The Nightmare Is Over

I never thought I'd be glad to have a baseball season end. I hope to never feel this way again. My friend, trying to be optimistic, said, "The Tigers get the number one draft pick." Yes, and it's nice that they get something good out of this mess, but I'd rather not have the number one draft pick, if given the choice. 

This year was a nightmare. But even in the middle of that, there was good. The best and biggest things happened at the end of the season: the Tigers first triple play in sixteen years and Andrew Romine becoming just the fifth player in MLB history to play all nine positions in one game. Those were moments to treasure amidst upheaval and heartbreak. 

You might wonder why there is a picture of a sunrise. To me, the sunrise is a symbol of hope. Despite projections, despite anything anyone says, next season is a fresh start. To borrow from Anne of Green Gables, "the next season is always fresh, with no mistakes in it". I look forward to next season with anticipation. Maybe more than in previous years because of how badly we ended. 

February is a new start.

After Sixteen Years

Oh yes we did. The Tigers turned a TRIPLE PLAY last night in Toronto. (Can we just pause for a second and be amazed at how many Tigers fans were at the Rogers Centre last night? It sounded like Comerica Park). Drew VerHagen did what he does best, got a ground ball right to rookie Candelario who snagged it, stepped on third, fired over to Kinsler, who quickly turned to throw to first and just barely got Kevin Pillar. Absolutely incredible and SUPER EXCITING!!! We have not done it since 2001. Take a look:

https://www.mlb.com/tigers/video/must-c-tigers-turn-triple-play/c-1820956383?tid=

 

The Miguel Cabrera Conundrum

Everyone knows it - Miguel Cabrera has had a tough year. I'm an optimist, but that doesn't mean I deny reality. Something is wrong, but I believe it will be fixed and he'll be back to a more normal Cabrera next year. But based on the things I'm hearing, even resting for an off-season might work for a short time and not solve the issues. 

The fact of the matter is, Cabrera has dealt with injuries and played through them the past few years. Playing nine innings is not easy. He won't say much until the season is over, but there have been allusions made that he hurts when he's standing out in the field. So my solution is simple - make him the DH. The details of that transition may be a little more complex, but the idea isn't.

Victor Martinez is currently the DH, but he only has one year left on his contract, and with his health issues this season, the possibility exists that he could retire after the current season ends. No one knows. 

The Tigers don't want to lose Miguel Cabrera's bat and I don't think it's gone. Maybe he does just need rest and thanks to the year we are having, he'll get plenty of it. (See, there is my optimism coming out :). 

It's not like we have a first baseman waiting in the wings, but that is less important than figuring out a way to get Miggy back to being Miggy. I'm sure he and the Tigers are going to be looking at everything they can. They don't need my opinion, but I thought I'd throw it out there for us lay people to mull over. 

(Photo credit: mine)

Dear Mr. Commissioner, Please Don't Change Our Game

Dear Mr. Commissioner, 

You are full of enthusiasm for this game we all love called baseball. You want the game to be as great as it can be. But we love the game for what it is and also what it isn't.

This is not hockey, basketball, or football; full of speed and action at every turn. That's okay. We don't want it to be. We watch baseball for what baseball has to offer. Those of us who are baseball fans are okay with its pace. 

Mr. Commissioner, I support measures to take out unnecessary time wasters. A clock on the time between innings - sure. But putting restraints on key components of a game, like regulating how many times a catcher can go out to talk to the pitcher; now you're changing the game in a significant way. Make changes around the game, but don't regulate the timing of the game itself. 

Baseball has always had a large following. I don't see that changing any time soon. Those who like it will continue to like it as it is. Changing the game to make it faster is more likely to lose you fans you already have then draw in more fans. In my opinion, people who don't like baseball as it is probably won't be converted just because it's faster. I think the draw or dislike of a sport goes beyond time and action. 

Dear Mr. Commissioner, please think seriously about any changes you may propose. Please seek out the thoughts and opinions of players - current players but even more, past players. Please continue to let the saying be true, that a player from 100 years ago could come to a game today and still know what's going on. 

Add fun, add excitement, but leave the fundamentals the same. Don't change our game. 

This Year Puts 2015 Into Perspective

Last night's game against the White Sox was a microcosm for our whole season. The numbers, the expectations, the talent all says the Tigers should have the advantage, and yet, we lose. Jim & Dan kept saying, "This makes no sense" and that is the tag line for the Tigers season this year.

In 2015, a season which when over, I said was a year to forget, we at least had a logical reason for our record; significant injuries to significant players. This year, there is no logic. Everything said at the beginning of the year that we should be good; that we might have a shot at getting back into things. It makes sense that Norris and Boyd go through some struggles in their sophomore season, but other than that, the rest of the troubles defy explanation. If someone said that players were being paid off, I'd consider it. It makes more sense than the seeming nothingness we have. 

Okay, I'm being dramatic, but the most frustrating part of this year is that there is no rhyme or reason for it. Everything is there for us to win and we can't win. It makes no sense. 

Stop Booing Players

We were playing the Baltimore Orioles and knocking Chris Tillman around. I was happy because the Tigers were winning. The Orioles fans were decidedly UN-happy. And they were making sure Tillman knew it. I actually felt bad for him.

WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO PROVE?

Imagine for a moment that you had a responsibility/job to do. The only person that this affected was you, but you were failing at it. You would feel terrible. You would feel like a failure. Now imagine that you have a job that affects approximately 30 people immediately around you and tens of thousands of others. Oh, and you get paid a LOT of money to do this job. Now when you fail, it feels even worse.

Do you see? Chris Tillman, and any other baseball player struggling, is essentially failing at his job right now. He's probably beyond frustrated. He knows he's letting his teammates down, his manager down, the fans down, and it's probably killing him. So what do players who are struggling need from the fans? The last thing they need is us voicing our frustrations. That's all booing them accomplishes. It tells them we are unhappy and makes them feel even worse. It doesn't improve the situation at all. 

TRY TO BUILD THEM UP 

What if, instead of booing when they fail, we cheer loudly and exuberantly when they succeed? Even if it's throwing a strike, let them know we appreciate when they do a good job. Because they already know we are frustrated. (And we are not more frustrated than they are). Rather than complain about how terrible someone is doing on our social media platforms, find something good that they are doing and praise them for it (and tag them too!). There is pretty much ALWAYS something good and positive to find, if you know how to look for it. 

LET'S BE HAPPY

Baseball is a game almost designed to bring heartache and sorrow all on its own. Why should we create more discord by our words? I implore the baseball fans - look for the good. Search long and hard if you have to, but try to find at least one good thing in a bad start, in a loss, in a crummy season. You have no idea how much it will improve your overall attitude toward the game, the players, and even life. 

Trades & Rebuilds

 

I don't really like July. That's because July is trade deadline month. There has only been one trade in the time I've been following baseball that I was legitimately happy about. J.D. is gone and I'm sad. I knew it was coming, and to a point I understand it, but I'm still sad. I'm also pretty stunned that we won last night's game. I fully expected us to lose, so I was pleased and surprised when I woke up this morning to see that we had won, and not by a small margin. Enough with all that. I have a few thoughts I want to get off my chest today.

THE TRADES THAT MAKE SENSE

As much as I don't like to see players leave, there are some trades that I can admit make sense for a team. Usually those regard players who will be free agents. Dombrowski traded away Cespedes, Price (okay, maybe two trades I was happy about), and Soria because they were going to be free agents and we weren't going to be able to keep them. 

When you have a very talented player who you are going to lose at the end of the season anyway, I can understand that you'd want to try and get something for having that player. Otherwise, you lose this great guy and your team is just the loser. With a trade, you at least might get another good player in return.

I've been meaning to write this post for a few days, so I was going to cite J.D as an example, but Alex Avila is another. I was SO excited this past off-season when we resigned him. I don't want to see him go. But we have John Hicks and there is no guarantee we'd sign him again this coming off-season, so if a trade worked out, I'd understand it. Not like it, but understand. 

THE TRADES THAT DON'T MAKE SENSE 

Justin Wilson? Seriously? With all the struggles this team has with its closer position, why on earth would we trade a guy who is actually doing a decent job? Very rarely would I say that one player makes or breaks a team, but trading Wilson might just condemn the Tigers for a while. I know everyone talks about Joe Jimenez, but we all thought the same things about Rondon, and it doesn't look like he will pan out the way we imagined. Who's to say Jimenez won't do the same thing? Regardless, he's not ready. 

Along a similar vein are the rumors about Fulmer. Purportedly, Al Avila's goal (and that of the Tigers organization) is to get younger and cheaper. So yes, by all means, trade away one of your young, cheap players. (Do you hear the sarcasm there)? Trading Fulmer runs counter to everything the Tigers have said they're trying to do. 

I'm not even going to talk about the rumors for Verlander (what I said last off-season still applies to Verlander) and Cabrera. I think they're ridiculous and nothing more needs to be said. 

(As a side note, does anyone else find it very interesting that only in sports, can reporters get away with spreading rumors? It's all scare tactics, and in any other form of reporting, it's not allowed to write unproven information, but it's just fine in sports?)

Ultimately, we the fans have to trust Al Avila and the Tigers front office. Did Dombrowski make some decisions that didn't seem to pan out? Yes. But overall, he did a great job. I trusted him because he was in the position of GM for a reason. I don't have all the knowledge he does, so it is really my place to question? The fans have to trust that Avila will do what's best for the team. We may not always understand it, but I don't believe he'd ever do anything to purposefully hurt the Tigers. Might things not work out? Sure. He's human, the players are human, injuries happen, things don't go according to plan. That doesn't mean second guess him and blame him for everything. The powers that be have tasked Avila with the job of General Manager, and everything that goes with it. We have to trust their decision as much as we have to trust Avila himself. 

REBUILDING????

Here is something I don't understand - how is trading ONE player rebuilding? As far as I know, a rebuild is clearing your roster of almost everybody and virtually starting over. One trade does not a rebuild make. The Tigers don't have to start with a clean slate. We can - and are - changing our roster philosophy. We are getting younger. One could say we've been "rebuilding" for a couple years now. I don't think we are officially "rebuilding" with one trade, nor do I think we even need to "rebuild". I think the guys who write articles like to be dramatic. 

It's not up to me or you and we don't know what the Tigers brass will do. But I try to look at things as logically as I can and that's what I write for you here.

Instant Replay, Scheduling, & Inter-League Play

This is a hard article to write, because, as frustrated as I am, it is hard for me to put it down. I really don't like being negative or complaining. Sometimes though, things just push me over the edge. I will preface with the fact that I may be a little sensitive since it seems like these are contributing to the Tigers problems, but regardless, there are some issues here.

INSTANT REPLAY

I thought instant replay sounded like a good idea when they initiated it three (?) years ago. The first year they had some minor issues, but everyone assumed it would get better as the years went on. After all, it was just the first year; of course there'd be some bugs. But it actually seems to have gotten worse. 

Dan Dickerson and Jim Price know baseball. They've been broadcasting for years and Jim played for a long time too. They look at the replay videos while New York is deliberating and they tell you what they assume the call will be. They're not biased; they look at the video and tell you what they see. In the past couple of years, they were right more often than not.

Not so this year. 

A play will be obviously safe or out to them, and New York calls it the opposite. It's to the point where they say "here's what we think, but we have no idea what they might say". That's ridiculous. 

I like the idea of the umpires in New York not knowing the call made on the field. Just call them and say "take a look at this play and tell us your call". They make the call, unaware of what the call at the game was. Maybe that will fix some of the issue. 

Replay was supposed to get calls right. At the moment, it's failing, and it can cost teams a game. 

SCHEDULING

I'm sure this is not just a Tiger problem. I have not looked at other teams' schedules, but ours seems set up for failure. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but two West Coast trips? Why? We have two West Coast trips, multiple three-city road trips, and we're starting and ending on the road. At least this year, it's in the American League.

No team should start and end on the road and no American League team should end in the National League. A National League team could end in the AL, because it doesn't handicap them in any way. That's a discussion for another post.

INTER-LEAGUE PLAY 

Related to scheduling is inter-league play. I am NOT a fan. First and foremost, I don't see the point. But, whatever. Major League Baseball wants some inter-league play. Fine. But we don't need/want this much. The Tigers have SIX. Now, some of them are here, but still. At the end of August, we go on the road for six games - three at the White Sox, then we go all the way to Colorado for three, to turn around and come home. There's no point!

It's kind of become a tradition for us to play a home-and-home with Pittsburgh. If you want inter-league play, pick two maybe three teams to play per year. One can be a rivalry or a traditional opponent and you can work in other teams. But again, why? I really don't see the point of it. What it has done in past years is take away games from your own division who you need to play a lot, especially near the end of the year.  

CHANGES, PLEASE

Major League Baseball is trying to make lots of changes, but they aren't really asking fans their opinions. They aren't asking if we want some of the changes and they aren't asking what changes we might like to see. Instant replay needs work, the scheduling can be done better, and inter-league play needs explained. We need to know why it's done, and even then, we don't need as much of it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has these opinions and wants to see some attention to them from MLB.  

Some Think We're Done

A notification popped up on my screen - Windsor: Too soon to start a fire sale? The Detroit Tigers look finished.

Un. Be. Lieveable. 

Things are bad right now, I won't deny that. I'm extremely frustrated and disappointed in the way we're playing, but our schedule for May pretty much seemed set up for failure. (That's a rant for another post). 

I keep a notebook every year since 2012 of every single game throughout the season. Last year, around this same time. We were hovering around .500 or a game or two below. This year, we're four games below .500 and, while that is worse and it's bad, we ARE NOT FINISHED. It's way too early for that.

The Tigers are better than they've been playing. Other teams in the Central are worse than they've been playing (I mean, come on, the Twins are in first place. That won't last). The Central is still a close game and IT'S MAY FOR PETE'S SAKE! 

People are frustrated, I get it. I'm currently not listening to the games because it negatively affects my attitude too much. But I haven't given up. I know we'll do better because we have to do better. Verlander will get better. Miguel will start hitting. Our offense will score runs. We've done it before and we'll do it again. 

Baseball better watch out because when you underestimate a team, sometimes that leads to great things.  


UPDATE: Anthony Fenech is my favorite sportswriter right now. His article is brutal and honest, but also positive and hopeful. Read it here.

We Got TWO MustC videos!!!

The Tigers catchers were flashing their gloves in defensive wizardry the other day vs. Texas. Watch the awesomeness!!

 http://m.mlb.com/det/video/topic/47076644/v1410935683/must-c-catches-mccann-avila-make-fantastic-grabs


We also had the bats going in full force, starting in the 1st inning. We haven't done this in the first inning since 2013.

http://m.mlb.com/det/video/topic/47076644/v1410412083/must-c-combo-tigers-go-backtobacktoback-in-1st 

I wish I could post them so they look like a video, but this is all I know how to do. Enjoy!

J.D. Martinez

How about J.D. Martinez, huh?

Last year, he misses seven weeks, has no rehab assignment, comes back and promptly hits a home run off none other than Chris Sale. This year, he spends seven weeks or so on the DL again, comes back and singles in his first at bat, but hits TWO home runs in his second game back!!!

I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, with him missing fourteen weeks (roughly) in just a couple of months, we might get to keep him this off-season. But, when he comes back like this, I just don't know. 

The other thing in our favor is, free agents are no longer going to be getting the huge payouts and players can't get huge raises, thanks to the salary caps, luxury taxes, and penalties for going over. It may not matter, we may still lose him, but at least this is good news for other guys who will become stars (say, Michael Fulmer). 

I obviously have no clue what will take place in the off-season or anytime before that, but you might just want to savor this now. Enjoy watching J.D. play, because you might not get to see it for much longer.  

All Star Voting

The email arrives and I sigh as I roll my eyes. Those same eyes turn to check the calendar. Yep, we are one month into the season and we're voting for the July All-Star game. Am I the only one who sees a problem here?

I try to be really upbeat and positive in general and especially here. But I have to point out what I view as a major problem.

TIMING
All-Star voting starts one month after the season starts. What that means is, there are players who are off to torrid starts who will cool, players who are starting off slow who will heat up, and players who are on the DL now. Fans have the unfortunate tendency to vote based on current numbers, not track records, or they look at the wrong numbers.

Two examples from the Tigers (because that's what I know best) are Jim Adduci and J.D. Martinez. It would be lunacy to vote Adduci into the All-Star game now because A) he might not even be in the Majors by July and B) he won't sustain the way he's hitting right now. J.D., on the other hand, has missed the entire season so far, so he won't get hardly any votes, based on past voting patterns. 

LOOKING AT THE WRONG THINGS
Here is the problem with how people vote - they vote based on hitting only and what your team did. Hitting changes. Players go through slumps. A really good hitter can be in a slump when he goes to the All-Star game. The flip side is, no one seems to really care about defense. I don't care how good he is as a hitter, if he's not the best defender, don't vote for him. 

The way I try to vote is a mix. I'd prefer to have a guy who is a better defender than hitter, but I usually try to pick guys who are pretty good at both (disclamer: I honestly believe we have several guys like that on the Tigers).  

To give another example, I'm voting for Alex Avila for catcher. He won't win, but I'm voting for him anyway. James McCann will be an All-Star someday, but for now, Avila is the better defender and, especially at catcher, you want a premier defender. I really don't even care about hitting for the All-Star catcher. He needs to be a brick wall behind the plate. 

I mentioned people vote on how teams perform and that's not fair to certain players. When the Royals were winning big for the past two years, they got so many players into the All-Star game. I'm not saying they're not good players, but it's not fair to exclude really good players, just because their team isn't performing as well. 

I don't have any numerical evidence to back up these claims, I'm simply stating the trends I've seen. I don't mind people voting for their team's players, unless their player is not good enough. There were several years when I didn't vote for Castellanos at third because there were simply much better options. I think he has earned the trust to go to the All-Star game. Do I think he will? No. But he has become a player that is good enough at his position. 

The solution to this problem? Postpone the voting until June. June 1st the All-Star game voting starts and you have about a month to vote. That's plenty of time and it will give a better sample size to see who really is having an All-Star worthy year. 

Outfield: Defense or Offense? Must We Choose?

There is a Detroit Free Press article (pardon the word usage) that makes the case that, when JaCoby Jones is healthy, the Tigers have a dilemma: is their outfield going to be know for it's offense or defense?

The dilemma stems from Jones himself, a premier defender, possibly one of the best centerfielders in the game, but a poor batter (at least for now in the Majors). His fill ins, Jim Aducci, Tyler Collins, & Andrew Romine, are better batters (again, at least for now) but poorer defenders (comparatively).

I would make a counter argument to the Freep article - we don't have to choose. 

Looking at defense, Jones is a great one by all accounts. Lloyd McClendon sings his praises (something we're told rarely happens) and Jones has looked good in center in his time in Detroit. However, all that does not make the other options bad. The sport writer community here in Detroit seems to believe that Collins or Aducci in the outfield is a liability. (Romine generally plays infield, but he has shown some skill in the outfield too, of course). Now, I don't have all the numbers, but numbers can be misleading. Supposedly, we have a below-average outfield when we are healthy. I have a very hard time believing that, but that's for another time. Putting Collins, Aducci, or even Mahtook in the outfield is not a liability. They're not going to hurt you out there. Maybe they won't make a play that Jones would have made, but they aren't Jones. Not everyone is a premier defender or they wouldn't call them premier.

If you read the article, Seidel gives the example of a ball Collins laid out for and couldn't quite haul in. The opinion is expressed that Jones probably would have made the catch, saving the runs and the Tigers would have won. Maybe. Maybe Jones would have caught that ball and those particular runs wouldn't have scored, but other runs could have and we had the opportunity to win in the 9th and didn't capitalize. It was a close game and we just lost.

Switching over to offense, Jones was struggling a bit before he went on the DL. Not really surprising, considering the Tigers wanted to leave him at Triple A at least for the beginning of the year, until J.D. got hurt. He's a rookie trying to hit Major League pitching. I think we should expect some struggles. Collins has been hitting well, Aducci is on fire (he'll most likely come down out of the atmosphere at some point), and Romine is, well, Romine. Enough said. Mahtook has a low batting average, but he's also not had much playing time. If the Tigers went with Jones, our lineup is able to handle it if he struggles. But would that be good for Jones?

In the spring, the Tigers kept saying they wanted Jones to develop more before coming up. An injury forced their hand, but with Collins and Aducci doing so well, why not just leave Jones in Toledo until you need him? If Aducci begins to struggle, then call Jones back. (There might be something in here about how many options Jones has, but I know nothing about that, so I can't address it).

My thought is this: Collins and Aducci are solid in the outfield and are hitting. If you stick with them, you'll be fine. Jones is stellar in center and we could deal with him struggling. I don't see major issues with either choice and I don't think we'd be harmed by either one. Might one be better for us? Maybe. But then we are picking from two viable options, not which one will be less damaging. 

 

Help From Unlikely Places

Miguel Cabrera? J.D. Martinez? JaCoby Jones? Who are they?

It's never good to lose players to the DL, especially for a lengthy period of time, but it's always made easier when your replacement players step up to the plate (no pun intended). That is EXACTLY what John Hicks and Jim Aducci have done for the Tigers. 

Not that there is room for them to stay, but when our starters get back, I think it's going to be hard to send these guys back down. They've hit well and been plus defenders. We certainly weren't hindered by them in any way. Now, we definitely miss our starters and I'm super excited that Cabrera is coming back today, but it is nice to know that we have such capable players to call upon when there are injuries. 



Do you have a topic you'd like me to talk about here? A certain aspect of the Tigers or baseball you'd like to know my thoughts on? Send me an email at smylinggirly.blog@gmail.com, or leave your question in the comments!

Don't Freak Out

I'm not going to spend too much time on this, but...

DON'T FREAK OUT YET!!!!!!

It's only eight games in and, already, the topic of "discussion" is the bullpen. I seriously think that even if we got a bullpen like the Royals had a couple years ago, the sports writers would still complain. I think that all they know now is to worry about the bullpen. I think the fans are conditioned to gripe about our relievers. 

The thing is - and I know you've never heard this before from me - no team will be great at every position. 

Let that sink in for a moment.

You CAN NOT have a superb offense, defense, starting rotation, & bullpen. It's not realistic. One or more of those will be at least average. You can hope for average. But you can't have an above average team in everything. 

If that's what you want and/or, are expecting, then maybe sports isn't your thing. I'd recommend writing fantasy novels. 

Eight games in people. Let's not sound the alarm yet. 

 

A Fresh Start // Opening Day 2017

Opening Day is my favorite secular holiday. 

I know it's not a holiday according to the calendar, but it should be. Baseball is back and it's a fresh start. In the Anne of Green Gables series, Anne says, "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it." That's what a new baseball season is like. A clean slate with limitless possibilities. On Opening Day, everyone has a chance at October. 

For some reason, there are those in baseball who seem to think it's necessary to predict who will do what, what the standings will look like, etc. I don't understand this tendency and I ignore all the numbers and predictions for two reasons that are interconnected:

1. There are no major injuries yet. Sure, you might start the year without a player for a little while, but you're not without several key players at the same time like you might be later on. A team with all the potential in the world can't win if they aren't a whole team for prolonged periods of time. 
2. Baseball is finicky. There is so much luck in baseball. Games can be won or lost on a seeing-eye hit, a bloop single, or any other crazy little thing that isn't anyone's fault. A player can get injured on an innocent play. You never know. 

Tigers fans can attest that these things are true, and I'm sure many other teams' fans can as well. It comes down often to who has the least amount of injuries and how many of those injuries are with your pitching. Because, as we all know, it all comes down to pitching.

But we don't need to worry about all that yet. That's all in the future. For now, sit back, turn on your TV or radio, and relax, because....

IT'S OPENING DAY!!!!!!! 

Why Is No One Talking About Trades?

 

The question that plagues Tigers fans: what to do with Sanchez, Pelfrey, & Lowe. 

All three performed badly last year, and for Sanchez, that poor performance goes back a couple of years. Going into spring, all eyes were on them to see how they would perform and what the Tigers would do with them and all the money owed.

Then the monkey wrench got thrown into the gears. Sanchez has actually been doing well in the latter part of the spring. The Tigers worked with him to change his mechanics a bit and it seems to have succeeded in making him a better pitcher. So now what?

Boyd seems like he should be the fifth starter. Are you going to put Sanchez and his paycheck in the bullpen as a long-reliever who (hopefully) won't get much work? What about Pelfrey and Lowe who have shown some resurgence this spring as well?

What I don't understand is why NO ONE is talking about trades. Not the sports writers, not the radio announcers, not the management (at least not publicly). We have been in this situation before with a player that we didn't have room for but was performing well. Bryan Holiday was that player last year. He played really well in the spring, we didn't have a spot for him, so he got traded. You don't get top prospects in a trade like that, but you get something.

It seems to me that, assuming Sanchez continues for the rest of spring to pitch well, some team might be willing to take a chance on him. Again, you're not going to get a top prospect in return, but some team gets a pitcher who just might be good again, and the Tigers don't have to figure out what to do with six starters. Plus, they lose his salary. 

If a team is interested, I don't see a better option, yet there must be something I'm missing if all the people who know baseball better aren't talking about this. Spring Training is almost over, so we'll get answers soon. 

Thoughts On Spring Training & Team USA

Spring Training so far has been disappointing, I'll freely admit. I don't like the fact that we're losing so much, but there are still lots of positives. 

- Nick Castellanos. I've been a fan of him from the beginning. However, he has steadily improved each year that he's played. This spring, he has shown some marked improvements in hitting, baserunning, and defense. He's a big part of our team.

- Pitching. Our starting pitching has been really good. Verlander, Boyd, Norris, Fulmer, and Zimmermann. Sure, there has been some rough patches, but it is Spring Training after all. The bullpen has had a few bright spots too. You may moan and complain that it's a big part of the reason we've lost so many games, but, there are a lot of guys pitching who aren't going to be on the team. 

Most of all, keep in mind that it's Spring Training. We haven't even played all that many games. Is it disconcerting? Yes. Disappoint? Absolutely. But not predictive. 


Team USA
We're on to the second round!!!! Team USA has played some good games so far in the World Baseball Classic. We have a lot of amazing players and our pitching - while not the best of America - is nothing to sneeze at. We have the talent to win, but so do some of the other teams. We'll have to wait and see. If USA gets out, then I want Venezuela to win. They have the most Tiger players :)

Notes From The Dugout

These are quotes from the book "Tales from the Tigers Dugout". The third edition is out now, meaning you get more recent tales! I read the second edition which went through the 2012 season. Really great book for Tigers fans. 


"Alan Tramell didn't really have a chance his last year. I've said it all along, if Guillen and Pudge and Ordonez are out of our lineup on a consistent basis, we wouldn't be worth anything, either. That's the way it is. But people don't want to hear that." ~ Jim Leyland

If tomorrow you could not play, how hard would you play today?

What's really scary with Cabrera is that he is getting better with plate discipline each year, making it harder for pitchers to let him retire himself, as Verlander suggested. (2012)

Who else would crouch down and manicure the mound each inning? Who else would talk to the ball or himself or anyone who would listen? And who else would throw balls back to the umpire with bizarre requests? "That ball has a hit in it," Fidrych said. "I want it to get back in the ball bag and goof around with the other balls in there. Maybe it'll learn some sense and come out as a pop-up next time."

A basic baseball truth: Players decide games. Managers dissect them. ~ Sparky Anderson

I Have A Problem With How The Grading Works

I have the TigersXtra app and it's fantastic. I get tons of articles (sometimes it can be overwhelming) and pictures. It's a great app.

There was an article about Steven Moya and it was talking about his defensive deficiencies last season; a season in which he only played 33 games for us! THIRTY-THREE!!!

I'm sorry, but you cannot judge a player on 33 games. In case you haven't noticed, baseball is six months long. 162 games, plus the post-season (which gets its own records). How in the world can people sit there and say, "Oh, Moya is a poor defender", when they only have 33 big league games to go on? He has never played a full year in the Majors. He's only come up to fill in for an injury or as a September call-up. And may I remind you, Comerica Park is one of, if not the, biggest outfield in the game.

What I have to say to these critics is the same thing I say to critics of Ausmus: If it's so darn easy, YOU go do it. 

The other issue at hand here, is that people are just looking at numbers. Yes, numbers are good, yes they have a very important part to play in the game, but you CANNOT rely solely on numbers. Luck is a huge factor. There are plenty of times where a player almost makes a play and misses by inches (or less). All too often, a hit is taken away by sheer luck that the opposing player happened to be in the right spot. And let's not forget those pesky outs at the wall. 

Maybe Moya does have trouble with defense. I'm not saying he doesn't, but you can't judge him by numbers alone. You have to see him play and you have to factor in that he's only an injury fill-in and a September call-up, at least for now.          

Talk about issues. Talk about where he needs to improve on. That's fine. But the paper columnists can't fix it, so report, make your remarks, and move on. The Tigers will work with him and do what they can. All we can do is watch.

Spring starts....

JV Gets His Ninth Opening Day Nod

He deserves it. Every year, Opening Day should feature Justin Verlander on the mound. The year David Price got it... I was not very happy. One newspaper article said that only Felix Hernandez had more OD starts with nine currently. I'm assuming that stat is only among current players. JV's 9 OD starts are second only to Jack Morris in franchise history. Morris had 11 starts.

27 DAYS TILL OPENING DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pudge Rodriguez is in the HALL OF FAME!!!!!

I knew Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez was a great player. I did not know until this year just HOW great he was. It seems fitting then that he enters the Hall of Fame in his first eligible year. It's the cap on a career filled with history making.

Look at some of these stats:

.296 average, .798 OPS, 311 HRs, and 127 SBs in 21 seasons. That's pretty amazing for a catcher.
He caught more games than any player in MLB history; an astonishing 2,427 games.
He had more hits & extra-base hits than any catcher - 2,749 & 906, respectively.
Won the Gold Glove 13 times.
Led the league in caught-stealing percentage NINE times! No other catcher has done it more than six.
His WAR is 68.9. Only Johnny Bench (75) & Gary Carter (69.9) have a higher WAR. They're both in Cooperstown too.

Pretty impressive. So it's not really surprising that he is the only catcher besides Bench to have been elected on his first ballot appearance. He's also the HOF's youngest enshrined player. But what else would you expect from a guy who had a career like Pudge Rodriguez?

I am very excited that he was chosen. I think he deserved it so I'm glad the voters were able to see it too. 

(Photo: Steve Perez, Detroit News)

I Am So Sick Of Hearing This

"The Detroit Tigers are an aging team."

That is the national narrative. Frequently, it's the local narrative as well. And I am SO. COMPLETELY. SICK OF IT!!!! Let's take a look at the Tigers roster shall we? (Note: this is not the entire roster. I only included the players who were a significant part of the team and are returning next season.) The code is as follows: Starting Pitcher, Infielders, likely starting the year at Toledo, Relief Pitchers, Outfielders, Designated Hitter.
 
Daniel Norris -23
Michael Fulmer - 23
Nick Castellanos - 24
JaCoby Jones - 24
Dixon Machado - 24
Matt Boyd - 25
Kyle Ryan - 25
Buck Farmer - 25
Steven Moya- 25
Jose Iglesias - 26
James McCann - 26
Bruce Rondon - 26
Tyler Collins/Anthony Gose - 26
Shane Greene - 28
Alex Avila - 29
Blaine Hardy - 29
Justin Wilson - 29
J.D. Martinez - 29
Justin Upton - 29
Jordan Zimmermann - 30
Alex Wilson - 30
Andrew Romine - 31
Anibal Sanchez - 32
Mike Pelfrey -32Justin Verlander - 33
Mark Lowe - 33
Miguel Cabrera - 33
Ian Kinsler - 34Francisco Rodriguez - 34
Victor Martinez - 38

Our average age is 29.2 for the players on the above list. ESPN's roster lists our average age at 28.5, but also includes a 22 year-old who is no where near the Majors. Broken down another way, you get:

• Bullpen 28.8
• Outfield 27.5
• Infield 29
• Starting Pitching 28.3

You know what I see here? An experienced team with a good mixture of youth and experience. You have a 26 year-old basically rookie catcher and a 29 year-old experienced catcher. The starting rotation next year is likely to be two 23 year-olds, a 25 year-old, a 30 year-old, and a 33 year-old. I'm not seeing aging, are you? These averages are basically the age of a player in his prime!

Apparently, according to the national voices, you want your team to be full of really young guys. But you know what generally goes hand in hand with youth? Inexperience. Our closer is 34. You are starting to get on the older end at that age. But I'd rather have a 34 year-old who knows the game, has the experience, and knows what he's doing, than have a youngster who can throw harder and has no presence on the mound; no clue how to do his job. 

It's all about balance. Everything in life is about a balance. I don't know if this a human affliction or an American one, but we tend to swing to one extreme or another. It's not all or nothing. You can have a mix and I don't know why I'm the only one who thinks a mix is good. 

It is a good thing to have a young catcher for your future, but he needs someone to learn from. It's great to have young pitching but they need guidance. You have to have those older, more experienced players to mentor your young players. And they don't have to be that much older, they just need to have the experience. 

I think the Tigers are in great shape, age wise. We have a good balance of the really young, the guys in their prime, and the veterans. Of the thirty-one players on that list, only eleven are 30 years-old or older. That's 20 guys who are under thirty.

I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but do you see what I'm saying? We are NOT an aging team. We are a team with older, experienced veterans and young, inexperienced rookies. I feel like we have a great team that is in a good position. I'm not saying don't make moves IF THAT IS WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR THE TEAM. Don't trade guys away just for the sake of "getting younger". Maybe this team can't win. But don't say they don't have a chance just because we have guys people say are "too old". Time is the only teacher. The best players are the ones who have had experience. Talent can only take you so far. Raw talent does not win championships, nor does experience alone. It's a balance.

I'm going to stop there, otherwise I risk sounding like a broken record. If you're still here, thank you for reading this far! I can say this a million different ways. I hope you understand where I'm coming from and can take another look at this team Detroit calls its own. We love our Tigers and I'm tired of people counting us out. Never underestimate the Tigers, or any Michigan team for that matter. We just may surprise you.