Perry & Porcello

I can't blame Leyland for keeping Perry and Porcello on the roster. Coming out of spring training, Perry had close to a 0 ERA, and Porcello was far superior to his competition (Miner, Robertson, and Willis). And both pitchers have had moments of brilliance last month in the big leagues. Yet, I can't help but think... if the Tigers were a better team, these guys would still be in the minors.

Perry, for instance, can't seem to control either his fastball or curve. His wildness may at times work to his advantage, as the opposition enters the batting box with legitimate fear. Teams are only hitting .160 against him, but he's walked 10 in 8 innings! Another year in the minors would do wonders with helping him develop into a big league reliever. Now, he may settle down this season, but he may also lose confidence. As a 22 year old kid, he needs the proper training, and the Tigers are throwing him to the fire.

Porcello is even younger, but he seems to be closer. Despite an inflated ERA over 6, he's shown quite an impressive array of pitches. He's also exhibited no sign of nerves. Prior to getting shellacked by the Yankees, Porcello's ERA was in the 3s, and I think he'll prove to be quite reliable down the stretch. Yet, like Perry, would one more season in the minors hurt his career? He's 20 years old and is not used to throwing 100 pitches/night. Last year, he was limited to 80. Ideally, they could stretch him out to 90+ this year at Erie or Toledo. But, the Tigers have a desperate need for Porcello right now. They're so desperate for starting pitching, they're actually hoping Dontrelle returns to form (he's in Toledo).

In last week's posting on coaching, I wrote that the coach's job was to put a player in a position to succeed. The Red Wings excel at that because they have the luxury of never rushing a player before he's ready. They allow him to develop at a regular pace, and, in fact, they usually hold him back for at least a year which causes a hunger for the big leagues. Hunger is much better than anxiety, and the Tigers are flirting with two anxious cases.

Rick Porcello

Stats

The Tigers also have one more to add to the list of infamy. Clay Rapada joins the IS% (inherited runners scored) club:

Juan Rincon -- 100%

Clay Rapada -- 100%

Nate Robertson -- 75%

Brandon Lyon -- 63%

Eddie Bonine -- 60%

League Average -- 39%

Bobby Seay -- 20%

Come on people... the Tigers have two relievers allowing 100% of the inherited runners to score! That's incredible. And they have three others allowing over 50%. This is an astounding display of awful relief pitching. Go get 'em Tigers!