Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
This is it. The make-or-break part of the Yankees' season has arrived. The team's next fourteen games all come against playoff contenders, six against the division leading Angels and Red Sox and, starting tonight, a whopping eight games against the Tigers, who are currently tied with the Indians atop the Central. After that, the Yanks have just three in Boston, three at home against the Wild Card-leading Mariners amid 21 more games against the cupcakes (though that 21 does include six more matches with Baltimore). Two weeks from tonight the Yankees will either be heading toward the playoffs or reeling from a harsh dose of reality.
The good news is that they've played contenders well since flipping the switch in July, going 5-1 against the Indians and Angels with an addition 3-1 against the pretending Twins. The Tigers, meanwhile, have been heading in the other direction.
The Detroit Tigers' high water mark came at the conclusion of a three-game sweep of the Twins in Minnesota on July 19 when they were 21 games over .500 and held a two-games lead over the Indians in the AL Central. Detroit hasn't won a single series since then and counts among their loses two of three at home to the Royals in which their only win came in extra innings, six of eight to the White Sox, four of seven to the A's, and a four-game split at home against the Devil Rays. In total, the Tigers have gone 9-18 since leaving Minnesota and have fallen into a tie with the similarly slumping Indians atop the Central and a game behind the Yankees in the Wild Card race.
Whereas the Indians problem of late has been scoring runs, the Tigers' problem has been preventing them. Over those last 27 games, Detroit has allowed 6.70 runs per game, this despite 21 of those contests occurring in the typically pitcher-friendly Comerica Park and the even more pitcher-friendly Oakland McAfee Coliseum. Curiously, Comerica has been and oddly neutral park this season, and the Tigers have been better at preventing runs on the road, where they've allowed 4.79 runs per game as opposed to 5.52 runs per game at home. As a result, they've been a much stronger road team, but that hasn't held true over the last 27 games, as the Tigers have been equally terrible at home (5-9, 6.86 R/G allowed) and on the road (4-9, 6.53 R/G allowed).
The reason for the Tigers' pitching struggles throughout the season has been injuries. Ace set-up man Joel Zumaya hasn't pitched since May 1 following surgery on the middle finger on his throwing hand (he's due back soon, but not for this series). Kenny Rogers, who was a huge part of their pennant-winning season last year, had offseason shoulder surgery and was active for just about a month beginning in late June before landing back on the DL with elbow inflammation after posting a 9.98 ERA in the last three of his six starts. Andrew Miller, the team's top pitching prospect and 2006 draftee who was promoted to fill the rotation spot vacated when the struggling Mike Maroth was traded to St. Louis, strained a hamstring in his August 3 start against the White Sox and landed on the DL. Filling in for those three are 33-year-old journeyman Tim Byrdak, who didn't see major league action from 2001 to 2004 and had his own DL stint in July due to elbow tendonitis, journeyman Chad Durbin, who last started in the majors in 2004, and rookie Jair Jurrjens, who made his major league debut in a loss to the Indians last night.
Further complicating the issue, remaining starters Nate Robertson and Jeremy Bonderman have underperformed. Bonderman was expected to have a break-out season, but has been merely average, spending some time on the DL himself in May due to a blister, and posting a 9.20 ERA over his five starts since that Minnesota series. Robertson pitched over his head last year, but has gone too far in the other direction this season and was actually DLed in June due to what was termed a "tired arm." Similar things can be said about incumbent set-up men Fernando Rodney, who was awful earlier in the season and spent all of July on the DL with shoulder and elbow tendonitis, and Jason Grilli, who's been overused as a result of the injuries to Zumaya and Rodney and has seen his performance suffer as a result.
The Tigers can't even count on 2006 Rookie of the Year and current staff ace Justin Verlander to hold the wolves at bay. Verlander, who starts tonight, has a 5.14 ERA over his last eight starts despite solid peripherals, has lasted more that six innings in only one of his last five starts, and has turned in quality starts in just two of his last six and three of those last eight. To all of that you can add the flu, which has been going around the Tiger clubhouse of late and could impact Verlander's performance tonight.
On the flip side, the Tiger offense is second only to the Yankees in runs per game this season. The key difference being that, unlike the Yankees, the Tigers have some soft spots in their batting order, specifically third baseman Brandon Inge (.239/.316/.391), 35-year-old catcher Ivan Rodriguez (.278/.288/.426), and left fielder Craig Monroe (.222/.264/.373). Monroe has been so bad, in fact, that he appears to be losing his job to the recently reactivated Marcus Thames, starting only when Thames shifts to first base to spell Sean Casey against lefties.
At the same time, the tough spots in the Tiger order are very, very tough. Gary Sheffield, Curtis Granderson, Carlos Guillen, Placido Polanco, and especially Magglio Ordoñez are all having outstanding seasons. Sheffield's season is a dead ringer for his two healthy seasons in New York except he's been far more active on the bases, stealing 18 of 22, and even harder to strike out. Granderson appears to have made the leap at age 26. The most remarkable thing about his season isn't necessarily his 18 triples, but the fact that 12 of them have come on the road. Polanco is enjoying a career year with a performance that's a dead ringer for what he did over the remainder of 2005 after being acquired from the Phillies. Guillen is merely playing to his usual high standard. Finally, Ordoñez is a legitimate challenger to Alex Rodriguez's MVP hopes, matching Rodriguez in the cumulative total-performance stat VORP despite fewer plate appearances. In third place in the AL: Jorge Posada. In fact, the Yankees and Tigers combine to employ ten of the top 22 VORP totals in the American League. The five Tigers are the men just discussed. The three Yankees after Rodriguez and Posada are Jeter, Matsui, and Cano.
The man who will try to tame those Tiger bats tonight will be Mike Mussina. Moose has been on a roll of late, posting a 2.84 ERA over his last four starts, all wins. He's not walked a batter in his last 22 innings pitched. He will, however, have to cope with Jason Giambi at first base tonight, as G'Bombi will get the start at first for the first time since May 3. Hideki Matsui will DH, Johnny Damon's in left, and the Yankee lineup is utterly seamless. Wow.
Detroit Tigers
2007 Record: 2007 Pythagorean Record:
Manager: Jim Leyland
General Manager: Dave Dombrowski
Home Ballpark (2007 Park Factors): Comerica Park (99/99)
Who's Replacing Whom?
Gary Sheffield replaces Dmitri Young, a chunk of Marcus Thames' playing time, and a smidge of Craig Monroe's
Sean Casey replaces Chris Shelton (minors)
Mike Rabelo replaces Vance Wilson (DL)
Ryan Raburn replaces Alexis Gomez
Chad Durbin replaces Kenny Rogers (DL)
Jair Jurrens replaces Andrew Miller (DL), who replaced Mike Maroth, who took over the starts of Wilfredo Ledezma and Zach Miner, the last of whom is still in the bullpen
Tim Byrdak replaces Joel Zumaya (DL)
Bobby Seay replaces Jamie Walker
Aquilino Lopez replaces Roman Colon and Chris Spurling
25-man Roster
1B - Sean Casey (L)
2B - Placido Polanco (R)
SS - Carlos Guillen (S)
3B - Brandon Inge (R)
C - Ivan Rodriguez (R)
RF - Magglio Ordoñez (R)
CF - Curtis Granderson (L)
LF - Marcus Thames (R)
DH - Gary Sheffield (R)
Bench:
R - Craig Monroe (OF)
R - Omar Infante (IF)
R - Ryan Raburn (OF)
S - Mike Rabelo (C)
Rotation:
R - Justin Verlander
L - Nate Robertson
R - Chad Durbin
R - Jeremy Bonderman
R - Jair Jurrjens
Bullpen:
R - Todd Jones
R - Fernando Rodney
R - Jason Grilli
L - Bobby Seay
L - Tim Byrdak
R - Zach Miner
R - Aquilino Lopez
15-day DL: R - Joel Zumaya, L - Andrew Miller, L - Kenny Rogers
60-day DL: R - Vance Wilson (C), S - Tony Giarratano (IF), L - Edward Campusano
Restricted List: S - Neifi Perez (IF)
Typical Lineup:
L - Curtis Granderson (CF)
R - Placido Polanco (2B)
R - Gary Sheffield (DH)
R - Magglio Ordoñez (RF)
S - Carlos Guillen (SS)
R - Ivan Rodriguez (C)
L - Sean Casey (1B)
R - Marcus Thames (LF)
R - Brandon Inge (3B)
i bet JL's already counting the yankees out of the team-wide-best-baseball-name contest like a cheese-eating-surrender-monkey because of that one ...
2 Who's JL?
Let's hope Moose doesn't crap the bed over this.
This does not bode well.
What is it w/ Mose and errors? He simply can't deal with bad fielding behind him.
Now if Moose can just hold them until we get into their Z-less pen . . .
The other night, he gets the winning RBI on a check swing on a terrible pitch.
Can anyone remember his last liedrive double into the LF gap. He's hardly ever getting around on the ball. Anyone else see this?
Man... ARod's glove has gone limp.
I'm really sorry to disrupt the Yankees discussion with somber news. I just wanted to let you know that Jim passed away on July 27th in the middle of the game with his laptop open to this site. I was upstairs and when I came down, I thought he had fallen asleep. It was an undetected heart defect that led to massive heart failure.
Thank you to all of you for providing a nice distraction for Jim. He loved the Yankees and I know he really enjoyed chatting with you all. For me, it's nice to read his old writings here and remeber his argumentative side. I really miss him.
Kate Dean
You have stunned the Banter into silence.
You might know that Jim's intelligence and strong point of views made him a bit famous here, and he left an impression on all of us.
I really don't know what to say other then to convey my deepest condolences to you and Jim's family.
I will tell you Jim's biggest gripe here was the Yankee Bench. Someone, magically, in the last 6 weeks, our bench has turned 100% around from possibly the worst in baseball to one of the best.
I can only think Jim put in a good word for us. Again, our most sincere condolences.
my prayers are with you and the family
Amazing how our moaning about the Yankees becomes completely meaningless in the scheme of things.
Scooter's passing was close to all of us, but Jim was right here with us at the time. He was so passionate about the Yankees, I wondered what could keep him away.
Very sad. I do hope he can see our bench now.
He has been, and will continue to be missed. God Bless.
I can't believe Jim is gone. A bunch of us were just talking about him earlier today.
game(s) on 7/27 to reread Jim's comments.
Two things stand out. A very spirited, typically, criticism of Sterling, especially his home runs calls, on which Jim was, imo, dead on, and, in what seems to be his last comment, he wondered, given Abreu's abysmal slugging against lefties, whether we could get a rightfielder who could hit lefties.
Shelly Duncan appears to be the answer to that problem, and has already subbed for Bobby at least once, iirc, against tough lefties.
If Sterling gets fired, we really have to begin to fear the power of Dean!
https://bronxbanter.baseballtoaster.com/archives/743436.html#comments
Jim's last night with us.
I hate to throw Giambi under the bus, but maybe like today, we should start Jason at 1B until he get's injured, or asks a days off?
Looks like it's not worth using Joba tonight to try and stay close?
Couldn't Ian Kennedy do that? Maybe Jack Kennedy?
At least there's no way Verlander comes back out, having thrown 110 pitches already. And the Tigers' bullpen is awful.
You keep taking Giambi!
he was used a ton last year too, time will tell, but i have a bad feeling about his health going foward
80 Its a shame the Yanks can't rig Moose's starts to match up with umps who actually call a proper, consistent strike zone.
Rest in peace Jim, I can't believe he is gone.
89 Placeholder, I see.
Thank you very much for trusting us with that. I can't add anything to 43 , but, as others have stated, Jim Dean was a really valuable member of this board, and we'll all miss his passion. Thanks again.
C'mon Yanks, this is the time to break it open!
just a coupla hours ago, i'm teaching a drum lesson and i get a text message from a student of mine informing me that the drumming community lost one of our biggest legends today - Max Roach died at 83. for the drumming world, he loomed larger than Rizzuto; this one is more like Lou Gehrig dying, if he had lived a full life. Max was an innovator and along with Kenny "Klook" Clarke, invented Be-Bop drumming. he was also the 1st player to ever play a melodic drum solo and he invented soloing over an ostinato. all of that can be heard in the famous "The Drum Also Waltzes." some of his best work was with Sonny Rollins...
i come home to check the score, to find out we're losing big. carp.
then i scour some comments and see Jim Dean died. wha?! uy yuy yuy. this is terribly saddening. Kate, if you're still reading comments, my heart goes out to you and yours. he was intelligent and passionate. take good care.
on the flip side, a buddy of mine is about to welcome his 2nd child into the world and the yanks still have these 2 weeks to make a statement.
there's too much sadness this week... : (
119 Sorry to hear all that, man. Let's hope the Yanks add some good feelings to the mix.
And ARod is cooling down big time. Dinky ground balls, not too many screaming flys.
I still can't really process the news about Jim -- it just seems surreal. Funny, when our roster started improving (better bench, better pitchers) and the team started winning consistently...when Jim disappeared, I swear he willed himself into Cashman's mind. That's how passionately he came across in his arguments online...I never felt he was really gone, even when he disappeared from the comments.
I didn't really see eye to eye with the way he argued certain points over and over, but he was definitely a Yankee fan. My condolences to Kate and his family and friends.
http://tinyurl.com/2rqa2j
i'm very non-confrontational, so i didn't always like jim dean's tone, but i am very passionate, so i was able to understand that side of him. he loved the yankees and was very good w/ numbers. as a drummer and baseball fanatic, i adore numbers. i don't post a lot about 'em here, 'coz so many folks here are on top of everything and know more than i do, but i study stats and as much sabermetrics as i can wrap my little brain around.
i always felt i was one of those jim was 'attacking' when he would say things like he skips over most comments 'coz no one has anything productive to say. i never took it personally. i know my place - on this site and elsewhere. i'm generally doing 17 different things at once, whilst i'm checking the scores and following this site, so i can't scour for #'s very quickly. plus, my little laptop freezes up!
cult of basebaal was recently in atlanta and we had a great hang and talked some about this. he is a wonderful baseball mind! bronx banter really is a true family and it's really great to make honest to god friends from here, like cult. it doesn't matter if it's 1-sentence comments or 3 paragraph stat-filled arguments. we all love the yankees and none of us wants to hear news like the fate of Mr. Dean.
rest in peace, fellow Yankees fanatic
The thing that I love most about this site is that it is not only the best place on the net to get Yankee news it is also a place where passionate fans can come together and have spirited discussions. In some ways it is like a family. We share in the good times and bad. We celebrate weddings and births and days like today we all share in the sadness. Jim Dean was part of this family and he will missed.
My prayers go out to Kate and the family. May God bless you all during this difficult time.
thankz, yankz. and i always am sure to read all of your commentz! : )
If I can add some levity in the middle of a sad time, thelarmis, you've got me spending serious money this summer. :-) Beefed up my Sun Ra CD collection based on our earlier discussions, and now I'll be remembering Max Roach. I know I shouldn't have waited until this sad news to renew his acquaintance, but at the very least, it will be good to keep his memory alive. There are worse ways to overcome sad times than keeping that master drummer's spirit pulsing through reexperiencing the amazing diversity of his recorded output.
you need the Dolphy box set!!! up until today (!!!), it was the most expensive purchase i had made on cd's. it's a 9cd box set on Prestige and is essential...
i can't listen to Dolphy every day, but to me, he was the most unique, distinctive, fiery, passionate performer on any instrument in any genre. you can listen to Andrew Hill's (he just died recently, too...) Point of Departure - track 1, all these great soloists, and then BAM!, dolphy plays one - ONE - stinkin' note and you have to drop everything you're doing and stare at the speakers. he's mesmerizing...
similarly, for 20th century classical stuff, it sounds like you have big ears and great taste, so you'd probably dig Krzysztof Penderecki's Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima.
sorry to keep spending your money, but the gift of music is the greatest and at least it's safe! plus, i can write it off ; )
btw, the crazy coin i just dropped was on a 9cd Joe Jackson box set of mini-lp cd's. VERY cool stuff : )
I don't know how it appeared on TV, but live, I really thought Verlander was horrible. Three balls on everyone and we just couldn't capitalize.
A tough three games to be sure. With Wanng clearly not right, Hughes unable to give lenghth (without mentioning his age), and Moose a head case, we have three of every five games where will likely need to score seven or more runs to win, and when we don't, we will likelly lose. It is even more fruststating when we get an ace off his game like we did tonight, and do nothing with it. As much as we all hate Steve Phillps, he is right on this, if we don't score some runs and win when Clemens and Pettitte give us good outings, and score a ton when the other three are out there, we have little chance of going anywhere this season. We just don't have the pitching to win the games in which our offense is shut down. A game like tonight for instance, with a quality pitcher out there, was winnable. With Moose, Villone and Farnsworth pitching before the seventh, we will lose more often than not.
Here is hoping for a better performance tomorrow.
George would never do such a thing, fighting the powers that be (good little Republican that he is), but it is certainly a thought.
ridiculas , I saw the whole game, and it was far from poorly pitched, he just ran into some terrible luck. first A-rod booted a inning ending double play, then he faces two very tough out , now gased, Guillien poked one out of the short porch, and that was the difference of the game. the rest of the game saw a lot of slappy singles or well done hit and runs that really had little to do with how Moose pitched. not to meantion seeing the ump continue to give nothing off the plate to him while giving the Tigers 3+ inches.
If anything, Verlander pitched much worse this game, he couldn't locate his breaking balls at all, while his fastball was pretty wild too, but that's expected from a guy pitching with the flu, we just didn't capitalize enough (and got robed by some nice plays)
Moose is doing just fine . he's not what he use to be, but he's far from unable to putting up a decent season in the AL.
Kate,
I'm very saddened to hear about Jim's passing. My condolences to you and your family.
Jim Dean was a bright and spirited Yankees fan, which made him such a fun and interesting contributer to the Bronx Banter.
He will be missed.
Tip of the Yanks cap to ya, Jim Dean.
Rest in peace.
As for the game, I'm just glad I went to Aikido and then out afterwards.
My thoughts are with you during these difficult times.
Jim added so much to this community.
I could not believe what I read here last night, and I couldn't think of anything worthy of saying that would describe what your husband meant to us. Though I never met him in life, I consider him family. As he once said to me, "we're not that much different after all!" And as much as he would infuriate people at times with his argumentive and tempermental rantings, I think I speak for all in saying that we have a lot of respect for him.
I do have something more to say, but I haven't figured out how to say it until I "speak" with him first. From what I've known, he's a good man and will always be remembered as such, and for my part I will remember him as family and a friend.
With Much Respect and Blessings,
Chyll Will
My sincere condolences on your loss. Like most of the others here, I didn't know Jim personally, but I enjoyed his presence as part of this community, and the passion he brought to our debates here. I have fond recollections of a few threads where we interacted directly, either on the opposite side of a topic or sharing the same one.
I wish you and yours the best in these difficult times.
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