Something you should all want to see a ton this year: Austin Jackson singles on a line drive to the left fielder. With Brennan Boesch batting, Jackson steals second base. Brennan Boesch grounds out to the second baseman, Jackson advances to third base on the throw. There is one out. Miguel Cabrera grounds out but [...]
It’s never been a question of Max Scherzer’s stuff. It’s been a series of questions about consistency and harnessing that stuff (there used to be durability questions as well, but after two seasons in Detroit in which Scherzer has been the picture of health, those seem to have faded). WHen he has his fastball, changeup, [...]
Opening Day Roster Theory Catchers Alex Avila Gerald Laird Infielders Prince Fielder Ryan Raburn Jhonny Peralta Miguel Cabrera Ramon Santiago Danny Worth Outfielders Brennan Boesch Austin Jackson Delmon Young Andy Dirks Clete Thomas Utility Don Kelly Starting Pitching Justin Verlander Max Scherzer Doug Fister Rick Porcello Relievers Jose Valverde Joaquin Benoit Octavio Dotel Phil Coke [...]
Including the split squad games on Sunday and the game against the Toledo Mud Hens on Wednesday, there are only six games left before the Tigers open the season against the Red Sox on Thursday. The baseball community is in an impatient limbo thanks to return of spring training games after the two-game season opening [...]
Nothing has been finalized yet – that will come early next week – but given the way spring training has played out this is what Walkoff Woodward thinks the 25 man Opening Day roster should look like. I find myself thinking about Brandon Inge way more than I need to, and you all do too [...]
This is a pun-free post! I promise! I almost posted the lyrics to the Doug Fister Song but I chose not to. I’ll save it for a rainy day. Or a day when he pitches, or something like that. On that note, Doug Fister came over last July 30th and immediately got his Doyle Alexander [...]
I spent the last two days in solitude, intentionally mind you, and didn’t pay attention to Andy Oliver or Drew Smyly, or the games against Houston and St. Louis. So when I turned my phone back on this morning, I had quite a few wisecracks awaiting my response.
It’s really easy to forget that Rick Porcello is a mere 23 years old because it feels like he’s been around forever. Such is life when you’re called up to the majors at 20 years old a la Jeremy Bonderman (seriously, by 2006, it felt like he was a grizzled veteran at age 23). While [...]
To suggest that Alex Avila would evolve from a middling backup catcher who was assumingly in the big leagues because pops was the assistant GM of the team, to an All-Star, Silver Slugger, and one of the most important catchers in the American League in 2011 was about as shocking as Jose Valverde going 49 [...]
Now that we’ve addressed the outfield and the infield, it’s time to address the pitching staffs of the Tigers and their AL Central foes. We’ll divide that up into rotations and bullpens, and this post will cover each squad’s five-man rotations and rank them.
A very interesting idea was raised last week by Buster Olney. He wonders if at some point this year, Ryan Raburn can supplant Austin Jackson as the Tigers leadoff hitter since there are some talent evaluators who believe Jackson is still having trouble with pitch recognition and will eventually be dropped down in the lineup.
