Well, it looks like Dombrowski has some work to do in finding a replacement for Martinez.
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/sports/martinez-suffers-torn-acl-probably-lost-for-2012-season
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Well, it looks like Dombrowski has some work to do in finding a replacement for Martinez.
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/sports/martinez-suffers-torn-acl-probably-lost-for-2012-season
I was going to start a 2012 Tigers thread today and comment on how much harder it will be to repeat last season than people think. Whenever you finish first several guys have career years. You are just not going to get 25 wins from Verlander, a perfect season from Valverde, a .300 batting average from Peralta, etc. this season.
Martinez had the best clutch rbi season I can ever recall last year. Now we know how Twins' fans feel. There is nobody who can replace him. We may have to trade a top pitching prospect for a left fielder or 2nd baseman. This would allow Young to be the DH with Rayburn moving to left if we sign an infielder. Cespedes will probably still sign with the Marlins but the Tigers' increased interest just put an extra 20 million in his pocket. The good news is the division sucks and Martinez may be back for the playoffs.
This is a serious blow to our tigers. Let's hope that he can return without sugery.
Victor was my catcher in fantasy baseball last year. Guess I can cross him off my list of potential keeper candidates [[he wasn't a top candidate anyways, but might as well make it official)
V-Mart will be out for a year, and then he has two more years remaining on his contract if memory serves. Therefore, I wouldn't break the bank or go out and sign someone to a long term deal. Vlad Guerrero sounds like a good option to fill in for a year. Will he match V-Marts production? No, but if he had been expected to, then he would have gotten the four year deal last year. But, he can fill in adequately I would think, enough to hopefully keep the pitches coming to Miggy, which is really the point of our DH spot.
As far as fall-off the guy I'm most worried about is Avila. He surprised me big time last year, but down the stretch and in the playoffs he definitely had some tough spots. You certainly can't pencil him in for what he did last year. With Fister and a more mature Scherzer in place, the rotation could handle a bit of a return to earth with Verlander. Same goes with Valverde, now that we have Dotel who as long as he stays healthy, is about 100x less wild than Ryan Perry [[cya!) and can keep things more steady this year and even fill in for Valverde now and then as he has been a closer in the past.
Carlos Pena has signed to return to the Rays. Lots of people wanted the Tigers to get him but Cabrera would be walked every time to get to Pena and go for the strikeout. We need a guy with decent power who makes contact and doesn't strike out a lot behind Cabrera. Unfortunately nobody on the current roster fits that criteria.
I'm thankful we didn't sign Pena. I agree with you. It wasn't like Victor Martinez hit homeruns constantly and scared you with that sort of power. He could get a hit consistently and that was his value in protecting Cabrera. Sure, Pena could go yard but he could also strike out just as easily. The VMart position needs to be replaced with a pure hitter- not necessarily a long ball sort of threat.
The closest we have on the team IMHO is probably Brennan Boesch but seeing as how he's got some wheels and on-base percentage I like him ahead of Cabrera. We just need the follow-up to that duo.
You and me both.
VMart's injury is really depressing news, especially with the names being thrown around for a replacement. Pena? Johnny F*cking Damon? Then we have the most laughable name of all, Prince Fielder. I mean, really people, you think Fielder is going to sign here for a year and take the chance of injury and/or shitty season bringing down his market value? Not to mention the Daddy issues. I highly doubt it.
Wow, ken rosenthal [[twitter) saying that Prince fielder close to signing with tigers?
If true, wow x100.
Edit:I'll be eating a Little Caesars Hot n Ready tonight. The pizza kind of sucks, but I'll be eating it with huge ass smile on my face.
This Fielder rumor is valid.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_yl...tigers-fielder
somebody is laughing all the way to the bank.Quote:
Originally Posted by Roq;
Nine years? Is Ilitch insane? Can't say how incredibly disappointed I am if it's true. Another slow, one dimentional player. Anyone else remember how Cecil was booed the last couple of years of his 5 year contract when he'd lost his bat speed? Whatever happened to signing athletes who can run and throw, especially on a team with no 2nd baseman, no 3rd baseman and no left fielder? [[Delmon Young is a DH standing in left). Are they going to force Cabrera, the best player in the majors, to DH at his age? What happens to Martinez the last two years of his contract? Trade away the guy with the highest batting average with runners in scoring position last year?
Ok so the guy hit .299 with 39 homers and 120 rbi's last year, whats the problem?
Thank you Ilitch
I'm still agog at this signing. Not exactly for the amount but for the length of the contract.
No one can ever say that Mike Ilitch isn't willing to take a chance to win it all.
Rumor has it that pitcher Edwin Jackson might come back here for a year too.
Meh.
Beers at Copa just went up to $15. :cool:
He probably wouldn't have signed here without a couple extra years.
Let's say his numbers come tumbling down after 5 years and his contract hampers the Tigers ability to field a competitive team. I can live with that since this team has sucked most of my life anyways.
I like the signing a lot. Yes, they're paying way too much and the contract is too long. They'll probably regret it in the end. Give M.I. credit for wanting to win now, If Fielder says healthy, pitching holds up, rivers don't rise too high, they're in contention for the next few seasons, maybe longer
It's a stadium built for small ball, Tigers aren't a small ball club. That's just the way things are.
Sports salaries are beyond insane, M.I. wants to compete. To me, it's hard to fault him on this one.
Should be an interesting Summer. My boycott of Comerica Park has been over for a while. Lookng forward to April.
Cecil was 30 when he signed that deal. If he was getting booed the last year or two, that means he still go three years out of it that were worthwhile. Prince is 27 so if you do that math, that means we could reasonably expect six years of great production?
I'm fine with that and if there are issues the last three, who cares about that now?
This year, I could see Prince and Cabrera platooning at 1B and DH, Inge staying at 3rd and Young in LF. Next year when V-Mart comes back, Inge goes away, Prince is at 1B, Cabrera is at 3B and Martinez DHs.
When Castenellos is ready, Cabrera could move to LF.
Defensively, we take a big step back. But for the middle of the lineup to potentially look like: Fielder, Cabrera, Martinez, well I can tell you that opposing teams are going to have nightmares trying to plan around that hitting them a few times a game. In other words, the defense is a good problem to have to worry about.
Here we were sitting around wondering if Johnny Damon was coming back or if we might take a flier on Vlad Guerrero or Hideki Matsui, and we end up getting the best slugger on the market. Dombrowski is carrying around basketballs size cajones and I guess it's not surprising at all for Illitch to buy off, I mean look at how he signed players before the NHL salary cap took hold. He has never bought into the 'small market' mentality in any sport, so in all actuality, this signing shouldn't come as a great surprise.
And, since the bank has already been broken, do you really believe that the Tigers are out of the Cespedes sweepstakes?
Damned if you do damned if you dont. Its the owners money to spend and he is doing it to win.
Fielder is a big time gamer, teamates love him, fans love him [[except the Brewers now) and he is very competitive. The guy wants to win, never misses a game and works his butt off.
He also is a an elite player. Geez
I wouldn't be nearly as comfortable with this signing if the AL Central wasn't so weak.
Short of some major injuries the Tigers are going to be heavy favorites to win their division. They get into the playoffs and I like their chances having two of MLB best hitters and one of the best pitchers.
Don't get me wrong. I'll be cheering for Prince as loud as anyone. I just think it must be strange for Dombrowski trying to be a GM under Ilitch. Ilitch has wanted a World Series for several years. So why not let Dombrowski know he can spend as much as he needs or get any player he thinks will get the team to the Series as long as he runs it by him first? The Tigers could have had Adrian Beltre, [[32 HR, 105 RBI, .296), a true 3rd baseman, for 6 yrs/96 million last season. Think that would have been nice added to Cabrera and Martinez? Throw Polanco at 2nd base for chump change and then sign Roy Oswalt or Edwin Jackson as a number 5 starter. There's just so much more the Tigers could have done with less money before Martinez was injured if Ilitch would just tell Dombrowski his "real" budget and let him plan ahead over a couple of seasons instead of being sold on a whim by Boras once again.
There's nothing written in stone that both Cabrera and Fielder have to stay for the length of their contracts. Cabrera's deal looks cheap now compared to recent signings. In a couple years that's a very movable contract. Pure speculation, but I'm also wondering if Cabrera's personal problems might have played a long-term role in Fielder's deal.
As for the pizza man, it sure beats being a Milwaukee fan. We've been on that end before. I actually felt sorry for Milwaukee's GM, knowing that there wasn't a chance in hell they could sign Fielder. That's akin to us staring at a new season without Cabrera or Fielder, and that wouldn't be any fun at all.
And a friendly reminder that baseball is 90% pitching, and even though our hitters could have done better, it's why we lost the ALCS.
Agreed. This Fielder move seems more like it was orchestrated from the top down from Mike Ilitch as opposed to Dombrowski. Sometimes I think Mike Ilitch just looks into the vault, feels kinda thrifty and goes and gets himself something fun- in this case, an All-Star first baseman in Prince Fielder.
I remember back with the Wings pre-salary cap days, they were considered the New York Yankees of hockey. I'm wondering if Mike Ilitch is going to be the new Steinbrenner now. As a Tigers fan we should be thankful that we have an owner that's willing to do anything in his power to win but we should also be wary because ultimately it's us fans that end up paying for his ventures.
Armando Galaragga [[remember him) couldn't get a major league contract from anyone and just accepted an invitation to spring training with the Orioles. Makes me think, if Prince had been on 1st he would never have wandered that far from the bag and Armando would have had his perfect game. On the other hand, the Orioles gave a two year contract to Wilson Betemit. Desparate times for a once proud franchise.
Sooo.....looks like Brandon Inge might join the 2nd base merry-go-round.
http://www.freep.com/article/2012021...detroit-tigers
I actually like Brandon Inge but this just seems like a weird move to me.
They're still paying him a small fortune. Might as well try it out since he's on the payroll. Quite honestly if he wants a place on this team he doesn't have the performance level to dictate his fate anymore. If he wants to play for this team he's going to be given an opportunity.
It's nothing personal at this point. It's strictly business. Perform and be rewarded with some form of job security. Keep batting sub .200 and be prepared to get cut or sent to the Mudhens. Raburn & Santiago can easily do the job defensively and I'd be fine with any of them. Whoever is hot or performs the best deserves the gig. It's that easy of a decision if I were Leyland or Dombrowski.
As Thruster said they do owe him a bundle.
I think the real issue here is that if he is still around he is insurance for a potential problem with Caberra at 3rd base.
I always remember how every year we were going to replace Tom Brookins at 3rd and by June he was back to the full time 3rd baseman.
What I cant figure out is why the 2 first basemam cant alternate between 1st/DH. At least until the following year when Martinez is back.
Fielder was not going to sign his big deal at this stage of his career without the assurance he would not be a DH, even part-time. It all comes back to the deal making no sense, weakening an already weak defensive team further at 1st and 3rd base, with no guarantee you won't end up forcing the best player in the league to DH, having your one good position prospect also a 3rd baseman and having the league's best DH back next year. As for Inge, learning a new position at age 34 with gimpy knees and having to turn the double play, assuming he ever starts hitting again - good luck.
If Fielder wont DH then that explain's half of it. Is Caberra also insisting playing at 3rd. It seems to me Caberra could be full time DH and put Inge at 3rd.
I just don't get why Brandon Inge is so damn polarizing with this team. Seriously, he's not even remotely near the top of the Tigers pile for talent. He doesn't even deserve half the press he gets beyond some of his wonderful charity work he does for Mott.
I just want to re-iterate that talent should bear itself out. It's nothing personal at all. It should be open try-outs for any of the positions as far as I'm concerned. If someone's got the talent to be on this team and make a significant contribution, we'd love to have ya. The loyalty should be to the fans to produce a winner and nothing less.
I think part of the Inge thing this spring is simply there's no other story. Every other position is set. We're left with the 5th starter, 7th reliever and maybe one bench spot [[probably going to Dirks). The press must be thrilled to have the Inge story after writing all the "Verlander likes tacos!" articles.
There are plenty of stories. The local beat writers are lazy swine who take swipes at the nearest low-hanging fruit and then go fuck off somewhere.
Congrats to Drew Smyly, our 5th starter!
I know its just spring training but Fielder hit a tape measure blast against the Mets in a ss game. If this is any indication this year should be a lot of fun.
I'm going to predict 97 wins.
Short of a bunch of injuries to key players they should win the division easily.
Now I don't want to get too giddy about the first two games of the regular season considering there's 160 some more to go, but it's been mighty impressive so far. And it's been against a worthy opponent in the hated & hyped Boston Red Sox too. It's not like the Tigers were taking on the Toledo MudHens in exhibition play [[no offense meant to the farm team either).
The obvious thing that stood out to me was Verlander's command of the curve on Day One. That was like mid-season form out there. He had it moving well, was spotting the corners, and had velocity. He just wasn't going to be touched that day. And for all of the folks poo-pooing Leyland's decision to yank him after the 8th inning, JV knew he wasn't going above 110 pitches that day. He didn't have a problem with it and he was content in knowing he was going to hand it off to [[what was money) Valverde. And even if Valverde had lost that game- it still doesn't speak any less of Verlander's performance. Let's face it- we were spoiled by Valverde's impressive performance last year. While we might want that streak to never end, all great relievers blow some just because the other team has also got some great hitters. No matter second guessing Leyland in this one for the sake of giving Verlander a W that day- simply put, we won.
Second impression that struck me was our line-up and how it must look to opposing teams & pitchers. Jackson from the right side, Boesch from the left, Cabrera from the right, Fielder from the left, Young from the right, Avila from the left, Peralta from the right... we literally keep the opposing pitchers alternating their comfort zone from each side and there really doesn't seem to be any soft spots in that line up until you get down to the 8th & 9th batters. We can literally spray the field with that sort of hitting. Toss in the fact that there's some power in your two through five slots just makes the other team cringe.
Now I don't expect another 10-0 shellacking of the Sox to happen again, but it was against a pretty solid Beckett on the mound too. The twin towers of Cabrera and Fielder punching two HRs out apiece brought forth a nice surge from the crowd too.
It's a nice start to the season. But let's see how this team deals with a few losses- and they will happen. Again. it's a long long season ahead but right now Comerica Park is happening. Two games in and while it's barely a whiff, I'm going to enjoy it and the rest of the season to come. And while it might be my folly months down the road I have high hopes for us doing more than just winning it outright in a feeble AL Central Division.
I do :D
I hate the BoSox and Beckett so being at yesterday's game was particularly sweet [[except for Fister leaving the game).
The team atmosphere that the Tigers have compared to the toxic stew that is in Boston bodes well for us. I don't think anything has changed much for Boston from last year except a few people were lucky and got the hell outta there. Beckett is still an arrogant ass, Youk is a dick...the only player that looks like they even give one shit at all is Pedroia.
Oh and a little extra sweetness, Youk is benched for today's game. heh.
Okay so maybe you didn't get the 10-0 BoSox drubbing like you had hoped for, but somehow I get the feeling you jumped off the couch as many times as I did with all of the "last inning" heroics. What's better now? A dominating slaughter or a slow twist of the blade? We snatched the sweet taste of victory out of Bobby Valentine's mouth so many times yesterday his tongue must be raw by now.
Okay so Max Scherzer didn't have anything remotely close to a stellar performance but hopefully before it's all over, he'll figure it out and be somewhat effective. I'm not expecting Rick Porcello to step up into that third slot in the rotation just yet- although he is now with Fister being on the DL for a bit.
The Boston series was thrilling to say the least. It's nice to see so many Tiger fans stoked and giddy about what this team is capable of doing. I can't stress how early in the season it is STILL but why not? Celebrate a little and cherish these fun moments. Not all the excitement in baseball happens in October now.
Wow just wow. What a game Sunday. What I found most encouraging was the baseball acumen of Cabrera and Fielder in that last inning. They knew the game well enough to know that their role was to get on and get the tying or winning run at the plate. Cabrera shortened his swing and punched a single. Fielder took what they gave him with the shift and singled through the vacant right side. And what can one add to Alex Avila? The kid catches a five hour game and still has just enough left in the tank to hit the railing in right field.
Avila definitely has returned to form and obviously was both injured and exhausted at the end of last year. Scherzer on the other hand still keeps having problems with his mechanics. When he started spring training with several good outings I was hoping he had finally figured it out. You would think with all the time these guys spend throwing on the side, coaches watching, videotape, etc. he could keep from going "out of whack" because he certainly has the stuff to be very good.
Games like today are the reason I don't bet on sporting events.
Verlander going into the 9th with a one-hiter, only 81 pitches, and a 2-0 lead?
Who would have thunk it?
That's also why the game is played between the chalk line and not on paper. It's also what gives weaker teams all the hope in the world and that it can be their moment to capture lightning in the bottle.
Regardless of the outcome, Verlander still pitched one helluva solid game.
Baseball is all about the percentages, over the course of a 162 game season you are going to get a few like this especially against a good Tampa Bay team. If you're a betting man the percentages has to be the way to go.
Tough loss, but the Tigers are a very good team and I suspect there will be a few 9th inning rally's that will go the Tigers way
Okay, I'll ask it... where the hell is the Detroit power? Supposedly we got this team that can punch it out of any ballpark in the league and we look pathetic at the plate. C'mon you guys- light a fire underneath it already. Where are the fireworks???
While some of this bad luck in losing close games will even out over the long haul, you can see why this team is not meant to win in the playoffs. Too many meaningless solo homers, no range in the infield, Valverde's inability to keep the ball away from the middle of the plate, very poor pitch recognition [[Boesch, Young, Raburn), and no team speed means you have to bunch 3 hits to score a run. Cabrera is slumping and will come around but nobody is missed more than Victor Martinez. How many times did he come through in tight games last year? Drew Smyly has been unbelievable but we have one win to show for it.
Damn close JV. You came within a whisker of getting another no-hitter. You most definitely make this season worthwhile watching. Now if the rest of your team mates can start playing up to their potential, we can burst out of the pack and leave the pesky Tribe, Sox, Royals & pathetic Twins [[who swept us) behind. Seriously the Central is ours for the taking but at least play like we belong at the top of the pile.
Scherzer was freakin' lights out with the 15 strikeouts today. We win 4-3. Bully. Against the Pirates we should be smokin' 10-3.
But rather than bemoan our feeble hitting, I'll heap some praise on a few of the guys who have finally started using the lumber. Props to Dirks who seems to have taken the two spot with some authority. And to the guy whose place he took, Brennan Boesch- he's suddenly coming to life at the bottom of the line up.
The rest of the guys who can't even hit their own weight need to pick it up or we're toast.
It's kinda early to feel like giving up on these guys but Geez Louise these guys look bad. Tonight's game really sucked. It's pathetic when you can't score with bases loaded and no out.
On top of that, it's becoming evident that poor fielding is hurting them more than they want to admit. If they don't get in the playoffs, some heads will roll and Marlboro Man may be headed for the last roundup.
Its way to early, though its brutal to watch. I thnk our pitching will keep us at least 500 until the bats start to get going. There is nobody in our division except us that can run away with it.
They scored 6 runs in the 3 game set against the Indians.
In todays game Dirks has a 3-1 count with two outs and he pops up to end the game. With Miggy up next, why not take a pitch and force the pitcher to throw two strikes?
These games are tough to watch.
I guess as a hitter one has to at least try and get on base. Yeah, he needs to know where he is in the line-up and who's coming up behind him, but as someone with some competitive spirit [[and a semi-hot bat as of late), he can't be faulted too much.
But therein lies the problem- none of them, yes I said NONE of the Tigers are hitting well. Fister was lights out yesterday. Verlander pitched a gem today. And we can't even get a handful of runs to support them. Like Leyland says- we're just not hitting right now. It's not just individual slumps- it's a team slump.
Perez can talk smack now but let's see who's going to be the tops at the end of it all. I still have faith that once this team finds its stroke, we'll still get there. Like kenp says, our starting pitching is still solid and that hopefully will keep us engaged in the race and not a filthy footnote.
Count me as one who is definitely worried about this team. Saying it'll all shake out fine in the end is only OK if your team shows it has something. This team has showed me nothing. Last year's model would win games in the later innings, this team loses them. They miss the professionalism and swagger of Martinez and his clutch hitting, of which we have none. Couple that with a key injury to Jackson, Leylands misuse of the pitching staff and this is what you have. Cleveland will not just fold this year. They are much improved over last year and if the Tigers are waiting for them to just hand over first place, it's not gonna happen. The Chisox are not intimidated either.
If things don't start getting better by the end of June, they may not ever get better.
With a lineup that they have, there is no excuse. And if they underperform for most if not all of the season, then Leyland and his staff has to go. It's that simple.
Way to go yard today Miggy. That long bomb out to straight away centerfield was a thing to marvel. The best was watching Denard Span's reaction; his shoulders dropped like a ton of bricks.
Fine fine fine- so we swept pitiful Minnesota and we're a helluva lot closer to the top of the pile than we were last week but until we're leading the division, discussing playoff opponents and thinking going deeper in the post season am I going to be happy. It's a damn good time to pull out of the swan dive and even a better time to really start flexing some of that talent.
Loved the way Miggie got picked off first after getting a single yesterday. It just shows the lack of concentration.
His throwing error was a gem too.
Hey, I know we all screw up but this guy gets paid milions to play baseball. Get it together.
Yep. Miggy screwed up by getting picked off and yep, he's going to make some throwing errors too. I'm willing to concede that he's going to make some more too as the season rolls on, but I don't care if he's making the league minimum or if he gets paid a truckload of gold bricks at the end of the game either. How much these guys make is irrelevant to the criticism.
Whether it's Danny Worth and his paltry $482,000 a year salary or Prince Fielder's $23 million a year, as a fan I just want them to play professionally. The amount they make doesn't make them any less or better to me; they're on a major league roster and are expected to play like it.
Oh, that's Great Sir !!
Well I bet I'm not the only one thinking it, but spending all that money on Fielder and Cabrerra so Gerald Laird can DH is quite a tiger wtf moment for me. It shows there's more holes on this roster than just second base. We can't field worth a damn either, and I don't see that changing any time soon. Half our roster is slow as molassas in January, and this might be the worst double play combination since I watched Tito Fuentes as a kid. Wait until the bunting starts....trust me, it's coming !
Valverde makes Todd Jones look like the second coming of the Cy Young winning Willie Hernandez. Hits two batters and walks in the tying run? He can't seem to find the strike zone to save his life tonight. C'mon- we can't count on Miggy going yard three times to save his ass can we?
Santos drops the inning ending foul ball? You've got to be kidding me.
The boo birds are coming out now and who can blame them? Valverde looked like a complete amateur and Omir Santos looks more MudHen than Tiger.
Game winning RBI from Santos.
Hooray.
While I'm thankful for the win, we should've never have reached that point. Any victory over the Yankees is good though.
It looks like this season is toast. As I posted back in January when they made the Fielder trade, Dombrowski & Ilitch tried to buy Fielder to replace Martinez while ignoring the obvious weaknesses - no 2nd baseman, appauling defense, lack of team speed, etc. They need to find a way to resolve the mess they've created with Fielder at 1st and Cabrera at 3rd and I have no idea how they can. I was also concerned they were expecting too many guys to repeat career years - Peralta, Avila, Valverde. What I expected was these guys to return to normal. However they are all having down years instead. Thank God Valverde's contract is up this year. I know these Hammy injuries are not the Tigers fault but there's no excuse for having a 120 million dollar payroll and having no decent players on the bench or in AAA to step in.
Hold off on the panic button my friends. This season is far from over. The Tigers are in a division where no team seems to want to win it and are only six games back with 118 games to play. In any other division I might start to worry, but not this one.
The Tigers have quality pitching that is underperforming a little right now particularly with a shaky bullpen but history shows that pitching is the difference maker in the stretch. Valverde had a career season last year that would have won the Cy Young in some years. He can't be expected to repeat that but he will do enough.
It is rumored that Victor Martinez will be back by August and that would stiffen the line up. They have been one big hit away from winning many games this season and Martinez had the highest RISP average in the league last year. Put a surprising and speedy Quintin Berry and Austin Jackson if front of that killers' row and all things become possible.
This team is very explosive and can go on big winning spells. We saw that at the start of the season and even more importantly at the end of the last.
In the long run only injuries to 2 or more their superstars can stop them. All they have to do is hang around. My cup is still half full. :)
I agree with what Lowell says, we just cant let this thing snowball.
We have always been strong starters and weak finishers under Leyland. Last year was just the opposite, so hopefully that continues.
I think our starting pitching is good enough to keep us going.
I wish I had your optimism, I've watched nearly every game this season and I can tell you "this team is not last year's team".
It is certainly not better and key elements are missing that would give hope.
Add that to the fact that both Cleveland and Chicago are playing much better making it even more difficult to climb out of this hole.
Some years everything seems to go your way, others not so much.
It is not enough to have a team loaded with talent, you must have a winning environment in addition to the feeling that you are never out of a game. I felt that last year, this year I feel quite the opposite. That we are ready to blow a close game, and we have done just that. Too many times.
My biggest concern is Valverde. Knowing he was such a shutdown pitcher last year gave the team a boost and confidence that their lead was safe. Now, he seems like the reincarnation of Todd Jones in his later years.
Do I think they are out of it? No, and anything is possible. The problem I have is they need to show me something, anything. And sadly the only thing thay have been showing is a propensity to lose games they should win.
This is not good, and if things do not improve in the next month we'll be looking forward to the NFL season. Imagine that!
Everybody said so what if Ilitch wants to spend 200 million on Fielder. It's his money. Problem is we now have over half the payroll tied up with 3 players. The money isn't unlimited and now we need to find another starter, a 2nd baseman, a closer, a shortstop soon and probably a right fielder. The upper two levels of the farm system are empty. Nice to have that power hitting 1st baseman though [[even if he can't field).
Sorry folks I'm just bitter because I have tickets for the series in Cincy this weekend. Oh well, it's only an 8 hour drive from Toronto and Joey Votto is pretty good.
I'd like to think that if I bitch enough here on Dyes, things will happen for our Tigers. So here's a short, brief and spirited rant...
Let's get to .500 for cry in' aloud!
Feeling optimistic about the Tigers - for next season. Hopefully by now Dumbrowski realizes you can't just sign players and build a roster by looking at their offensive stats. Everyone knows the Tigers need better defense and team speed. The good news is the Tigers should have a tremendous 1-5 lineup for next yr. with Jackson, Dirks, Cabrera, Fielder and Martinez. They need a second baseman, shortstop and corner outfielder. Fortunately Peralta and Rayburn's contracts are expiring along with Valverde's. This frees up about 15 million to fill those holes with strong up-the-middle defenders with above average range to make up for our corner infielders.
They also need a veteran outfielder on a short contract because Castellanos will probably have to play the outfield in 2014. I worry about Avila's knees and this is why they really need to hang on to Brantley, their top catching prospect. This team may look like a mess right now but at least the core and the contracts make it a quick fix if done right.
Already looking forward to 2013!
Are Leyland and Raburn lovers?
I think Raburn must have uncompromising nudie photos of Leyland in order to stick around here so much. Seriously playing Raburn screams so loudly of our lack of player development. You'd think there would be someone down in Toledo who could step up to the bigs and hit .175.
That sad fact falls solely on Dombrowski.
He also claims to draft all of these power arms and yet how come every off season we're out getting relievers in free agency. Where's the player development???
This is a far cry from Ilitch's other franchise [[the Red Wings) where they draft well and can actually groom them to step up into the majors. The Wings players coming up are nearly over ripe whereas the Tigers, the cupboards are butt bare.
And .500 tonight? About time.
And not meaning to be a Negative Nellie all the time about this team, props go out to Drew Smyly for pitching one heckuva Verlander-esque game yesterday. He had the strike zone sizzling and confounding the KC hitters. Personally I think the strike one was a little generous but who the hell am I watching on a TV set and one to argue Fox Sport Trax or whatever that graphic is.
Smyly was good, KC sucks. I thought the 1b for KC was so good, see he is only batting 235.
Raburn got a hit!!!!
Young nailed the HR, big hit for us.
Peralta is really sucking, we need to get him going.
Lets win the next two and go into the break with some MO.
Ya do know there's only 32 guys TOTAL in the majors who are hitting over .270.
Raburn isn't even close to hitting .270 anytime soon though.
Three HRs in three days? Maybe Leyland's speech sparked a fire under his ass and/ or bat. Keep it going and we might not can him after all.
Whatever Delmon heard from the Leyland speech needs to be replayed to Jhonny and soon.
Let's also hope that the White Sox and Indians start faltering a little bit too. We need those guys to drop back into mediocrity but soon too.
As easy as it is to be playa hating on some of these Tigers, Delmon Young went yard again and Jhonny Peralta suddenly decided to get hot as well. It's nice to see the right side of the dish finally wake up. Jackson's on a 13 game hitting streak and for the Quintin Berry dream within a dream- he's still making it happen. Prince is finally starting to hit some multiple run homers which is nice as opposed to his one shot, relatively inconsequentially timed runs. Timeliness is good.
And the Sox and Indians flopped in the heat too.
Helluva way to go into the All Star Break.
Please Delmon, stay away from the bars on this break.
[QUOTE=Thruster315;329550]Ya do know there's only 32 guys TOTAL in the majors who are hitting over .270.
Where did you come up with that ridiculous number? Ya do know that would be one per team?
Since Thruster directed that at my comment about KC's first baseman and I didnt think it to be true I did some research.
If you look at the American League and then look at everday players [[250 AB's and above) you will find about 32 players hitting over .270
Its the same criteria for a batting champ, you need a minimum at bat to be over a certain point.
so there....
I hope Fielder saves some HR's for the 2nd half.
And can someone please extricate Chris Berman from calling anything in professional sports? Please?? His schtick is so freakin' tired already.
I can tell you exactly his lame routine for the Home Run Derby already:
"Back, back, back, back...."
"He hit that one all the way to [insert nearby city's name here]"
And I don't see it getting any better. As long as you have starting pitching going 5/6 innings then a set-up guy then the closer its going to be hard to hit for average. They asked George Brett if there will be another 400 hitter and he said no for that very reason.
I cringe knowing that ESPN is actually going to give Berman a shot to call the Sept. 10th football game between the Chargers & Raiders. it's a Monday Night game too.
Why can't ESPN figure out that his schtick is tired and played out now? But these are also the geniuses that think Matt Millen is still qualified to call football too.
With regards to baseball, all ESPN really seems to cover is Boston & New York. Uh, hello? There's the rest of the country with some pretty good ball being played too.
Regarding the HR derby telecast, thankfully I was in a bar and could barely hear Berman. What was really strange was when George Brett was on. He talked constantly, while Kruk ate ribs and the other guy just kept nodding. Then a ball player came over and started eating the ribs as well.
Overheard in Section 132 at Comerica Park after the Tigers took the half game lead over the White Sox:
"Let's hang onto that first place spot like you would hang onto the hottest piece of ass at the prom"
Stay classy, Detroit.
Job well done by Porcello. He hung in there and I was really pulling for him to have a complete game. Grand time at the ball park.
1 1/2 game lead, 300 for Cabrera, and a first major league win for Turner. All in all, a pretty good day at the Copa.
http://www.freep.com/article/2012072...text|FRONTPAGE
After spending all the money on Fielder, we were clearly in win now mode. Still, it seems like a lot to pay for a decent starter who's contract expires and Omar Infante. I'm not that worried about losing Turner. He appeared overrated. A sinkerballer along the lines of Porcello. I don't understand how the organization was so high on the guy when he doesn't have that power arm they supposedly love. Catching prospects on the hand are in short supply in the majors and I think they should have gotten more for Brantly plus Turner. Hard to believe Infante is still only 30 yrs. old. Seems like yesterday he and Santiago were together as rookies giving Alan Trammel nightmares.