tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-179077762013-06-20T02:25:34.249-04:00Lee Panashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17148118898954670307noreply@blogger.comBlogger1874110tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17907776.post-35071508313761278162013-06-15T15:45:00.000-04:002013-06-15T15:45:17.848-04:002013-06-15T15:45:17.848-04:00

Many Tigers fans were ready to give up on 24-year-old Rick Porcello going into the this season.  He had always shown good control and an ability to induce ground balls, but he frustrated us with his inability to miss bats and failure to pitch deep into games.  With sophomore left-hander Drew Smyly seemingly ready for regular rotation duty, many felt it was time to trade Porcello.  There were

Lee Panashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17148118898954670307noreply@blogger.com2http://www.detroittigertales.com/2013/06/the-maturing-of-rick-porcello.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17907776.post-15934804458983787092013-06-09T13:21:00.002-04:002013-06-09T15:35:15.491-04:002013-06-09T15:35:15.491-04:00

There is much talk about the possibility of Tigers superstar Miguel Cabrera winning an unprecedented second consecutive triple crown.  That would be a remarkable feat, but most of you are aware of the limitations of the triple crown statistics.  From a sabermetric perspective, 2012 was not even Cabrera's best season.  According to more advanced numbers, his 2011 and 2010 seasons were even better.

Lee Panashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17148118898954670307noreply@blogger.com12http://www.detroittigertales.com/2013/06/cabrera-on-pace-for-best-batting-season.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17907776.post-86214258569343692552013-06-03T22:26:00.000-04:002013-06-03T22:27:36.079-04:002013-06-03T22:27:36.079-04:00

In a recent post, I used the RE24 statistic to measure batting contribution including situational hitting.  The statistic is appealing because it gives batters more credit for hits with runners on base than for hits with the bases empty.  This concept can also be applied to pitchers, relievers in particular. Statistical evaluation of relievers is difficult for a couple of reasons: They

Lee Panashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17148118898954670307noreply@blogger.com5http://www.detroittigertales.com/2013/06/smyly-among-top-al-relievers-but-is-he.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17907776.post-15131079049190292502013-06-01T22:41:00.000-04:002013-06-01T22:41:28.764-04:002013-06-01T22:41:28.764-04:00

While watching Verlander pitch against the Orioles today, I was thinking how he isn't the same electric pitcher he was in 2011 when he won the MVP and Cy Young awards and in 2012 when he probably should won another Cy Young.  We keep waiting for him to go off on an unbeatable streak where he is a threat to pitch a no hitter every time out.  Instead, he is not even the most exciting pitcher on the

Lee Panashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17148118898954670307noreply@blogger.com7http://www.detroittigertales.com/2013/06/verlander-not-king-this-year.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17907776.post-24291611227827830752013-05-29T18:44:00.000-04:002013-05-29T18:44:06.629-04:002013-05-29T18:44:06.629-04:00

With inter-league play now scheduled all year long, the difference between the American and National Leagues in regards to the designated hitter rule has become more pronounced.  Some view the disparity as unique and charming feature which helps to separate baseball from other sports.  Others see it as illogical and unfair for teams to play under different rules when visiting ballparks of teams

Lee Panashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17148118898954670307noreply@blogger.com8http://www.detroittigertales.com/2013/05/alternatives-to-designated-hitter-rule.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17907776.post-68012508623031035932013-05-26T13:17:00.000-04:002013-05-26T13:17:03.546-04:002013-05-26T13:17:03.546-04:00

Tigers superstar Miguel Cabrera is off to an incredible start by any measure leading the American League in batting average, on-base percentage, OPS, total bases, times on base and wOBA. However, those numbers don't show just how productive he has been in the first couple of months.  Many fans grumble that statistics like OPS don't account for situational hitting.  For example, if Cabrera

Lee Panashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17148118898954670307noreply@blogger.com6http://www.detroittigertales.com/2013/05/cabrera-increasing-his-value-even-more.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17907776.post-17436182857102986892013-05-21T11:48:00.002-04:002013-05-21T11:48:14.591-04:002013-05-21T11:48:14.591-04:00

When Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown last year by leading the league in batting average, home runs and Runs Batted In, he became the first to do so since Red Sox outfielder Carl Yatrzemski in 1967.  It was also the first time the Triple Crown winner was broadly questioned by statistical analysts who now use different statistics to evaluate hitters.  It was clearly a memorable

Lee Panashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17148118898954670307noreply@blogger.com4http://www.detroittigertales.com/2013/05/revisiting-alternative-triple-crown.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17907776.post-62678443249203128142013-05-18T14:56:00.002-04:002013-05-18T14:56:42.621-04:002013-05-18T14:56:42.621-04:00

After seeing ace Justin Verlander allow eight runs in less than three innings to the powerful Texas Rangers on Thursday, Tigers fans feared the worst when Rick Porcello took the mound last night.  Porcello silenced doubters with a strong performance against a tough line-up allowing just one run while striking out six in 5 2/3 innings.  This was Porcello's fourth solid game since his first-inning

Lee Panashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17148118898954670307noreply@blogger.com0http://www.detroittigertales.com/2013/05/does-rick-porcello-finally-have.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17907776.post-80825752352229994412013-05-16T23:04:00.001-04:002013-05-16T23:04:21.566-04:002013-05-16T23:04:21.566-04:00

Tonight's pitching duel between aces Yu Darvish and Justin Velander did not live up to its' advance billing as Darvish was mediocre and Verlander was awful.  So, instead of admiring a masterpiece, Tigers fan discussed on Twitter whether this was Verlander's worst game ever.   Everybody had their own opinion on Verlander's worst game, but this game was certainly among them.  One way to measure

Lee Panashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17148118898954670307noreply@blogger.com0http://www.detroittigertales.com/2013/05/verlanders-worst-game-ever.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17907776.post-17860290596121703742013-05-15T22:37:00.001-04:002013-05-15T22:40:02.785-04:002013-05-15T22:40:02.785-04:00

Today, I'll take my first look at some of my favorite sabermetrics pitching leaders.  Most readers of this blog are aware of the limitations of ERA in evaluating pitcher performance.  Two of the biggest issues are: ERA gives pitchers full credit/blame for results of batted balls in play despite the fact that they share that responsibility with fielders.  For example, a pitcher with a

Lee Panashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17148118898954670307noreply@blogger.com0http://www.detroittigertales.com/2013/05/anibal-sanchez-among-early-pitching.html