Vince Ellis
Hitting has me worried
Jul 10, 2006
You can pretty much start making postseason reservations for your Tigers.
With a 59-29 mark at the All-Star break and the Yankees’ injury woes, it would take a monumental collapse for Comerica Park not to be rocking come October.
But there is one thing that concerns Vee about this edition of the Tigers.
Naw, we ain’t talking about the stellar starting pitching. With five arms, the Tigers have an embarrassment of wealth when it comes to its starting rotation. I don’t expect rookie Justin Verlander to come back to earth, because the Tigers are treating his arm tenderly, not unnecessarily working him.
And it’s not the defense. This is the area where manager Jim Leyland’s influence is really paying off. Just like his previous stops, the defense is first-rate.
And it’s not the bullpen. Yeah, yeah, I know Todd Jones doesn’t exactly do a good job of calming nerves when he enters the game. But answers to the closing situation are on the roster. If Jones falters, Leyland can turn to Joel Zumaya or Fernando Rodney.
Naw, the area of the team that prevents these Tigers from being legit contenders for a world championship is the lineup.
From 1-9, the Tigers have pop with Brandon Inge (17 HRs) and Chris Shelton (16 HRs) providing thunder at the bottom of the lineup.
But look at some key indicators of good hitting. Inge is batting a woeful .221 with 79 strikeouts. Everybody remembers the struggles of Shelton a month ago when he was mired in horrific slump.
Look at Pudge Rodriguez. He is batting a solid .308, but he only has 12 walks.
There are other numbers I could recite, but they show a team that can be pitched to. I’m just not confident that the lineup as currently construed will be able to hit good pitching in the playoffs.
But if they get Alfonso Soriano ...
Comment by BILL | 07/11/06 at 8:33 AM
your article is like a cold drink in the face,a rude awakening,but I agree with you 100%.just watch how the Tigers struggle right now with the hurlers of Boston the White Sox and the Angels and you can see the problem you so speak.if they dont learn to get base hits with regularity against good pitchers they are doomed I hate to say, in the playoffs.
Comment by Adam Sefcheck | 07/11/06 at 9:02 AM
I know u think the Tigers hitting is not there, but u need to look at what they have done this year. Do not get them down, they have done an outstanding job, because a different guy comes to play every night and no matter what they get the job done. So stop trying to talk crap about the Tigers, when every Tigers fan should be living a dream right now. We need to keep this up though, the season is not over and we know that the Yankees will make a run. The good thing is that the White Sox are right on our tale, because that will keep us playing hard.
Comment by Ben Pitts | 07/11/06 at 9:06 AM
Vee, from what I've seen lately you're absolutely right on the money. Maybe a few words of wisdom from the book on hitting by the Great Ted Williams might cure their poor hitting situation.The one I remeber was wait for your pitch and you better not miss it.
Comment by Chadrock | 07/11/06 at 9:52 AM
I agree about the hitting, but pitching and defense win championships. No, I don't think the Tigers will win the World Series in 06, but with argueably the best pitching in baseball, they could fare well if/when they get into post season.
I am still looking at the wild card slot as the Tigers' destination, as they have not consistantly won against other good teams in the American League. The remaining series versus Chicago will make the difference.
Comment by Noel Clarin | 07/11/06 at 9:59 AM
Yes, lately it is looking more and more like a concern. I guess I look at it like they have at least been consistant in baseball sense. Besides Shelton and Monroe, not many of our Tigers individual offensive production has really changed from the beginning of the year expectations. I know guys like Thames and Granderson have picked up the slack but...Heck, the Yankees, Red Sox and Cardinals last year boast three of the best offenses in the game and look where they ended up. In other words, timely hitting and good pitching wins in the Post Season. In the Tigers case they are what about one good hitter away, RIGHT...hard to tell when you have the best RECORD in the league.
Comment by Evan Luczak | 07/11/06 at 11:15 AM
The Tigers are missing only one key element, a veteran left handed bat, who can get hits in clutch situations. Up until a few years ago that was all they had on the team, in Bobby Higginson. If only we had him back, and he was able to play his best ball, I think he would fit in great with this team and be exactly what they need.
Comment by Hunter | 07/11/06 at 11:30 AM
Hey I think we need a good hitter like Alfonso Soriono to win the World series. But, the tigers hitting is in trouble right now but I feel that Jim Leyland will give them a jump start like at the beggining of the season. So even if we dont get a good hitter the tigers might not get a ring but they'll defenently be in the World
series contending.
Comment by Chris Mykrantz | 07/11/06 at 11:56 AM
I think you're right to be a bit concerned. Are they leading the league in hitting? No. But they're not dead last either, like they have been in recent years, and I don't think they need to be in the Top Five in team BA to make the playoffs. It could possibly keep them out of the ALCS, if they don't add a left-handed bat with a bit more pop. But all year this team has been fortunate to get timely hits more often than not. When your number two hitter (Polanco) leads the league in BA with runners in scoring position and your number nine hitter hits .230 but knocks in nearly 50 runs by the All-Star break, it means they're doing a good job of situational hitting, which, combined with solid pitching, is what wins ballgames. A deal for Bobby Abreu wouldn't hurt, and with Maroth coming off the DL in the next several weeks and Zach Miner pitching as well as he has, the Tigers have a lot of options to entice the Phils into parting with him. Abreu hasn't hit well so far this season, but a change of scene might do the trick. And Abreu, not Soriano, would be the preferred option. Soriano is a defensive liability, and the last thing you want to do is sit Polanco, who doesn't strike out, for Soriano, who strikes out a lot.
Comment by John Makuch | 07/11/06 at 12:48 PM
As a life-long Tigers fan currently living in Kansas City (Is there a worse place to be a baseball fan now?), it is refeshing to actually look forward to the scores crawling across ESPN every night. Although. until the Tigers are consistently competitive with the Sox, both Red and White, and the Yankees, etc., it is hard to get too excited yet. Their hitting seems to be an issue, but the potential clubhouse effects must also be a factor in picking up another hitter at this point of the season. Team chemistry is important and no hitter is worth the dusruption of what is shaping up to be a "magical" season.
Comment by Robert | 07/11/06 at 1:38 PM
I totally agree and sum it up as TOO MANY BAD ABATS. Not getting the runner from 2nd to 3rd with nobody out. Not getting the runner in from 3rd with less than two outs and TOO many strike outs on pitches out of the strike zone...Even above their heads some times.
Comment by Delicious Anagonye | 07/11/06 at 2:42 PM
Wow, "Vee": You've come a long way since the days at the LSJ when your razor broke and you grew a hair scarf! Your readership is impressive. I'll be checking back on this site often.
Comment by Marty | 07/11/06 at 6:25 PM
You are talking about Soriano, but he doesn't know how to take a walk either, plus he is a terrible defender (maybe that is a little harsh, but he isn't good).
Abreu would be much better of course, since he does all of the things that the tigers lack, and does them well (he has a great OBP, and is a fantastic base runner.) But I would rather that they didn't get Soriano, because while what he does well he does VERY well, he has all of the same problems that the rest of the team has.
-Marty
Comment by Rick Deez | 07/11/06 at 9:59 PM
I agree you as well. The Tigs need to buckle down at the plate and focus. As Robert mentioned, nothing frustrates me as a fan more than watching Monroe, Shelton, Inge, and ocassionally Pudge swinging through fastballs up and out of the zone. But lets not overlook the class A pitching in the central and east. Very tough. The way I see it, as long as our starting 5 keep up their dominance, the hitting should be good enough to get us to the post and if we're blessed enough to get the Series than forget it. We all saw how we mopped up the best of the NL during interleague.
Comment by Matt | 07/12/06 at 2:35 AM
Your totally right about everything. You nailed everything on the head especially about our hitting woes.
But bad hitting does mean we cant contend in the postseason. Look at the 2005 White Sox. An excellent pitching staff anchored by a medicore offense. They also had great defense.
This is what the Tigers have. Great pitching and defense, backed by a medicore offense. Just like the 2005 World Champs.
Jim Leyland has been in the postseason alot in his career. He's a proven manager and another reason why the Tigers will contend in the postseason...
About the complaining about the walks on this team. This team is a hitting team. We're not going to get on base by walking, we want to feel like we earned it by lining a base hit to center. In almost every game the Tigers outhit their opponents...
And adding Alfonso Soriano won't do us any good. One whole player won't change this team especially an outfielder. And we'll have to overpay for him, sending our awesome pitching prospects to Washington, which I don't want to see happening.
Check out my website at www.det4eva.blogspot.com
Comment by Joe | 07/26/06 at 3:28 PM
I listened and looked at much of the Tigers' game today. In my mind, it was one of the most significant games the Tigers have won. I usually listen to and view the games. I got so turned off toward the end of the game today that I just turned the television off. Those three commentators, and I don't even remember their names, had the adacity to hold an at length conversation about the Yankees. You have the winniest team in baseball about to beat one of the best oppontents in baseball and you elect to talk about the Yankees. This is an excellent opportunity for ESPN to lower its overhead. Go to New York fellows. Send them ESPN.
Joe Sanders, Jr.
Comment by Online Sports Betting | 07/26/06 at 10:55 PM
yup their hitting has me worried too!
Comment by Online Sportsbooks | 07/26/06 at 10:57 PM
Dont worry about it, i already made my post-season reservations! Go Tigers!
Comment by Brian Kennedy | 09/12/06 at 4:04 PM
L-E-T-S G-O T-I-G-E-R-S
I have a challenge for all you Tiger fans that are lucky enough and can get in to a game at Comerica for the rest of the season (and into October) DON'T WAIT FOR THE LATER INNINGS OR UNTIL A RALLY STARTS...START SCREAMING FROM THE MINUTE YOU GET INTO THE PARK. GET THE LEAD OUT AND THE TIGERS WILL RESPOND...IT WORKS! I don't care if you have laryngitis for a month afterwards; it'll be worth it, won't it? That dern noise dome in Minnesota gives them the edge at home; we all know it. LET the players know you're there. They're obviously less affected by Jim L now, LET THEM BE AFRAID OF YOU. Don't let them OFF THE HOOK NOW. Scream your head off that they should get up off their butts and hit. Years ago I came late to the stadium. It was in the third and they were down a few runs. I couldn't believe it. Everyone was sitting around munching and sipping in complacence. I stood up (I was near the third base foul post) and I started to scream in as high pitch as I could so that it would carry throughout; "GET THE LEAD OUT AND PLAY...LETS GOOOOO!" There was a nervous chuckle in the stands, but I kept it up and within minutes the place was hopping. They went on to win. One person or small group can make a difference.
DO IT!
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