With great drama, on the night of April 24, 2013, a familiar ritual was performed in Comerica Park. Jose Valverde, AKA the fat potato, spit his water, did his dance and ran onto the mound in the ninth inning to save a baseball game for the Detroit Tigers. Some fans cheered, some fans booed, and Twitter went crazy. He accomplished a 1-2-3 inning with his half dyed beard, and left all in Detroit to wonder if he will be the answer to their bull pen woes (see previous post). This post will examine three reasons why he is the answer, and three reasons what he is not the answer that Detroit need to make a run at the world series in 2013.
Why he is the answer.
1.) The Tigers are in desperation mode. Not because of their record or how they are playing, but because the literally don't have someone to close. Papa Grande has been there and done that.
2.) He threw 95 mph last night. (Its not the 98, as reported, but 95 could get it done.)
3.) He brings a great presence with him. Who cares if he takes 3 minutes between pitches! The drama is ripe for watching.
Why he is not the answer.
1.) He is 35 years old. 35 year old pitchers don't get better unless they are Bartolo Colon with a syrynge in his leg.
2.) It doesn't look like he can throw his splitter. All of his pitches last night were fastballs.
3.) It doesn't matter if he is throwing 95. Ninety five, without 85 is useless.
Eleven percent into the 2013 campaign, we at Detroit Tigers Storyline we join the rest of you in feeling torn about how the season has begun. To commemorate this tearing, we have provided three points of panic and three points of promise.
Points of Panic
The Bullpen - Duh
The Tigers could just as easily be 12-6 as 9-9 if we only played 5 inning games. The roots of this problem... The starters. They are throwing way too many pitches and have largely been unable to get into the 7th inning which has left copious work for an already underwhelming bullpen. Is there potential? Sure. Has that potential been realized? Not so much. Octavio Dotel, Phil Coke and Bryan Villarreal have a combined ERA of 13.06 and a combined WHIP of 2.59. The season will level these numbers out, but in the mean time, look for a change in the near future.
The Defense - Don't let the numbers fool you
Mario and Rod had been boasting of the Tigers defense as they led the league in the least amount of errors going into Anaheim. On the surface, this was something to celebrate. With a closer look, the defense is quietly killing us. We need to create a stat the measures the ability for defenders to move. If we did have this stat, we would bet that the Tigers would be at the bottom. Even with our "heaviest infield in the history of baseball" looking a bit more trim this spring, we still can't get to balls. Proof? Porcello's start. We sat in the stands in Anaheim and watched the games and mourned at the Tigers inability to get ground balls and fly balls while the Angels made play after play. Unfortunately for Rick, his ERA has sky rocketed as we are unable to define with statistics the unfortunate case of his infield. (If we were him, we would strongly consider a trade to a team with an infield that can move quicker than our offensive line sized place holders!)
The Lack of Depth - Beyond the first five
One through five we are good. No doubt. Victor will come around, find his pattern, and solidify the best first half of a lineup in all of baseball. Six through nine, on the other hand, leaves room to be desired. Our platoon in left isn't working, our second basemen is 2 for his last 43 and our catcher looks more like an aging uncle than a young all-star. The only bright spot has been Jhonny Peralta, who continues to hover around .300. The others share a combined .225 batting average with a mere 2 home runs and 11 RBI between the four of them. The problem with this is that it just gets worse with Don Kelly and Ramon Santiago who have a dreaded .115 batting average with 0 home runs and 0 RBIs between them in 36 ABs. In short, there is no where to go with our bench. (Did I just hear someone whisper Castellanos?)
Points of Promise
Torii Hunter - The best free agent pickup of the off-season
Old man is playing out of his mind. There may have been no better moment in the season than when Torii launched that 480 foot home run in Oakland. With a batting average that continues to hover around .400 and an even more impressive .992 OPS, Hunter has surpassed all expectations. More importantly, Torii provides leadership to a team filled with late adolescents. His wisdom and perspective will be a great asset as his numbers tumble down from their current mountain top.
The Starting Pitching - Filthy numbers
With the exception of throwing too many pitches in early innings and one fluke start by Rick Porcello, the Tigers starters have been amongst the elite in all of baseball. Their combined 2.35 ERA (not including Porcello) has surpassed all expectations, as has their combined 8-3 record (again, not including Porcello.) The question moving forward will be whether Porcello keeps his 5th spot or gives it up to Drew Smyly, who has been equally as efficient. With this exception of an early season slip, he has still performed as well as the rest of the Tigers starters. (1.80 ERA with a record of 1-0.) We'll see where Jim and Jeff land on the decision, but it may be nice to add a lefty to the rotation.
The First Five - None better in baseball
Where to start? They are nasty. Nasty good. A combined .308 BA with 9 HR and a stunning 59 RBI in 18 games. Once Victor gets moving the core will get even better and will lead us into another post-season adventure. Nuff said.
