Rogers to go Friday if ready

Top of 7. Thames is due. Hopefully he comes up with someone on.

Thames and Monroe are IMO becoming trade bait. Doesn't mean I don't like 'em but it is just the way I see it. Maroth and Robertson are also possibilities for trade consideration. There are a few untouchables and I think they are Inge, Guillen, Pudge, Sheffield, Ordonez, Polanco, Zumaya, Verlander, Bonderman, Miller. Everyone else has to be ready to pack their bags.

Miller threw pretty well tonight---he is on a learning curve and my guess is he found today's outing to be a beneficial lesson.

It is going to take a major effort for the Tigers to win this one and it ain't gonna be easy unless soemone chips in with a 3-run HR.

Well Myman ain't in but Yorman is--let's see what he's got.

BTW--it looks like Colon's actions have sent him on another career path--I just can't see him being able to make it in this organization.

C'mon Rich, we can't hear you---get these guys going!

kinda surprised they didn't walk Ruiz----really surprised because if nothing else it meant getting Moyer out of the game while setting up a force at any base---what the *&#$ is JL thinking?

Another steller outing for the Tigers bullpen. It is a lot different coming back from 2 down than 4 down. What the heck is up with this ball park, no wonder Howard hit 58 homeruns last year. If he played in any other ball park it would of been a lot less probably he would of hit around 40.

Great news if Rogers could get back. Hopefully Miner will get back soon as well.

By the way did that umpire BLOW that call against Guillen in the 9th. After that I knew that we were done for. It was like he was trying to kill the rally on purpose. WOW it was a very bad call.

Yes, it was a terrible call. Not even close. Should have been 3 on and one out. Would have been a psychological killer for the pitcher. Pudge would have been able to take a real conservative approach. After that call Guillen had to protect and fouled off ball 4 #2 and maybe #3. You hate to see bad calls decide games. I don't even like bad calls when they go our way.

The highlight of the evening was when Andy Van Slyke took a fungo bat and hit a ball over the rightfield roof. Of course, he was standing in rightcenter field when he did it. Andy is a case. He was selecting Tiger fans in the standing room section and heaving them baseballs, before turning to the fungo bat for more souvenirs.

Miller is showing some mental toughness. He looked pretty bad the first couple innings but managed to pull out a fairly decent start. His numbers would have been better if he hadn't mishandled that bunt to start the sixth. He made Ryan Howard look pretty bad.

The bullpen is just a mess. Both Bazardo and Ledezma had two out and nobody on and neither could prevent a run from scoring. It's just unacceptable. Can't win this way.

I was in no position to judge the call on Guillen, but Carlos sure was ready to head to first. I have to assume it was bad, and a rally buster. Bummer.

Yes, it doesn't take much to get one out of this bandbox. They just seem to tap them into the seats.

The Philly phans hate Pat Burrell. He needs to move on.

Moving out to "Ashburn's Alley", I can't recommend the cheesesteaks from either Rick's or Tony Luke's. The best one I ever had came from the Holiday Inn outside the park, about four years ago.

Okay guys, it's back on the road tomorrow, heading for home. I'll be at Monday and Tuesday's games in Washington, right behind homeplate this time.

Well sometimes you just lose the game.

But, just in case anybody cares: Vic Darensbourg. Not sure if he could be called up after his ERA has skyrocketed to 0.66

His line tonight:

1 inning 3 Ks

This is true. The Tigers pen could not hold them again. Down 3-2 or 4-2 going into the 9th would have been more acceptable. I would think Darensbourg deserves a shot. They need an answer.

I think the bats will rebound today and hopefully leave no doubt.

PHing for Curtis--I don't agree with that one. It's not a 9th innning situation with a guy perched on third and the batter working on a golden sombrero!

If they were smart they would walk Placido.

Well they were smart and we caught a big break with C-Mo struggling and looking like he might have another bad AB.

Now we get to see what happens with our bullpen.

Keep 'em crossed folks!

NO WALKS!!!

Oh man--I don't like this double switch. First of all you now have weakend you defense in the late innings--second the double switch strategy obviates using a pinch hitter when the pitcher comes up---what's the point if Rodney were to come up you'd be better off pinch hitting with Thames and getting him the heck out of the game--it's not like you expect him to be able to last more than a couple of batters anyway.
JL must like the National League style of managing but I don't think it is a good idea to manage by formula.

Best case scenario--we score a couple in the 8th.

Sorry for the typos. My fingers move faster than my brain.

You gotta bring in Byrdak to face Utley.

Well Rodney was "interesting" but he did get the job done.

Well nice comeback, I really wasn't holding out much hope. I think we were given a favor when they took Eaton out.

Rodney did fine, he really got screwed when they changed that from and error to a single. That was an error if I've ever seen one. The guy can't buy a break. Anyway onto Washington. Dmitri is kicking some butt over there. Not hitting a lot of homeruns, but certainly batting well. Good for him, hopefully Washington is a better match for him.

Also Mesa had our number huh. Too bad he wasn't that good while he was here.

Glad to see us win this one. You may be right that they did us a favor taking Eaton out. What gets me is Mesa in this series. In 3 innings pitched he gave up one hit, one run, and struck out two. Geez! Where was that a month ago?

Dave, I think that effect may be simply he is pitching on a squad where there is far less pressure to perform. When Zoom went down and Rodney and Jones showed weakness, Mesa was expected to right the ship. He couldn't do it and it is probably a good thing that it became apparent quickly. If he can't pitch effectively under pressure then we are better off without him. I hope he does well this year but I don't think he ever would have with us.

I think the Tigers are going to trade off a starting pitcher-several teams could use one and one that comes to mind is Seattle.

I have heard rumors that Maroth may go but IMO I think the more likely person to go is Robertson. Before everyone jumps all over me for this I am not saying I want him traded I am only saying that I think he is likely the one to go. He has value, more than Maroth, with Kenny coming back and the emergence of Andrew Miller, it would seem we have a surplus of starting southpaws. I can also see where Maroth might be more adaptable to a bullpen role than Nate. Maroth's hittability and physical history are deterrents to other teams being seriously interested in him as a 5th starter. Robertson, on the other hand, still has the ability to be a number 1 or 2 starter for some big league teams. He has far more trade value--now I am not sure what his contract status is and how that will factor but I think he will precipitate some serious discussion in the Hot Stove League.

Ya know we were pretty quiet on the Mesa release. I think we were all disappointed with his performance. He ended up being used for mostly mop up work anyway. I'm wondering if maybe JL gave up on him a little too soon. Not saying that I had any real opinion. Except that being a "seasoned" veteran he may have improved over the season, given the chance. He looked pretty effective in this series didn't he. I'm glad he got picked up by the Phillies. We'll have to keep track of his pitching to ultimately see if it was a mistake letting him go. Wish him good luck. I hate to see the veterans get handed their pink slips before they're ready to retire.

If there's a starter to be traded, I vote for Ledezma. He's young, lefthanded, and experienced, and teams may find that appealing. You could package Wil and Grilli and there are probably a number of teams that would be interested.

I was watching a National's 2005 replay last night and Aquilino Lopez was pitching for the Phillies.

Speaking of the Nationals, it should be realized that RFK is perhaps the toughest park in baseball to hit one out of. Not so much dimensions as the fact that the ball doesn't carry. This shouldn't affect our slashing line drive hitters much, I wouldn't think. You have to think sweep here, before moving on to Atlanta. We have to make a move somewhere along the line, and this is a good opportunity.

I would like to see that pairing go but I think teams will be looking for established starters from us.

In a multi-player trade I see Thames or Monroe as possible inclusions. They are quite similar players in many repsects. Not sure we need 2 RHB left fielders with good power, who strike out a lot.

I don't want to overblow the trading angle here but I do think Dobrowskin will make some moves before August.

Well, I don't agree with all of your opinions Dan. However, I agree that Robertson does have more trade value than Maroth. It is also more likely that a LHP is traded since we have Robertson, Maroth, Rogers, and Miller as starters. In the pen we have Ledezma, Seay, and Byrdak as well as Darensbourg in the minors. Since Darensbourg is another lefty I am sure that is why he will continue to eat up the hitters down at Toledo and not come up unless someone is injured. I remember an article the day of Robertson's last start that said a scout from the A's was at the game to specifically scout Robertson. If I had to pick, I would take Robertson over Maroth.

It's a shame Maroth lost it in the 6th. He really had pitched extremely well and giving hope that maybe the rotation might start getting some help from one of their southpaws. I even think it was right for JL to let him hit for himself and pitch into the 6th since he had pitched so well and had a low pitch count.
Well we've now made a gimmee game diceu pmce again. Grilli is in now and this IMO, is going could well forecast what the club has in store for him in 2007.

Let me rephrase that please!

"Well we've now made a gimmee game a dicey game omce again. Grilli is in now and this IMO, could well forecast what the club has in store for him in 2007."

Eulogio De La Cruz up and Yorman Bazardo sent down. Now we will get to see how good he is.

Well if he is any good he can have Jones' job.

I wanted to see the double switch when he came in. Could have had Infante batting 9th and De La Cruz batting 8th. Then we could have had him pitch the 9th also. Instead we will watch Jones blow it.

Well the stubborn ol' coot is gonna blow this game for us.

No nead for me to dis Jones anymore---it is pretty obvious that he is not the closer that management dreams he is.

WHEW!! Huge sigh of relief that we were able to some how hold them down at the end of that one.

Good evening Tiger Bloggers. I sat there saying all the thoughts you guys have posited, "here we go again". God is good and simply didn't want the Alabama good ole boy to have egg on his face again.
I was encouraged by De la Cruz. I have a rookie card from two years ago. He threw strikes, which has been one of the big bull pen problems.

But through all of these cardiac moments as presented by Jones, Rodney, Grilli, et al, I see us still only one out, and we haven't had one of those fantastic nine game winning streaks yet. I do think, Thames or Monroe must be packaged with a lefty(Maroth) to get a solid BP guy until or if we get Zumaya back at all. So sit back, Bloggers who are the best, and enjoy Tiger baseball. I close with another name from the past, Paul Foytack.

I don't even know what to say, almost. I have to say that I have a really hard time dissing (?) Jones a ton. He did so great most of last year, but he is having a much harder time this year, the million dollar question is why??? He did really well in the month of April, mind you that is when the offense was not really clicking and games were much closer and there were a lot of save situations. Now when May and June have rolled around he tends to sit for days at a time, be cause the offense has been gang busters and there has not been a lot of need for him or the middle relievers have already blown it. Now I am not smart enough to say that sitting around to much is the problem, but you've got to wonder?? That is the only reason I can figure. Also today I am not sure it was the wisest choice to bring him into this situation facing so many left handed batters, when you have Byrdak in the bullpen. It is not like it was a save situation at the begining of the 9th?? I don't know does anyone have any thoughts on it? No one can deny that one of the reasons the Tigers made it to the post season last year, was because of Todd Jones and his 36 or 37 saves?? But this year it is different.

Paul Foytack!! I liked him. But then I liked Hank Aguirre, Joe Sparma, Terry Fox and John Hiller too.
Don't forget old Coot Veal!

As to today's names. Well I just hope the club does something about shoring up the bullpen and not just fiddle away while Rome burns, hoping for the best. If they don't we won't be a game out very much longer. Just think where we would be if the bullpen was even mediocre thus far.

As to Jones-well yeah he racked up some save last year but he also had times where he was just plain undependable. Anybody remember what happened in September?

I know he is all we've got but if you want to win the division and championship you need more. I just don't want DD and JL to bury their heads in the sand for this guy. A facade of confidence is a flimsy support system. He is a guy who when he is performing near his best can't be expected to give up less hits than innings pitched or blow the opposition away---which you absolutely need to be able to do as a closer. I mentioned earlier this year that I thought Zumaya would be the clubs closer by the end of the year. If he hadn't have been injured he might have been already.

I hope Jones can turn things around but I don't think he has the arsenal to do it.

The 5 hits they had tonight looked like batting practice and if it weren't for some good luck on the last play this one might have gone the wrong way in the books.

Yes GK. The situations have been very different this season. You have to wonder how Todd would do in tight save situations. A lot of his saves have been with a 2 or 3 run lead, usually giving up 1 or 2. He seems to get tougher when backed against the wall. That's a plus, but absolutely nerve wracking for us.If he needs more work I don't think it should be in non save situations like tonight. You're right, bring in Byrdak and give him some experience holding a "comfortable" lead in the 9th. It sure ain't Jones' forte. I still have faith that Jones can get the job done but it wouldn't hurt if JL would explore some options. With Rogers and Robertson coming back, there will be a surplus of starters, why not relegate a couple to the bullpen? That would be an immediate upgrade from within the 40 man roster. Still 6 weeks to the trade deadline. I don't see too many teams in any hurry to unload a quality relief pitcher, at least not without asking a lot. This offense is unreal, they can sure turn it on and off. Tonight's proof there's no such thing as piling on. They're all insurance runs.

Dan, I believe you're right about Zumaya being the closer by now if he wasn't injured. Funny how things go. The strength of this team might have been the bullpen up until August last year. It has been below average since. Hey, it could be worse. I was watching the end of the Red Sox Braves game tonight. The announcer mentioned that THE biggest reason for the Braves poor season last year was 24 blown saves. Ouch. We're not there yet.

Hank Aguirre was one of my favorites. That guy could hit. Jim Bunning was pretty good too.

Thank goodness someone told Marcus to take another AB. They had Casey in the on-deck circle and he was called back prior to Marcus' HR. Funny, it didn't look big at the time.

I was hoping for Byrdak in the 9th too--kinda figured that JL would go with him being as is was not a "save" situation with the 4 run lead.

I'd like to see what the scores were before and after in Jones' saves. I did look up expanded stats for relievers and his stats are downright scary. Hitters were hitting over .300 against him before tonights game. Perhaps a more useful stat is his WHIP. WHIP stands for walks and hits per innings pitched

A good WHIP for a pitcher is around 1.00. Anything below 1.00 is outstanding and demonstrates the domination of a pitcher. A poor WHIP is anything over 1.75. That means for each inning pitched there is a good chance two or more runners will reach base.

Well Jones' is over 1.75 which is the worst among the top 40 relievers. 12 relievers have WHIPS under 1.00

Those are the facts M'am.

1) Leave it to Jones to keep things exciting. He may have an ERA of 5 or so. He may not overpower people. But saves vs. blown save is the most important stat, isn't it?

2) There does seem to be a trade coming doesn't there? Maroth seems like such a genuinely good person that it seems a shame to let him go, but he's the best bait the Tigers have. Monroe is not that exciting to other teams, nor is Thames, if you ask me.

3) This team could really do some things this year. With Kenny back, and if Rodney shapes up and if the chewing gum guy can get back to form, this team will win 95. Lot of ifs, though.

4) Didn't you just know Sheff would pull it together? This guy is coming through big time!

Revision: make that 100 games.

I get the feeling I'm alone on this, but I would hate to see Maroth traded. Call it Karma for lack of a better word but I think he along with Bonderman, Inge, Ledezma, and Infante deserve to have at least this season's chance at a World Series Championship. Just for what they endured in 2003. There is no analytical thinking here, just what's fair. Maroth has some intangible qualities that you hit on Steve. He is a genuinely good person who probably has a great clubhouse team attitude. He's also a competitor. I think he might be a very good long relief guy. He's not overpowering but seems to have good location and control for about 5 innings and then things come apart. Don't know if he gets tired or if the opposing hitters figure him out the 3rd time around. I think he is worth more to the Tigers playing on the team than they could get using him for trade bait. Pair him up in starts with Durbin. Bottom line, the guy's 5-2. My 2 cents.

I agree with you Marty, that Maroth might be OK in the bullpen. He may also still be a 5th starter, I don't think one would ever be able to have a comfortable feeling when his spot come up though. There will always be a nagging doubt about how hard he will be hit and how many balls will go through the infield.
As far as loyalty to players on a team of 4 years ago---well I think that if management were to operate from a mindset like that it would be very detrimental and counter-productive to todays's club and today's fans.

This team, again, is a championship possible team. If they need to make some changes to succeed, then I hope they have the wisdom to determine what needs to be done based on 2007 and not on any emotional attachment to years gone by.

I just can't imagine looking out on the field and seeing Bobby Higginson!

I know that JL had to put a brave face on after last nights game, but as much as he likes to stick with "one of my favorites", (I can't believe he actually says things like that), I think he is realizing that they are going to need to do something other than hope for the best.

Jones is the closer and he closes games. He successfully closes as high a percentage of games as most closers out there. It might not be pretty, but you don't get anything in the W column for being pretty.

There's nothing wrong with this team that can't be fixed without resorting to trades. The trade deadline is coming up and the media frenzy will begin, led by Ken Rosenthal's ridiculous conjectures. There was a time when the trade deadline was just that, a deadline. Now it's a circus, and these organizations are actually pressured into making deals by the howling mobs.

You may recall from last year, I hate the trade deadline. :-)

I was looking through some interesting stats comparing bullpen failures of last year to this year. Yes there are a lot more this year everyone know that but here is how it breaks down year to date.

2006- 7 bullpen losses

5- Jones

2-Rodney

2007 - 13

1- Zumaya

5- Rodney

3- Jones

2- Grilli

1- Mesa

1 - Ledezma

Now these numbers are who the loss was credited to. I really just thought it was interesting that Jones actually believe it or not is doing better this year?? It seems worse. So my only hope here is that he gets better from this point on. Rodney is really the one who has killed us the most. And if you look at the numbers deeper Seay and Zumaya are actually the ones that let the score get tied on a few others and Rodney wound up taking the loss in the go ahead run.

Food for thought. I still think that he really shouldn't have brought Jones in last night with a non-save situation against a lot of left handed batter. That to me wasn't right. But I guess he is the one that is making the big bucks for coaching?? I just thank the baseball gods that he didn't completely blow it.???

Surprised JL didn't wait for the club to return to Comerica for Rogers' firs start!

(I'm feelin' a little rascally and mischievious)

Oh, BTW--Jones:

5.86 ERA is 137th out of 159 for relievers with at least 20 innings

WHIP is 251st out of 352

and

.304 batting average against is 140th out of 159

Meanwhile Jones is telling everybody what a wonderful career he has had and that he can still get batters out. If you put Paul Foytack in he could probably get 3 batters out too----------eventually.

I looked at SV vs SVO and it appears that Jones is not very high on that list. This is the only stat that matters and he's not making a good showing there. So yes, I see a problem there. Anybody who watched him close games for the Tigers in the late 90s knows that he's always made an adventure out of his save opportunities, but usually got the job done. There does need to be some improvement, and there still can be. I hope.

I'm a little leery of jumping out a window over closers. Anytime one of them blows a save, and they all do, it's pretty disastrous, and is a topic of discussion for days. That being said, 17 out of 21 isn't real hot.

The thing is, you have to replace him if he's not going to be the guy. I prefer developing closers rather than trading for them. Zumaya is certainly in line, provided he recovers okay, but I'd like to see him perfect his breaking pitches before I'm ready to krown him King Kloser. We may have someone else down in the minors at this time, for all we know.

I was at last night's game, but I'm skipping tonight. The weather here is very stormy and a big one can pop up at any time. It's raining as I write this, although I'm some distance from DC. I'm hoping for a rainout so I can get a raincheck. It also hit 97 degrees today with very high humidity. It was very hot last night too, and I thought ol' Todd was going to melt before he finally finished the game. Those of us seated behind homeplate got a friendly wave and a smile from Rod and Mario. And yes, the Tiger fans took over yet another ballpark.

How did De La Cruz look?
Looks like he had a nice 9th inning.

Ordonez is just unbelievable--and I think Casey is going to keep hitting when we get back to league play this time. He hits like crazy against NL teams.

I see miner sticking and going to the pen. I'm not sure what they are going to do with Miller---with Maroth, Durbin, Robertson and Rogers I think they will likely have to send him back down. I thought he might stick but it is looking less likely. JL has said he won't use him in a relief role and I hope he sticks to that statement. He' be better off starting in the minors I think.

We'll likely see a bench clearing lineup tomorrow before the day off.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Monroe, Thames, Infante, Rabelo and Perez all start.

(Granderson, Casey, Pudge, Guillen and Sheffield get the day off with pay.)

I hope Kenny has a great day tomorrow and we win a low scoring game by one run.

My bad--I mean Friday. And actually a 2 or 3 run spread would be just fine.

Who have we got traded, Maroth or Robertson?....lol. I would say neither, they both have proven they can win in the bigs, despite their recent travails. I would love to see DD take a flier on Gagne, although it probably doesn't make sense from a dollar view.

The Tigers are once again beating up on the "have-nots" of the league. Nuthin' wrong with that. Better'n the alternative.

How about Monroe & Maroth(I know, I just said we should keep him....lol)for Griffey? He could fill LF nicely for the next year and a half until Maybin arrives.

Is de la Cruz's appearance in the bigs signal DD's acknowledgement that Zoom will not be back this year?

Griffey in left, de la Cruz for the 8th, Gagne in for the save. Now, a guy can dream, right?

Missed the last inning so I missed seeing de la Cruz again. So I'll repeat Dan's question. Durbin was solid again. Great timing we have discussing our pitching woes just before a 15-1 drudging. Casey and Sheffield both are near .300. Take away April and they're challenging for the AL batting title:)Thames displays "above average" power with another upper deck mash. Does any era conscious pitcher look forward to pitching against the Tigers right now? At this point I'll stick by the least creative plan to stay with Jones and use the surplus of starters to shore up the bull pen. With the return of Rogers and Robertson, obviously JL has to make some decisions. I just hope that trade(s) would be the last consideration.

I don't want to get everyone all excited, but de la Cruz looks pretty darned good. He has a slow delivery, almost a pause in there, then the ball explodes. They say he hits the upper 90s. I saw 94 but again there's the radar differences. Seems to have excellent control too. The hitters he mowed down aren't complete chumps, either. Maybe we've got one here. Time will tell.

I can bear witness to the fact that not too many homers in RFK reach those upper stands, and Thames did it two nights in a row. Most of Washington's starters are injured and the Tigers are killing the replacements. Funny in the third inning last night when the Nats fan was waving a white towel.

I understand that Miller is taking his next turn, so we're back to last week's question: if he pitches very well, does he go down? At any rate, I don't think we need any trades, since we can't fit in the guys we have. And we're in first place again.

Let's give some props to Neifi for demonstrating why he won a Gold Glove. As a matter of fact, that's what I call him now. "Gold Glove."

Watching DeLaCruz do as well as he is gets me excited. When Zumaya comes back this year, or next year, the Tigers will have both of them with Rodney in the middle of them. I'm not going to get ahead of myself and say that DeLaCruz will not have a bad outing, but he reminds me of Zumaya alot.

I mean a bullpen of Zumaya, Rodney, DeLaCruz, and Jones would be great. Each pitcher compliments the other so that each pitcher can use thier pithces effectively.

That is what is hampering Jones. No one behind him has been a consent factor. Look at when Jones has been good. He is good when he has a set-up man that does his job. Now I know that his numbers haven't been the greatess and he makes some games closer then need be, but he does get the job done.

Last year was last year. The Tigers got alot of balls hit at them last year that are going just to the left or right of them this year. So trading for a Gagne is unneeded. The Tigers have options on the farm that I would want to see first then, if i throw another pitch it might be my last pitcher.

I could maybe again see a trade if every starting pitcher they have is healthy after the all-star break. Lets get everyone healthy then evaluate the situation.

Right now for sure Bondo and Justin are for sure. If Rogers is healthy there's three. Leyland's crush (and mine aswell) on Miller will give him the benifit of the doubt, so there's four. Then we have questions. You could get more in trade for Nate then Mike, and more for Mike then Chad. But trading Nate if healthy is out of the question and Chad would be a good fit for long relief in the pen. That leaves Mike.

Now I saw a Monroe and Maroth deal in thier for Griffey, but why add more offense? And seroiusly would Cincy trade an all star for a 5th starter and good outfielder? Last time I knew, No. A trade for a middle relief guy maybe. I could see a trade for the other Texas pithcer, Ostuka .

If Zumaya comes back bullpen of:

Zumaya

Rodney

Jones

DeLaCruz

Brydck

Seay

Otsuka, or ok, Gagne

Looks pretty nice to me

I was at the game last night and, as you can imagine, the Nationals were completely outclassed by the Tigers. Durbin looked great but the outing has to be tempered by the competition. The lineup was unreal-- just smoked everything. Since the game didn't provide much, I started trying to figure out how I'd handle the pitching staff. Here's what I came up with:

Starting pitchers (in order): Bonderman, Rogers, Verlander, Durbin, and Miller

BullPen:

- Jones: Closer (only option at this time)

- Robertson- Setup/closer in wait. I just like his makeup for it. I like him as a starter too but I think we have enough depth to give this a shot.

- Rodney: Setup

- De La Cruz: Set up (2nd coming of Zumaya?-- let's hope)

- Seay/Byrdak- Keep one and trade one. We only need one lefty specialist-- they seem similar to me and I gotta believe there's a market for a lefty reliever. Get a young catching prospect or another promising youngster.

- Maroth: Long relief-- competes with Durbin and Miller for the rotation and can step in if they struggle.

-Miner/Grilli/Ledezma: I like Miner the best but I think he and Ledezma have options. Grilli still has the potential to be a difference maker and I don't see them dumping him. If they can package him with Byrdak or Seay to a team that really needs Pen help, I'd support that option as well.

Pros of this approach: I think Miller is good enough to stay up and if he struggles, you can still plug Maroth in. Robertson may be missed in the rotation but he gives the late innings a boost-- Jones/Rodney may come around but they scare the **** out of me right now. With Miner and Ledezma in the wings at Toledo, we have flexibility to bring them up in the case of injuries and/or struggles on the part of Miller/De La Cruz.

Cons: None of the guys in the 'pen are Zumaya.

Thoughts?

I am hoping that this a dilemma that is positive in resolving.

I am almost certain that both Grilli and Ledezma are out of options.

JL has stated that he is not going to fool around with Miner meaning that he does not intend to demote him and wants to see him stick.

I think Grilli or Ledezma may go. The Tigers are suddenly swamped with southpaws both here and on the farm. Ledezma could bring something valuable in return.

I don't see Nate adjusting well to the bullpen--he is a bonafide MLB starter who could be a #1 or #2 man in a lot of rotations. He may not even end up as a #4 here.

I think Maroth might do well in relief--at least you know you can bring him in in a double play situation and get a decent chance at accomplishing one. I don't think he will get a real chance to stick in the rotation with Kenny and Nate back.

de la Cruz has a long way to go to be able to breathe the rarified air of either a setup man or (and I think some people are actually thinking of this) as a closer.

He has done well but his slate is virtually unwritten upon. He is not even sure of himself as a reliever yet and what we might be seeing is pure adrenalin at being in the show. I say it is right to give him a shot but he needs to be cultivated a bit longer.

If Rodney could maybe attend a few training sessions with Barry Bonds, maybe he could find a way to acquire a little aggressiveness and another pitch would help immensely. Right now he can count his pitches on both hands (with mittens on).

I still think we will be glad that we have Miner on the staff.

All this being said, it does nothing about the problems we have been seeing in the 9th inning.

I wanted to swap Ledezma two years ago. Last night was a microcosm of his career. He looked like a superstar in the seventh, then struggled in the eighth. I'd also like to move Rodney, but that won't happen. I do like the idea of Maroth coming in to get a doubleplay.

That is what I'd like to see, but what we will see is, most likely, Miller returns to the minors for more seasoning. Seay or Byrdak gets sent down too. In the end, we have pretty much the same staff as we were going to open the season with. I'd be surprised if this doesn't happen. This leaves:

Bonderman

Rogers

Verlander

Maroth

Robertson

Durbin

Grilli

Seay/Byrdak

de la Cruz

Ledezma

Rodney

Jones

When Zumaya returns, we play odd man out again, unless a trade actually is made in July.

"Mittens" Now there's a nickname any MLB pitcher would be proud of...Good one Dan.
"Who's working in the bull pen?"

"It's Mittens."

"Great!"

This is good discussion here. When you list the pitching candidates and throw in Miller, the prospects actually look pretty bright. Admittedly a big hole without the "Z Factor", but all in all not too shabby. Now JL will have to make some interesting decisions.

I don't know how the rest of you are feeling, but I can hardly wait to see Kenny pitch tonight. I know one start, and his first of the year, no less, is only one game, but I am still so excited I can't stand it.

Tracey