Tigers Baseball Outsider

2012 and the 40 Game Mark

2012-05-20T12:04:00.000-04:00

Here again we sit at the 40 game mark.

Verlander tips hat after
finishing almost no-hittter against
Pittsburgh on May 18

This time the year is 2012, and the Tiger's roster has all of baseball expecting the Detroiters to be the AL Central Champs – and to at least advance well into the playoffs.

So all of Tigers Nation has been on pins and needles waiting for this lineup of hitters that can actually switch from left to right handed hitter every batter – we have all been waiting for this lineup to explode.

The opening series looked promising – as just such explosions went off against Boston – Cabrera and Fielder showing what an amazing powerhouse combo they could be.

Justin Verlander came out of the off season with the same kind of control and domination he showed last year.

"Great, so how are the boys doing then?" Might ask the recently recovered survivor stranded on a dessert island.

Well, right now the Tigers are …. Drum roll please … wait – let me double check baseball-refernce.com quick to make sure …

Third place? Four games back of Cleveland?

A game under .500?

The whole of Tigers Nation is wondering what used car salesmen sold this fan base on the hype of this team.

And this year, I have listened, read, and participated in far too many conversations revolving around firing the pitching coach, the hitting coach and the manager.

Fans are pissed off.

Just to rub a bit more salt in the wound, the Tiger's released long time fan favorite / superhero Brandon Inge as he was hitting below .200 and was not doing very well fielding at second base – only to see Inge picked up by AL West rival Oakland and have a career week and be in the running for MLB player of the week – a week that included games against a west coast traveling Tiger's squad.

But now Inge is on the DL – in Oakland – and all are left to wonder if that was but one last gasp of dying career before what appears to be inevitable – but so often postponed by the will power of Inge.

Yes, I agree, that was a paragraph too many about Brandon Inge.

Justin Verlander's pitching has been stellar – but a hitting slump disallowed Verlander to win giving up only two or three runs – and a failing bullpen has pulled the wins out from under Justin's feet. He sits right now at 5 – 1, but that record should be oh so much better.

Two nights ago, Verlander carried a bid for a no-hitter into the ninth – effortlessly blasting 100 mph fastballs and nasty breaking other stuff past a formidable Pittsburgh Pirates lineup – only to have it broken up by a "get-a-barrel-of-the-bat" stab at a low curve resulting in a bloop single hit up the middle by Josh Harrison with only two more outs until perfection.

And the fans reaction after that game?

Leyland should be fired for playing Jhonny Peralta at short stop because Peralta did not dive for the ball.

Check out this teams batting average at the 40 game mark:

Strong hitting from Jackson Dirks, Cabrera, and Fielder show a strong front four players at the top of the line up. But Dirks has been batting in the two-hole only recently – Boesch held that spot in the order for the first thirty games.

The numbers look good, and once in a while the front of this lineup does explode. But overall this Tiger's gunpowder seems to be wet – and finding dry patches to spark appears to randon at best.

Aside from Verlander – there hasn't really been anything stellar to point to. Jose Valverde who went perfect in 2011 in save situations – has been nowhere near perfect in 2012 – losing his first save opportunity for Verlander in game one of 2012 – the celebrated home opening day in Detroit.

Fisters been hurt. Porcello and Smyly (a rookie with great promise up from Toledo) have held their frustrating own at .500 – and the rest – basically throwing batting practice with umpires on the field.

And that's how we sit at 4 games back in the AL Cenral – one game under .500 after the first 40 games of the 2012 season.

Does it look like things will turn around? Well Verlander's almost no-no the other night certainly gave promise – but there is little real signs that anything else will change.

Basically – this team is playing well below potential now. The whole team. And that has led to fans screaming for Manager Jim Leyland's head. That and some questionable decisions. It's hard to read the papers and sports news sites – or listen to the radio.

Tiger fans are livid.

I think things will find their level – and the Tigers will get hot for twice the streak they are slumping. I do think they will pull out of this and nobody need be fired – although I think it's time to send Ryan Raburn someplace like Toledo.

But I do think the Tigers will survive this period.

But I appear to be in the minority. We don't need a scapegoat.

We just need these guys to follow Verlander's and Cabrera's and Fielders example – and start delivering what they owe this team, and these fans.

Fielder Only Makes Tigers Stronger - Way Stronger

2012-01-28T12:11:00.000-05:00

You’ve already heard that Prince Fielder – National League All Star, MVP contender, Home Run contender and son of Tiger great Cecil Fielder – has been signed to a 9 year 214 million dollar contract to play 1^st base for our Detroit Tigers.

But we already have a first baseman. He’s great. His name is Miguel Cabrera and he was the American League All Star, MVP Contending, slugging contender?

We built this team around Cabrera!

Yep, well now we have two.

Well, which one is better?

Good question – that call can go either way! But that question does not matter.

They are both great.

They are both practically in the Hall Of Fame already, along with Justin Verlander.

Yeah? But they both play first base?

This has been the talk all around Tiger country for the last five days.

Skip Jim Leyland has already stated that the thinking is to move Cabrera back over to 3^rd. He’s already talked to Brandon Inge – the .240 career hitting three bagger who hangs on by the skin of his teeth by the excellent defense he provides at third base – the player that only the week before at a fan gathering stated to the media “I love Don Kelly (then thought to be Brandon’s 3^rd base competition – but I’m playing to be at third everyday”.

Cabrera was put at third in 2008 when he first signed with the Tigers. Carlos Guillen played first. The move was a travesty that resulted in the boys of the Old English D starting the 2008 season 0 – 7.

But that was 2008. Cabrera has changed as a ball player. He plays a pretty solid first. He has shown that he can make those instant reflex snags of line drives hit to either side of him. He works hard and I think now, four years later, if Miguel is willing, a shot at third is worth a try.

Both Cabrera and Fielder do not want to DH yet. They’re both too young at 27 and 28. They both have another decade at least remaining in the major league drives to hall of fame first ballot status. And the Tigers have other DH potentials.

And Victor Martinez – who’s winter ball injury in Venzuela made this deal for Fielder possible – is a really good DH. The hope is that at the end of the season – in the drive through August or September – V-Mart might be able to return to this line up.

That’s why you don’t want Fielder or Cabrera as your designated hitter.

But the truth will bear itself out as the season progresses. Who knows what will really happen?

There’s some other upsides to this season starting in a couple of weeks in Lakeland:

Austin Jackson will respond to his dreadful post season performance with stellar defense and resume the role of leadoff hitter with a high on base percentage – proving his sophomore slump of 2011 is behind him.

Delmon Young, late season acquisition, could likely be our designated hitter.

Brennan Boesch will quietly have a stellar year benefiting from being pitched to because Cabrera and Fielder hitting behind them force pitchers to throw to him. Look for Boesch starting in right field.

Our pitching continues to be dominant from Verlander, Scherzer, and Fister. These guys deserve dozens of pages of their own. Justin Verlander is the reigning Cy-Young and American League MVP. Let’s hope he keeps it going in 2012.

Jose “Papa Grande” Valverde – the dominant closer who did not blow a single save in 2011 will return to shut down opposing offenses in the ninth.

And Alex Avila – who really stepped up into elite catcher status in 2011 will return behind the plate. The Tiger’s Iron Horse can’t catch every game again this year – the wear and tear really showed in the post-season. Alex has the opportunity to surpass Bill Freehan as the Tigers most powerful and most beloved catcher in team history.

Jhonny Peralta is a wily veteran at short – hit .295 last year – but when adding his range at short to Cabrera’s potential range at third – and the defense on the left side of the infield diminishes.

As well, there still is no solid answer to who plays second. Ryan Raburn and Don Kelly’s names have been tossed out there. The edge likely goes to Raburn’s bat in the lineup. But either would suffice. Neither are really the nimble athlete’s one wants covering up the middle or behind Fielder at first – who’s range is less than that of Cabrera’s.

So the infield becomes an opportunity for small ball minded teams to find holes larger than most.

But does that concern outweigh the benefits of the power of this team?

Brandon Inge isn’t very happy though.

2012 will be an exciting season for our Detroiters. The opening weeks of the 2012 season will be very telling. A slow start can be overcome, but not an 0 – 7 start like the one of 2008.

ALCS Game 5 - Tigers Turn The Tide

2011-10-14T23:31:00.000-04:00

Justin Verlander waves as he leaves game 5

This 2011 ALCS is the most exciting series I have ever been truly emotionally invested in.

Every game has been right to the wire – regardless of the final score.

Every game has tested every facet of each component of both teams.

And as this ALCS series between the Tigers and the Texas Rangers sits 2-3 in favor of the lone star men, I think it interesting that Justin Verlander pitches a good game, but there were other heros that changed the momentum of the series back to the favor of the Tigers.

Yep.

So far, the two biggest key points that have allowed Texas to squeak out one win more than the Detroiters has been one extra hit and a bit more depth in the bullpen.

Unfortunately that one extra bat of Texas has only recently been countered by Alex Avila – at when Alex hit a two run shot in Game 5 last night.

But not by Austin Jackson who just seems overwhelmed by the whole experience.

Jackson has just had a horrible series to date – with two errors that were costly fumbles on what seemed to be very makeable plays – standard fare for a major league centerfielder and surely for a player like Jackson who stunned us over and over again this season with over the shoulder basket catches at the wall time and time again.

As for Alex Avila, who continues to catch with excellence and throwing darts to second base to catch almost all runners – Alex is just plain wore out. Alex caught 141 regular season games this year, and the all star game, as well as a brutally tough ALDS series with the Yankees.

There was no break for Avila. He has been our iron horse.

Avila is spent and battered and bruised, like no other player on the squad.

Clearly the public perception is that Saturday night’s game 6 back in Arlington will be no more than a formality to usher the Rangers into the World Series at home.

But I have this feeling.

I have this feeling that during the course of the Tigers win in Game five, that the tides of momentum switched to our favor.

A natural cycle in the same inning – the sixth inning – the score then tied 2-2. The single by Raburn. The Double by Cabrera. The triple by Martinez. And the home run by Delmon Young.

Young raked two dingers for the night despite suffering an injury to his right oblique.

Cabrera’s shot hit third base on the second bounce to skip ever so prettily over Texas three bagger Adrian Beltre and gingerly rolling around in the left field corner. Beltre had shown up Cabrera in Game four by moonwalking his way backwards to third base for force on Cabrera as Miguel stood there stunned watching the idiocy.

And Martinez’s triple down the right field line was just as beautiful seeing the Texan right fielder Nelson Cruz – who had been knighted “Tiger Killer” in the ALCS so far - dive only to miss the ball which disappeared in the right field corner.

Each hit in the cycle was as meaningful as it was memorable.

Meaningful as life filled what was looking to be a dead dugout.

Meanwhile Texas looked … surprised … and worried.

So Tigers winning game six – Max Scherzer starting for the Tigers – winning is not unreasonable. Certainly it’s feasible.

It’s do or die and the rest of the baseball world has counted the Tigers out. So there is no pressure on the Tigers. Instead the pressure is now on Texas, who needs that one final win to seal this deal. The last win can be the hardest. And Texas knows that if they let this series get to a game seven – all bets are off.

Fister would then be on the mound for Detroit.

Texas would then press. Press at the plate. Press on the mound. Press in the field.

And the mere fact that Texas feels that pressure will indeed relax the Tigers.

Anything can still happen. This series is far from over. This series is not a done deal. Do not stick a fork in the Tigers, they aren’t done yet.

As I watched that third base shot hit by Miguel Cabrera bounce over the head of Beltre and into the left field corner, I felt reassured – like a signal that the storm beating down on the Tigers in this ALCS was now over.

I heard a voice in my head say “It will be alright”.

And you know what? I believe it.

ALCS Game 1 - Up To The Eye Of The Beholder

2011-10-09T13:45:00.000-04:00

It is the best of times, and the worst of times.

Okay, that’s a bit dramatic, it’s really only the best of times for Detroit Tiger fans this postseason.

But these close postseason games are killer on the emotional psyche. We’re not even halfway through this run to winning the World Series and this fan is emotionally drained.

It’s easy to think that everyone is against us.

The weather.

The umpires.

The national media.

But it’s not really the case.

Weather does what weather does – seemingly following the Tigers from stadium to park to stadium.

Umpires simply do what umpires do. Their human eyes make mistakes.

And the National Media has been pretty kind to the Detroiters – despite the fact it’s a no-brainer that Fox television ratings would be higher if the Yankees were still in the postseason.

That’s why suddenly you see Terry Francona in the Fox Sports broadcaster’s box next to Joe Buck.

But the cards are not falling in perfect position for the Tiger’s “perfect storm” scenario this year.

Rain totally messed up the rotation of the ALDS with New York, cancelling out Verlander’s first appearance and leaving the weight of the series on Scherzer and Fister who both tackled the daunting challenge by holding off the Bronx Bombers with nail biting victories.

Home plate umpire Tim Welke seemingly having some yet undiagnosed issue with his right eye’s ability to judge a ball against the right side border of the strike zone – which seemingly cleared up between innings when the J.C. Wilson took the mound and pounded the same spot against Tiger batters. It kept coming back though as the Tigers took the field.

Perhaps it’s payback of some sort.

But that’s not really the case. I’m sure Welke was convinced at the time he made all those bad calls that they were pin point accurate.

But when Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck makes a point over and over again to point out that the little graphic of squares they show in the bottom corner of the screen charting where the pitch was in relation to the strike zone is only a best approximation – even though it uses the same technology of trianglulation from three different points to determine where the ball crosses the front of the plate exactly as is used in tennis to determine where the the ball lands on the base line down to the most minute speck of fibre spinning off the felted cover.

It would have been interesting to have heard Bud Selig’s call to the director of Major League Baseball’s broadcasting team.

“Uhh … you know that little pitch-tracker square you guys show on TV?”

“Yeah, it’s accurate to within a millimeter – amazing eh?”

“Yeah, right – shut that thing off”

“We paid a lot of money for that thinga-ma-jiggy, Bud!” would say the director. “We got advertisers tag lines and everything for it – it makes us big money”

“Well, the umpires are complaining it’s showing them up”

“Oh yeah? Well we have contractual commitments to use it”.

“Okay – then just say it’s unreliable”.

“Like a human is actually pointing to where the ball lands?”

“Yeah, like that – say it’s just an approximation”

“Like an umpires vision?”

“Yeah, like that”.

“Okay, you’re the boss, Bud. You got it”.

And the email was then sent to all broadcasters.

Did you notice how I digressed? I think I am suffering some post traumatic stress disorder after that amazing Game 5 of the ALDS. My right eyelid won’t stop twitching.

Add to this the offensive lack of confidence flaring out of control in both catcher Alex Avila’s and center fielder Austin Jackson. Avila is still catching a great game behind the plate. But Jackson’s now dropping easy catches in centerfield. Both are in need a good Dr. Phil session in the clubhouse to talk about their feelings and get their head straight at the plate. Both are great players who were huge parts of the Tigers getting to the post season. And both need to get it back into their heads that they are still great.

And it goes without saying this Tigers batting order only lines up well with Delmon Young in the two hole of the order.

The Tigers are limping a bit now. And down 0-1 to Texas after losing THE game that they were supposed to win on the road with Verlander pitching.

But for some reason I still feel good about our chances. I know we have at least four more games to be played. At least two in Detroit at Comerica.

It is indeed the best of times for Tigers fans. But the thought of the heartbreak to be felt should we not get to the World Series seems to cancel out all the enjoyment. The frustration of the bad breaks.

But I for one have to take a deep breath – and not wish this experience away.

We have to savor every moment of this great post season.

Because really, it just doesn’t get any better than this.

Not Good Enough - Not Yet

2011-09-10T13:18:00.000-04:00

AP Photo: Cabrera and Verlander

It’s September 10^th and the boys of the Old English D are 20 games over .500.

The Tigers are 9.5 games up on the dastardly bastardly White Sox, 10 up on the Indians, and 23 games up on the Twins – the team that in past years (2006 and 2009) made the Tigers look foolish by sliding by on the last pitch of those seasons to swipe the AL Central Division Title.

The magic number this morning is 10. There are 18 games left to play. The Tigers have won their last 7.

I think now we can all take a deep breath and realize the Tigers will get to the post season.

Those last seven games have been against Chicago, Cleveland, and Minnesota. They have been beating up on weak pitching. Justin Verlander’s Cy Young bid has been secondary talk to the debate over whether a pitcher can be the AL MVP.

The additions since the All Star to the Tiger’s roster have been key. Wilson Betimit at third, Delmon Young and Doug Fister have each contributed significantly to help stretch the lead by adding power at the plate and solid pitching into a weak rotation.

But in the words of Yogi Berra – it ain’t over ‘till it’s over.

Yeah, I know. That’s not a great attitude. But I still have that horrific taste of 2009’s game 163 in my mouth – the last game ever played in the dome from hell in Minnesota – next to the Twin Cities airport – the one that brought my last feelings of Tiger’s jubilation crashing to the ground like the meteor that slammed into the Earth millions of years ago and ended the reign of the dinosaurs.

But it doesn’t smell like that this year. 2011 smells much sweeter, more so than 2006 when the Tiger’s lucked out by having the AL wildcard slot to fall back into after being swept by Kansas City in the final three games to watch Minnesota tip-toe past them to back into the AL Central Division title.

It smells a lot better this year. The air is sweetened by power appearing up and down the line up scoring 73 runs in their last 8 games – averaging a hair more than nine runs a game, and outscoring their opponents by an average of more than six runs a game.

Yes, it’s true this streak has taken place against AL Central rivals – the Tigers haven’t played outside their division since their last game in Tampa Bay August 25^th, but that’s what they needed to do to pull away from Chicago and Cleveland – beat the snot out of them.

And they have.

So now the talk turns instead to looking forward to the post season, and where will they finish in the bigger picture of the four post season contenders. The wildcard will be in the East, that’s a lock, so you know both the Yankees and the Red Sox will be in but the Yankees are not a lock with only a 2.5 game lead, and many conceding the Red Sox are actually the better team of the two. In the West, Texas and Los Angeles are also battling with the Rangers up by 2.5 – but the loser of this race can only sit and watch.

If the playoffs were to start today, the Tigers who are a single loss better than Texas – would be playing wildcard entry Boston in the ALDS – not the best match up for the Tigers. But the Tigers would have the opportunity to throw Verlander at them twice and Fister once in a short five game series – so they do have a fighting chance.

The post season is the big unknown. To me it’s a really big black hole where anything could happen once the Tigers get there. Notice I said when?

Listening to the sports radio this morning, the eminent Pat Caputo hosting his Saturday morning show – one caller in particular spoke vehemently that Tiger fans should not be satisfied unless they win the World Series. The good sport side of my brain - the dominant side I’m afraid – thinks that’s the wrong attitude. But deep in my heart – and in that tiny suppressed side of my psyche – agrees that this year just getting to the playoffs is not good enough.

Not after 2006 when the Tigers folded in the World Series against a much inferior Cardinals team, folding and freezing up offensively – and defensively with pitcher fielding errors in damned near every game – choking like they did against Kansas City in the final three games of the regular season .

No, the playoffs are not good enough.

This newly expanded explosive offense needs to be fully loaded and ready to go off like crazed madmen satisfied with nothing less than World Series rings at the end of October. No standing at the plate with men in scoring position watching strike three go by.

No Brandon Inge on this post season roster. As you can tell by my last post some two months ago now, I thought we put that enigma to rest. Instead we need to see a lineup of hot Cabrera’s, Martinez’s, Young’s, Avila’s and even Santiago’s and Guillen’s hit line shots with power all over and out of the park. We need Verlander’s and Fister’s and Scherzer’s nailing the corners with 95-100 mph stuff and wicked-ass breaking stuff leaving Bo-Sox batters standing at the plate whimpering like little girls not invited to the Halloween dance at the local elementary school.

Is that too much to ask?

Baseball – it has been said – is a game of losing. You lose more than you win. If you get on base just once in three times at bat, your succeeding even though you failing two thirds of the time.

We’ve seen the Tigers lose before. They used to be pretty damn good at it.

Should these Detroiter boys of summer not continue deep into fall and win this whole thing, Tiger fans will feel heartbreak. Tiger fans will see 2011 as another missed opportunity. Tiger fans will find it even harder to get emotionally steady to go through it all over again in 2012.

Mr. Illitch isn’t getting any younger. His recent spending will attest to it.

Mr. Leyland isn’t getting any more cleverer. His recent decision making will attest to it.

Mr. Dombrowski won’t get any more insightful, his recent off season acquisitions will attest to it.

2011 has to be the year. Anything less won’t be enough.

The cards are all on that table. And the Tiger’s Leyland holds a pretty decent hand. But baseball, like poker, has eight strong contenders sitting at the same table, betting and bluffing and pulling out straights and royal flushes and full hoses and royal straights. This is the big boy’s table.

The way I see it, the rest of this season depends as much on Leyland’s ability to play his cards right, lining up his starting rotation and picking the right hot hitter in the two hole in the lineup, and managing his bullpen.

I can tell you for sure that Leyland will be second guessed by Tiger fans at every move he makes.

I can’t wait.

But I’m not wearing my heart on my sleeve this year. It hurts too much.

Brandon Inge - The End Of An Enigma

2011-07-21T10:36:00.001-04:00

Well, this is likely the end of the Brandon Inge era in Detroit.

Inge has accepted an assignment to Toledo … to take one final shot at continuing his professional career in the bigs. An assignment he is unlikely to return to Detroit from.

I am an Inge fan.

I would have rather he retired.

I would have rather on the return from the All Star break, that Brandon just step up to the microphone and said:

“Thanks guys, it’s been great. Baseball has been very very good to me. I will miss the game and the fans and wearing the Old English D, but it’s time I move on. I have purchased a ranch and my family and I will now enjoys a comfortable life raising llamas and camels we will donate to underdeveloped nations”

A couple of tears, a couple of hugs from teammates and managers and executives … a wave … and … goodbye.

That would have been classier. And it probably would have been added to the list recent Tiger emotional moments.

And he would have gained the a little bit of that respect back from those fans that are gladly holding the door open now for Inge to walk out.

But that opportunity is gone, and Brandon will likely fade away – out of sight and out of mind of Tiger fans. Back to riding team buses and carrying his own bags in hopes of creeping his average back up to .240 and that a call may one day come saying “The team needs you Brandon, you’re the only guy that can help us now …”

Of course, by accepting the Toledo assignment, Brandon still has a chance to return to Detroit. Should Inge go to Toledo and suddenly hit .310 off of Triple A pitching. And Wilson Betemit gets hurt. And Kelly gets hit by lightning.

And the Tigers are by then past the July 31 trade deadline.

But Inge is now hitting .177.

It’s almost impossible to hit .177. A check swing single now and then should at least get you to .180.

And he does average twenty or so errors a season. Inge was not a golden glover by any means. But he did come through with some of the best highlight reel plays of the last ten years. Diving catches behind third – throwing on his knees – before they were broken – to first – to nab a speedy runner just before their foot came down on the base.

Great stuff – the kind of plays we watch baseball to see.

I can’t think of another player who inspired such fan loyalty with such unimpressive numbers – the kind of loyalty that had fans voting him the player of the game when he didn’t really do anything but maybe bare hand a bunt down the third baseline and toss out the runner.

Love him or hate him, Inge is an enigma in Detroit. I looked it up:

e•nig•ma [uh-nig-muh]

1. a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation

2. a person of puzzling or contradictory character

There was a picture of Brandon next to the definition. Okay, I made that up – but there should be.

Brandon is like the kid down the street that you hope does well, and because the fans liked him so much and seemed to identify with him so much – a really good play by Inge was interpreted to be an amazing play that human beings can’t make. Add to that – a batter hitting .240 who steps up in the ninth inning once or twice and hits a game winning homer or drives in a game winning run.

But he didn’t get those kinds of hits very often. But Inge fans might tell you he did it all the time. Inge might tell you so as well.

Then there was Brandon’s appearance in the 2009 All Star Home Run Derby – after being voted in by fans like me typing crazy codes into a computer screen for several days in a row – often neglecting family and personal hygiene in the process – only to cringe to hear Inge was going to participate in the homer bashing contest meant for names like Pujols and Cabrera and the likes – then to shrink into utter embarrassment for Inge as he barely hits a softly tossed pitch out of the infield.

Remember that? I know you do. That action right there redefined Inge to me.

The guy does have an ego … as well as an undeniable case of the “delusions of grandeur”.

And you know – Brandon was never the same after that. And then the knee surgeries that he never quite recovered from

But ya still liked the guy.

Anytime I went to Comerica Park, I always saw Inge signing autographs along the field line – or after a game through the security bars on the other side of the street as the other Tiger players hopped in their Maseratis or Lamborghinis and pulled out of the player’s parking lot – leaving the day’s game behind them.

And then there was his involvement in the community – visiting sick kids in hospitals – a truly heart wrenching activity to be sure – and lending his face, name, and presence to various charitable foundations and organizations in the area.

Of course fans love him.

They rooted harder for Inge than any other Tiger in the last twenty years.

And I for one do not want to take that part of Brandon Inge’s legacy away.

It’s one thing to be the greatest third baseman of all time like Brooks Robinson, An achievement that Inge never came close to.

But it’s another to be ranked up there with the most loved players possibly in Tigers history – with names like Kaline , Horton, Fidrych, Trammel and Gibson – a goal Inge reached in some inexplicable manner seemingly with ease.

And in the long run – which is more important – even in the game of baseball?

And by indicators shown by Inge – that love was mutual.

Hang On Baby, Here Comes Part Two

2011-07-15T19:08:00.000-04:00

While we are slightly more than half way through this 2011 season, the All Star Break is pretty much viewed as the mid season intermission in Major League Baseball.

And if you thought the first half of 2011 was a roller coaster, well brace yourself my friend – because you ain’t seen nothing yet.

In a nutshell, the first half unfolded something like this.

The Tiger’s stunk, then they were great, then they stunk again, and then they were great again, and closing into the end they stunk and were just on the brink of being great aagian.

Did ya get all that?

The difference between this Tigers team and that of 2006 is that we have more great players, and we have more not-so-great players.

On the great side – we lead off with a powerfiul 1-2-3 combination of Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila along with Jhonny Peralata and Victor Matinez. And Brennan Boesch’s name should be added to this list as well.

Man, that does sound pretty good, don’t it?

And even though Jose “Papa Grande” Valverde has scared the bejesus out of Tiger Fans with ninth inning walks and hits – he hasn’t blown a save yet. He’s got the best stats in the American Leagues.

Really? Let me check that again … yup – son of a gun he does so.

Counter that with Old Man Maglio Ordenez, and his checkers partner Brandon Inge – along with decent bat but no glove Ryan Raburn, I just don’t seem to have it because I’m in my sophomore slum Austin Jackson, and Brad Penny and Phil “hey I’m not in the starting rotation no more” Coke throwing 4th and 5th in the rotation.

We are watching the changing of the guard right now as we witness the final games of Ordonez, Inge, and Carlos Guillen – should he ever come back up from Toledo.

Let me put it this way. Cleveland was supposed to be in a rebuilding year (exactly like our Tigers of 2006 were), and this was supposed to be the do-or-die season for our Detroiters.

But right now our Tigers are in more of a transition state than probably any other team in the Major Leagues. Manager Jim Leyland and and President / GM Dave Dombrowski are struggling to find answers for second, third, and the last two spots in the rotation.

And our bull pen has not been … stellar.

But there is hope Tiger fans. Indeed, there is always hope. But this hope is not so far removed.

We have some good players who slumped in the second quarter . Guys like Max Scherzer – who in the opening weeks was challenging Verlander for the title of Ace. And Rick Porcello has started picking up his end of the slack in his last two starts. Austin Jackson is much better than he has shown in the first half and hopefully he will rebound and return to his stellar “Curtis Granderson who?” form. Danny Worth and Don Kelly could both start to grow from their current 4A status into major leaguers.

And then there is the looming July 31 trade deadline. What the heck is going to happen there? A second baseman? A thirdbaseman? Reyes of the Mets? Baker of Chicago? If so, who do the Tigers sacrifice? Boesch?

As I sit here and type this now, the dastardly bastards that are the Chicago White Sox are about to start play here at Comerica Park. Verlander is to kick off the second half against Gavin Floyd. Miguel Cabrera is in the line up – although Austin Jackson is not.

And we always count on Verlander for a win. But now we are into the second half?

The Tigers have not played the second half of a season above .500 for the last ten years. The last five since we have called Jim Leyland “Skip”.

So all statistics from April until now go right out the window. The Tigers are starting fresh with a clean slate and a tie for first place with Cleveland.

And Chicago and Minnesota are not to be counted out just yet – not by a longshot.

Man, this is gonna be good.

Let’s just hope for a happier ending in 2011.

The Biggest Blowout I Ever Almost Saw

2011-07-03T14:33:00.002-04:00

This Tigers fan went to the ball game yesterday.

For the sake of my own historical archives, it was San Francisco’s second game in the D after a great close game the night before blown by Papa Grande in the top of the ninth.

But last night’s game was a blowout.

In more ways than one. And it was not that great of an experience from start to end.

But I can only blame the Tigers for the end.

It was parrot-head day at Comerica Park. It was Jimmy Buffet day – complete with flip flops and margaritas and flowery shirts … and a typhoon.

But no Jimmy Buffet.

I thought he was going to sing the national anthem and perhaps sing at the seventh inning stretch.

The game sold out and we missed getting a free hat by twenty minutes. My lovely wife Darlene was very disappointed. We were trying the day before to get tickets on line – and the seats kept evaporating leaving us to the very top row in the bleachers directly behind home plate.

We marched all the way up there – stopping several times so that Dar could recuperate her back and legs to continue the journey up – we let the sherpas go at the final flight, radioed to base camp our status and plugged in our oxygen masks to reach the summit.

Our tickets said section 329 row 20 seats 24 and 25. The very last row at the top and our seats weren’t on the isle – they were in the isle. If people were walking up and down the isle – you couldn’t see the plate.

“I think we’re in section 328 not 329”, said Dar pointing over her shoulder.

She was right. We were one section off. We both leaned forward to look down the row to our seats in 329 and came to the conclusion that two college kids were busy drinking beer and eating pizza in our seats.

“Let’s stay here until someone comes to claim these”, I said.

“What if they do? Do we go kick those guys out of our seats?”

I looked down the aisle again. “I don’t think those seats are worth fighting for”, I said.

The game started with Scherzer on the mound. It was great … until he threw the first pitch.

The inning consisted of a bloop shot over second into right for a runner, then a line drive shot a Cabrera which he dove for and knocked down, but Scherzer couldn’t beat the runner to first.

Then a home run. A three run shot to left just over the Tigers bullpen.

Then a bobbled ball behind first by Raburn for a safe call as Ryan couldn’t pick it up and throw it in time.

Then another home run – this time to right field.

The score was now five to nothing.

That’s when the nice couple with tickets for our seats appeared – having just radioed base camp and releasing their sherpa’s from duty.

I explained our situation as we moved out of their way, and they were nice enough.

“It’s pretty pathetic when you get kicked out of the worst seats in the stadium”, I laughed to the fellow as they settled into our spots.

Dar and I ventured down from the top of Comerica Park. The game was out of hand already. So we would walk around the stadium and peek in here and there. Darlene wanted some souvenirs.

I just wanted a shirt – a pair of sleeves with the old English D on the breast. No such shirt could be found. Shortly after – we found ourselves standing in front of and leaning on the marble base that supports the bronze statue of Willie Horton in center field. Darlene had come to know Mr. Horton – who is an incredibly nice and generous man – in her course of professional duties. In fact he even signed my daughter Alannah’s very first little league baseball card of herself – which caught Darlene by surprise as she only meant to show it to him … “What are you doing?” she gasped as he ran his pen across Alannah’s face” … one of my all time favorite stories.

The feeble Tigers defense continued – as we watched two innings finish by Giant double plays.

That’s when we noticed the monstrous sky appearing over the horizon behind the first base line side of the stadium. Lightning crackling across the sky – and we headed for the main concourse behind home plate for coverage.

The storm hit fast and the storm hit hard …. And the field was cleared and covered within moments.

The winds whipped – and we found ourselves standing between a young family, the father sitting with a baby curled under him the mother to one side, and Dar and I on the other to protect the infant from flying debris.

Everything was flying around and the people in the crowd stayed calm but you could feel the concern – which outweighed the feeling of inconvenience of a rain delay.

That lasted for nearly two hours of standing there.

We walked more around the concourse trying to read the skies. It was an ugly green then an orange. It looked like there was no way they could finish this game – now only three and a half innings completed.

I was praying for a rainout.

We finally decided it was safe to head for the car – parked four blocks away. The rain had stopped – but it was going to start again. And once in the car, it did indeed again start to pour.

We made our way back to the tunnel to cross back to the other Land of the Free and just as reached the hole under the river – the radio crackled that the tarp was coming off the field.

The storm really hit Windsor hard – downing power wires and trees and flooding. The power was out for more than two hours. We reached our Legion to check out a new band when we saw the score read 15-1.

“I’m glad we left now”, I said to my lovely wife as I finished a game of 8-ball.

In this one evening of baseball, a couple of truths became clear. Our pitching is suffering, second base is clearly a weakness, and there just might be something to this global warming concern!

It was indeed a blowout – in more ways than one.

What's On Second?

2011-06-04T09:20:00.001-04:00

Jim Leyland explains infield
changes to 1st baseman
Miguel Cabrera

Okay, I know. The old Abbot and Costello bit right?

Well given the fact I have worked with guys named Hu and Watt – that bit has made for hours of stupid rehashed jokes when figuring project work assignments.

But now I’m serious.

Who’s on first? Why Miguel Cabrera – no issue there – hitting nicely over .300 and playing a solid one bag. No problems.

But what’s on second? That’s the question.

This season started with Will Rhymes, who could barely hit the ball past the grass line of the infield – despite some really nice defensive plays.

But the Tigers need offense.

So Scott Sizemore – hitting .400 or so in Toledo comes back up and Will goes back down. Sizemore starts hot but fizzles to the two hundred range. A month later and Sizemore is traded to Oakland for a nice reliever. Oakland sent Sizemore back down to Triple A.

And we all miss Placido Polanco. He’s on second.

In Philadelphia.

So what’s on second?

Well, Jim Leyland came out and told us it was going to be Ryan Raburn. Raburn is to be our everyday second baseman.

Raburn? Left fielder 4A player Ryan Raburn? The star of many outfield highlight reel bloopers like the fly ball that bounces off him and over the fence for a home run Ryan Raburn?

What?

Okay, so What’s on second. But not all the time – because also playing second is Ramon “I’ve been trying to be an everyday player with this team for five years now” Santiago. And that just ain’t happening because Santiago apparently isn’t good enough to play every day.

I never really understood the concept of a Major League ball player who can field and hit being considered not to be good enough to play every day? Did he sleep with the wrong guy’s wife?

Well, if he plays everyday his numbers go down.

Okay – play him every other day. Then Raburn won’t be your everyday second baseman. Right?

Well, there’s also Danny Worth – who’s also listed on the official roster as an infielder like Santiago. Play him too? Raburn is after all listed on that same roster as an outfielder.

Maybe he plays a deep second base. Chatting with Boesch and Jackson in right and center between pitches?

I dunno.

Third base.

Well that’s Brandon Inge, has been for a decade now – great defense – no bat. He’s floating around the .200 mark right now.

What? Inge has mononucleosis? Really? He must have caught it when diving into the stands for a foul ball.

Well then who play’s third?

I don’t know.

No questions about the Tigers’ shortstop though – Jhonny Peralta is hitting great – although some may critique his range. I love the guy myself.

Our starting pitching is pretty solid right now. Sure the fourth and fifth spot guys might show up and might not – but so far pretty good. And we finally seem to have our bull pen tightened up, And Alex Avila has proved me so wrong about being our everyday catcher I feel I need to send him flowers for what I wrote here about him at the start of the season. Now he’s on the All Star ballot – and he deserves to be there.

And I really like that Andy Dirks kid – I think he is going to grow into our everyday left fielder – every day with Casper Wells and Don Kelly – oh yeah – and Ryan Raburn.

No Raburn’s on second.

Right.

No that’s Brennan Boesch.

Okay, okay I get it.

There has to be a deal brewing. There has to be something happening out in the trade waters that GM Dave Dombrowski is scheming up – perhaps building a deal to acquire Jose Reyes from the Mets?

Wouldn’t that be sweet? The Mets are struggling to keep the team afloat and Reyes is hitting .285 ish. And he plays a great second base.

Could be?

I don’t know.

What I do know is that until all this nonsense get’s straightened out – the Tigers will likely be no better than a .500 team. And that Cinderella mistake by the lake Cleveland no longer looks like a fluke – this first half of the season looks like the Tigers in 2006 and 2009 – blowing the AL Central away before the All Star break – a month away now.

Can Cleveland keep this pace up?

Are the dastardly bastardly Chicago White Sox starting to put it together to make a run after the Tigers? Will the Tigers – currently in second – four and a half behind the Indians and three games up on Chicago as June starts – will they even be in the race come mid July?

What a strange season.

It’s like a bad Vaudeville skit, for sure.

At the 40 Game Mark

2011-05-14T20:32:00.001-04:00

Sparky Anderson passed away in November of last year. The boys of the Old English D are sporting crests on their sleeves to commemorate his passing.

One of the Sparky traditions that continues on is his concept that after 40 games you should have a good idea of what type of team you have.

Now’s a great time to do so – if you’re the Director of Marketing for the Tigers.

The boys are hot. The hottest team in baseball – enjoying a 7 game winning streak. They have won 10 of their last 11.

Justin Verlander pitched a no hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays – then followed it up by pitching his next game against the Kansas City Royals with no hits into the sixth inning.

The whole starting rotation has actually been great through all forty games to date - Max Scherzer leading the way with only having no losses to his credit. And now Phil Coke is also starting to get into the rythm of the new role of starting pitcher.
Victor Martinez is hot – and taking advantage of opposing pitchers fear to pitch to Miguel Cabrera.

Austin Jackson has rebounded and is backing his strong defense up with great hitting in these last 15 games.

Alex Avilla – a player I berated heartlessly at the beginning of this season as one of the worst decisions made to allow him catch every day despite poor hitting in the preseason and opening games of 2011 has proven me to be … well … dead smack wrong and clueless.

I say that proudly by the way.

But the first 25 games of this season – save one series with Chicago – stunk.

There was the kerfuffle deciding who would play second base – Tiger veteran Carlos Guillen injured (and still recovering) and Scott Sizmore not yet ready to come back up – second base was plattooned by Will Rhymes and Ramone Santiago.

Not a long term solution.

I remember when Will Rhymes was sent back down to Toledo to bring Scott Sizemore up. Pat Caputo – Sports writer and columnist for the Detroit area’s Oakland Press, and host of the blog Open Book, wrote a post titled “Change at second base could just be the start for slumping Tigers”.

The Book on Sports was right – that was indeed the when the turning of the tide began. After that the Tigers took on and won series against the Yankees, Twins, Blue Jays, and AL Central second place Royals.

But we still have 122 games left to play – almost two thirds of the season.

And we do have to expect this hot streak will slow after a bit – although I hope it’s not too soon.

But at this point of the season, with the bats hitting and the pitching strong, I think indeed the Tigers are the best team in the Central division.

I think Cleveland has already started to slow – and perhaps as early as next weekend our beloved Detroit baseballers will indeed be in first place.

And will remain there until the All Star break.

Sound familiar? We’ve danced to this song several times before in recent seasons.

It’s not the first 80 games you have to worry about. It’s the second eighty.

And if Jim Leyland and Dave Dombrowski want to keep their jobs – there can be no second half rapid decline of lethargic play and continual losing streaks busted up by the odd win here and there.

So I can’t tell you with any confidence today just what this means to the Tigers final standings in the opening days of October.

We all have our hopes and we all have our opinions.

What do you think?

Will the Tigers lead the pack until the All Star Break – then sputter in the second half?

Will there be a trade of significance? Will we get a left or right fielder? Will Brandon Inge be replaced – his average is below his career level – which is not a lofty bar to shoot for.

What do you think?

Leave a comment below and let’s talk this season out.

Verlander Tosses His Second No Hitter

2011-05-07T20:39:00.002-04:00

Justin Verlander faced 27 batters on his way to pitching a no hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Verlander was perfect through seven and a third innings when he gave up a close outside call for ball four and walked Arencibia to wreck the perfect game.

Arencibia doesn't bite on ball 4

But you know – you might ask yourself – if you’re pitching a perfect game, and find yourself 5 outs away from being perfect – and you have a 3-2 full count, do you throw just off the plate to get the hitter to swing?

That was the pitch to make – and Justin had the guts to make it.

Arencibia didn’t bite. And he got first base.

And Verlander’s bid for perfection ended. But not the no hitter.

The last time we saw a 28 batter no hitter by a Tiger pitcher was of course Armando Gallaraga’s perfect game spoiled by Umpire Jim Joyce’s bad call.

But no such call came today.

Last week at this time, Brad Penny was working on a no hitter when a hard hit ball behind third snagged by Brandon Inge resulted in a not so perfect throw right of the first base bag and in the dirt that Miguel Cabrera could not hang onto to tag the runner. The dispute was that Inge was not given an error for the poor throw, and it stood as the hit the broke up Penny’s no-hit bid.

But Penny was noticeably getting weaker – and his control was getting away from him. Watching the game, you really didn’t think Penny was going to last the rest of the game.

But we never got a chance to find out.

But Justin Verlander left us no doubt – from the third inning through the ninth.

In fact he was breaching the 100 MPH threshold throughout all nine innings.

This was Verlander’s second no hitter – the first in 2007 against Milwaukee.

And the Toronto fans, the same fans that threw garbage at the Tigers in last year’s opening series, well, this time they all stood up and cheered Verlander on.

And they cheered when he beat their Blue Jays.

He stepped off the mound – subtly pumping a fist – and unless you knew what was happening - Verlander’s reaction might suggest he won the game. Nothing more.

Now that’s command.

The Tigers Threaten But Don't Score

2011-05-03T00:06:00.001-04:00

I am so sick of hearing Dan Dickerson say “and the Tiger’s threaten, but don’t score”.

Yesterday I threw a beer bottle at the radio.

Sorry Dan, I wasn’t aiming at you.

Luckily tonight I was out of beer.

This is the theme of the 2011 Detroit Tigers – who after 29 games now sit with 12 wins and 17 losses. 8 games back of Cleveland.

Yeah, Cleveland. What the hell’s going on in Cleveland?

And Kansas City? They sit 4½ games up on the Detroit baseballers.

The Tigers can get men on base. But at the end of most innings, those same base runners trot into the dugout from the base they were standing on to get their gloves.

As a fan, this is maddening.

But even more maddening are the errors that are plaguing this defensive squad.

Short hop grounders through Inge’s legs, and bad throws to first. Pitchers tossing the ball into the outfield or foul territory trying to pick off runners. Balls that bounce off the outfielders or over their heads – one bouncing off Ryan into the stands for a dinger. Passed pitches on Avila – pitches he should be catching – bouncing back to the wall as opposing base runners trot home from third.

On the topic of Avila, his bat has been incredibly hot hitting in the .340s. But I do not see the same quality defense that the announcers and sports talk radio seem to say. He looks to me to be hard to pitch to.

Our starting rotation, for the most part, has had quality starts, but the bullpen – supposedly hoped to be the strength of this club in the spring, has seen both Benoit and Valverde fail in Grande style.

This line up has some power – sporadic and dispersed throughout – with not enough hitters batting over .240 to string together a big inning.

You can count the number of big inning this season on one hand. And you can’t use your thumb.

In fact, the way this squad plays defense, you wonder if these boys have thumbs to put in these gloves.

But this news just in. Will Rhymes, the Cinderella second baseman who hasn’t hit over .200 has just been sent down to Toledo, and Scott Sizemore is coming back up to challenge once again for the two-bagger spot.

Will that help? I don’t really consider Scott Sizemore to be a sparkplug.

But Miguel Cabrera plays on. Solid defense and powerful consistent offense.

Cabrera has picked this team up and is carrying them all on his shoulders. But for the most part, the rest of this squad is just dead weight. Aside from Peralta and Avila, and Ramón Santiago (when they let him play) – this squad is just dragging every positive thing done by the starting rotation and Miggy down like an anchor in deep still seas.

So close. So far away.

These current wearers of the old English D aren’t bums. But it’s hard to defend the brand of baseball that they have played in these first 29 games.

But some - if not more than some – of this blame lies on the shoulders of Manager Jim Leyland – who insists all his ball players are professionals. Perhaps. But professionals earn their pay checks. This squad – save a few – are really just enjoying playing in the big league parks with big buildings in the back drop.

Some of Leyland’s decisions are hard to defend – leaving struggling pitchers in – pulling strong releiver’s too early – sending runners at the wrong times – and trying to play small ball to move runners into scoring position with the players not executing.

Good grief.

I love my Tigers. And I haven’t missed following a game somehow yet this season. And this is just frustrating. Exhausting. Humbling. And humiliating.

Because night after night it’s just the same old story.

The Tiger’s just threaten, but they just don’t score.

Cabrera Adds Yet Another If For 2011 Tigers

2011-02-17T20:20:00.005-05:00

As Yogi Berra would have said, "It's like deja vu all over again".

You remember the story, about how in 2009, Miguel Cabrera was arrested as the Tigers played their final series of the season against the Chicago White Sox to fight off a charging Minnesota Twins from overtaking them for the American League Central division title and a berth in the play offs.

About how Miguel spent the night before a key game out drinking with members of White Sox and then returned home to only to fight with the missus and land himself in jail. About how Dave Dombrowski bailed him out and drove him home – and how Miguel played the next day so hung over that he was less effective than a mannequin on the field and at the plate that game – a key game that the Tigers lost – only to be forced to an epic game 163 against the Twins – who won and stole the 2009 AL Central title – and then lost in a sweep by the Yankees of New York in the first round of the play offs ALDS.

You know that story.

2010 season of redemption

And you know about how contrite Cabrera was in the aftermath – and how brilliant he played last year – a career best season leaving him a close runner up for American League MVP. And you probably remember his famous quote from the middle of last season:

“Drinking was a problem. Right now I feel really good. What happened last year is not gonna happen again. I feel like a new man. : It’s a beautiful life right now.”

And you, like me, completely forgot about the 2009 debacle – and were so very proud of Miggy for getting his life back in order and demonstrating to the world just how truly great a ball player he was.

2011 Mug shot

And then today you most certainly have heard the news … from a small town in Florida .. St. Lucy … about his arrest for DUI and non-violently resistance of arrest. About how he took a swig from a bottle of scotch while asking the officer “Don’t you know who I am?”.

And like me, if you’re a Tigers fan who had forgiven Cabrera for his earlier failure at such a critical time, your heart probably sank in your throat.

Position players have not even thrown a ball yet.

And thoughts of tossing what hoped to be a contending season for the AL Central title seemed to evaporate like Windex on a summer hot windshield.

Well, that was the first thought I had, but I think I overreacted.

The latest news from minutes ago was that Miggy indeed was going to be at the Lakeland diamond Saturday after all – practice duds on – batting glove and first baseman mitt in hand – ready to start 2011.

But who knows.

Some are already calling for his trade – or his release. I’m not.

But he did – in my personal opinion – erase all of his hard work from last summer – all the great numbers he posted – and more importantly all of the faith and trust of Tiger fans he worked so hard to regain.

And now he is reduced to another if in the Tigers 2011 pre-season speculation.

Who will start at second base?

Who will win the fourth and fifth starting rotation spots?

Who will earn the everyday catching position?

How will the Tigers shore up their defense down the middle?

Who will bat second in the line up?

Will Scherzer and Porcello start 2011 as hot as they ended 2010?

Which Brenan Boesch will show up – the amazing homer king of the first half of the season or the house by the side of the road Boesch of the last half of 2010?

How long can Carlos Guillen play before being put on the Disable List?

Will Maglio Ordonez be the Same Maggs of greatness of years gone by?

Will Ryan Raburn prove to be a solid left fielder?

Is Scott Sizemore's ankle healed and will he show us how good at second base he really is?

Can Leyland avoid the post-All Star break slump trend of his past four years?

And now – the one name that was not on that list of questions – Miguel Cabrera – may prove to be the biggest question mark of them all.

Now, let’s put this in perspective.

They did not cancel spring – the season will come and the weather will get warm.

The Tigers are not calling off the season – and still should be considered a contender for the AL Central.

And Cabrera is not going to be sold, traded, dismissed, fired, or let go. But he likely will face some suspension – and perhaps some jail time. But he will wear the old English D.

But how long will it take us to forget this digression. This set back. This backslide.

It’s not up to us. In fact we are not even a part of the equation. It’s up to Miguel. He showed us last year. Can he pull through again this year?

Carlos Guillen – a fellow Venezuelan who likely has some insight to the social circles Miggy moves in - did make an interesting comment this morning:

"Sometimes you have people around you that are not good for you. You think they're your friends, but they're not really friends."

And you know, maybe Carlos knows something. Maybe the this is the heart of the matter.

If it is – I hope Miguel can make a change.

I really hope this is all it really is.

Good luck Miguel. Your chances are running out.

A Look Ahead At The 2011 Tigers

2010-12-20T14:12:00.001-05:00

Here we sit at the holiday season, halfway through the 2010 – 2011 offseason, and the Tigers have made some roster changes.

Myself, there is absolutely nothing I would rather talk about at Christmas time than Tigers baseball.

And this, I think, is the perfect time to take a look at what the Tigers have done in the off season so far, and what else does this organization need to do.

Here is a quick recap so far of what’s happened so far.

Jhonny Peralta has been re-signed to two years for $11.25M to play shortstop.

Brandon Inge has also been re-signed for $11M for two years to play third.

A big name in the offseason market, Victor Martinez of Boston was signed to four years for $50M mainly for his bat, with the possibility we are told to catch maybe once a week. The starting catching position so far falls to Alex Avila.

Joaquin Benoit has been signed from Tampa Bay for 3 years at $16.5M To strengthen our bullpen.

And Magglio Ordonez has been resigned for a year at $10M to play right field.

So far, that’s it.

Is more to come, I hope so.

If not, is this enough to lift the caliber of the Tigers roster to get past the dreaded Minnesota Twins and those despicable Chicago White Sox?

Well, before we go comparing the Tigers to their American League Central rivals, let’s see if this new version of the Tigers will be better than last year’s version.

I would project our starting players for 2011 to be:

Alex Avila catches
Victor Martinez will DH
Miguel Cabrera at first
Carlos Guillen at second
Jhonny Peralta at short
Brandon Inge at third
Maglio Ordonez in right
Austin Jackson in center
Ryan Raburn in left field

Avila in my book is not yet ready to be an everyday catcher. I don’t think he frames a pitch well enough for him to work every day with your starting rotation. And Avila hit .228 in 2010.

Avila is a weakness. And I am disappointed that the thought is to start Victor Martinez behind the plate one in five games – albeit the years reek havoc on a veteran catchers body, most notably his knees. But then Martinez is ranked as an average defensive catcher at best.

So catcher is still a defensive weakness with no improvement at the plate.

The DH however is now strengthened – if indeed Martinez is okay with not being on the field and only hitting. The designated hitters role is a hard one for some players to adapt to as they are sitting down most of the game.

Miguel Cabrera at first – if he continues his drive towards the kind of power numbers and his bid for American League most valuable player – the first base remains the same both offensively and defensively – which translates to very very stong.

Carlos Guillen is a very good second baseman. Some will argue this point, but Guillen (.273) is one of our old core rocks of Gibraltar – second only to former second baseman Placido Polanco – whom we will continue to miss wearing the old English D.

But Guillen is prone to injury. It seems you can only get a month or so out of Carlos. So to be realistic about second base, you currently have to look at either Scott Sizemore (.224) or Will Rhymes (.304).

I could fill ten pages talking about the options for the Tigers second base spot, but I will simply say that for the 54 games I saw of Rhymes last year, I really liked him. He is a smart player who gets on base and he has this knack of making things happen. But some will argue that Rhymes – a veteran minor leaguer would be exposed over a full season, and that Sizemore will have a better year with a fully healed ankle – but if Carlos goes down this year, I would prefer to see Rhymes have the chance at second over Sizemore. Spring training will have to bear this out. I don’t see any better available second basemen on the free agency this year to warrant getting somebody else.

So I see perhaps a slight improvement at second between Guillen and Rhymes over Sizemore – but that might be unfair. Health is the factor in 2011 to determine who is there. Likely the majority of the year will go to Scott Sizemore. No improvement there.

Jhonny Perraulta at shortstop means another year of adequate defense and .253 hitter in the bottom third of the lineup. No improvement.

Brandon Inge at third. Inge is a Detroit enigma. You love him or hate him. I love his defense. And while his average is sub-par at .247 – he did finish 2010 higher than his .237 career numbers. Sometimes Inge steps up to the task – but watching Inge watch strike three go by with a man on third is maddening. The Tigers make no great improvement here.

Magglio Ordonez in right field broke his ankle just before the All Star break in 2010. To that point the Tigers were in first place, and Mags was hitting .303. When Mags went to the DL, the Tigers offense went in the proverbial toilet. The team crashed to a horrendous losing streak following the All Star break. So in my opinion, Magglio means more to the Tigers than just his strong offense and adequate outfield play. Magglio – I believe – is the leader of this team in his own quiet unassuming way. Signing Mags for only one year seems like a start financial move by the front office – albeit an expensive one – but I think Magglio gives this team a confidence that they lack when he is not.

Maggs coming back – and staying healthy improves this Tigers offense significantly – and hopefully with Ordonez and Martinez before and after Cabrera – this front five in the lineup will prove to be a powerful offensive weapon able to create more big innings and increase run production significantly.

Austin Jackson will return in center field.

Detroit loved Curtis Granderson , but last year – rookie Austin Jackson moved in and stole Tiger fans hearts making the same dazzling plays we were used to seeing from Granderson – and hit an impressive .293 – fifty points higher than Grandy in the damned Yankee pinstripes hit.

Centerfield remains strong offensively and defensively for 2010.

And then there is left field. This position has more options than any other on the team. The Tigers seem to have a roster packed full of left fielders. Ryan Raburn and Brennan Boesch are the two primary contenders for left field.

Everyone remembers how Brennan Boesch tore the cover off the ball for the first half of 2010 – hitting and incredible .347 with an on base percentage of .397. Boesch was the talk of the league.

But Boesch fizzled in the second half – along with the rest of the Tigers – but in much more dramatic fashion – hitting only .163. It was as if during the all star break that Brennan starting believing what everyone was saying about him – and nose dived.

But Ryan Raburn played steady in 2010 – and while the rest of the team was in full slump mode – Raburn kept improving finishing the year with an abover average .280. His past demonstrations of weak outfield defense were replaced by some really nice catches and throwing improvements.

So if Raburn is the Tigers 2011 left fielder – there is improvement as Raburn continues to improve.

But left field is a fickle position for Tigers management – it seems to be the place to try out the new kid up from Toledo with a hot bat. As well, if a big name outfielder in free agency with a strong bat should come to Detroit – only left field is considered to be open.

So the Tigers have only gotten weaker in Centerfield, and have gotten stronger in the bullpen, at the DH role, and perhaps second base.

But clearly one more big deal is needed.

And clearly catcher is the biggest weakness for the 2011 Tigers roster.

There is nobody out there to go get. And you already paid a steep price for Martinez.

While I am certain the Tigers have one more trade to make – it won’t be a catcher.

With Adam Dunn going to the White Sox – a player every Tiger fan was begging the Tigers to go after and sign, and the Minnesota Twins being a team that would be strong contenders if they signed women softball players – the battle for the 2011 American League Central again seems to be tipped towards the White Sox and Twins – but again it will be close.

That’s why the play all 162 games every season.

But is there enough happening yet for Tiger fans to get excited about? Not yet.

But that being said, remember 2008, when the Tigers were picked in November of 2007 to win the World Series after signing Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.

They finished at the bottom of the lowly AL Central.

So this speculation means nothing. And 2011 looks like it can shape up to be another exciting Tigers baseball season.

Jeter Dreaming

2010-11-06T11:58:00.000-04:00

I would like to take a moment to dream.

Derek Jeter turns two as
Carlos Guillen slides into second.
Photo Credit : Detroit News

To fantasize about the impossible coming to be real.

Imagine Tiger fans, if the Tigers actually signed a 3 year deal with Derek Jeter.

How would that change the face of the Tigers?

The Tigers did not option Jhonny Peralta for 2011. Shortstop is an open position.

And it’s likely that the Tigers will say goodbye to Maglio Ordonez in right field that will free up some 9 million dollars in payroll.

And we said goodbye to another former Yankee Johnny Damon.

But Jeter is likely worth some 25 million a year.

And he wil be 37 years old in 2011.

And he is coming off a less than stellar year in 2010 – by Derek Jeter standards.

A career .314 hitter who slumped to .274 last year has a face known to baseball around the world.

And the Tigers already have proven future hall of famer Miguel Cabrera playing first base.

What would this mean?

It would mean a strong left side of the infield with Brandon Inge and Derek Jeter on the left side.

It would mean a solid base hitter in the 2 or 3 slot of the lineup before Cabrera.

It would probably average at least one more run per game.

It would mean a solid clubhouse presence – a man you know will have a future in baseball past his playing days – managing or in a front office position.

It would mean a larger impact to the Tigers’ recruiting efforts than even Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez had when he joined in 2004, drawing names like Polanco, Ordonez, and Guillen, the past core of a competitive Tigers roster.

The impact would be significant.

But is it worth $60 – $75 million over three years?

Yes.

The upside is so much greater than the down side.

Derek Jeter does have some Michigan roots.

He went to Central High School in Kalamazoo. He is in their hall of fame.

Now I am not clueless here.

I realize that prying Jeter out of the clasp of the Yankees organization is a pipe dream. Why would he want to leave his Manhatten apartment in the Trump Towers to come to Detroit?

How could the Tigers possibly pull this off?

I don’t think they can.

But maybe, just maybe.

We can dream can’t we?

What do the Tigers really need for 2011? Besides a shortstop?

A left and right fielder to surround Austin Jackson.

A catcher. We need a dependable receiver who can frame the pitch and throw out a stealing base runner. Who can hit hotter than .220.

And we need a second baseman. A guy who is ready now. Although if Scott Sizemore’s ankle heals over spring – maybe he is the guy of the future? But who wouldn’t want to come to Detroit to play second beside Jeter?

Imagine Jeter at shortstop.

That’s a game-changer. An impact player.

Imagine how other players would look differently at Detroit with a Jeter – Cabrera combination – on defense and at the plate.

To me, this is a litmus test for Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers General Manager – to see if he sees what I see in the potential gain. And even more so to Mr. Illitch – to see what he is willing to put this Tigers team over the edge of competiveness.

I know some of you think I am nuts for this idea. This pipe dream. And all of you who will comment to say “this will never happen” – you’re most likely dead right.

But let’s see if the Tigers pursue Derek Jeter.

To me – this would say more than if they actually got him.

We’ll find out tonight after midnight.

We’ll Get ‘Em Next Year – But This Year’s Still Fun

2010-09-07T22:11:00.003-04:00

Brenan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera celebrate

Here we sit on September 7, and the Tigers are 13 games back of the Minnesota Twins for the lead of the AL Central.

9.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox for second place in the division.

10.5 games ahead of Kansas City and 11 games ahead of Cleveland.

There are 24 games left to play in the 2010 regular season.

The season is pretty much done for the Detroiters of 2010. But all the games still have to be played.

This is not the position I predicted the Tigers to be in at this point of time.

They were supposed to be in contention. That was my 2010 prediction. And if a couple of things would have happened differently – they could have been.

I did predict Verlander and Cabrera would have great seasons. They have.

And I did predict a great year by Austin Jackson – but cautioned against hoping for Rookie of the year acclaims – but he seems to be on pace to achieve the award.

And once Max Scherzer returned from the Triple A Mudhens after getting some pitching instruction – returned as a starting pitcher that has almost rivaled Verlander for the treasured title of Ace.

I didn't predict Scherzer's turnaround.

In fact, I predicted Guillen and Laird would be gone – traded away to acquire some strengths. But they weren't. Guillen was on the DL more often than not – and aside from a great arm to throw out stealers at second – Laird has done little to increase his perceived value to other teams.

And rookie second baseman Scott Sizemore was just not up to the task of playing in the bigs with his busted ankle still healing. He headed back down to the minors in June but will be called back up for September play.

Guillen stepped up to play a pretty darn good second base … until he was injured and on the DL a month later … again. He will be out the remainder of 2010 – and unlikely to return in 2011.

Losing Maglio Ordonez for the season – and most likely the end of his career as a Detroiter – was indeed a difficult pill to swallow as Maglio was playing up to his potential in the early days of 2010.

Inge has held his third bag defensively well – recuperating knees and a newly healing injured wrist that left sidelined for several weeks.

And I had no idea Brenan Boesch existed – let alone explode onto the scene as he did in the first half of the season with no signs of being found out by the opposition. But the return to play after the All Star break saw Boesch's streak end with a screeching halt of a NASCAR driver slamming into a wall.

And the Tigers hit that wall with him – losing first to the Indians in Cleveland – 4 in a row.

And the slide continued for three series until 10 days later the Tigers were 8 games back.

And where I thought Mr. Illitch's patience would be exhausted by another weak second half performance – the Tigers stayed put with Jim Leyland – and Dave Dombrowski. In a public statement made in the opening days of August – it was announced that Mr. Illitch was committed to Leyland and Dombrowski through 2011.

So I blew that call too.

There are some nice things to say about the Tiger Rookies this year. You know about Jackson. But rookie Will Rhymes has stepped up to play a pretty decent second. Seemingly a guy who makes things happen – much like a Roberto Alomar … but not quite the skill or instinct of the great second baseman now sadly only renowned for spitting in an umpire's face.

At this point Rhymes is rivaling Inge for fan favorite … and sports talk radio hosts most least favorite player to talk about.

I like Rhymes a lot. He is fun to watch – and comes through for you more often than not.

The Tigers have lost more than their share of one run games. 23 to be exact so far. They have won 15.

The question is "why did the Tigers of 2010 drop after the All Star Break?"

They are losing the close games - usually with men on base. 12^th worst in the American League. Worst in the Central Division.

This has been the main point of failure for the Tigers. The inability to win those close games.

Closer Jose (Papa Grande) Valverde was outstanding in the first half, blowing only one save opportunity before the All Star break. But after the All Star break – Valverde faltered and Coke, Perry, Schlereth, and Weinhardt all took turns blowing a total of 12 save situations.

They just couldn't finish.

The inability to close out save situations accounts for a good majority of games lost by one or more runs.

And in those closing at bats in those 1 run losses – more often than not a runner was left on base.

But that being said – these tigers have come back to win in 33 games, with their largest comeback made up a deficit of 6 runs.

But when behind in the ninth inning have only came back 5 times to win.

Those are the numbers. The fact is that this year, more than recent memory, fan confidence in the Tiger's pulling out a victory is higher than before. Even higher than in 2006.

Rhymes, Raburn, and Jackson

And the Tigers are still fun to watch – exciting – with faces like Jackson, Boesch and Rhymes stepping up from the minors – and Austin Jackson chasing down everything in center field.

The Tigers are fun again.

That's the bottom line. Fans are in love with this new young face of Jackson, Boesch, Casper Wells, Will Rhymes. They are hoping these are the faces of the future. But the pundits will tell you that it is unlikely fans will ever see any of these faces – except Austin Jackson. It's agreed now that he is an upgrade from Curtis Granderson.

Who would have thunk it?

So now – as we watch the remaining 23 games of the season (our boys of the old English D are beating the White Sox 6 – 1 as I write this … wait … Inge just hit a three run dinger to make it 9 -1 in the bottom of the eighth) – we can at least enjoy this new found fun baseball to watch.

Even if it doesn't really mean anything to this post season.

We'll get 'em next year.

The Men In Black Must Get The Call Right

2010-06-27T11:30:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, the American League Central looked like a race between two horses. The Twins were three ahead of the Tigers, and the White Sox were four behind.

But lo and behold – it's now a three horse race.

And now we sit in the final days of June – the final weeks before the All Star Game – with the Twins up by a game and a half, and the White Sox and Tigers now tied for second.

Every game of the one hundred and sixty two to be played in a season is equally important. The Tigers and Twins proved that point and punctuated it with a big old game 163 to determine the AL Central winner. A change in any win or loss in the prior one hindered and sixty two played by either team would have nullified the need for that 163^rd game.

No longer do Tiger fans – nor Twins fans I presume – feel comfortable in stating "It's a long season and it's early yet…", because every win and loss is added up into the same totals column on the stats sheet.

But the outcome of a game is not entirely within the control of the players on the field. The men in black are showing us more and more this season that the final out of a game is equally decided by their judgments – right or wrong – accurate or blindly self righteous.

The blindly self righteous umpiring needs to be changed. These men in black – the blind bums as baseball fans have known them now for over a century – they need to get it right!

Just last night – a shining example again played itself out for Tiger fans.

The Tigers were playing the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field and were down four to one in the top of the ninth. Miguel Cabrera ripped a scorching solo dinger to make it four to two. Brenan Boesch struck out. And so did Guillen – the Tigers down to their last out. Brandon Inge fouled off some six or more strikes to finally earn a walk.

It was Inge's best at bat of the season.

Then the wheels fell off the otherwise impeccable Atlanta bullpen. The next three batters were walked – and the score now stood at four to three. And Johnny Damon came to the plate. With the count full, the wily veteran held off on a pitch well outside the plate. The tying run should have walked into home with Ramón Santiago due to come to the plate next for a chance to take the lead with a base hit.

The third strike called on Johnny Damon by umpire Gary Cederstrom.

But that outside pitch was called a strike. Damon argued with the umpire as they walked off the field together – asking in the end that the umpire to please look at the replay when he got in the club house.

And for the second time this 2010 season, the umpire agreed he had missed a call – stating to a pool reporter after the game – "it didn't look good".

And then everyone went home.

The Braves Announcers said "well, a win is a win I guess".

So true. It's been that way as long as umpires have been known as blind bums.

The Tigers cheated out of one of those one hundred and sixty two very important chances to win the game.

The Twins having beaten the Mets that day with outstanding pitching – and the White Sox winning as well, the Tigers fell from a half game back to a game and a half back of the Twins and into a tie with the once distant White Sox.

And again the idea of using the available technologies of the day to ensure umpire accuracy is discussed. And this is a discussion I personally don't like to hear.

I am a person who makes their living by designing and constructing technical solutions. And my feeling has always been that technology is best applied to enhance the work of human beings – not make up for a person's inadequacies.

To do so means it no longer matters if people make mistakes – the technology will correct them. The person no longer to be held accountable – the technology will right the wrong.

Oh, sure there are places for such thinking – like in the air traffic control tower where mistakes cost people their lives – or in operating rooms where a slip can also cost the life of a patient.

But for crying out loud this is baseball.

Why have umpires at all if technology like instant replay and pitch tracking can result in a one hundred percent accuracy rate? Why pay a guy to dress in black and stand behind the plate if his calls don't matter.

Imagine the inevitable outcome of such a direction. A routine pop fly to center field – caught easily by the fielder – and the sound of an automated female voice ringing out over the loudspeaker "The batter is out". Next – a single up the gap – the runner turns first and slides into second as the throw from the left fielder reaches the second baseman and the tag is applied ….. seconds pass … the automated female voice over the loudspeaker states unemotionally … "the runner is safe".

No umpire behind second swinging his arms apart to make the call visible at the second it happens … merely a soft female voice … like the one who asks you one the phone … "press one for billing inquiries" …. Making the calls on the field.

Do you want that?

Or all eyes moving to the big scoreboard video screen to see if the pitch was inside or outside the strike zone – defined by a square – the ball a mere dot?

That's not baseball.

A lot of talk has been made of late about the 'human element'.

What I have just described to you is the result - should the human element of the umpire be removed from baseball.

Mindless automated unemotional responses to questions that have fans players and coaches waiting breathlessly for the response.

Do we want that?

Personally, I don't want that.

I want that umpire behind the plate making the call on balls on strikes with the option to ask the umpire at first or third if the batter went too far. I want that man in black standing behind second base making a call with either a fist pump or a swing of the arms to call safe or out.

What I want is umpire accountability.

What I want is umpire reversibility.

But maybe there is a place where the two positions can meet in the middle.

A compromise. A real solution.

You see, in my opinion, the problem is that the Umpire has it embedded into his head that once he has made a call – he can reverse it. He can't change his mind. He can't say – "oops, I really screwed that up … the runner was out!" or "I spoke to fast … the pitch was a ball".

If we think so highly of an umpire – like Jim Joyce – who's bad call cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game on June 2^nd – by calling the runner safe when he was indeed clearly out – as they admit their mistake with contrite sincerity – then why can't that umpire change his mind so he can right the wrong when it counts – during the game?

That's the old fashioned line of thinking that needs to change – an umpire can admit he was wrong – that he spoke to quickly – that he had doubt – and then let the umpire see the instant replay - have a look – and make the right call.

Not a female automated voice – or graphic displays on a scoreboard screen. Show the replay on the scoreboard so it's clear to everyone – which they do not do now – and the umpire then forced to change his mind if he is wrong.

It takes a big man to admit he is wrong.

It takes a bigger man to admit he is wrong in front of 43,000 screaming fans – but if he makes it right – then all is forgiven.

And an umpire in the Major Leagues – in The Bigs – in The Show – should that big a man.

And remember – it works both ways – in half of these instances the umpire will be proven right. And when those times come – the umpire should be able to say to those 43,000 screaming fans

"See, I told you so – now shut the hell up and let me call this game!"

That’s How The Ball Bounces

2010-06-03T22:32:00.000-04:00

Galarraga responds to Joyce's blown call.
Photo Credit - AP

We all know what happened with Armando Galarraga 's 28 out perfect game.

We all know Armando showed more poise and class in those immediate moments after the blown call than most of us will exhibit in a lifetime.

We all know that Jim Joyce is incredibly sorry for his admitted mistake.

It stunk, it was incredibly sad, and even though the Tigers won the game, no one really won last night.

But what now?

Bud Selig, Major League Baseball's Commissioner, has declined to overthrow the call and give Galarraga his perfect game. And you know – I agree.

I do not want the commissioner to overthrow a judgment call in a game.

Perfect game or not.

A lot of people are calling for instant replay in baseball to be extended past the review of a homeruns - to see if it did fly out of the park inside the foul pole or hit the fence high enough to be a home run based on the rules of that park.

Instant replays on close bang-bang plays at first?

Instant replays on close throws by the catcher to second to get the get the runner stealing second?

Instant replays to see if an outfielder - diving for a ball – trapped it or caught it?

How would that work?

The problem is that you do not want every close play at first to be subject to instant replay. So the first thought is to do something like the NFL. A manager would through a flag or give a signal to state they want the play reviewed. They would only get one or two opportunities to do so in a game, and there would be a penalty if the review showed the umpires call to be correct.

A penalty? What kind of penalty. An out? An out taken away if you're in the field? An out added if you're at bat?

That's not baseball.

That's not fair to your pitcher struggling to get out of an inning.

You have to earn an out.

If instant replay were to work – it would have to be one of the umpires on the crew who realizes they better see that play over again, In slow motion.

Joyce himself went into the clubhouse and reviewed the play at his first opportunity.

The mindset has to be that the call being right is more important the umpire being right.

And it should never be used for balls and strikes.

But that's not really baseball.

The other option is that some sort of technology is employed like in professional tennis.

Yeah, I said tennis.

John McEnroe inspired a device that sounds an audible beep when a serve is out. And a visual replay that shows where a ball landed on the court.

But that's not really baseball either.

Here is the reality of what will result from last night's blown call.

Armando's perfect game in 28 outs will live in infamy. It will be recalled and debated for decades to come.

Every time the statistic of twenty perfect games since 1901 is discussed, or the two perfect games thrown in a two week span in 2010 is mentioned – it will always be followed up with the fact that there was this one amazing incident that that should be added to that count.

And every time a person smiles and accepts a poorly deserved fate with poise and class and forgiveness – Armando will be remembered.

Immortalized.

The legacy and legend of baseball was enriched by this horribly blown call last night.

That's baseball.

Baseball is 162 games in a season.

Baseball is ball parks of inconsistent dimensions . Shadows in the evenings and winds that blow in or out to help or deter balls leaving the park.

Baseball is the second or shortstop in the vicinity of second base when turning the double play.

Honest ball players and cheaters.

And umpires that are blind as a bat.

Every game is different.

Every game is unique.

And every game is special.

That's baseball.

The English have for hundreds of years described things that are not proper as not being "cricket".

In North America we have a different slant on life:

"That's how the ball bounces".

That's baseball.

It has been for the last one hundred and fifty years.

It doesn't need instant replay. It doesn't need buzzers or beeps or animated figures detailing the event that unfolded in slow motion.

It's baseball.

And baseball needs umpires like Jim Joyce – honest human beings of integrity that feel horrible when they get it wrong.

That's baseball.

And that's just how the ball bounces.

At The Forty Game Mark

2010-05-20T23:42:00.000-04:00

Sizemore and Ordonez

The first quarter of the season – thereabouts – has been played.

A good time to take stock of this 2010 Tigers team.

Not bad timing, as Detroit just swept a two game series at Oakland. And they knocked Dallas Braden – perfect game pitcher just ten games earlier – out in the fifth.

After forty one games played – the Tigers sit pretty with a 24 – 17 record. And as I write this they sit tied for first place in the American League Central with those rotten Minnesota Twins – after the Twins have just now lost to Boston .

So how are the Tigers doing?

So far, so good.

Not bad.

Better than expected.

This team has been exciting to watch. They have come back from five or more run deficits to win five times so far.

The rookies have really contributed so far.

Austin Jackson has all but made Tiger fans forget about losing Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. Batting .331 and showing speed and agility in center field – with a strong gun that has cut down several runners at the plate.

Equally impressive, in only half the time, has been Toledo call up Brennan Boesch. Called up at the end of April to fill the vacancy left behind by Carlos Guillen's appointment to the designated hitters list. Boesch entered The Show and announced his presence with a streak of home runs, triples and doubles, hit hard and placed in the gaps. He currently sits with an average of .372 after 21 games.

As well, Miguel Cabrera has been stellar so far. Miggy is the leader on this edition of the Tigers. And it couldn't have happened to a guy who needed to redeem himself more.

As the pundits frequently remind us – water always finds its level,

But it sure has been fun to watch so far.

Here is your Tigers roster at this snapshot of time:

As of May 20, 2010

Pos		Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA
C	Gerald Laird	30	28	101	89	6	14	1	5	10	21	0.157
1B	Miguel Cabrera	27	40	176	152	27	51	8	36	23	23	0.336
2B	Scott Sizemore	25	30	115	97	12	20	1	8	13	26	0.206
SS	Adam Everett	33	24	69	64	4	12	0	2	2	13	0.188
3B	Brandon Inge	33	39	160	143	8	32	4	21	13	34	0.224
LF	Johnny Damon*	36	40	169	141	29	40	3	17	26	26	0.284
CF	Austin Jackson	23	39	180	166	29	55	1	11	14	47	0.331
RF	Magglio Ordonez	36	38	169	145	27	45	5	24	23	17	0.31
DH	Carlos Guillen#	34	16	69	61	8	19	1	8	8	8	0.311

	Boys in The Dugout
Pos		Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA
SS	Ramon Santiago#	30	30	95	80	12	20	1	6	13	13	0.25
UT	Brennan Boesch*	25	21	81	78	8	29	3	19	2	12	0.372
C	Alex Avila*	23	21	66	57	5	8	2	2	8	18	0.14
UT	Ryan Raburn	29	17	54	47	4	10	0	5	4	18	0.213
UT	Don Kelly*	30	30	40	38	4	9	1	3	1	8	0.237
OF	Casper Wells	25	3	9	9	0	2	0	2	0	2	0.222
2B	Danny Worth	24	2	7	6	0	4	0	2	0	0	0.667
	Team Totals	29.8	40	1560	1373	183	370	31	171	160	286	0.269
	Rank in 14 AL teams				8	7	5	11		4	6	5

Source: Baseball-Reference.com

As you look at these numbers, you have to ask yourself the question – how does a team do so well, when only half their offense is hitting respectably?

Good question.

I would like to tell you that it's because our starting pitching has been stellar. But that has not exactly been the case. Justin Verlander is the only starting pitcher with a winning average at 5-2.

The rest of the rotation has not been winning. There have been good outings by Porcello, Bonderman, and Willis – but the offense could not recover from early inning lapses.

Scherzer was sent to Toledo to figure out what's wrong. Let's hope he finds the answer and returns shortly.

Jeremy Bonderman has been a welcome surprise with his results. Although his record is 1 – 2, the fact is he has exceeded my expectations. He is a quality starter again. He just hasn't been able to get the wins.

Dontrelle Willis was replaced for two consecutive starts by Minor and Bonine from the bullpen to start. Both resulting in wins. He was doing pretty well too. I expect Willis to be moved somewhere shortly.

It has been the Tigers bullpen that has made the difference so far. Minor, Bonine, Zumaya, Perry, and Ni. And Valverdi dancing on the pitcher's mound when his efforts result in a save.

Most noticeably, Joel Zumaya has been a real stopper. New pitches to augment his 100 mph plus fastball have allowed Joel to rise again to a national recognition level.

Defensively, the Tigers have been over achieving and underachieving at the same time. Catchers Laird and Avilla have been horrible at the plate, and only mediocre behind the plate. They are not holding runners as effectively as in the past.

The Tigers lead the American League in errors with 34, resulting in Ryan Raburn returning to Toledo. As well, second baseman Scott Sizemore – the reason why Placido Polanco was traded to Philadelphia – was sent back down to Toledo as well.

Sizemore was just not ready yet for the major leagues. Ankle Injury limiting his range and effectiveness at second, and poor offensive results, the outlook is not to expect Sizemore back any time soon.

This leaves the Tigers in an odd spot.

Brennan Boesch has been so significant in his debut, the Tigers will not easily be moved to return Guillen to left field to replace Boesch. So the plan at this point in time is to put Carlos at second base when he returns from the DL.

But in the meantime the spot had to be filled. Casper Wells was called up from Toledo in the mean time to fill the gap. And has also been … impressive.

Great problems to have, but a problem none the less. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

So to recap, the rookies Jackson and Boesch, as well as future hall of famer Miguel Cabrera have been boosting this teams otherwise struggling offense with big numbers. The starting pitchers have been struggling – but when the bullpen comes into the game, they shut the opposition down.

That is the Tigers of 2010.

So what happens next?

Guillen comes back to play second. And I bet he does a pretty solid job – because he is an infielder who wants to play infield again. And his bat will help buoy the Tigers to stay in the race – if not hold the lead – for first.

And a trade will be made. Maybe two. A pitcher. And an infielder or a catcher. The key will be if the trade is a good one, or a bad one.

But as for getting the Tigers into a tie for first place after forty one played … credit Jim Leyland. He has danced his lineup around – as well as masterfully managing his bullpen to yank wins out of losses. Some moves didn't work, but most did.

So after forty games, how are the Tigers doing?

So far so good.

And so far, it is very exciting to be a Tigers fan in 2010.

Thank You Mr. Harwell

2010-05-08T13:23:00.001-04:00

This morning I am listening to a ball game on the radio.

Nothing new.

Except that this game is the 2002 season ender between the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays. Roy Halliday vs. Mark Maroth. The game itself means nothing. But it is very special all the same.

It's the last game broadcast by legendary hall of fame announcer Ernie Harwell.

Ernie Harwell passed away peacefully at home last week, with his family around him, after battling the cancer he was diagnosed with last summer.

But if you're a Detroit Tigers fan, you already knew that.

As I listened to the radio this last week, or read the baseball news – the stories of how great a human being Mr. Harwell was are flooding in.

Thousands of them.

And all those stories, being told by the common man, those that he worked with in the media, or those that knew him as a friend from working with various organizations and charities – all have the same common theme.

He was kind. Thoughtful. Genuinely interested in every person he came in contact with. And not just in passing, but he kept everyone met in mind. And the stories of all the nice things he did are just too numerous to count.

The common sentiment is that Ernie Harwell was the kind of person that everyone should be.

He asked for nothing. He gave everything.

And he was genuinely loved.

Think of all the people in the public eye that you have ever heard of.

Then name me one person of whom no one ever had not one bad thing to say about them.

Count them on your fingers.

My bet is that when you're done counting – only one finger was necessary.

Ernie Harwell.

I never met Mr. Harwell. I wish I had. But our paths never crossed.

But I feel like I knew this wonderful man. His voice is one of the first voices my ears ever recognized.

The Tigers game, when I was a boy, was always on the radio.

His voice filled the living room of our house in Jackson, Michigan when I was little. It was in the car as we made the drives to wherever we were going. It was on our boat when we were sailing.

And while that voice was one that so vividly painted the picture of the events unfolding on the field, more importantly to me was the gentlemanly kindness of the voice. The love.

The love for baseball.

The love for the Detroit Tigers he whom he announced.

The love for Tigers Stadium which now sits as a pile of rubble on the corner of Michigan and Tremble.

The love for the community of Michigan, his adopted home.

He spoke to the little child in us all. The little boy in me. He spoke to me as a grandfather explaining the game as it unfolded sitting next to his grandson from a seat along old Tiger Stadium's third base line behind the Tigers dugout.

I loved that voice.

It was the voice of kindness. It was the voice of faith. It was the voice you could trust. When you heard Ernie Harwell's voice, you felt good. Safe. You felt like you were a part of what was going on.

After Mr. Harwell retired from announcing in 2002, after some forty two years of announcing Tigers baseball, we all missed him.

Don't get me wrong. I think very highly of Dan Dickerson and Jim Price, the current radio announcers of the Tigers today. But in 2006, as the Tigers were progressing through the playoffs, Ernie Harwell came back to announce an inning or two of a couple playoff games. And we all remembered how special it was to hear that voice tell us how the game was unfolding on the field.

And now I am listening to Mr. Harwell one more time.

A pitching duel with no score in the eighth inning.

"I know it's thought that fans like to see home runs", Mr. Harwell commented, "but I don't think fans like them as much as people think. I think a double or a triple is much more exciting, watching all the players in motion on the field, rather than a guy lumbering around the bases after hitting the ball into the seats."

Who can argue that point? Not me.

Who else would refer to the Tigers players as 'the Detroiters'.

Or explain to fans when a ball is fouled into the stands that "that ball was caught by a young man from Kalamazoo". We all thought somehow Ernie knew that boy.

As the eighth inning winds down, Ernie speaks to Jim Price to say "I know that there has been a bit too much ado made over me as this season winds down …"

Not possible.

Norman Rockwell couldn't paint the feelings that Ernie Harwell brings to one listening.

The cadence of his speech – tinted with the remnants of a Georgian drawl.

Distinguished.

Unique.

And now absent except for the recordings, and the echoes in our memories.

The Tigers lost that game. And the next season the Tigers tied the record for the most losses in Major League Baseball history.

"I don't like goodbyes, so instead let me say thank you. Thank you for letting me be a part of your family", said Ernie in his closing comments to end the final broadcast.

No, Ernie. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Harwell. You taught me so much as a boy – purely by your example. And you mean so much to me – and to millions like me.

I know they have a press box at that field of dreams. And I know that all on the other side of life have just seen Heaven enhanced – because now they can stick the radio under their pillows at night, and listen to Ernie call the play by play.

I can hear him now.

Photo credit Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times

Eighteen played and three behind

2010-04-25T13:04:00.004-04:00

We are not quite half way to the first season milestone. Sparky Anderson's forty game mark.

The boy's of the old English D have two more game in Texas, then head home to Comerica Park to face Minnesota for a three game set.
On this day of the 19^th game to be played the Tigers are three games behind the Twins.

This is where many predict the Tigers will finish the season at. But 89% of the season still to play.

It's baseball. Nothing remains constant in baseball.

It's still too early to tell how the Tigers of 2010 stack up. But there are some early signs of promise, and some early flags of warning.

Signs of promise

Miguel Cabrera has been that clutch player we have been waiting to see with clutch game tying or winning hitting, and superb play defensively at first. He has already won the MVP Of The Week in the American League.

So with only three weeks played, Cabrera has a .333 average for winning the league MVP.

Johnny Damon is rising to the leadership role – and a very positive one so far.

Austin Jackson is making center field his own, decorating the airspace up the middle with a collection of stunning plays.

Scott Sizemore is not disappointing us with his play at second or his bat in the lower half of the line up.

Remember, these are two rookies fresh out of the minors. Who could ask for a better start from them in the opening days of the season.

Brandon Inge's bat started hot, and his knees seem reliable. So far so good.

The bullpen has been solid, allowing only 11 runs over 48 innings. That's about 1 run in four innings of bullpen pitching. That ain't bad.

Joel Zumaya has only given up 1 run over 12 innings. And he upgraded his fastball. It has stuff. It moves. It rises. And I bet it whistles. He is working on a "splitter" as he calls it, with Jose Valverde's mentorship. If he can master this pitch and come up with an effective change up, he could have guys swinging twice at the same pitch.

If he stays healthy. Joel seems a bit more mature, and taking this opportunity serious this season. I am delighted with Joel's first weeks of this season.

And Jeremy Bonderman – in my opinion – is performing above expectations. Albeit those expectations were low. Let Jeremy iron some stuff out and we might see him move up in the rotation.

As well, Ramone Santiago has had a good chance to play more to date. Ramone is hitting .323. He has helped increase the depth in our lineup. Defensively Ramone has been pretty solid with only one error to date – and participating in turning eight double plays. Good hitting plus solid defense would result in Santiago being an everyday player – and I do not understand the sentiment that he is not good enough to play every day.

But then I am on the outside looking in.

Warning flags

Starting pitching has been a weakness where it was expected that at least Verlander, Porcello, and Scherzer would be strengths. They are averaging five innings. We need them for seven. Verlander's pitch count is hitting 100 as the fifth inning starts. Our bullpen is getting plenty of opportunity to participate. But bullpen pitchers wear out – and you can't use these guys every night.

If this trend continues, expect the effectiveness of the bullpen to decline.

Carlos Guillen is on the DL before the season reaches the third week. He was hitting .311.

Gerald Laird's catching has been slightly below his norm, dropping the ball on game deciding plays at the plate, and a slip in his ability to throw out runners stealing second. This weakens the reason to keep his .132 batting average in the lineup. Some have said this is because he is catching to often. If this is the case, I suggest the Tiger's need an everyday catcher. Catching is not a position that should be platoon. Pitchers need consistent receivers. And I still think the pitching staff prefers throwing to Laird over Avila – but I have no basis for that statement except that Avila presents no target for the pitcher to focus on.

Conclusion
The best conclusion one can make is to state loudly that only eighteen games have been played.

But good pitching beats good hitting. And if your starting rotation is having struggling to get through five innings, there is need to be concerned. But this may likely be just a blip on the radar. But like hitting is contagious – so is pitching.

Let's hope they shake off these opening weeks slump and this rotation can start effectively reaching the seventh inning.

Otherwise, as with most of the eighteen games to date – the Tigers will be playing catch-up baseball all season. In the games, and in the standings.

But the positives to date can't be discounted.

If Miguel Cabrera keeps this pace up, and Santiago takes over short every day, the rotations ineffectiveness is offset a little bit.

But my question to you is:

How do you feel about losing Granderson to the Yankees now that you have enjoyed some of the excitement that Austin Jackson creates? This is only the end of week two of his rookie season.

And the Tigers are 2 games over .500.

So far – no so bad.

What's your opinion?

2010 Prediction – Tigers Win American League Central – Seriously

2010-04-05T13:32:00.005-04:00

The Tigers Opening Day is upon us. Although the season officially kicked off last night with a great dual between the Yankees and the Red Sox.

Today the Tiger's open against Kansas City – in Kansas City.

I think anyone tossing out predictions of the outcome of 162 games played is tossing a dart at a distant board on a windy day. But for all those darts tossed so far, the Tigers have been picked to come in second or third.

But here is where I think our Tigers will come out in the end:

1. Detroit Tigers
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Cleveland Indians

The Tigers? In first? What are you … some hometown homer slappy? Looking through rose colored glasses? Haven't you taken anything that has transpired over the off season, or the end of 2009 seriously? What are you thinking?

I know what it sounds like, But there is some rationale behind my seemingly over-optimistic prediction.

The Tigers are still a contending team in baseball. While both Minnesota and Chicago have upgraded in the offseason, the White Sox are still a bunch of players on a roster – not a team – the only outcome possible when managed by Ozzie Guillen.

And Minnesota upgraded by adding Thome to the power duo of Mauer and Morneau, and playing under Ron Gardenhire. But they can no longer hide under their "dome from hell" home field advantage.

I hated that dome.

And they have lost Nathan as their closer. But the importance may be overstated by some.

Believe it or not, the Tigers are deeper than both the Twins and the White Sox. The problem is that we are so familiar with most of this team – we under estimate them – and we under value them.

So that re-levels the field to me.

Therefore – here are my three main reasons why the Tigers will win the ALCS in 2010:

Reason 3 – Defense and New Acquisitions

The Tigers no longer have Granderson and Polanco – now it's Austin Jackson in center field and Scott Sizemore at second. Johnny Damon will take over left – leaving Carlos Guillen in a spot he will not be happy with. See some platooning in left between Damon and Guillen with Damon winning the position before the forty game mark elapses.

We may see Carlos leave the Tigers in midseason and money spent on a designated hitter.

Austin Jackson has been the talk of the grapefruit league. Deservedly so showing both power and placement hitting skills and a good defensive ability in center. Look for numbers for Jackson at the .280 mark – a great start from a rookie. There are some picking Jackson to be the rookie of the year – but let's not go saying things like that just yet.

As Sizemore's ankle continues to get stronger – look for his range to increase at second. As well, look for his bat to level off at the .260 mark. A reasonable expectation I think.

Defensively the Tigers will surprise everyone to not be markedly weaker up the middle. Look for Adam Everett to get more comfortable at short to make up for his failings at the plate. I have a hunch that the Everett – Sizemore combo will be better than expected as the two grow together.

With Inge at third and Cabera at first – both battling challenges of different natures from the past seasons – look for strength at both corners. But don't expect Inge to finish better than .240 at the plate. He has shown us fool's gold in his hitting in the past – just hope he remains able to play with those knees and can get a bat on the ball in RISP situations. If he learns not to think long-ball, Brandon will have a good year.

Cabrera will have an amazing year this year. He is humbled by the outcome of last season – and the Tiger Woods like embarrassment it entailed – albeit his challenge is of a different nature. Cabrera will have a strong shot at the AL MVP and hit .335 for the season.

Also look for Maglio Ordonez to hit around .310 this year – with power and with placement. Mags will step it up this year at the plate. But he will not surprise anyone with his defensive play in right.

Gerald Laird is a very good defensive catcher – but look for Laird to be replaced by Avila in the mid season as his trade value forces the Tigers hand to make a move for either a starting pitcher or a designated hitter during he all star break or shortly after. This will force Avila's hand to change the way he receives pitches – he must present a better target for his pitchers and frame the results better for catchers – or he will never become a quality catcher in the Major Leagues.

The top half of the Tigers lineup is chalk full of hitting potential – Jackson, Damon, Ordonez, Cabrera, and Guillen. But the second half is weaker with Inge, Sizemore, Laird, and Everett. For this reason alone – see this team play a lot more small ball strategy with that bottom half of the order – creating means by which they can get men on. If the second half of the order can hold on in an inning to get back to the top of the order and into the meat – this team will score runs. But that is a big if.

Luckily – great pitching beats great hitting …

Reason 2 – Pitching

The Tigers main advantage over the rest of the ALC is their pitching. Lets take a look and see what we really have here.

Justin Verlander has established himself as an elite American League pitcher. He enters ballgames now – well entrenched in the heads of opposing batters. This is Verlander's year to break the twenty wins mark. As well, his ability and desire to go deep into a game only makes him better – and gives our bullpen a chance to rest – allowing Leyland more options for the next game.

Rick Porcello has established himself in his rookie season as a new Verlander. Perhaps not how Rick want's to be perceived. But the young man's control, poise and toolset of pitches appear to be those attributes of a seasoned veteran. Many expect Porcello to suffer from the dreaded sophomore slump – but I have a feeling he is too strong willed for that to happen. Look at Porcello to win 17 games this year.

Max Scherzer comes to Detroit from Arizona this year after finishing last year with a 9 wins 11 losses record – a .412 ERA, and a 1.32 WHIP. These are not inspiring numbers. And this will be his first year in the American League. To me, Matt Scherzer is an unknown still. But this will be his third year in the bigs – and we may see those numbers improve. Look for a 10 wins season from Scherzer. Anything better would be outstanding.

Jeremy Bonderman is back this year – after prolonged injuries have prevented him from truly pitching the way we all know he is capable of. The former Ace of the Tigers is anxious to show he still is a pitcher to deal with, and wants to reassert himself as a dominant force in the American League. The question is "can he stay healthy?" No past numbers from previous years have any bearing on predicting the 2010 season for Jeremy. But I am predicting a comeback year for the bulldog. Look for 14 wins for Jeremy this year.

Dontrelle Willis is the second biggest question mark in my mind after Max Scherzer. Nobody that I know of has ever recovered from the mental aspects of loss of confidence in themselves as what Dontrelle has battled these last two seasons. The outlook is not good that he will be the first. But if he should, then I would give Dontrelle 9 wins this year. But honestly, I don't see Dontrelle on this roster by Memorial Day weekend. But I wish him all the good fortune in the world.

The Bullpan – expect Phil Coke to move into the starting rotation shortly in the start of this year to replace the struggling Dontrelle Willis. That being said - Eddie Bonine, Ryan Perry, and Fu-Te Nu are quality middle relievers. Bobby Seay will hopefully recover from a torn rotator cup to help in this support role – but look for Seay to be less effective – if he should be able to recover.

Look for Joel Zumaya to finally grow up this year as well, extending his pitches to include a slider and changeup. If he can keep his mind off the speed gun – and throw pitches instead of heat – Zoom-by-ya holds a good shot at helping the Tigers get through the last two or three innings.

Closer Jose Valverde is an exciting addition to this roster – and to this date I think an underestimated reason I expect success from the Tigers in 2010. With a lead in the ninth, expect Valverde to get the job done convincingly. If not, then expect a battle between Valverde and Zumaya for that closing spot. It's hard to believe that Fernando Rodney blew only one save opportunity for the Tigers in 2009 – and I think that was a key reason for their success up until the end. Look at Valverde to continue that closing successs – but without the thrills we are used to from Rodney and Jones of days gone by.

Stong successes by Verlander and Porcello, along with a comeback year by Bonderman and a convincing closer in Valverde will make this the pitching staff to beat and keep the Tigers strongly in contention in the American League Central. Good pitching beats good hitting damned near every time. But the key is how the Tigers hit to support the good pitching.

Reason 1 – The end of the 2009 season.

Since 2006 – the Tigers have ended the season poorly. Droughts and doldrums coming since the first weeks of August, and lasting through the end of September.

In 2006, they let a ten game lead slip away in the final games by losing three in a row to basement dwelling Kansas City. The Twins snuck in as ALC division champs. But the ALC had the wildcard spot – as it was the strongest division in the American League. Of course the Tigers made it that year to the World Series after defeating the Yankees and Oakland A's in the playoffs – only to return to their slump during the World Series against St. Louis.

The slump repeated itself in 2007 – the Tigers this time some four games back behind the White Sox and Twins.

In 2008 – the boys slumped right out of the gate – losing their first seven games in a row – and they never recovered.

In 2009 – one of the hardest seasons to watch – a repeat of the 2006 slump verbatim – with no wild card spot safety net to catch them - the second half slump allowed the Tigers to be overtaken by the Twins after losing three of their last four games to the Twins and White Sox – only to lose in a one game playoff against the Twins in Minnesota's dome from hell.

Last year hurt more than 2006. More than 2007, Even more than finishing in the basement in 2008 after being picked by many to win the World Series that year.

2010 will be different. That memory of last year is fresh in these guys minds. Fresh in Manager Jim Leyland's mind – and a deep scar in Dave Dombrowski and Mike Ilitch's heart.

That's why this offseason saw star players Granderson and Polanco leave to the Yankees and Phillies.

Change was needed. And a message was sent to this squad that no one is safe.

Especially Willis, Guillen and Laird.

This year, I expect there to be no second-half-slump. Should one arise, I think we will all be saying goodbye to our beloved skip Leyland this August.

It just won't be tolerated.

The Starting Lineup To Start 2010

2010-03-27T22:47:00.005-04:00

It looks like Jim Leyland has pretty much solidified his starting lineup to open the 2010 season:

Austin Jackson, CF
Johnny Damon, LF
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Carlos Guillen, DH
Brandon Inge, 3B
Gerald Laird, C
Scott Sizemore, 2B
Adam Everett, SS

In my opinion, there are no real surprises here.

Just sighs of relief.

Relieved that Austin Jackson appears poised to pan out as a solid center fielder with the potential to get on base more often than Curtis Granderson did. I'm already warming up to the nickname "A-Jax". That's a keeper.

This means more ducks on the pond for Damon, Ordonez, and Cabrera.

And if Damon does happen to be hampered by the larger outfield at Comerica – he has just as good a shot at his hits dropping in and being on base right after Jackson.

And if Maglio continues where he left off in the latter days of 2009, and Cabrera steps up his clutch hitting with runners in scoring position – we have a strong front loaded offense.

Toss in Carlos Guillen for good measure.

But that line up once we get past Guillen and down to Inge, well, it goes pretty limp.

Don't get me wrong. Inge has been known to step it up a notch in clutch situations. But a career .240 average always finds it's level.

The one potentially bright spot could be Sizemore. After all, he is still an unknown. A rookie. And who knows. We may look back one day to this line up and remark "Can you believe Sizmore started the season hitting eighth?".

Or not. Time and Scott Sizemore will have to play this one out.

Defensively I think we are not as weak up the middle as we thought we thought earlier that we would be.

Laird is an excellent catcher. Hate his bat all you want, but this guy is good at the plate, a very good receiver who can holds runners, and getting them when they go.

Everett at shortstop is not a weakness defensively. And again we have to wait and see how Sizemore matures in the two bag spot.

But Austin Jackson has impressed defensively in Lakeland. Perhaps not a Granderson … yet. But who's to say he won't be someday ... now that we have seen him.

Again time will tell.

Piching - it looks like the rotation is pretty much set too – except for that fifth spot.

Verlander
Porcello
Scherzer
Bonderman
Willis or Robertson

I caught a little heat from people last week about my putting Willis in the fifth spot of that rotation. Justifiably so. Both Willis and Robertson had good springs - but Robertson defintely has the edge when it comes to holding it together when the pitches count for something.

The wise old manager sage in Jim Leyland seems to know how to milk a bull pen for all it's worth.

But what is that bullpen worth now?

Seay is out with a torn Rotator Cup. Miner also starts the season on the DL.

Zumaya can give you an inning, maybe two? Fu Te Ne is pretty reliable. And the loser of the Willis / Robertson battle.

The Skip might need to keep his stool and bucket set up to massage the utters of this bullpen.

And now we have Valverde to close. This year our closer should be a welcome treat. Hopefully the ninth innings with a lead will not be the rollercoaster thrill ride of recent years under Jones and Rodney.

So as the boys of the old English D arrive back up North to open (Kansas City is still north of Lakeland) to open the 2010 campaign for the AL Central division – once again I feel comfortable with our offense, our defense and our starting pitching.

But the bottom of our order is weaker, and our bullpen is again in question.

There is a good side to this. We open against the Royals. And then we open at home against the Indians.

So we have a pretty good shot at starting the season on a winning roll.

But I don't want to invoke the hex of the 2008 seven game losing streak to open the year.

So lets just say it looks pretty good ... for now. Maybe a little weaker – but maybe not.

It's up to the Rookies Jackson and Sizemore and the bullpen.

976ST8W25U3A

Tigers Starting Rotation Success Ends With Scherzer, Bonderman, and Somebody else

2010-03-14T19:09:00.000-04:00

At the fifty thousand feet view – baseball is a simple game.

You throw the ball, you catch the ball, and you hit the ball.

If you're Justin Verlander – he has already cemented his status as the Tigers ace and first spot in the rotation holder.

Or Rick Porcello – who sure smells like the next Verlander – as he seems to be the easy second spot holder and ready to assume the title of ace should Verlander … falter.

Same for Max Scherzer – the new acquirement from Arizona – who threw great yesterday.

But once you drop down a little lower in the stratosphere – the game gets a bit more complicated.

At least that's how it must seem to a large contingent of pitchers vying for the Tigers remaining three starting rotation spots.

It's damned complicated if you're Dontrelle Willis – who seems to battle himself harder than the guy at the plate.

It's damned frustrating if you're Jeremy Bonderman – the man who was heralded as the Tiger's ace before Justin Verlander broke out with a no-hitter in early 2007, then succumbed to injury and the recovery to former form since.

It's a distant memory if you're Nate Robertson – who just seemed to fall off the cliff of great pitching hopefuls to rise through the Tigers bullpen back to the starting rotation.

It's a goal just out of reach of Zack Minor – who has only proved to date to be a marginal fifth spotter in the rotation.

Armando Galarraga was such a bright spot in a dismal 2008. The rookie who became our rotation rock of Gibraltar – but stumbled back down to mediocrity last season.

And Jarrod Washburn – who since arriving with the Tigers in mid-season last year – did little so far to endear fans to him.

So far, there is some encouragement glimmering from Jeremy Bonderman. A good outing yesterday should the hard throwing righty to have some real nasty making his slider snap at the plate.

That would be so great to have the Bonderman of past days back in the Tigers rotation. A great thing in deed.

And Dontrelle Willis also had a really good outing yesterday – seemingly in spite of how he says he felt out there on the mound. Stating even though he didn't feel good, and he couldn't find his rhythm – he still got the job done very well.

But what does that really mean? It sounds good at first for Dontrelle – but his problem is really a lack of confidence – and that didn't sound very confident yesterday.

So to me, with three weeks left to go – so far the starting rotation to me looks likes like this:

1.Verlander
2. Porcello
3. Scherzer
4. Bonderman
5. Willis

Of course a lot can change over the next three weeks. And Willis is in there despite his own self.

So my list may very well change.

As for the bullpen, the old springtime distraction is back. Joel Zumaya is back and throwing nearly a hundred miles and hour again.

And this distraction is taking the spot light off of the other bullpen pitchers.

In my personal opinion, a Zumaya who is throwing fastballs a hundred miles an hour is a Joel Zumaya who isn't throwing anything else but fastballs. And if you're a hitter – a big league professional – and you know you're gonna get a hundred mile an hour fastball flying at you as the next pitch – I'll bet you're gonna hit that ball – and probably hit it hard.

So I don't want to waste a lot of time on Joel Zumaya this year – unless he is seriously looking to add some new dimensions to his pitching artillery.

The one pitcher I haven't had a chance to see yet that I am really anxious to see – is Jose Valverde – the closer we picked up this winter. He has pitched four innings – given up four hits four walks and four strike outs – and not yet given up a run.

So I think we have upgraded considerably our closing spot from Fernando Rodney to Jose Valverde.

Great pitching beats great hitting. It's a law of baseball physics that even the baseball gods can do little about.

And so far our starting rotation looks pretty darn good.

Especially if Bonderman comes back to his old form.

Watch out American League Central.

Seeing Old Friends Again

2010-03-11T21:58:00.000-05:00

Given the transactions made this offseason, it was good to see some old friends this week.

From a fans perspective of course … and a thousand miles away from where the action is happening in Florida.

This week we saw Curtis Granderson – wearing the Yankees NY on his cap.

And we saw Placido Polanco wearing the fat-little Philadelphia P on his cap.

Both showed us some emotion in the reunions.

And both reminded us how much we should miss them – by their strong play.

Grandy made a game changing running grab against the fence - a great catch - to rob Cabrera from at least and RBI.

Deep sigh.

And Placido – well – he seems to be back at third after returning to Philadelphia – still the stalwart rock of consistently both defensively and at the plate.

The news broke today that had the Tigers offered Placido Polanco arbitration – he likely would have accepted it.

So this leads me to cement my belief that this Tigers organization – the powers that run the old English D we all cherish – had a different direction in mind. A direction that we still don't do see. A direction that we really are still assuming exists.

It wasn't just dollars. They already spent what they saved in acquiring Valverde and Damon.

As for Granderson's replacement – Austin Jackson – I am quite confident that he will get his footing quickly and prove himself to be an asset to the Tigers before the old Sparky Anderson "forty game" litmus test expires.

But Scott Sizemore – the AAA Toledo second baseman the Tigers have been eyeing for a couple of years as Placido's replacement is struggling. He is struggling because last season ended with a broken ankle – and ankle that he is trying to work around. An ankle that seems to be taking his attention away from stepping up in the big leagues.

I am rooting for both these guys.

And I am doing my best to not compare Jackson to Granderson – or Sizemore to Polanco. But it's so early yet. And those two positions were never a question mark.

Big cleat's to fill in deed.

Let's just hope Jackson doesn't feel a need to pull his sock straps up to his knees like Grandy did.

And for Sizemore – just keep it simple – and get the job done.

That's how Placido did it.

If nobody's talking about Scott Sizemore after forty games – then he's filling Placido's just fine.