Results tagged ‘ Tigers ’
How many strikes does an umpire get?
In yesterday’s post-game interview, Jim Leyland voiced his opinion about accountability for umpires, and I think it’s a fair question to ask.
As a baseball player, you’re held accountable for your actions both on and off the field. If you’re not performing, you’re either going to be sent down to the minors or released. For a manager, if you can’t get your team to perform at the level they’re capable of, you’re not going to have a job very long. So why is it that umpires seemingly get a free pass?
There has been constant criticism against certain umpires in recent years, but yet there never seems to be any punishment handed down by Major League Baseball. When’s the last time you heard about an umpire getting fired or suspended for doing a continually bad job? Just think about that for a minute. Still thinking? That’s probably because it hasn’t happened .
It’s a seemingly flawed situation with no simple solutions, but it does deserve to be looked at. Does this mean MLB needs to further its use of instant replay, or have a more defined course of disciplinary action for umpires who aren’t performing their job?
I don’t know what the answer is, but it’ll be interesting to see if MLB makes any changes to their current system in the upcoming season. The way I look at it, everyone is responsible for the mistakes they make while they’re at work To me, it doesn’t matter if your an umpire, a doctor, or a cashier at a fast food joint. If you continually fail to do your job properly, you should be held accountable.
Ready for Roy?
It was reported earlier today that Roy Oswalt has worked out for a few teams, including the Phillies and Red Sox. So I thought I’d do my best to try to figure out where I think he’ll end up going.
This winter, it was reported that Oswalt was only willing to pitch for the Cardinals or the Rangers, in hopes that he could pitch close to his home in Mississippi. I’m not sure how much that still matters to him, but I’m sure it has some bearing.
As much as I’d like to see him end up in Detroit, I’m not sure he’d be a likely fit. It was rumored in February that the Tigers offered Oswalt a one year deal worth ten million dollars, only to be turned down. But as we learned when we signed Prince Fielder, you can never count the Tigers out.
I think he’ll end up in Philadelphia once again. He did well when he was there before, and he’s always shown a preference to play in the National League.
So where do you think Oswalt will end up playing this year?
Bring on the bullpen
Entering tonight, the Detroit Tigers’ bullpen has the highest ERA out of all teams in the American League. If they’re going to be anything better than a .500 team, that needs to change.
Every single pitcher in the bullpen for the Tigers has had their ups and downs so far this year, and frankly, I don’t feel that confident seeing any of them entering a game right now. It’s bizarre if you think about it, because we do have several quality arms in our bullpen.
Jose Valverde hasn’t nearly looked as dominant or consistent as he has been in years past, Joaquin Benoit struggled early in the year but has looked better as of late, Phil Coke hasn’t looked sharp recently and Octavio Dotel looked horrible when he blew a save opportunity against the Mariners less than a week ago.
I’m curious if the Tigers are going to attempt to trade for a pitcher like Grant Balfour, or if they’re going to just wait until Al Alburquerque comes back. Until we get our bullpen straightened out, it’s going to be hard to put together any significant winning streaks.
Why Detroit missed the Fist
It’s no secret that the Tigers were excited to have Doug Fister for the entire 2012 season, and why wouldn’t they be? After getting traded to Detroit from Seattle last year, he was the best pitcher that the Tigers had.
So of course when he got injured in his first start of the season, there’s was a bit of panic going in the Motor City. Who could replace him? How serious would it be? Do we need to try to convince Roy Oswalt to sign?
Instead, the Tigers were patient. They didn’t rush to make any foolish decisions, instead they stuck with what they already had. Replacements for Fister were varied, but ultimately the Tigers were able to survive without him.
Now that Fister is back and healthy, the Tigers once again have arguably the best number one and two starting pitcher combinations in the American League. It’s a boost that a struggling team like the Tigers could definitely use.
How the Tigers won despite losing
Yesterday I got a chance to watch the Tigers play. Even thought they didn’t come away with a win, I did leave there feeling good about what I saw.
The biggest question I had about the Tigers going into the game was what kind of performance Max Scherzer was going to give. Scherzer looked dominant throughout the game, allowing only one run in seven innings while striking out nine.
My view for the game
I know I’ve mentioned it before in my blog, but if Max Scherzer doesn’t get it going, the Tigers are going to have trouble making any sort of a deep run in the playoffs. If yesterday was an example of things to come, then Detroit fans should be quite excited about things to come. No, Scherzer and the Tigers didn’t get the win, but they still were able to come away with a very big positive.
Even from right field you’ll have no trouble seeing the new scoreboard
Unfortunately I was not able to sample any of the fine cuisine at Comerica Park, since a stop at MGM Grand Detroit depleted me of my lunch money. Oh well, I’ll be sure to enjoy something at the ballpark next time.
Doug Fister will make his return from the disabled list for the Tigers tomorrow, so hopefully we can get a winning streak going. You know I’ll be watching.
Welcome back, Zach!
It was just announced that the Detroit Tigers have acquired pitcher (and former Tiger) Zach Miner in exchange for future cash considerations.
This is definitely a great move for the Tigers, because it gives us the ability to strengthen our bullpen which has been questionable at times. Miner pitched well in his last stint in Detroit, when he posted a 4.24 ERA between 2006 and 2009. Miner pitched primarily out of the bullpen, but did start 35 games during that stretch.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Tigers plan on using Miner, and it’ll be especially interesting to see how he’ll fare after recovering from his 2010 Tommy John surgery. In 12 games for Kansas City’s triple-A affiliate, Miner posted a 2-1 record along with a 1.59 ERA.
The best part of this deal is that it essentially costs the Tigers little to nothing, so the risk will definitely be worth any potential reward.
A pleasant surprise
The Tigers have gotten off to a solid start this year, but there’s one aspect of their game that has not received the attention that it’s deserved.
If you would’ve asked baseball fans around the country what the biggest struggle was going to be for the Tigers this year, they would have all mentioned defense. The Tigers are not a team that is built around strong defense, and critics immediately started to wonder how having Miguel Cabrera at third, Prince Fielder at first, Ryan Raburn at second and Delmon Young in left field would impact the club.
After 11 games, the Tigers have only committed three errors, which is the second fewest in all of baseball (only trailing the Boston Red Sox). It’s hard to imagine that the Tigers will be able to keep that pace going for the remainder of the season, but it’s certainly not impossible.
Cabrera and Fielder both worked incredibly hard during spring training, as the two pushed each other to do everything they could to make themselves better defensively. In recent interviews, Fielder has said that he felt he owed it to Cabrera to work on his defensive game, and that says a lot about his character and team chemistry.
People certainly expect the Tigers to do a lot of things this year. They’re going to hit home runs, score runs and pitch well, but I don’t think many people expected them to look this good defensively. Playing solid defense is often something that goes unnoticed by most people, but there’s an old saying in baseball, ‘Pitching and defense wins championships.” The Tigers not only are doing both of those things, but they’re hitting the ball, and that makes them very dangerous.
Getting Max for the minimum
If you’re looking for a starting pitcher in fantasy baseball that might not cost you a lot in return (not to mention I’ve noticed he’s been available a lot later than he should be in most drafts), then I’d like to suggest you take a look at Max Scherzer.
First of all, yes, I’ve taken my hometown bias out of this. Scherzer will likely be the number three pitcher in the Tigers rotation, and he appears to be poised for having a strong 2012. If today’s outing against the Yankees means anything (insert quote about Spring Training stats don’t matter here), it shows that he’s found the form necessary to be successful.
It’s no secret that Scherzer struggled a bit mechanically in the past, and got sent down to Toledo because of that in 2010. Those seems to more or less be problems of the past, as was evidenced by his numbers in 2011. Scherzer went 15-9, racking up 174 strikeouts and a slightly elevated ERA at 4.43. I can say with a great deal of confidence that Scherzer’s ERA should drop by about a half a run this year, and the strikeout numbers should be pretty similar.
Most fantasy baseball leagues count strikeouts as a category, and that makes Scherzer a great asset. Not only do you get a guy who was 15th in the American League in K’s last year, but you get a guy who is playing for a team that many expect to run away with the AL Central, and that should give you plenty of wins, too.
If I were you, I’d put my money on “Mad Max” in 2012.
Who’s on first, but what’s on second?
So if you wanted to ask me who the Detroit Tigers second baseman will be on opening day, I could give you at least four different options that make sense. The Tigers have quite the rotation system in order for second base, and I’m not sure how good of a thing that is.
I can’t think of too many major league teams that are still actively unsure of their situation at second base, but the Tigers have more options than a kid in a candy store. Sure, the options aren’t necessarily that of an all-star caliber, but they all certainly provide a lot of good things to the table.
You have Ramon Santiago, the switch hitter. Santiago has been consistent, and it was rumored that he turned down a starting position offer from a few teams in order to come back to Detroit. There’s been questions about his durability (not his talent), otherwise he would certainly would have been able to find more offers as a free agent. Although Santiago offers the least amount of offensive power out of the group, he may very well be the most consistent offensive producer.
Another strong possibility for the opening day starter goes to left-handed hitting Don Kelly. Kelly has proven to be the true super-utility player, doing everything from pitching to catching in 2011 for Detroit. It wouldn’t necessarily shock me if Kelly gets slotted in on opening day (assuming Boston pitches the right-handed Josh Beckett), but only if Kelly can put up solid offensive numbers during Spring Training.
Then there’s Ryan Raburn. Simply put, unless opening day comes after July 31st, I don’t think Raburn is going to be nearly good enough offensively or defensively to give him the nod. Truth be told, it also wouldn’t shock me to see Raburn get traded prior to opening day. Despite his defensive limitations, he provides a strong right-handed bat which a lot of teams may be interested in, especially for such a low cost.
Every offseason usually provides some sort of story that has captured the attention of Detroit fans. I can’t think of a better example of that than with the story of Brandon Inge attempting to become the second baseman for Detroit. I’ve gone on record many times saying I love the fact that Inge is willing to do whatever he has to do to get playing time. I don’t get the people crying and complaining about the fact Inge is doing everything he can to get playing time. If you’re a coach, you want 25 people on your team with that competitive drive. After the Tigers signed Prince Fielder and decided to move Miguel Cabrera to third base, Inge found himself without a position.
He approached Tigers manager Jim Leyland and General Manager Dave Dombrowski and said he wanted a chance to be the second baseman. Since then, Dombrowski has made comments saying Inge looks like a natural who has been playing the position for over a decade. This says a lot about the athleticism of Brandon Inge, and if he can put up any sort of offensive numbers, I think it’s safe to say he’ll get a good share of playing time at second. Also take into consideration that the Tigers would have to eat six million dollars to cut him, it has to make you believe that they’re going to be at least willing to give him a shot.
For what it’s worth, I got my money on Inge. Who do you think will get the nod?
Chasing dreams
When you were little, what did you want to be? Much to my mother’s dismay, my earliest dream job was to be the guy who made slushies at K-Mart. No, it wasn’t a glamorous thought, but my logic was perfect for that of a five-year old.
I knew how excited and happy I was when my mom would let me get a slushie (similar to a slurped from 7-eleven in case you’re not aware), and I not only wanted to indulge in what I thought would be a never ending supply of free slushies, but I wanted to be able to have means to make everyone else happy, too. Looking back on it, my dream has always been to make as many people in my life as happy as I can. Thanks to the MLB Fan Cave, Major League Baseball is essentially giving me an opportunity to do just that.
If I make it to New York, I’ll have the opportunity to show my passion of the game (and obviously the Tigers) on a national stage. Once there, I’m going to do everything I can to put a smile on the face of every baseball fan and show kids that you should always chase your dreams. Perhaps then I’ll get the chance to bring happiness to baseball fans across the world. Sure, I wouldn’t be making slushies, but it’d still be a dream come true.
Brad Jeffers
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