OT: Tigers/Phillies thread; Miggy and Porcello talk
So we are watching our boys try to sweep the Phillies This umpire is ridiculous. This is the same umpire who was behind home plate when we had our issues with the White Sox. For those who didn't watch, Chad Fairchild ejected Miggy after Miggy said something after his second strike. Miggy obviously said something, but I doubt it was abrasive enough to get him thrown out. On top of that, Leyland came out calm and ended angrier than hell. I don't know but something tells me this ump loves stirring the pot.
Edit: Seeing as talk of this is getting bigger on the other post, someone brought up a solid question. Do you like Porcello as our fifth starter? If no, who do you want there instead?
Once again, MLB umpires prove what a joke they are. Tell me again why they don't want to expand replay? Is this the oh-so-great 'human element' they keep talking about?
Looked like Cabrera mouthed, "That's fucking bullshit" on the replay.
If so, that can absolutely get you kicked out.
But I'm no professional lip reader.
Or the grown-ass man umpire could shake it off and not act like a butt-hurt middle school girl. No wonder baseball is becoming irrelevant. Kick out the best player in the game for a couple bad words, but let Barry Bonds blatantly cheat and steal the most sacred home run records. Selig and MLB SUCK.
situation it is flat out ridiculous that a grown ass man can't show some thick skin. He potentially fundamentally altered the outcome of the game by throwing him out the game in that situation, that is unacceptable.
Don't get mad at me man. Get mad at the rules.
If you swear at an ump, he has the right to kick you out. I wouldn't have kicked him out, but at the same time, Fairchild is the ump, not me.
Those are the rules. They suck, but that's the way it is. Ump shouldn't throw him out, but Cabrera also can't swear and give him the opportunity to throw him out.
to argue, that is the nature of baseball. Guys with thin skin and overinflated egos have no business being umpires. Just a note this ump leads baseball in ejections, not exactly shocking.
Also, can anyone explain why Porcello is still in the rotation? He is terrible
Who would you rather have as your fifth starter?
have Smyly in the rotation instead, but obviously it is too late for that now.
Smyly is great for us in the bullpen, but I don't think he is as strong as a starter. Honestly, I would like to put Porcello in the pen, because I think he would produce there, We just need a solid 5th guy in our rotation
pretty strong to me. Certainly better than Porcello's career ERA of 4.50.
have Smyly in the rotation instead, but obviously it is too late for that now.
...and it's getting even later reading it twice ; )
Trade for someone, anyone. A 4.5 ERA isn't going to cut it in the playoffs. Philly might be willing to deal Cliff Lee since their season is done. With JV being an empty uniform this year, the Tigers desperately need another starter.
Name me a better 5th starter in the league that eats as many innings as Porcello does?
But I just think they would be asking for too much for Cliff Lee. If we can get him for cheap, of course. But I'm afraid we would have to give up Smyly or Castellanos
you don't need a 5th starter in the playoffs...he goes to the BP. Teams only use 3-4 starters in the playoffs.
Plus a 4.5 ERA is not a terrible ERA. It's average. Most teams would love to have Porcello as a 3rd starter...let alone a 5th. On top of that...the tigers offense should be to blame. They should score more than 4.5 runs a game...
I'm not talking just about the playoffs. We still got 60+ games left and we don't wanna burn out our guys now.
But I agree I am one who believes Porcello is a decent 5th starter and have no problem keeping him there for the rest of the season
To bolster this a little bit, many of Porcello's advanced metrics are markedly improved over last year. Among them, his K/BB ratio has jumped from 2.43 to 3.68, which is substantial, and his average against has fallen from 0.308 to 0.266, which is also pretty significant. He's averaging about one more strikeout and one less walk per outing as well when compared to his 2012 performance. His WHIP has also fallen to 1.24 from 1.53 last year, so overall, Rick Porcello in 2013 is actually better in many respects than Rick Porcello in 2012 with most of his stats being only slightly worse than the staff average - a fair number of teams could only hope to say that about their fifth starter.
5th starters don't start in the playoffs...
He had a couple outings that inflated his era to that degree. Look at the advanced metrics and quit basing everything on era, batting average, etc. doesn't tell the whole story.
RP has been solid the last two and half months. Be careful for what you wish for considering the Tigers have two more years of control for a 24 yr old pitcher with good stuff. He is a good 4/5 starter in this rotation.
...too soon?
Porcello is a solid fifth starter.
Ok, then what about a fourth starter for this year's playoffs, assuming the Indians ever fade away? It isn't happening with JV, and I'm not willing to bet a title shot that he'll snap out of it this year. I'll be banging the Cliff Lee drum until the deadline. If the Tigers have to send a hitter or two, fine. We all saw last year that big hitting gets crushed by great pitching in the Series anyway
The Phillies would want Garcia or Nick C for Lee, and I wouldn't be willing to do that for a starter the Tigers really don't need.
To be honest they might want both Garcia and Nick C, along with a pitching prospect. Just look at what the Cubs got for Matt Garza and multiply that by 2 because Cliff Lee is a far superior player that hasnt had the injury problems that Garza has.
No doubt. I was about say they would probably want both of them. You're right about the salary too. I'd rather re-sign Max than take on Lee's 20+ million.
unless he has a great player in return. Milwaulkee asked for him in exchange for K-Rod. Dombrowski flatout said no. Cliff Lee is an all-star but he's aging and certainly don't need another starting pitcher on the roster.
I'm more willing to let Verlander work his troubles out than I am to trade our top prospects and pay the rest of Cliff Lee's salary. The tiger's window to win isn't just this year, they have about a 2-3 year window in my opinion.
Bases loaded with no one out in the bottom of the fifth. Soooo is Tui gonna get thrown out now?
3-1 Phillies as the Tigers score one. Tui RBI Single. Like the small ball. Bases loaded with none out
Rick with a clean inning, hopefully we can take the lead and get him a W.
PS- Looks like Jake Peavy just got traded, doesn't say where he's going but it looks like his time in Chicago is done.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/07/jake-peavy-trade-is-imminent.html#disqus_thread
Phillies derp
This game has just been hard to watch, all sorts of ugly
I've enjoyed this inning. It's great comedy.
Well now its fun, some actual earned runs
Actually, all 8 were unearned, which is incredible.
So it was 3-0 last time I looked, just switched it on to see Peralta's grand slam to put us up ... 11-3? On what, 9 hits? Alright, this looks fun.
Grand slam baby!
Porcello would have MUCH better numbers on a team with a better defensive infield. If you look at our starting infielders, all of them are among the worst in the league in range statistics, and have among the worst defensive WAR. For a pitcher who is so good at getting batters to hit ground balls, there couldn't be a worse fit than having him with this infield. I don't blame him for ANY of that. He's developing as a pitcher and improving his secondary pitches. With a different infield he only allows one run today. What more can you realistically ask for in a 5th starter? As for the Smyly/Porcello discussion, realize that if you take Smyly out of the bullpen you have to replace him with someone - now keep in mind the bullpen is already horrible WITH Smyly. How much worse would it be without him? Porcello, the ground ball-inducing pitcher described above, is not a good fit for the bullpen. When you bring a guy in for one inning, you want him to be able to produce sure outs that don't rely on above-average defense.
and RP has been solid, something like a 3.5 ERA over his last 15 starts, which is more than I can say about JV lately.