By Jeff Moss
May 13, 2012
DetroitSportsRag@gmail.com
The following article is not very funny. It isn’t really like anything I ever write. And if it wasn’t posted on this website you would probably think it was penned by Rob Neyer.
BUT ….. I am just testing a theory here that any Detroit Baseball idea that I pontificate on in this space ends up getting picked up by the lazy media members who can’t come up with an original thought. Mike Valenti, an avid reader of the DSR, best represents this phenomenon and whom sometimes I feel is my puppet when it comes to Tigers discussions. So if I start calling the 97.1 afternoon host “Mahoney Valenti” in the near future, you will know why.
Anway, here are Analytical Mossims™ which is something I plan on posting more frequently when we go NxT LvL.
In the 2006 MB Draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks used their first round pick on a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher by the name of Maxwell Scherzer.
By 2008, Harvey Two-Eyes had been fast-tracked through the Arizona farm system and was pitching in the big leagues.
And after the 2009 season the D-Backs decided to trade their young strikeout artist even though in 37 starts for the franchise that drafted him 11th overall just a few years earlier, Scherzer had put up a solid 3.86 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings in Phoenix.
Soon after the blockbuster three-way deal involving the Tigers, D-Backs and Yankees, there were murmurs out of the desert that the Arizona front office didn’t think Scherzer had a long-term future as a starting pitcher.
Whispers from D-Back execs abounded regarding Scherzer’s incapacity to develop reliable secondary pitches to compliment his mid to high 90s fastball. They also leaked to their disgruntled fan base that they believed Scherzer’s unconventional delivery would lead to injuries or at the very least inconsistency, as his windup was hard to replicate on a pitch-to-pitch basis.
Well, here we are in the middle of May 2012 and the questions for Tigers fans is the following:
“Were the Diamondbacks brass correct?”
It is a fair question to ask considering that since Scherzer arrived in Detroit, he has gotten progressively worse EVERY season. From a 3.50 ERA in 2010 to a 4.43 in 2011 to a bloated ERA of 5.73 currently. AND THAT 5.73 comes after Scherzer has ACTUALLY had two very good starts in his last two appearances!
(His WHIP has also gone south every year since the trade. From 1.25 to 1.35 to 1.62. Of course, Jerry Green thinks WHIP is bunkum, but I didn’t have any Penn and Teller or David Blaine resets to provide in reference to Max here.)
So with all of the Tigers issues currently enveloping this .500 unit, why focus on Max Scherzer? Well, two reasons actually.
1) The Tigers bullpen fucking suck ass. Jose Valverde has blown two saves and has been wild as all hell, which is represented with his 1.77 WHIP. If Todd Jones was a rollercoaster, Valverde has been Cedar Point’s “Maverick.”
And as bad as Valverde’s WHIP has been in 2012, it is actually LOWER than Joaquin Benoit’s.
The one fairly steady force so far in the pen has been Octavio Dotel yet the one time he was asked to close out a game, he remained as composed as Howard Beale in “Network.”
And do I even need to mention Daniel Schlereth, Collin Ballester, Thad Weber or Luke Putkonen? I am starting to feel nauseous just typing those names.
Other than Phil Coke and Dotel the bullpen has been an unmitigated disaster and I doubt that waiting for the return of Luis Marte or Al Alburquerque is the answer either.
2) Considering the Tigers travails, the only reason I haven’t considered driving into oncoming traffic on Pontiac Trail between Ann Arbor and South Lyon this spring is the emergence of lefty starter, Drew Smyly.
Six weeks into the season, the rookie is leading the American League in ERA with a miniscule 1.59 number while averaging one strikeout per inning.
His WHIP of 1.09 illustrates how effectively the kid has been able to pound the strike zone, which is a stark contrast to the other promising left-handed starters the Tigers have recalled in recent years, The Retarded Andy’s (Miller & Oliver.)
Now, it is obviously too early to guarantee that Smyly is going to turn into the next Steve Carlton, but at the very least it looks like he has the mound presence to remain in the Tigers rotation all season long.
So, let’s just say for shits and giggles that the franchise’s prized pitching prospect, Jacob Turner continues progressing in the minor leagues.
In four starts in Lakeland, Turner’s ERA was 1.66 and opposing batters were only hitting .218 against him. If Turner resumes that dominance in Toledo (where he is going to start on Sunday) then it will be just a matter of time before a call-up to Detroit is warranted.
Now, after watching Rick Porcello’s performance in Oakland last night that he should be the odd-man out of the starting rotation if Turner is ready to pitch in the majors.
Except for one thing ….. Other than as a long-relief pitcher, what value does a guy who throws 91 mph have in the bullpen? I am guessing not much.
So is it time to find out if the Diamondbacks were correct all along and that Scherzer’s future is actually a closer and not a starter?
And if not, what other options do the Tigers (a team that was 77-0 in 2011 when leading after seven innings, but only 10-6 this year) have in fixing this huge problem?
Because an organization that according to their General Manager a few years back had ten minor league reliefs arms ready to go and who has spent a tremendous amount of assets attempting to the solidify the bullpen since STILL HAS a shaky relief staff.
And how did the two trades Dombrowski made LAST YEAR for bullpen help work out for Detroit? Well, David Pauley is currently pitching for the Angels in Anaheim and David Purcey is in the Phillis minor league system.
A hard-thrower (with sporadic offspeed control) who could be inserted late in games and have the ability to pitch MULTIPLE innings might be something of great value to a team that has ALREADY blown six leads after the seventh inning this season.
As counterintuitive as it might seem, the answer to the Tigers piss-poor bullpen might be one of their struggling starters.
Someone please send me a Tweet when this idea gets jacked by Valenti.