Detroit Tigers Midseason Grades
By Tony Fischer
Jul 4, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland gestures from the dugout against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
COACHING AND FRONT OFFICE
Jim Leyland B-
The Tigers players seem to love Jim Leyland there is no question. But the fans seem to have a love/hate relationship with the Tigers skipper. Leyland has done a decent job with most aspects of the club this year except for managing the bullpen. His use of certain pitchers in key situations has fans scratching their heads and Leyland also uses his better bullpen pitchers for multiple innings making them unavailable the next day. His handling of the early season “bullpen by committee” debacle left a lot to be desired.
Tom Brookens C
Brookie has had some issues at third base this year. He has sent players home who have had no chance to score on more than one occasion. That said it hasn’t cost the Tigers much and Brookens will probably have a better second half.
Rafeal Belliard C
The Tigers have lacked a running game this year and although they have not gotten picked off of first much this season, the Tigers need to do a better job of pushing the running game in the second half.
Gene Lamont B-
Jim Leyland’s friend and confidant gets the same grade he does considering he is the one coach Leyland bounces strategy off of most.
Jeff Jones A
Jones has managed the pitching staff very well. Max Scherzer has shown improvement against lefties this year and Justin Verlander has worked out the mechanics that resulted in a sub-par start to the season. Jones has also had well-timed visits to the mound this year. You can see the settling influence he has on a pitcher who has gotten into a jam. Quite often, after Jones visits the mound, the pitcher makes the pitch they need to get out of trouble.
Lloyd McClenden B+
With the way the Tigers are hitting it is hard to criticize McClenden. That said, his hitters are prone to slumps that encompass the entire line-up. For as many runs as they scored the Tigers have been shut-out 6 times this season. McClenden is going to have to figure out how to avoid the week-long stretches of offensive ineptitude in the second half.
Dave Dombrowski C
Dombrowski bungled the closer situation earlier in the season and had no plan B if the Bruce Rondon experiment didn’t work out. Instead he resigned Valverde who lived on borrowed time until finally being designated for assignment. Dombrowski is going to have to work some trader Dave magic to fix the closer catastrophe otherwise the Tigers may have another disappointing exit from the play-offs.