DETROIT TIGERS – 2008 SEASON PREVIEW – PART II – PITCHERS

Posted by bigD | March 31, 2008 .

Monday is a day I’ve been waiting for forever it seems. Finally, baseball is back. Last time you were graced with the Big D’s presence I talked about the Tigers and their amazing starting nine. Well, now it’s time to dive into the pitching staff and although the relievers are questionable, the starting staff should be a force to be reckoned with if they stay healthy. On that note, here is a “healthy” article on the Detroit Tigers and what I think about most of their 2008 pitching staff…

STARTERS

JUSTIN VERLANDER – He’s won an unbelievable 35 games in his first two seasons (18-6, 3.66 and 8-1 in daytime games in 2007) and he’s got simply overpowering stuff. His pure velocity and longevity with it is unparalleled. His 2007 no-hitter over the Brewers (he threw 102 in the 9^th) made a tremendous statement to the rest of the MLB. Verlander throws a dominating fastball, a nasty 12 to 6 deuce and a change-up that he disguises very well which sets up the fastball and just plain dominates hitters. With Bonderman’s inconsistencies, Robertson’s inability to separate himself from .500, Willis’ bad spring and the failure of Rogers to stay healthy, the ace job is now Verlander’s and Detroit couldn’t have a more talented guy leading the way. Lookout baseball, there’s a new Tiger in town and his stuff is just plain nasty. Indeed, the future of Detroit baseball and maybe the entire MLB belongs to the young phenom, Justin Verlander.

KENNY ROGERS – The Gambler is all about 2 things – pitching at home (3.34 ERA at home vs. 5.79 on the road) and staying healthy. Rogers only had 11 starts last season due to elbow and shoulder injuries but obviously, age had a lot to do with it. Rogers’ injury was just another factor that led to the downfall of Detroit’s 2007 season. Rogers doesn’t throw very hard but he’s a talented, smart veteran who works the ball inside and out trying to throw off hitters and their timing. The idea is to keep hitters guessing as he’s done successfully throughout his career. Rogers is also one of the best fielding pitchers ever and supplies terrific up the middle defense when he pitches. Due to the leadership of this ageless veteran, how the players on this team continue to admire and lookup to him, and due to his ability to still get the job done when healthy, he is still a very important piece to the 2008 puzzle. Can Rogers’ 43 year old body continue to get the job done for yet another season? Although it’s a gamble to think Rogers will last the entire season injury free the fact remains…NEVER BET AGAINST THE GAMBLER!

JEREMY BONDERMAN – He’s by far one of the biggest question marks on this ball club. Why is it that “BONDO” has such a terrible time getting out of the first inning of most games he pitches? His 11.57 ERA in the first inning says it all. That plus, Bonderman has also demonstrated the last 2 seasons an inability to stay healthy. He was 10-1 at least season’s all-star break and finished the year at 11-9. For his overall talent and ability, that’s obviously unacceptable but his collapse proved that something just wasn’t right. As it turned out, “BONDO” was diagnosed with a pinched cartilage in his right elbow and ended up being put on the shelf on Sept. 5^th. It was at that point where I basically figured the Tigers’ chances of making the 2007 playoffs were over. Bonderman is as important to this team as Verlander and absolutely MUST stay healthy in 2008 for Detroit to return to the playoffs. Like Verlander, Bonderman is simply overpowering. The problem with Jeremy is that, unlike Verlander he really doesn’t have much of a pitch selection. His fastball is only a 90-95 mph pitch and he certainly can’t live or die with it, thus, he must rely on his devastating slider which is clearly one of the most dominating single pitches in the MLB. A hitter can know it’s coming and still look foolish. Bonderman has also been working on improving his changeup but hasn’t had much confidence in it in the past. He’s been throwing it a lot this spring so who knows. “BONDO” is a very competitive pitcher who can get on a role with his slider and dominate, but he can also get rattled very easily and lose his confidence. Make no mistakes about it though, when “BONDO” is on his game, he has the ability to be one of the best in baseball. If him and Verlander get hot this season, man, LOOKOUT!

NATE ROBERTSON – He’s a prototypical 4^th or 5^th starter on a ball club but no better then that. I don’t believe Nate has lived up to potential yet and I am worried he may never do so. His 9-13 and 4.76 ERA stats in 2007 were nowhere near what he’s capable of but it’s really hard to say what his best is since it’s rarely been seen. Nate is basically a fastball, slider, change-up pitcher who relies on fly-outs more then anything else. The problem I have with him is there always seems to be too many base-runners whenever he pitches and he tends to get rattled by them. Nate can be a quality deep rotation starter again, if he stays healthy and doesn’t lose his focus. The thing is, he’ll get a lot of run support this season, more then he’s ever gotten before and that could be all the difference.

DONTRELLE WILLIS – Talk about a disappointing spring. Even he has admitted that on occasion and it’s forced Jim Leyland to name him the 5^th starter and go from there. If it’s the Willis of old this season he’ll clearly be the best 5^th starter in the league but after this spring, who knows what “D-TRAIN” we’ll see. At 10-15 and a 5.17 ERA last year it was clearly his worst season thus far and some are worried he may never get back to the dominating pitcher he once was. That being said, Willis must be given some credit. After all, no one would have succeeded on last year’s Florida Marlin team and he’ll get much more run support this season playing in Detroit. The good thing about Willis is he usually stays healthy (something that Detroit’s starters haven’t been able to do) and has logged 3 straight seasons with 200 innings pitched. With Willis, it’s all about mechanics. Hitters often have a tough time picking him up because of his herky jerky movements and high leg kick. He’ll ride his fastball all day long if it’s working by sinking it, cutting it and forcing hitters to hit it at someone. He’s got a slow moving slurve and change-up but again, with “D-TRAIN” it’s really all about deception. If he’s fooling hitters he’s on top of his game. Dontrelle is really the wild card for 2008 and what Dontrelle we see in big games against Cleveland and Minnesota could help dictate the season the Tigers are about to have.

RELIEVERS

TODD JONES – He had a typical Todd Jones type season overall with a 4.26 ERA but he did have 38 saves and now ranks 20^th on the all-time saves list with 301. He had a great 2^nd half of the year taking 16 of 18 save attempts and a 2.88 ERA after the all-star break. Jones is one of the rare breeds of closers in that he won’t intimidate or overpower you. He simply throws to dare you to hit his types of pitches and hit it at someone on the ground. He relies mostly on his fastball and he’s at his best when his fastball is moving at its best. He also has a slow dropping curveball and the occasional change-up but because his stuff isn’t overpowering and dominant, he just won’t have it on some nights and will blow his share of save opportunities and he’ll give you heart attacks even when he does convert saves. Jones is a great team guy, a great competitor and certainly doesn’t get rattled or scared out there. At least you know what you’re going to get out of him and as long as he holds up age wise, he’ll still get a lot of save opportunities and saves since this Tiger team will score a lot. Love him or hate him, he’s still one of the important core players on this Tiger team and no doubt about it, “JONESIE” bleeds navy-blue and white.

JOEL ZUMAYA – The single most important Detroit Tiger of them all for many reasons. His mere presence alone is intimidating. Whenever he takes the mound it’s not about a simple pitcher about to throw for an inning, it’s an event. The crowd stands up and cheers as Jimi Hendrix’ “VOODOO CHILD” blares and out comes the big 103 mph hurler, “ZOOM, ZOOM.” Plus, it looks great for your team when a guy comes in and says, “Here, hit this,” and tries to blow it right by the opposition. That being said, in Zumaya we have another Tiger who just plain can’t stay healthy. Joel’s injuries are just plain stupid mishaps though. I guess I can understand the box falling on his shoulder when trying to save some valuables from his house in the California wildfires (although it’s an unlikely injury) incident but a sprained wrist from too much Guitar Hero? Zumaya’s importance to this team can’t be fathomed. We can only hope he stays injury free when he gets back in mid-season. Joel has a tremendous fastball with great late life, a quick moving 12 to 6 curveball and an occasional change-up but when he throws so bloody hard he can survive on two pitches as long as he’s throwing strikes. Control is sometimes an issue for him. Zumaya is so unpredictable, young and restless that he’s downright exciting and something the fans always want to see when they go to the ballpark. Depending on the Tigers and their bullpen issues throughout the year, this is one guy they may need desperately at mid-season. To go as far as the Tigers are predicted to, without a doubt, “Zoom, Zoom” must be back ASAP.

FERNANDO RODNEY – What a shock! Another Tiger who can’t stay healthy. I don’t know what to say about this guy anymore. One day he looks like gangbusters and then the next he just looks out of his element and rattled easily. He basically has tendonitis everywhere and who knows when he’ll be back? He’s basically a one trick pony a lot like Bonderman in that he’s got one absolutely dominating pitch (his change-up which drops like no change I’ve ever seen) and not much else because of injury problems. When he’s 100% healthy his fastball can reach high 90’s. If he throws with that kind of velocity and has good control to match that’s when you know he’s healthy. Will Rodney ever become the pitcher they thought he’d be after a decent year a couple of seasons ago? Sadly, the world may never know.

OTHERS EXPECTED

DENNY BAUTISTA – He’s had an excellent spring (the only reliever who did) and will likely be the new set-up man for Todd Jones before the return of both Rodney and Zumaya. Apparently Jim Leyland likes him a lot and his spring said it all.

JASON GRILLI – In my opinion, he doesn’t have very consistent stuff but he’ll get enough chances in THIS bullpen. He can log innings in middle relief and despite being inconsistent and not exactly a fan favorite, he can still get 3 outs. He had a real shaky season last year and must bounce back this year to prove he still belongs as an important player and personality on this team.

YORMAN BAZARDO – He has no consistency but they say he’s smart with a lot of ability, good stuff and he knows how to pitch. It’s just a matter of performing all the time and not just some of it.

ZACH MINER - He’ll be a very important piece to the puzzle simply because he’s an ex-starter who will be able to log a lot of innings as usual. He’s more of a sinker ball pitcher who tries to get ground balls. He won’t blow you away but compared to the other names in this bullpen he’s a step up simply because if he’s on a role he can throw for awhile. His value is also high due to the fact that if a starter gets injured (and they probably will knowing their background) Miner can fill in for them. In my opinion, the loss of Chad Durbin to free agency was huge for that reason which is why Miner must have a good year whether he starts or relieves.

BOBBY SEAY – Again, a very important pitcher since Detroit waived another situational lefty in Tim Byrdak. Seay will be the main lefthander coming out of the bullpen and his job won’t exactly be easy in facing hitters such as Sizemore, Hafner and Thome with runners on base at the game’s midpoint.

OUTLOOK

There will likely be other pitchers off and on throughout the season who will be brought up and sent down as the Tigers try to find some kind of consistency and rhythm out of their bullpen cast. The overall outlook without Rodney and Zumaya looks bleak at this point. That being said, as long as the starting pitching and starting nine stay healthy they won’t really need the bullpen much anyway. The pitching of Todd Jones is absolutely crucial. If he keeps consistency, the Tigers will. That being said, there will be many games that the offense will spot this bullpen 4-5 runs which will certainly take the pressure off. On most teams, I’d be worried. VERY WORRIED. On this team, it’s a different story since our Tigers have one of the best offenses on paper ever. The amount of runs the bullpen receives combined with the returns of Rodney and Zoom Zoom combined with the outings of Todd Jones will determine the outcome of this below average bullpen. Please Zoom, Zoom…COME BACK SOON!!!

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DETROIT TIGERS – 2008 SEASON PREVIEW – PART II – PITCHERS

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