Results tagged ‘ Curtis Granderson ’
Curtis, oh Curtis
Well, I never thought that I’d be writing a blog entry about how Curtis Granderson was traded away by Dave Dombrowski. Just goes to show what I know eh? And as shocking as this trade actually was, in many ways it makes a lot of sense. While it maybe still way too early to judge who’s the eventual winner of the trade that went down at the winter meetings in December, I’ve personally got a good feeling that this one could bring some pretty positive results down the line and hopefully work out a little better than the Jeff Weaver 3 team deal did back in 2002. Although having said that, Jeremy Bonderman, the only player left of the 3 the Tigers got back in that deal (now there’s a trivia question – who were the other 2 players? Answer at the end of this article)
- If you want to be negative about Granderson, let’s face it, he couldn’t hit lefties at all (a meager .183 average to go with a .484 OPS in 2009), really didn’t do much better as a leadoff hitter (checking in at .235 with a .300 OPB) struck out way too much for a guy who was being counted on to set the table (141 k’s in 09) and didn’t draw nearly enough walks as required for a leadoff man.
- And yes while Granderson had tremendous power from that top spot, he was never cut out to be a leadoff man, and while the Tigers will badly miss his gold glove caliber defence in centre, the positives of what they’re getting in return outweigh the loss of number 28.
- As for Edwin Jackson, well, you’ve got to wonder what it could possibly be about him that has him joining his 4th organisation of his young major league career. Because honestly, from the games I saw him start in 2009, Jackson was dominant, and he and Justin Verlander gave the Tigers arguably one of the best 1-2 punches in the American League. But, Jackson struggled in the second half, going from a 1st half of 7-4 with a 2.52 ERA to a 6-5 record with an astounding 5.07 ERA in the second half. You’ve also got the fact that he was left of the Rays 2008 Division series roster, although he did rejoin the team for the ALCS and World Series. Either way you look at it though, despite a respectable 14-11 record and a 4.42 ERA in 2008, the Rays were more than willing to ship in off to the Tigers for Matt Joyce. Again, something just doesn’t seem to fit here. But all signs point to Dombrowski making the right move.
- Let’s start with Austin Jackson. I see a ton of comparable characteristics to Granderson, but if I’m being totally honest, he’s a bit of an enigma. I’ve read reports on him ranging from a potential five tool player and future star to more of a jack of all trades, master of none type guy who won’t be an elite player but will be a solid major leaguer. What to believe? Well, a lot of that will be determined this spring when the Tigers give him a shot to head north to the frozen tundra at the start of April. Will he be able to man the spacious landscape at Comerica? He’s certainly athletic enough, with the Yankees signing him away from a basketball scholarship at Georgia Tech. And you can’t say he;’s been rushed to the majors, having spent all of 2008 in double-AA Trenton and then all of 2009 in triple-AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. But with all young prospects who haven’t yet made it to the majors, you don’t know truly what you might get when you put them to the test.
- As for Phil Coke, here’s a guy who comes in having a pretty good first full season out of a Yankees bullpen that had a 3.91 ERA on a pitching staff that was 4th in the AL in ERA in 2009. Three things Coke’s got going for him. Versatility. This guy was a proven starter in his minor league career, so if Leyland wants to look at him for the rotation, he’s certainly a candidate. Second, he’s a southpaw, and he held lefties under the Mendoza line in 2009 at .195. Add in the fact that righties only hit .227 against him and you’ve got a pretty good shut down reliever who’s more than just a lefty specialist. With Bobby Seay and Fu-te Ni in the Tigers pen, that gives our favourite chain smoker a whole lot of options in the late innings in 2010. Thirdly, this guy had a 2.97 ERA in Yankee Stadium in 2009! As the season went on, the house that George built got a reputation for the long ball, so you’ve got to wonder what might happen when he goes from pitching most of his games in a bandbox to the more friendly confines of Comerica park, and also a little bit further away from some of the offensive juggernauts of the AL East.
- So what to make of the prospects the Tigers got from our friends in the desert. Well, according to baseball america, Scherzer ranked 4th on the Diamondbacks 2008 top 30 prospect list, and Daniel Schlereth ranked 3rd on the 2009 iteration. (Schlereth now moves to a comfortable 5th on the Tigers top 30 for 2010 in case you were wondering, behind only 2009 first round pick Jacob Turner, promising southpaw Casey Crosby, the aforementioned Austin Jackson and 2010 second rounder Andy Oliver) To be honest, I love guys like Scherzer, and he fits the mold of a Dave Dombrowski type pitcher to a tee. take a look at the kinds of guys Dombrowski has drafted during his tenure with the Tigers. Verlander, Perry, Andrew Miller, Turner, Porcello, Crosby, Cody Satterwhite. Big buys with big arms and even bigger fastballs. And that’s exactly what Scherzer brings to the table. Oh and he’s also got a pretty damn good change and a developing slider as well. So look out. yes there’s concerns about his delivery being to violent, but that’s never scared Dave away, and if they didn’t believe that Scherzer couldn’t hold it together, they wouldn’t have wanted him in the deal. While it took Max 24 games and 14 starts just to pick up his first major l
eague victory, thats not a sign of a poor pitcher. Scherzer’s a quality arm, who, now having spent a year and a half in the bigs, is ready to slot nicely behind Verlander giving the Tigers a pretty good 1-2-3 with Porcello. Schlereth’s another power arm, and seriously, watch out for this kid, because he could be good someday if he can piece it all together. Things to like, sorry, love, about Schlereth. 1. He’s got a rocket of an arm. 2. He’s got an awesome breaking ball that will really get you off balance if you’re sitting on number 1. 3. He’s left handed (and you can never have too many lefties) 4. He’s got the potential to be a closer someday or at least the stuff to become one. If not, then he’ll definitely be featuring prominently in the back end of the Tigers bullpen for years to come. The only downside I can find right now on Schlereth is his command issues, but, as many people have perhaps figured out by now, Rick Knapp is one hell of a pitching coach (see Edwin Jackson, Justin Verlander and Nate Robertson (at times) last season and you’ll know what I’m on about – this guy knows how to get the most out of a pitcher) and if he can’t straighten him out then you might have to go out an hire Leo Mazzone.
Oh Justin
I’ll say it right now. Curtis Granderson’s game saving catch in the bottom of the 9th against the Indians last night at Progressive Field was the greatest catch I think I’ve ever seen. And I’m not being biased here either. (at least I’m trying not to) Either that or I just can’t remember recently a better one. The situation undoubtedly made the catch that much better too. If this was in the first inning say, then yea it’s an awesome catch, but it’s not a game saver. Here, bottom 9, tying run on first, winning run at the dish, Verlander’s got a shutout going, and Granderson brings back a big L in the loss column for the Tigers by flashing the leather. The only thing that could have made the catch bigger perhaps were if it the scenario was 2 outs in game 7 of the World Series.
(oh and by the way, Tim McCarver just said the word discombobulated on
the Sox/Rays FOX game of the week – don’t you just love the English
language)
But what about Verlander? Well, that’s three straight starts now where he’s been downright dominant, and to be honest, I haven’t seen him look this good since 2007 when he notched 18 wins. So things are looking up. In fact, his start in mid April in Seattle was a beauty as well. But the line doesn’t look all that good – 7 1/3, 8 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned. The misguiding this about that line was that the runs all came in the 5th inning. Prior to that, JV had thrown 4 perfect innings. He was lights out. So it seems that Mr Verlander’s turned it around. Speaking of guys who’ve turned it around, Cliff Lee has done the same. After compiling a 9.90 ERA in his first 2 starts, the 2008 AL Cy Young award winner has thrown 5 straight quality starts – but due to the Tribe’s anaemic offense, Cliff has just 1 win out of those last 5, including 2 straight losses to Verlander and the Tigers.
And while we’re on the topic of Cy Young, hows about Zack Greinke for the AL’s top pitching award? Man this guy has been crazy. How about a 6-0 record in 6 starts. A 0.50 ERA in April to lead the majors. 3 complete games, including 2 shutouts. And his May 4th complete game shutout against the White Sox lowered his ERA to an incredible 0.40. What’s next for Greinke? I watched Zack dominate the Tigers April 24th and it was just ridiculous. Kinda what it miust have felt like last night as a Tribe fan watching Justin Verlander put up zero after zero – helpless.
My pick right now for NL Cy Young winner is Chad Billingsley. At this point, he’s been virtually untouchable. 5-1, a 2.45 ERA in 7 starts. He might not have gone past 7 1/3 innings yet in any of his starts, but each one has been a quailty outing.
Continuing on the theme of guys who’ve turned it around, hows this about Barry Zito? The Giants lefty has thrown 4 straight quality outings, so maybe that 7 year, $126 deal he signed back in late 2006 might actually be worth something? Some would say it’s about time.
And you know what else I’m liking right now that came out of last night’s Tigers game? The fact that the Tigers got great pitching, and didn’t blow it. They’re winning tight, well pitched ballgames, and yes the offense has been harshly inconsistent, but at least the pitchers aren’t getting bombed just yet. They’ve got improved defense, a little dash of speed and hell, even Jim Leyland has been sending runners this season from time to time. Underlying point: These Tigers aren’t one dimensional anymore. There’s a reason why the phrase pitching and defense wins ballgames is true.
A couple more observations:
- Boy it’s nice to see Joel Zumaya back and healthy. So far so good for Zoom, 5 scoreless innings. Let’s hope he keeps it going, cause he’s fun to watch
- Nice to see Rick Porcello keep pitching well. After getting roughed up against the Yankees, he rebounded nicely by blanking the Twins for 7 scoreless. This guy is gonna be something special.
- Also I’m glad that Dontrelle Willis is making it back to the big leagues. He’ll make his first start Wednesday at Minnesota, and you betcha I’ll be watching. I remember watching the D-train duel with then Diamondback Randy Johnson in his rookie year in 2003 when he won 14 games. The excitement, the energy he brought to the table. He’s one hell of a character. And it makes for great entertainment. For his sake, I hope he’s got himself straightened out.
- It’s got to be frustrating to be Jake Peavy right now. Once again marred by inconsistency, high pitch counts and a lack of run support, Jake sits at 2-4 with a 4.27 ERA. His last two starts he was lights out. 8 shutout innings of the Dodgers last friday went for naught after Clayton Kershaw was more than equal to the task and the Dodgers won in the bottom of the 9th. Then in his last start, Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, who ranked last in the NL in just about seemingly every offensive category, managed to claw out a 3-1 win. Jake makes one single mistake that ends up costing him the game – a meaty fastball with one man on that Justin Upton drilled over the wall in center field at Petco Park. As per the norm for the Pads when Peavy starts, they couldn’t generate anything offensively, grounding into 4 double plays including a huge on with the bases loaded in the 9th inning. The D-backs made 4 errors, but the Padres couldn’t get anything except for the single run off the double play in the 9th. Crazy. What does jake have to do?
- Does Jordan Schafer want to strike out anymore? This guys got 40 K’s already! That’s tops in the National League right now. Only perennial strikeout king Mark Reynolds of the Diamondbacks is close at 39. Schafer’s a promising rookie who will blossom into one of the games best for sure, but only if he cuts down those K’s.
- Still, as always, Albert Pujols remains the best hitter in the game today.
- The less said about Manny Ramirez, the better.
- I’m pulling for Ryan Zimmerman right now. It’s about time the Nationals had some sort of success. They’re finally settled in in Washington. They’ve got a great new ballpark. They’ve got a few promising young players (See Jordan Zimmerman), and I love their jerseys. (hey, these things matter to me! If a team looks more asthetically pleasing, then that’s a plus in my book) In May, Zimm is batting .484, and he’s got the 26 game hitting streak rolling right now. And if you’re counting, that means that Ryan has only not got a hit in one game this year! One game! And that was the second game of the season.
- One guy I want to give a shoutout to is Toronto’s Adam Lind. This guy is mashing the ball. Currently swatting .333 in 123 AB’s, Lind’s a big reason why the Jays are having such a great start.
Here’s what to look for this weekend:
- The FOX saturday games of the week feature a couple of gems. I’m watching Braves/Phillies right now and this one’s a good un. Then there’s Giants/Dodgers. And if that wasn’t enough, check out Saturday’s best pitching matchup of Scott Kazmir and Jon Lester.
- Zack Greinke will be shooting for his 7th win of the year when he takes on Joe Saunders on Saturday night in LA. My money’s on Greinke.
- As far as Sunday goes, Edinson Volquez will try and get Albert Pujols to take a seat at Great American Ballpark. Volquez has given up just 5 hits in his last 3 starts, including back to back 8 inning, no run performances against Houston and Florida. After a shaky start, it seems he’s found the groove once again.
- Tim Lincecum will battle the Dodgers and Jeff Weaver at 4:05pm ET, and this one will be worth watching. Seabiscuit is always worthy of a look, and it’s Giants/Dodgers. Enough said.
- Finally, ESPN’s Sunday night baseball comes our way from Fenway Park, where it’s the almost perfect Matt Garza against Josh Beckett.
Keep watching folks, cause we’re only a month in. And in just over a month’s time, I’ll be done with exams, so I’ll be free to watch an absolute ton of ball!
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