Right Off Russell

Many thanks to Ian Casselberry of Bless You Boys, a Detroit Tigers blog, for giving us his take on the state of the Tigers heading into this weeks series with the O’s.

1.  What are your thoughts on the acquisition on Jarrod Washburn?  Any
concerns that Washburn put up good numbers in a pitcher-friendly park
in Seattle and he might not have the same success in Detroit?

I really like the Washburn deal.  Another starting pitcher was
probably the second biggest need the Tigers had at the trade deadline,
and they got the best one available not named Roy Halladay or Cliff
Lee.  He slots in nicely in the third spot in the starting rotation,
giving Detroit three of the top ERAs in the AL.

There’s a little concern that Washburn’s numbers were helped out by
Safeco Field, but Comerica Park is no bandbox.  It’s still a pretty
big park out to left-center and center field, though obviously not as
vast as Seattle’s outfield.  The big problem for the Tigers might be
putting a quality defender in left field when Washburn pitches.  I
wouldn’t be surprised if Clete Thomas moves over there from right
field on Tuesday night.

2.  It seems like the Tigers offense has under performed this year.
What/who have been the main culprits to their struggles?

The easy target is Magglio Ordonez.  A .258/.328/.354 batting line
with virtually no power is not the same player the Tigers have had
over the past three seasons.

But there are so many players who have contributed to the offensive
struggles.  Carlos Guillen has missed most of the season.  Placido
Polanco is hitting far below his career batting average.  Gerald Laird
hasn’t hit well, and appears to be wearing down.  Curtis Granderson
has 22 homers, but isn’t hitting for average, and hasn’t hit to the
gaps and utilized his speed as he has in past seasons.  Even Miguel
Cabrera, whose numbers look good, could hit better in RBI situations.

I could go on and on, really.

3.  With the offensive struggles in mind, are you surprised the Tigers
did not try and get a bat instead of an arm?

I’m not surprised they ended up getting a pitcher, because pitching
seemed to be the more available (and less expensive) resource.  What
Detroit gave up for Washburn wasn’t going to get them a quality
hitter.  And from all accounts, teams like Washington, Baltimore, and
perhaps Toronto wanted far more than the Tigers were willing to give
up for a bat.

But Dave Dombrowski really needed to get some hitting help, and not
being able to come through with that could be the downfall of this
team.  I suppose there’s still time to remedy that, however.

4.  Are there any better top of the rotation combos than Justin
Verlander and Edwin Jackson, right now?

I’m obviously biased, but you’d have a hard time convincing me another
team has a top two that are better.  Are Josh Beckett and Jon Lester
better this season?  Maybe Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain in San
Francisco?

And Jackson’s numbers would look even better if the Tigers’ lineup
didn’t continually fail to score runs for him.

5.  Rick Porcello got off to a fast start, but has seen his ERA
steadily rise over the last 2 months. Is he having trouble adjusting
his 2nd and 3rd time around the league?  What can we expect from him
the rest of the way?

I think a few of us in the Tigers blogosphere were getting ready to
write off Porcello as a meaningful contributor for the rest of the
season.  He just hasn’t been that good, as you pointed out.  However,
his start on Saturday in Cleveland was outstanding, and showed that
maybe he’s going to be a factor, after all.  Especially if he’s now in
the fourth or fifth slot in the starting rotation, and his workload
can be kept in check better.

Maybe other teams began to catch onto the fact that Porcello doesn’t
really have an out pitch and pitches to contact.  But I think his
mechanics also got a little out of whack - notably on his
follow-through - that caused him to leave his off-speed pitches up in
the strike zone.  And those have been the ones getting hit out of the
ballpark.  If he’s smoothed that out, and can keep his sinker down
like he had been earlier in the season, Porcello might be okay.