2012 and the 40 Game Mark

Here again we sit at the 40 game mark.

Verlander tips hat after
finishing almost no-hittter against
Pittsburgh on May 18

This time the year is 2012, and the Tiger's roster has all of baseball expecting the Detroiters to be the AL Central Champs – and to at least advance well into the playoffs.

So all of Tigers Nation has been on pins and needles waiting for this lineup of hitters that can actually switch from left to right handed hitter every batter – we have all been waiting for this lineup to explode.

The opening series looked promising – as just such explosions went off against Boston – Cabrera and Fielder showing what an amazing powerhouse combo they could be.

Justin Verlander came out of the off season with the same kind of control and domination he showed last year.

"Great, so how are the boys doing then?" Might ask the recently recovered survivor stranded on a dessert island.

Well, right now the Tigers are …. Drum roll please … wait – let me double check baseball-refernce.com quick to make sure …

from baseball-reference.com (C) 2012

Third place? Four games back of Cleveland?

A game under .500?

The whole of Tigers Nation is wondering what used car salesmen sold this fan base on the hype of this team.

And this year, I have listened, read, and participated in far too many conversations revolving around firing the pitching coach, the hitting coach and the manager.

Fans are pissed off.

Just to rub a bit more salt in the wound, the Tiger's released long time fan favorite / superhero Brandon Inge as he was hitting below .200 and was not doing very well fielding at second base – only to see Inge picked up by AL West rival Oakland and have a career week and be in the running for MLB player of the week – a week that included games against a west coast traveling Tiger's squad.

But now Inge is on the DL – in Oakland – and all are left to wonder if that was but one last gasp of dying career before what appears to be inevitable – but so often postponed by the will power of Inge.

Yes, I agree, that was a paragraph too many about Brandon Inge.

Justin Verlander's pitching has been stellar – but a hitting slump disallowed Verlander to win giving up only two or three runs – and a failing bullpen has pulled the wins out from under Justin's feet. He sits right now at 5 – 1, but that record should be oh so much better.

Two nights ago, Verlander carried a bid for a no-hitter into the ninth – effortlessly blasting 100 mph fastballs and nasty breaking other stuff past a formidable Pittsburgh Pirates lineup – only to have it broken up by a "get-a-barrel-of-the-bat" stab at a low curve resulting in a bloop single hit up the middle by Josh Harrison with only two more outs until perfection.

And the fans reaction after that game?

Leyland should be fired for playing Jhonny Peralta at short stop because Peralta did not dive for the ball.

Check out this teams batting average at the 40 game mark:

Strong hitting from Jackson Dirks, Cabrera, and Fielder show a strong front four players at the top of the line up. But Dirks has been batting in the two-hole only recently – Boesch held that spot in the order for the first thirty games.

The numbers look good, and once in a while the front of this lineup does explode. But overall this Tiger's gunpowder seems to be wet – and finding dry patches to spark appears to randon at best.

Aside from Verlander – there hasn't really been anything stellar to point to. Jose Valverde who went perfect in 2011 in save situations – has been nowhere near perfect in 2012 – losing his first save opportunity for Verlander in game one of 2012 – the celebrated home opening day in Detroit.

Fisters been hurt. Porcello and Smyly (a rookie with great promise up from Toledo) have held their frustrating own at .500 – and the rest – basically throwing batting practice with umpires on the field.

And that's how we sit at 4 games back in the AL Cenral – one game under .500 after the first 40 games of the 2012 season.

Does it look like things will turn around? Well Verlander's almost no-no the other night certainly gave promise – but there is little real signs that anything else will change.

Basically – this team is playing well below potential now. The whole team. And that has led to fans screaming for Manager Jim Leyland's head. That and some questionable decisions. It's hard to read the papers and sports news sites – or listen to the radio.

Tiger fans are livid.

I think things will find their level – and the Tigers will get hot for twice the streak they are slumping. I do think they will pull out of this and nobody need be fired – although I think it's time to send Ryan Raburn someplace like Toledo.

But I do think the Tigers will survive this period.

But I appear to be in the minority. We don't need a scapegoat.

We just need these guys to follow Verlander's and Cabrera's and Fielders example – and start delivering what they owe this team, and these fans.

ALCS Game 5 - Tigers Turn The Tide

Justin Verlander waves as he leaves game 5

This 2011 ALCS is the most exciting series I have ever been truly emotionally invested in.

Every game has been right to the wire – regardless of the final score.

Every game has tested every facet of each component of both teams.

And as this ALCS series between the Tigers and the Texas Rangers sits 2-3 in favor of the lone star men, I think it interesting that Justin Verlander pitches a good game, but there were other heros that changed the momentum of the series back to the favor of the Tigers.

Yep.

So far, the two biggest key points that have allowed Texas to squeak out one win more than the Detroiters has been one extra hit and a bit more depth in the bullpen.

Unfortunately that one extra bat of Texas has only recently been countered by Alex Avila – at when Alex hit a two run shot in Game 5 last night.

But not by Austin Jackson who just seems overwhelmed by the whole experience.

Jackson has just had a horrible series to date – with two errors that were costly fumbles on what seemed to be very makeable plays – standard fare for a major league centerfielder and surely for a player like Jackson who stunned us over and over again this season with over the shoulder basket catches at the wall time and time again.

As for Alex Avila, who continues to catch with excellence and throwing darts to second base to catch almost all runners – Alex is just plain wore out. Alex caught 141 regular season games this year, and the all star game, as well as a brutally tough ALDS series with the Yankees.

There was no break for Avila. He has been our iron horse.

Avila is spent and battered and bruised, like no other player on the squad.

Clearly the public perception is that Saturday night’s game 6 back in Arlington will be no more than a formality to usher the Rangers into the World Series at home.

But I have this feeling.

I have this feeling that during the course of the Tigers win in Game five, that the tides of momentum switched to our favor.

A natural cycle in the same inning – the sixth inning – the score then tied 2-2. The single by Raburn. The Double by Cabrera. The triple by Martinez. And the home run by Delmon Young.

Young raked two dingers for the night despite suffering an injury to his right oblique.

Cabrera’s shot hit third base on the second bounce to skip ever so prettily over Texas three bagger Adrian Beltre and gingerly rolling around in the left field corner. Beltre had shown up Cabrera in Game four by moonwalking his way backwards to third base for force on Cabrera as Miguel stood there stunned watching the idiocy.

And Martinez’s triple down the right field line was just as beautiful seeing the Texan right fielder Nelson Cruz – who had been knighted “Tiger Killer” in the ALCS so far - dive only to miss the ball which disappeared in the right field corner.

Each hit in the cycle was as meaningful as it was memorable.

Meaningful as life filled what was looking to be a dead dugout.

Meanwhile Texas looked … surprised … and worried.

So Tigers winning game six – Max Scherzer starting for the Tigers – winning is not unreasonable. Certainly it’s feasible.

It’s do or die and the rest of the baseball world has counted the Tigers out. So there is no pressure on the Tigers. Instead the pressure is now on Texas, who needs that one final win to seal this deal. The last win can be the hardest. And Texas knows that if they let this series get to a game seven – all bets are off.

Fister would then be on the mound for Detroit.

Texas would then press. Press at the plate. Press on the mound. Press in the field.

And the mere fact that Texas feels that pressure will indeed relax the Tigers.

Anything can still happen. This series is far from over. This series is not a done deal. Do not stick a fork in the Tigers, they aren’t done yet.

As I watched that third base shot hit by Miguel Cabrera bounce over the head of Beltre and into the left field corner, I felt reassured – like a signal that the storm beating down on the Tigers in this ALCS was now over.

I heard a voice in my head say “It will be alright”.

And you know what? I believe it.

We’ll Get ‘Em Next Year – But This Year’s Still Fun

Brenan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera celebrate

Here we sit on September 7, and the Tigers are 13 games back of the Minnesota Twins for the lead of the AL Central.

9.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox for second place in the division.

10.5 games ahead of Kansas City and 11 games ahead of Cleveland.

There are 24 games left to play in the 2010 regular season.

The season is pretty much done for the Detroiters of 2010. But all the games still have to be played.

This is not the position I predicted the Tigers to be in at this point of time.

They were supposed to be in contention. That was my 2010 prediction. And if a couple of things would have happened differently – they could have been.

I did predict Verlander and Cabrera would have great seasons. They have.

And I did predict a great year by Austin Jackson – but cautioned against hoping for Rookie of the year acclaims – but he seems to be on pace to achieve the award.

And once Max Scherzer returned from the Triple A Mudhens after getting some pitching instruction – returned as a starting pitcher that has almost rivaled Verlander for the treasured title of Ace.

I didn't predict Scherzer's turnaround.

In fact, I predicted Guillen and Laird would be gone – traded away to acquire some strengths. But they weren't. Guillen was on the DL more often than not – and aside from a great arm to throw out stealers at second – Laird has done little to increase his perceived value to other teams.

And rookie second baseman Scott Sizemore was just not up to the task of playing in the bigs with his busted ankle still healing. He headed back down to the minors in June but will be called back up for September play.

Guillen stepped up to play a pretty darn good second base … until he was injured and on the DL a month later … again. He will be out the remainder of 2010 – and unlikely to return in 2011.

Losing Maglio Ordonez for the season – and most likely the end of his career as a Detroiter – was indeed a difficult pill to swallow as Maglio was playing up to his potential in the early days of 2010.

Inge has held his third bag defensively well – recuperating knees and a newly healing injured wrist that left sidelined for several weeks.

And I had no idea Brenan Boesch existed – let alone explode onto the scene as he did in the first half of the season with no signs of being found out by the opposition. But the return to play after the All Star break saw Boesch's streak end with a screeching halt of a NASCAR driver slamming into a wall.

And the Tigers hit that wall with him – losing first to the Indians in Cleveland – 4 in a row.

And the slide continued for three series until 10 days later the Tigers were 8 games back.

And where I thought Mr. Illitch's patience would be exhausted by another weak second half performance – the Tigers stayed put with Jim Leyland – and Dave Dombrowski. In a public statement made in the opening days of August – it was announced that Mr. Illitch was committed to Leyland and Dombrowski through 2011.

So I blew that call too.

There are some nice things to say about the Tiger Rookies this year. You know about Jackson. But rookie Will Rhymes has stepped up to play a pretty decent second. Seemingly a guy who makes things happen – much like a Roberto Alomar … but not quite the skill or instinct of the great second baseman now sadly only renowned for spitting in an umpire's face.

At this point Rhymes is rivaling Inge for fan favorite … and sports talk radio hosts most least favorite player to talk about.

I like Rhymes a lot. He is fun to watch – and comes through for you more often than not.

The Tigers have lost more than their share of one run games. 23 to be exact so far. They have won 15.

The question is "why did the Tigers of 2010 drop after the All Star Break?"

They are losing the close games - usually with men on base. 12^th worst in the American League. Worst in the Central Division.

This has been the main point of failure for the Tigers. The inability to win those close games.

Closer Jose (Papa Grande) Valverde was outstanding in the first half, blowing only one save opportunity before the All Star break. But after the All Star break – Valverde faltered and Coke, Perry, Schlereth, and Weinhardt all took turns blowing a total of 12 save situations.

They just couldn't finish.

The inability to close out save situations accounts for a good majority of games lost by one or more runs.

And in those closing at bats in those 1 run losses – more often than not a runner was left on base.

But that being said – these tigers have come back to win in 33 games, with their largest comeback made up a deficit of 6 runs.

But when behind in the ninth inning have only came back 5 times to win.

Those are the numbers. The fact is that this year, more than recent memory, fan confidence in the Tiger's pulling out a victory is higher than before. Even higher than in 2006.

Rhymes, Raburn, and Jackson

And the Tigers are still fun to watch – exciting – with faces like Jackson, Boesch and Rhymes stepping up from the minors – and Austin Jackson chasing down everything in center field.

The Tigers are fun again.

That's the bottom line. Fans are in love with this new young face of Jackson, Boesch, Casper Wells, Will Rhymes. They are hoping these are the faces of the future. But the pundits will tell you that it is unlikely fans will ever see any of these faces – except Austin Jackson. It's agreed now that he is an upgrade from Curtis Granderson.

Who would have thunk it?

So now – as we watch the remaining 23 games of the season (our boys of the old English D are beating the White Sox 6 – 1 as I write this … wait … Inge just hit a three run dinger to make it 9 -1 in the bottom of the eighth) – we can at least enjoy this new found fun baseball to watch.

Even if it doesn't really mean anything to this post season.

We'll get 'em next year.

At The Forty Game Mark

Sizemore and Ordonez

The first quarter of the season – thereabouts – has been played.

A good time to take stock of this 2010 Tigers team.

Not bad timing, as Detroit just swept a two game series at Oakland. And they knocked Dallas Braden – perfect game pitcher just ten games earlier – out in the fifth.

After forty one games played – the Tigers sit pretty with a 24 – 17 record. And as I write this they sit tied for first place in the American League Central with those rotten Minnesota Twins – after the Twins have just now lost to Boston .

So how are the Tigers doing?

So far, so good.

Not bad.

Better than expected.

This team has been exciting to watch. They have come back from five or more run deficits to win five times so far.

The rookies have really contributed so far.

Austin Jackson has all but made Tiger fans forget about losing Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. Batting .331 and showing speed and agility in center field – with a strong gun that has cut down several runners at the plate.

Equally impressive, in only half the time, has been Toledo call up Brennan Boesch. Called up at the end of April to fill the vacancy left behind by Carlos Guillen's appointment to the designated hitters list. Boesch entered The Show and announced his presence with a streak of home runs, triples and doubles, hit hard and placed in the gaps. He currently sits with an average of .372 after 21 games.

As well, Miguel Cabrera has been stellar so far. Miggy is the leader on this edition of the Tigers. And it couldn't have happened to a guy who needed to redeem himself more.

As the pundits frequently remind us – water always finds its level,

But it sure has been fun to watch so far.

Here is your Tigers roster at this snapshot of time:

As of May 20, 2010

Pos		Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA
C	Gerald Laird	30	28	101	89	6	14	1	5	10	21	0.157
1B	Miguel Cabrera	27	40	176	152	27	51	8	36	23	23	0.336
2B	Scott Sizemore	25	30	115	97	12	20	1	8	13	26	0.206
SS	Adam Everett	33	24	69	64	4	12	0	2	2	13	0.188
3B	Brandon Inge	33	39	160	143	8	32	4	21	13	34	0.224
LF	Johnny Damon*	36	40	169	141	29	40	3	17	26	26	0.284
CF	Austin Jackson	23	39	180	166	29	55	1	11	14	47	0.331
RF	Magglio Ordonez	36	38	169	145	27	45	5	24	23	17	0.31
DH	Carlos Guillen#	34	16	69	61	8	19	1	8	8	8	0.311
	Boys in The Dugout
Pos		Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA
SS	Ramon Santiago#	30	30	95	80	12	20	1	6	13	13	0.25
UT	Brennan Boesch*	25	21	81	78	8	29	3	19	2	12	0.372
C	Alex Avila*	23	21	66	57	5	8	2	2	8	18	0.14
UT	Ryan Raburn	29	17	54	47	4	10	0	5	4	18	0.213
UT	Don Kelly*	30	30	40	38	4	9	1	3	1	8	0.237
OF	Casper Wells	25	3	9	9	0	2	0	2	0	2	0.222
2B	Danny Worth	24	2	7	6	0	4	0	2	0	0	0.667
	Team Totals	29.8	40	1560	1373	183	370	31	171	160	286	0.269
	Rank in 14 AL teams				8	7	5	11		4	6	5

Source: Baseball-Reference.com

As you look at these numbers, you have to ask yourself the question – how does a team do so well, when only half their offense is hitting respectably?

Good question.

I would like to tell you that it's because our starting pitching has been stellar. But that has not exactly been the case. Justin Verlander is the only starting pitcher with a winning average at 5-2.

The rest of the rotation has not been winning. There have been good outings by Porcello, Bonderman, and Willis – but the offense could not recover from early inning lapses.

Scherzer was sent to Toledo to figure out what's wrong. Let's hope he finds the answer and returns shortly.

Jeremy Bonderman has been a welcome surprise with his results. Although his record is 1 – 2, the fact is he has exceeded my expectations. He is a quality starter again. He just hasn't been able to get the wins.

Dontrelle Willis was replaced for two consecutive starts by Minor and Bonine from the bullpen to start. Both resulting in wins. He was doing pretty well too. I expect Willis to be moved somewhere shortly.

It has been the Tigers bullpen that has made the difference so far. Minor, Bonine, Zumaya, Perry, and Ni. And Valverdi dancing on the pitcher's mound when his efforts result in a save.

Most noticeably, Joel Zumaya has been a real stopper. New pitches to augment his 100 mph plus fastball have allowed Joel to rise again to a national recognition level.

Defensively, the Tigers have been over achieving and underachieving at the same time. Catchers Laird and Avilla have been horrible at the plate, and only mediocre behind the plate. They are not holding runners as effectively as in the past.

The Tigers lead the American League in errors with 34, resulting in Ryan Raburn returning to Toledo. As well, second baseman Scott Sizemore – the reason why Placido Polanco was traded to Philadelphia – was sent back down to Toledo as well.

Sizemore was just not ready yet for the major leagues. Ankle Injury limiting his range and effectiveness at second, and poor offensive results, the outlook is not to expect Sizemore back any time soon.

This leaves the Tigers in an odd spot.

Brennan Boesch has been so significant in his debut, the Tigers will not easily be moved to return Guillen to left field to replace Boesch. So the plan at this point in time is to put Carlos at second base when he returns from the DL.

But in the meantime the spot had to be filled. Casper Wells was called up from Toledo in the mean time to fill the gap. And has also been … impressive.

Great problems to have, but a problem none the less. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

So to recap, the rookies Jackson and Boesch, as well as future hall of famer Miguel Cabrera have been boosting this teams otherwise struggling offense with big numbers. The starting pitchers have been struggling – but when the bullpen comes into the game, they shut the opposition down.

That is the Tigers of 2010.

So what happens next?

Guillen comes back to play second. And I bet he does a pretty solid job – because he is an infielder who wants to play infield again. And his bat will help buoy the Tigers to stay in the race – if not hold the lead – for first.

And a trade will be made. Maybe two. A pitcher. And an infielder or a catcher. The key will be if the trade is a good one, or a bad one.

But as for getting the Tigers into a tie for first place after forty one played … credit Jim Leyland. He has danced his lineup around – as well as masterfully managing his bullpen to yank wins out of losses. Some moves didn't work, but most did.

So after forty games, how are the Tigers doing?

So far so good.

And so far, it is very exciting to be a Tigers fan in 2010.