 13 saves, 74.1 IP, 58 K
  • 1978: Hiller. 1.072 WHIP, 15 saves, 92.1 IP, 74 K
  • 1988: Mike Henneman. 1.05 WHIP, 22 saves, 91.1 IP, 58 K, 1.05 WHIP

*In the case of Hiller and Foucault, those were the days when closers routinely pitched two or three innings (sometimes more), so it’s clearly not apples-to-apples with today’s one-inning specialists.

All this is to say, outside of Hernandez in 1984 and ’85 and Hiller in 1973, the Tigers have not had an automatic guy in the ninth inning.

I think it’s safe to say we expected Joel Zumaya to be in the Joe Nathan/Mariano Rivera galaxy by this point of his career. Now we’ll have to wait and see if Bruce Rondon is the hammer we’ve been wait for.

In the meantime we’ll have ride the ninth-inning rapids with Valverde and hope that near-disasters like Saturday’s are the exception, not the rule.

Yeah right.

October Surprise Part 8 – Tigers Pull Ahead

On the next-to-last day of the 2009 season, with the Tigers’ fate still undecided, we continue our series on the Tigers’ and Blue Jays’ battle for the A.L. East crown on the next-to-last day of the 1987 season.

American League East Standings: October 3, 1987

Team Record Pct. GB
Detroit 96-64 .600 –
Toronto 96-64 .600 –

In game two of the final series, Jack Morris and Mike Flanagan faced off on a bright and blustery Saturday afternoon.

HotDogPopTicketXSmall.jpgAs they had in Toronto nine days earlier, the two veteran pitchers sparkled. The Jays grabbed an early 1-0 lead. The Tigers countered with a Mike Heath single and Bill Madlock double to knot the game. Both teams scored in the fifth.

But over the next seven innings neither team scored. Morris pitched nine strong innings to Flanagan’s 11.

“I’ve been in this league eight years facing Flanagan, and I’ve never seen him better,” Tom Brookens said to the Free Press‘s John Lowe.

Mike Henneman relieved Morris in the tenth and shut down the Jays. Jeff Musselman took over for Flanagan but couldn’t pick up where the starter had left off.

Continue reading “October Surprise Part 8 – Tigers Pull Ahead”

October Surprise Part 7: Doyle Foils Jays to Knot Division Lead

The final weekend of the 2009 season is here and the Tigers are in position for the American League Central title. Twenty-two years ago tonight the Tigers started the final season with the A.L. East in their sights. Here’s part seven of our series.

American League East Standings: October 2, 1987

Team Record Pct. GB
Toronto 96-63 .604 –
Detroit 95-64 .597 1

Doyle.jpgOf all the scenarios facing the Tigers for the final weekend, one was the most cut and dried: sweep the Blue Jays, win the division.

Game one of the decisive series took place on a cold Friday night. A crowd of 45,167 witnessed a rematch of the previous Sunday, Doyle Alexander and Jim Clancy.

The Jays scored first in the top of the second on Manny Lee’s three-run homer to right-center. In the bottom of that same inning the Tigers scored two runs of their own on a Chet Lemon single and a home run by rookie outfielder Scott Lusader.

Continue reading “October Surprise Part 7: Doyle Foils Jays to Knot Division Lead”

October Surprise Part 5: Setting the Bear Trap

As the Tigers and Twins wrap up the biggest series of the year with the division title hanging in the balance, we continue our look back on the last great race in Tigers history: 1987 and the seven games against the Toronto Blue Jays in the season’s final 10 days. Today: Game 4, the final game in Toronto.

American League East Standings: September 27, 1987

Team Record Pct. GB
Toronto 96-59 .619 –
Detroit 92-62 .597 3.5

As the Tigers arrived at Exhibition Stadium for the series finale, they knew what was at stake. The chances of coming back from four-and-a-half game deficit in less than a week bordered on the absurd. If ever there were a must-win game, this was it.

GoodMorning.jpgThe Tigers turned to Doyle Alexander to stop the bleeding. Toronto looked to right-hander Jim Clancy to bury the Tigers’ fading division title hopes.

Nelson Liriano led off the home half of the first with a single to right and promptly stole second. Eventual league MVP George Bell drove in Liriano for Toronto’s first run. Though he baffled the Jays for the next eight innings, Alexander and the Tigers trailed 1-0 heading into the top of the ninth.

Continue reading “October Surprise Part 5: Setting the Bear Trap”

October Surprise Part 4: Bullpen Collapses in Game 3

As the Tigers and Twins square off for the biggest series of the year with the division title hanging in the balance, we continue our look back on the last great race in Tigers history: 1987 and the seven games against the Toronto Blue Jays in the season’s final 10 days. Today: Game 3.

American League East Standings: September 26, 1987

Team Record Pct. GB
Toronto 95-59 .617 –
Detroit 92-61 .601 2.5

BallTherapy.jpgIf the Tigers suffered any ill effects from the previous two games, they certainly didn’t show it in the third game of the series.

Detroit pummeled Toronto’s ace Dave Steib, tagging the right-hander for six runs on four hits in just 2.1 innings. Matt Nokes drove in six runs in his first two at bats: a first-inning two-run homer and a grand slam in the third.

The Blue Jays were having nearly as much fun with Detroit starter Walt Terrell. In his 2.1 innings, the Blue Jays came up with four runs on seven hits. The Tigers attacked five additional Toronto hurlers for a 9-4 lead in the fifth inning. Toronto wouldn’t go away quietly, tacking on three more runs. Heading into the bottom half of the ninth Detroit clung to a 9-7 lead.

Continue reading “October Surprise Part 4: Bullpen Collapses in Game 3”