GDennis59' Sporting Blog

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Could I get this stickied?

Why The Tigers should Win the AL Central

The Tigers are my pick to win the AL Central this year. Call me biased but listen to my reasoning first.

This offseason, they were able to pick up 2 good catchers in Matt Treanor and Gerald Laird, as well as a veteran to fill the whole at SS, when they inked Adam Everett. They were also able to pick up a young starting pitcher when they acquired Edwin Jackson in a trade from the AL Champion Devil Rays. They gave up Matt Joyce, who seemed to have a very promising future, but weren't taking too much of a hit since they already have a very deep outfield.

Magglio Ordonez, who is one of the most consistent hitters in the game. Curtis Granderson, who can hit the long ball, steal bases, and has great range in CF. And Carlos Guillen, who made the switch from 3B to LF due to back problems. They also have Marcus Thames, who had quite a relationship with the long ball last year.

They have what seems to be a well rounded infield as well. Miguel Cabrera was one of the AL's best hitters last year, finishing with a league-leading 36 HR and 127 RBI. Placido Polanco at second, who is another consistent hitter, and the newly signed Adam Everett at short, who shouldn't have much trouble filling the gap that Edgar Renteria left. At third, there is Brandon Inge, who can finally take on an everyday job in his desired position. He performs better when playing third base as well, and brings a great amount of range to the corner spot of the infield.

Tigers pitching is also looking to improve from a horrendous year. Staff Ace Justin Verlander will be looking to rebound on his worst season, and hopes to gain more run support from his hitters. Armando Galaragga, who was superb when not expected to be, will be looking to turn heads and have an even better year this year. Jeremy Bonderman will be returning from rib surgery and is hoping to stay healthy and help Detroit get back to the winning organization they were in 2006 and 2007. Zach Miner, who was outstanding after switching from reliever to starter, is someone who could either start or relieve, but has had much more success as a starter. Nate Robinson, who had a horrible season, is someone who the Tigers are depending on to have a good year, as he finished with one of the league's worst ERAs last year. Dontrelle Willis, who was inked for big cash, has not earned any of it so far. After being sent down to Class A Lakeland last year, the D-Train should be looking to have a stupendous year in '09. All of this plus Jackson makes 7 pitchers battling for 5 starting spots. The other two will most likely be moved to the bullpen, where the Tigers need the most help.

done stuck!

Lol. Thanks! =]

gdennis59 wrote:

please do and dont hold anything back.

gdennis59 wrote:

...Miguel Cabrera was one of the AL's best hitters last year, finishing with a league leading 36 HR and 127 RBI......

Good article. One minor complaint that I noticed on a first reading.....
"league leading" should read "league-leading". Hyphenating two words is a lost art. Not doing it is still wrong though.

Ohhh. I figured they werent hyphenated.

Problems I found:

Quote :

World Champion Devil Rays

It should be "American League Champion Rays." The Phillies are the World Champions.

Quote :

Placido Polanco at second, who is another consisten hitter

consistent

Quote :

Adam Everett at short, who shouldnt

shouldn't

Quote :

Jeremy Bonderman will be returning from shoulder surgery

rib or chest

Except for the above problems, it is a very good article!

Yeah, those mistakes, too. I didn't read it quite as carefully

catbox_9 wrote:

Yeah, those mistakes, too. I didn't read it quite as carefully

That's ok, I missed the Hyphenating problem...

Eek, way too many errors.=/

gdennis59 wrote:

Eek, way too many errors.=/

We all make them G


Keep on Posting them blogs

My blog can now be followed on AAT.

I'll copy and paste them here for those of you not over there yet.

Why Jeremy Bonderman is Important Upon his Return

Since going on the DL before the Season Opener, Jeremy Bonderman has been much improving and working to get back to the MLB. He has been rehabbing recently and can get to Detroit if all goes well.

In his most recent rehab start for AAA Toledo Mud Hens, Jeremy Bonderman pitched six frames, allowing three runs, two of which were earned. 60 of his 97 pitches went for strikes. He allowed no walks and fanned four hitters.

Throughout the majority of his minor league rehab outings, Bonderman has showed good control, and an ability to keep his pitch count down. Once he can return, the Tigers will more than likely send Armando Galaragga to the minor leagues due to his recent struggles.

Removing Galaragga and adding Bonderman would make the Tigers starting rotation look like as follows:

Justin Verlander
Edwin Jackson
Jeremy Bonderman
Rick Porcello
Dontrelle Willis

The above pitchers as well as the bullpen have been able to give Detroit the #1 ranked ERA in the American League Central Division. Verlander and Jackson have been able to pitch exceptionally well, while Dontrelle and Rick have been what they needed to be. The one fault, being Galaragga, has lost his control and isn't able to locate the pitches he needs to get the outs from the other team.

If Bonderman can come up and keep his ERA down and give the Tigers a chance to win games, there shouldn't be too much of a problem with keeping their roll going. They are currently atop the American League Central (25-19), and stand three games behind the Kansas City Royals (23-23), in second.

There haven't been any worries lately really regarding the bullpen, but I would say they are still there. Brandon Lyon (1-3, 6.43 ERA) hasn't been the type of presence the Tigers would have hoped him to be. He has given up leads and still hasn't pitched well in games that weren't close. While I was one of the people hoping they would sign him, I do firmly believe the Tigers would be better off cutting ties with him soon, or trading him for some minor league prospect.

With the exception of Lyon, relievers Joel Zumaya, Bobby Seay, Fernando Rodney, Ryan Perry, Zach Miner, and Nate Robertson have been very well in not giving up close games. While they have had their faults, they can not be blamed for all of the losses they have been charged.

I think when Bonderman gets back, and if the Tigers decide to use Lyon less, then they should have a nice year in store for them. If they keep rolling through teams like they have been able to, they should find themselves in the playoffs, and hopefully they can take it far from there.

gdennis59 wrote:

My blog can now be followed on AAT.

I'll copy and paste them here for those of you not over there yet.

Got a link?

www.aatiger.com

It's the mirror site, you should know this.

Again, the Tigers made the big splash in the winter meetings.

No one can forget the blockbuster deal that Dombrowski made two years ago, in which brought Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit. Needless to say, only half of that trade was truly worth it. While Cabrera has torn it up in his time here, Willis has gotten torn up.

This time the deal was done between three teams, and Detroit actually got more players than it dealt. Although they lost two all stars in Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson, they brought in a load of talent as well. Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth came from the Diamondbacks, who received Edwin Jackson from Detroit and Ian Kennedy from New York, who reeled in Granderson. The Yankees sent Phil Coke and Austin Jackson to Detroit.

The Tigers bolstered their pitching by acquiring a trio of great talent. Scherzer had 174 strikeouts in 170 and 2/3 innings. The only thing I'd want to see from him is his ERA of 4.14 lower to around 3.50. Coke had a great end of the year last year, and did wonderful while pitching at the New Yankee Stadium, which was the best park if you're a hitter, which says something good. Schlereth dominated the Minors and was in the Majors in his first pro season. Sadly, when he got to the top, his walks ballooned along with his ERA, which he saw go up to above 5.00.

Austin Jackson is the only one headed to the Tigers organization without any exerpience at the top level. He still shows promise with his athletecism and fielding. Some question that he is Major-League ready, but unless Detroit does some major moving around, they may have to take the risk on him. Even if he falters, they have Raburn and Clete Thomas to back him, and Wilkin Ramirez still in their farm system.

Overall, I think the Tigers got what they dealt. Just with more depth. Surely, Curtis Granderson's type of leadership is indelible, and will not be able to be copied by anyone else. But if the entire team steps up, the shoes can be filled.

Nov 17, 2009 06:27 PM

All I can do is shake my head disappointingly. The Browns have had all sorts of opportunities and could do tons better, but haven't made any significant changes that have helped.

For starters, Michael Vick came back this year. Everyone knows about his dog fighting and jail time, and trust me, he's not my favorite person. But one thing he does possess is talent. That is one thing the Browns lack. I mean, we have Shaun Rogers, Josh Cribbs, Mohammad Massoquoi, and just about no one else. Vick could have been great in Cleveland. Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson are both horrible starters and should both ride pine anywhere except maybe Oakland. They can't prove themselves as good starters. Sure, DA had a good year two years ago, but what has he done since? Nada. Vick could have been a threat to any defense.

Even if they didn't Vick, they still have a guy named Josh Cribbs. Mind you, he was a quarterback in college, and would be perfect to run out of a wildcat offense. The Browns have ran him a little bit with it, but it's no secret to any defense what's coming when he lines up in so. Other than that, he's on the sidelines more often than not. Give him reps in practice on the first team offense, start him at the WR spot with Robiskie and Massoqoui (assuming all are healthy). And for God's sake get Jamal Lewis off the field. I realize he's big, and he's had a wonderful career, but I don't see that much left in him. Jerome Harrison is young and has speed, but just needs a little bit more work in taking care of the football. If he were to start, and a hole were to open on occasion, there would be yardage gained. I'd much rather that than Lewis thinking he can make it through any defense, that doesn't happen anymore.

Defense, defense, defense... Well, it's been better than last year, but that's not really hard to do when they were last in the league last year. They've still given up big plays, and have been unable to stop anyone for a whole game. They had a marvelous first half against Chicago two weeks ago, but the second half brought the Bears glory. Against the Ravens monday, they had a great first half yet again, and the second half saw Baltimore 16 unanswered points. Granted, those were mainly because of Brady Quinn's picks, but I mean really. The defense needs to create more turnovers and the offense needs to capitalize on them.

Honestly, there is only real one bright spot for the Browns, and I've already mentioned him: Josh Cribbs. An amazing return man, could be good in the wildcat offense if they let him throw to people more. But after a devastating hit from Dwan Edwards put him in the hospital with a concussion, we are all left to wonder, what else could go wrong? I find myself wondering if he will ever play the same again. Once an injury like that happens, it's hard to recover both physically and mentally. It's always in the back of your head when defenders come running at you. You'll end up thinking of it and it may cause you to play more cautiosly and start running out of bounds instead of fighting for those extra few yards.

In the end, I can really only think of a couple of solutions for Cleveland. They could just try to draft someone they hope will be a superstar, and NOT TRADE DOWN FOR A THIRD STRING QB. Either that, or they could even trade Cribbs and some others for draft picks and attempt to stock up on rookies. Ideally, I figure they could end up drafting possibly Colt McCoy, CJ Spiller, Jordan Shipley, and Eric Berry. Alot of you are saying, "Hey, three of those are first round picks." Not really. In alot of the mock drafts I've seen, a good majority of them only see Eric Berry and CJ Spiller in the first round. Josh Cribbs would certainly be worth a first round pick to some teams, and with the Browns as bad as they are, they'll have a top three pick almost definitely. Their second round pick (or more than one if they again trade for it) could be used of either Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley, or both. They already have a great relationship in Texas and we know what McCoy can do. I see Shipley as a superb receiver, that is very much like Wes Welker, and would be great in a slot position. He would attract defenses and if Robiskie and Massoquoi start next season, and if Shipley is drafted and he starts, that would be a handful for most defenses considering McCoy is throwing to them all.

There's more, but I'll just post every one I do from now on.

GDennis59 wrote:

Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth, and Austin Jackson all came from the Diamondbacks,

Austin Jackson came from the Yankees, where he was one of their top, prior untouchable, prospects. He was part of the Granderson trade.