More Sunday notes
Following the game, the Tigers optioned Chris Spurling back to Triple-A Toledo after a little over a week back in the big leagues. All Jim Leyland would say about his replacement is that he'll join the team in time for Tuesday's game. More than likely, they're moving back from 13 to 12 pitchers now that they're done with the Yankees and Red Sox. But the numbers don't Spurling feel any better.
"I just get the impression I'm not well-liked anymore around here," Spurling said, "which is fine. The staff changed, the opinions changed."
spurling said he wasn't given an explanation why it was him to move down. Leyland was pretty short about it with him, too, when he made the move after the game. Whatever the reason is, it's a dramatic fall for Spurling considering where he stood at the end of last year.
"I pitched my [tail] off last year," he said. "Projected in key situations, setup man and I've gone to pretty much mop-up guy who moves around. I don't know how else to sum it up. Kind of disappointing, but it's a business."
To answer the first question likely to follow, yes, you could've made a good argument to send down Roman Colon instead. But if Leyland and Chuck Hernandez really do see Colon as a reliever rather than a starter, they have to give him a chance to stay in the Majors a while and see what he can do. To answer the second question, Jason Grilli is out of options, and he'd most likely be claimed on waivers. And aside from Sunday, he has pitched pretty well this year.
Now the other issues coming out of Sunday's game:
- This was not the way I imagined Leyland's first ejection as Tigers skipper would be. I expected Leyland to eventually get tossed this season for asking an umpire to conference with the rest of the crew and having the umpire refuse. Balls and strikes are an argument you're never to win as a manager unless your goal is to keep one of your players from being ejected.
- I looked at the video of the eighth inning online, and to be honest, I didn't see much of a case for Leyland. The only pitch you can argue in the Ortiz at-bat was ball four. Even if they had gotten that call, Grilli still would've had to make a 3-2 pitch to Ortiz with the bases loaded. The two disputed breaking balls to Manny looked like they were off the outside corner. There's only an argument there if home-plate ump Paul Nauert had been giving that corner most of the afternoon, and I don't remember any obvious outside pitches called like that.
- Whatever the calls, that inning boils down to not finishing off Kevin Youkilis with an 0-2 count and hitting him to load the bases. Get him out, and you don't have to face Ortiz in the first place. A pitcher who hits the first batter he faces doesn't do himself any favors getting calls on the corners the rest of the inning.
I'll have a mailbag tomorrow, so hopefully that'll answer some questions. Then it's off to Chicago.
I really don't understand why they'd send Spurling down. How could anyone not like him? He's been great for us, especially last season. He was lights out in Toledo before being called up again recently. I understand that they want to give Colon a shot in the majors, but he's been sooo unimpressive so far. This is very frustrating news for me because I feel like Spurling deserves the same shot that Colon does. He'll end up going to some other team and do really well, and we'll just be kicking ourselves for letting him go.
Seriously though, do we only keep Bobby Seay around because he's a lefty? That's the only reason I can think of.
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Baseball is the greatest sport I know. But to me, on a par, is football (soccer to most of you). The greatest show on Earth (The World Cup) starts on Friday.
It is still bigger than the olympics.
I will be starting a totally new, non-baseball, blog for the duration of the competition.
Please, one and all, come and join in the fun. Even if you know feck all, or even dislike the sport.
It will be a fun 4 weeks folk..
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To answer your question, Emmelyn, I think this coaching staff is not as high on Spurling as the previous one. I also think what dooms him is that he and Colon are the two expendable relievers who still have options left. As for Seay, that's a matter of the Tigers wanting an effective second lefty, though he needs to cut down on the walks to be an effective one.
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Since I'm far away, in San Diego Co.--though a Tigers fan for some 70 years!--I may be out of touch. But why have I seen no mention of Zumaya as a possible replacement for Maroth as a starter? The obvious answer may be that, having pitched short relief, he is not "stretched out" enough to start. But surely he could be given a couple of longer relief appearances, along with a different routine in the bullpen in between, and then start a game. With Rodney and Jones on the staff, a rookie with Zumaya's stuff should be given his chance to start. Spider
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You're right Beck, it is a completely different coaching staff, and he and Colon are pretty expendable. Plus, Grilli is out of options.
As for the next comment, I would love to see Zumaya as a starter, but he has made it very clear that he wants to be a reliever, and he has definitely settled in to that role. He said in an interview that if he was asked to be a starter, he would "deny them." That was a pretty bold statement from him, and I think it pretty much says it all. I wouldn't be surprised if they let Tata have a start in Maroth's spot.
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"Too unimpressive"? Remember the Royals game where Maroth could get no one out? He kept us in the game, and we won it in the 8th. I say the bullpen is his place and he'll do well as a long reliever.
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Rubber Match - def. -- In boxing and other combat sports, a rubber match is the third fight between two fighters after the first two matches have been split. Often this is the last time the two people will fight and decides who will have the winning record, thus rubber matches are generally greatly anticipated and often have a higher purse than the earlier two fights.
The term rubber match is also used in baseball to describe the final game in a three-game series after the first two games have been split.
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