Todd Jones

p;     4.16            62-51

Todd Jones           1 Yr/$7 mil          5.05    DET          4.40               4.31            55-56

Continue reading "Are Relief Pitchers Worth Their Contracts?"

poor pitching.  Joel Zumaya is always banged up, Fernando Rodney has been awful this year, and Todd Jones is a blown save waiting to happen.  Pudge is a significant loss, but Brandon Inge is a decent fielder who has been starved for playing time this year since Detroit acquired Miguel Cabrera to play third base.  Jim Leyland will hope that the increased playing time will jumpstart Inge's bat.  Overall, the offensive downgrade is worth the upgrade in the bullpen for the Tigers, who already have a very deep lineup.

Continue reading "Heilman Holds Perez's Lead, Delgado Puts it Away"

; Minnesota scored one run in the seventh inning, one in the eighth and two in the ninth off closer Todd Jones to send the game to extra innings.  Justin Morneau belted a home run in the top of the 11th (his fifth hit of the game) to win it 7-6.  Minnesota's bullpen tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings to keep the game in check.  The Twins are perhaps the most surprising contender this season, sitting at 51-41, just three games back of both the White Sox for the division lead and the Red Sox for the Wild Card.  Minnesota is a well-run organization that develops their players with a winning attitude and smart baseball sense from the minors all the way up.  Despite a relative lack of stars, outside of Morneau and catcher Joe Mauer, they do all the little things right and win with speed, defense and timely hitting, rather than home runs and big contracts.  As long as their young starting pitching stays healthy and consistent, the Twins could stay in the playoff hunt for the duration of the season, even after trading away Johan Santana in the Winter.

Continue reading "Dust Off Your Brooms, Tatis Comes Through Again"