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Friday, June 19, 2009

Detroit Free Press/Sharp: Don’t blame Jim Leyland for Tigers’ troubles

The Tigers remain in first place. That’s a miracle on a par with that one Lions first down last season.

The back end of the Tigers’ rotation is held together with chicken wire and chewing gum. They lack the speed necessary for manufacturing runs, and they’re one of the more offensively deficient teams in the American League.

Now, either you feed Matt Millen’s delusion and blame him for the Tigers’ personnel issues or maybe join me in this rare concession of the glass being half full. .

If you’re in first place, you’re doing something right. It’s time to get off Jim Leyland’s back.

He’s making the necessary tough decisions, the hardest of which was benching the struggling Magglio Ordoñez on Thursday. That’s not a popular recourse on this team or in this town. But Leyland had no alternative—his primary responsibility is squeezing the most out of a drying 25-man roster.

Baseball-Birthdays.com Posted: June 19, 2009 at 09:17 AM | 6 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
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   1. Mike in MI Posted: June 19, 2009 at 11:49 AM (#3224637)
The real problem with benching Ordonez is who are you going to play out there? Unless they are going to trade for a bat I don't see Raburn and Anderson doing much more than Mags.
   2. Chrysler Town & Country Slaughter (Walewander) Posted: June 19, 2009 at 01:45 PM (#3224755)
They have to acquire a bat. The division is there for the taking.
   3. A triple short of the cycle Posted: June 19, 2009 at 03:31 PM (#3224880)
They have to acquire a bat.

How about a nice Holliday in the sun?
   4. jwb Posted: June 19, 2009 at 03:58 PM (#3224915)
Do the Tigers have a reasonable economy?
   5. Cooper Nielson Posted: June 19, 2009 at 05:16 PM (#3225057)
I was dreaming about a trade for Brad Hawpe and Huston Street, then the Rockies had to go and win 11 games in a row.

The Tigers are holding together surprisingly well, but they really only have three hitters who are doing anything (Cabrera, Granderson, Inge, and I guess Thames is looking pretty good since returning from the DL) and three pitchers who are at all reliable (Verlander, Jackson and Porcello). The bullpen is occasionally good, but in the way that Mitch Williams was occasionally good.

The Tigers have one left-handed batter who can hit (Granderson) and zero corner outfielders who can hit. Hawpe is left-handed and a corner outfielder. Street can throw complete innings without walking the bases loaded, so he's an improvement.

I don't know what they can afford to trade that other teams would actually want (maybe Ryan Perry and Wilkin Ramirez), but I agree with Walewander: "The division is there for the taking" and they might as well go all out. Only Porcello should be considered untouchable.
   6. J. Michael Neal Posted: June 20, 2009 at 01:23 AM (#3225676)
There just isn't anything to get excited about in this system, is there? I can't see Perry and Ramirez bringing much back. For Perry, you'd probably get a reliever, and I'd really just rather put him back out there than whoever you'd get for him.
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