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.

Merry Christmas! Alex Avila is coming back!!!!

I picked up my iPod yesterday and had a notification from my wonderful TigersXtra app: Tigers sign Alex Avila to a 1-year deal.


To give you an idea of my reaction..

After enthusiastically sharing the news with my brother, I texted my friend to share the good news. He was not so excited and I'm sure a lot of people share his opinion.

Your view on Alex Avila depends on whether you focus on his offense or defense. I will not pretend he is a great hitter (although he can be clutch). Then again, he's a CATCHER. Isn't that kind of the rule for catchers - that they don't hit? Come on, not everyone can have Salvador Perez. 

Some numbers from last year: Avila hit .213 (keeping in mind injuries). That's pretty bad. But what about his on-base percentage? Last season, it was .359. Anyone seen Moneyball? 

He gets on base.

Whatever his deficiencies at the plate, it seems well worth it for his excellence BEHIND the plate. Avila is a very, very, very good defensive catcher. He called games well for years and Jim Price (who was a catcher) would talk about this and that great things Alex was doing. Avila knows his stuff and that knowledge is born from years of experience. 

If nothing else, think of what a great thing this is for James McCann. He will get another season with Avila to pick his brain, watch him catch, and overall learn and grow. I really like McCann; he's done a great job. But remember that this will only be his third year in the pros and he'll likely be working with several pitchers almost as green as he is. Avila will be for McCann what Rodriguez is for Rondon. 

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Come on people! It's not like we signed him for a long-term contract! It's a one year deal for a lefty, backup catcher who will bring veteran experience. Chill! There would be people mad if we had signed Matt Wieters because he would have been much more expensive, I'm sure. We are trying to avoid a luxury tax here in Detroit. 

It saddens me that people complain no matter what. You can't please everyone. Al Avila and the Tigers thought that resigning Alex Avila would be the best thing for the TEAM. Alex brings experience of the game and this team as well as a veteran presence tot he clubhouse. He's here, personally I'm happy about it, and LET'S GO TIGERS!

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.