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I love how baseball is so unpredictable. The last column I wrote was that of singing the praises of Will Rhymes. Well, this Monday night Rhymes was optioned back to class AAA Toledo.

In his stead comes the guy I picked to be 2010 Rookie of the Year before his nagging ankle injury left him hobbling back to the minors.

This year, Scott Sizemore is healthy. His ankle injury seems to be healed and his bat is scorching. So far this season, Sizemore is batting .408 with two homers, 15 RBI, seven doubles and 17 Runs Scored.

Sizemore was drafted as a Shortstop in the 2006 amateur draft and has been moved over in both directions to fit the needs of the big club. It was clear from day one that this kid was going to hit at the major league level but he had to get healthy first.

Last year, in 48 games in the majors, Sizemore batted just .224/.296/.336 but had three homers 14 RBI and scored 19 runs. His weak ankle was pushing him off balance and as a result the powerful prospect struck out 40 times in 163 plate appearances, while walking just 15 times.

He has a good eye at the plate and should shift the Tigers line-up around mightily – which is needed at this point. The Tigers have lost seven straight games; losing game one of their current series after being swept by the Mariners and Indians.

Sizemore has a very good eye at the plate and will strike out only about as much as he walks. He also has enough power to scoot him down in the lineup. In which case, you could see him anywhere in the order from second to seventh. He also has a bit of speed (21 SB in 2009).

As you can tell, I’m pretty high on this guy. Like I said above, I picked him, not Austin Jackson or Neftali Feliz, to win the 2010 Rookie of the Year. While I liked Will Rhymes and his lengthy At-Bats, His .221 average with a total of just two RBI and six Runs scored show that maybe this kid has some more work to do down in Toledo.

Sizemore will most often start at Second base but could fill in at 3B and SS if the team is in a crunch. I’m expecting big things out of the 26 year-old infielder. Keep an eye on this kid.

AnnexNate | Bio, MLB, Nate Walters, Tigers, Uncategorized | Tuesday May 3rd, 2011 | No Comments »

The struggles of Matt Thornton and Juan Pierre have this hypothetical White Sox GM in a rage of fury. The following scene is the dream of one GCS writer, who wishes to remain anonymous, but still needs to get a few choice words off his chest.

Action!

GM: Sit down.

Juan and Matt strut into the office, eyes glued to the floor

Matt, what the fuck man? You said you wanted this role. You earned it with your performances the last few seasons. Kenny gave you the $ saved by letting fat asshole Bobby Jenks go. You blew 2 saves all of last year, this season you’re 3 for fucking 3! What happened to your secondary pitches? what happened to your effortless delivery? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?(points to Juan Pierre)

JUAN: I’m sorry, I…

GM: YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH! Sit there in silence and hang your head in shame! I’ll deal with you in a minute.

Pierre’s mouth hangs agape and Thornton’s eyes widen with astonishment.

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GCS | Fan Rant | Tuesday April 12th, 2011 | No Comments »

Sometimes there are things more important than output in a batting order. While the Tigers may be struggling out of the gate in the AL Central, Will Rhymes, the winner of the Tigers Second base sweepstakes, has been showing a skill that is guaranteed to benefit the rest of Detroit’s lineup.

I started writing this brief column while the young second-sacker was in the midst of yet another lengthy battle with an opposing pitcher. Multiple times in the early stages of this season, Rhymes has been involved in nine to 15-pitch at bats where it seemed the hurler was forced to show all of his cards.

When a top-of-the-order hitter can sucker a pitcher into not only throwing a dozen pitches or so, but showing all of his off-speed pitches and variations, the entire lineup can benefit. After finishing the at-bat, Rhymes can (hopefully after rounding the bases) go down into the dugout and tell other hitters about any possible cases of pitches being tipped, any control problems or anything that is especially nasty on that day.

By bloating a pitch-count lengthy at bats could also be responsible for the early exit of some of the AL Central’s incredibly tough starting pitchers.

In his time in Detroit, a couple years back, Placido Polanco proved an incredible talent for doing exactly this. He helped the team in a statistically immeasurable way and when he left it was definitely noticeable as the Tigers became merely a .500 team. With Will Rhymes now showing a natural ability to expand pitch-counts it is only a matter of time before the benefits of his selectivity show in this already dangerous lineup.

AnnexNate | Bio, MLB, Nate Walters, Tigers | Sunday April 10th, 2011 | No Comments »

Chicago White Sox (Wes French) @ Cleveland Indians (Tony Bosma)
Three games at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH – April 1-3, 2011
Tony – Sell out crowd brings a W   |   Wes – Two out of three ain’t bad

Opening Punches

TB – Expectations. For the Indians, there are very few, but for the White Sox, anything less than a playoff birth is unacceptable. There would be no better way to start off the season than with a sweep of the White Sox, but even the high of Opening Day won’t get me talking that way. If the Indians are to take a game in this series, it will be Friday, in front of a sell out crowd at Progressive Field. Besides, it will be one of very few throughout the 2011 season. That’s not to say the Tribe can’t win this series with a division rival… it just means they won’t. Fausto Carmona (if it’s the good Carmona) gives the Tribe their best chance at a win, especially with Jake Peavy on the DL with a bum shoulder.

WF – The White Sox and Indians open 2011 with completely different outlooks. The Sox are aiming high after an unexpected spending spree this offseason, looking for their first playoff berth since 2008. The Indians are stuck at the opposite end of the spectrum, forced to rely on young players in vital roles. This series won’t merit much attention league-wide, but don’t take it lightly. Chicago needs to make a statement early and justify all the money spent with wins. Cleveland has a chance to play spoiler from the gate, while also seeing just what they have in some of these youngsters. Time to play ball, boys!

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Tony Bosma | Division Duel, Indians, MLB, Tony Bosma, Wes French, White Sox, Writers | Friday April 1st, 2011 | No Comments »

First impressions are said to be everything. If that’s the case, 2007 sure feels like a long time ago. Now four years removed from their last American League Championship Series appearance, the Cleveland Indians have overhauled their roster with an influx of young talent and a touch of veteran presence

The days of an intimidating offensive lineup and dominating pitching rotation are over in Cleveland. That’s not to say there aren’t any diamonds in the rough or quality players on the roster, it’s simply a statement of fact. The Indians of 2007 are gone and it’s time to move on. Maybe I’m a couple years late in the healing process, but in sports, sometimes it just takes that long.

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Tony Bosma | Indians, MLB | Friday April 1st, 2011 | No Comments »