Bonderman "With a Lot to Prove"

Can Jeremy Bonderman live up to the expectations he once put on himself a few years ago when a reporter asked him in spring training what kind of pitcher he could be -- “Roger Clemens like” he responded.

It’s safe to say Bonderman hasn’t lived up to that yet. Bonderman, 26, has a lot of future left in the Major Leagues if he can get over two hurdles. Staying healthy and pitching well on a consistent basis.

The first hurdle is health. It’s a big one.

He was trying to answer that question last night as he pitched at the Fifth Third Ballpark for the Tigers Single-A affiliate West Michigan Whitecaps. Bonderman was pitching in his first rehab assignment since coming off shoulder surgery last season.

Bonderman picked up the win, throwing 94 pitches (64 strikes), in seven innings while giving up two runs and striking out four.

He was quite effective on the mound even though the velocity on the fastball was way down ranging from 80-86 mph. That didn’t hurt him in this game at the class A level but Major League hitters would love to see his heater come to the plate in the mid-80’s. It was quite clear that Bonderman has a ways to go as far as velocity is concerned to get back to the low to mid 90’s like he pitched two years ago.

I spoke to him after the game in the Whitecaps dugout for a TV interview and I came away with mixed feelings.

When asked about the velocity he said its sometimes 90 one day and then 80 the next. As far as his thoughts on the Tigers team “I have only seen them play twice this year, once in person and once on TV.” Come on Bonderman you mean to tell me you are getting paid 12.5 million to watch the Nickelodeon channel instead of your boys in Motown.

He then went on to say he looks forward to joining his teammates again and battling for first place in the AL Central. He also said he loved both catchers in Gerald Laird and Dane Sardinha even though they both have struggled at the plate. Maybe Bonderman wasn’t a big Pudge fan. When asked about what kind of adjustment new pitching coach Rick Knapp would be to him he stated “I don’t know I haven’t talk to him yet.”

Bonderman seemed more enthusiastic than usual in the interview, but he just seemed like he has been uninterested in everything Detroit Tigers the last two months. Yes he has been rehabbing and trying to recover from shoulder surgery. After doing the interview, I just felt like my grandma could tell me more about the Tigers this year than him. Let’s hope Bonderman can get reacquainted with his teammates and the city of Detroit very soon.

Although it’s going to take a couple weeks I feel as many expect Bonderman to pitch at least one more time in the minors. His next start is slated for Thursday for the Triple-A Toledo Mudhens as they take on the Gwinnett Braves in Lawrenceville, Ga. The Tigers do not have to pull up Bonderman to the big leagues until June 16th which is 30 days from his first minor league rehab start. The sooner the velocity climbs on the fastball the sooner he will be back in the old English D.

When he does come up to the Big Leagues the Tigers will have a decision to make as an organization. Who gets pulled from the starting rotation Dontrelle Willis, Armando Galarraga, and Rick Porcello?

Willis is trying to turn around his career. He had an admirable performance against the Twins Wednesday night going 4 2/3 innings while giving up four runs on eight hits in a no-decision. The most important stat was allowing only two walks and throwing mostly strikes in his season debut. He will need to continue making improvements if he wants to stay in the rotation. He at least earned another start which will come Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers, a team that has won seven straight games and is nine games over .500 leading the AL West.

As for Galarraga, he is struggling the most of all three pitchers right now. He is having that dreaded sophomore slump, this coming off a great April performance this year on the mound. It’s been the tail of two months as May has proven to be abysmal for Galarraga on the rubber. Today Galarraga couldn’t even make it out of the first inning giving up five runs to the Oakland Athletics. Galarraga has given up at least five runs in all four starts in the month of May. His ERA has risen from 1.85 on April 26 to 5.62 after today. Something has went awry with his pitching, we’ll see if he will have enough time to turn it around before Bonderman arrives.

With Porcello, he has really started to settle down and is pitching effectively the last few starts. Most notably his last start which came against the Athletics on Saturday night giving up only one run in six innings of work. Porcello has had a great month of May posting a 3-0 record with 1.00 ERA in three starts on the hill. Confidence was never a problem for Porcello and once he gets in a groove he is hard to stop even at 20 years old. Because of Porcello’s age he may be on a short leash to go to the minors if Galarraga, Willis, and Bonderman can all pitch effectively in the rotation at some point.

My guess is on Galarraga or Willis moving into the bullpen. They will need one of these guys or a combination of Zach Miner or Nate Robertson to take over for Porcello once August comes around. Porcello will most likely be shut down for the season as the Tigers organization will watch his innings pitched like a mom watches her baby at the grocery store.

For Bonderman though, getting back into that rotation is one thing, but asserting himself once he gets there is another. He will have to pitch consistently well something he has had trouble with over the past few years. Bonderman goes in slumps; he will combine three starts of seven plus innings of work followed by dismal efforts of less than four innings. This year he cannot allow that to happen with a very young staff around him.

Bonderman has pitched in the big leagues for six seasons and has been with the Tigers since 2003. Only four other players can say that third baseman Brandon Inge, shortstop Ramon Santiago, pitchers Nate Robertson and Fernando Rodney. He needs to be the veteran presence in the clubhouse for the pitching staff especially since there is no Kenny Rogers to look to.

Back in 2006, Bonderman had his best year like most Tigers which was a recipe for success in leading the Tigers to the World Series. Bonderman was 14-8 with a 4.06 ERA while pitching 200+ innings and strikeouts in 34 starts. When Bonderman goes the Tigers roar. Will we hear a roar soon at Comerica Park as the summer nears?

Jeremy Bonderman will have a lot to say about that. Let’s hope he can get through the first inning in 2009.

D-Train's Last Chance as a Tiger

It very well could be for Dontrelle Willis!

To think you could say that about a guy who is only four years removed from finishing second place in voting for the 2005 National League Cy Young Award is hard to fathom. Plus the same pitcher who was named National League Rookie of the Year back in 2003.On top of all that Willis is only 27 years old.

Willis will make his season debut Wednesday night for the Detroit Tigers against the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Willis has missed the first month and half of the season due to anxiety disorder which most believe to be called a social anxiety disorder which also plagued Kansas City Royals pitcher Zach Greinke (who just so happens to be pitching with a 6-1 record with 0.51 ERA after seven starts this season). Tiger fans can only hope Willis can rebound as well as Greinke has.

How long has Willis had a problem?

Who knows, maybe it just started or it has been going on for quite sometime. I have spoken with a friend of mine who has this same anxiety disorder. He feels it has been with Willis for a few years now, he said typically it hits people just after they turn 20 years old due to a heightened stress.

That stress may have been living up to expectations which were placed on him as soon as he got to the big leagues. Growing up in Oakland, California, Willis made it to the big leagues at the ripe old age of 21 with the Florida Marlins. He instantly had success in his first major league season going 14-6 while posting a 3.31 ERA in 27 starts and pitching two complete game shutouts. Then came the playoffs in October, the leg kick and the windup became a popular scene on ESPN’s Sportscenter all the way to the World Series where the Marlins were crowned 2003 World Series Champions. He was also crowned the National League Rookie of the Year.

In 2004, Willis didn’t have as much success going 10-11 with a 4.02 ERA in 32 starts. Willis had what most experts in the sports world like to say “A sophomore slump.” Hitters in the National League knew Willis better and attacked his weaknesses. Willis had to make adjustments and he did just that during the next season.

In 2005, the D-Train was created. He had a magnificent year throwing seven complete games with five shutouts for the Marlins. He threw over 236 innings that year and posted a 22-10 record with a 2.63 ERA while striking out 170 batters. It was his year; those numbers were all career highs and earned him quite a bit of praise among voters for the National League Cy Young in 2005. Willis finished second to the St. Louis Cardinals Chris Carpenter. Many experts thought D-Train would have many more opportunities to take home the Cy Young crown in years to come.

It just didn’t happen.

The next year in 2006, Willis pitched very well for the Marlins even though the wins and losses didn’t show that. He was 12-12 with a 3.87 ERA while throwing 223 plus innings. He tallied 160 strikeouts and collected four complete games with one shutout. There were some alarming stats though that year. He walked a career worst 83 batters and surrendered 21 home runs.

During the off-season in 2006, questions started to mount. Could Willis ever put together a Cy Young award season again? Willis had to answer these questions and it had to get him thinking. Can I ever do it again?

Well something happened between the 2006 and 2007 season with Willis’ mindset because he wasn’t the same pitcher on the rubber. He wasn’t as confident, he wasn’t pitching like he had done this before. He was timid, easily rattled, and started to question himself. The pressure was mounting and maybe this where the anxiety disorder developed. He started altering his windup and changing his mechanics.

During the 2007 season Willis threw over 200 innings for a third consecutive season. He was 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA that season. Willis gave up 29 home runs in 07. He also walked a career high 87 batters.

His name became to swirl amongst the league in trade rumors from the west coast to the east coast.

Then on December 7, 2007 Willis was traded along with teammate Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers for a flurry of players including highly touted prospects Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller.

In a Detroit Tiger uniform, many fans had high hopes for Willis in his first season. Things did not work out or him in 2008. Willis went 0-2 with a 9.38 ERA while starting 7 games only compiling 24 innings pitched. He walked 35 batters and he made his last start of the 08 season on May 23 because of his control problems. He spent the rest of the season down in Lakeland, Florida working on his pitching. As for Cabrera he batted .292 along with leading the Tigers in both home runs (37) and runs batted in (127)

With Willis’ struggles many fans categorized this trade as a bust--maybe not so fast Tiger fans.

Maybin and Miller have had their own problems flourishing at the major league level in Florida. Miller is currently on the 15-day disabled list coming off of a less than stellar 08 season. Miller was 6-10 with a 5.87 ERA last year. As for Maybin he just recently got demoted to Triple-A New Orleans. Maybin had been batting .202 with one home run and three runs batted in. He has really struggled at the big league level with this alarming stat telling it all. Maybin has struck out 31 times in only 84 at bats this season in a Marlins uniform

So by looking at those numbers I would say the Tigers came out of this trade as the winners if you had to make a decision right now in 2009.

Willis could really help the Tigers cause in this trade by performing at the level he did as a Florida Marlin between the 2003-2006 seasons.

By the numbers

2003- Florida- 14-6 record 3.31 ERA
2004- Florida- 10-11 record 4.02 ERA
2005- Florida- 22-10 record 2.63 ERA
2006- Florida- 12-12 record 3.87 ERA
2007- Florida- 10-15 record 5.17 ERA
2008- Detroit- 0-2 record 9.38 ERA
Career Totals 68-56 record 3.91 ERA. 15 complete games and 8 shutouts.

This is the type of person who you wish nothing but the best of luck to. In a matter of days we will see how far Willis has come and if he can return back to his 05 ways. Tiger fans stay tuned.

NBA Playoffs Conference Semifinals

Well the first round of the NBA playoffs are over with little to no surprises.

The No. 6 seed Dallas Mavericks defeated the No. 3 seeded San Antonio Spurs. Although they were only separated by a few games in their overall records during the regular season.

It's now on to the second round of the 2009 NBA playoffs. These are the following matchups.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

(4) Atlanta Hawks vs. (1) Cleveland Cavaliers

(3) Orlando Magic vs. (2) Boston Celtics

Western Conference Semifinals

(5) Houston Rockets vs. (1) Los Angeles Lakers

(6) Dallas Mavericks vs. (2) Denver Nuggets

Let's preview each series starting with the Hawks vs. Cavs. The Cavs got here by torching the Pistons in four games. They have had numerous days off to prepare for the second round opponent. Although they didn't know if it was going to be the Hawks or Heat. The Hawks came out victorious in the series thanks to two keys depth on the front line with Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Marvin Williams. As well as their ability to play well on their home court.

As for this series the key for the Hawks will be shutting down Lebron James' supporting cast. they will have no answer for Lebron. He will be able to get an easy 30 to 40 points each game if need be. The other guys on the Cavs like Delonte West, Mo Williams, Wally Sczerbiak, Joe Smith, Zydrunas Illguaskas must be maintained and kept out of the double figure scoring column. That will not be easy to do for the young Hawks team. Hawks Head Coach Mike Woodson has done a fantastic job of bringing his team along the past couple of years with very little veteran presence. The one veteran they did acquire last season in Mike Bibby must play well in this series along with fellow backcourt mate Joe Johnson. They are just going to have to outscore the Cavs and outplay them on the rebounding end to be able to stand pat with the Cavs in this series. I just don't think the Hawks have enough firepower to do that. The Cavs should win this series with little to no adversity. Cavs in 6

On to the other eastern conference semifinal the Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics. This series has seven games written all over it no matter how you slice it up. The Magic defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the first round but it didn't come easy as they struggled early on losing the very first games of the series at home in Orlando. As for the Celtics they had an all out battle with the Chicago Bulls. It took a decisive seventh game to decide that series which was filled with body hits, bloody mouths, last second shots, and most of all an unprecedented seven overtime periods.

This series will come down to two things. The Celtics backcourt vs. the Magic frontcourt. Whoever is more dominant for their respective teams should be the deciding factor in this series. Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce have all made their presence known early on in this playoff. Rondo not as much offensively as the others, but he is the floor general and brings a great toughness to the floor. Down low for the Magic it's all about Dwight Howard who was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2009. He will be battling Kendrick Perkins of the Celtics and it's safe to say Perkins will need some help. The role players are always key when it comes to the playoffs and this series will be no different. Celtics will look for big contributions from Perkins, Glen Davis, Eddie House, Stephon Marbury, and Brian Scalbrine. While the Magic will look for Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Rafer Alston, J.J. Redick, Courtney Lee, Mikael Pietrus all to play big roles. Lewis and Turkoglu are key players who are cabable of scoring 20+ points in any one game. I feel the Celtics have too much talent and will not be denied a chance to play the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals. Celtics in 7.

Now to the western conference. I feel the Houston Rockets vs. the Los Angeles Lakers will be the most interesting series played in this round. The Lakers got here by beating the Utah Jazz in five games while the Rockets defeated the Portland TrailBlazers in six contests. Everyone feels the Lakers are a sure pick to reach the Finals. But don't move too fast just yet. The Rockets will have something to say about that and they may just have the right recipe.

The Lakers are the second best team in the NBA overall in my mind to the Cavs. Although, the Rockets are playing very well as of late. They have so many role players who do just that play their specific role. They are a complete team right now with one exception a go to player down the stretch who can really score the basketball-- Tracy McGrady would help out here. Then again maybe he wouldn't, maybe they don't need a go to guy. They are what a team is supposed to be. Stars like Ron Artest and Yao Ming will create problems for the Lakers. Second-tier players like Shane Battier, Aaron Brooks, and Luis Scola could wreak havoc. Scola in my mind is the most underrated player in the NBA. He is very crafty on the offensive end and finishes at the hoop at a high percentage. Scola is also better than advertised on the defensive end especially when rebounding the basketball. Chuck Hayes, Carl Landry, Von Wafer, and Kyle Lowry will also have to play well for the Rockets to win this series.

With all that said the Lakers are a terrific team with the second best player in the NBA on the team in Kobe Bryant. The Lakers have a complete team with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol up front. Lamar Odom must play well in this series for the Lakers to win and I feel he will. Derek Fisher, Trevor Ariza, Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton, and Shannon Brown will need to hold their end of the bargain and contribute when called upon by hitting some open shots. Having Kobe makes all the difference in this series. He can score at will in most games. He is just that good and on some nights he can score 40+ points. He is going to be the difference in this series along with the play of Lamar Odom. Lakers in 7.

The other series in the western conference is between the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks. The Nuggets got here by dismantling the New Orleans Hornets in five games. They played outstanding and really impressed me in the first round. The Mavs did the same against the Spurs by torching them in five games. The Spurs looked overmatched and nearly played as bad as the Detroit Pistons in the first round which is pretty embarrassing. This should be an interesting series but one would have to think the Nuggets are a far more superior team than the Mavs.

Chauncey Billups has been the best thing that has happened to the city of Denver sense the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup back in 2002. He has been the key to keeping the Nuggets in line and focused on winning this season. Carmelo Anthony must play like a star in this series and beyond if the Nuggets are too advance much further. Kenyon Martin and J.R Smith must fulfill their role and make contributions. Nene, Linas Kleiza, Anthony Carter, and Chris Andersen could be big in the series. For the Mavs they have been here all too often. I'm not convinced this team is any different rom the teams prior which had early exits. They have some very good players in Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki. They just don't have enough of a supporting cast around them with aging veterans in Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. After those two players can you name another contributor--try Erick Dampier or maybe not. Mavs won't be answering any bells. Nuggets in 6

So after the semifinals it's all chalk. With the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds surviving in both the eastern and western conferences. It will be one of the better conference final championships we have seen in recent past. We'll see how it all shakes out.