Why does Jim Leyland keep messing with the good things?

[tigers527]

Scouting Report:
Tigers: After struggling to find innings for Willis pitching out of the bullpen, manager Jim Leyland decided to slot six starters into a five-man rotation by working Willis in a piggy-back role with Armando Galarraga, the guy who replaced him. Willis will get the start, his first since he hyperextended his right knee on April 11. Galarraga, whose 8 1/3 innings his last time out marked the longest start by a Tiger this season, will then follow Willis in relief. It's an unusual move usually seen only in the Minor Leagues, but it's the one way Leyland could work Willis back into rotation without removing another deserving candidate.

We've all sat and watched the Tigers offense get on and off track over and over. The one consistent when the offense gets on track is Jim Leyland almost never repeats the line up the next day.

Now quoted above Leyland is trying this hydra thing for the 5th/6th starters. What the heck is that about, the only good thing going for the Tigers starters this season is Armando Galarraga. Oh well, too much of a good thing I guess? I would figure you could do this but how about doing it with Robertson, and not the one guy to give pretty good starts almost every time out.

[slugger33]

They need to get rid of Nate Robertson.

[DetroitTigers]

Yes I do aggree with as Robertson should be the odd man out not Galarraga. You do need to get Willis back in to the starting rotation. I think this is how the starting rotation should look like.

Justin Verlander
Jeremy Bonderman
Dontrelle Willis
Kenny Rogers
Armando Galarraga

That is just my opinion.

[tigers527]

Yes I do aggree with as Robertson should be the odd man out not Galarraga. You do need to get Willis back in to the starting rotation. I think this is how the starting rotation should look like.

Justin Verlander
Jeremy Bonderman
Dontrelle Willis
Kenny Rogers
Armando Galarraga

That is just my opinion.

Welcome to baseball fever, and I agree. I will not be so hard on Robertson as to say he needs to go, but I think he might actually be well served in the bullpen. Consider, let Robertson "air" it out for a few innings here and there and you might be looking at a 95 MPH fastball and effective secondary pitches. Keeping Robertson in the rotation leaves his fastball @ 92ish, I would not mind seeing him stretched out in the bullpen. Plus he supposedly has that "bulldog" mentality that would serve the BP well.

[baritony]

Look, while there a re number of things not right with the Tigers this year, My BIGGEST complaint of them all is LEYLAND!

He keeps changing things around ALL THE TIME and I believe that this is NOT good.

I still dont understand the whole Guillen at 3rd! I mean, I was told that he played 1st last year to get ready to be our 1st baseman THIS year because of his knees.

Well now he's at 3rd.... how does that position make it any easier on his knees than short.

There was a chemistry btwn Inge and Carlos at 3rd and short, respectively. I see better chemistry btwn Inge and Ramon when they play 3rd and short, respectively!

No dont get me wrong, I like Renteria and Cabrera, but Leyland keeps moving guys ALL OVER. I saw one game where Inge played 3 positions! Moving Rayburn around, Thames outfield to 1st, Joyce left to center, and I remember somebody playing 2nd who plays outfield. I mean come on!, lets have guys play THEIR positions and leave em there!

The sticks are another story and moving the lineup for batting, I can see that he is trying to get something together to get guys across the plate but this defensive moving around,... how can these guys gel this way?

As for the pitching and the bullpen.... the bullpen has been terrible! And the bullpen has lost us more games than I care to think about. Cruceta has shown NOTHING! And Willis? he's been as bad as Grilli was.

This 5/6 man rotation>>>>>>>not a productive move!

[George & Al]

I think that the root of the Willis situation is that the Tigers not only traded for a pitcher that may or may not be washed up, but also gave him a large extension before even determining the status of his washed-upedness. Now they've made an investment, and need to find out if he can pitch or not.

[Dalkowski110]

BIZARRE spam...

[Tank]

BIZARRE spam...

No doubt.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Thanks, brewcrew.

[Tigfan38]

Cabrera needs time to learn 1B. He's HAD time at 3B and he can't seem to play it. Guillen can play 1B or 3B and Inge can play 3B or C. Rodriguez can't catch every day at his current age--at least not at his former standard. Inge may be the Tigers' catcher of the future. Having Inge split time at C with IRod seems appropriate to me. I'd love to see Guillen play first and Cabrera DH, but what do we do with Sheffield if he ever heals up? Sheffield will play OF now if that choice is offered, but the guys that they bring up from Toledo seem to be pretty good and the Tigers are winning. Granderson, Ordonez and Thames look like a regular OF to me, maybe with Clevlen in CF against LH pitching. Maybe Willis will learn consistant control in the minors. I'd leave him there until he does.

[Gehringer02]

Until there is another option for Kenny Rogers retiring, you can't just get rid of Nate Robertson. Maybe the rotation should be what was said above, but until Willis can work out his control, Robertson is the best option, especially as a left-hander.

Robertson had a career year in 2006, but he is still a #5 guy and he can eat innings with the best of them, and getting 200 innings from a #5 guy and winning 1/2 the time is what a team would want in any situation. They can't all be Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine. There had to be a Steve Avery as well.

If Kenny sticks it out another year, and Willis makes it back, then maybe it would be time to part ways with Nate with a bunch of fine young starters at AA and below. In two years, someone would be up, maybe even Porcello. Sure I would rather have Dontrelle Willis at his best being the #5 guy, or the #4 or #3 guy and move everyone else on down and make Galarraga the #5 guy, but until there is another option, Nate is it...

[sturg1dj]

i am one who thinks you can't really tell a manager of the caliber of Jim Leyland how to do his job, but he has done things that don't make sense to me.


moving Galaraga out of the rotation

Matt Joyce shows pop (low average, I get it) and they send him down and bring up Larish who has struggled more (big hit last night though)

After Thames is on a tear he benched him for Clete Thomas (nice pinch hit home run though...you may say he was resting Thames, but if I were Thames and been waiting so long to play I would never be tired).

What is going to be really bad is when Sheffield comes back he is going to bench Thames again no matter how much Sheffield struggles (best case scenario, of course, is that he does not struggle.)

[Paulmcall]

Just remember, Leland has managed a world series team and you haven't.
I think he has done a good job keeping the team above water this year.
Having the young players blend in has probably been his best feature. How many of us would have pulled out all our hair by now?
Considering all the injuries and slow starts by "stars", Leland has held the team together when most would have given up.
I'd get rid of Sheffield and Robertson next year but he's trying to get the most of them this year. He also likes individual match ups and that's why he changes the lineup so often.