The Jays try to rebound against the visiting Motor City Kitties, who are just 2-8 in their last ten outings. The Jays' depleted rotation caught -- no pun intended -- a major break, though, when Ivan Rodriguez announced that he would drop his appeal and serve his four-game suspension over the entirety of the series at the Rogers Centre.
* General: The Tigers likely sealed their fate as non-contenders by getting swept at home this weekend by the Tribe ... The Tigers hit for a strong batting average (.274), but don't take many walks and don't get on base as well as they might be capable of ... The Tigers received a major dose of relief when doctors found no structural damage to the shoulder of Justin Verlander, who was complaining of tightness. He's thrown 130 innings with Lakeland (A), Erie (AA) and with the Tigers for two starts. Pitching coach Bob Cluck has ordered Verlander to be shut down after another 30 or so innings with Erie. Cluck: "Nothing is going to be left to chance" ... Pudge Rodriguez will serve a four-game suspension over the duration of this entire series for a tantrum he threw in a game against Oakland. After vehemently arguing balls and strikes with plate ump Ted Barrett, Pudge bumped Barrett after getting tossed. He then threw balls and catching equipment onto the field in protest on his way to the clubhouse ... Vance Wilson will start all four games at catcher this series ... Old friend Johnny McDonald will likely not see time this series ... Looking at the Tigers' bullpen, you may ask yourself, "Vic Darensbourg?!? Who's next, Doug Creek?" Actually, no -- the Tigers already gave Creek a try this season, with predictable results ...
* Chris Shelton: Good low-ball hitter who attacks pitches with a compact, level swing ... Waits on breaking stuff well ... Uses the whole field ... Can be pitched to inside on his fists ... Chases fastballs up and away ... A good battler at the plate who will see his share of pitches ... Has not played the catcher position this season ...
* Placido Polanco: The Tigers eradicated the swirling trade rumours by locking up the versatile Polanco to a 4-year deal at $4.6M per year, which will run through 2009 ... Likes the ball up and in despite being more of a contact hitter than a power guy ... Quick, level swing, and can turn on even good fastballs ... Only 12 walks in 37 games as a Tiger, but he's struck out only eight times en route to a .345/.411/.459 line since his acquisition ... He's weakest at handling breaking pitches on the outer half ...
* Mike Maroth: Compact delivery in which he seems to almost short-arm the ball ... Very susceptible to the home run, typically on his low-80s slider being left up in the zone ... His slider works much better against lefties ... Has confidence in his mid-70s changeup, which he throws down and away to righties. He'll throw it in every count ... Hey, this will be his second straight year with fewer than 20 losses! ...
* Fernando Rodney: With Percival injured and Urbina traded, the hard-throwing Dominican is the new guy at the back of the Tiger 'pen ... Coughed up the save yesterday by yielding a game-winning three-run home run to Ronnie Belliard. It was a hanging first-pitch slider ... Relies heavily on his mid-80s slider, with late sinking action ... Sports a funky, Lenin-like beard ... Alan Trammell has been impressed with Rodney's cool demeanour in key situations: "He has ice in his veins" ...
* Magglio Ordonez: Provoked plenty of Motor City grumbling by going on the DL with an 0-for-12 season line in April. But he's been healthy -- and productive -- since July 1 ... Still likes to go the other way into the right-centre gap ... Very good low-ball hitter ... In a mini-power drought, with only two extra-base hits in his past 11 games ... Pound him down and away with offspeed stuff, where he isn't always patient ...
* Craig Monroe: Very good balance at the plate, and he stays back on pitches well ... Long swing but he can nevertheless catch up to fastballs ... Has gone 15 games without a homer ... Prefers the ball on the inner half of the plate, and doesn't always recognize pitches well on the outer half ... Does not get good reads on fly balls in centre. He's there to get his bat in the lineup ... Strangely, Monroe needs just six sacrifice flies to tie the all-time AL record ...
* Dmitri Young: Has ten hits over his last eight games, but they've all been singles ... Pitchers have found a weak spot for him from the left side --- he chases away and off the plate ... Miscast in the outfield, he hopes to return to his more suitable DH once Rondell White gets cleared to play outfield ... A poor 23/80 BB/K ratio so far this year ...
* Carlos Guillen: Mashes lefties, and he hits for considerably more power from the right side ... From the left, he features more of an inside-out swing. Either way, he's a spray hitter ... Can get tied up in on his fists, especially against righthanded pitchers ...
* Brandon Inge: Went 2-for-4 yesterday, but has posted a meagre .207/.284/.366 line since the All-Star break ... Nevertheless, he reacted angrily to being benched for a game by Trammell last week: "If he thinks the day off is going to help me, it's not" ... Has a brief hitch in his swing where he leans back as the pitch is coming in, but he goes with the pitch well ... Prefers breaking stuff and often sits on the deuce ... Does not like the ball in and gets caught looking there ...
* Sean Douglass: I say it's about time for this old friend to come back to earth. His peripherals aren't stellar ... Imposing presence on the mound at 6'6" ... Relies heavily on sliders and sinkers. His four-seam fastball comes in as straight as an arrow ... Trammell has said that Douglass is "certainly projected" to be in the '06 Tigers rotation, considering that his only poor start came against the red-hot A's ...
* Nook Logan: The speedster and part-time centrefielder is a fine 20-for-24 on the basepaths. He spells each of Rondell White, Young and Monroe and will see some action this series ... Logan scored on a single yesterday...his own single. With Pudge on first and McDonald on second, Logan singled to left. On the play at the plate, I-Rod slammed into Josh Bard, dislodging the ball. McDonald scrambled home as the ball rolled away from the plate, and the throw by first baseman Jeff Liefer to the plate again eluded Bard. The heads-up and lightning-quick Logan never slowed down and made it all the way home -- standing up ... Trammell called it, accurately, a "Little League home run" ...
* Nate Robertson: Has been hit very hard in each of his last three starts, all losses. His combined line: 17.1 IP, 28 H, 18 R, 6 HR ... His homer rate is down, but so are his strikeouts ... This is not to say he's a groundball pitcher, but he's allowed 15 homers on the season ... His 90 mph cutter doesn't come in on righties hard enough to be overpowering. It's hittable over the plate ... Likes to induce both righties and lefties to chase a low-80s curve down and away ...
* Rondell White: Sharp leg kick at the plate ... First-ball, fastball hitter who can turn on inside heaters ... Rolls over on outside fastballs, which he will try to pull on occasion ... A much less effective hitter against breaking stuff. Righties should lob curves at him ...
* Jeremy Bonderman: Excellent raw stuff ... Strange full windup in which he starts at an angle -- almost from a stretch position ... Throws mid-90s fastballs with all kinds of movement. Watch how he backdoors lefties with a fastball that moves back over the inside corner of the plate ... Throws a mid-80s slider with varying movement, but it's always a change of pace ... Has not yet achieved superior commmand ... Good, compact slide step with runners on ... Would have a better ERA with a more athletic defense behind him ...
Detroit is in the middle of the pack in most team categories, and Toronto needs to show an ability to take care of business against a struggling squad at home. The toughest matchup for the home team will be on Thursday afternoon, which looks like the Downs-Walker Connection against the talented (and still only 22) Jeremy Bonderman.
This week's Scout features a struggling lefty, a surprising old friend and a huge collective sigh of relief over the status of a top prospect. And by the way, big thanks to Lucas, Rob and Pepper for filling in while I was on vacation!
On to the Advance Scout!* General: The Tigers likely sealed their fate as non-contenders by getting swept at home this weekend by the Tribe ... The Tigers hit for a strong batting average (.274), but don't take many walks and don't get on base as well as they might be capable of ... The Tigers received a major dose of relief when doctors found no structural damage to the shoulder of Justin Verlander, who was complaining of tightness. He's thrown 130 innings with Lakeland (A), Erie (AA) and with the Tigers for two starts. Pitching coach Bob Cluck has ordered Verlander to be shut down after another 30 or so innings with Erie. Cluck: "Nothing is going to be left to chance" ... Pudge Rodriguez will serve a four-game suspension over the duration of this entire series for a tantrum he threw in a game against Oakland. After vehemently arguing balls and strikes with plate ump Ted Barrett, Pudge bumped Barrett after getting tossed. He then threw balls and catching equipment onto the field in protest on his way to the clubhouse ... Vance Wilson will start all four games at catcher this series ... Old friend Johnny McDonald will likely not see time this series ... Looking at the Tigers' bullpen, you may ask yourself, "Vic Darensbourg?!? Who's next, Doug Creek?" Actually, no -- the Tigers already gave Creek a try this season, with predictable results ...
* Chris Shelton: Good low-ball hitter who attacks pitches with a compact, level swing ... Waits on breaking stuff well ... Uses the whole field ... Can be pitched to inside on his fists ... Chases fastballs up and away ... A good battler at the plate who will see his share of pitches ... Has not played the catcher position this season ...
* Placido Polanco: The Tigers eradicated the swirling trade rumours by locking up the versatile Polanco to a 4-year deal at $4.6M per year, which will run through 2009 ... Likes the ball up and in despite being more of a contact hitter than a power guy ... Quick, level swing, and can turn on even good fastballs ... Only 12 walks in 37 games as a Tiger, but he's struck out only eight times en route to a .345/.411/.459 line since his acquisition ... He's weakest at handling breaking pitches on the outer half ...
* Mike Maroth: Compact delivery in which he seems to almost short-arm the ball ... Very susceptible to the home run, typically on his low-80s slider being left up in the zone ... His slider works much better against lefties ... Has confidence in his mid-70s changeup, which he throws down and away to righties. He'll throw it in every count ... Hey, this will be his second straight year with fewer than 20 losses! ...
* Fernando Rodney: With Percival injured and Urbina traded, the hard-throwing Dominican is the new guy at the back of the Tiger 'pen ... Coughed up the save yesterday by yielding a game-winning three-run home run to Ronnie Belliard. It was a hanging first-pitch slider ... Relies heavily on his mid-80s slider, with late sinking action ... Sports a funky, Lenin-like beard ... Alan Trammell has been impressed with Rodney's cool demeanour in key situations: "He has ice in his veins" ...
* Magglio Ordonez: Provoked plenty of Motor City grumbling by going on the DL with an 0-for-12 season line in April. But he's been healthy -- and productive -- since July 1 ... Still likes to go the other way into the right-centre gap ... Very good low-ball hitter ... In a mini-power drought, with only two extra-base hits in his past 11 games ... Pound him down and away with offspeed stuff, where he isn't always patient ...
* Craig Monroe: Very good balance at the plate, and he stays back on pitches well ... Long swing but he can nevertheless catch up to fastballs ... Has gone 15 games without a homer ... Prefers the ball on the inner half of the plate, and doesn't always recognize pitches well on the outer half ... Does not get good reads on fly balls in centre. He's there to get his bat in the lineup ... Strangely, Monroe needs just six sacrifice flies to tie the all-time AL record ...
* Dmitri Young: Has ten hits over his last eight games, but they've all been singles ... Pitchers have found a weak spot for him from the left side --- he chases away and off the plate ... Miscast in the outfield, he hopes to return to his more suitable DH once Rondell White gets cleared to play outfield ... A poor 23/80 BB/K ratio so far this year ...
* Carlos Guillen: Mashes lefties, and he hits for considerably more power from the right side ... From the left, he features more of an inside-out swing. Either way, he's a spray hitter ... Can get tied up in on his fists, especially against righthanded pitchers ...
* Brandon Inge: Went 2-for-4 yesterday, but has posted a meagre .207/.284/.366 line since the All-Star break ... Nevertheless, he reacted angrily to being benched for a game by Trammell last week: "If he thinks the day off is going to help me, it's not" ... Has a brief hitch in his swing where he leans back as the pitch is coming in, but he goes with the pitch well ... Prefers breaking stuff and often sits on the deuce ... Does not like the ball in and gets caught looking there ...
* Sean Douglass: I say it's about time for this old friend to come back to earth. His peripherals aren't stellar ... Imposing presence on the mound at 6'6" ... Relies heavily on sliders and sinkers. His four-seam fastball comes in as straight as an arrow ... Trammell has said that Douglass is "certainly projected" to be in the '06 Tigers rotation, considering that his only poor start came against the red-hot A's ...
* Nook Logan: The speedster and part-time centrefielder is a fine 20-for-24 on the basepaths. He spells each of Rondell White, Young and Monroe and will see some action this series ... Logan scored on a single yesterday...his own single. With Pudge on first and McDonald on second, Logan singled to left. On the play at the plate, I-Rod slammed into Josh Bard, dislodging the ball. McDonald scrambled home as the ball rolled away from the plate, and the throw by first baseman Jeff Liefer to the plate again eluded Bard. The heads-up and lightning-quick Logan never slowed down and made it all the way home -- standing up ... Trammell called it, accurately, a "Little League home run" ...
* Nate Robertson: Has been hit very hard in each of his last three starts, all losses. His combined line: 17.1 IP, 28 H, 18 R, 6 HR ... His homer rate is down, but so are his strikeouts ... This is not to say he's a groundball pitcher, but he's allowed 15 homers on the season ... His 90 mph cutter doesn't come in on righties hard enough to be overpowering. It's hittable over the plate ... Likes to induce both righties and lefties to chase a low-80s curve down and away ...
* Rondell White: Sharp leg kick at the plate ... First-ball, fastball hitter who can turn on inside heaters ... Rolls over on outside fastballs, which he will try to pull on occasion ... A much less effective hitter against breaking stuff. Righties should lob curves at him ...
* Jeremy Bonderman: Excellent raw stuff ... Strange full windup in which he starts at an angle -- almost from a stretch position ... Throws mid-90s fastballs with all kinds of movement. Watch how he backdoors lefties with a fastball that moves back over the inside corner of the plate ... Throws a mid-80s slider with varying movement, but it's always a change of pace ... Has not yet achieved superior commmand ... Good, compact slide step with runners on ... Would have a better ERA with a more athletic defense behind him ...
