SB Nation - Scott Williamson

Heroes of the Zeros: The Bullpen

Slyde — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:00:28 -0000

As we continue our vote on the Reds All Decade Team, we look today at the bullpen. The Reds bullpen was a strength in the early aughts, but it also had some very lean periods in the middle of the decade before rebounding a bit the last two seasons. Below you will see the 28 relievers who managed to pitch 60 or more games out of the bullpen for the Reds between 2000 and 2009. The survey below will have you choose a closer, 2 right-handed relievers, 2 left-handed relievers, and 2 other relievers of your choice. Please be careful not to choose a pitcher for more than one spot as I will only count a single vote for that player.

One note before you vote, I didn't feel like doing the extra work it would take to separate a pitcher's relief appearances from his starts, so some of the stats below include starts as well as relief appearances. This mainly only affects Danny Graves (30 GS), Chris Reitsma (53 GS), and Matt Belisle (43 GS) with a couple other pitchers having a handful of starts in their numbers. Please try to take that into account when considering a player as best you can. Voting can be done after the jump.

Other ballots: Starting Rotation

Click header to sort table by column
	Years	G	W	L	W-L%	SV	IP	ERA	ERA+	FIP	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SO/9	BB/9	HR/9
Jeremy Affeldt	2008	74	1	1	.500	0	78.1	3.33	133	3.72	.260	.323	.410	.733	9.19	2.87	1.03
Matt Belisle	2003-2008	132	16	22	.421	1	341.2	5.06	89	4.54	.302	.351	.472	.823	6.06	2.53	1.24
Bill Bray	2006-2008	111	7	6	.538	3	89.0	3.84	118	3.40	.278	.348	.433	.780	9.20	3.84	0.81
Jim Brower	2001-2002	68	9	10	.474	1	168.2	3.95	114	4.49	.250	.328	.406	.734	6.30	3.74	1.01
Jared Burton	2007-2009	154	10	3	.769	0	161.0	3.47	128	3.73	.238	.322	.368	.690	7.77	3.91	0.73
Todd Coffey	2005-2008	213	12	9	.571	9	206.1	4.62	98	4.58	.311	.366	.476	.842	5.98	2.75	1.22
Francisco Cordero	2008-2009	140	7	10	.412	73	137.0	2.76	158	3.42	.238	.329	.327	.656	8.93	4.47	0.53
Jon Coutlangus	2007	64	4	2	.667	0	41.0	4.39	105	4.57	.250	.373	.362	.735	8.34	5.93	0.66
Danny Graves	2000-2005	318	29	35	.453	147	526.0	4.16	105	4.62	.279	.331	.451	.782	4.59	2.58	1.16
Daniel Ray Herrera	2008-2009	77	4	4	.500	0	69.0	3.52	122	4.00	.283	.354	.419	.772	6.78	3.52	0.78
Mike Lincoln	2008-2009	83	3	6	.333	0	93.1	5.40	81	5.66	.269	.357	.465	.822	6.36	4.15	1.64
Gary Majewski	2006-2008	88	2	6	.250	0	78.0	7.38	61	4.73	.388	.429	.562	.992	5.31	2.54	1.15
Nick Masset	2008-2009	84	6	1	.857	0	93.1	2.31	186	3.65	.213	.276	.334	.610	7.81	2.80	0.87
Hector Mercado	2000-2001	68	3	2	.600	0	67.0	4.16	111	4.26	.262	.354	.418	.772	9.67	5.10	1.07
Kent Mercker	2003-2008	179	5	4	.556	5	142.0	3.36	129	4.72	.256	.336	.447	.783	6.91	3.99	1.27
Phil Norton	2003-2004	86	2	5	.286	0	80.1	4.59	92	4.10	.263	.359	.380	.740	6.16	4.93	0.56
Brian Reith	2001-2004	73	4	12	.250	1	127.2	5.92	73	6.16	.292	.381	.542	.923	5.99	5.01	1.83
Chris Reitsma	2001-2003	125	22	32	.407	12	404.1	4.52	97	4.57	.280	.329	.456	.785	5.19	2.52	1.20
Dennys Reyes	2000-2001	97	4	7	.364	0	96.2	4.75	98	4.74	.254	.363	.395	.757	8.19	5.96	0.93
Arthur Rhodes	2009	66	1	1	.500	0	53.1	2.53	169	3.14	.198	.276	.299	.576	8.10	3.38	0.51
John Riedling	2000-2004	200	13	12	.520	3	274.1	4.13	104	4.37	.256	.345	.385	.730	5.97	4.43	0.69
Brian Shackelford	2005-2006	63	2	0	1.000	0	46.0	4.11	107	5.20	.229	.333	.388	.722	6.26	3.72	1.17
Mike Stanton	2007	69	1	3	.250	0	57.2	5.93	78	4.26	.315	.374	.462	.836	6.24	2.81	0.94
Scott Sullivan	2000-2003	279	22	12	.647	4	338.0	4.05	111	4.21	.246	.326	.408	.734	7.96	3.49	1.14
Ryan Wagner	2003-2005	108	8	4	.667	0	119.0	4.69	90	4.38	.274	.354	.410	.764	7.64	4.24	0.98
David Weathers	2005-2009	325	20	23	.465	61	336.1	3.56	126	4.37	.239	.317	.390	.707	6.21	3.67	0.96
Gabe White	2000-2004	137	10	3	.769	1	128.2	4.34	98	4.25	.256	.289	.467	.756	6.92	1.54	1.47
Scott Williamson	2000-2003	155	13	15	.464	35	229.0	3.14	143	3.53	.209	.326	.329	.655	10.73	5.42	0.71

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/14/2009.

The Greatest Reds: #85 - #81

riverfront76 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:00:32 -0000

85. Hughie Critz

Played as Red	Primary Position	Career Rank	Peak Rank	Prime Rank
1924-1930	2B	87	91	72
Percent Breakdown of Value			Best Season	Best player on Reds
Hit	Field	Pitch	1928	Never
58%	42%	0%	1928	Never
Awards/Honors as a Red	Leading the League		On the Reds Leaderboard
N/A	N/A		-8th in career sacrifice hits -8th in single season singles (1928) -10th in career AB/K ratio -15th in career triples -40th in career hits

In 1926, Critz finished 2nd in the NL MVP voting. Two years later, he finished 4th. His OPS+ marks in each season were 86 and 90, respectively, perhaps giving indication to how well regarded Critz’s glove was. Indeed, the numbers seem to indicate a rangy second baseman with sure hands. Critz’s 1928 season saw him finish 7th in hits, 5th in steals, and 9th in triples.

84. Billy Werber

Played as Red	Primary Position	Career Rank	Peak Rank	Prime Rank
1939-1941	3B	101	34	79
Percent Breakdown of Value			Best Season	Best player on Reds
Hit	Field	Pitch	1940	Never
70%	30%	0%	1940	Never
Awards/Honors as a Red	Leading the League		On the Reds Leaderboard
N/A	Runs Scored – 1939		-23rd in career on-base percentage -28th in single season walks (1939) -31st in single season runs scored (1939) -38th in career AB/K ratio

Perhaps the greatest discrepancy between peak and career value on the list, Werber played two full seasons (1939-40) as the full-time lead-off hitter/third baseman for pennant-winning clubs. Coincidentally, he put up identical OPS marks of 777 in each season (OPS+ of 108 and 113, respectively) to pair with above average defense, and stolen base totals that ranked in the NL top 5. En route to World Series victory in 1940, Werber hit 370/452/519 against the Tigers, a performance that bumped Werber roughly 10 spots up this list. Two quirky notes: 1) Werber was the first player to ever bat on television; and 2) At the time of Werber’s death in 2009, he was recognized as the oldest living MLB ballplayer.

83. Tom Browning

Played as Red	Primary Position	Career Rank	Peak Rank	Prime Rank
1984-1994	SP	63	120	96
Percent Breakdown of Value			Best Season	Best player on Reds
Hit	Field	Pitch	1985	Never
0%	0%	100%	1985	Never
Awards/Honors as a Red	Leading the League		On the Reds Leaderboard
All Star – 1991	Games Started – 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990		-4th in career games started -9th in career strikeouts -12th in career wins -18th in career K/BB ratio -25th in career W-L percentage

A long-time workhorse who routinely posted top-10 finishes in innings pitched (and home runs allowed), Browning was 35 games over .500 in an 11-year stint with the Reds. He had seven consecutive seasons with double-digit wins, including a 20-win season in his rookie campaign of 1985 (also posting career highs in IP: 261.1, K: 155, and ERA+: 107). Of particular note during his career was a perfect game in 1988 against the Dodgers, and a pivotal win in Game 2 of the 1990 NLCS to allow the Reds to even the series against the Pirates.

82. John Franco

Played as Red	Primary Position	Career Rank	Peak Rank	Prime Rank
1984-1989	RP	83	99	71
Percent Breakdown of Value			Best Season	Best player on Reds
Hit	Field	Pitch	1988	Never
0%	0%	100%	1988	Never
Awards/Honors as a Red	Leading the League		On the Reds Leaderboard
Rolaids Relief – 1988 All Star – 1986, 1987, 1989	Games Finished – 1987, 1988 Saves – 1988		-1st in career ERA+ -2nd in career saves -9th in career games pitched -11th in career hits per inning -12th in career strikeouts per inning

Six full seasons with the Reds, averaging 66 appearances, 88 innings, 25 saves, 61 strikeouts, and a 2.49 ERA (153 ERA+). As a Brooklyn native and St. John’s alum, he was perhaps destined to end up with the Mets (traded there after 1989 for Randy Myers), but he also was seemingly destined to be on not-quite-good-enough teams, arriving in New York too late for their team successes, and leaving Cincy too early for theirs—playing instead on 4 straight 2nd place Reds teams. His career 424 saves remain the most ever for a left-handed pitcher.

The top 15 Relief Pitchers in Reds history:

1 John Franco

2 Clay Carroll

3 Danny Graves

4 Pedro Borbon

5 Tom Hume

6 Rob Dibble

7 Ted Power

8 Joe Beggs

9 Jeff Shaw

10 Scott Williamson

11 Norm Charlton

12 Scott Sullivan

13 Jeff Brantley

14 Harry Gumbert

15 Rawley Eastwick

81. Bobby Adams

Played as Red	Primary Position	Career Rank	Peak Rank	Prime Rank
1946-1955	3B, 2B	56	135	93
Percent Breakdown of Value			Best Season	Best player on Reds
Hit	Field	Pitch	1952	Never
68%	32%	0%	1952	Never
Awards/Honors as a Red	Leading the League		On the Reds Leaderboard
N/A	Singles – 1952 At Bats – 1952		-27th in career walks -31st in career runs scored -31st in career doubles -32nd in career hits -39th in career triples

The post-WWII version of Ron Oester, albeit with a lesser glove. Here are the career stat comparisons between the two: Adams: 4019 AB, 188 2B, 49 3B, 37 HR, 90 OPS+; Oester: 4214 AB, 190 2B, 33 3B, 42 HR, 87 OPS+. Adams’s best season came in 1952, primarily as a result of getting to play every day, one of only two seasons when he topped 500 plate appearances.

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:28:19 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

5 months ago: Milwaukee Brewers manager Ken Macha argues with home plate umpire Bill Hohn during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, July 7, 2009, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while being three times as cool.

Umpiring issues took center stage last night as the Brewers lost 5-0 to the Cardinals, falling two games back in the Central. Home plate umpire Bill Hohn ejected Dale Sveum and Willie Randolph following their complaints that Hohn was inconsistent in asking for help calling check swings. Perhaps the most vocal criticism of Hohn came from Tom Haudricourt, who tweeted about Hohn no less than six times, including this one:

Hohn's strike 3 call on Hardy was a joke. If these guys really are being graded by QuesTec, he should see how bad that call was.

Umpiring has been under fire a lot this week around baseball, and deservedly so in some cases. However, major league umpires can't be fired for incompetence, leading Matthew Pouliot of Circling the Bases to call the profession "America's Most Secure Job."

Of course, Adam Wainwright was pretty good last night too. He's posted a 0.77 ERA in three starts against the Brewers this season, with 25 strikeouts and just six walks.

Ryan Braun and Doug Melvin met before yesterday's contest to clear the air between the two and hopefully mark the end of the issues between the two. After the meeting, Braun delivered this statement to the media. If nothing else, at least Braun got a new nickname out of the deal. Also, video from his Remetee event at Decibel has hit Youtube.

Meanwhile, Doug Melvin continues to work on making a move:

He freed up a spot on the 40-man roster yesterday, outrighting Joe Koshansky.
As noted in Rumorville, the Brewers reportedly have serious interest in Roy Halladay.
Ken Rosenthal says Javier Vazquez is too valuable to the Braves to be traded for any of the available hitters, including Corey Hart.
Here's one pitcher available for nothing: The A's designated former Brewer farmhand Dana Eveland for assignment yesterday. Eveland may not be the answer in the rotation at this point, but the Brewers have a 40-man roster spot open and Eveland is certainly better than Chris Narveson.

Manny Parra appears to be on his way back to the majors. He's not listed among Nashville's probable starters for this week, and the Brewers have now have "TBA" listed as their starter for Thursday. Jeff Suppan will start today, and Looper, Burns and Gallardo will pitch Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

In today's only minor league story, Dennis Punzel of the Capital Times made the trip up to Grand Chute to see the Timber Rattlers and discuss the massive attendance bump they're seeing since becoming a Brewer affiliate. I'm thinking of going to Monday's afternoon game - anyone interested in doing a BCB meetup?

On Power Rankings and whatnot:

WhatifSports dropped the Brewers seven spots to thirteenth in their rankings.
Inside the Majors dropped the Brewers two spots to #11.
The Ghost of Moonlight Graham ranks the Brewer bullpen as the fourth best in baseball.

Did a pitcher from that Brewer bullpen belong in the All Star Game? Cory Provus makes a case for two snubbed relievers: Trevor Hoffman and Mitch Stetter.

Meanwhile, SportingNews.com ranked every major league ballpark, and put Miller Park 15th, behind Wrigley Field, the new Yankee Stadium and Busch Stadium, among others. (h/t THT)

Around baseball:

Cardinals: Placed Mark DeRosa on the DL with a partial tear of the tendon sheath in his left wrist.
Cubs: Placed Ryan Dempster on the DL with a displaced fracture of his big toe.
Mariners: Placed Mike Sweeney on the DL with back spasms.
Marlins: Are expected to sign Scott Williamson to a minor league deal.
Nationals: Jesus Colome, who had been designated for assignment, cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent.
Padres: Designated Walter Silva for assignment.
Royals: Designated infielder Luis Hernandez for assignment.
Tigers: Designated outfielder Don Kelly for assignment.
White Sox: Acquired reliever Tony Pena from the Diamondbacks for a minor league infielder.

It's been about ten days since the Brewers lost to Giants starter Ryan Sadowski, who was making his major league debut. What we didn't know at the time was the long and winding road Sadowski took to the majors, including brain surgery and having his mom set up meetings with scouts after Sadowski pitched just 6.2 innings in college. The whole story is a great read.

Should baseball consider realignment to even out competitive balance? TangoTiger makes the case for it. It's also worth noting that the disparity between leagues in baseball is not as big as the disparities in the NHL or NFL.

Oh, and happy anniversary to Ben Oglivie, who hit three home runs in the first half of a doubleheader on this day in 1979, and also drove in the winning run in the second game.

Drink up.

There's Always Next Year Applesauce - Mets without Reyes and Beltran, Niese's fastball, Victorino's All Star campaign

Joe Budd — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:53:55 -0000

I feel like I've been one of the more optimistic Met fans/bloggers out there, but it's time to get real. With the bad news surrounding Reyes and Beltran, the Mets and Omar need to sell relatively high with some of their veteran pieces and hope that no one will walk under any ladders, break any mirrors, or skin any black cats next year. I've been hesitant to do this after so many teams have had extraordinary runs, but those have to be the outliers. Play the odds. This team is not going anywhere this year.

Meet the Mets

So, the injury news out of Met camp is not good. Looks like Reyes and Beltran are a long way away still. Also, Flushing University reports that Johan has received a cortisone shot.

Everyone's talking about the possibility of bringing up Jon Niese into the starting rotation, but Metsmerized says to look again at Nelson Figueroa. Toby Hyde also does a great job dismissing the argument that Niese's fastball is too straight.

If you are in a self-deprecating mood today and/or have an unbreakable monitor, then I present to you ESPN's Not Top Plays New York Met edition.

David Wright says the Mets stink right now.

Argenis Reyes was demoted back to the minors to make room for Oliver Perez.

Around the NL East

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jim Salisbury writes the dumbest column, most obvious column I've seen in a while. Granted I've stopped reading most of the New York tabloid columns, so my sample size is pretty small.

The Phillies did not score 22 runs and they did not win either, losing to the Reds 4-3.

Shane Victorino is campaigning to make the All-Star team. Phillies Nation says it's his intangibles that make him worthy. It's all your fault he has to even campaign.

Barry Zito shut down the Marlins, leading the Giants to a 3-0 victory.

Remember Scott Williamson? The Marlins do.

The Nationals fell to the Rockies 5-4. The Mets Not Top Plays is bad, I can't imagine what the Nationals edition would look like. Alan Embree further proved that the win statistic is worthless, as he "won" the game without throwing a single pitch.

Washington is NOT trading Adam Dunn.

Javier Vazquez continues to be awesome and the Braves beat the Cubs. The victory came without Chipper Jones who is dealing with yet another injury.

Around MLB

Carlos Gomez made an amazing catch in yesterday's Twin-Yankee game, robbing Alex Rodriguez of a grand slam.

Keith Olbermann pipes in more outrage over Manny Ramirez.

Albert Pujols is better than Ryan Howard.

Should Red shortstop Paul Janish move to the mound?

I give you a treatise on the All-American quality of grit.

Rob Neyer dismisses the recent Times article on injuries.

Tony LaRussa is no longer suing Twitter. In other lawsuit news, the fan who was kicked out of Yankee Stadium for going to the bathroom during "God Bless America" has settled his case.

Newly acquired Cardinal Mark DeRosa has an injured wrist.

Ryan Dempster may miss up to a month after injuring himself in a walkoff celebration.

The 5 living presidents will make a video appearance at this year's All Star Game. Remind me to set my TiVo.

Stolen bases are up 11% from last year.

Wallace Matthews adds to the Jeter aura while also managing to dis the Mets.

Scott Williamson to be a Marlin?

craig — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:14:18 -0000

Apparently so. The Marlins are planning on adding Scott Williamson to the mix and see if he has enough left to make the team.

The Marlins are adding another veteran reliever to their system.

According to a Major League source, the team is finalizing the signing of right-hander Scott Williamson to a Minor League contract.

The 33-year-old last pitched in the big leagues with Baltimore in 2007, and he was in Spring Training with the Tigers this year.

---

Williamson, like Ayala, is expected to get work in for Triple-A New Orleans.

According to our friend Ian Casselberry at Bless You Boys this is how things went for Williamson when he was a Tiger.

Much as he did in Spring Training, Williamson started out strong with Toledo, pitching two scoreless appearances. But then he seemed to wear down or just couldn't generate the same stuff, and hitters caught up to him. In his last three outings, Williamson allowed seven runs over 3.1 innings. He finished with an 11.81 ERA.

Williamson is a former ROY and showed great promise when he arrived in the Majors. But a series of injuries has hindered him throughout his career. I have my doubts he is the answer the Marlins are looking for, but I've been around the Marlins long enough to see pitchers at the end of their careers rise from the ashes. I've also seen them only make the team worse.

However, with him starting off in New Orleans the club should get a good indication of what he has left, if anything. We will see, but I'm not expecting anything good to happen. I would love to the proved wrong.

Williamson, if he can make the squad, would fit in nicely -- he has seen ghost at the Vinoy.

This weekend, the Marlins will stay at another hotel with a history, the Renaissance Vinoy in St. Petersburg, Fla., when they play the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2002, Cincinnati's Scott Williamson claimed he saw a male apparition there.

Never can get enough good ghost stories in the clubhouse.

Scott Williamson stats

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:01:08 -0000

More photos » by Darren Hauck - AP

8 months ago: Milwaukee Brewers' Ryan Braun reacts after being hit by a pitch from the Pittsburgh Pirates' Jeff Karstens in the third inning of a baseball game Monday, April 27, 2009, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Darren Hauck)

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while remembering the Contra code.

Good morning, Brewer fans, and welcome to the Trevor Hoffman era. Adam McCalvy has the story of the most talked about ninth inning appearance in a non-save situation in Brewer history.

Ryan Braun was still upset after the game about getting hit by Jeff Karstens, and suggested retaliation may be in order today. The Brewers and Pirates play each other 13 more times this season, so a prolonged grudge would have plenty of time to develop into an ugly mess.

It probably wasn't fun to be the families of the three Pirates with Wisconsin ties last night. One of them, Jason Jaramillo, was profiled in the Racine Journal Times.

Here's something else you may not have known about this Brewers-Pirates matchup: According to Joe Posnanski, these two teams have waited the longest and second longest in all of baseball to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The Brewers have the longest drought, not having appeared solo on the cover since Rob Deer did it in 1987. Ryan Braun appeared with two non-Brewers last season.

Mike Cameron continued his hot start last night, connecting for his fifth home run. Jack Moore of Right Field Bleachers took a deeper look at Cameron's start, and says there's more to it than just luck.

On the other end of the spectrum, Brad Nelson struck out last night and is now 0-for-13. Chuckie Hacks is ready to throw Nelson under the bus, but if every player who went 0-for-13 was DFA'd there would be an awful lot of talented players on the move. Nelson worked the count again last night (there was a full count when he struck out), and if he stays patient he'll connect eventually. It's not like he's hitting weak grounders on the first pitch.

Baseball Analysts is working to determine the best pitches of 2009, and Yovani Gallardo checks in with the fourth best slider.

If the Brewers decide to get Gallardo some help in the rotation, it won't be Pedro Martinez. Doug Melvin squashed a rumor that the Brewers might be interested in signing him. The original rumor came from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, which is why I never bothered mentioning it in the first place.

Several minor league notes today:

Lorenzo Cain won't need knee surgery after all and is expected to miss just 4-6 weeks after damaging his PCL, not his MCL. (h/t FanShot)
Mark Rogers missed his turn in the rotation in Brevard County after bruising his shoulder running into the wall shagging fly balls, but is expected to be fine.
Pedro Lambertus, a reliever for the Timber Rattlers, has been placed on the suspended list. Not sure what happened there.
MLB Prospect Watch lists Alcides Escobar #29 in their ranking of baseball's top 50 prospects.

If you're bored this morning and would like to listen to some baseball, Nashville closes out a series with Iowa at 11 am today and you can listen to it here. (h/t Rattler Radio)

The Brewers have won six of their last eight games and recently took two of three from the defending world champions on the road, so it's probably safe to assume that the baseball world will take a little notice, right? That's not the case for Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star, who left the Brewers at 26 in his power rankings. The Brewers moved up from 27th to 22nd in ESPN's rankings.

When do you boo at Miller Park? Miller Park Drunk says fans are booing too often, and has a list of times when it's allowed.

Around the league:

Astros: Jose Valverde will miss a few days after aggravating a strained calf in Sunday's game.
Giants: Outfielder Andres Torres is expected to be placed on the DL with a hamstring strain.
Padres: Designated pitcher Eulogio de la Cruz for assignment.
Tigers: Released pitcher Scott Williamson.

With new technology comes new opportunities to make yourself look like an idiot. Giants closer Brian Wilson blew a save Sunday, just a few hours after mentioning having fun in Scottsdale on Twitter, at 1 am. Wilson has responded to concerns and is quitting Twitter. The Giants would probably be better off if he stopped going out before day games.

The Ballpark in Arlington has always been a scary place for pitchers, even more so than it should be based on dimensions and climate factors. Beyond the Box Score spotted a quote over the weekend regarding the mound construction, and wonders if that might be a factor.

Oh, and BCB still doesn't have a resident photoshopper, but I'd rather have a resident Lego builder anyway.

Drink up.

No Scott Williamson Comeback in Detroit

Ian Casselberry — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:45:08 -0000

Here's another one I got wrong. I figured Scott Williamson would make a contribution to the Detroit Tigers' bullpen at some point this season, and was glad to see him accept an assignment to Toledo after he didn't make the team this spring. But if Williamson experiences a career revival (he hasn't pitched in the majors since 2007), it won't happen in Detroit. At least not with the Tigers.

Williamson was released yesterday from Triple-A Toledo to make room for Eddie Bonine. Bonine, as you know, was sent back down to the Mud Hens when Joel Zumaya was activated to the major league roster.

Much as he did in Spring Training, Williamson started out strong with Toledo, pitching two scoreless appearances. But then he seemed to wear down or just couldn't generate the same stuff, and hitters caught up to him. In his last three outings, Williamson allowed seven runs over 3.1 innings. He finished with an 11.81 ERA.

Evening Prowl: Doubleheaders, Headlines, Pockets, and Rehab

Ian Casselberry — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:45:14 -0000

Yes, we usually do these in the morning, but after finally winding down and falling asleep at 3 a.m., that just wasn't going to happen today. (And if you think this post was really written around 8 a.m. this morning... well, bless you, boyo.) Plus, I've been away from the computer (and basically, out of touch with humanity) most of the day, so this helps me catch up, as well. Okay, let's carry on.

The Tigers and White Sox will make up their April 14 rainout as part of a day-night doubleheader on Friday, July 24. The make-up game will be at 1:05 p.m., with the regularly scheduled game to be played at 7:05 p.m.

Why not a twi-night doubleheader? Brother (or sister), you are preaching to the choir. But I suppose it's a logistical nightmare to try and get all the fans for the first game out of the park before the second game's crowd can come in. Still, I'm with Blake: Teams should schedule at least one of these per season.

Kurt wins the Best Headline Award from last night, don't you think? Maybe the Freep should hire him, so they can avoid debacles like this one. (I say we blame Armando Galarraga's poor outing on that. He was probably traumatized if he read it.)

In his weekly post for Big League Stew, Curtis Granderson says that long road trips like the Tigers' current 10-game excursion aren't that big a deal. He sure looked comfortable last night, with two home runs. And make sure to click over for a great picture of Grandy and the gang in the dugout.

During last night's game, Samara noticed Andy Van Slyke helping Carlos Guillen avoid a penalty from MLB's uniform police. Well done, Eagle Eyes. (Me, I was trying to make sure I could type coherently by that hour.)

The Angels will call up Matt Palmer from Triple-A to pitch against the Tigers on Thursday. Darren Oliver made a spot start last week, but the team feels he helps them more in the bullpen than in the rotation.

If you want to see footage of Dontrelle Willis's rehab outing last night for Single-A Lakeland, Lee points us to the MotownSports forum, where links to YouTube clips are posted. For the evening, Willis threw 58 of his 75 pitches for strikes, was hitting the mid-90s in velocity, and walked no one. Read that again, because I put it in italics.

Also doing the rehab thing was Joel Zumaya, who pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning for the Toledo Mud Hens last night, striking out two of the batters he faced. (And if you click through to the boxscore, you'll notice that neither Fu-Te Ni nor Scott Williamson pitched very well. Also, Denny Bautista pitched for Indianapolis.)

Over at Trumbull and Michigan, Sean is taking a shine to Gerald Laird, who's been playing well on both sides of the ball. (His absence is even more noticeable with Matt Treanor in the lineup. I'm still pulling for the guy, but... let's pick it up, fella.)

Porcello and Perry Will Wear the D

Ian Casselberry — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

Detroit Tigers' pitcher Rick Porcello throws against the Tampa Bay Rays in a game from Lakeland, Fla., Thursday, March 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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Jim Leyland has always said he'll take talent over experience (or salary), and that was backed up with this morning's roster moves. Pitchers Rick Porcello and Ryan Perry can now officially call themselves major leaguers, as both of them were named to the team. (Thanks to Billfer, who passed along the news via Twitter, and Peazgrl for breaking the story in a FanPost.)

Two other pitchers who were fighting for a job and made the cut were Eddie Bonine and Juan Rincon. Bonine should take that long relief role, while Rincon joins Perry in setting up Brandon Lyon and Fernando Rodney in the late innings. (Or will we have a closer-by-committee, with Rodney currently Leyland's favored choice to get the call in the ninth?)

With Porcello joining the starting staff, the other remaining spot in the rotation will go to Zach Miner. Miner keeps a seat warm for the injured Jeremy Bonderman. And once Dondo's shoulder heals up and he's ready to join the team, Miner will likely head back to relieving, pushing Bonine back to Triple-A Toledo. So Nate Robertson loses out, and ends up as the second left-hander in the bullpen. (That, in turn, sends Clay Rapada to the Mud Hens.) Scott Williamson was also assigned to minor league camp. (And as I've said, I hope he agrees to go to Toledo.)

How about on the position player side of the roster? Infielder Ryan Raburn and catcher Dane Sardinha were both optioned to Toledo, while Mike Hessman was told he'll be placed on waivers. If he clears waivers, Hessman says he'd like to return to Toledo. However, he'll also look for opportunities to play in Japan. (Raburn, meanwhile, could be on his way to the St. Louis Cardinals, if they can work out a deal with the Tigers.)

But that last bench spot still remains open, with Jeff Larish and Brent Clevlen left to duke it out. It seems like a foregone conclusion that Larish will get the nod, as he was already playing well enough to make the team, and Josh Anderson took the outfield spot that could've gone to Clevlen. Three more days of Thunderdome - two men enter, one man leaves - for those two.

So I think I know the answer, but will ask anyway. Are you happy with these moves? And if, in fact, the Tigers intend to rotate that closer's job among two or three pitchers, how do you feel about that? You guys already got a head start this morning, but take it away.

Morning Prowl: Looming Cuts, Yesterday's Injuries, and Ticket Sales

Ian Casselberry — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:00:10 -0000

Should we expect reliever Scott Williamson to be among today's cuts, after giving up five runs on five hits and one walk in just one inning of work yesterday? If so, I still hope he sticks around in Toledo. He could be useful later in the year.

Mack Avenue Tigers watched yesterday's game, and has blow-by-blow descriptions of Nate Robertson's thumb injury and Adam Everett's sprained ankle.

Lynn Henning thinks Danny Worth could be the Tigers' shortstop for years to come - if he hits. But isn't the shortstop of the future supposed to be Cale Iorg?

Perhaps you were like me and wondering why the Tigers' WBC quartet wasn't in the lineup yesterday against the New York Mets. (I mean, it was on TV and everything!)

Simma down now, says Jim Leyland. With a two-and-a-half hour bus ride to Port St. Lucie, Leyland thought it was better for his hitters to stay in Lakeland and get work in.

At the end of her latest post at Roar of the Tigers, I think Samara puts this uproar over Detroit's Opening Day being scheduled during Good Friday services in proper perspective.

Take 75 North takes a look at the PECOTA projections for the Tigers' minor league prospects, and interprets some of the scores.

Looking at decreased season ticket sales (something we mentioned earlier this month - toot!), the Freep talks to a couple of fans who didn't renew and examines how the expected loss in revenue affected the team's offseason.

Three Tigers bloggers chimed in for a season preview for the Philly Sports Post. With a couple of exceptions, I think we were all pretty much on the same page. The Tigersosphere can be so agreeable. I might try to start a fight.

Some Tigers trivia questions have been posted for you in a FanPost. Five of them, to be exact. (And thank you for doing that.) Take a crack at 'em.

Today's non-baseball note: If you're a fan of Mixed Martial Arts, SB Nation's Bloody Elbow entered a partnership with USA Today to create Top 25 rankings for fighters in each weight class.