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As Dontrelle Willis goes on the DL for the second time with this mysterious "anxiety disorder" I cannot help to feel sadness for the embattled hurler. To have someone who at one point looked to have such a bright future - when he won 22 games and finished second in NL CY Young voting in 2005 - fall so far is just plain unfortunate. Not to say that he didn't deserve his demotion... err, I mean, "injury"... since, after all, he has allowed 18 free passes in his last 11.0 IP. In fact, barring his one excellent start against the Rangers (6.1 IP 1 H 0 ER 2 BB 5 K), Dontrelle posted an ugly, ugly 0-4 9.22 ERA 12:26 K:BB in his 6 other starts.
Although Dontrelle's meltdown was slightly less dramatic than Ankiel's (see: top of the 3rd, Game 1 2000 NLDS) it has been no less devastating. Dontrelle is, simply put, laboring to throw strikes at the moment. It doesn't appear to be a physical problem, but rather all mental, and I doubt there is any chance that a second DL stint is going to magically fix anything that the first could not. It appears that the D-Train is officially done. Stick a fork in him. I hope he can learn to play the outfield as well as Ankiel, because Dontrelle's future as a MLB pitcher looks grim, to say the least. Oddly enough, Dontrelle does have some precedent for offensive production - he is only the third player in MLB history to record 20 wins and 20 hits in the same season. It was always sorta of a running joke that Dontrelle was a great hitting pitcher (didn't he bat 6th one game for the Marlins?) but now he might need to polish that swing a little more if he ever hopes to see a major league field from anywhere but the stands again.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Do It Dombrowski. Do It.
Although the Tigers are solidly in first place in the division (Twins 3.0 GB), the team really needs an addition before the trade deadline rolls around on July 31st to ensure not just a playoff berth, but that the team is equipped to do some serious damage in the playoffs. That addition? Matt Holliday.
I want this man and his ridiculous block head in a Tigers uniform.
Magglio's general ineffectiveness so far this season - batting .273 with only 2 HR and slugging an abysmal .343 - is going to force the Tigers to pick up another bat unless he turns things around quickly... and it's tough to turn things around when you're benched indefinitely. It's hard to say about a guy who just two years ago had one of the greatest seasons in team history, but Maggz looks lethargic at the plate and slow and tentative in right field. Maybe the benching clears Magglio's head and he returns revitalized and starts mashing again... but maybe he doesn't and if the Tigers want to land the biggest bat rumored to be available on the market, then they need to do it relatively soon.
Another benefit I see to adding Holliday to the roster is that he would provide enough of an offensive boost to take some pressure off of Magglio to produce and thus allow Maggz to come back around at his own pace. Although the young guys have been serviceable, rotating Don Kelly, Clete Thomas, Ryan Raburn and Josh Anderson through the outfield certainly isn't the ideal situation. The Tigers offense was really scrambling for runs prior to the Milwaukee series and adding an impact offensive player like Matt Holliday who has power to the gaps (which is great in spacious CoPa), is more than capable of hitting .320+ (2006: .326 / 2007: .340 / 2008: .321) and has the potential to swipe 20 bags would really help the offense to start clicking on all cylinders.
There is some concern that Holliday's bloated offensive statistics were due to the Coors Field Effect because he has posted a relatively disappointing .273 BA .802 OPS 8 HR 39 RBI 8 SB line so far this year since being traded to Oakland. While some regression from his lofty numbers in Colorado was expected, the fact remains that Holliday is a legit player and I would not be terribly worried - going to three All Star games, winning three Silver Sluggers, finishing 2nd in MVP voting (2007) and consistently putting up the numbers he did in his five years with the Rockies is no fluke, hitters' ballpark or not. Also, his away splits from 2006, 2007 and 2008, his three best years in Colorado, show that he can hit everywhere - not just when he's a mile high. I would attribute his muted offensive production this year more to being strangled by the terrible Oakland offense (league-worst team OPS of .673) more than anything. Although many would look at his numbers this year and ask, "Why are we trading for this guy again?" I strongly believe that he is a better player than he has shown so far. Plus, he is sort of starting to get his bat going and is running more (4 SB in the last 4 games) which is a good sign.
The trade deadline initially looked like it was going to be very, very active this year, but injuries to players rumored to be on the move like Peavy, Bedard and San Diego's Chris Young have made it look like roster shuffling will end up being pretty minimal this year. This makes it all the more important to make an early move to acquire the biggest name out there - Holliday - since so much more focus will be on that one player. After Holliday the pickins become fairly slim, dropping off to Mark DeRosa-caliber guys being available.
The starting pitching and relievers have been money for the Tigers this season and the only aspect of the team that has been struggling a bit has been the offense (though it hasn't been "bad" - just struggling). Matt Holliday, with his power to the gaps and base stealing ability, fits in really well with the team and would put the Tigers over the top in the Central.
I want this man and his ridiculous block head in a Tigers uniform.Magglio's general ineffectiveness so far this season - batting .273 with only 2 HR and slugging an abysmal .343 - is going to force the Tigers to pick up another bat unless he turns things around quickly... and it's tough to turn things around when you're benched indefinitely. It's hard to say about a guy who just two years ago had one of the greatest seasons in team history, but Maggz looks lethargic at the plate and slow and tentative in right field. Maybe the benching clears Magglio's head and he returns revitalized and starts mashing again... but maybe he doesn't and if the Tigers want to land the biggest bat rumored to be available on the market, then they need to do it relatively soon.
Another benefit I see to adding Holliday to the roster is that he would provide enough of an offensive boost to take some pressure off of Magglio to produce and thus allow Maggz to come back around at his own pace. Although the young guys have been serviceable, rotating Don Kelly, Clete Thomas, Ryan Raburn and Josh Anderson through the outfield certainly isn't the ideal situation. The Tigers offense was really scrambling for runs prior to the Milwaukee series and adding an impact offensive player like Matt Holliday who has power to the gaps (which is great in spacious CoPa), is more than capable of hitting .320+ (2006: .326 / 2007: .340 / 2008: .321) and has the potential to swipe 20 bags would really help the offense to start clicking on all cylinders.
There is some concern that Holliday's bloated offensive statistics were due to the Coors Field Effect because he has posted a relatively disappointing .273 BA .802 OPS 8 HR 39 RBI 8 SB line so far this year since being traded to Oakland. While some regression from his lofty numbers in Colorado was expected, the fact remains that Holliday is a legit player and I would not be terribly worried - going to three All Star games, winning three Silver Sluggers, finishing 2nd in MVP voting (2007) and consistently putting up the numbers he did in his five years with the Rockies is no fluke, hitters' ballpark or not. Also, his away splits from 2006, 2007 and 2008, his three best years in Colorado, show that he can hit everywhere - not just when he's a mile high. I would attribute his muted offensive production this year more to being strangled by the terrible Oakland offense (league-worst team OPS of .673) more than anything. Although many would look at his numbers this year and ask, "Why are we trading for this guy again?" I strongly believe that he is a better player than he has shown so far. Plus, he is sort of starting to get his bat going and is running more (4 SB in the last 4 games) which is a good sign.
The trade deadline initially looked like it was going to be very, very active this year, but injuries to players rumored to be on the move like Peavy, Bedard and San Diego's Chris Young have made it look like roster shuffling will end up being pretty minimal this year. This makes it all the more important to make an early move to acquire the biggest name out there - Holliday - since so much more focus will be on that one player. After Holliday the pickins become fairly slim, dropping off to Mark DeRosa-caliber guys being available.
The starting pitching and relievers have been money for the Tigers this season and the only aspect of the team that has been struggling a bit has been the offense (though it hasn't been "bad" - just struggling). Matt Holliday, with his power to the gaps and base stealing ability, fits in really well with the team and would put the Tigers over the top in the Central.
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