I'm not sure what to think of this...
Todd Jones gets roughed up again.
Do I care? I'm not sure yet. I mean, it is spring training, and he has proven himself at being able to pitch one inning with no one on and getting out of it without runs scoring (though barely at times, it seems), but twice now, he has been totally shelled.
Not like a bloop and a blast and a two run inning, but shelled. 16 pitches and six runs followed up less than a week later by thirteen pitches and four runs. That's ten runs. His ERA is 24.55. How do you even give up six runs on sixteen pitches? I know the trick is to get strike one, but you can't just throw it down the middle every pitch.
He says he was working on locating is fastball. Ummm, haven't you been pitching for the better part of 25 years? If you can't hit your mark warming up to a real-game situation in a couple of weeks, should I be worried? I know Mr. Jones is a professional, and he will likely be fine, but I think I need him to just go out and pitch to get three outs for a few consecutive outings. I don't care if it is against scrubs or the Yankees opening day starters either. He just needs to get three outs. Isn't his value the ability to get people swinging at balls out of the strike zone anyway? He's not overpowering, he is a location pitcher. Working on location? I don't buy it 100%. I think he misremembers...
Granted, sandwiched in between those two bad outings was a three-outer against the Braves (who didn't want him), but he can't pitch against a team that scorned him because he wanted to play near where he lived every day. I need three outs, three times, with no runs, or I need another closer right now. Mantei getting hurt will start to wear on me even more. I really liked him.
On another note. I think this is the year for Nate Robertson. He went four innings and gave up only one hit. He also struck out four. I think this is a good sign. A few years ago, Nate was looking like a strikeout pitcher. Then, I think he got too cute in 2006 when the Tigers were winning, and he couldn't get the big strikeout pitch in 2007. He doesn't need to strike out ten with this lineup behind him, but I look for him to get big outs with "K's" as opposed to double play ground outs this year. I think Willis is more of a question mark than Robertson.
Robertson, I think, can win 15 games. He's durable and dependable. Rogers should win 15 games if his mid-40 year old arm holds up for one more year. Verlander should win 20. Bonderman should win 15 with the run support he'll get. If Willis can come back from a couple of down years, he should win 15 as well, but he might need a year to acclimate himself. I would look for Willis to come back a bit from last year, but as Leyland keeps him better rested and his arm takes less of a toll this season, I would think that 2009 will be the year of the Tigers pitching staff, if they find a replacement for Rogers...
