Feasting

The Tigers took care of the Royals, winning the opening series 2 games to 1 and began their series against the Indians with a win this afternoon to move into a tie for first in the AL Central (pending the Indians/ChiSox game tonight). It is going to be very key for the Tigers to eat up the lower-tier teams in the division now because in a week they begin a tough road trip through the West with 3 games in Seattle, 4 in Anaheim (or is it Los Angeles?) and a final 4 in Arlington. All 3 of these AL West teams have struggled so far this year with a combined 3-8 record, but the Angels are the reigning division champs and still have Mike Scioscia, the Mariners have fantastic pitching and the Rangers can absolutely rake even if Josh Hamilton isn't right. Rough starts or not, this is going to be a tough road trip early in the year.

The pitching has been a real strength for the team so far this year. The starters have posted a combined 3.27 ERA... and that's with Verlander having the roughest outing of the year among the starters which, obviously, is unlikely to continue so we can expect even more improvement there. Scherzer in particular carved up the Royals to the tune of a 6.0 IP 0 ER 1 H 2 BB 3 K gem. Unfortunately he didn't get the win due to an equally excellent outing from Luke Hochevar. The Tigers eventually lost when a Sizemore error on a relay throw from the outfield allowed the winning run to score in the 11th after Miggy tied the game with 2 outs in the 9th and then we took the lead in the top of the 11th. Exciting game, but all for nothing, unfortunately. The Tigers then bounced back behind an inspired performance by Dontrelle Willis the next day to pound the Royals and take the series. When Dontrelle walked the first batter he faced on four not-even-close balls, then immediately allowed a single I began to fear that this was going to be an ugly outing. To his credit though, Dontrelle kept the damage to a minimum and ended up with a respectable 6.0 IP 2 ER 6 H 2 BB 4 K line. Although control will seemingly always be an issue, Dontrelle had a few very efficient innings and was helped by 3 double plays that the Tigers managed to turn (including 2 hit into by Alberto Callaspo). Although it's easy to doubt Dontrelle's skills, his optimism cannot be doubted and even though he is terrible I find myself rooting for the guy to succeed. Kudos on a solid game, sir.

Speaking of the double play, the Tigers have been really feeling their groove defensively - they have turned 8 of them in the last 3 games. Offensively, a pair of Tigers in Maggz and Miggy have been feeling their groove as well. Miggy looks like he is poised to challenge for MVP this year (even though he went 0/3 with a BB today) and Maggz is carrying over his success at the end of last season and looking more like the 2006 version by hitting .500 with 1 HR and 2 RBI. If Ordonez remains productive for the entire season it will really, really help to jump start this offense that isn't projected to be that great.

Rookie Austin Jackson is showing glimpses of the special things he can do. He has been electric; hitting .333 with 4 of his 6 hits going for extra bases (3 2B, 1 3B) and also easily swiped his first bag of the year today. If he continues to bring speed and extra bases to the top of the order for Damon, Maggz and Miggy then he is going to score a lot of runs and have a great year. Ooooh it's exciting. The strikeouts are definitely troublesome (6 K to only 1 BB in 18 AB) and he needs to work on cutting back on those, but that is a problem a lot of young players have and continuing to put up a .368 OBP will make people forget about striking out a lot. The strikeouts have been Granderson-esque but the OBP certainly hasn't been.

Analyzing statistics after only 4 games in a game like baseball where sample size is extremely important may seem silly, but the Tigers are on pace for 121 wins so who fucking cares wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!

It Begins!

The Tigers opened the season on Monday with an 8-4 win over Greinke's Royals. Greinke himself was excellent (6.0 IP 6H 1 ER 1 BB 4 K) but lost his chance at a decision when KC's beleaguered bullpen surrendered 6 runs in the 7th. The bullpen blowing the lead for Greinke is going to be a common theme throughout the season. They are so bad that he could post a sub 2.20 ERA again and possibly finish with even less than 16 wins.

Whenever I watch the Royals play I am utterly flummoxed that everyone on the team minus Soria, Butler and Greinke even plays major league baseball. It is going to be an ugly, ugly year for them.

On the Tigers side of things, Verlander didn't pitch great (5.0 IP 6 H 4 ER 1 BB 6 K) but kept the Tigers in the game. Not a whole lot for me to comment on there - I'm not worried about Verlander at all (he started his eventual 3rd place in AL Cy Young voting campaign last year kinda shaky as well) and he'll be fine. When Verlander handed the ball off to the bullpen they responded well and mostly cruised until a little bit of trouble in the 9th that Valverde was able to battle out of. Zumaya was back to his fireballing self and said after the game that he felt great and Ryan Perry, Phil Coke and brand new closer Jose Valverde all performed admirably. I'm still kinda dubious about surrendering a first round pick for Valverde... but we'll see.

Besides the bullpen, the other positive notes for the team were how two of the new guys played. Johnny Damon went 2/5 with a double, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored while Austin Jackson had a double, an RBI and gunned down Jason Kendall at home to save a run in the 7th. Leyland called Jackson's outfield assist the "play of the game". It is nice to see two new guys who will play key roles at the top of the order for the Tigers perform well in the season opener and hopefully it is a forecast for things to come. The only issue I have is that Jackson struck out twice, which he really needs to avoid to keep his OBP up. We don't need Granderson 2.0 in the leadoff slot.

The Tigers resume their series against the Royals tonight with newly acquired SP Max Scherzer taking the mound against former first-overall pick (and perennial disappointment) Luke Hochevar. I'd like to see Miggy blast this chump and begin his ascent towards 2010 AL MVP. Then on Thursday the D-Train takes the mound in what should be an... interesting... start. The countdown timer to Galarraga getting recalled from Toledo is going to begin at approximately 2:10 Eastern on Thursday afternoon. BTW why the fuck is Porcello behind Willis in the rotation? I can understand trying to protect the youngest guy on the staff, but do we really need extra starts for Dontrelle? Seriously, a good spring training notwithstanding, Dontrelle blows.

You Know What To Get Me For My Birthday

Doug Baker's 1984 World Series ring is on eBay for a cool $7100 and there's only 46 min left so you better hurry the fuck up if you want to buy this for me.

Baseball Offseason: Injuries, Injuries and More Injuries

From Brandon Webb to Jose Reyes (and Carlos Beltran) to Ben Sheets to lesser known guys like Russel Branyan and Cameron Maybin, injuries have certainly been the story of spring training so far this year. The most devastating injury of all will end up being the right elbow of Joe Nathan however. The Twins were favored by basically everyone on the planet to win the AL Central this year, including me, after winning it last year and then adding 2B Orlando Hudson and SS JJ Hardy and the potential bounce back of Francisco Liriano... but this injury changes everything.

Joe Nathan's statistics in a Twins uniform have been impressive, to say the least. The last six years he has posted a 1.87 ERA .934 WHIP 11.1 K/9 and averaged 41 saves/year. The only closer on Nathan's level over the past six years? Mariano Rivera (1.90 ERA .936 WHIP 8.7 K/9 40.5 saves/year) of course. Nathan's ability is, to put it simply, irreplaceable and the Twins are scattering likes cockroaches when the lights go on trying to find his replacement. Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier, Pat Neshek, Jose Mijares and Franciso Liriano have all been mentioned as possibly the new Twins closer but the only thing we really know at this point is that no one knows who it will end up being. My money would be that Gardenhire eventually choose Rauch to be his man just because he has the most experience and performed admirably last time he was closing (2.98 ERA 1.01 WHIP 17 SV for the Nationals in 2008). Closing in what will assuredly be a hotly contested AL Central is going to be a much different beast than closing for the low-pressure/low-expectation Nationals though.

Many publications had the ChiSox finishing second in the division but I just don't see it that way at all. Gordon Beckham was great last year and is an emerging star, but Alexei Ramirez was exceptionally inconsistent and spent most of the season in Ozzie's doghouse, Alex Rios was mediocre, Bobby Jenks is on the downslope of his career and won't finish the season as the closer and their lineup and pitching staff are just generally "blah". Lots of people are raving about Jake Peavy but let's have a quick sanity check people:

1. It was only three starts and they were against the Royals (1x) and a debatably-sober Tigers team (2x).
2. He is moving out of the NL into the Real Man's League and out of the vast confines of PETCO (dead last in park factor in 2009) into the much more snug U.S. Cellular (9th overall PF). Linky
3. People also seem to forget that Peavy doesn't even really want to play for the ChiSox. Ken Williams tried to trade for him multiple times midway through the 09 season and Peavy himself personally nixed the deal that was approved by both the Padres and ChiSox. Only after it became clear that no other team cared at all about the injury-plagued starter did Peavy finally reluctantly agree to waive his no-trade clause and go to the south side of Chicago.

... so shut the fuck up ChiSox fans/analysts. I am going to laugh at everyone when the White Sox finish 7+ games out of first.

I am unsure how exactly the Nathan injury will affect the final 2010 division standings, but one thing is definitely clear: the Tigers are a whole lot closer without the Twins closer (pun definitely intended).

Aside from injuries, most of the buzz coming out of spring training is about Braves RF Jason Heyward (who looks amazing and blasted one against the Tigers) and Stephen Strasburg. The Tigers got "lucky" enough to face both of these potential perennial All Stars on successive days and it appeared as though both deserve every bit of the hype. Heyward's performance in spring training is going to force the Braves to start him in RF Opening Day in Bobby Cox's last year with the team, but the Nationals are being more cautious with Strasburg (rightly so) and it seems unlikely that he will be called up before midway through the season. Other buzz around the league includes Marlins OF prospect Mike Stanton possibly making the Opening Day roster (helped by Maybin's injury), the continued drama of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt's messy, messy divorce, Giants SP prospect Madison Bumgarner getting blown the fuck up and Mauer's contract talks with the Twins (which is total non-news, he is re-signing with Minnesota guaransheed).

Only 24 days until Opening Day!

Johnny Just Wants To Be Loved

After signing a ho-hum 1 year/$8 million deal with the Tigers, Mr. Damon apparently has a giant boner for the organization that saved him from complete embarrassment after his agent hilariously botched the negotiations with the Yankees. I find it really, really awesome that the Yankees were willing to say "Fuck you, we're signing Randy Winn. Ha! Take that bitch!"

Boras screwing the pooch is the Tigers' gain though. We managed to pull a solid #2 hitter (.365 OBP last year), a left-handed bat to break up the righty-dominated lineup and a reliable left-fielder who is solid defensively and should play pretty much every day. Granted he has an overcooked piece of macaroni for a left arm, but it's better than Guillen on two bum knees manning left... right? There's no way he is going to hit 24 HR again this year - I'd personally be pretty darn happy with 16-18 - and his SB total dropped pretty sharply to 12 last year after averaging 27.3 SB/year since 1996. But color me intrigued that Damon has a career .363/.550/.961 line at CoPa in a respectable sample size. Damon is no spring chicken, for sure, but provides nice value and comes with no risk since it is only a one year contract. The Tigers are just plain a better team with him in the lineup. Now I can only hope that he'll grow out his hair to pre-Yankee length...

I don't understand why he is going out of his way to act so enthused to be a part of the organization though. You want to finish your career in Detroit? Umm, you realize you signed just a one-year contract right? If you had been smart you would have signed for cheaper than the $13 million you originally wanted from the Yankees, finished your career in New York and made it into the HOF. Now you are part of a significantly weaker offense in a less hitter-friendly park, calling into question whether in these last few years you have left you can hit the statistical milestones you need to to make it into the HOF. Maybe Johnny will be able to rack up the doubles at CoPa, but it's not looking good. You need to fire that assclown Boras dude.

Verlander Has Been Extended

I'm sure Verlander's girlfriend enjoyed the extension

Verlander got paid. A lot... and deservedly so. He is only 26 years old and, after a tumultuous 2008 season, bounced back in 2009 to lead the league in innings pitched and compiled 269 Ks with a 3.45 ERA. Also, as Buster Olney points out, he is one of the best finishers in the league. This deal was a no-brainer and I am glad it gone done this early. Now go win a couple Cy Youngs and go into the Hall of Fame as a Tiger, Verlander!

Welcome Back Carlos

The Tigers went into the first game of their doubleheader against the division rival White Sox in a battle for first place in the Central. The two teams couldn't have come into the series going in any more different directions. The ChiSox had won 5 of their last 7 and were fresh off Mark Buehrle throwing the 18th perfect game in MLB history against Tampa Bay, one of the top offenses in the league (3rd in the AL in runs scored with 501). The Tigers, on the other hand, are 1-5 since the All Star break and have only scored a single run in 4 of their last 5 games. Offensive struggles are nothing new for the Tigers this year - they have been maddeningly inconsistent, showing both excellence and frustrating droughts at various points in the year. This has manifested itself in the team scoring 4.67 runs per game, slightly below the league average of 4.78.

Enough of the bad though, because after this game there's a completely different buzz and I am looking forward to the Tigers wrecking that fatass Bartolo Colon (who some would be shocked to know was at one point traded for Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Philips) in the second game of the doubleheader later today. Umm, knock on wood... or something. The feeling around the city was that the Tigers were perhaps on the cusp of a free fall, but Verlander came in and did exactly what the team ace is supposed to do - he pitched an excellent complete game, surrendering only 1 run on 6 hits and 4 walks. JV wasn't totally dominant, wracking up only 4 strikeouts, and got into trouble at some points (including a bases loaded, no outs jam in the top of the 9th from which he escaped unscathed) but he was good enough to take sole possession of first place in the Central... for a few hours at least.

Verlander himself admitted in the post-game interview that he got out of rhythm in the early innings, before mostly cruising through the mid-to-late innings until the scary 9th. He was clearly amped up and I'm sure he could feel the pressure of pitching with first place on the line the day after a ChiSox pitcher threw a perfect game. Although it may have been a little bumpy at times, the finals numbers and, more importantly, the win, look pretty damn nice right now.

Oh yeah, and some dude named Carlos Guillen was activated today and went 1/4 while DHing. The one single came off a shattered bat and barely made it through the infield, his shoulder is still too sore to bat from the right side and at one point he appeared to misread the signs coming in from the dugout, so color me unimpressed. I hope he does well, but my hopes just aren't very high at the moment. Unfortunately, news has also hit the web that the biggest bat available on the market, Matt Holliday, has been officially dealt to the Cards for Brett Wallace and two other minor leaguers. Good for my fantasy team, I guess, but I wanted him on the Tigers. Dombrowski never really seemed to have the team in the Holliday hunt, so this is not unexpected however.

HAHA Suck It Twins

He's... umm... out?

As the AL Central race heats up a bit (White Sox 1 GB/Twins 2.5 GB) the Twins suffered an embarrassing defeat last night, allowing the Athletics to rally from a 10 run deficit to win 14-13 behind Matt Holliday's 2 blasts, including a game-tying grand slam in the seventh. Even though Mourneau, Holliday and Jason Kubel combined for 17 RBI in this ridiculous slugfest (39 hits to only 7 strikeouts between the two teams), the story of the night was a blatant botched call at home plate to end the game instead of tying it in the top of the ninth. Actually, perhaps the call wasn't botched, but rather Michael Wuertz's tag is so devastating that it travels both through space and time, thus explaining how Cuddyer was out despite the fact that approximately 50% of his body had touched the plate by the time Wuertz appeared to lay his tag down.

The take home message from this game is not that baseball needs replay, but rather that God hates the Twins because they are perenially the most boring team in the league.

I Am Going to Freak Out

Some people seem to believe that the Tigers don't need to make a move prior to the passing of the trade deadline in 10 days... because Carlos Guillen is coming back. Don't get me wrong, I like Carlos, but this Tigers team has serious offensive issues and Carlos is coming off a relatively pedestrian .286/.376/.436 line with 10 HR and 54 RBI in 420 AB last year. I really doubt how much of an impact that his return will make. In fact, the guy who Carlos would be taking playing time from has already matched Guillen's HR total from last year in 1/3rd the ABs and his only hitting 9 points below Guillen's 2008 season total.

Where exactly is this offensive explosion supposed to come from again?

"But he made the All Star game last year!" people cry. So? The All Star selection process is a joke - the fact that you played in the All Star game last year means absolutely nothing to me. For fucks sake, Tim fucking Wakefield made the All Star game this year and guys who actually deserved it such as Mark Reynolds, Miggy and *shudder* Chone Figgins get blackballed.

Also, Guillen is 33 and there is no guarantee at all that he stays healthy and contributes to the team for the entire rest of the year. Although DHing will certainly help, Guillen has never been the healthiest player - he has only played 150+ games in a season twice in his career - and so I just don't "get" gambling the team's playoff hopes on an old, injury-risk type player who isn't even coming off a good year. The Tigers are probably good enough (or the rest of the division is terrible enough, depending on your outlook) to reach the postseason without acquiring another player, but I just really feel that we need one more bat to ignite the offense. *cough*MattHolliday*cough*

Although Holliday's first season away from the snug confines of Coors Field hasn't gone well, he has been positively on fire since after the All Star break - batting .400 with 3 HR, 10 RBI and 2 SB in 5 games. Small sample size? Sure. Slight overreaction on my part? You betcha. Although guys don't always immediately produce for their new team when traded (I am looking at you, Mark DeRosa, and your .105 BA + 2 weeks on the DL since going to the Cards), Holliday is exactly the kind of hot bat the Tigers need to blow them out of their general malaise. Holliday's skills are legit and he is not as bad as his numbers in Oakland make him out to be - time to go get him Dombrowski. Magglio has been reduced to a platoon with Clete Thomas, Miggy has been good but not what everyone was expecting, Granderson is on pace for a 30/30 season and made the All Star team but is batting a painful-to-see .254 (22 points below his career average), the offensive production from the SS position has been anemic, etc. I feel that just standing pat on the season would be a mistake and that something needs to be done.

D-Train D-Railed

As Dontrelle Willis goes on the DL for the second time with this mysterious "anxiety disorder" I cannot help to feel sadness for the embattled hurler. To have someone who at one point looked to have such a bright future - when he won 22 games and finished second in NL CY Young voting in 2005 - fall so far is just plain unfortunate. Not to say that he didn't deserve his demotion... err, I mean, "injury"... since, after all, he has allowed 18 free passes in his last 11.0 IP. In fact, barring his one excellent start against the Rangers (6.1 IP 1 H 0 ER 2 BB 5 K), Dontrelle posted an ugly, ugly 0-4 9.22 ERA 12:26 K:BB in his 6 other starts.

Although Dontrelle's meltdown was slightly less dramatic than Ankiel's (see: top of the 3rd, Game 1 2000 NLDS) it has been no less devastating. Dontrelle is, simply put, laboring to throw strikes at the moment. It doesn't appear to be a physical problem, but rather all mental, and I doubt there is any chance that a second DL stint is going to magically fix anything that the first could not. It appears that the D-Train is officially done. Stick a fork in him. I hope he can learn to play the outfield as well as Ankiel, because Dontrelle's future as a MLB pitcher looks grim, to say the least. Oddly enough, Dontrelle does have some precedent for offensive production - he is only the third player in MLB history to record 20 wins and 20 hits in the same season. It was always sorta of a running joke that Dontrelle was a great hitting pitcher (didn't he bat 6th one game for the Marlins?) but now he might need to polish that swing a little more if he ever hopes to see a major league field from anywhere but the stands again.

Do It Dombrowski. Do It.

Although the Tigers are solidly in first place in the division (Twins 3.0 GB), the team really needs an addition before the trade deadline rolls around on July 31st to ensure not just a playoff berth, but that the team is equipped to do some serious damage in the playoffs. That addition? Matt Holliday.

I want this man and his ridiculous block head in a Tigers uniform.

Magglio's general ineffectiveness so far this season - batting .273 with only 2 HR and slugging an abysmal .343 - is going to force the Tigers to pick up another bat unless he turns things around quickly... and it's tough to turn things around when you're benched indefinitely. It's hard to say about a guy who just two years ago had one of the greatest seasons in team history, but Maggz looks lethargic at the plate and slow and tentative in right field. Maybe the benching clears Magglio's head and he returns revitalized and starts mashing again... but maybe he doesn't and if the Tigers want to land the biggest bat rumored to be available on the market, then they need to do it relatively soon.

Another benefit I see to adding Holliday to the roster is that he would provide enough of an offensive boost to take some pressure off of Magglio to produce and thus allow Maggz to come back around at his own pace. Although the young guys have been serviceable, rotating Don Kelly, Clete Thomas, Ryan Raburn and Josh Anderson through the outfield certainly isn't the ideal situation. The Tigers offense was really scrambling for runs prior to the Milwaukee series and adding an impact offensive player like Matt Holliday who has power to the gaps (which is great in spacious CoPa), is more than capable of hitting .320+ (2006: .326 / 2007: .340 / 2008: .321) and has the potential to swipe 20 bags would really help the offense to start clicking on all cylinders.

There is some concern that Holliday's bloated offensive statistics were due to the Coors Field Effect because he has posted a relatively disappointing .273 BA .802 OPS 8 HR 39 RBI 8 SB line so far this year since being traded to Oakland. While some regression from his lofty numbers in Colorado was expected, the fact remains that Holliday is a legit player and I would not be terribly worried - going to three All Star games, winning three Silver Sluggers, finishing 2nd in MVP voting (2007) and consistently putting up the numbers he did in his five years with the Rockies is no fluke, hitters' ballpark or not. Also, his away splits from 2006, 2007 and 2008, his three best years in Colorado, show that he can hit everywhere - not just when he's a mile high. I would attribute his muted offensive production this year more to being strangled by the terrible Oakland offense (league-worst team OPS of .673) more than anything. Although many would look at his numbers this year and ask, "Why are we trading for this guy again?" I strongly believe that he is a better player than he has shown so far. Plus, he is sort of starting to get his bat going and is running more (4 SB in the last 4 games) which is a good sign.

The trade deadline initially looked like it was going to be very, very active this year, but injuries to players rumored to be on the move like Peavy, Bedard and San Diego's Chris Young have made it look like roster shuffling will end up being pretty minimal this year. This makes it all the more important to make an early move to acquire the biggest name out there - Holliday - since so much more focus will be on that one player. After Holliday the pickins become fairly slim, dropping off to Mark DeRosa-caliber guys being available.

The starting pitching and relievers have been money for the Tigers this season and the only aspect of the team that has been struggling a bit has been the offense (though it hasn't been "bad" - just struggling). Matt Holliday, with his power to the gaps and base stealing ability, fits in really well with the team and would put the Tigers over the top in the Central.

Interleague Play Begins

Although the Detroit/Colorado "rivalry" doesn't quite have the sizzle it did in the 90s when the Red Wings and Avalanche were consistently at each others' throats, the Tigers and Rockies managed to put a pretty entertaining game together and - best of all - the Tigers got the win. Porcello had another very strong outing (6.0 IP 1 ER 6 H 2 BB 3 K) to win his fourth consecutive game. Leyland referred to him as "Nolan frickin Ryan" - high praise indeed for a 20 year old. The Nolan Ryan comparisons might be a tad bit hasty, but the fact remains that Porcello has been outstanding in May, going 3-0 and allowing only 3 runs in 3 starts. The future looks very, very bright for the young hurler.

Colorado starter Ubaldo Jimenez also put forth a strong outing - 7.0 IP 3 ER 6 H 1 BB 7 K. Gerald Laird scored one of the runs with a very heads-up play by scoring from third on a wild pitch that did not get far away from the catcher at all. The other two runs were courtesy of a two run blast from Binge who continues to boggle my mind both by batting .279 and leading the team in home runs (12). I keep telling myself that Binge has to cool off eventually, but we're now 40 games into the season so it's not as though he's just pulling a 2006 Chris Shelton impression. Maaaybe this is legit?

The second game of the series pits Armando Galarraga against Jason Marquis, formely of the Cubbies. Galarraga has been brutal since his great start (last 4 games: 0-3 10.90 ERA 9:12 K:BB) and is very close to losing his spot in the rotation. Not many expected Armando to repeat his impressive performance from last year, but he certainly was not expected to be this bad. I hope he can find some way to right the ship because it would be very unfortunate for him to fall from grace in this manner. His struggles have been somewhat masked because almost everyone is talking about the D-Train's last start when he threw 6.1 innings of one hit, no run ball last Tuesday (5/19) to get his first win as a Tiger. This is way too early to say since it was only one good start (and he was very shaky in his first outing), but I'll do it anyway obviously... how amazing would it be for the Tigers if Willis returned to anywhere near his 2005 form? The Tigers already have one of the best performing rotations in baseball so far this season (fourth in the AL in team ERA @ 4.17) and to go from possibly being forced to cut a guy you owe $22 million to having a legit starting pitcher would be stunning. Keep the train rolling Dontrelle.

A Tale of Two Double Plays

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

Actually for the Tigers this year it has, for the most part, been only the best of times. Everything just seems to be rolling the Tigers' way as they have now opened up a 3 game lead atop the AL Central. Minus the Royals, the rest of the Central seems to be collapsing as we approach a quarter of the way through the season. The Twins have lost 6 of the last 7, including a 4-game sweep at the hands of the rejuvenated Yankees. The ChiSox have only won 3 games so far in the month of May, endured a 20-1 shellacking last night and their infield minus Konerko has combined to hit a robust .222 - thanks Alexei Ramirez, Chris Getz and Josh Fields! And the Indians? Well, they're just terrible. It's like watching the guys from Major League prior to when they decided to become plucky and lovable by slowly undressing a cardboard cutout of Rachel Phelps. The real world 2009 Cleveland team could really, really use a montage right about now. It's still early in the year, but I like Detroit's chances to win the Central - and they'll need to to make the playoffs since the wild card will almost assuredly be coming from the East this year.

Although resurrected-from-the-dead starter Edwin Jackson needed a staggering 132 pitches to do it, the Tigers completed their sweep and season-long dominance of the Rangers on Thursday. Count me among the Tigers fanbase watching the game pulling their hair out and yelling at the TV for Leyland to give Jackson the hook in the 8th after he walked the first batter of the inning... and then after he gave up a towering, near-homer double to Hammerin' Hank Blalock... and then after Cruz blasted a two run double to tie the game... and then after he walked the pathetically floundering Chris Davis (currently in the midst of an 0/16 slump)... but Leyland made it work and his faith in Jackson paid off after Miggy hit a bloop single to center to score what ended up being the game winning run. To be fair, Jackson was still throwing very hard in the 8th (he reached 97 several times) but he was clearly laboring and I can't help but feel that Leyland's over zealousness to show faith in his pitching staff is going to bite the team in the ass eventually. But we won, so who's complaining?

The real story beyond Jackson's somewhat-shaky, but decent outing (8.0 IP 3 ER 7 H 5 BB 7 K) was two key double plays in the game and the overall much-improved defense the Tigers are displaying this year, however. In the second inning Clete Thomas caught a ball in medium-depth right field and then gunned the runner at home for the outfield assist and inning ending double play to save a run. Then in the top of the 9th with the Tigers leading 3-2, Rodney got himself into trouble with runners on first and third with one out, but got the incredibly underrated Michael Young to ground into a game-ending double play. Rodney is now a perfect 8 for 8 in save chances so far this year. Rodney tends to dick around when he is not pitching in a save opportunity, but he certainly brings the intensity when he needs to.

Much of the success of the pitching staff this year can be attributed to the improved defense across the board. Inge has been positively electric at third (and just hit his team-leading 12th dong of the year), Miggy has done a much better job at first this year and the Everett/Santiago timeshare at short has been gobbling up ground balls.

In fact, the only real negatives this season have been Armando's regression after a hot start (it's rumored that when Bonderman returns that Galarraga and not D-Train would be the odd man out in the rotation, barring a great start on Saturday) and Magglio showing his age (.256 2 HR 17 RBI). Miggy has fallen 7 HR off the AL-leading pace (15, Carlos Pena) but when a guy's hitting .381 that's "probably" just quibbling.

Nice Job Assholes

Four errors?

What. The. Fuck.

I think it's time to bust out the "Edwin Jackson is disappointed in you" pic again:


Then again, Edwin walked two guys with the bases loaded (Gary Matthews Jr. and fucking Jeff Mathis) so it's not like he's an innocent victim here. The lone bright spot this series has to be Gramsterdam, who hit three dongs during the series. Still though, it's hard to feel good or find much positive into dropping 2 of 3 to a team that has six pitchers on the DL and started Matt Palmer against you... and got the win. Ugh.

Series Roundup: Mariners

The Tigers finished their 3 game trip to the land of rain and lattes pretty successfully, taking 2 games away from the reinvigorated and AL West-leading M's. The Tigers roster is really starting to round out and they should be in contention for the AL Central all year. Ramon Santiago has been the surprise of the year for the Tigers with 11 RBI, good for second best on the team behind Miggy. Santiago played every game in the Seattle series because Everett was out with the flu (hey Everett, you pussy, Edwin played fine with the flu) and now there are rumblings that Ramon has earned himself extra playing time, perhaps even taking over the majority of the timeshare. Everett is as solid as they come defensively at short, but he can't hit for shit, and Ramon is no slouch defensively as well - so I say bring on the dude batting .320 with 11 RBI and 1 HR. In addition, Ramon fits better into Leyland's new found aggressive/speed approach (11 SB across all levels in '07). Leyland is running his players much more than normal and I love it. The aggressiveness on the base paths is manufacturing more runs... plus I get to see Miggy stealing bases and suicide squeezes, which provides me with much entertainment. The shocked reaction from Pierzynski when Miggy took off for second from first brings a smile to my face even now days later. Who knew the big man could move?

Take out one bad inning and the Tigers may have even swept the M's in their own ballpark.

Let's try to focus on the (many) positives from this series though:

• Although Verlander's stat line may not look all that great in the end (7.1 IP 8 H 5 ER 1 BB), it is very reassuring to see him strike out eight while walking only one. Based off his last two starts, it looks like he is very, very close to taking a step forward from his '07 campaign and becoming the guy whose talent dictates him being a top-10 pitcher in the AL.

• Edwin Jackson might actually be for real? After Saturday's start he is the owner of a brand-spanking-new ERA of 2.14 and a 13:5 K:BB ratio. If only Brandon Lyon wasn't a bum, Edwin would have two wins early in this season instead of one. And what is the player we gave up for Edwin up to? He's in AAA. I'm not by any means saying that Joyce is, or will be, a bust... but Dombrowski is looking pretty good right now.
  

• Porcello looked downright dominant against the M's on Sunday. Dominant. Even as the youngest hurler on an already young staff at 20 (Verlander 26, Bondo 26, Jackson 25, Galarraga 27) he has shown a lot of poise and does not seem overwhelmed by the major leagues at all. The question is whether Bondo can come back completely healthy and effective and then whether this young pitching staff can keep its roll going. If so, then a perceived offseason weakness for the Tigers might actually end up being a strength.

• The continuing success of Binge has me utterly befuddled. Peter Gammons was on Baseball Tonight early in the season discussing how Binge was a much better player offensively when he didn't have to worry about catching since it took such a physical toll on his body. At the time I just sort of laughed it off, but maybe he was onto something. There is no way he can sustain his current .289 BA and there will undoubtedly be some regression to the mean for this career .237 hitter, but enjoy it while your bat is hot Binge.

• No more Zach Miner starts! Thank you Jeebus, Allah, The Flying Spaghetti Monster and any other deity I may have forgotten.
  

The upcoming series with the surprisingly bad Angels should be interesting just because the Halos are incredibly dinged up with Vlad, Kelvim Escobar, Ervin Santana, John Lackey and Dustin Moseley all on the DL (plus the passing of Adenhart, obviously). It's like an entire team of Chris Carpenters. With scheduled starts against Jered Weaver (who looks eerily similar to one-time favored son of the Tigers and brother, Jeff), flyball specialist Joe Saunders and some other dude, Miggy and crew have the potential to put a massive hurting on the Halos.

The Tigers are currently in a 3-way tie with the White Sox and Royals for the AL Central lead and I pretty much see the Central being extremely tight all year. The White Sox will likely fall off the pace, but I feel that this division will be the most competitive in baseball this year (with the possible exception of the Fish, Braves, Phillies and Mets battling all year in the NL East).

If I put the over/under on Greinke winning a Cy Young at 2.5 years (including this year), would anyone want to take the over? This guy is looking like a certified baller.

Who Are You And What Have You Done With Fernando Rodney

This afternoon Fernando came into a tight 4-3 game against the Rangers in the top of the 9th and pitched a perfect - and I mean perfect - inning to earn his first save (2.0 IP 3 K 0 ER 0 H 0 BB so far this season). Rodney got David Murphy to chase a ball outside the zone for his first put out and then just completely blew both Chris Davis and Salty away, topping out around 96 MPH, for a 3 up / 3 K inning. Has an alien stolen his body? Where is the Fernando Rodney that we all know and love that specializes in blowing games? Well, whoever you are you deserve some props for that performance.

WHO IS THIS MAN?!?

The pitching as a whole was just fantastic this afternoon. Everyone worried about Verlander (*raises hand*) can feel a whole lot better after his outing today (5.o IP 1 ER 8 K). Control is still a bit of an issue (4 BB) but Verlander was really blowing the Rangers hitters away and probably deserved the win, although he didn't get it. The inning that resulted in Verlander getting the hook wasn't even really his fault at all and it should have been over relatively quickly, but two errors (Binge, Everett) extended the inning, causing Verlander to throw extra pitches, and lead to two unearned runs. Without those two errors, the only offense Texas was able to muster was a solo shot from Hank Blalock and Verlander kept the potent Ranger offense completely in check the rest of the time. Ex-embattled starting pitcher and current middle reliever Nate Robertson ended up with the win and although I think Verlander probably deserved it, Robertson still pitched quite well, retiring all 6 batters he faced, so no biggie. Although it is well-documented that Robertson was very displeased when he first learned that he was being moved into the bullpen, I think it is becoming clearer that his ability and skillset is much better suited for a middle relief role. Sorry Nate, but this is just the way it is.

I also found it very interesting how much faith Leyland has in the young, hard-throwing Ryan Perry. Leyland brought him in to face the very hot Nelson Cruz and Jim's confidence was rewarded with a big out. This was now Perry's third appearance and although he has been a little up and down and his control still needs work, he has been very promising so far. Against Toronto he pitched a perfect inning. In his first work against the Rangers during the 15-2 shellacking on April 10th he smoked the first batter he faced, but then got a little wild and walked two guys before getting yanked. Then came in today and got Cruz out in a 1 run game. I know that Leyland probably wishes that his two young pitchers, Perry and Porcello, got more time in the minors getting polished before moving up, but the state of the Tigers' bullpen and starting rotation sort of forced his hand. Both have responded well so far however, showing maturity, great ability and a ton of promise.

On an amusing side note, Miggy was somehow voted the FSN player of the game despite going 0/4. Umm, his defense at first base was very solid I suppose (in fact, I have noticed that his defense is much improved from last year). I guess when it comes to anything that fans vote for, the heart wants what the heart wants. Sorry people that actually had a good game (Laird, Verlander, Rodney, Robertson and Polanco to name a few).

Other random musings:

• Gerald Laird is a way better player than I knew prior to the season. He is handling the pitching staff quite well and his hitting very well as well (.389 BA on the season) while flashing some wheels - he has a double and a triple through 5 games and today also caught Josh Hamilton by surprise when he tagged up on a routine fly ball to center and managed to move up a base. I love how he has just been going out and hustling every day. You can tell he likes being "the guy" for the Tigers and no longer has to constantly worry about losing playing time to Salty and Taylor Teagarden like he had to in Texas. Good start to the season for him.
  

• Although Nelson Cruz's line 2 games into the series against the Tigers is solid-but-not-eyepopping (2/8 1 HR 1 RBI 2 K 0 BB), this guy is a fantastic player. He has very real power, great defense out there in right field and an absolutle cannon for an arm. Cruz launched a laser from deep right on a Marcus Thames sac fly where Polanco was just tagging up from third and made the play much, much closer than it should have been. The future looks bright.

• What the fuck is Chris Davis doing? He is an anemic 1/18 so far this season and has made a couple questionable defensive decisions. This is the same 2008 Rangers' Rookie of the Year, right? More importantly, you're killing my fantasy team Chris. Stop it. Asshole.
  

Miggy = Man's Man

I know it isn't going out on a limb or anything because a lot of people are predicting this, but as I watch Miguel Cabrera blast a grand slam to left-center at CoPa during the home opener (7-0 Tigers currently wahooo) I can't help but feel that Miggy will win the Triple Crown this year. Perhaps even MVP. He was a respectable 9/32 with 2 HR during the WBC and just looked like he was going to mash. He is currently 10/14 with 3 HR and 8 RBI 4.5 games into the season. I don't think anyone can deny that he is going to have a monstrous year.

This is a man... and his bat.

This guy is going to be raping AL Central pitching for many, many years to come.

Update: Cabrera just missed his second HR of the day by about an inch. Oh well, add another 2 RBI to the score sheet. 14-1 Tigers. I know it's the Rangers and that roughing up Kris Benson, Warner Madrigal and Josh Rupe isn't the most impressive thing in the world, but honestly at this point I'm not sure if it matters all that much who is pitching to him - he's going to rake no matter what.

Brandon Lyon Is Now Edwin Jackson's BFF

Brandon Lyon is in the process of continuing his further decline into mediocrity and seems determined to drag the Detroit pitching staff down with him after blowing Edwin Jackson's outstanding 7.1 IP 1 ER 4 K 2 H 1 BB gem in the second game of the season... twice. Seriously. In the bottom of the 8th Lyon served up a 3 run tater tot to Aaron Hill and then when Binge tied the game with a solo blast (does Binge only hit solo HRs? I honestly don't think I have ever seen him hit a non-solo HR) in the 9th, Lyon promptly returned to the mound in the bottom of the inning and gave the game away. What the hell happened to his pre-All Star break 2007 with the Dbacks? This guy's career has been buckling under pressure harder than Rihanna's face.

Edwin looks happy that his win was blown.

The optimist in me wants to focus on the excellent game Jackson pitched, but it's hard to have a whole lot of faith in a guy who last year had an ERA of 4.42, a downright frightening WHIP of 1.505 and was so highly thought of in Tampa Bay that they dropped him from the postseason roster. Now he's our second guy in the rotation. *smacks forehead*

At least Miggy has been looking good. He was 2/2 with 2 walks and a run scored yesterday. Umm... yay? Binge has knocked in two homers in two games (HOLY SHIT HE'S ON PACE FOR 162 HRs) but had a throwing error - and he's supposed to be there for his defense so we'll call it a wash.

Between Verlander getting hammered in the opener, Zumaya's injury maybe being even more serious that we thought, Bonderman starting the season on the DL, shady things going on with the D-Train, etc. there isn't much that seems to be going right early this season.

Maybe it's a little presumptuous of me to question a guy with 17 years of managerial experience, 3 Manager of the Year awards and a World Series championship, but I'll do it anyway (obviously). Don't get me wrong, I am not a Fernando Rodney supporter by any means (in fact, he sucks) but I just don't "get" why you bring a guy who has already blown a game once in the 8th back in the 9th to close it out. Trying to show confidence/belief/whatever in your players and trying to win games are sometimes the same thing and sometimes they aren't. This is a case where they weren't. Lyon and Rodney are both right-handers too so it's not as though there were some match up concerns with the Toronto lineup, unless something is escaping my notice. The Tigers get a shot at Jesse Litsch tonight however. Wait a second, Miner is pitching? FML.

In summation, even with the retirement of Todd Jones the Tigers' bullpen will... how should I say this... make things "exciting" throughout the year. In the meantime while Lyon tries to get his shit together, this is what Piper Palin thinks of you:

Suck it Lyon.

Curt-ain Call (Zing!)

So Curt Schilling has retired today.

Actually yesterday. Unless you're on the West Coast, in which case it was still today. Or if you live in Guam. In which case it may have been two days ago. I say "may have been" because I tried to be clever and discover somewhere where it would be two days ago. But the calculations involved ended up being more complicated than I thought. I have grown weary of actually trying to figure this out and will say it was two days ago in Guam. If you feel like correcting me on this, be my guest.

Of course, he announced this on his blog, because where else would he do it? It's not like he could have called a press conference or something.

Given his unabashed publicity whoring over the years, I'm pretty surprised he didn't call a press conference. With fireworks. And tigers. And large-breasted women with loose morals.

Hooray for boobs!

ESPN posted an article. Somehow this article only mentions in passing what I will always remember him for - his victory over the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. Remember? The game when he pitched 7 1/3 innings on only 3 days rest? Randy Johnson closed the game by retiring the only 4 batters he faced after throwing 104 pitches the night before? Luis Gonzalez's walk-off single to beat a previously invincible Mariano Rivera and the three-time champs Yankees?

That game remains the single greatest game I have ever seen. In any sport.

No I don't include any Michigan games in this tally. If I did it might not make the top 10.

There was nothing about that game that wasn't awesome. It was a great pitching battle the whole time through.

In contrast to some other games in that series, where one team couldn't get an out.

Then Randy Johnson came out to pitch, and everybody said "Holy shit!" Then Mariano Rivera came out, and I almost turned the game off. He was untouchable that year. He's the only non-knuckleballer whom I've ever seen switch hitters hit off the same side as he throws. (Tony Fernandez was the hitter.) He had 50 saves that season. Mariano Rivera didn't blow saves. He didn't even give up hits.

I would like to know how many bats he broke that season versus how many hits he gave up. It seemed like almost every lefty he faced broke their bats that season.

I watched in disgust and prepared myself for watching the fucking Yankees win another fucking World Series. Then a ray of hope appeared. Rivera made a bad throw to second on a bunt. Then Brosius decided to hold on to a ball instead of making the throw for a double play. A hit by pitch and a bloop over a pulled-in infield ended it. Greatest. Game. Ever.

This post was done in the style of The Sound and the Fury. Except this post makes some sense. If you understood the reference, I feel sorry for you. If you didn't get the reference you never will because the book is impossible to read. Why would I do this? I felt like it, that's why.

Binge Redeems Himself

I don't think I'm making an overstatement when I say that Spring Training is perhaps the most important part of the season. With that in mind, imagine my excitement when I saw that Binge went 2-for-2 today, thus vindicating himself vis-a-vis the last post.

The pinnacle of greatness

Then I read the rest of the box score. Binge's throwing error, the only Tigers' error of the game, led to three unearned runs.

Jackass

This may come as a surprise to some, but Binge is only on the team because of his fielding. I know, it's shocking. But when you hit .205/11/51, you better be a damn good fielder. In fact, you better be Rey Fucking Ordonez. There's two major differences between Rey Ordonez and Inge, however.

1. Rey Ordonez's lifetime BA was .246 to Inge's .237
2. Ordonez was a shortstop.

I can't for the life of me figure out why Inge is an option at third base. His numbers were acceptable when he was catcher, but barely. But there's a reason why some the greatest hitters in recent history (e.g., Brett, Schmidt, Boggs, Jones) have played third base: it's the easiest position to play except for first base. Even left field requires you to be able run fast. The Tigers need to bring up Mike Hessman. He can't hit for average, but neither can Inge. Plus, Hessman will put up 25+ homers per year. He's nowhere near the fielder Inge is, but who cares. We're talking about third base.