Patti Engineering Insight

Each 18 games represent 1 inning of a baseball season. The Tigers record for the first 7 innings in 2008:

        Starters:     Bullpen:

    W-L   RS –RA     HR-SB-AVG/OBA/SLG    W-L-IP-   ERA     W-L-S-ERA

1:  6-12  74 -112    15-10-262/345/404    3-9- 96.2-5.96    3-3-3-5.28

2:  9-9   98 -87     21- 6-261/350/426    5-8-105.2-5.11    4-1-2-3.61

3:  8-10  89 -75     19- 2-275/326/442    8-5-109.2-4.19    0-5-4-3.83

4:  11-7  85 -74     19- 8-268/350/416    8-4-113.0-3.27    3-3-5-5.17

5:  12-6  86 -78     25- 6-297/347/476    6-4-106.1-4.23    6-2-6-3.43

6:  9-9   118-96     25- 8-299/368/483    8-6-105.0-5.49    1-3-2-4.03

7:  7-11  93- 103    26- 8-265/353/455    7-7-104.0-4.67    0-4-4-4.92

In the 7^th inning found the Tigers start the inning with a 5-game losing streak that seemed to drain the life and energy out of the team and their fans. The season thus far can be broken into 3 distinct segments: The abysmal 24-36 start that dug a huge hole, the 28-13 run that started June 7^th with a Thames’ lead comeback win against Cleveland that got the team to 52-49, and the most recent 10-15 run that was started July 25^th with Dye’s 2-run 9^th inning homerun off of Todd Jones.

The starting pitching improved as a unit from Horrible to Mediocre, the exception being Galarraga who was great. Displaying from best to worst:

In the Bullpen, the emergence of Fernando Rodney as a closer was a bright spot. Bobby Seay continued to do well and Gary Glover provided 2.2 innings of perfect work. Other than those 3, it was pretty much like throwing gasoline on a fire. Displaying from best to worst:

The offense did OK. The 93 runs do not match a 1,000 runs/season pace, but scoring over 5 runs per game should be sufficient. Overall, I would give the individual hitters in the 7^th inning a passing grade except our Catching tandem (Inge and Sardinha), and the extremely cold Marcus Thames. Displaying from best to worst:

Even if the Tigers were to go 28-8 over the remaining 36 games to get to 90 wins, both Chicago and Minnesota would have to play at or below .500 to win the division. The Wild card is even more daunting as the Tigers are 11 games back and would have to pass four teams. The last two innings should tell a lot about 2009 and what kind of direction the team will take in the off season. That is the only reason to keep watching this train wreck at this point.

I can’t believe it has been two months since I have posted here. I apologize to the handful of people that may actually check this site.

I will use the excuse that in Michigan we have all four seasons:  winter, June, July, and August.  With the disappearance of winter, Michaganders go outdoors at every free opportunity. That along with my passion for golf has made posting a low priority.

In the last two months, I have made two separate trips with my now-teenage daughter:

We went on a seventh grade field trip to Chicago. This trip was a two-day barnstorming tour of the Windy City. Chicago is absolutely my favorite city. It is clean, has friendly people, great restaurants, and is only about a 4.5 hour drive from my front door. I did the Wendella Boat Tour for the first time on the trip and highly recommend it. The history and focus on the city architecture was absolutely fascinating.

Our second trip was to the Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha. It was a great opportunity for her to see the best at her favorite sport in action. USA Swimming did a nice job of producing the event and the atmosphere was exciting and intense. One thousand, two hundred forty-three swimmers qualified to swim at the Olympic Trials, but only 43 made the team.

To give an example of the intensity of the Trials, take Hayley McGregory. She went from the high of setting a world record in the 100m backstroke prelims (which was subsequently broken twice by Natalie Coughlin), to the low of not making the Olympic team by finishing 3rd in the finals of both the 100m and 200m backstroke (top 2 make the team).

The Tigers are playing better and have their destiny in their own hands as almost 25% of their remaining schedule is against the two teams they are chasing in the Central Division. My golf game has improved as I have finally got the concept that the game is more about keeping the ball in play instead of trying to see how far you can hit it.

Here is a summary of my memorable 18 Holes: 

1. 1. Bethpage Black - Par 4 - 430 yards - A.W. Tillinghast (1936) - Farmingdale, NY
   2. Genesee Valley Meadows - Par 3 - 213 yards - Ellis, Arndt & Truesdell (1963) - Swartz Creek, MI
   3. Wawashkamo - Par 4 - 336 yards - Alex Smith (1898) - Mackinac Island, MI
   4. LaCosta (South) - Par 4 - 382 yards - Dick Wilson (1965) - Carlsbad, CA
   5. Arcadia Bluffs - Par 5 - 583 yards - Warren Henderson/Rick Smith (1999) - Arcadia, MI
   6. Masterpiece (Treetops) - Par 3 - 180 yards - Robert Trent Jones Sr. (1987) - Gaylord, MI
   7. Oak Quarry - Par 4 - 403 yards - Dr. Gil Morgan (2000) - Riverside, CA
   8. Doral (Blue) - Par 5 - 563 yards - Dick Wilson (1962) - Miami, FL
   9. Indianwood (Old) - Par 4 - 343 yards - Wilfrid Reid (1925) - Lake Orion, MI
   10. Crystal Downs - Par 4 - 395 yards - Alister Mackenzie (1929) - Frankfort, MI
   11. The Orchards - Par 5 - 607 yards - Robert Trent Jones II (1993) - Washington, MI
   12. Shepherd’s Hollow - Par 3 - 226 yards - Arthur Hills (2000) - Clarkston, MI
   13. The Hills (Boyne Highlands) - Par 5 - 570 yards - Arthur Hills (2000) - Harbor Springs, MI
   14. Aviara - Par 3 - 201 yards - Arnold Palmer (1991) - Carlsbad, CA
   15. Torrey Pines (South) - Par 4 - 477 yards - William F. Bell Jr (1957) - La Jolla, CA
   16. Oakland Hills (South) - Par 4 - 406 yards - Donald Ross (1918) - Bloomfield Hills, MI
   17. Oakhurst - Par 4 - 493 yards - Arthur Hills (1998) - Clarkston, MI
   18. The Heather (Boyne Highlands) - 451 yards - Robert Trent Jones Sr. (1967) - Harbor Springs, MI

• Front 9: Par 36 - 3,433 yards
• Back 9: Par 36 - 3,826 yards
• Total: Par 72 - 7,259 yards

Some Facts:

• Old but Good: 10 of the 18 holes are over 40 years old, 5 of the 18 are over 70 years old.
• Favorite Architects: Arthur Hills - 3 Holes, Robert Trent Jones Sr. - 2 (His son also did 1), Dick Wilson - 2
• Back is Tougher: I added nearly 400 yards to the back 9 holes, that sets up for my game as I usually do better on my 2nd nine holes.
• Location: 12 holes are located in the state of Michigan (6 of which are “Up North”), 4 holes are in California (Southern), 1 in NY, and 1 in Florida.
• Demographics: 8 holes are public, 6 are resort, and 4 are private.

Posting about golf for the past 4 months has me thoroughly pumped up for the golf season this year. Right now I am sitting through a Michigan Ice Storm, but I know better weather is coming soon. Opening Day for the Tigers is six weeks away. Shortly after that I will get the sticks out, and start sloshing around the local courses for the spring thaw. See you on the Links.