2009 Detroit Tigers - rudyjuly2's Blog

rudyjuly2's Blog

2009 Detroit Tigers

Posted on January 22, 2009 at 03:55 PM.

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The Detroit Tigers have been bystanders at the side of the road this off-season. After a horrible year where they finished dead last in the division (yes, behind the Royals) they have done very little to make changes this year. Their increased payroll has driven much of that in a very difficult Michigan economy. But fans don�t want to hear that. We were 74-88. How are we going to be better?

Pitching
This was simply awful last year. Almost every starter had career worst years. From Bonderman�s injury to Verlander�s inconsistency to the stench from Dontrelle Willis and Nate Robertson, the starting pitching was bad. They added Edwin Jackson in a trade but all of the candidates will simply have to be better than last year. Too many question marks right now and not enough answers or aces.

As bad as the starting pitching was, the bullpen was worse! The team blew tons of leads last year and the bullpen ranked third worst in the AL. Todd Jones retired and Fernando Rodney is currently the closer. He�s got good stuff but can�t find the strike zone at the worst times. He blew 6 of 19 save opportunities last year. Joel Zumaya would be the best option but he�s been injury prone and can�t be counted on but will be. There are young, quality relievers in the farm system but they probably won�t be ready until 2010. This is a major concern going into this season.

Hitting
This team should be able to score runs. Between Magglio, Cabrera, Guillen, Granderson, Polanco and a healthy Sheffield, runs should be fine. But they won�t be the offensive juggernaut they envisioned before last year. Sheffield has to prove his shoulder is healthy and at his age, we should not bank on it. Good defensive but terrible offensive players will man the SS, 3B and catcher positions. The lineup in some ways will look like an NL lineup at the bottom of the order.

Defense
Defensively the team should be better with Inge at third and Renterria gone from shortstop. But Carlos Guillen in left field? That�s an injury and error waiting to happen. The team still lacks speed and will fail to steal many bases again.

Managing
Jim Leyland lost his magic touch the last 1.5 seasons. He got overly close to his players and rewarded playing time based on past success and his relationship with them. He needs to be tougher and play the players that are playing well regardless of salary or reputation. Managing this bullpen will be a challenge.

Overall
I�m not expecting great things this year. I think this team can compete for the division title but so many things have to go right. There are just too many question marks in both the starting rotation and bullpen to be answered to suggest this is a playoff team. I think they will be roughly 5 games over .500.