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?  

Clarence Boddicker

May 31st, 2015 at 3:02 PM ^

Myself and a fellow UM grad-student buddy of mine were at Comerica Park for the final game of the 2012 series. We commuted from Ann Arbor for the rain out game then came back the next day, only to watch the Tigers clinch. Fun times: A couple of already-drunk Tiger fans showed up at their seats about 7-8 rows in front of us in the 3rd inning, started popping the nips of booze they'd smuggled in and began yelling "Gay-rod" again and again and again at a dude in an A-Rod jersey seated in their row. They did it so much that Tiger fans around my friend and I apologized, even though the drunks weren't yelling at us (I was wearing both a Yankee hoodie and '47 cap). That was cool. A-Rod jersey was pretty gracious to the drunks, and I found the Tiger fans to be a good lot, all-in-all.

yossarians tree

May 31st, 2015 at 11:07 AM ^

The engine room of this lineup is the Victor-Miggy dynamic, and it is operating at about 40% efficiency right now. Obviously, Victor is not playing at all, and without him teams do not have to throw anything to Miguel Cabrera remotely hittable. This leads to the world's best hitter trying to create miracles with pitches 8 inches out of the strike zone, which leads to his frustration and ultimately the entire lineup tightens up. When Victor is healthy he protects Miggy and allows him to be Miggy, who is not only a great hitter but is also a tremendous leader when he is enjoying the game and making everyone around him, including the fans, umpires, and broadcasters, loose. Pray for Victor's health and hope Miggy stays healthy until Victor gets back and this team still has the potential to win.

MGoLesher

May 30th, 2015 at 11:26 PM ^

Fun stat: In this recent era of success (2006-), the Tigers have had home field advantage in a playoff series a total of 0 times...

It frustrates me so much when we lollygag through the regular season. Also, why is it that when they lose, they REALLY lose and get blown out.




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JonnyHintz

May 31st, 2015 at 10:00 AM ^

The only thing about home field advantage in the WS is that it is based on which league wins the all-star game, not on any individual team. The Tigers did have home field in the 2012 ALDS however.

lilpenny1316

May 31st, 2015 at 1:00 PM ^

MLB changed up the format that year so it was a 2-3 format, not 2-2-1.  Team with the worse record hosted the first two games, and the team with the better record hosted the last three.  That's the same format used when the LCS was a 5-game format from 1969-1985.  

MGoLesher

May 31st, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^

I don't take that into account becuase of the fact that home field advantage has nothing to do with your regular season record (which is earned), it just depends on which league wins the ASG. 

MGoLesher

May 31st, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^

2012 ALDS against Oakland they did not have home field advantage. It was actually a blunder by the MLB to format the first round that year with the 2-3 format, with the A's, the team with home field advantage, having to start the first two games on the row, allowing the Tigers to go up 2-0 before they even got a home game. 

lilpenny1316

May 31st, 2015 at 1:06 PM ^

It's how MLB ran the LCS format when it was a 5-game series, so it wasn't unprededented.  It was done to eliminate an extra travel day in the LDS to accomodate the new wild-card game and start the next round on time.  Since the decision to add the wild card game came right before the start of the season, this was the best they could do on such short notice. 

Canadian

May 30th, 2015 at 11:37 PM ^

This isn't that good of a team. The pitching took a HUGE hit when they lost Scherzer and traded Porcello. Add in the Verlander (assuming he's at least better than lobstein) injury, which was originally said to be a couple day thing and he wouldn't miss any action, and what are you left with? I said at the beginning of spring training they would fight for the second wild card spot. Then downgraded my prediction at the end of spring training to finishing 3rd in the division. I'm a tigers fan till I die but this is not a good ball club.
Oh and V-Mart being old and hurt hasn't helped them out much either

Unicycle Firefly

May 30th, 2015 at 11:37 PM ^

Dombrowski let Scherzer leave, paid a gazillion dollars for another big bat that always disappears when we need it most, and refused to even acknowledge the fact that a bullpen is a thing that exists in baseball.

Canadian

May 30th, 2015 at 11:42 PM ^

Not a fan of his but damn is there ever a ton of backlash when I criticize dombrowski. The thing that bothers me is that the people who like him have a really great trade that benefits their argument that's hard to argue against (though I have no proof I wholeheartedly believe that deal was made by the Florida Marlins GM and dombrowski just ha to agree to it)

MGoChippewa

May 31st, 2015 at 12:19 AM ^

in that trade, he hasn't been able to repeat the magic.  Dombrowski deserves every bit of criticism he gets.  People who come to his support love to tout that trade, which was a whopping 8 years ago, but don't seem to care he's never assembled a good bullpen, always ignores the fact that you need better quality depth than Hernan Perez and Don Kelly and most recently sacrificed all of their flexibility to the point that they couldn't re-sign the better of their two aces.

WolvinLA2

May 31st, 2015 at 12:25 AM ^

Oh come on. I'm not saying Dombrowski is infallible or anything, but we've won the division, what 4 years in a row? We've been in the World Series twice in the last decade and our season this year is still looking very good despite lots of injuries already. No team in baseball save the Giants or Cards have had that kind of success in the last decade.

MGoChippewa

May 31st, 2015 at 12:37 AM ^

a valid point if MLB was capped like the other major sports.  When you make it to the WS with the 6th-highest payroll, how hard was your job?  Should give the credit to the guy opening his wallet.  Nobody in the division is within $50MM of their payroll.  That $50MM is an MVP and two heavy contributors of difference.  Crediting Dombrowski for division titles is like touting a driver in a car winning a race against an elderly couple on a tandem bike.  

MGoChippewa

May 31st, 2015 at 8:17 AM ^

Conversation people have about recruiting: Getting all the 5 stars doesn't guarantee you're going to be good, it just ups your odds. You can be bad with a big payroll if your GM does some dumb stuff. Stay tuned, the Tigers look like they're going to fit the billing pretty soon.

WMUgoblue

May 31st, 2015 at 12:48 AM ^

Players Dave Dombrowski has acquired via trades:

 

  • Max Scherzer
  • Doug Fister
  • Jhonny Peralta
  • Omar Infante (trading him for Jacque Jones was a mistake in the first place)
  • Anibal Sanchez
  • Placido Polanco (gave away a machete wielder to get him)
  • Carlos Guillen
  • Austin Jackson
  • David Price

He recreated that magic many times after, and most of them for pennies on the dollar.

Canadian

May 31st, 2015 at 1:03 AM ^

And the players he let walk?
I don't see the renteria trade mentioned here. Or the Washburn (didn't trade away much) "experiment". How about the healthy contract they gave an already on the decline (in the NL!!) Willis?
Traded away fister (for fuck all). Peralta walked, infante is gone, polanco was allowed to just walz out the door. Refused to trade Scherzer despite it being clear he was walking. I don't see him signing price and they won't trade him away because "they'll still be in a playoff race" of some sort.

Lou MacAdoo

June 1st, 2015 at 10:40 AM ^

Shane Greene

Yeonis Cespedes

Jose Iglesias

Ian Kinsler

Sean Casey

Miguel Cabrera

Edwin Jackson

Edgar Renteria

There are many others that he aquired that contributed to the teams turn around during his tenure. Nearly every prospect he's traded has failed to reach their potential. I think he knows what he's doing when it comes to poaching other teams talent. What scares me is the lack of productive draft picks. How can he have such a great eye for talent yet seem to be unable to identify it in the draft? Castellanos, Avila, Verlander, Porcello, and Granderson are about it.

http://grantland.com/features/dave-dombrowski-detroit-tigers/

JonnyHintz

May 31st, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^

They've made some solid signings for the bullpen than simply haven't panned out.

Joe Nathan, while he was aging, was one of the best closers in the league when he signed. Chamberlain was solid in NY. Sofia was a great get in the trade that also got rid of Fielder's monster contract. Rondon is a good pitcher when/if he comes back.

He's gone out and tried to address the signings with legit players and big names. They simply haven't panned out, which happens from time to time. It isn't like he's simply ignored the position. He's brought in players with proven resumes. At some point, those players have to produce.