OT: Tigers "hottest team in the game" Appreciation Thread

Submitted by Dylan on

What is old is new again! JD Martinez to deep center on Sale on his first pitch back? Are you Serious!?  We are rolling and THE LAND is sinking fast!  This is what we have come to expect!   Sale should go cut some more jerseys and Cleveland should go buy some basketball tickets because this season has changed dramatically!

Dylan

August 3rd, 2016 at 9:46 PM ^

I didn't know my fellow M GO Brother would risk a damn jinx by publishing before the END OF THE DAMN GAME. sorry for the repeat...but, dude....you gotta wait!!!!!!

uncle leo

August 3rd, 2016 at 9:47 PM ^

He's kept everyone calm, kept the clubhouse in order.

Having JD pinch hit for McCann was great timing for it and it worked out perfectly. I think he's coming into his own a bit as a manager.

JBE

August 3rd, 2016 at 10:11 PM ^

Ausmus definitely needs some credit. The bullpen and rotation are revamped, and now doing well. He has overcome the implosion of Anibal and Lowe. Avila also needs credit. Standing pat at the deadline indicated to the team that he believes they can win with this roster. Symbolic, but a good move.

lilpenny1316

August 3rd, 2016 at 11:57 PM ^

He should've PH for Aviles in the 4th inning when there were men on 2nd and 3rd and 1 out. By the 8th inning, that was a move most managers would make.  The Tigers are where they are because Cleveland has come back to Earth and Cabrera is leading a much improved and healthy lineup.  Now that Zimmerman is back and hopefully 100%, I don't see why they can't win the division.  Especially if Joe Jimenez can come up and be a better addition to our bullpen than Andrew Miller is for Cleveland's.

But I'm not ready to buy the Ausmus hype.  I'm not sure I've seen him make a move that shows growth.  I think Buck Showalter is drooling for a chance to outclass him again in the playoffs.

lilpenny1316

August 4th, 2016 at 10:04 AM ^

In fact, they did not.  If JD does not come through in the 8th inning, there's a good chance people would be complaining about not cashing in on that opportunity in the 4th inning.  Aviles was playing JD's position so there would be no need to further shuffle the lineup.  You're essentially replacing a .210 hitter for a .290 hitter with 12 HRs with two guys in scoring position.

You can't manage a game in August like it's April.  Each win counts in the playoff race.

Like I said, I have not seen evidence of Ausmus' improved managerial skills, especially late in games.

lilpenny1316

August 4th, 2016 at 10:19 AM ^

I believe in playing your best lineup against Cy Young contenders.  Even if JD hits a sac fly in the 4th inning, you still end up with two runs and that's with 1-2 at bats to come.

In terms of bench flexibility, I like pinch hitting for Aviles because he was playing JD's position (RF).    And you still have Romine on the bench.

drjaws

August 3rd, 2016 at 9:53 PM ^

I said back in May the Tigers wouldn't win the wild card let alone the division.

I am really happy they are proving me wrong. Cleveland sucking massively has helped along with this nice run of wins.



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Michigan_Mike

August 3rd, 2016 at 10:08 PM ^

It's baseball, with the length of the season all you need to do is be within striking distance come September. The Tigers are on a hot streak right now that is prevening Cleveland from pulling away with the division and putting them firmly into the wild card race. Short of just pulling away and winning 100+ games, that's all you can expect during the regular season.

MGoBender

August 3rd, 2016 at 10:57 PM ^

"Need" is a bit of a stretch.  I fully expect the Tigers to come out ahead in the remaining games against Clevelend. If anything, the law of averages is on their side. Ignoring that, I think the Tigers are better than their record indicated at the break and the Indians weren't as good as their record indicated.

Now, the Tribe is good, don't get me wrong.  But so are the Tigers.  This will go down to the wire and I wouldn't expect either team to collapse.

a 3-5 lead that late for either team would be extremely difficult to overcome. But the Tigers don't need that lead to win it.

kalamazoo

August 4th, 2016 at 12:37 AM ^

You know, my brother talks about the Law of Averages all the time, and it always bugged me. I had to look it up just now and it seems what most people call the Law of Averages doesn't really exist, but the phrase is often used interchangably with the Law of Large Numbers, which does exist.

Regardless, Go Tigers. Exciting to check the scoreboard nightly these days.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

August 4th, 2016 at 6:46 AM ^

September sets up nicely.  It's mostly games against Cleveland and bad teams.  The Indians exclusively play KC, CWS, and the Tigers.  Simply regressing to the mean in the series against Cleveland should put the Tigers in great shape for the division by the end of the month.

uncle leo

August 3rd, 2016 at 11:14 PM ^

The last three weeks basically decided if the Tigers were going to be in this race or not. The odds were that Cleveland would keep playing somewhat decent baseball, and the Tigers would be wildly inconsistent.

What happened was Cleveland has begun to level, and the Tigers went on a tear. Now, this will be a race to the finish. Instead of being 9 or 10 back and being all but done, they are 2. It's a season to appreciate from here on out.

newBlue29

August 3rd, 2016 at 10:34 PM ^

missing the playoffs two years in a row with as much talent as they have. Now they are finally showing their true potential. Ever since the players started putting on "goggles" theres been a different energy. Everything is coming together now.

Stringer Bell

August 3rd, 2016 at 10:46 PM ^

That was awesome.  Fulmer pitched great and the Tigers beat a hell of a pitcher in Sale.  JD is back, Zimmermann coming back tomorrow, hopefully Norris not long after that.  The roster is shaping up nicely and the team is putting themselves in a position to make a run to the postseason.

uminks

August 3rd, 2016 at 11:01 PM ^

I think they could challenge for division title. I hope there are no injuries in the starting rotation. If not division champs may be they can sneak into wildcard. But at least the tigers are making it more interesting.

Sommy

August 3rd, 2016 at 11:54 PM ^

Let's go easy. They've looked moribund since spring. If they can keep the central within three games through September I'll be excited.



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Sommy

August 4th, 2016 at 8:23 AM ^

Like I said, lets pump the brakes a bit. If they're in it in September, it will be something to get excited about. For now, they're a team that beats up on bad teams and then turns around and inexplicably gets swept by bad teams. Plus, they can't beat Cleveland.



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August 4th, 2016 at 5:43 AM ^

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gwkrlghl

August 4th, 2016 at 5:51 AM ^

the boards opinion toward the Tigers is actually more confusing that the boards opinion of Beilein. Are the Tigers an awful team who should fire everyone or are they a well managed team who everyone loves? Because I swear I see about 5 topics a season from both viewpoints

maize-blue

August 4th, 2016 at 8:41 AM ^

The biggest thing I see is that they are playing with emotion and actually look like they are enjoying themselves.