http://www.dtownbaseball.com/2007/05/28/detroit-needs-more-from-the-bullpen-not-starters/ A Detroit Tiger Blog Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:45:49 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 http://www.dtownbaseball.com/2007/05/28/detroit-needs-more-from-the-bullpen-not-starters/comment-page-1/#comment-4035 Leyland wrong to blame starters » Mack Avenue Tigers : A Detroit Tigers Blog Tue, 29 May 2007 06:15:10 +0000 http://www.dtownbaseball.com/2007/05/28/detroit-needs-more-from-the-bullpen-not-starters/#comment-4035 [...] Meanwhile, the Tigers bullpen dropped to 30th in baseball. In case you don’t recall, there’s 30 teams. So, that 5.33 ERA ranks the Tigers as dead last. The pen has collected 12 losses, second most in baseball. Can anyone think of a playoff team with a worse bullpen? Anyone? Anyone? No. The worst bullpen in baseball is not going to cut it in the best division in baseball. And if you want to say the starters don’t go deep enough, so the bullpen gets worn down, that’s fine. But the best bullpen ERA comes from relievers who pitched 163 innings. Meanwhile, the Tigers pen has thrown 148.1 innings, nearly the exact middle of the MLB and the second least percentage in the AL Central. The only way you can criticize the starters is to say if the less they pitch, the more the awful pen pitches. [...] [...] Meanwhile, the Tigers bullpen dropped to 30th in baseball. In case you don’t recall, there’s 30 teams. So, that 5.33 ERA ranks the Tigers as dead last. The pen has collected 12 losses, second most in baseball. Can anyone think of a playoff team with a worse bullpen? Anyone? Anyone? No. The worst bullpen in baseball is not going to cut it in the best division in baseball. And if you want to say the starters don’t go deep enough, so the bullpen gets worn down, that’s fine. But the best bullpen ERA comes from relievers who pitched 163 innings. Meanwhile, the Tigers pen has thrown 148.1 innings, nearly the exact middle of the MLB and the second least percentage in the AL Central. The only way you can criticize the starters is to say if the less they pitch, the more the awful pen pitches. [...]

]]>