He is definitely my Tiger (along with all of the others), but he DOES drive me crazy.
How in the heck can that boy have given up three less hits and three less runs than the opposing pitcher, same number of walks (I think), and have thrown 19 MORE pitches in the same number of innings?
He's a horse, so it hasn't been a huge issue. But with these pitch counts, how many years can they ask him to pitch 240 innings before he starts breaking down...
Screw pitch counts. I know you make a good point but the Tigers radio guys harp on pitch counts ad nauseum. I think JV can handle the load for a long time to come. Verlander probably good for about 120 today, he is at about 100 right now.
No....you can't live by this idea. He has to become more efficient or his risk for injury will continue to be very high. He threw 300 more pitches than anyone else in baseball last year. That's not a good thing. Halladay and Sabathia are about the only two pitchers in baseball I can think of who have been able to sustain a ridiculously high pitch count without sustaining some kind of injury, and even they usually don't throw nearly as many pitches per start as Verlander does.
By your criteria JV is a huge risk, but I don't remember arm problems in his past. There are plenty of examples of pitchers with lower pitch counts who are continually experiencing arm trouble. Until JV shows signs of strain; I'm believin he is ok
It's not exactly the number of pitches necessarily but it's the number of high stress pitches. If JV is going 5 innings throwing 120 pitches, it's a problem since he's probably walking people. If he throws the same amount in 7-8 innings then it's not that huge a concern if you don't have arm problems
This is more or less what he does for the first two months of the season. He does have solid mechanics so he is "safer" than others who have been in his position but it's still a risk regardless. I don't understand how one wouldn't agree in saying that he'll lessen his risk of injury if he becomes a more efficient pitcher. It's common sense.
Verlander just plunked Jeter with a 95 mph fastball. OUCH
Ouch Jeter just got plunked on the wrist with a 95 Mph fastball.
Boesch ain't goin anywhere when Guillen gets back and Miggy is off to a MVP start
Freshman competition between Bosch and Jackson for best rookie batter this year, but it looks like Jackson is maybe finally going to cool off a little bit.
3 rookies in the starting lineup and they are all doing ok, although some are down on Sizemore, I'm not. Nice to see the Tigers get younger and stay competitive. Dombrowski and company are doing a great job.
In retrospect, his best move was probably locking up Cabrera when he did. Now that Howard is being paid 25/yr and with Pujols sure to pull in more than 30 when he hits FA, Cab at a lower price is a HUGE bargain.
They have him locked up through 2015 at a rate that peaks at $22M. Depending on his performances in 2012 and 2013, I would really like to see the organization come back and renegotiate and lock him up for more years before he hits the FA market. I can only imagine what the Yankees or Red Sox will come offering in 2015 for his services. He just turned 27, so he'll be a 32 yr old slugger on the FA market after 5 more years of salary raises...scary.
depend on the Twins. Yes, we COULD get a wildcard, but I don't like to depend on that, so I figure it will all depend on the Twins. They perform well, probably not. They fall off, and we're gold.
This team is better than last year's version because we're getting on base and because our bullpen has been unbelievable so far. The success of the team lies in the starting pitching though. It's debatable that everyone outside of Verlander is a question mark every time they step on the mound. If even two of the four can figure it out, I think we can contend with Minnesota, who has actually been pretty fortunate so far with subpar starting pitching outside of Liriano. I'm still not sleeping on Chicago only because almost their entire lineup outside of Konerko and Rios has been slumping all year and they've only had one effective starter. They could be dangerous when Quentin, Beckham and co. figure it out.
I have to believe the starter pitchers will come around (particularly since Porcello and JV have looked stellar lately). I have no idea what to expect from Bonderman or D-Train, but we can hope, right? The bullpen will almost certainly take a step back, just because they can't be expected to keep up their current pace (Coke last night excluded).
What they really need is for the bottom half of the order to step up. I don't know how they could hope to win the division with Sizemore, Laird/Avila, Everett and Inge hitting the way they are. Sadly, I don't know how much we can expect any of them to improve. Sizemore and Avila are young, so there's hope there, but I think Everett, Inge, and Laird have proven time and again that they are not any good at the plate.
Every time I look at the situation, analytical me says it's the Twins divison to lose. But this team has found a way to win some games they shouldn't, and that counts for something. Either way, it's still very early.
I don't see any reason why the bridge of Perry and Zumaya can't continue to pitch as well as they have. Valverde is a top 10 closer and has been for a while now. Not to mention Ni and Bonine have been excellent as well.
Yeah, the bottom of the lineup continues to be poor. Should be Avila, Santiago and Sizemore down there.....and Size's BA is pretty shitty but he's still drawing walks. Everett and Laird (yay he had one decent game today) are absolute black holes and Inge is a mixed bag.
Thank you, right on. I was reading his comment and thinking the same thing about Santiago. He should be the everyday player and Everett should be the fill-in. Ramon's a switch hitter and has a better batting average with much fewer opportunities. I would bring Rayburn back up now that the bullpen is back in order and platoon him with Sizemore at 2B.
The real question is what are they going to do in LF/DH when Guillen gets back? You can't take Damon out of the lineup, and Boesch is safe for now. Where does Guillen go? They're paying him, and he can still hit.
I wouldn't platoon Sizemore and Rayburn. Sizemore is probably a long term solution and should get the majority of the playing time, unless Sizemore really struggles, then a platoon may be in the offing.
Santiago and Everett; neither one is an everyday player. SS is the one area I would like to see Dombrowski upgrade in the near future and certainly by 2011. Everett dropped that line drive the other night against the yanks and today his backhand toss to 2nd was a little lackadaisical for my liking
I wonder if Leyland would consider playing Guillen at 3rd base and giving Inge some time off.
Even less likely; would Leyland consider playing Brandon at SS and Guillen at Third?
we're gettin' em!
Cabby with a two run double. Best hitter in the game right now. 5-0 Tigers
just might have what it takes. Wow
But lord Miggy is stroking the ball...
Miguel Cabrera is a fuckin' pimp!!
Tigers are a young exciting ball club with many hitters and pitchers that are entertainging to watch perform. Tigers are definitely contenders but I would bet against them making the playoffs this year. The future is bright for these guys
I can't remember a time other than this when a batter comes to the plate and I expect an extra base hit every time. He is simply the best hitter I've seen on the Tigers.
Chris Shelton at the beginning of the 2006 season when he had 9 homeruns in 13 games.
Best Tiger hitter since Hank Greenberg, so unless you are old enough to enjoy the original Hammerin Hank, you ain't seen a hitter like this wearing the old english D
Laird with a 2 out RBI double. Today is a good day.
Gerald Laird just did something positive.
the words of the text I just got from one of my buddies. What are the odds of that?
now, and he can put his deep, easy to catch fly balls out of the park or off the wall more often now.
I love the lineup with Boesch hitting behind Cabrera...I hate that Guillen will make $13 MM this year and next year.
Here comes the flame thrower. Did it look like Zumaya was rocking a mohawk?
Very good outing for JV. If the season started in May, he would win multiple Cy Young awards.
Thank you sir and +1 to you.
How do I miss stuff like this. Fucking life gets in the way of all the important things.
Needs to stop window shopping and buy already.
a comment was just made about Mr. Everett standing there like the house by the side of the road.
he should just go ahead and get his mail forwarded there!
Its amazing how good someone can hit when there not drunk
Take that jive up outta here!
I'd actually say I'm more impressed that he played at the level he has for the last few years if his alcohol problem was as serious as what was reported. He could have won AL MVP a couple years ago.
He had a bad second half last year because he hit the bottle to much, I am glad to see he is in top form, we need him if we want to over take the Twins
Find out what he was drinking, and send a case of it to my other players.
Dude hit .324 with 34 home runs and nearly 200 hits. If I could do that drunk, I would be shit-faced regularly.
Holy shit a Civil War reference. Go Union!
but I probably shouldn't have made that reference while we were battling the Yankees.