Bonderman's blister
Today was the first day I had heard of it, but Bonderman believes it comes from a change in grip that he made on his two-seamer back in Spring Training. He doesn’t believe it’s something that will affect his starts. He might not throw a side session before his next start Sunday at Kansas City, but he’s pretty certain he’ll make that outing.
"I’m a little concerned about it," manager Jim Leyland admitted after the game. "It’s something obviously you’ve got to get taken care of, because you can’t go through that all the time, not knowing if it’s going to irritate you."
It’s one of several concerns right now for Leyland, who’s understandably worried about Carlos Guillen’s biceps tendinitis. Guillen said his arm felt better today, and he’s doing exercises to keep strengthening it. Still, when Leyland hears about a pinching feeling, he wonders why that’s going on.
Don’t expect a switch of positions to be an option. As Leyland put it, "He’s my shortstop. If he can’t play shortstop, we’re in trouble."
Jason Beck
That would explain why Bondo hasn’t thrown the change up much. I’d be scared to as well. BTW, I loved his reaction to Tejeda, after the low’n tight. The “come out here” gesture seemed to awaken this team.
Never thought I’d say this, but ya gotta admire Sheff. His hitting has been woeful, but he keeps finding other ways to help this team win. The patience at the plate seems infectious, the base stealing is a pleasant surprise, and he keeps finding ways to be in the middle or rallies, despite his .200 average. To quote Rod, a real “ballplayer”.
Speaking of averages, Monroe’s still doesn’t scare me. I believe he will come out of it. Inge and Casey, on the other hand, don’t seem capable right now. Can we get the over 90 wins it is going to take to get in the playoffs with two corner infielders hitting so poorly? If Casey is still hitting south of Mendoza at the break, something would HAVE to be done, no?
If told that the relief courps would lose a bunch of games, and that the Tigers would have 4 starters hit below .200 for April, how many would have guessed we’d be 3 games over .500? Not me.
The trade for Sheff was made looking for a hitter who could carry this team, right? Who’d a thunk, we had him on the roster the whole time? Ordonez has been beyond wonderful at the plate.
You’re right about Sheffield. He is bringing a lot more than a bat that is waiting to explode. He hit the snot outta that ball yesterday and I think it may have elevated the whole team in a sense. The scuffle was also a very good sign that the team is cohesive as well as respectful of their skipper. These are extremely important pieces of a puzzle that is a MLB team.
I think Inge is gonna have a year where we will be wondering if he will snap out of it again. But at least he doesn’t clog up the bases when he does get on and he helps out his pitchers with some pretty miraculous plays at times. I have a bad feeling about Casey. I think we are going to see something happen over there at 1B.
Goitta give Ordonez credit for hitting as well as he is especially when you consider that the hitters behind him haven’t been lighting things up.
I know the thing to do on this board would be to bash Casey, but I will be the one to defend him. Statistically I can not back this up but in just watching the games, how many throws from Guillen and Inge have been scooped out of the dirt by Casey? It is obvious by Leyland’s late inning actions that Thames is a defensive liability.
I think the problem with Casey is that he is just hitting them right at people. He is averaging .115 Ks per AB. Hot hitting Ordonez is averaging .144 per AB for comparison. (Even though he has a .287 BA everyone’s golden boy Shelton is averaging .322 Ks per AB while Thames is at .455!!!) Casey isn’t going to start a lot of rallies for us, what he will do is put the bat on the ball, move runners, and in my opinion he will start to find gaps in the field at get a lot closer to his .300 career BA.
Oh Boy, you are making me nervous with this Bonderman, Guillen talk. But I have to admit Guillen knowing his problems, everytime a ball is hit to him I kinda hold my breath, as I am sure he does. I think that he is great and I hope it gets worked out real soon.
I think that you are also too hard on Sean Casey. Is he struggling at the plate?, well maybe a little. But the thing is he just isn’t finding the gaps. He has hit a lot of balls directly at people, he doesn’t worry me at all and defensively he is awesome, he has probably saved us at least 10 errors. He is a lifetime .300 hitter and I am sure he’ll get real close.
I am sure that they will snap out of it soon.
GO TIGERS
wonder if they’ll play tonight. It’s 5:00, and thunderstorming at my house right now.
I’m not calling for Casey’s head, far from it, but I’ll add this for the sake of discussion.
Since coming to Detroit, he’s played in 76 games (half a season)and hit .229 with 31 RBI. Where I see this as a possible problem is his injuries from early season last year may mean he’s no longer the same hitter he once was. This remains to be seen. As has been said many many times, he’s an excellent fielder. I just wonder how long you can go with a lack of offensive punch from your firstbaseman.
I realize this would never happen, but at THIS point in time, and this point only, the best team the Tigers could put on the field would have Guillen at first and Santiago at short. But like I say, never happen.