OT - Smyly wins fifth spot
It was announced this morning that LHP Drew Smyly won the fifth spot in the Tigers rotation. He had to beat out through the spring top prospect Jacob Turner, as well as fellow left handers Andy Oliver, Casey Crosby and Duane Below. He was considered the dark horse to get the job because last year was his first full year of Pro ball.
His combined numbers from A+ and AA minor leagues last year:
11-6 2.07 era, 126 IP, 36 BB, 130 K's, 1.103 WHIP.
Pretty impressive numbers, but take with a grain of salt because it was still lower minor leagues he was pitching in. Lets hope he is ready for the Bigs and the organization isn't rushing him like they have done to some other pitchers in recent history.
He will make a start in Triple-A Toledo for the Mudhens on the 7th and then be called up to face the Tampa Bay Rays on the 12th. It was also announced that Luis Marte won the final spot in the bullpen. Opening Day is this Thursday the Tigers take on the Redsox at Comerica. For those of you who are non-baseball fans, just look at it like this, the next "opening day" will be the football season and then everyone can be happy again.
Very true, I completely forgot about Crosby. I'll edit.
I thought he had a good spring. Surprised he got the boot to Toledo.
Might have something to do with the number of options left.
Probably be a good season to move some of these minor league arms. Crosby and Oliver need fresh starts.
Looks like we could be headed towards another season of spot starters from the 5th spot...should be good enough to get the boys to the playoffs. I haven't been keeping up that much this spring, but how is A jackson looking at the plate? Any chance his OPB comes close to a respectable number?
He made an adjustment to his swing, but he was still tied with Clete Thomas for most strikeouts with 18.
verlander on friday the 13th in chicago,,hmmm
There is no reason to keep Inge anymore. Let him make the announcement and script it nicely, but I think it is time to move on.
Pay him to do nothing on the roster, or pay him to do nothing off the roster. If he sold tickets, it would be a different story.
He came in 100% healthy and stronger this spring. Leyland did say that Inge was hitting the ball well, and I did see a couple days ago that he had only 8 k's in 40+ AB, which is a very nice turnaround. I will always be an Inge fan, and I hope he can get it turned around, whether it's here, in AAA, or on another team.
He is batting like .180 in Spring Training....
And that is an improvement for him.
The excitement of professional baseball!!!
Smyly looks in for the pitch.....
Doesnt like the call. Shakes off the catcher....once...twice.
Catcher comes out to the mound for a brief discussion and then returns behind the plate.
Smyly stares in and gets the call
Smyly comes to the stretch
Batter steps out and tighens his batting gloves
Time
Batter steps back in.....digs in.....takes one, two, three practice swings.
Batter adjusts helmet
Smyly leans back in and gets the call
Here's the windup....annnnnnnnd the pitch!
Ball one
Repeat for the next four four to five hours.
look a person who isn't a fan of baseball is making a comment in a thread clearly about baseball. Do us a favor and don't do this. You're not funny.
I can understand why some people don't find baseball entertaining or as exciting as other sports because it doesn't have that "wow" factor like the other sports, For me the best baseball games are the ones where its a pitchers duel, where both teams are struggling to even get on base and all it takes is one bad pitch or one bad play by the fielder to decide the game. Everybody loves the homeruns, and walk-offs and would rather see a game where both teams are just mashing it out of the park. But only the true fans of the game get excited when they see all nine guys on the field working together to make sure that their team wins. If you don't like baseball thats fine, but if that is what you think the game is really about than you clearly don't understand it.
You aren't one of those people who throws a shit fit when people trash the NBA are you?
I love how all the baseball zealots get their collective panties in a bunch whenever anybody has the termerity to be critical of their beloved sport. Did you know in 1950 the top three sports in America based on attendance and revenue were as follows:
1. Baseball
2. Boxing
3. Horse racing
I am pretty sure that if i DARED to be critical of either horse racing or boxing nobody on the board would even bother to respond but criticize baseball and people lose it. Facts are facts - baseball, by any measure, is at best fourth in American interest now and dropping behind football, basketball and NASCAR. Sorry to burst your bubble here poster formally known as Dark Blue but baseball is a dying sport whose death has been greatly accelerated by the league's unwillingness to confront steriods when it was painfully obvious to everyone else they were being abused coupled with the insanely slow pace of the game.
You have all those facts, yet you are still a dick about it. Good work.
Two things:
1. If OMG's question was directed to me the answer is hell no.
2. How exactly am i being a dick by pointing out unpleasant (or at least unpleasant to the baseball zealots) facts?
I was trying to poke fun at what I (and apparently most of America) believe to be the core problem in baseball. The snail's pace of the game. Baseball's ratings have been in decline severely over the past five decades and the pace of the decline has accelerated. This isn't just my opinion...it's fact....but I apologize if i ruffled feathers in pointing it out.
Read this if you want somebody else's opinion as to why they think this is occuring
http://sels.blogs.wm.edu/2011/10/24/mlbs-television-ratings-or-is-baseballs-audience-too-old/
So if I were to go into one of the softball threads, or a tennis thread and say, "Oh my god who the hell cares? Ratings for these sports are so low, and they're dying sports" that people wouldn't call me a dick?
You're just trolling
Did your Avatar cut you off? You seem awfully pissy
Now that's funny.
No - just expressing an apparently a wildly unpopular opinion. I think I'll go get my glove and ball now and have a catch.
Because I haven't paid close enough attention in spring training - what's the deal with Jacob Turner? He had so much hype, that I thought he'd for sure be the last guy in our rotation this year. Is he close to being a big league starter? He looked solid in a few starts last year, IIRC.
Turner was having a meh spring, then they shut him down about three weeks ago with shoulder tendinitis. Then, about a week ago, Leyland said he's back to 100%. He'll start the season in Toledo, and if he stays healthy and does well, I'd imagine he'll get called up at some point. Can't be too careful with tendinitis though, that has a tendency to stick around for a while.