Will There Be Baseball in 2022?

 

I'm not an insider on baseball. I don't know all the "whys" behind the issues right now, following the end of the Collective Bargaining Agreement after the 2021 season. But as a fan and an outsider, there are some things that bother me about what is going on. 

 

To start with, I'm honestly shocked that players are willing to risk another season of not playing after just having most of 2020 cancelled. I would think they would want to avoid that scenario at all costs, but apparently there is some amount of money that is worth it (potentially). And that is my main point.

Baseball players - and athletes in general - make more money than almost anyone else in America. They lowest paid player in the MLB makes more than most people at almost $600,000. That's a lot of money for six months of work.

Now don't get me wrong, baseball is a lot of work. There is a ton of effort that each and every player puts in everyday and all year round to play this game. But it is also just a game. They are entertainers. They are living their dream, getting to play a game they love every day and get paid a ton of money for it. 

 

All that, to me, makes what is going on hard to stomach. You want more money? Really? I know there is more going on than just that, but it is an element. And with what our beloved commissioner has done with luxury tax penalties, it's just not possible for salaries to continue to go up. Teams cannot afford it. I've been saying for years that salaries cannot rise indefinitely. Economics forbids it. They will eventually plateau at the very least, if not start coming down a little. 

I just don't understand why each time the CBA expires it has to be this huge deal. Why can't you just reaffirm the last one, or make some minor tweaks, and then go on your merry way? This side of baseball is ugly and it makes me really sad because what I see is greed. Maybe others see it differently. Maybe it is necessary and good, but the appearance is not. 

Photo by Savannah Rohleder on Unsplash

2021 - The Best Losing Season I've Seen

Finally, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. To be honest, it is hard to believe it's been five years of rebuilding. In some ways, it doesn't seem like it's been that long, and in other ways, winning seasons and teams seem like a distant memory. I cannot believe what I watched this year!

The Tigers should not have done as well as they did. We dug ourselves a hole in April and never quite got out of it, but we got close to .500 a couple of different times. The last week to 10 days of the season were disappointing, to say the least, especially with how September started. But we had four winning months and we could have been much, much worse.

Imagine with me for a moment, if we had not had Tyler Alexander. What if Mize/Manning/Skubal had gone through rookie struggles or regressions? Can you imagine what our season would have looked like? Each time we had an injury that could have sunk us, someone (or multiple someones) stepped up. Help came from places you wouldn't have expected. Late in the season, we lost two of our late inning guys and the rest of the 'pen closed ranks. Could we have won some games we ended up losing if we had Soto and Cisnero? Maybe, but it's just speculation. Maybe they would have had rough days for those games too.

I'm sure there are some really ugly numbers for the 2021 season. I know there are areas that still need improvement. One that everyone will be talking about is offense. During the last two weeks, especially, we left way too many guys on base and in scoring position. We could have won if we could have scored those runners. But I submit to you that we have a VERY young offense. We have young guys and guys with not much Major League experience. Our catchers for most of the year were rookies. Our outfield is mostly rookies or guys with only a few years of experience. Commentators want more home runs but we tried that recipe for almost 10 years and it didn't work. Now we have a team who can walk, steal bases, and still hit some home runs. Want to know which team had the most triples this year? The Tigers. In all of baseball! Home runs are not everything. If you can't get guys on, you only score one run at a time. Not the best recipe for winning. 

I'm not saying don't sign guys if they can help, but I'd rather see the Tigers work with some of the talent they have to improve hitting. Don't go after a guy if all he does is hit for power. I would love to see guys who walk and hit doubles. Guys who are smart about the strike zone. Remember, we have a very young team. Learning the strike zone takes time. It takes practice. It takes experience. 

There will be new faces next spring, but I hope we don't walk away from what got started this season. I think there is a lot of promise here; a lot of hope. The Tigers have grit and that goes a long way too. All things considered, this was the best losing season I've lived through. Everyday felt like a chance to win. We had things to play for and, of course, don't forget about the season Miggy had. 2021 was an exciting baseball season and here's hoping it is the catalyst for even better seasons, starting in 2022.

Should The Tigers Trade Spencer Turnbull For A Big Bat? // My Response To Lynn Henning

 My family knows that I am not a big fan of Lynn Henning. He rarely writes anything I agree with and when he does, it's a big deal. His latest piece was right after Spencer Turnbull's no-hitter and he voiced on his opinion that the Tigers should probably trade Turnbull for a big bat. Unfortunately, I cannot link to the article like I wanted to but you can try searching "lynn henning spencer turnbull trade" and see if you can find the piece.

To begin, we have to look at where Henning is coming from. April was a terrible month for the Tigers. We dug ourselves quite a hole with a lot of losses. Our bats were almost non-existent for long stretches. It was bad. But there is more going on than quiet bats.

It Starts With Pitching

The Tigers radio announces have, for years, talked about how winning teams start with pitching. If you don't have pitching, you will struggle. During our rough stretch with the bats this year, our starting pitching was SUPERB!!! They kept us in each game. It was hard to be constantly losing 1 or 2 to nothing, but those scores meant we had the chance to win. Spencer Turnbull is part of that great pitching and it would be foolish to breakup a pitching staff that is doing so well on a team that is still rebuilding but getting close to being competitive again. This is not a veteran pitcher; Turnbull is young still so there is no urgency to trade him.

Our bullpen has had its ups and downs and wasn't great during our quiet bat stretch, but we know it can be better and it is showing improvement.

 

Defense Loses Games

You know what else was sterling during the bat struggles? Our defense. This makes sense because great defense goes hand in hand with great pitching. Teams who aren't making the plays and/or are making errors will give up more runs, leading to more lost games. The defense is part of the equation to keeping those games low-scoring and giving us a chance to come back.

And Then There Are The Bats

Let's talk about our bats. We are a cobbled-together team. There are a few veterans but they are here on a one or two year contract. The turn-over of veterans has been crazy during this rebuild. Then we have the youngsters who, even though many of them are in their third or fourth (or more!) year in the big leagues, are still learning. Many of them have gone up and down over those years between Detroit and Toledo and we also don't have much in the way of set positioning for these guys. It's a lot. 

We weren't scoring runs, but that doesn't mean we weren't in the position to do so. The Tigers are walking and stealing bases at a rate that I don't remember ever seeing in the ten or so years that I have been following the team. It's a different brand of baseball than Detroit is used to, but is that a bad thing? 

Another thing that Jim & Dan talk about on the radio is how the best teams are the ones who take the extra base and play small ball just as much, if not more, than they hit home runs. They talk about how a team who hits doubles is going to hit home runs. The Tigers hit doubles. And we have guys who have the power and potential to hit home runs. Are any of them going to be 30 home run hitters? No, probably not. But we tried for years to win it all with power hitters and fell short. Maybe it is time to try something different.

The Tigers are a different team. We are walking, stealing bases, and taking the extra base. That did not happen in the past. Our starting pitching, defense, and baserunning have all been excellent, for the most part. Our bullpen and offense has scuffled a bit but is starting to pick up. We have guys with power who can hit the occasional home run. So do we need a big bat? That depends on your goal and what style of baseball you want to play. This team is not going to be a home run team. Why get rid of a part of what's working to add a piece that isn't your style of baseball? I think Henning is looking at things from the perspective of the Tigers teams from years past but that's not who we are anymore. 

I don't think we need to be trading for a "big bat". I think we need more consistency for our players (knowing where they are playing, for example) and I think we need to change our mindset to be one of every 90 feet and smaller ball. If you expect home runs, then you'll be disappointed. If you expect smart baseball, welcome to Detroit.

One Month In...

We are just about one month into the season, so let's see where we are at, shall we?

First, I think that the schedulers can not give any scheduled off days in April and maybe even May, since the weather will give you them anyway. Save those off days for later in the season when we're making up all these rain/snow-outs and need a break. But that's not about the Tigers.

I know, it's still early, but the Tigers are blowing all the expectations away. I don't think anyone was expecting this. Really early on, it was our pitching and defense carrying the team and all our wins came when Shane Greene closed a game. (Seriously, how amazing has he been? Did anyone see that coming?)

The rotation was kind of in flux after losing Michael Fulmer. And don't get me wrong, we still miss him. Just imagine how much better we'd be with him. But Zimmermann looks like he just might be good this year, Moore and Ross were turning out to be surprisingly solid (before we lost Moore), Boyd is just astonishing and is going to be our rock it seems, and Turnbull is performing amazingly well for a guy who has barely started above Double A before joining the rotation. With Moore out, now Norris will finally get a chance to show what he can do when he's healthy. I'm excited for him.

The bullpen hasn't been too shabby! Besides Greene's dominance, we've had surprising contributions from guys like Farmer and Alcantra. VerHagen has been injured for a few weeks, so he is a bit behind the others and our Rule 5 guy, Reed Garrett, is holding his own so far (future blog post on the RUle 5 to come). Jimenez is scuffling right now but he'll figure it out and get back to being our lock-down eighth inning guy.

You look at the Tigers' position players and it's not that impressive. We don't have a lot of big names but these guys come to play and play with grit. Our catchers are throwing out everybody! It's not going to be long before teams just stop running on us. Early on, (and this is actually still the case), it all came down to pitching and defense. If either or both were having an off-day, we probably weren't going to win.

Ahh, the offense. It's an enigma. Once again, the contributions are coming from surprising places. Christin Stewart, before he got hurt, and Niko Goodrum were two of our best bats early on. Pretty much everyone is struggling to get going. Castellanos and Cabrera are still homer-less. It's odd but not worrisome. No one expects this to go on much longer. Harrison getting dropped from the lead-off seems to be helping him and hopefully he can take this back when he gets moved back up.

We've had quite a few injuries already this year, some that have taken out our guy for the season, but we were a cobbled together team to begin with, so more young guys doesn't change much. No one expected much from this Tigers team but they don't care what anyone expects. They come to play and give it their all. So far, it's keeping them relevant and interesting to watch. You have a feeling they can win almost any game. Most of their games have been close and they are doing well in the late innings and extra innings. It's exciting and I think even the most dour critics are having to sit up and take notice.

There is a lot of season left and anything can happen, but so far, this Tigers team is encouraging and fun to watch. They make you believe they just might be a force in the Central. Playoff bound? Probably not. But making other teams sweat and work for their places? Sure thing! 

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

Pitching

I am blown away.

This is not what I expected. It's not even what I hoped for.

Our pitching is... dominating.

Let's be honest for a moment. There wasn't a lot certain about our pitching going into this year. You know what you'll get from Fulmer, but he has to stay healthy. Boyd you had a pretty solid idea of, and in the bullpen, your only certainties were Alex Wilson and Shane Greene. The rest? Huge question marks. 

Would Zimmermann be the pitcher of the first month of his career with the Tigers? What would new acquisitions Mike Fiers and Francisco Liriano do? Who would get the fifth starter job? And the bullpen was even more unknown.

I almost wonder if all the low expectations and rejection of sorts of the Tigers are making the guys want to prove something. There are zero expectations for this team. That hasn't been the case in years. Maybe that makes a difference. 

Our starting pitching is strong. Yes, we're losing, but it's early and unusually cold for this time of year, so I'm not worried about our bats. But our pitching is keeping us in every game. During the spring, based on what I was reading and hearing from Jim and Dan, I was not happy about Fiers and Liriano. They sounded like they were going to be hindrances. Not as such so far. They have turned out two solid starts each. 

The bullpen has been quiet incredible. There has been a hiccup here and there, but overall, guys are shutting down the opposing batters. We really didn't know what a lot of these guys were capable of, or they had been so up and down, you never knew what you'd get. 

It's early. Pitching is going to go into slumps. But look at how these guys are doing when it's cold and they can't feel their hands or grip the ball. I think there performance in these conditions are very promising for us going forward. 

No one is expecting anything great from us this year. I just wonder if these guys have set out to prove the baseball world wrong.  

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. 

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.

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.  

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. 

 

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. 

 

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. 

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.

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.

Why The Tigers Won't Trade Verlander... Or Why They'd Be Crazy If They Did

There's a lot of trade talk - rumors is all - flying around the baseball world right now. Everything is pure speculation at this point, but there seems to be a strong feeling among Detroit sports writers that Justin Verlander and/or Miguel Cabrera will be traded. I would make the case that Verlander isn't going anywhere, if Avila is smart.

Pitching, pitching, pitching. It starts and ends with pitching. We've seen what a great staff can do and we've witnessed what happens when you don't have good pitching. This is same reason it was the better decision to keep K-Rod over Maybin. Right now, we have three rookies and two veterans. Losing Verlander creates an open spot. Who would you replace him with? Greene? That could work, but he has been injured frequently. Sanchez or Pelfrey? Nope. 

There isn't anyone to take his place. Above and beyond that, Verlander is a veteran who is young. He has tremendous knowledge and wisdom to share with the rookies who comprise the majority of our starting rotation. That influence alone is tremendous. 

I want to keep Verlander and Cabrera. It would be heart-wrenching to loose either of them. But if it really came down to it, and the choice had to be made, I think Verlander would have to be the choice. Now, if Cabrera and J.D. and Kinsler all left, and with Maybin already gone, we'd be sunk. Our batting order may survive without Cabrera but not without all of those guys. Still, that's a different scenario. In the Verlander vs. Cabrera scenario, I really think - in the long run - the best option is keeping Verlander. 

As hard as such a decision may be. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.