WPA Villains 2011

Now for the other side of the coin:  what are the worst clutch performances by Tigers batters this season?  Games where guys pounded nail after nail in their own coffins?

Follow through the jump to see the bottom 10:

Brennan Boesch    July 1,    -.435

-In a 4-3 loss to the Giants, Boesch comes in to pinch-hit for Casper Wells in the bottom of the 9th.  His two-out single advances Brandon Inge to 3rd and allows Magglio Ordonez to tie up the game with a single off Brian Wilson.  Good, right?  Ah, but then the Giants score 3 in the top of the 9th in another non-save situation for Jose Valverde and the Tigers rally back with 2 in the bottom of the 9th before Boesch comes to the plate again.  Down 3-4 with one out and the bases loaded Boesch lines into an unassisted double play for the worst single swing of the bat for the 2011 Tigers.

Brennan Boesch    April 30,    -.380

-A long, tight game against the Indians with lots of missed opportunities and at least 3 real goats.  Boesch is worst among equals, going hitless in 6 at-bats, five of which came with runners on base.

Ramon Santiago    August 9,    -.342

-A miserable 3-2 14-inning loss to the tribe in which total WPA for Tigers batters amounts to -1.129 (an inconceivably low number, for those of you unfamiliar with the scale of WPA).  The worst single performance goes to Ramon Santiago, who went 0-4 after pinch-hitting for Don Kelly including a double play on a shameful popped up bunt.

Victor Martinez    July 30,    -.317

-In a 1-5 loss to the Angels, Martinez gets the blame for a key double play which sees the Tigers last big chance to rally quashed as Miguel Cabrera gets the force at second and Magglio Ordonez is thrown out at home.

Victor Martinez    April 11,    -.304

-Miguel Cabrera reaches base 3 times and doesn’t score in an 0-2 loss to Texas.  Whose fault is that?  Why, 0-4 Victor Martinez of course, who records one more double play as well as the last out of the game.

Magglio Ordonez    April 30,    -.280

-More agony from that 13-inning loss, Magglio Ordonez matches Brennan Boesch for each whiff and every at-’em ball with his very own 0-6.

Ryan Raburn     May 18,    -.265

-You might have expected to see a lot of Raburn on this list, but he seems to have had a knack for avoiding high-leverage situations.  Not so against the Red Sox on May 18.  To cap off an 0-4 night, Raburn comes to the plate with 2 outs, Andy Dirks on third and the Tigers down 0-1.  Naturally, he strikes out swinging to end the game and give Papelbon the save.

Magglio Ordonez August 12, -.256

-Perhaps the game that brought Delmon Young to Detroit.  The Tigers actually beat the Orioles 5-4, but after a single in the first, Ordonez  comes to the plate four more times with runners in scoring position and does everything he can to dig the Tigers’ grave – finishing with 7 LOB, a pop double play and one of the worst performances in 2011 by a Tigers’ batter.

Alex Avila     April 30,     -.248

-In that 13-inning Cleveland catastrophe, Avila does his share of damage to the Tigers’ cause going 1 for 5 with two double plays.  Cleveland was 18-8 back then, oh how the tables have turned.

Brennan Boesch     June 12,     -.243

-Boesch goes 0-5 with two double plays as the Tigers lose to the M’s 3-7.