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Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

Final grades. They're coming in multiple posts.

Starting pitching:
Justin Verlander: A-. Won 18, but could have been 20-22 had he held on to some leads once staked early. Also, 4th in the AL in walks. His stuff is too good for him to be hit as hard as he is sometimes.
Max Scherzer: B. Real troubles early on, had an excellent, ace-like July and August, but tailed off at the end. I expect him to continue to progress next season
Rick Porcello: C-. I expected a drop off from a 21-year old pitcher. Watch this kid’s arm next season. There’s an awful lot of innings on an arm this young.
Jeremy Bonderman: D+. Once the velocity went after the arm injury, he was done. This is probably goodbye. He’ll never be the same again.
Armando Galarraga: D+. One-hit wonder who wasn’t overly sharp before or after The Game.

Relief Pitching:
Brad Thomas: B-. Better than I expected. Occasional spot starts helped.
Eddie Bonine: C-. I’m not impressed with his repertoire at all.
Phil Coke: B+. He did a very nice job for us as a set-up man. We’ll see about the rotation
Jose Valverde: A-. Generous grade here due to his first half and the fact that I’m convinced that he was injured for most of the 2nd half. There’s something someone’s not telling us.
Ryan Perry: C. I don’t care how hard you throw. You better learn some control, kid.
Robbie Weinhardt: D. I’m not overly impressed here, either.
Danny Schlereth: INC. See Ryan Perry.
Alfredo Figaro: D-. Sorry, kid. It’s not happening in Detroit.
Joel Zumaya: A-, but this is an incomplete for obvious reasons.

All other pitchers get an INC or their first half grade.
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

Catching:
Alex Avila: C-. Leeway just because he’s a rookie. We’ve got to see more production next year, plain and simple.
Gerald Laird: F. You shouldn’t have expected anything else. Magglio’s batting average of .303 nearly matched Gump’s .304 SLG. Goodbye and good riddance. The worst everyday hitter in the American League.
Max St. Pierre: INC. Nice story, but that’s it.

Infield:
Miguel Cabrera: A+. To lead the league in RBI’s with what he has around him is astounding.
Carlos Guillen: B. An abbreviated grade. Again.
Will Rhymes: B. Nice rookie season, but I don’t know if he’s everyday material.
Scott Sizemore: D-. He better produce next season, and quickly.
Adam Everett: F. No bat, no spot on the roster.
Johnny Peralta: B. Don’t look now, but Peralta drove in 81 runs this season between Detroit and Cleveland. I’m still not sold that he’s our answer at SS.
Ramon Santiago: C. Too many at bats. This guy thinks he’s a bigger hitter than he is.
Danny Worth: C. Didn’t see enough of him to think he’s the answer at SS, either.
Brandon Inge: D. Thank you for your time, but we need more production at 3B. The problem is, he’s likely coming back.

Outfield:
Magglio Ordonez: A-. Very nice bounce-back season until the ankle went SNAP. I’d really like to see him back.
Austin Jackson: A-. Tailed off at the end. Had he hit .300 it would have been an A, no questions asked.
Johnny Damon: C-. I expected more.
Brennan Boesch: B-. Great first half, frightening 2nd half. Kid, you’ve got an adjustment to make. The sooner, the better.
Don Kelly: B. We got much more than I expected out of him. He’s not going to hit much, but he’s got a good idea of what to do with that big chunk of leather on his hand. A 5th outfielder, no more.
Ryan Raburn: B-. This is the kind of guy that gets a manager fired. He puts up nice numbers when it’s all said and done, but he takes the ****dest way to get there. He better not be the answer in LF next season. Or RF, for that matter. 4th outfielder.
Casper Wells: INC. I learned my lesson (again) last fall about big September numbers.
 
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Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

Coaching and front office:
Jim Leyland: C. When a team goes 81-81, don’t expect a high grade. But you really can't flunk him, either. It’s hard to contend when you’ve got 4-5 rookies in the lineup and the only guy that knows how to hit is getting walked intentionally. However, that does not excuse the brainfarts such as hitting Gump Laird 2nd, or letting Valverde throw 60 pitches in Fenway Park to get 5 outs in what started out as a 6-1 game.
Rick Knapp: B. The adjustment made by Schlereth and ability to keep the bullpen from completely imploding merit some credit your way.
Lloyd McClendon: D. It still boggles my mind as to what is in some players’ heads when they walk to the plate. Game plans appear to be non-existent at times.
David Dombrowski and the front-office staff: B. To have this many rookies be able to step up to the majors speaks to the foundation that you’re trying to build. But by no means are you even close to being done. You better go get some bats, and do it in a hurry. We can’t come back with this team assembled as-is. I was patient for one year. I will not be able to say the same if we’re looking at something like this 12 months from now.
 
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Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

So what is necessary going forward?

Bats. Big bats. Again. I think we need a big bat for the outfield, preferably a left handed one, as discussed earlier. Also, a heavy piece of lumber is necessary for the infield, at either SS or 3B. It makes no difference to me whether it arrives via free agency or by trade, assuming we don't burn down the farm system in the process.

I may be in the minority here, but I also think we need to re-sign Magglio Ordonez, provided the ankle will be healthy come next Easter, and that the pice tag will be somewhat reasonable. We're not in a position to be letting productive bats walk out the door, aged as they are.

Bullpen guys are also necessary, but a lot of those guys are not nearly as consistent as starting pitching or everyday players, and they come cheaper in the first place. Another catcher, one that can actually make contact with a baseball, and hit one past the infield in fair territory, is also a necessity. A fifth-starter is also a must, but we may have enough options there to cobble something together.

Let the offseason begin.
 
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Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

Again, this will be the last dated Tiger thread. Next spring there will be a Tiger thread, but I'm taking it in a little bit different of a direction. There will be Homer Lights, and Giant Tiger, and Twitch's Ronalds, as well as my usual rants, raves, and 4-letter filled blasts, but it will be a little bit different.
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

How about A.J. Pierzynski? Sounds like there is a good chance he is not going to be with the Sox.
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

I'd rather drown AJ Pier******* in the Detroit River, and then run him over with a speedboat.
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

Why not just keelhaul AJ under a laker?
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

Brandon Inge gets two more years of being voted player of the game by Tigers <strike>idiots</strike> fans for going 1-5 with 3 K's and an error.
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

bronconick said:
Brandon Inge gets two more years of being voted player of the game by Tigers <strike>idiots</strike> fans for going 1-5 with 3 K's and an error.
Click to expand...

I hope no one is surprised by this. The whole of Tiger fandom and the Tiger's front office only see his occational clutch RBI and/or HR, but completely ignore the vast majority of his play which consists of strikeouts, errors, and play that should have him stuck in AAA Toledo.
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

Some 'experts' say he's a better third baseman than David Wright.

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bronconick said:
Brandon Inge gets two more years of being voted player of the game by Tigers <strike>idiots</strike> fans for going 1-5 with 3 K's and an error.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

Meh. I won't get too upset until we get to March or April and see what the roster actually looks like. If the Tigers are serious about wanting Inge/Peralta to be their full-time infield next year, then I'll be disappointed. Hopefully it's just a contingency plan while they try to add a big bat on the left side of the infield.
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

I don't know who else they could have brought in at third base w/o giving away the store- with so many other needs elsewhere. Yes, he is a mediocre third basemen that majors in driving in meaningless runs. He is has never been clutch. BUT, he does have a decent glove- although I want gold gloves for a guy that hits .237 lifetime. He does make errors- and usually they are critical times, so I don't factor the quantity as much as the timing. But, considering the list of FA's, this is a safe re-sign.

Talk around here is that the Tigers are going to make a run at Werth/Crawford in the outfield. Adam Dunn seems to be the FA dujour, too, along with defensively challenged Victor Martinez. I'll reserve my own thoughts until the spring, also. No sense giving up more than one pitcher of suds. :)
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

I would have taken a look at Beltre.

Two bats. I would be happy with the additions of Werth/Crawford and Dunn, and a resigning of Ordonez. Some combination of Werth/Crawford-Jackson-Ordonez-Dunn would stuff the outfield for at least the next year or two and would push Boesch and Wells to Toledo for another season. For God's sake, we've got $60 mil + coming off the books, we can afford to spend a bit without going completely ape****.

Victor Martinez? No thank you.
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

From Tom Gage's blog

I post that to post this. On that day in 2003 the Tigers were 68 games below .500. On this team were:

Ben Petrick
Danny Klassen
Cody Ross
Dmitri Young
Erik Eckenstahler
Warren Morris
Brian Schmack

Again, 68 games under .500 before Labor Day. Think about that for a moment, and then re-read the names above. That is the kind of crap that David Dombrowski had to deal with when he walked into this mess. And three years later we went to the World Series. I want everyone to remember this the next time you hear some jackwagon run his lips on sports radio or read another asinine Dumbrowski comment on Mlive.
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

Okay, I need some opinions here. Next year, after a Tiger win, do we want Giant Tiger, or this:

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qb1O-ASWjfo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qb1O-ASWjfo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

Vintage Tiger FTW.

Isn't there also a "losing Tiger?"
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

I haven't created one to go along with Giant Tiger, but back in the day, when Channel 4 did the games, we got the video clip below after a win. After a Tiger loss, there was one with the Tiger with an icepack on his head, whimpering. I haven't found that one yet.
 
Re: Detroit Tigers 2010, Part 2: Wanted: Hitting. Gerald Laird need not apply

Hammer said:
I haven't created one to go along with Giant Tiger, but back in the day, when Channel 4 did the games, we got the video clip below after a win. After a Tiger loss, there was one with the Tiger with an icepack on his head, whimpering. I haven't found that one yet.
Click to expand...

Checking the comments, apparently they had versions of him ripping up the other team's logo as well.
 
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