Bonderman vs. Sabathia on Tuesday night, and the Freep is reporting that Jair Jurrjens will get the call on Wednesday vs. Carmona.


Wednesday's starter? Hot prospect Jurrjens is a strong candidate

August 13, 2007

Tigers manager Jim Leyland declined to reveal who would be called up from the minors to start Wednesday in Cleveland, but it will likely be Triple-A Toledo right-hander Virgil Vasquez or Double-A Erie right-hander Jair Jurrjens.

Jurrjens is a strong candidate, for several reasons:

• He is 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA in his last three starts, including an Aug. 1 shutout at New Britain.

• His next start had been scheduled for Tuesday, so he would be well-rested.

• The Indians have several prominent left-handed hitters -- including Grady Sizemore, Kenny Lofton, Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez (switch) -- and Jurrjens has held left-handers to a .248 batting average this season.

I had heard Jurrjens or Trehern

Jair Jurrjens it is.

Jair Jurrjens it is.

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4690/jairof5.jpg

nice job.

Thanks.

I'm not used to working with such a large image as my pallette.

It really magnifies your errors/touch-ups, but I'm pretty pleased with it.

He's named after two different personal care products that come in pink bottles, btw, so there were lots of image options.

This one is your next project:

http://www.minimus.biz/images/C02-0321503-8200bg_2.jpg

Detroit (65-53) at Cleveland (65-53)

Game Info: 7:05 pm EDT Tue Aug 14, 2007
TV: FSD, STO

By ANDY LEFKOWITZ, STATS Editor

Though they're tied for the AL Central lead, the Cleveland Indians haven't had much success recently at the plate and the Detroit Tigers can say the same thing about their pitching staff.

The sputtering co-leaders begin a key two-game series Tuesday night when the Indians (65-53) welcome the Tigers (65-53) to Jacobs Field.

Cleveland is tied for third in the AL with 37 home wins while Detroit has a major league leading 35 victories away from Comerica Park. But in spite of their respective successes, neither team has been playing lately as if it wants to advance to the playoffs.

The Indians are coming off a three-game sweep at home in which they were outscored 22-6 by the streaking New York Yankees. Cleveland is 13-17 since the All-Star break, and is hitting just .229 while averaging 3.4 runs since July 23.

"It's been a tough stretch here lately, but if we can bounce back there's still a lot of ball to be played," said Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore, who's struck out 13 times in his last 10 games and leads the AL with 123. "We're still in a good spot. We haven't been playing the way we want, but we've still got time and we still have an opportunity to do some great things this year."

With a 7-2 loss to Oakland on Monday, the Tigers have dropped 13 of their last 18 and have a staff ERA of 6.35 during that dismal stretch.
"If anybody thinks we're going to win anything playing and pitching like this, they're out of their minds," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "I'm not negative. I'm one of the most positive people in the world. But if we don't play and pitch better, we ain't going to win."

Facing Jeremy Bonderman (10-5, 4.75 ERA) may help Cleveland jump-start its lackluster offense.

After going 10-1 with a 3.53 ERA for the defending AL champions to start 2007, the right-hander will try to end a four-start skid in which he's simply been abysmal. Bonderman has yielded 29 runs in just 22 1/3 innings for an 11.28 ERA during his skid.

He last pitched Thursday against lowly Tampa Bay, and was lit up for seven runs and 10 hits in six innings of an 8-1 loss. Bonderman did not speak with reporters after the game, but continues to have Leyland's unwavering support.

"He's the least of my worries," the manager said. "He's one of my horses and I'll stick by him."

Bonderman got the win in Detroit's 9-2 rout at Cleveland on June 3 by giving up two runs over 6 2-3 innings, but is just 7-9 with a 6.06 ERA in 19 career starts against the Indians.

Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia (14-6, 3.52) will make his fourth start of the year against the Tigers, and also looks to join Boston's Josh Beckett and John Lackey of the Los Angeles Angels as the only 15-game winners in the majors.

Sabathia has surrendered 15 runs and 26 hits in just 18 1/3 innings versus Detroit this year, but has gone 2-1. The left-hander also will try to even his overall home record against the Tigers -- he's 5-6 with a 5.13 ERA in 12 career starts.

Sabathia, though, has lost his last three home starts despite allowing one earned run in each of his last two appearances there, and he's never dropped four straight starts at Jacobs Field during his seven-year career.

He pitched well Wednesday on the road against the Chicago White Sox by giving up two runs and six hits over seven innings of a 6-4 loss in 13.

Detroit's Magglio Ordonez - the majors' leading hitter with a .356 average - batted .563 (9-for-17) with three homers, 10 RBIs and five runs as the Tigers split their four-game set with the A's. The right fielder is 3-for-9 with just two RBIs this season against Sabathia.

The Indians have dropped four of their last five to the Tigers after taking the first five meetings from them.

THAT was a beautiful catch by Grandy. Amazing.

EDIT...I'm talking about the bottom of the 7th vs the Tribe.

Yeah, that was huge, but nowadays I usually expect Granderson to make those catches. He's become that good out there.

now that thames has replaced monroe, it seems like inge is becoming the new monroe (i.e. seemingly worthless at the plate). on the bright side, at least bonderman bounced back.

On the not so bright side, this game is in serious jeopardy. Man on 2nd, nobody out.

Ok, Rodney gets the strike out, 1 out...Franklin Gutierrez up to bat.

It seems like hitters could just stand there and fR would walk them. They seem to be swinging at one bad pitch.

Extra innings

and Rodney comes through.

Damn that Granderson catch was the game.

KISS THE SHEFF BABY! 3-2 Tigers.

"good" rodney showed up tonight!

MAGGLIO GOES DEEP, BALL GAME BITCH! 6-2

Maggs is back!

Fernando had a fantastic outting. Way to prove me wrong, F-Rod.

Marcus was hustling on that play...goodbye C-Mo.

Nice win.

HUGE!

huge! wait till 6 weeks. we very well could be talking about grandy's catch or fernando's striking out the side as the reason we got into the playoffs.

That was an awesome game.

Granderson's catch was just tits, Maggs HR was reminiscent of the shot that sent us to the WS last year and what else can you say about Rodney nutting up and throwing BBs to get out of that jam?

98 MPH smoke, bitch.

It did serve to remind me of what it's like to have a reliever pitching with the game on the line with the ability to blow guys away and keep the ball from even getting put into play.

A lot of respect gained for Darth Rodney last night.

by Danny KnoblerWednesday August 15, 2007, 12:52 AM:



Oh, what a feeling: When Curtis Granderson made his game-saving diving catch in the eighth inning of Tuesday night's 6-2, 10-inning Tiger win over the Indians, pitcher Tim Byrdak stood on the mound with both arms in the air. "That was an unbelievable feeling," said Byrdak, who had put two runners on base and then threw the pitch that Travis Hafner hit to center field. "I don't even know if words can describe it. I'm kind of speechless."

Bug knocks out three players: The Tigers had to scratch both Placido Polanco and Craig Monroe from Tuesday's lineup, because both were suffering from a viral infection. Justin Verlander was so sick that he couldn't get out of bed Monday, but fortunately his next start isn't until Thursday in New York.

Return to first: Carlos Guillen, who has been playing with aching legs, started at first base for the first time since the World Series.

I don't think I can name a better defensive center fielder than Granderson right now.

Seriously.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k70/WTFchris/other/medium_1tigers.jpg

Is Jurrjens really 6'2" and 160 lbs?

Is Jurrjens really 6'2" and 160 lbs?

Wow, I'm 6'1" 175 and I'm considered pretty thin by most people who see me.

Any word on Polanco's availability for tonight?

Don't put him out there! he might be sick still and commit an error to ruin his streak.


In other words, I have no idea if he's available.

No Polanco or Pudge.

I would have liked to have had Infante at 3B, too.


C. Granderson cf
M. Thames lf
G. Sheffield dh
M. Ordonez rf
C. Guillen ss
S. Casey 1b
R. Raburn 2b
M. Rabelo c
B. Inge 3b

Fuck a Franklin.

We need Sheff back. How long has it been since he's homered?

Tigers need to start hitting this SOB.

Signs of life...Grandy with a triple scores Inge.

4-2 Tribe with Grandy on 3rd, no outs.

And we can't get Grandy in. Damnit.

Whatever, at least we came out with a split. The REAL fun begins tomorrow. I've been waiting almost the entire season to see Sheffield in a Tigers uniform back in the Bronx.

Jurrjens impresses, Tiger bats do not

by Danny KnoblerWednesday August 15, 2007, 11:39 PM



CLEVELAND -- Rick Porcello cost the Detroit Tigers $7 million. Jair Jurrjens cost them $60,000. Porcello can't help the Tigers this year. Jurrjens might.
The 21-year-old from Curacao wasn't good enough to beat Cleveland's Fausto Carmona Wednesday night, but that's only because Carmona, a 14-game winner, was very, very good. Carmona was responsible for a 5-2 Indians win that left the American League Central standings just where they were two days ago, with the Tigers and Indians tied at the top.
But with the Tigers still searching for pitching help, the most interesting news out of Wednesday's game is that Jurrjens can now be part of the discussion. He may or may not make another start, but manager Jim Leyland saw enough Wednesday to think that Jurrjens could help.
"Truth be known, I wouldn't be afraid to put him in the bullpen right now," Leyland said. "We probably won't do that, but we could."
And what was it that Leyland liked, after watching Jurrjens pitch seven innings and allow four runs?
"He threw strikes, and he didn't back off," Leyland said. "He's a blue-chip prospect."
So is Porcello, the first-round draft pick who got the big-money contract. But the Tigers quickly shifted from talking about him to thinking about the more immediate future, which now includes eight games in the next 12 days against the New York Yankees.
"That's going to be a grind," Leyland said. "Hopefully, it'll be a grind for them, too."
The Tigers remain concerned about their pitching and also about their health. Placido Polanco, Pudge Rodriguez and Craig Monroe all missed Wednesday's game because of a viral infection, but Polanco and Rodriguez said after the game that they should be ready to face the Yankees tonight.

The Tigers could have used both Wednesday night, when they were held to two runs by Carmona. Leyland praised Carmona, but he also bemoaned the Tigers' inability to score a runner from third base in the eighth, and Bobby Seay's inability to throw strikes when the Tribe added a run in the bottom of the eighth. Jurrjens was more upset with the 3-2 fastball he threw Franklin Gutierrez in the second inning. The Tigers led 1-0 at the time, but Gutierrez's two-run home run turned the game around.
"I wish they'd have invented a back-to-the-future machine," Jurrjens said. "I'd like to go back and change that pitch."
Jurrjens wasn't satisfied, which is one difference between him and the previous spot starters the Tigers have called up this year. Remember Virgil Vasquez, who didn't make it out of the third inning in Minnesota and then kept talking about what a great experience it was?
Jurrjens looks a lot better than Vasquez and a lot better than Jordan Tata, too.
"He pitched good," shortstop Carlos Guillen said. "He seemed like a veteran. One thing that impressed me was that he kept the ball on the corners. Even the ball that (Grady) Sizemore hit for a triple wasn't a bad pitch."
If the Tigers were playing anyone but Cleveland next Tuesday, it would probably be a slam dunk that Jurrjens would start again. It's harder to say whether they'll be willing to let the Tribe see the same young pitcher twice in seven days, especially since one option would be to let Justin Verlander pitch that game against Carmona on normal rest.
But whether or not Jurrjens starts again Tuesday, it sure seems likely that we'll see him again.
"He's a top prospect," Leyland said. "I would say that he's a real top-notch prospect."

And we can't get Grandy in. Damnit.

I'd like to see a stat on how many time, out of the 19 triples that Granderson has hit, he's been left on third. I can think of 3 off hand and I don't catch too many games.

Look it up. It would take a little while but you could go to the game log, find his 19 triples, then click on the play by play and see what happened after he tripled.

I'm working on it. So far I've found at least 8 times that he tripled and was stranded on 3rd, including his first 5 triples of the season. More to follow.

Ok, final tally. Stranded 9 times, scored 10. He actually had a nice little stretch there from May 20 through June 12. 8 triples in a row that turned into runs.

Enough of his triples came with guys on base that (I didn't count but should have) I'm almost positive his triples have produced more RBI than eventual runs he scored himself.

Did you see how many outs they had when he tripled? I wonder how many times they stranded him for 3 outs.

How many times it it happen on a Tuesday?