OT: AL ALBURQUERQUE

Submitted by Steve Lorenz on May 9th, 2011 at 9:25 PM

Anybody consistently watched this guy pitch? He's sporting a 16+ K/9 after last inning's performance and his breaking ball is practically unhittable when locating his fastball. Reminds me a ton of Carlos Marmol of the Cubs in that he only throws two pitches yet they are both so effective you're constantly off balance.

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jawsMD

May 9th, 2011 at 10:43 PM ^

Awful might not be a strong enough word. Horrendous would be plausible. The problem is, who do you have in AAA or even AA that you want to pull out of the rotation to throw into the pen? Furbush, Oliver and Turner are all looking great, but you don't want to throw off their growth as a starter for some temporary bullpen health. Maybe Weinhardt?

Perhaps this is a time where Coke heads back to the pen and one of the kids gets a crack at some spot starts with the big club?

Joined: 04/30/2011

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tricks574

May 9th, 2011 at 11:40 PM ^

Toronto is hammering lefties this year, so it would be nice to see him get one more chance. If he is still ineffective in that role though, sending him to the pen and calling oliver up would make some sense. Oliver is reaching the point where AAA hitters aren't helping his development, and every pitch he throws is just one more bullet out of the chamber. If its just Perry getting sent down, with no other moves, weindhardt should be the call. He's already a releiver and he's had some stretches of success in the majors. Short stretches, but still, more than most of the farm hands. Lester Oliveros is a tempting name too, but he needs to show he can carry his success in aa up to aaa before that's a realistic option.

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jawsMD

May 9th, 2011 at 11:49 PM ^

I hear ya. I'm not one of those guys who rags on Coke either. I feel like a lot of people were really iffy on the idea of him as a starter from the get-go and (whether they realize it or not) are rooting against him to succeed because they want to prove their initial inhibitions correct.

I want Coke to do well because the Tigers really need a left-handed starter. Especially when Morneau and Mauer get their act together.

That being said, he has not looked good as of late and the Tigers have some options in their pen and in their system to stay in the race this year.

Joined: 04/30/2011

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Blazefire

May 9th, 2011 at 10:59 PM ^

That strike zone is really small! And sometimes the stitching on the baseball isn't quite all even. It's hard, you know! Seriously!

(I dunno why, but I have little sympathy for Perry and his inability to hit the strike zone at 94 when Zoom was hitting it at 104 consistently).

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MichFan1997

May 9th, 2011 at 11:04 PM ^

not throw his slider 62 percent of the time, though.

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goblue27

May 9th, 2011 at 11:34 PM ^

beat me to it. i listened to a game the other night where i'm pretty sure he threw 9 sliders in a row

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coldnjl

May 10th, 2011 at 7:41 AM ^

Have you ever heard the saying throw it until they hit it?

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Steve Lorenz

May 10th, 2011 at 1:41 AM ^

Marmol has made a living throwing sliders almost 60% of the time. Have you watched him pitch? The slider is keeping hitters off balance, even when they know it's coming.

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MichFan1997

May 10th, 2011 at 12:28 PM ^

about keeping hitters off balance and whatnot or that they'll figure it out. It's the concern of throwing so many sliders (a high stress pitch)

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Rico616

May 9th, 2011 at 11:52 PM ^

Tigers pitching has really stepped it up after the 1st week of the season. Villareal sucks though, Benoit has had a couple shaky relief appearances, and Perry is coming off an injury.

Since Martinez came off of the DL the bats have been hitting better too. This Tigers team is so streaky. Getting swept by Indians and Mariners? C'mon man! Going 3-3 would have been ok!

But I like what Ive seen this past week.

Joined: 07/01/2009

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jawsMD

May 10th, 2011 at 12:13 AM ^

Villarreal has sucked? As a kid in his first year in the big leagues, he has been solid. Both Villarreal and Albuquerque have been pleasant surprises for the bullpen so far. Could you imagine the pen without them right now? More Brad Thomas? Enrique Gonzalez?

Benoit has been shaky, but I'm confident he will come around. Perry looked awful tonight. Schlereth has been inconsistent, but I still think he will pan out to be a serviceable LOOGY.

Baseball is a streaky game. They didn't have the bats against the Mariners and the Indians are playing great right now. They should be better than 18-18. If they can get the bats to be more consistent, they will be competing for the division.

Joined: 04/30/2011

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Rico616

May 10th, 2011 at 1:53 PM ^

Might be his first season but every time he goes in I expect bad things. i.e. 3 runs vs Toronto or the 2 he gave up vs Cleveland. he started the season off ok but has been in kind of a funk. He not has a 5.79 era, not what you want out of a guy trying to protect a lead.

I agree with Albuquerque but Villarreal...not until I see more of him. As of right now I get nervous when he comes in.

Joined: 07/01/2009

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MichFan1997

May 10th, 2011 at 12:24 AM ^

doesn't suck so much as he's just ran into some bad luck. A .359 BABIP is pretty high. He also has allowed a HR/FB rate of 15.9. Considering how fluky HR rates are, that is probably an annomoly. His FIP and especially his xFIP both suggest he's going to be just fine.

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