Yeah, so this thread will be swatted, but I'm really not in the mood to search for the thread about finding another closer. I'm so damn sick of Todd Jones. Last year there was a thread ranting about him, linked to an article I wrote.

So he's near the lead in saves and saved a bunch of games last season, but that's about the most misleading stat in the world. Dude is closing in on 70 blown saves for his career. Meanwhile, with 278 saves, it means he has blown almost 20% of his saves. And how many more would he have blown had he not been provided with a 3 run lead? Chubby Todd makes me nervous every single time he takes the field. Tonight it was the miserable Devil Rays. He gets one guy out while walking another and giving up 3 hits. Freaking horrible.

So yeah, someone please find that thread, bump it, and if you wouldn't mind pasting this in there it would be great. I'm just too disgusted to go through all that myself right now.

bad night for todd, bad year for our bullpen. theyre killing us right now, and its not just tj. at this rate, we cant wait to get healthy, we need help now.

Todd Jones makes me want to mix my xanax with alcohol. Bum.



and heroin.

I'm not a big fan of Jones and would love to see us get a different closer. I also never understood why we signed Mesa either. He's just as bad as Jones. I'd rather see us move one of our later rotation starters (Maroth, Durbin, or Miner) and get a GOOD closer. In a way I wished that Verlander struggles as a starter so that he could be moved to the pen as our closer. He can throw 100+ mph but tones it down when he's strating to save his arm.

I'm no MLB snob, but do we actually have any alternatives? I'm not a fan of Jones either (and I have no idea why we have Mesa). Any chance any of our minor league pitchers end up being solid relief guys? Zumaya is probably the closer some day, but anyone else coming up that could help there?

I'm a die hard fan and I don't know ANYTHING....so your guess is as good as mine my man.

At this point, we'll probably have to wait until teams start dropping out of wildcard contention and see if we can snag a guy (or two) that is an impending free agent.

Hopefully, we're not one of those teams. (I'm kidding about that)

The hard part is that when the non-waiver trade deadline arrives, about 75% of the teams in baseball can actually still make the playoffs if they get hot.

Here's a couple Todd Jones threads for your bumping pleasure.

http://wtfdetroit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6558&highlight=todd+jones

http://wtfdetroit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6154&highlight=todd+jones

It's time Detroit fans start growing balls and boo Jones whenever he steps onto the field. It's time we let our voices be heard like the Yankees and Philly fans.


but without being gay.

I hate Todd Jones.

What I really said:
I get nervous with him out there too, but he has saved something like 43 out of his last 50 games, with an era in the 3.5 range over the last calendar year. We could definitely use an upgrade, but who's really going to be available that can give us better than that?

The guy we need is Akinori Otsuka from the Rangers. They're horrible and may be the first team to start selling. While there are other guys on that team we may want even more, Otsuka may be able to make the biggest difference here. He can pitch anywhere from inning 7-9 and has a career ERA of 2.39 with 211 strikeouts in 218 innings. He's 35, so it's not like he's the franchise for them, but he's still very capable. He's also not their primary closer, as Gagne was signed for that. Speaking of Gagne, he's pretty sick if his arm is right. The only other guy I have any interest in, who may be available sooner than later, is Chad Cordero from the Nationals.

If he didn't make so much g'damn $ I might suggest bringing Farnsworth back again.

I know he made some comments about Clemens' special arrangement with the Yankees that might make him unwelcome in NY.

Some other budget-friendly options might be Dennys Baez or even Ryan Dempster if Sweet Lou gets sick of him. Hell, maybe Chuck could figure out what's going on with Derrick Turnbow?

And of course, I still want Lidge, too.

Don't get me wrong, those are not great solutions, but we're not going to get a top flight closer with so many teams still in the race. We need depth/power arms, first and foremost.

What was that shit I read about Percival in another thread?

He's working out for Detroit, Cleveland, Florida and a couple other teams from what I read. No idea if he's really healthy enough to go, though.

I get nervous with him out there too, but he has saved something like 43 out of his last 50 games, with an era in the 3.5 range over the last calendar year. We could definitely use an upgrade, but who's really going to be available that can give us better than that?

43 of 50 = not good enough.

And whoever said part of them wishes Verlander could close is assinine.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070529/SPORTS02/705290368/1050


TAKING A LOOK: The Tigers are expected to watch former Detroit closer Troy Percival throw a bullpen session today.

Agent Paul Cohen said as many as eight or nine teams have expressed interest in signing Percival, who has not pitched in the majors since 2005. Several teams are expected to observe him this week, Cohen said Monday.

He hopes to be throwing in minor league games by the middle of June.

And after that?

"You know Percival," Cohen said. "He thinks he'll be ready (for the majors) after one or two innings."

When asked if the recent injury to Fernando Rodney, coupled with Joel Zumaya's anticipated three-month absence, increased the chances that Percival would sign with Detroit, Cohen said, "He really, really likes the Detroit organization. He liked his time there. He has a very positive feeling for the Tigers."

Cohen said that Percival has been officially released from his coaching contract with the Los Angeles Angels, meaning other clubs are allowed to speak with him.

43 of 50 = not good enough.

And whoever said part of them wishes Verlander could close is assinine.

I said something like that but I wish that people would actually read what I wrote before attacking me. I said that "In a way I wished...." and I only said that because the guy can throw 100+ and we already have a bunch of quality starters. The truth is that Verlander is an awesome starter and will remain one. My other point was that with the game on the line (say game 7 of the world series) I would be more comfortable with Verlander coming in in the 9th than Jones. That just points to how sad our closer situation really is!

I don't understand all the Todd Jones hate.

We have far worse pitchers in Grilli, Mesa and Rodney. They lose as many games, if not more, than Jones. But I don't ever see anybody bitching about them as much as they do about Jones.

I don't understand all the Todd Jones hate.

We have far worse pitchers in Grilli, Mesa and Rodney. They lose as many games, if not more, than Jones. But I don't ever see anybody bitching about them as much as they do about Jones.

Mesa just flat out sucks and we have mentioned that. Rodney has gotten a bit of a free pass because he has been injured and has pithce dmuch better as of late. Grilli is more of a middle reliever and of course he isn't going to get nearly as much notice as a close who keep blowing saves.

Opponents are hitting something like .244 against Rodney, hard to complain about that.

Opponents are hitting something like .244 against Rodney, hard to complain about that.

Yet he is 1-4 with a higher ERA than Jones.

Rodney is on the DL and has been suffering with injuries all season. He has only allowed 4 runs in his last 11 games (13 innings) with a 0-0 record. That's below a 3.00 era.

Jones has given up 6 runs in his last 11 games (10 1/3rd innings) with a 1-1 record. He has 15 saves but has blown 3 which were all loses that were his doing. It's just a bad ratio!

43 of 50 = not good enough.


Never liked that Todd Jones guy.


I never said this:
43 out of 50 is 86%. The league average is usually something like 66%. I don't know what you guys want. He's not vintage Mariano Rivera, but he's performed pretty well all things considered.

But how many of the 50 would he have blown had he not been given a 2 or 3 run lead? That's what worries me. He never strikes anyone out, so there's always the chance of a ball in play scoring runs, and his 1.41 WHIP is pretty rough. The difference between the saves he converts and the saves he blows is whether or not the guys he allows on base score, because he WILL put guys on base. In 23 outings he has only pitched a full inning without puting at least one batter on base 7 times. ONLY SEVEN 1-2-3 INNINGS IN 21.1 INNINGS OF WORK! I realize that such a stat might be allowable for a starter, but closers are supposed to be intimidating guys that come in and slam the door shut with stuff nobody can hit. Not ground ball pitchers.

Too many batted balls in play (not enough strikeouts) is my biggest problem with Jones too, Jeth.

Too many batted balls in play (not enough strikeouts) is my biggest problem with Jones too, Jeth.

Werd.

And sorry, Vinny, I didn't know that. He always needs to make things come down to the wire.

OK, I give up.

Unfugginbelievable.

mercy.

what the fuck? not a b ig b aseball fan but check the scores daily...

we were up 5-1 when i chcked and we blow this shit in the 9th?

Did we blow it or is Cleveland's offense really that good? Good God.

Jones gave up 7 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs in 1 inning pitched. Yea, the guy is great! We don't need another closer. No really....we don't.

There's no defense for this Vinny.

There's no defense for this Vinny.

I already said I give up.

umm, aquilino lopez?

Sweet Jesus.

I realize he's in his 50's, but couldn't Guillermo Hernandez get the job done better than anyone we have? Mike Henneman?

John Hiller has always been my favorite closer. The guy pitched better than Jones, and had a heart attack in the middle of his career.
Plus, he's a lefty.

I'm really pissed that Zumaya is injured right now, this would have been a great time to make him the new closer.

Its Sunday and oh yea...Bump.

Man I was feeling those old jerseys on the pups last night.

Glad they didn't put him in today to see if he could throw away a 7 run lead, too.

Can we un-do the Juan Gone trade?

Francisco Cordero would be pretty nice right about now (22/22 in saves this year for Millywaukay).

"Does this guy know how to party or what?"

Can we un-do the Juan Gone trade?

Francisco Cordero would be pretty nice right about now (22/22 in saves this year for Millywaukay).

Not to mention Justin Thompson, whatever rock he's under, could probably pitch better than Nate right now.

cough

I have much hate for our pen, not just Jonesy, occasionally. Like last night and today.

Rodney last night and Grilli today.

When is enough enough? TJ almost blew the game again tonight against the freaking Nationals who are incapable of scoring.
Letting Mesa go was addition by subtraction. Jonesy would be the same.

You'd think with a 9-1 lead against the god damn Nationals we would at least win by more than 1 run.

I don't know what they are going to do, but they need to do something about Jones.

When is enough enough?

I was going to post that exact same cliche. You beat me to it.

I would've much rather left de la Cruz out there to pitch the ninth.

PS I don't know if Jones threw one breaking ball the entire inning. All fastballs.

you dance with the girl you came with. jones is a vet, he'll work his way through this. its not like we really have anywhere else to go.

"You guys can laugh and make fun of the ERA all you want. But when that rubber hits the road, it goes through me and that's the way I want it."

i like his attitude.

you dance with the girl you came with. jones is a vet, he'll work his way through this. its not like we really have anywhere else to go.

"You guys can laugh and make fun of the ERA all you want. But when that rubber hits the road, it goes through me and that's the way I want it."

i like his attitude.

Yea but when you find out that the girl has five kids with a sixth on the way you run like hell. I'm not sure if that makes sense but the Tigers have to do something. You can't go through games being terrified that your bull;pen will blow the game. You'll start seeing starters left in too long which can wear on their arms and their confidence. Jones simple got old and I don't know if he can come back. A move HAS to happen and soon.

Please, you cut it off at a blow job and be happier walking away with blue balls.

I believe that this 12-0 lead is Jonesproof.

I believe that this 12-0 lead is Jonesproof.
Thanks. Now we're fucked.

I believe that this 12-0 lead is Jonesproof.

Only because I have faith in Leyland to pull the plug after Jones allows 8 runs and has the bases loaded.

Remember when Jones almost blew game 2 of the World Series?

BUMP!

fuckingpieceofshit

Anybody got any postgame quotes from Leyland on Jones?

I fucking hate Todd Jones.

And no.

Fuck you, Todd JOnes.
Yuou are a dirty fucking fumanchu wearing piece of ass chewing shit.
Damnit.

Leyland

``I'll make this real simple for everybody,'' Leyland said in the briefest of postgame statements. ``We got out-pitched, out-managed, out-played, out-hit. We lost, and good night. That's all you've got. See ya later.

``Good night, everybody.''


Jones


``Just hammer me, because it's nobody's fault but mine,'' Jones insisted. ``I let the team down. I let the skipper down. I made a bad mistake, an A-ball mental mistake. I missed a sign, and it cost us the game.''

Jonesy says this every time he gets beat up and blows things for us (seems like every third game or so).

When is enough enough?

Video of JL on the left and Jethro's man on the right.

http://www.spartannation.com/Hondo's_House/Pages/Hondo's_House.html