Buck Martinez Talks Tigers Rotation and More
October 3rd, 2009 | by jelletlambie |I had a chance recently to take part in a Q & A segment with former big league manager and current baseball analyst Buck Martinez, who is part of the coverage team for TBS Sports. I asked Buck for his thoughts on the Tigers front three starters (Verlander, Jackson, Porcello) and how they might fare against the Yankees.
Martinez: “I think they are capable of beating anyone at anytime. The one thing that Verlander has and we saw him do it before is the ability to ratchet it up at the end. He is a tremendous competitor; he has been down this road before. He still has a tremendous delivery and keeps his velocity until late in the game. I think he’s capable of shutting down anybody including the Yankees.
As far as Edwin Jackson he has had kind of a disappointing second half but not because of his pitching but he hasn’t had the run support that he would like. Obviously not the wins he would like and he has some postseason experience.
The real wild card in this is Rick Porcello. He has been terrific and it’s really kind of interesting how the contrast of Porcello and Joba Chamberlain and how their respective teams have handled them differently. Chamberlain had a good start last time out but his second half has been rough while Porcello, Jim Leyland handled him very much the way he handled Verlander in 2006, shutting down for 16 days and every time they would get him extra rest they would. He’s got a great curveball, terrific sinker and gets more groundball outs than anybody, should have to go into Yankee Stadium. That being said I know we know how good the Yankees are but I think the front three of the Tigers are well suited to match up against the Yanks.”
While I agree with Buck on Verlander and Porcello, Edwin Jackson has suffered from more than a lack of run support lately. Including his start last night Jackson has allowed five runs or more in four of his last five starts and seven home runs in his last 44 innings. The long ball is killing Jackson, and subsequently the Tigers.
Thanks to the folks at TBS Hot Corner for allowing me to take part, you can read the complete interview with numerous questions about various teams here.
Have a question or a comment? Leave your thoughts below or drop me a line at jelletlambie@gmail.com
Tags: Buck Martinez, Detroit Tigers Magic Number at 2, Detroit Tigers rotation, MLB Playoffs, Q & A With Buck martinez, TBS Hot Corner
By Kurt on Oct 3, 2009
I don’t think that the national media has caught on to just how creaky the Tigers’ rotation is. Which is strange, usually they seem quick to point out flaws in Detroit. Anyway, I agree. Jackson leaves the Tigers with a bigger hole in the rotation than most expect who haven’t seen him pitch on a start by start basis.
By jelletlambie on Oct 3, 2009
I think after last night you’ll hear the baseball tonight guys and the SI guys and the other national writers start to point out how Jackson has struggled. That is if the Tigers make the playoffs. In that case the day he starts against the Yankees all we’ll hear about is how rough he’s been lately. I agree his struggles seem to have stayed under the radar for a while there, but expect them to be out in the open going forward.