Can anyone else figure out for the life of them why Ramon Santiago is on our roster? We have infante to fill in across the infield, if anything we need another first baseman type. I guess he'll be sent down when Dmitri Young comes back, but who knows, they might not. I just don't see anything of value that he offers. He's just not a Major Leaguer.

I think Leyland likes Santiago and also there were concerns about Infante's shoulder at the start of the season. And I am not sure if we have any 1B type guys that we could've called up in Young's place.

Infante was always the better prospect in the Tigers system. Santiago beat Infante to the majors and had a little splash when he first came up, but Infante is head and shoulders above him. At least in hitting.

Infante can also play 3 infield positions PLUS the outfield. I want to know why he isn't getting more playing time. Something has to be up.

Boooy, Leyland does some crazy shit with the lineup. It's hard to argue with results, but Inge at # 3 today??? He's our worst hitter.

Boooy, Leyland does some crazy shit with the lineup. It's hard to argue with results, but Inge at # 3 today??? He's our worst hitter.

I was bitching about it, but what do I know? Evidently the secret is to not put him at 8 or 9 to mess up the Monroe/thames combo.

With Dmitri Young supposedly close to coming back soon, who would you guys send down?

Tata? Gomez? Thames? Santiago?

With Dmitri Young supposedly close to coming back soon, who would you guys send down?

Tata? Gomez? Thames? Santiago?


Are we out of options on any of those guys?

Thames and Tata have proven to be MLB players this year and Gomez has been pretty good.

So now you know my answer.

Boooy, Leyland does some crazy shit with the lineup. It's hard to argue with results, but Inge at # 3 today??? He's our worst hitter.

I turned the game on just when the Tigers strung some together and I heard Inge coming up 3rd with 2 on and 2 out (I believe) and was like "WTF?" The MLB fans that I pay attention to are all freaked out about his lineup cards.

When Young comes back, it's either going to have to be Santiago or Gomez that goes back down. The other two are just too important to us, IMO, although I suppose Tata is a possibility. Whatever the case, Thames must stay.

Gomez is the odd man out according to WDFN. :(

No!

Fuck that. Send Ramone (sp?) down. He hasnt done shit. Damn it. The kid was starting to hit good to.

I don't understand sending Gomez down at all, especially considering the fact that he is out of options and has to clear waivers to be sent back to Toledo.

I think sending down Santiago or Infante or even Tata would have been a better option for the Tigers.

Dmitri Young is ready to return to the Tigers. The manager wants him back ready to hit.

The Tigers announced after Thursday's loss to the Angels that they'll activate Young from the 15-day disabled list on Friday following his two-game rehab stint for Double-A Erie. But while Jim Leyland said he'll figure out how to shift around his lineup for his healthy slugger, he pointed out he's not a manager who waits for a guy to get his swing back once he's back in the big leagues. That's what the rehab stint was for.

"Dmitri has been a professional hitter," Leyland said. "If he comes back and hits, it'll be great. If he comes back and doesn't hit, I'll play somebody else. That's what this is all about up here -- production. I'm assuming that Dmitri's going to hit, but I'm not going to be doing a lot of experimenting and giving time at the expense of the rest of the team.

"I'm not doing a trial thing with Dmitri. He's going to have to produce."

I wonder if Leyland is actually going to bench Dmitri if he doesn't produce.

I don't mind the Gomez move. He had a clutch hit, but he still was only hitting .220. I doubt anyone would claim him off waivers.

I wonder if Leyland is actually going to bench Dmitri if he doesn't produce.[/quote]

He'll probably just move him up to 3rd.....

Cant argue with the results so far

I don't mind the Gomez move. He had a clutch hit, but he still was only hitting .220. I doubt anyone would claim him off waivers.

I bet Pittsburg said the same thing about Shelton. Actually....I don't know that at all. It's just irresponsible speculation.

If I'm not mistaken, Shelton was acquired from the Rule 5 draft, not the waivers--so it's a bit different.

As for the Gomez sending, I don't mind it one bit. It was a toss between he and Santiago for me.

I don't mind the Gomez move. He had a clutch hit, but he still was only hitting .220. I doubt anyone would claim him off waivers.

I bet Pittsburg said the same thing about Shelton. Actually....I don't know that at all. It's just irresponsible speculation.

Yeah, it's way off. Gomez is already like 28 and has already crapped out with a couple other teams' farm systems. His career tops out really as a 5th outfielder/emergency starter type, with maybe a career year somewhere where he has one good season. He compares to like a Tremaine Fowlkes or something. He can help you out for a few games in a pinch and won't really do anything to hurt you, but if he's getting any kind of meaningful playing time longterm, you're really in trouble.

Leyland has got to move Pudge from the three spot.

It just seems like everytime Inge, Granderson and Polanco get on base, Pudge grounds into a double play or strikes out and kills any momentum we have going.

Same with Young.

21-13 and the Sox are losing. I like.

Guillen needs to bat 3rd, and Pudge 5th, IMO.

From the Yankees series thread:

The game on ESPN was blacked out(again) because the Tigers still can't draw fans to the park. Thankfully it was on the WB. *dances*

I must say that Marcus Thames at the 2 spot is an absolutely genius idea. Pitchers don't even know what to do with the guy.

Maggs is the man. He better make the All-Star team next month.

The Granderson-Thames combination at the top of the order was excellent today. And with the way Thames has been crushing the ball lately (.300/.440/.700 over the last 7 days), it makes a lot more sense to keep him in the #2 slot and move Polanco down to the bottom of the order.

And for Thames' credit, he improved his approach at the plate. He is more patient at the plate (2 of his strike-outs today could've gone either way) and isn't swinging at crap like half our team does. And even when he does strike-out, he is taking pitchers deep into the count.

Werd.

We really need to give Shelton like a week off to try and get himself back to himself. He's always been a real patient hitter, but there's something wrong with him, he's taking pitches he used to drive into Left Field. If I see him take one more called third strike I'm going to break something.

You can tell in his body language that he's lost some of his confidence, he needs to get his mojo back.

According to ny newsday the Tigers may be interested in Burnitz, they don't say for what though.


The Tigers, looking for a lefthanded hitter, may go for former Met Jeromy Burnitz, who's usually traded about this time each year.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/ny-spflash114777781jun11,0,7093085,print.column?coll= ny-sports-columnists

I don't like the Burnitz idea. I say we trade Gomez, Santiago, Grilli and one legit prospect for ANYONE! Send Inge along too if it gets us a 3B who can hit for the power AND average, while having fewer errors. We need to fine tune this team so we can beat contenders as well as pretenders.

Let'sd talk about the starters for a bit. I didn't want to start another thread, since this seemed to kinda fit, but another thread made me think of this.

Here's the thing, our current 5 starters are lighting it up with quality start after quality start, but innings are starting to add up. Add to that the fact that our best pitcher until his last short outing with an injury is rehabing. With Rogers age and the position we're in it isn't wise to trade Zach. So what do you think happens here with starters over the rest of this year and next year, finishing out Rogers contract and potentially career.

With 6 starters, I have a feeling Leyland will use Miner in spot starts to give certain guys (probably Verlander, Bonderman, and Maroth if he experiences any soreness in his elbow) an extra day or more of rest. I think that once Maroth comes back, likely in late August or early September, such a solution is feasible. It should keep guys good, especially when some of them could be a threat to shut it down early like Bonderman did last year. With the 4 that have been starters all year already over 100 innings each, I think it is wise to keep Miner in the rotation that way.

But what about next year? Rogers will still be here and that's certainly a good thing. But you can't have 6 starters for a full season. But, on the other hand, none of them deserve to be used in any other capacity. Further complicating the matter is the fact that a lot of people want to see Zumaya get a chance to start again. AND, Wilfredo Ledezma looks promising again.

Thoughts anyone?

By the way, I'm absolutely thrilled that Maroth and Robertson - outside of Rogers - are the old men of the bunch and they're both only 28, plus we just drafted a handful of studs that could be ready in a couple years. It should be a nice problem to have and a lot of potential trade bait.

Didnt Zumaya say he didnt want to start? And I know for a fact that DD said he'd rather see big Z in the bullpen. So I dont think thats much of a problem.

Could we possably move Minor for a more veteran yet younger than Rogers starter? I dunno. I'm just talking.

Listen, I've said all along that Zumaya needs to be in the pen, so I'm not one of the guys trying to get him in as a starter, just saying that if he ever really wanted to start again, it could complicate matters. I'm also acknowledging the many posters here that want him to start.

ok

I think Zoom has his eye on the closer's job.

After he got his first save, didn't he say something to the effect of "it's just the first of many"?

Now that DY is back, i wish They'd send down Shelton for a week or so to get his head right. DY can play 1st and that lets Monroe to DH. Shelton is just awful.

http://netsports.baseball.com/default.asp?c=baseball&page=mlb/news/AAN4032501.htm


Prior to Wednesday's game, the Tigers purchased the contract of pitcher Colby Lewis from Triple-A Toledo, and designated outfielder Alexis Gomez for assignment

Wonder what that means... Trade on the way?

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060726&content_id=1576161&vkey=news_det&fext=.jsp&c_id=det



Notes: Lewis called on to pad bullpen

07/26/2006 1:20 PM ET
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

CLEVELAND -- The Tigers have a habit over the years of running low on fresh arms when they come to Jacobs Field. Fortunately for them, Toledo is a short drive away.

Following the path down the Ohio Turnpike that others have taken before him, Colby Lewis joined the Tigers on Wednesday morning after Detroit purchased his contract from the Mud Hens. He'll provide depth in the bullpen for a club that has used six different relievers for an inning or more over the first two games of this series, including 7 1/3 relief innings Tuesday night after the Indians knocked out Kenny Rogers in the first.

"We need to protect our pitching," manager Jim Leyland said, "and when you run into two or three short starts like we have, and you start extending guys too much out of the bullpen, you tend to overuse them. We need to protect [against] that, so we needed an extra pitcher for a few days. Obviously the off-day will help [Thursday], but we'd be short today."

The short-term help will be a comeback for Lewis, back in the Majors for the first time in 26 months since rotator cuff surgery threw his career into a tailspin in May 2004. Before that, he was a hard-throwing former first-round draft pick who was part of the future of the Rangers' rotation. He was a 10-game winner in Texas in 2003 despite a 7.30 ERA and 163 hits allowed over 127 innings. He won his last four starts that year and carried momentum in 2004.

He never got a chance to see where it led. After three starts in 2004, he was on the disabled list and headed under the knife. The Tigers claimed him off waivers at season's end, but he missed the entire 2005 season in recovery. He returned to action in Spring Training and was part of the opening rotation at Toledo, where he owns a 4-7 record and 3.86 ERA in 20 starts.

"He's been in and out [of command]," Leyland said. "With a guy coming back from arm surgery, that's usually how it works for a while. But this guy's been a pretty credible big-league pitcher."

At this point, the Tigers don't need incredible. They simply need effective innings. The only relievers on the staff who could be considered fresh Wednesday were Joel Zumaya, coming off two days of rest, and closer Todd Jones. Everyone else had heavy work either Monday or Tuesday.

"I want to get my pitching staff back in sync," Leyland said. "That's first and foremost in importance to me."

How to get the rotation in that condition is another story. The Tigers still lead the Majors with a 3.72 ERA, including 3.73 from their starters. Since the All-Star break, however, Detroit's 5.64 ERA entering Wednesday ranked 26th out of 30 Major League teams.

Most of those second-half woes fall on the rotation. Rogers' first-inning exit Tuesday marked the fourth straight game in which the Tigers did not receive a quality start. A bad outing from Justin Verlander on Wednesday would give the Tigers an entire trip through the rotation without a quality start for the first time all season.

For those looking hard for a silver lining, Rogers' quick exit avoided some wear and tear on a pitcher with a reputation for pitching better early in the season than later. More realistically, the Tigers would be in worse shape had they not posted three straight games with five or more runs in the first inning.

"We knew it wasn't going to continue at the pace it was at," Leyland said. "[A realistic level] is probably somewhere in between the last two starts and the first two starts."

I think they were just looking for another bullpen arm.

We've used Grilli, Colon, Rodney and Zumaya for more than one inning in the last 5 games, so I would assume that this is just a temporary move.

Makes sense.

if shelton gets it back together, im wondering if maybe he makes the playoff roster and granderson doesnt.

i've never seen why granderson gets so much hype. i'd be fine with monroe skooting over, and letting thames start at left.

i guess that really causes a logjam in the infield.

No way they don't keep Granderson on the roster. If they keep Shelton, they likely go with a smaller pen since the games are every 3 days. Colby Lewis or somebody doesn't make it.

Even if he is not performing offensively, Granderson's defense in CF is way too valuable to leave him off the playoff roster.

Even if he is not performing offensively, Granderson's defense in CF is way too valuable to leave him off the playoff roster.

That's the truth. He's really been slumping offensively, but no way does he get sent back down.

It's sad how Granderson has dropped off. I hope he gets good coaching over the winter. Does anyone remember early in the year when he was at the heart of every Tiger rally? His name was just starting to get some national attention, and then he slumped a bit. Now he strikes out 3 times a game and isn't getting that clutch hit. People are ripping him and saying he puts the ball in play less than almost anyone else in baseball. I hope he gets it together because he certainly has some offensive tools to go with his defense. Truth is, if nobody else does, at least Maybin will be pushing him soon. So he may be a man without a spot within a couple years anyhow, but it would be nice if he could develop some more between now and then.

The thing that concerns me about Granderson is the fact that he is swinging at good pitches.

Normally when a guy is swinging at bad pitches, you can tell the hitter to be more patient or to shorten his swing and stuff like that. But when a guy is swinging at good pitches and still can't put the ball in play, I am not sure if you can do anything to fix it.

I think that's actually a good sign. If his pitch selection remains good, the hits should come eventually.

What concerns me is that Jim Leyland has been batting Neifi Perez leadoff. Ugggh.