Coop Scoop

Even an "off day" isn't a day off ...

The Mud Hens have a scheduled off day Wednesday before beginning an eight-day road trip Thursday with the first of four games at Pawtucket.

But that doesn't mean there wasn't activity for the Mud Hens on Wednesday.

After Tuesday's loss at Cleveland, the parent Tigers purchased the contract of OF Quintin Berry from the Mud Hens. Berry will fill the role of Austin Jackson, who seemed poised to return to the Detroit lineup before suffering a setback in batting practice before the game.

Here are the raw numbers for Berry this season in Toledo: He hit .270 in 39 games with no home runs and 11 RBIs. He ranks second in the International League in stolen bases with 19 and has been caught three times.

Berry signed a minor-league contract with the Tigers this off season. He originally signed with Philadelphia after he was drafted in the fifth round of the 2006 draft and also has played in the San Diego and Cincinnati organizations. He's 27 years old, but this was his first everyday experience in Triple-A -- he had played in just four games with Triple-A Louisville before this season.

Obviously the name of Berry's game is speed. Twice he has stolen more than 50 bases in a season (55 for Lo-A Lakewood in the South Atlantic League in 2007, 51 for Hi-A Clearwater in the Florida State League in 2008), and he led the Double-A Southern League with 40 thefts last season.

It's clear from his stats that he's not a power hitter. Of his 43 hits, only eight are for extra bases -- all doubles. He has a .368 on-base percentage thanks to 22 walks and three hit by pitch, but the most disturbing offensive number is 46 strikeouts, which is third on the team.

Defensively he uses his speed to catch balls that many other outfielders can't reach. He does have a pair of errors, and his arm is average -- he has only one assist.

To make room for Berry on the 40-man roster, the Tigers designated RHP Collin Balester for assignment. Balester, who came to Detroit from Washington in trade for RHP Ryan Perry, was 2-0 with a 6.50 ERA with the Tigers. Balester allowed just 14 hits in 18 innings but also had 11 walks to go with 12 strikeouts in that span.

Balester must clear waivers before he could possibly join the Mud Hens.

An inside look at Adam Wilk's start Sunday

Adam Wilk had a mixed outing on Sunday in the Mud Hens 8-1 loss to Columbus at Fifth Third Field Sunday.

First, Wilk wasn't responsible for most of those runs, allowing six hits and one walk in five innings. The lefty struck out five and gave up two runs, only one of which was earned, in suffering his first loss of the season.

For the season Wilk's numbers are terrific: He is 2-1 with a 1.06 ERA, with 10 hits and just three walks allowed in 17 innings of work, which have resulted in three runs -- only two of which were earned. Wilk also has struck out 14.

For the season Wilk has a 0.76 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) and a .167 opponent's batting average. He would rank among the International League leaders in these percentage categories if he had enough innings.

The 24-year-old Wilk threw 94 pitches Sunday against Columbus, 65 for strikes (69.1 percent strikes). Here is the breakdown of pitches by inning:

• First inning: 18 pitches, 13 strikes (72.2 percent) 
• Second inning: 16 pitches, 12 strikes (75 percent)
• Third inning: 18 pitches, 13 strikes (72.2 percent)
• Fourth inning: 14 pitches, 7 strikes (50 percent)
• Fifth inning: 28 pitches, 20 strikes (71.4 percent)

As you can see, Wilk earns his image as a strike-thrower. He was above 70 percent in every inning but the fourth.

Before I get to pitch speeds, a few other "numbers." Wilk threw first-pitch strikes to 13 of the 23 batters he faced in the game (56.5 percent), which isn't as high as you might expect.

His command shows up better in these numbers, though: Wilk reached a 2-0 count to just three batters in the game (out of 26, or 11.5 percent), which led to two hits and a strikeout (two balls, five straight strikes to fan Beau Mills in the second). Wilk reached a three-ball count to just two of the 23 batters he faced (8.7 percent), which led to a walk and a strikeouts. Also, Wilk got ahead of five different Columbus batters 0-2 (21.7 percent) he two strikeouts and three other outs.

OK, here are a few pitch speeds. And before I do this, my standard reminder: No, I am not charting pitches. I try to check out pitches for movement, etc., but I've got a full plate without adding a pitch chart. So if I'm not identifying pitches correctly, my bad.

So here we go: Wilk's fastball sat at 87-89 mph (six at 87, six at 88, five at 89) while his cutter sat at 84-86 (10 at 86, four at 85, eight at 84). His change-up sat at 82-83 mph (one at 83, 10 at 82) and his slider sat at 80-81 mph (nine at 81, three at 80). Wilk also threw his curveball at 78-79 mph (three at 78, five at 79).

Remember that Wilk is still building up innings after spending time in Detroit. Since April 25, when he threw just two innings against Seattle, he has thrown just 80 pitches (in a seven-inning start against Pawtucket May 1).

As he builds up his pitch count and innings, the sharpness he needs to be successful should return as well.

Brad Eldred talks about returning to the Mud Hens

Brad Eldred returned to the Mud Hens Saturday after spending a week with the Tigers. Eldred was called up following a white-hot start with Toledo, where he led all of minor-league baseball in a number of statistical categories.

I talked with Eldred before Saturday's game about his time with Detroit, his demotion, and his attitude.

WHAT DID YOU THINK WHEN YOU GOT THE WORD ABOUT YOUR PROMOTION? "It was obviously very exciting to get called up, but it was more than that. It was good to be rewarded for swinging the bat well at the time, and hopefully I gave them a little bit of a spark that first game. A lot of times that happens: You have a hot start, or a good year, and you don't get that call.

"It was nice that the Tigers were paying attention to what we were doing down here. It's a lesson for anybody who is down here: If you take care of your business, even as a free agent, they are watching and noticing. And if a situation comes up, they're going to give you a chance."

DID YOU FEEL YOU GOT A CHANCE WITH THE TIGERS? "You want to be up there [in Detroit] rather than in Triple-A. But I got to meet those guys, and now it's easier to root for those guys now that you've met them. I hope for the best for them."

WHAT WERE YOUR EMOTIONS WHEN YOU GOT THE WORD ABOUT YOUR DEMOTION? "Initially it was disappointing at first to be sent down -- who's going to be happy with that? But I also was grateful for that opportunity. There are guys who play their whole career without getting called up to the big leagues. So I'm grateful for that week, and hopefully there's more to come."

HOW IS YOUR ATTITUDE RIGHT NOW? "I don't think anything changes in terms of how I approach the game of baseball. I can't do anything differently. I want to do the same routines, the same early work, and get myself ready for the game. Then when the game starts, I just want to keep it simple and have fun. It's see the ball, hit the ball, see what happens."

WERE YOU SURPRISED TO BE BACK IN THE LINEUP RIGHT AWAY? "I expected it. When I'm here, I want to play. I prefer to play. I'm not the person who wants to sit on the bench and see what's going on. I prefer to be on the field contributing. And every night is an opportunity to do something great, so you want to go out there and see what happens."

MANAGER PHIL NEVIN, ON PUTTING ELDRED IN SATURDAY'S LINEUP: "He's had his rest. He's had two days off. (Laughing)"

"Seriously, it was bad news for me [when he was sent down]. I want good things to happen to my guys. These guys all want to play in the big leagues, and when we send them up there, it's with the hope [that they stay] and I never see them again. Does it change the dynamic of our team? Of course. But I don't expect Brad to come back and do what he was doing. No one can keep up that pace: It's baseball history."

MORE INFO: Click here to read the details about Eldred's demotion. Click here to read a feature I wrote about Eldred just before he was promoted to Detroit. Click here to read some of the "silly" stats he amassed in his first 20 games with the Mud Hens.

An inside look at Andy Oliver's start Saturday

Andy Oliver took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and eventually settled for one hit allowed in seven strong innings to pitch the Mud Hens to a 2-1 victory over Columbus Saturday.

Here are some stats, notes and more from Oliver's performance, beginning with his numbers entering the contest. Oliver came into the game with a 1-1 record and a 4.44 ERA, but his last two starts were solid.

Against Columbus on April 23 Oliver allowed just two hits and two earned runs in six innings, walking five but striking out seven to earn the win. Versus Gwinnett on April 29 Oliver gave up just four hits and one earned run in six innings, walking four and fanning five. That brought his totals to six hits but nine walks allowed in 12 innings, producing three earned runs. He also had 12 whiffs.

The 24-year-old Oliver threw 105 pitches Saturday night against Columbus, 68 for strikes (64.8 percent strikes). He didn't allow a hit until the Clippers' Beau Mills banged a ball off the fence in right for a double, which scored Matt LaPorta with the lone run Oliver allowed. The only other baserunners Oliver allowed came on an error in the first, a walk in the second, and a walk in the third.

Oliver's final line was one hit and one earned run allowed in seven innings, with three walks and six whiffs.

Here is the breakdown of pitches by inning:

• First inning: 14 pitches, 10 strikes (71.4 percent)
• Second inning: 17 pitches, 10 strikes (58.8 percent)
• Third inning: 22 pitches, 12 strikes (54.5 percent)
• Fourth inning: 9 pitches, 7 strikes (77.8 percent)
• Fifth inning: 8 pitches, 8 strikes (100 percent)
• Sixth inning: 13 pitches, 8 strikes (61.5 percent)
• Seventh inning: 22 pitches, 13 strikes (59.1 percent)

Those are seven strong innings of work for Oliver. Notice the numbers were generally good, but they were excellent in the fourth through sixth, which were nine up, nine down. Oliver also got three in a row after a leadoff walk in the third, which meant he retired 12 in a row midway through the game.

Before I get to pitch speeds, a few other "numbers." Oliver threw first-pitch strikes to 14 of the 26 batters he faced in the game. In the fourth through sixth, when he cruised, he threw first-pitch strikes to eight of nine batters. In the other innings, it was six of 17.

Oliver reached a 2-0 count to just three batters in the game, which led to two walks and one out. Oliver reached a three-ball count to just six of the 26 batters he faced (23.1 percent), which led to three walks and three outs (and no hits). Also, Oliver got ahead of seven different Columbus batters 0-2 and got four strikeouts, two other outs and an error.

OK, here are a few pitch speeds. And before I do this, my standard reminder: No, I am not charting pitches. I try to check out pitches for movement, etc., but I've got a full plate without adding a pitch chart. So if I'm not identifying pitches correctly, my bad.

So here we go: His fastball sat at 92-94 mph (seven at 91, nine at 92, 15 at 93 and eight at 94) while his change-up sat at 85-86 mph (12 at 85, 11 at 86, three at 87, four at 88) and his slider sat at 83-84 mph (two at 81, one at 82, seven at 83, nine at 84). There were a few pitches I couldn't figure on this chart -- there were five at 89 and three at 90, and I'm sorry, I suppose they are fastballs of a sort.

At any rate, long story summed up: Oliver was outstanding against a very good Columbus offense.

His numbers for the season improve to 2-1 with a 3.78 ERA. His opponents batting average of .162 is the best in the International League. He is fifth in the IL with 33 strikeouts but is first in walks with 28.

Eldred designated for assignment by Tigers

The Tigers activated OF Delmon Young from the restricted list Friday, which was the first day he could return from that list. To make room for Young on the roster, Detroit designated DH-1B Brad Eldred for assignment.

A few things stick out to me regarding this decision. The first is that Detroit decided to keep Danny Worth rather than Eldred, which is interesting. Not wrong, mind you, but I don't think it was automatic. Worth gives the Tigers a wealth of back-up infielders -- either Ramon Santiago or Ryan Raburn, depending on who is starting at second base, as well as Donny Kelly and Worth.

Remember that when Young was placed on the restricted list, it was Worth that was promoted from Toledo to take his place.

The decision to designate Eldred for assignment does open up a logjam in the outfield and DH positions, though. The presumption is that Young will play, so there is was decision to be made in left field between playing Young or Andy Dirks. Moving Eldred opens up the DH position for Young or Dirks.

When Eldred was called up, Tigers manager Jim Leyland told the media, "Basically, we had one of the hottest hitters, maybe ever, in the minor leagues. Take a shot. Bring him up here and run him out there. I’m not going to put a timetable on it, but I think you run him out there until you think that he can or can’t do it."

Well, Detroit must have made a quick decision based on a week of activity. Not saying the Tigers were wrong -- Eldred went 3-for-16 (.188) in five games with a double and a triple, one RBI and six strikeouts in five games -- just saying it was a small sample size.

Here's the situation with Eldred: Since he has been taken on Detroit's 40-man roster, he is open to waivers and can be claimed by any other club. If he is not claimed, it's then his choice whether he returns to Toledo or not.

So his return to the Mud Hens is in limbo for the moment. Right now, it's in the hands of the 29 other major league clubs. If he is not claimed, then it becomes Eldred's choice whether he returns to Toledo or not.

Click here to read my story about his fast start with the Mud Hens. Click here to read some of the silly statistics he amassed with Toledo.

An inside look at Casey Crosby's start Thursday

Mud Hens starter Casey Crosby pitched the first 5.2 innings of Toledo's 6-4 win over Pawtucket on Thursday, and there were plenty of interesting numbers to discuss.

A little background ... Crosby was making his fifth start for the Mud Hens, having won the previous two by allowing just 12 hits and four walks that resulted in three runs in 11 innings. He came into Thursday's contest with a 2-2 record and 5.00 ERA.

The 23-year-old Crosby threw 103 pitches Thursday, 53 for strikes (yes, that means 50 were balls). He allowed just three hits (two singles and a home run on a hanging change-up to Mauro Gomez in the fifth) and two earned runs. The good news? He tied his career high with nine strikeouts. The bad news? He set a career high with seven walks.

Here is the breakdown of pitches by inning:

• First inning: 27 pitches, 17 strikes (63.0 percent)
• Second inning: 22 pitches, 10 strikes (45.5 percent)
• Third inning: 9 pitches, 7 strikes (77.8 percent)
• Fourth inning: 10 pitches, 6 strikes (60 percent)
• Fifth inning: 22 pitches, 8 strikes (36.4 percent)
• Sixth inning: 13 pitches, 4 strikes (30.8 percent)

If you ignore the second inning, when Crosby hit a three-ball count to three of the five hitters he faced (but had only one walk), the first four innings are decent. Through four innings Crosby threw 68 pitches, 40 of which were strikes (58.8 percent), although he already have four walks.

Things started coming apart in the fifth, and the strike totals show that. There were a pair of four-pitch walks in the fifth and another walk in the sixth.

Before I get to pitch speeds, a few other "numbers." Crosby threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 27 batters he faced in the game (59.3 percent). But in the first four innings Crosby threw first-pitch strikes to 12-of-18 (66.7 percent, but in the last two innings he threw first-pitch strikes to just 4-of-9 (44.4 percent).

Crosby reached a 2-0 count to just two batters in the first two innings (again, out of 18), but he fell behind 2-0 to five of the nine batters he faced in the last two innings. In the same vein, Crosby reached a three-ball count to six batters in the first four innings and four of the last nine he faced.

Here are a few pitch speeds. And before I do this, let me remind everyone: No, I am not charting pitches. I try to check out pitches for movement, etc., but I've got a full plate without adding a pitch chart. So if I'm not identifying pitches correctly, my bad.

So here we go: His fastball sat at 91-94 mph (12 at 91, six at 92, two at 93 and six at 94) while I believe he was throwing a cutter that sat at 89-90 mph (16 at 89, eight at 90). His change-up sat at 86-88 mph (two at 86, 11 at 87, four at 88), while his slider sat at 81-84 mph (two at 81, one at 82, one at 83, one at 84 -- and yes, I bet I missed a few). He also broke out a curveball that sat basically at 76-80 mph (three at 76, three at 77, three at 78, seven at 79, six at 80) but also ranged as low at 72 (once), 74 (once) and 75 (once).

One other thing: Crosby was outstanding when he found himself in trouble. Pawtucket was 1-for-8 when batting with runners in scoring position, with Crosby striking out five and also getting a double play. Crosby walked only one with a runner in scoring position but also gave up the home run in that situation.

OK, finally here are some quotes from Crosby from after the contest, starting with a possible explanation for him problems late in the game.

"Coming in to this game, I knew I wasn't feeling well," he admitted. "I was sick a couple of days ago, and I'm just now recovering from it. But I was just trying to get outs. I was a little wild, but as long as we come out with the win that's all that matters.

"My arm felt good, but my body didn't feel good. Maybe it was the change in temperature, but I still have to make better pitches. I was just trying to get outs and get out with the 'W.' "

WHAT PITCH WAS WORKING BEST? "I was mixing things up. I was mainly throwing fastballs and change-ups. I threw a few good sliders, but I wasn't really throwing them for strikes. If they didn't swing at them, they were balls. Getting ahead of guys was the key; I didn't get ahead of many guys, but when I did I was able to put them away. The guys I didn't get ahead of ... well, the seven walks was indicative of how I was pitching."

Mud Hens manager Phil Nevin was generally satisfied with Crosby's effort. "When you can go out with not-your-best-stuff and pitch the way he did against a pretty good lineup, that shows you something," Nevin said of Crosby. "He made some adjustments on the fly, and that shows you something: How good his stuff was. He showed me a lot today in gutting that out."

I asked Nevin about Crosby's ability to get big outs (with runners in scoring position), and he said, "Really, the pitch that was hit out was the right pitch. He had thrown two change-ups early in that at-bat, and had him set up for another one. But the pitch ran back over the plate, and Gomez is a good home-run hitter who got hold of it."

An inside look at Doug Fister's start Wednesday

Tigers starter Doug Fister pitched the first four innings of the Mud Hens' 5-3 win over Pawtucket on Wednesday, and the 6-8 right-hander threw well.

Fister allowed just two hits and one walk in four shutout innings, striking out five along the way.

A little background ... Fister was making his first start since April 7, when he was sidelined with a left costochondral strain in his first appearance of the season. Before that he suffered problems with his right middle finger during spring training.

The 28-year-old Fister threw 68 of the 75 pitches he was allowed, 44 of which were strikes. Here is the breakdown of pitches by inning:

• First inning: 20 pitches, 13 strikes (65 percent)
• Second inning: 17 pitches, 11 strikes (64.7 percent)
• Third inning: 12 pitches, 8 strikes (66.7 percent)
• Fourth inning: 19 pitches, 12 strikes (63.2 percent)

Notice that the percentage of strikes was consistent throughout. Also, the non-strikes were very close misses.

Here are a few pitch speeds. And before I do this, let me answer the question everyone always asks: No, I am not charting pitches. I try to check out pitches for movement, etc., but I've got a full plate without adding a pitch chart. Sorry.

So here we go: His fastball sat at 87-89 mph (six at 87, eight at 88 and seven at 89) while I believe he was throwing a cutter that sat at 85-86 mph (two at 85, 12 at 86). His slider sat at 83-84 mph (seven at 83, eight at 84) and his change-up sat at 81 mph (one at 80, five at 81, one at 82). He also broke out a curveball that ranged from 74-78 mph (two at 74, one at 75, one at 76, one at 78) and also included two at 71 and one at 69 (all three of those were strikes, and were dandies).

Finally, here are some quotes from Fister from after the contest (with thanks to Dana Wakiji for her help with the quotes) ...

"The goal for tonight was to come in here, do things as normal as possible and just kind of test things out," Fister said. "Just getting ready to go back and make pitches. I went out there and pitched how I normally would pitch. Just reacting to hitters and what's working for me tonight or not. Just kind of how we worked with [catcher Omir] Santos. I got my work in with my fastball, but also got the off-speed work in, too."

ON HIS HEALTH: "I feel good. I can't really ask for anything more right now. I let it fly tonight. We're still going to take it day by day but we're expecting the best as of right now. It's been a while. I've thrown a couple of bullpens before and they were full-tilt. Tonight went out there and pitched like I would normally pitch. Didn't really feel anything so it was good."

ON THE KEY TO HIS SUCCESS: "Being able to keep the ball down was the main key for me. Throwing the sinker and really the changeup. But I was trying to get all the pitches in, get all the work in, really trying to focus on throwing the cutter a little bit more. Being able to get back in the mental game of things, too."

WAS HE WORRIED ABOUT THE VELOCITY NOT TOUCHING 90 MPH? "I never question what my velocity is. I never know what it is. We really don't keep track of that one. For me anyway, it's just kind of a mind game that I don't play. I go out there and rely on location of the baseball and the movement of it and whatever the velocity is, that's what it is. Tonight I felt like I made some quality pitches with the location."

IS HE EXCITED ABOUT REJOINING THE TIGERS? "I can't wait. I'm eager to find out when we're going to get going and what we're going to do. It's just an exciting time for me."

IS HE EXCITED ABOUT GETTING TO PITCH IN SEATTLE? "Obviously. That was the stomping grounds I had for a while and I had a great time there. Met a lot of terrific fans, a lot of relationships I built with training staff and players and teammates. It's something that I really treasure and never am going to let go. Now I'm a Tiger and pitching for this uniform for this team, obviously going back is going to be a little bit of fun and a little extra competition. It doesn't change anything, the way I pitch, but it's always more fun."

IS HE STILL GETTING TREATMENT FOR INJURIES? "We're always doing treatment, whether it's for shoulder or now whether it's for my side. We're trying to do the pre-hab stuff to make sure this doesn't happen again. Just trying to play things smart."

WAS IT GOOD TO ALSO HAVE TO MAKE A COUPLE OF DEFENSIVE PLAYS? "Absolutely. That's always a question, being able to get back, is the reaction still there? It's always a question but it was good to get out and bounce off the mound a little bit and make a couple throws to first base."

An inside look at Oliver, Jurrjens Sunday

Two pitchers with loads of promise locked horns at Fifth Third Field Sunday afternoon as Gwinnett sent former Tigers prospect Jair Jurrjens out to face the Mud Hens Andy Oliver, and both did well.

A little background ...

• Oliver came into the contest with a 1-1 record and 5.31 ERA with Toledo. In 20.1 innings spread over four starts, Oliver had allowed 14 hits but walked 21 with 22 strikeouts.
• Jurrjens was making his first start for Gwinnett after being sent down from Atlanta. He was 0-2 with a 9.37 ERA with Atlanta, allowing 30 hits while walking 10 in just 16.1 innings. He also had just eight strikeouts.

Note that Oliver, who won't be 25 years old until December, is battling the same control issues that bedeviled him most of last season, when he was 8-12 with a 4.71 ERA and 80 walks in 147 innings for the Mud Hens.

Jurrjens' struggles were out of the blue, since last season he had been a National League All-Star and finished the year with a 13-6 record and 2.96 ERA. It's worth noting, though, that Jurrjens, who turned 26 in January, had a knee injury in August and was 1-3 with a 6.17 ERA in three starts from August 1 on.

So here's a look at the two lines: Which one was better?

• Pitcher A threw seven innings and allowed four hits and one earned run, walking three and striking out four.
• Pitcher B threw six innings and allowed four hits and one earned run, walking four and striking out five.

Close, right? But a slight edge to Pitcher A because he covered one more inning and had fewer walks, even though he also had fewer strikeouts. Right?

Wrong. Pitcher A was Jurrjens, and here was the problem with his seven innings of work: He didn't throw very hard AT ALL.

Jurrjens threw 93 pitches, 54 of which were strikes. But of those 93 pitches, only THREE registered 90 mph or faster. Jurrjens has extremely good command, but he didn't throw hard enough to get big-league hitters out.

Here are a few pitch speeds. His fastball sat at 86-89 mph (14 at 86, seven at 87, two at 88 and eight at 89) while touching 90 once and 91 twice. He had an effective curveball that sat at 74-79 mph (one at 74, two at 75, 10 at 76, four at 77, eight at 78, four at 79), and his change-up sat at 81-84 mph (seven at 81, five at 82, seven at 83, seven at 84, three at 85).

As you can see, there isn't a great range between those pitches, and his command would be much more effective if he threw harder.

Let's compare that with Oliver, who threw 103 pitches, 54 of which were strikes. Yes, that means 49 of his pitches were not strikes, which isn't a good ratio.

Here is a breakdown of pitches and strikes by inning ...

• First: 20 pitches, 11 strikes.
  
• Second: 10 pitches, six strikes.
  
• Third: 17 pitches, nine strikes.
  
• Fourth: 14 pitches, nine strikes.
  
• Fifth: 28 pitches, 15 strikes.
  
• Sixth: 15 pitches, six strikes.

Yes, that sixth inning hurt the ratio, And yes, my numbers don't add up to the total (when you're charting pitch speeds, keeping score, writing a blog and Tweeting stuff, those kinds of accounting errors happen. Sorry).

But compare the pitch speeds to Jurrjens, especially the fastball. Oliver sat at 92-94 mph (three at 91, 12 at 92, seven at 93, eight at 94) while touching 95 (once) and 96 (once). In his first four pitches -- all fastballs 92 mph or faster -- he had more plus-90 mph pitches than Jurrjens did all day.

Yes, I know throwing hard alone isn't enough to get major-league hitters out. But if Oliver solves his command issues, he'll get A LOT of big-leaguers out throwing that hard. No matter how pinpoint Jurrjens' control is, he won't get many major-league hitters out until he gets back to throwing in the 90s.

As for the rest of Oliver's pitches, his slider sat at 82-84 (five at 82, nine at 83, 15 at 84), while his change-up sat at 85-86 (six at 85, five at 86, two at 88). He also threw a pair of curveballs, one of which was 78 and the other at 79.

I'll have quotes about both Jurrjens and Oliver in Monday's Blade story, but here's something to consider about Oliver: This was his best start of the season, despite the walks.

And here was his best at-bat: It came in the fifth, with the score tied at 1-1 and Drew Sutton batting with the bases loaded with two outs. Two of the baserunners came on walks (both walks were on 3-2 pitches) and an infield single. Oliver got ahead of Sutton 1-2, then threw a slider that was a beauty, Sutton wasn't able to pull the trigger, and the ball cut right through the strike zone.

But it was called a ball.

Oliver was not deterred; he came right back with the slider and got Sutton to swing and miss to end the threat. It was a nice piece of pitching.

Brad Eldred -- Statistics and silliness

The Tigers purchased the contract of DH Brad Eldred Friday, and he joins the team in New York as the Tigers begin a three-game series against the Yankees.

Eldred certainly earned the honor by demolishing International League pitching in a 20-game cameo with the Mud Hens.

Click here to read my story about Eldred in Friday's Blade that includes comments from Eldred, Mud Hens manager Phil Nevin, hitting coach Leon "Bull" Durham and teammate Ryan Strieby about Eldred.

Here are some of Brad Eldred's batting statistics from his 20 Toledo games this season, as well as Eldred's rank in the International League and among all players in minor-league baseball (through Wednesday's games).

Category                Number    IL rank    MiLB rank
Batting average          .388             2             21
Home runs                   13             1               1
RBIs                            35             1               1
Hits                              31            1            tied 3
Doubles                        9          tied 1          tied 6
Slugging percentage   1.013           1              1
Extra-base hits             23             1              1
Runs                           23              1              2
Total bases                  81              1              1

Here are a few crazy stats from Eldred's start to the 2012 season. ...

• Eldred had at least one hit in each of his 20 games this season. But he also had at least one hit in his last six games at Fresno last season, so he is working on a 26-game hit streak spread over two seasons.
• Speaking of streaks, Eldred has at least one RBI in 16 of the 20 games he has played this season. He also has a streak of 11 consecutive games with at least one RBI. During that streak he has a total of 26 RBIs ... and that total is greater than all but one player in the International League.
• Turning to home runs, Eldred obviously leads the IL with 13 home runs. He has more home runs than eight of the other 13 IL teams.
• Eldred has hit five home runs in his last three games. His home run total in those three days is higher than all but four other IL players.
• Eldred has a 1.013 slugging percentage, which is the best in the minor leagues. No other player in the minors has a slugging percentage that is above the .900 mark (next highest is .855 by Tyler Austin of Colorado Spring in the Triple-A PCL).
• Eldred has an OPS (on-base plus slugging) mark of 1.457. No other player in the minors has a OPS that is above the 1.300 mark (next highest is 1.272 of Evan Gattis of Lynchburg in the Hi-A Carolina League).
• If you take the best on-base percentage in the IL (Buffalo's Bobby Scales at .481) and the second-best slugging percentage (Pawtucket's Will Middlebrooks at .792), the combined 1.273 mark still doesn't equal Eldred's OPS.

Mud Hens pitching continues to be scrambled

The Mud Hens have Thursday off before beginning a 10-game homestand on Friday. But Toledo will probably use the off-day to figure out what pitchers are on the roster after several moves have been made in the last 48 hours.

Here's a look at some of the comings and goings of the Mud Hens pitching staff ...

• The Mud Hens placed LHP Matt Hoffman on the disabled list Wednesday and called up LHP Shawn Teufel from Hi-A Lakeland. Hoffman was placed on the DL retroactive to April 24 because of a "left shoulder strain." Hoffman has struggled to start this season, posting a 1-0 record but a 9.45 ERA. Hoffman has allowed 14 hits and two walks in 6.2 innings while striking out only four. Worse, he has given up a run in six of his seven appearances; the one where he didn't, he didn't retire a batter and gave up two singles. Teufel was the Mud Hens' starter Sunday, and he is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA with the Hens. He was optioned back to Lakeland when the Hens added LHP Daniel Schlereth to the roster.
• The Tigers optioned LHP Adam Wilk to Toledo after Wednesday's game and called up RHP Brayan Villarreal. Wilk was Detroit's starter against Seattle Wednesday and allowed eight hits and six runs in two innings. With the Tigers Wilk was 0-3 with a 8.18 ERA; he was the Mud Hens' Opening Day starter and earned a win with five innings of one-hit shutout baseball. Villarreal had one save and a 2.00 ERA in five Mud Hen appearances, although he gave up a two-run homer in his last game at Columbus Wednesday. Villarreal has 13 strikeouts but six walks in nine innings in Toledo.
• The Tigers optioned RHP Thad Weber to Toledo before Thursday's game and purchased the contract of RHP Luke Putkonen from the Mud Hens. Weber allowed 10 hits and four runs in four innings for the Tigers after posting a 2-0 record and 0.75 ERA in two starts for the Mud Hens. Putkonen is a 25-year-old who had not pitched above Double-A before this season, but has a 1.38 ERA in six appearances for the Mud Hens. In 13 innings Putkonen has allowed nine hits and two earned runs with 10 strikeouts. He has given up five walks, one hit batsman and one wild pitch in 13 innings. But opponents are hitting just .196 against him, and he has allowed only one of the six baserunners he has inherited to score.
  

It's also worth noting, for those of you wondering why the Tigers haven't called up Brad Eldred, that Putkonen will fill the spot on the 40-man roster that was opened when RHP Al Alburquerque was moved to the 60-day disabled list. If the Tigers want to purchase Eldred's contract, they will need to take someone off the 40-man roster to do it.

Why make these moves? The Tigers need fresh arms in case the bullpen is called to action again. Detroit used its bullpen for seven innings Wednesday and four innings Tuesday. Tigers starter Rick Porcello should be fresh, though, since he covered just two innings in his most-recent start.

UPDATED 3 P.M. THURSDAY

A few additional points to be made regarding the Mud Hens and Tigers based on news from Detroit before Thursday's game. ...

• RHP Doug Fister threw 50 pitches off the bullpen mound Thursday, his first work since struggling in a side session last week in Kansas City. Fister has been sidelined by a strained left side following his first start. The Tigers will wait until Friday to see how his body responds, and to plan the next course of action. Fister will probably make at least on rehab start with the Mud Hens -- perhaps more -- since he hasn't pitched in a game since April 7 and has only pitched 14 innings since March 23 because of finger problems.
• I already have had people ask me when Fister would pitch for the Mud Hens. Answer: No Idea. But Hens are home for the next 10 games starting Friday (April 27) through Monday (April 30) versus Gwinnett, Tuesday (May 1) through Friday (May 4) versus Pawtucket and Saturday-Sunday, May 5-6, versus Columbus. The team then hits the road for the eight games that follow before returning home Tuesday, May 15 for the first of four games against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
• When the Tigers sent Wilk to Toledo, that created a hole in their rotation for next Monday, when the team returns home to begin a series against the Royals. The starter may come from Toledo, or it may come from the Tigers bullpen (Duane Below).