What Am I Watching?

 Am I dreaming? Who are these Tigers? We had dug ourselves into such a deep hole at the beginning of the season that it seemed like we'd never escape and now there is a glimmer of hope. We haven't had more than a 4-game win streak all year but we've had several 5-game losing streaks and one awful 7-game losing streak. There are surprises in every area of this team and they are exceeding all expectations and hopes.

 

The Veterans and the Rookies

Robbie Grossman is the best free-agent signing the Tigers have had in many years. From the beginning of the season he has been an infusion. He walks like there is no tomorrow and he is one of our home run leaders! His defense is nothing to sneeze at either. He's not overrated or flashy but he's so solid and dependable and I am just thrilled with what he's brought to this team.

Jonathan Schoop has also been a nice surprise. Despite never playing first base until joining us, he's been really good there and his bat, especially lately, has been huge in the middle of the lineup. Having these veterans, along with Cabrera (obviously), has been a major blessing for a team that is so young and inexperienced. 

When it comes to rookies, no one is more green than Akil Baddoo. Our Rule 5 pick has barely played above Low-A ball before this year but you'd never be able to tell based on how he's done this year. Yes, he's cooled off from the torrid start, but what he's doing is, frankly, insane. He's even knocked Grossman out of the lead-off spot!

Our starting rotation is now our top three rookie prospects, a guy who is starting for the first time in many years, and a bullpen guy who being stretched out to start. And yet, we are pitching amazingly well. Losing Turnbull and Boyd (for the season and a long stretch, respectively) could have dealt us a death blow but somehow they have soldiered on and you almost forget that you're missing two of your best pitchers.

Everything Is Clicking

Pitching, both starters and relievers, is humming. Defense is flashing. The bats are spraying all over the field. Our running game is a level that I don't think I've seen in 10+ years of following Tigers baseball. I was just thinking the other day about how we have been thrown out at the plate a lot more this year. You'd think you would be losing runs and I don't have hard data but I think we probably are scoring more than in the past because we are forcing the issue. We are taking the extra base more and that will mean getting thrown out more. We also have a lot of young players who are still learning the finer points of running the bases but it's been impressive to watch. 

There have been so many times over the years when it seems like our pitching is on point but the bats can't hit anything. Then our bats heat up and the pitching slumps. We never could get multiple things going at the same time but that's not been the case much this year, especially right now.

This Is Fun

Maybe this is just a fluke but maybe it isn't. May and June showed a team that had promise. We never put a huge win streak together but the signs were there that things were different. The end of the first half was a deflating loss of momentum but the break seemed to bring out the best in everyone. Whatever happens in the rest of the season, this is a really fun moment and I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

All - Star Break Review

I expected to post way more this year, but I get busy and don't make this blog a priority. We're halfway through the season and I thought I really needed to put some thoughts out on our season. Here goes.

The Team

I think that our record does not accurately reflect our team. We are way better than we were expected to be at the start of the year, and we have played really hard. The argument can be made that a good team would win the close games that we've lost, but when you look at all the young guys we have on our team, exacerbated by all our injuries, and I think we are doing well, all things considered.

The losses are frustrating. I get it. I feel it too. It's no fun to listen to us lose all the time. But I focus on the positives, like the young guys learning and improving game after game. Like the scrappiness and fight that the Tigers show so often. The "experts" were predicting years of suffering for Detroit baseball. But based on what I'm seeing this season, I don't see it taking years. No, I don't think we'll be in the World Series next year, but a year or two, at the most, and I think we'll be back in contention; a team to be reckoned with. Maybe that's my optimism speaking a little bit, but I think the projections are on the negative side. We'll just have to wait and see.

The Surprises

We all can agree that there have been some major surprises on this team. Leonys Martin, Victor Reyes, Jeimer Candelario - who are these guys? There were question marks up and down the lineup and in the bullpen. It's not been the smoothest sailing, but I've been impressed at where the help has come from over this first half. I honestly think that's why the projections were so bad. We had all these unknowns, so people were giving us low expectations. But the Tigers don't like low expectations. These guys aren't accepting the defeat written out for them at the beginning of the season. It might be inevitable, but they aren't going down without a fight. 

Two of the biggest surprises might be Jordan Zimmermann and Joe Jimenez. Let's just be honest - most people, including me, wondered if Zimmermann would ever be good for us. Even now, I'm a bit wary of crying 'victory' just yet, but the signs are definitely encouraging. 

After what happened with Rondon, I was cautious with my expectations of Jimenez. I'm wondering if he saw all that occurred in the situation with Rondon and learned from it. He's looking like he might actually make it as a closer. I hope he can because that would be amazing for the team moving forward in this rebuild.

Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez

If you want evidence that life is not fair, look no farther than baseball. Miggy is finally healthy for the first time in a couple of years, and he has a season-ending injury in a year when we already have enough to deal with. These types of frustrations make me half wish Jim Price's "baseball gods" were real so I could have something to be mad at. 

The other side of this coin is, like in the past couple of years, the Tigers are getting a taste of what life without Miggy is like. No one wants to really think about this fact, but Miggy won't be here forever. We have to learn to hit and win without him, or we're really going to be hurting after he retires. I hope we don't have to live without him permanently anytime soon, but these stretches that he's been on the DL are a taste of what will be coming, whether we want it to or not. 

Victor Martinez is the new Anibal Sanchez for me. I appreciate him as a player and all the things he's done for us in the past. But now he's just hindering the team. Starting last year, I've been saying that one thing that might help Miggy is not playing nine innings in the field. He'd make a great DH, but he can't move there as long as we have Victor. I like Martinez. He was a great player. But I'm ready for him to retire. 




Those are some of my thoughts at halfway through. What do you think? Let's talk (please keep things clean and civil). 

If you have not signed these petitions yet, take a look. If you like what you see, please send them on to others who would be interested as well. Thanks!

Tell The MLB Commissioner "No Pace-of-Play Rules"

https://www.change.org/p/joe-torre-stop-major-league-baseball-s-in-game-rule-changes