Say It Aint So

Apparently, Klinsmann didn't want the job.

A mere two days after a story leaked about the US talking to Klinsmann, Sunil Gulati offered a four year extension to incumbent Bob Bradley. I suppose Gulati is content with more of the same. He likely thought a change in coach would simply be change-for-change's-sake. Often the change-for-change's-sake ends in disaster (see: Millen, Matt). Yet, it's occasionally necessary for a team to reach the next level (see: Brown, Larry).

The US team is in a precarious position. The core of the team - Donovan and Dempsey - will be in their early 30s for the next World Cup. The heart of the backline, Oguchi Onyewu, still has not recovered from his torn patellar tendon from a year ago, and the bright young striker, Charlie Davies, may never recover from his near-fatal car crash. Perhaps the best thing about the current US roster is Bob's son, Michael, who, at age 23, has shown signs of becoming a world-class central midfielder. The cupboard is relatively bare.

Jozy Altidore may fare well against Concacaf opposition but struggles mightily against the big boys of Europe. Tim Howard should be fine in net by 2014, but who will play in front of him? The US youth ranks suffered a major drop since the halcyon days of Freddy Adu. There's no Neymar waiting in the wings:

Now, I don't want to give the impression that the sky is falling. The US team does have its share of young talent entering their prime - Benny Feilhaber, Stuart Holden, Maurice Edu, etc. The problem is that the team has no balance. They're a team of midfielders, without a single playmaker in the lot. The defense remains in shambles. And to make matters worse, teams that retain managers for a 2nd World Cup tend to fail miserably on their second trip (see France, Italy 2010 or USA 2006). There's no simple reason for this dip in form, except that teams may become complacent with the same manager. I expect Bob's team to suffer the same fate.

The US benefited from a great draw this time around. With an aging team, an unimaginative coach, and a likely more difficult draw, the US will be lucky to get a point in 2014. It'll be a repeat of 2006. It's entirely possible that Klinsmann would suffer the same fate, but I maintain he'd at least breath some new life into this roster. Perhaps he'd also teach the forwards a thing or two about scoring. Just a thought.

¡Ay Dios Mio!

Papa Grande's more of a Big Potato lately.

Like most of his fellow Tigers, the Big Potato has struggled mightily since the All-star break. The numbers say it all:

Pre-All-star -- 0.92 ERA

Post-All-star -- 7.80 ERA

Eesh. Now, it hasn't been all bad. The Big Potato did sprinkle in a few fine games in between his flare-ups. One thing remains consistent, though - The Big Potato does not fare well outside of the 9th inning. If you've followed the Tigers at all this season, you know that. I'd imagine Jim Leyland, who hopefully follows the Tigers as much as I do, would recognize this. But yesterday he once again called on Valverde in the 8th inning. The Tigers had 2-run lead. Perry started the 8th, notching 2 outs while allowing a single. The man on first immediately stole second once Valverde took the mound. Then he gave up a double. 3-2. Then another double. 3-3. Then a wild pitch. So, the winning run was now on 3rd. Valverde dug deep and got that final out to end the threat.

But the damage was done. The Tigers could not score another run. Brennen Boesch had a chance to be a hero with two outs, man-on-second in the 10th. Pop-up. Then Laird was up with 1 out, man-on-second in the 11th. Double play. Eesh. The Royals won it on a home run in the 12th.

So the Era of Good Feelings (i.e. the last five games) is now finished. The Tigers head back on the road where they've had as much success as Biff with Lorraine at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. For a few fleeting moments, it appeared the Tigers might crawl above .500, but, alas, they're back to one game under.

The Tigers are nine games behind the Twins. While they're not mathematically out of if, they are at least mentally out it. After losing to the Twins in such glorious fashion last year (and, it seems, every year), the Tigers would need to believe they can make a run. I doubt there's a single player on that team who truly believes they have a shot. So, I just hope the Tigers play respectable ball the rest of the way. I hope Austin Jackson remains a solid lead-off guy. I hope Boesch rediscovers his swing and nails that game-winner at some point. I hope Cabrera continues his tear. And I hope Porcello settles into a groove. Those young players could provide a solid foundation for 2011, where the Tigers have significant money to spend.

What if?

Where have ye gone, Robert Fick?
Imagine a world with no free agency or trades... where teams drafted players, and those players stayed with the same team throughout their career. What would the Tigers' roster look like? How would it compare to the bevy of free agents and traded commodities that comprise the current roster? Let's take a look...

(Players in BOLD appeared in at least one All-star game)

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Catcher: Alex Avila (.214, 5 HR, 20 RBI)

1B: Jeff Larish (waived this season - picked up by Oakland - 3 AB, 0 Hits)

2B: Will Rhymes (.320, 0 HR, 6 RBI)

SS: Omar Infante (Traded to Cubs, now with Atlanta, having career year - .350, 6 HR, 35 RBI)

3B: Brandon Inge (.262, 8 HR, 50 RBI)

OF: Curtis Granderson (Traded to Yanks, disappointing season to date - .244, 13 HR, 38 RBI)

OF: Andres Torres (Released by Tigers, eventually landing with Giants - .284, 13 HR, 51 RBI)

OF: Cody Ross (Traded to Dodgers, now with Giants - .267, 11 HR, 58 RBI)

DH: Brennen Boesch (.273, 14 HR, 59 RBI)

SP: Justin Verlander (14-8, 3.65 ERA)

SP: Jair Jurrjens (Traded to Braves - 5-4, 3.91 ERA)

SP: Rick Porcello (5-11, 5.76 ERA)

SP: Jeff Weaver (Traded to Yankees, now with Dodgers - 5-1, 5.35 ERA)

SP: Luke French (Traded to Mariners - 2-4, 4.57 ERA)

RP: Ryan Perry (2-4, 4.29 ERA, 15 Holds)

RP: Joel Zumaya (2-1, 2.58 ERA, 1.1 WHIP, 11 Holds)

RP: Fernando Rodney (4-1, 3.91 ERA, 21 Holds)

Closer: Francisco Cordero (Traded to Rangers where he starred, now with Reds - 3-4, 3.83 ERA, 34 Saves (284 career saves))

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Let's skip the position players for a moment. The starting pitchers are not horrible. Verlander is one of top 10 pitchers in the AL. Jurrjens is an okay #2. Porcello has potential to be very good. Weaver and French are currently long-relievers but my guess is that they'd be starters on the Tigers. I'd have no problem seeing either French or Weaver take Bonderman's spot. Galarraga is probably a notch above both Weaver and French, though it's not by much. From a talent standpoint, the starting 5 are not terribly different than the current roster.

The bullpen is also about the same. Rodney and Coke are comparable, as are Cordero and Valverde. Cordero's had an amazing career (3-time All-star). Valverde, meanwhile, is younger and may eventually reach Cordero's heights.

So the pitching staff is fair. They're not a playoff caliber staff by any means, but at least they are legit major league players. I wish I could say the same for...

The position players. Try as I might, I could not find a single quality first baseman that was discovered by the Tigers. In this bizarro baseball world, my guess is that Jeff Larish would be the starter (or perhaps out-of-baseball Eric Munson). On the plus-side, Infante and Inge get the bold treatment, but, to be fair, both were controversial All-star picks. Inge made it in on the strength of the final spot online vote. Inge and Infante, though, are definite MLB-caliber players. The jury is still out on Rhymes. The outfield is a bit of a mess, with only Curtis Granderson as a certified good player. Cody Ross and Andres Torres are journeymen at best. Both, however, are more MLB-ready than Don Kelly, Ryan Raburn, or Casper Wells.

As for DH, the best option was Brennen Boesch. I like the kid's bat, but he's obviously unproven. This Tiger team would be decent defensively, but absolutely woeful at the plate. The simple truth is they have no sluggers. Boesch may eventually become a consistent RBI producer, but he's extremely green. They're a lineup of middling bats and heavy strikeouts.

So what can I conclude from all this?

For one thing, Tiger fans should be thankful for Dave Dombrowski. He's had his share of crappy picks and trades, but this team was in absolute shambles when he took over. Looking at the pre-Dombrowski drafts is laughable. The Tigers missed on every single pick, from the 1st round on down. Dombrowski's drafts focused almost exclusively on pitchers and that shows. His position players are weak, but he's had moderate-to-good success with the arms (Verlander, Zoom, Porcello).

The players from the pre-Dombrowski era are mostly out of baseball. Those guys would be in their late 20s and 30s right now - the backbone of the team. Dombrowski had to scrape and claw to fill the massive holes in the roster. To lure players to Detroit, he had to pay and often over-pay. So it's no wonder the Tigers payroll is so absurd. Without homegrown talent, you're stuck with expensive free agents. If DD failed to do this, the Tigers would be the Royals... or, more pointedly, the early-2000s Tigers.

Moving forward, Dombrowski must improve his success rate for position players. He nailed one pick with Curtis Granderson, but the jury is out on all the rest. This year's team is paying the price for that complete lack of depth.

Dombrowski catches a lot of heat for the trades that brought Sheffield and Renteria into town. Those were mistakes for sure, but he shouldn't slow down. Dombrowski hits as often as he misses. Cabrera for Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin seems like an absolute steal at this point. He also plucked Galarraga for next to nothing. And, while it's still early, the trade that brought in Austin Jackson, Max Scherzer, and Phil Coke seems like savvy deal that'll save the club millions while still improving the talent.

DD's not perfect, but he did turn the franchise into a player on the MLB-scene. Despite a salary cap and league-mandated parity, the Lions have yet to reach that level.

The house of cards that is an exhibition win

What does a pre-season win mean?

On the surface, it means nothing. If 2008 taught us anything, it's that the pre-season win has absolutely no bearing on the team's ability to win in the regular season. Even in the 1st quarter, when starters are pitted against starters, most reams run ho-hum plays, preferring to save the real plays for when it counts. Yet, I won't go so far as to call the pre-season completely worthless.

If your starters regularly get pounded in the pre-season, it's likely they'll get pounded in the regular season too. So the pre-season can't identify actual talent, but it can expose weakness.

On Saturday, the Lions beat the Broncos. Folks in Detroit want to love the Lions but most have been burned too much to exhibit any true belief. Once bitten, twice shy no longer applies. For Lions fans, it's one thousand times bitten, permanently numb. So that's how we approach every season. We're happy that Matt Stafford looks like a capable, even occasionally good, quarterback. We're thrilled that Jahvid Best can outrun 300 lb linemen to the corner. We might even smile when Dre Bly picks off an errant pass and returns it 50 yards, juking and dodging like the poor man's Deion. But these are still the Lions.

Kyle Orton still had little difficulty finding an open receiver. The defense still collected a barrage of penalties. And, most importantly, they've still only won two times in the past thirty-two games. So, pardon me while I go puke in my mouth once again. Don't fool yourself that this team is any different than the historically bad teams that bore Bubbles on their helmets in years past. Don't fall prey to the foolish belief that the offense will be "explosive." Don't believe any hype until they prove it in the regular season. It's like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Once you fall asleep, the Lions will replace your body with the Spielman-jersey-wearing Slappie from Section 112. Don't fall asleep, nofrown readers. Stay awake. Even if you're the last man and woman on Earth who know the truth, don't give in!!!

WDFN - WTF?

I realize that I'm not completely dialed-in to the pulse of the metro Detroit sportsfan, but I am still very confused by the talk radio content. The past 3 days I've listened to WDFN (via iheartradio) during my morning commute. This amounts to about 120 minutes of WDFN time over the past3 days. That would be August 18-20. The dog days of summer, indeed. 120 minutes of listening and I received 119 minutes of discussion of RichRod and the state of the Michigan football team.

I realize that the Tigers have faded from relevance faster than Lindsay Lohan's acting career, but there was one mention today of the score from yesterday's baseball game. That's it. Over the course of 3 days, I didn't hear a single mention of Lion's training camp, the potential new owner(s) of the Pistons, anything about the Red Wings - or, for that matter, any news out of East Lansing.

Someone please help me - is this really the most interesting topic on the minds of the Detroit sportsfan? Is the all encompassing topic whether Tate Forcier has wings on his helmet? There has to be more - there has to be!

Odds and Ends

Boesch had 9 at-bats since I made the post below. He managed 1 hit and 4 strikeouts. For the month, Boesch is hitting .140 with a ghastly .183 on-base percentage.

Earlier this month, the Tigers considered sending him down to the minors, and they were praised for letting him fight through the slump. The folks that want him in the minors, cite Porcello and Scherzer as examples of players who benefited greatly from the short stint in Toledo. The folks that want him to stay in the D say the Tigers are too thin and need every bat possible.

The fact of the matter is this... Boesch is too valuable to keep in Detroit. The move to Toledo may cripple his confidence but is it any worse than a .140 batting average? Toledo doesn't have many games remaining. The Tigers need to move on this now. Get the kid down in Triple-A - away from the spotlight. After the initial disappointment wears off, perhaps he'll rediscover his swing. If not, bring him up after the Triple-A season ends, as a utility player. Maybe he'll get hot at the end of the month and make a run for Rookie-of-the-Year honors.

Besides, there's another lefty outfielder who may be catching heat as we speak - Andy Dirks. He's an 8th round pick from 2008, but he's slowly picked up steam. Dirks moved up from AA a few weeks ago, and - in 13 games with the Mud Hens - is hitting .346 with 11 RBIs. Maybe he's got the goods too. Who knows? The Tigers don't have much to lose since they're out of the race.

Inge-ured

In other news, Brandon Inge's days as a Tiger may be numbered. The Tigers may trade him to the Braves or Cardinals. This would be a great move for the Tigers since they may actually get something for nothing. To replace Inge, the Tigers would likely move Peralta to 3rd and Danny Worth to SS. Worth isn't quite the homerun threat as Inge, but he also strikes out less - Inge Ks roughly 25% of the time vs 12% for Worth. So, the Tigers lose a bit of power with this move, but they improve defensively. And they'll also receive a player or players from the Braves or Cards. An Inge-rental for 6 weeks wouldn't command a huge bounty, but it may yield bullpen help or perhaps a decent prospect.

Peralta's Millions

A brief update on the Tigers financial situation for next season. Last week, I posted that the Tigers have $55M committed in salary next season. That remains true. If, however, they wish to retain Jhonny Peralta, he'd be due $7M. So, the Tigers are more likely looking at $62M in salaries before they go shopping to bolster their catcher, outfield, and SS (or 3B) positions.

The curious case of Brennen Boesch

It's no secret the Tigers have struggled since the All-star break. They took 2 of 3 against the White Sox over the weekend, but it's just too little, too late. The hole they dug with their 7-22 record out of the second half gate is simply too big. No player better represents that struggle than 1st half wunderkind - Brennen Boesch.

Back in those wondrous mid-July days, Tiger fans lamented Boesch's exclusion from the All-star team. His stats were that grand, and Boesch had a legitimate gripe. I was quietly relieved, thinking Boesch would benefit more from the 3 days off. I had seen prior Tiger All-stars completely unravel after the All-star break, as recently as last year's Brandon Inge. (In hindsight, I'm simply astounded Inge actually made an All-star team) I figured Boesch's offensive surge would continue in the 2nd half since he had extra motivation with the All-star snub. Unfortunately, the opposite happened.

On July 9th, I wrote: Tiger fans keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Brennen to hit an Inge-like dryspell. So far, he's stayed hot. He's hitting .341, with 12 HR, and 47 RBI.

The Inge-like dryspell hit... and hit hard. His 2nd half numbers are abysmal - .121 BA, 2 HR, 6 RBI. By contrast, another favorite whipping boy, Ryan Raburn, hit .278, 4 HR, 16 RBI in that span. What the heck went wrong? One glance at yesterday's box score might provide one clue. He was hitless in 3 at-bats and only saw 4 pitches. Perhaps to rekindle his earlier glory, Boesch reverted to clobbering that opening pitch. Obviously, teams learned his tendency to bomb that opening pitch and adapted. The previous game, Boesch had 4 at-bats, all strikeouts. He seems to be a step behind. What he needs to do... and what the hitting coaches better be telling him... is that he needs to always be patient. Wait for your pitch. And then clobber it. If you miss it, fine. But the hitting philosophy in the major leagues ain't much different than Little League. If kids swing at pitches in the dirt, they're going to strike out. If they're patient and wait for a pitch over the plate, their chance of success increases dramatically.

That's the Cabrera philosophy. You can tell he waits and waits at the plate. I've never seen such a fantastic 2-strike hitter. Often, he'll fall behind 0-2 and foul off pitch after pitch without ever seeing a ball. He simply protects the plate and waits for the pitcher to throw one where he's expecting it. Now, Cabrera is a one-in-a-million talent, and we can't expect Boesch to mimic his numbers. But he should mimic his approach. I've seen Boesch exhibit patience at the plate. That should be his approach 100% of the time.

He may not get the power back this season. Hitting streaks are simply too fickle. But we've all seen his potential, and the kid should be groomed for a long career as a Tiger. Let this slump be a learning experience as opposed to a testament to his deficiencies. His ability to work out of a slump will be as important a skill as hitting a 3-run bomb. But he needs his help, and that's why the team has coaches. I just hope they're doing their job.