SB Nation - Scott Sizemore

Morning Prowl: Sizemore's Recovery, Polanco's Departure, Best Play-By-Play Guys, and Jacque Jones Wants Work

Ian Casselberry — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:40:51 -0000

More photos » by Joseph Kaczmarek - AP

Placido Polanco looks like 18 million bucks in his new uniform.

Second baseman to-be Scott Sizemore appears to be on the good road to recovery, according to the Freep's George Sipple. Doctors examined his broken leg (broken ankle?) yesterday, and project Sizemore to be out of his walking cast in approximately three weeks.

SB Nation's Phillies blog, The Good Phight, wonders if the defending National League champions overpaid for Placido Polanco. Is $18 million too much "for the decline stage of a player with very little power or speed, being asked to shift positions"?

Jason Beck, meanwhile, explains the Tigers' thought process in not offering Polanco arbitration. The feeling was that Polanco would've accepted Detroit's offer, and that likely would've led to the Tigers paying more than the $6 million the Phillies will give hiim next season.

At the press conference to announce his signing with the Phillies yesterday, Polanco said he "always wanted to be" in Philadelphia and "never wanted to leave."

At Tiger Tales, Lee Panas writes about the decision to let Polanco go as a free agent. I love this sentence: "Fans will also miss his grimace, his large head and his cold weather clothing." Indeed.

ESPN's Buster Olney mentioned on his Twitter feed that the Phillies might be after another Detroit Tigers free agent. The Fightins need a late-inning reliever, and Brandon Lyon is apparently on their radar.

Curtis Granderson's 2007 season, which included 23 home runs and 23 triples (as part of something we liked to call the "Quad 20"), is one of ten noteworthy statistics from the 2000s listed by Big League Stew.

At Fanhouse, Matt Snyder ranks his top 10 play-by-play announcers. Check out who made the list at #10. (And I think everyone will agree with Snyder's first two picks for his bottom five broadcasters.)

Cross one potential suitor for Adam Everett off the list, now that Marco Scutaro has officially signed with the Red Sox. (It would've been interesting to see Dustin Pedroia take a crack at shortstop, if that's the way the Sawx were leaning. Not with Polanco as his double-play partner, of course.)

Jacque Jones apparently doesn't want his failed stints with the Tigers (.165 average) and Marlins (.108) in 2008 to be the last note on his career. After playing with the independent Newark Bears this year, Jones will be cruising next week's Winter Meetings looking for work.

Afternoon Prowl: No Pursuit of J.J. Putz, Scott Sizemore's Leg, and Jason Grilli Returns

Ian Casselberry — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:00:21 -0000

Are the Tigers not interested in reliever J.J. Putz, or might they be waiting until next week's Winter Meetings to talk to him? If so, Detroit might find a few other teams ahead of them in line. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reported that the Phillies, Astros, Pirates, and Rangers have each checked in on Putz.

Jason Beck confirmed that the Tigers haven't had any discussions with Putz as of this week.

Now that Placido Polanco has moved on, will his successor at second base be ready for next season? Scott Sizemore spoke with Lynn Henning, saying that his broken leg appears to be "coming along pretty good." Sizemore is scheduled to meet with doctors today, but his progress seems to indicate that he'll be ready for Spring Training.

Talking to the Freep's George Sipple, Sizemore did express some concern that he's lost time in the weight room due to the injury.

At Motor City Bengals, Joe Dexter wonders if Billy Wagner's $7 million deal with the Braves has now priced Brandon Lyon and Fernando Rodney out of the Tigers' budget. If so, will Detroit be able to sign anyone capable of being their closer? Or will they have to give the job to one of the in-house candidates? (Joel Zumaya, Ryan Perry, etc.)

Speaking of Zumaya, his rehab is just about completed, according to Beck. With that, Zumaya can begin focusing on strength and conditioning. Apparently, that gives him a head start over the last couple of offseasons, where he was still rehabbing before Spring Training.

The Cleveland Indians' bullpen will have a familiar face next season, as Jason Grilli returns to the AL Central. Grilli apparently signed last week, but the official announcement was made yesterday. He agreed to a minor league deal, with a chance to win a job in Spring Training. Grilli chose the Indians over six other teams that had expressed interest.

River Avenue Blues wants the Yankees to steer of Lyon for their bullpen, believing he would be a "fringe reliever" in the AL East due to a low strikeout rate and "unsustainably low" BABIP. Lyon's desire for a multi-year deal also raises eyebrows, considering the Yankees' past misfortunes with relievers such as Kyle Farnsworth.

(via MLB Trade Rumors)

Did we know that the Tigers had been interested in Mike Cameron? Both Beck and Jon Heyman have mentioned that Detroit had pursued him "last summer" as a centerfield option versus left-handed pitching. (I'm assuming that means Summer 2009, not 2008.) I'm pretty sure I was here, and don't remember those rumors popping up very much.

The inference is that the Tigers might go after Cameron as a free agent, if they trade Curtis Granderson. As we said on Tuesday, however, it's unclear how that would help Detroit save money, as Cameron made $10 million last year and would surely cost more than Granderson is owed for 2010. (Still, I think Cameron would look great in left field for Detroit.)

Over in the FanPosts, Andy Seiler posted an excerpt to his review of the Tigers' 2009 draft. You can read his thoughts to Detroit's first five picks, including Jacob Turner, Andrew Oliver, and Wade Gaynor.

Morning Prowl: Arbitration Decisions, Connecting Trade Dots, and Hall of Fame Chances

Ian Casselberry — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:05:35 -0000

More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP

Placido Polanco is one of three players that could be offered arbitration by the Detroit Tigers.

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Tomorrow is the deadline for teams to offer arbitration to their free agents. (Players have until December 7 to decide whether or not to accept.) And with that, several Tigers blogs have weighed in on what Detroit should do with Placido Polanco, Fernando Rodney, and Brandon Lyon. The Detroit Tigers Weblog believes Lyon might be the only one to receive an offer. Mack Avenue Tigers and Tiger Tales each think Polanco won't get arbitration. (Lynn Henning, however, thinks all three will get an offer.)

Just agreeing with everyone is kind of boring, but I'm swimming with the current here. I don't think Polanco will receive an arbitration offer. (Lyon and Rodney will.) Detroit has Scott Sizemore ready to take over at second base, and the smart baseball move is to let that happen. (I'm guessing the Tigers have felt this way going back to last season, too. It was just a matter of which second base prospect - Sizemore, Rhymes, Hollimon, Worth - was ready first.)

Hoping for a first-round draft pick - a pick teams likely won't be willing to give up to sign Polanco - isn't reason enough to make an offer. Unless the Tigers don't think Sizemore's ready (or are concerned about his broken leg), it's not the right decision.

Jon Paul Morosi continues torturing Detroit Tigers fans by coming up with a handy, dandy chart to illustrate which teams might be a good fit in trades for Edwin Jackson, Curtis Granderson, or Miguel Cabrera. Four of the team teams he lists are matches for all three. This dot-connecting exercise is based on Morosi's opinion, not necessarily conversations he's had with any baseball executives.

Morosi also spoke with a National League executive who believes the Tigers could receive "an enticing prospect package" for Cabrera if they were willing to cover approximately $5 million of his annual salary.

Henning's popularity among BYB readers hasn't exactly soared in recent months. His latest blog post probably won't help with that. Henning puts a percentage on the likelihood of Jackson, Granderson, or Cabrera getting traded.

Is this the year either Jack Morris or Alan Trammell is finally voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Jason Beck presents the case for each player with career retrospectives. Morris might be gaining some momentum as his vote totals have increased the last two years. Trammell, unfortunately, slipped last year.

Here are the other candidates for the 2009 Hall of Fame class. It'll be interesting to see what kind of support Edgar Martinez gets, as he was primarily a designated hitter throughout his career. (The tour guide who showed us around Safeco Field back in May was very hopeful of his chances, as you might imagine.) Second baseman Roberto Alomar and shortstop Barry Larkin look like favorites to win induction.

Playing With the Tigers' 40-Man Roster

Ian Casselberry — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:30:10 -0000

With major league teams having to finalize their 40-man rosters by Friday, the Detroit Tigers have some decisions to make about which players they want to protect and which to leave exposed for the Rule 5 Draft that takes place at the end of next month's Winter Meetings.

If you look at Detroit's current 40-man roster, you'll notice 42 names are listed. However, six of those names will be free agents as of Friday. That leaves four openings. But at least two of them are already spoken for, as Scott Sizemore and Ryan Strieby will need to be added.

(Jason Beck and Lynn Henning seem to be high on Brennan Boesch, who hit 28 homers for Double-A Erie this year. Me, I think he looks a bit like Number Two's son on The Prisoner. He could take up a third opening.)

So the Tigers will probably have to make some moves to create more room on the roster. Who else should go? And which prospects need to be protected?

At Mack Avenue Tigers, Kurt Mensching listed the players he thinks should go, and the ones that could stay. In his article on the subject, Beck also suggested a couple of other players Detroit could protect. (Just to clarify, players generally don't have to be protected until they've played four minor league seasons, which is why prospects such as Casey Crosby, Cody Satterwhite, or ~~Brett Jacobsen~~ Scott Green aren't being mentioned.)

[EDIT: Take 75 North's Matt Wallace reminds me that Jacobson was traded to Baltimore in the Aubrey Huff deal. My mistake. I keep trying to forget that trade ever took place.]

Almost two weeks ago, demondeaconsbaseball requested that we have a 40-man roster discussion thread, so this is probably the best time to do it. I know some are more familiar with the Tigers' minor league system than others. (I'm probably not as familiar with some prospects as I should be, either.) But I think plenty of you have an opinion on this.

Just to get the thread started, four names immediately stood out as players who could be cut when I looked over the roster. I'd send off Freddy Dolsi, Clay Rapada, Don Kelly, and Dontrelle Willis. (All but Willis have minor league options remaining, however, and could stay in the organization. As Kurt pointed out in his post, Eddie Bajek has listed who still has options at his blog, Detroit Tigers Thoughts.)

So what moves would you make? Is there anybody else you'd cut loose? Who's an important player for the Tigers to protect? Play with the 40-man roster!

The Latest on Sizemore's Ankle: Four-Month Recovery

Ian Casselberry — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:31:39 -0000

As expected, Tigers second base prospect Scott Sizemore underwent surgery on his injured left ankle today in Detroit. Screws were inserted into the ankle to keep the joint stable while the fractured tibia and torn tendons heal.

The plan, as reported by Steve Kornacki and Jason Beck, is for Sizemore to wear a splint for two weeks. After the splint is removed, Sizemore's ankle will be placed into a Cam boot to keep his foot immobilized. If all goes according to schedule, the screws will be removed from the ankle in January.

Once Sizemore can begin putting weight on the foot, he can resume baseball activities. That timetable should allow him to be ready for Spring Training in mid-February.

Lunchtime Prowl: Sizemore's Ankle, Guillen for Pierre, the Second Base Dilemma, and Trading Closers

Ian Casselberry — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:20:16 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

There may be no bigger question for the Detroit Tigers this offseason than whether or not to re-sign Placido Polanco.

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The Detroit Tigers Weblog talked to Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus, the industry's resident injury expert, about Scott Sizemore's ankle injury. Carroll said Sizemore should be ready for Spring Training. However, he's never seen a second baseman with the sort of tendon injury that Sizemore suffered, so "it's tough to judge."

On his blog, the Detroit News' Tom Gage addresses speculation that the Tigers might pursue outfielder Juan Pierre this winter. But with Pierre owed $18.5 million on the remaining two years of his contract with the Dodgers, Gage thinks the only way Detroit could take on that kind of money is if they shipped a big salary of their own to L.A. For instance, the two years and $26 million they still owe Carlos Guillen.

Pierre batted .308/.365/.392 with 30 stolen bases in 42 attempts this season for the Dodgers.

At Mack Avenue Tigers, Kurt Mensching looks at the choices the Tigers face at second base next season. Do they let Placido Polanco go entirely or do they offer him arbitration? One key point Kurt brings up - and this is worth considering when reading Gage's article, as well - is that we don't know exactly what the Tigers' budget will be.

Speaking of second base, Fire Jim Leyland looks at Polanco's total value to the Tigers this season. How much did Polanco contribute to the Tigers with his bat? How much value did he provide with his glove? And how does Polanco compare with other second basemen in baseball?

Lynn Henning wonders how the Tigers can make their offense more potent next season. Are they mostly relegated to hoping most every batter on the roster just puts up better numbers in 2010? Henning says he expects Dave Dombrowski to add "a bat or two" this winter. But seriously, where would you put them?

How did the Tigers rate defensively this season? Lee Panas looks at each player's Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), and finds that Detroit was above-average in the field. Will that continue next season? Or might the Tigers have to sacrifice some defense for offense? (Lee also rates Detroit's offense in another post.)

If you missed it over the weekend (I posted it to the front page late on Friday), John Kmiecik filed his latest review for the 2009 Tigers. This time out, he takes a look at Carlos Guillen's season.

Over at The Daily Fungo, Mike McClary lists five reasons why he won't be watching the World Series. I think he could be missing out on a good one, though I generally agree with most of the reasons he listed. (Though I find the Phillies an intriguing team.)

Aaron Gleeman wonders if this might be the right time for the Minnesota Twins to consider trading Joe Nathan. (Just to clarify, he's not saying they should.) Nathan, by the way, just had surgery to remove bone chips from his pitching elbow.

This might be a theme. Sam Mellinger thinks the Kansas City Royals should look into trading their closer, Joakim Soria. As he puts it, "What good is that fine scotch if you don't drink it?"

With the news that Tony La Russa might hire Mark McGwire as the St. Louis Cardinals' hitting coach, Lookout Landing imagines how a coaching session with McGwire might go.

The Dugout has a funny take on the story, too. It took me a while to figure out who the "SonOfJorEl" nickname was for. Maybe I need another cup of coffee.

I know some fans aren't thrilled that the World Series is an all-East Coast affair. But regardless of convenience, I think it's pretty cool that the Phillies traveled to New York by train, rolling into Penn Station last night. Maybe not so cool for commuters and Amtrak employees, though.

UPDATE: Scott Sizemore's Ankle Needs Surgery

Ian Casselberry — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:10:28 -0000

Scrap today's earlier post that said Scott Sizemore would need six weeks to recover from a fractured ankle. As mentioned in that post, Sizemore was flown to Detroit to be examined by the Tigers' doctors today. A MRI exam turned up additional cartilage damage in the ankle. That means he'll require surgery.

Sizemore explained to the Freep's John Lowe why surgery is necessary:

"The torn tendons cause instability in the ankle," Sizemore said. "They are going to put in a few screws to lock everything into place."

The Tigers' second-base prospect still hopes to be ready by Spring Training, but his recovery time will now take longer. How much longer exactly wasn't revealed.

Questions about second base and how the Tigers will deal with Placido Polanco once he files for free agency seemed to have been setlled when Sizemore's injury didn't look quite so serious. Now those questions might be opened up again.

Scott Sizemore Suffers Six-Week Setback

Ian Casselberry — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:30:33 -0000

We took most of the weekend off here at BYB, as there wasn't a whole lot going on in Tiger Town. Besides, what's the most we could've missed? It's not like one of the Tigers' top prospects or a new starter for next year got hurt, right?

Wait - say what now?

Second baseman Scott Sizemore, seemingly the team's preference to be the starting second baseman next season (Adios, Placido Polanco), was injured while making a double play last Thursday in Arizona Fall League play.

Sizemore ended up with a fractured tibia - not a "tibula" or "fibia," doctors - in his left ankle, an injury that halts what was becoming an impressive season in the AFL. In six games, Sizemore batted 7-for-19 with three homers and nine RBIs.

Does a broken ankle put Sizemore's chances of winning the second base job in jeopardy? Might the Tigers have to re-evaluate their apparent plans to let Polanco go through free agency? From all accounts, the answer is no.

The fracture was non-displaced, meaning there was a crack, but the bone stayed in place. And the injury won't require surgery. Altogether, that should mean a six-week recovery period (during which Sizemore will likely be in a walking cast), which gives him plenty of time to get ready for Spring Training. Sizemore will be in Detroit today, however, to get examined by team doctors.

This season, Sizemore hit .308/.389/.500 with 17 homers, 66 RBIs and 21 stolen bases, splitting time between Erie and Toledo.

Sizemore's a Smash in Arizona Fall League

Ian Casselberry — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:30:14 -0000

Perhaps Scott Sizemore senses the doubts in Tiger Town as to whether or not he can take over for Placido Polanco next season at second base. Or maybe he was disappointed over not being one of the Tigers' September call-ups, and is taking out that frustration now.

Whatever the reason, Sizemore is crushing the ball in the Arizona Fall League so far. Okay, he hasn't hit for average in three games, batting just .250. But he's also made sure those hits count, taking them over the fence. Of Sizemore's three hits, each of them have been home runs. His total line is .250/.333./1.000 with three homers (leading the AFL) and five RBIs.

How have other Tigers prospects been doing in Arizona for the Peoria Javelinas?

Outfielder Casper Wells is batting .538/.533/1.000 with one homer and six RBIs.
Shortstop Cale Iorg has a .143/.250/.143 average, with four strikeouts in seven at-bats.
Andrew Oliver had a rough first outing in which he gave up four runs and two walks in one inning, but pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts his second time around.
Robbie Weinhardt was also knocked around in his first appearance, allowing five runs and six hits in 1.2 innings.
Scot Drucker has allowed one run in two innings of work, with one walk and one strikeout.
Thad Weber is waiting for his first appearance.

Also of possible interest, Gerald Laird's younger brother, Brandon, leads the AFL in hitting with a .625 (10-for-16) average.

Here's more on Detroit's AFL contingent from Jason Beck. And at Take 75 North, Matt Wallace looks at how each player sent to Arizona is viewed in the Tigers' organization.

Arizona Fall League: Stephen Strasburg Makes AFL Debut

raygu — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:27:53 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

4 months ago: FILE - In this April 3, 2009 file photo, Stephen Strasburg, of San Diego State University, pitches during a game in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, FILE)

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Took a one day sabbatical after Thursday nights NLCS game kept me up till after midnight, and let me just say, I had trouble sleeping. The Nationals Stephen Strasburg made his AFL debut on Friday night and he was impressive.

Here's a look at the top performances from the last two days:

Friday's Action:

Stephen Strasburg, SP, WAS-3.1 Inn, 2 H, 1 BB, 2K

Chris Heisey, OF, CIN-2-4

Dustin Ackley, OF, SEA-1-1, 2B

Dayan Viciedo, 3B, CHW-2-5, 3 RS, RBI

Russell Mitchell, 1B, LAD-2-5, 2RS, 2B, HR, 4 RBI

Casper Wells, OF, DET-3-5, 3 RS, HR, 3 RBI

Andrew Lambo, OF, LAD-4-5, 2B, 3B, RBI

Michael Stanton, OF, FLA-3-4, SB(3)

Josh Vitters, 3B, CHC-0-3, BB

Brandon Laird, 3B, NYY-1-5, HR, 3 RBI, 3 K

Thursday's Action:

Mike Moustakas, 3B, KC-3-5, 2 2B, HR, 7 RBI

Andrew Lambo, OF, LAD-3-5.=, HR, 4 RBI, SB

Brandon Laird, 3B, NYY-5-5, 3 RS, 2B, RBI

Darryl Jones, OF, STL-2-4, 2 SB, 2 RS, RBI

Scott Sizemore, 2B, DET-2-4, 2 RS, 2 HR, 3 RBI

Russell Mitchell, 1B, LAD-2-3-, 3 RS, HR, 4 RBI

Dustin Ackley, OF, SEA-2-5, SB, RS

Jason Heyward, OF, 1-4, BB

Chris Heisey, OF, CIN-2-4, 2 RS

Yonder Alonso, 1B, CIN-1-4, HR, 2 RBI