What is Up With the Tigers?

Submitted by xtramelanin on

Mates,

Tigers:  2 runs on 8 hits

Angels:  7 runs on 6 hits....5 of them Home Runs. 

Since when do we put batting practice pitchers into actual big league games?   Are the tigers going to figure it out this year, or are they going to agonizingly melt away after their 9-1 start?  

Jack Hammer

May 31st, 2015 at 5:15 AM ^

perhaps it was the time he was pulled over hammered in FLA and literally cried to the police or the other time he got hammered with the white Sox the night before a huge game and dombrowski bailed him out of jail and he was still legally drunk in his first AB. yep. that's a leader.....

DetroitBlue

May 31st, 2015 at 1:25 PM ^

Was this a reply to me? If so, I'm definitely not trashing him. There are problems with alcoholism in my family, and I certainly didn't call him an alcoholic as an insult; it's a disease that can get the best of people and I don't judge anyone based on their afflictions. We're lucky we get to see Miggy day in and day out. He's an all-time great hitter




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BigBlue02

May 31st, 2015 at 4:37 AM ^

There are some really irrational posts in this thread considering the Tigers have won the AL Central 4 years in a row and are 3 games back with a hundred some games left to play and one of our best starting pitchers has been on the IR. This is also the first time I've seen anyone say it was a bad idea to extend Miggy's contract 2 years in advance and save millions of dollars. There is a whole lotta stupid in this thread. Also, I continue to be baffled by people saying dombrowski has ignored the bullpen. Have you actually been following the Tigers lately? With Joba and Soria?

stormhit

May 31st, 2015 at 10:19 AM ^

Pretty much every national baseball-focused outlet has criticized the Cabrera deal. Not that they really ended up being correct given salary inflation and the fact that he's still performing. Maybe he would have been a tiny bit cheaper and gotten one less year if they waited, but that's about it.

xtramelanin

May 31st, 2015 at 7:03 AM ^

is how we hit with runners in scoring position and how many we left on base.   last night we were only 3 for 14 with runners in position.  that is pathetic.   and as always we leave more guys on base than our opponent in virtually every loss.  i would love to see someone track those two stats and see how we stack up against the league.

 

 

bronxblue

May 31st, 2015 at 7:07 AM ^

It's not a strong rotation, and so when they get in these little ruts there isn't a guy who can pull them out like in years past with Verlander and Mad Max.  You'll sometimes lose games like this, but it's also a club that is going to be very streaky; when the hitting is on they'll just crush teams, but when the pitchers can't keep the ball down and Ausmus is checking his Tinder profile instead of the game, guys can get shelled.  It's a long season, but this feels like the beginning of a slow decline for this squad. 

Rabbit21

May 31st, 2015 at 10:51 AM ^

I think the issue is that it's hard to hang your hat on any of the under 26 guys as a building block. The V-Mart, Miggy, and Verlander deals are going to be millstones soon if they area already. There is just a lot that has to be done and hopefully they can build up another good core and then supplement. I think the Tigers have shown they can be a power and won't be down for long, but we're probably in for a couple of rough years.

ChopBlock

May 31st, 2015 at 9:15 AM ^

to me, these Tigers look a lot like the Indians (my team) circa 2002. Great run of succesz, but now hamstrung with the contracts of aging superstars and unable to re-sign Scherzer/Thome. At some point Illich needs to recognize the systemic weaknesses in his club's future and make the decision to trade for top prospects. The Bartolo Colon trade netted Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, and Cliff Lee

stormhit

May 31st, 2015 at 10:13 AM ^

They did offer an 160 million extension to Scherzer, that doesn't really scream unable as much as they ultimately decided not to. In a world in which an unremarkable and average pitcher like Rick Porcello gets an 80 million dollar deal, the Tigers contract situation isn't that bad.

Leonhall

May 31st, 2015 at 9:52 AM ^

Dombrowski needs to somehow trade Price at the deadline, I'm not sure what you'll get for him or how much, but he can't make the same mistake he did with Scherzer and get nothing.




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cali4444

May 31st, 2015 at 10:13 AM ^

If this team loses its fight, it might be time to rebuild.  Hey, it could be a LOT worse folks.  For a long stretch of years (early 90's through mid 00's) the Tigers were often completely out of it by Memorial Day.  I remember dreaming of a season where we could just play meaningful games in August.  If we do rebuild, at least we have some pieces to do it.  Wait for Miggy to get hot, try to get two or three young studs for him. And I'm a big Miggy fan too.  Of course this all assumes Mr. I is willing to look long term instead of short term.

Lou MacAdoo

May 31st, 2015 at 10:15 AM ^

They're trying to win a World Series!! You don't trade away an ace for prospects when you're this close to winning it all. Eh were in the thick of it but I think we should trade away one of our best players for some dudes who may or may not make the club in a couple years!!




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93Grad

May 31st, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^

Good question. Injuries are a part of it of course. But Sanchez has been a real head scratcher. And they can't score runs despite a great OBP. I'm hoping that the bats will beat up soon and JV will return to help the rotation. Until those things happen they are basically a .500 team.




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Avon Barksdale

May 31st, 2015 at 10:35 AM ^

Coming into the season, I really thought Detroit was probably a 2nd or 3rd place team. Then they started 9-1 and I figured it was reload instead of rebuild.



Now I'm beginning to think they are what I thought coming in -- probably a .500 team.

Rodriguesqe

May 31st, 2015 at 10:45 AM ^

So much nonsense in this thread (mgochippewa).

Tigers are floundering, but not time to give up on the season. Verlander's rehab start is today. Rondon is rehabbing too, though not sure he's doing too well. Still, it'd be nice to work him into the #3 bullpen in the AL. Yep, 3. And some throw in in the Cespedes trade has been the key to it. I'm wondering if they have considered turning him into a starter. He's looked too good to stay in the long relief role.

Beyond injuries, it might be time to shake up the lineup. Keeping under performing players in prime spots in the batting order kills the offense. 

 

 

BlueinLansing

May 31st, 2015 at 11:06 AM ^

one of you remember where the Tigers were at this point in 2011 or  2012?

 

2011, 5 games back of the Cleveland Indians

2012, playing .471 baseball, 5 games back of the Chicago White Sox

 

 

Right now the Tigers have the 4th best record in the AL with the Royals, Twins and Astros ahead of them.  Out of those 3, maybe the Royals are better, maybe.

umchicago

May 31st, 2015 at 11:53 AM ^

Verlander, Rondon and basically VMart have been out all year thus far.  Verlander may not be the guy he was 3 years ago, but if healthy, he deepens the rotation.  A healthy Rondon deepens the bullpen.  VMart though is the biggest key.  His return gives the Tigers the best offense in baseball.  It's possible that he may have to give up batting right handed this year, given the stress it adds to his balky left knee.  

uminks

May 31st, 2015 at 11:55 AM ^

If the tigers start playing better! KC IMO is a far superior team both in pitching and hitting. KC has built the best team in baseball. A few years ago KC was perennial cellar dwellers.

Rodriguesqe

May 31st, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^

With only just over  2/3 of the season left and the Tigers currently in a wild card spot. Think theres a chance Michigan can land Harbaugh?

ps. sorry for the snark, but Tiger fans seem to be completely detached from reality.  

Kenny Loggins

May 31st, 2015 at 12:35 PM ^

baseball is a marathon. teams can't win a division in the first half, but they can certainly lose one. tigers will be ok, as long as they're within 5 games heading into august they'll have their chance.

LV Sports Bettor

May 31st, 2015 at 3:29 PM ^

They've become New York Yankees fans. I can remember when the Tigers knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs and everyone at time in Michigan was saying how awful and spoiled Yankees fans were acting. I would have never thought in a million years that's what Tigers fans would turn out to be but there's no doubt in my mind that has happened.



The Tigers have been one of the best teams in baseball the last 5-10 years. Sign me up for five year stretches like this every single time. The only comeback people have is "yeah but the Tigers haven't won a World Series". Yep you're right they haven't and the odds are stacked against them winning it every year because the MLB playoffs are a total crap shoot and it's now how a team should be judged. The key is for a team to get to the post-season which the Tigers have done a lot the last few years and then hope you catch the breaks from there.



All of the Dombrowski complaining is beyond mind boggling to me. If he was fired tomorrow he'd be running another MLB  organzation by next season no doubt. He doesn't get nearly enough credit for how he's totally re-shaped things on the fly the last two years and in doing so they have sustained the same success rate so far which isn't an easy thing to do.



Go up and down their roster and the players still playing from just two seasons ago are Avila, Miggy and Victor. As for pitching wise it's just basically Sanchez from the rotation. Here's the top 12 guys in PA in 2013 (Fielder, Victor, Miggy, Hunter, Jackson, Dirks, Peralta, Avila, Kelly, Bryan Pena, Tuiasosopo, Santiago) Here are the top 11 guys in innings pitched wise in 2013 (Scherzer, JV, Sanchez, Fister, Porcelo, Smyly, Benoit, Alburquerque, Coke, Downs, Alvarez). So it's just two pitchers when you count Alburquerque.



That's a pretty big overahaul in just two years. The Tigers have went from a slow team with a god awful defense to much more of a speed team and who are a fairly strong defensive team these days. I'm sure DD would have loved to have kept some guys that they had to let go but all MLB teams obviously have to work within their budget.



The Tigers won at a .559 rate over the course of the 2012 and 2013 seasons combined and guess what their win rate has been in 2014 and 2015 combined........it's at .554. This is what is so frustrating to me with all the negativity. It's like some of the fan base has forgotten what goes into a long MLB season. This is what .555-.560 baseball looks like. You go on red hot stretches and you also play very ugly at times too and at the end of the day a .555 win percentage over a full 162 game season makes you a 90 win team which is about where they've been for a long time now.



Take a look at the entire American League and tell me who you can say is 90 win material this year? Don't say the Minnesota Twins either as they're playing well and it's sorta cool to see but that's not a good team. The Astros? great start, easy division, a bunch of close wins and some absurd home run luck this year on FB/HR rate. When the HR's level off we will see just how good this .235 hitting Astros offense really is. So who does that leave? The Royals? Sure I agree the Royals appear to be legit but they have some holes also.



Going into this season no team in baseball has won more games since 2011 than the Detroit Tigers. Summertime and the early part of the fall has been a very enjoyable time to be a Tigers fan. The past five year regular season run has been about as good as it gets for a MLB franchise that's why it bothers when people always complain about them. 



Okay sorry I'm done venting, LOL.









 

Rodriguesqe

May 31st, 2015 at 4:44 PM ^

Well done. DD and Beiliein get the same respect from me. You won't hear me utter one complaint about either. When I hear complaints about JB's recruiting I always think about how, when I was in school, I could stretch out accross multiple seats in multiple rows in the student section and not bother anyone. And in the last years of Tiger Stadium, kids got in for a dollar for the bleachers and you MIGHT have to share it with one other group.

Theres a certain amount of luck in winning championships. If that is your only criteria for success your going to almost always be unhappy.

Rodriguesqe

May 31st, 2015 at 4:44 PM ^

Well done. DD and Beiliein get the same respect from me. You won't hear me utter one complaint about either. When I hear complaints about JB's recruiting I always think about how, when I was in school, I could stretch out accross multiple seats in multiple rows in the student section and not bother anyone. And in the last years of Tiger Stadium, kids got in for a dollar for the bleachers and you MIGHT have to share it with one other group.

Theres a certain amount of luck in winning championships. If that is your only criteria for success your going to almost always be unhappy.

allintime23

May 31st, 2015 at 7:29 PM ^

They have a manger that plays for the long run while falling apart on the way there. I was hoping he would be let go of last week, I know it won't happen but I wish it would.




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JOHNNAVARREISMYHERO

May 31st, 2015 at 11:53 PM ^

Not winning (or showing up to either World Series in 2006 or 2012) was sickening.

Also, losing in 2013 as the better team against Boston was absolutely ridiculous.