OT - First Day of Spring, What Will the Tigers Do this Year?
Mates,
It is the first day of spring and opening day is barely 2 weeks away. There are a bunch of astute Tiger fans on this blog, myself excepted from that. However, I am a life long fan and am interested in their prospects this year. I noted that they started out in spring ball as the worst team in either league, but a quick check of their record shows them at 11-13, which is alot better than it was. Realizing that spring training means zero in the long run outlook for a team, nevertheless at least slightly encouraging.
So the question is: How are the Tigers going to do this year? What will be their strong points (and players) and what will be their weak spots? Do we need a new GM and coach?
Happy Spring,
XM
You mean Kate, right?
March 20th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 10:18 PM ^
Most of us wish we were on Team Fiancé #1....
March 20th, 2017 at 10:32 PM ^
So are PEDs....
March 20th, 2017 at 10:07 PM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 10:00 PM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 10:01 PM ^
Boyd should replace Pelfrey and if Sanchez has no control Norris takes his spot
I like their chances
March 20th, 2017 at 10:57 PM ^
March 21st, 2017 at 10:50 AM ^
I doubt they'd release him. He will probably get moved into the bullpen. Pelfrey, on the other hand, should receive his walking papers.
March 21st, 2017 at 11:29 AM ^
Spring records are meaningless, first off. The Tigers window is about to close for what could be a good while, so I am hoping this will be one last kick at the can. That said, while there is a lot of veteran talent and some promising young starting pitchers, there are a lot of ways those can go wrong (injuries to the vets, inexperience of youth). The Indians are peaking and will be very hard to beat in the division. If the Tigers can somehow make it to the playoffs then it is a crapshoot. But there is every possibility that Avila throws up the white flag at mid-season and has a fire sale to re-stock a very lousy farm system.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:01 PM ^
But with a different result. I say 85 wins with a wildcard spot and continued excellent work from JV and Norris, nice years from Kinsler and Castellanos, and nagging injuries to Miggy and Vmart.
Right there with you. I think this team has the pieces to hang around in the Wild Card race, but will probably fall short. We're one injury away (maybe there with JD already) from being in the same spot we were last year.
I'm a sucker, so I'll tune in no matter what, but I hope they make it worth my while.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^
over 30. We missed the playoffs last year and now they're all a year older. Older guys are more prone to injury. I see the downward trend continue, unfortunately. Hope I'm very wrong BTW, especially for my 86 year old dad who watches them every night from his Lazy Boy.
March 21st, 2017 at 12:13 AM ^
Well said, Hopefully they will come in with an attitude that, this may be their last chance to win the world series as team mates. If they dont, i see major changes to roster this year or next. Go TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SP - other than JV, the rest of the main guys are 30 and under
Zim is 30
Fullmer, Norris and Boyd are 24, 23 and 26 - Sanchez is 33 but we have a young guy to replace him in whichever of the kids doesn't start in the rotation
K-Rod is the only reliever we are counting on over 30 - Lowe could be if he rebounds
so on the staff, it is JV and K-Rod over 30 we are really counting on
line-up
C - McCann - 26
1B - Miggy - 33
2B - Kinsler - 34
SS - Iggy - 27
3B - Castellanos - 25
LF - Upton - 29
CF - Jones? - 26
RF - JD - 29
DH - V-Mart - 38
1B, 2B and DH - and 1B and DH are the places old guys are fine
so we have JV, K-Rod, Miggy, Kinsler and V-Mart over 30
don't see this as a huge negative
March 21st, 2017 at 10:52 AM ^
Mostly because Miggy, Kinsler, and JV are the workhorses and on the wrong side of 30/past their prime. They can still produce, but a decline is around the corner.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:10 PM ^
with no postseason. Shakin' my damn head.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:12 PM ^
Lots and lots of optimism for the Tribe down here. Starting pitching is absolutely loaded with Kluber, Carrasco, Salazar Bauer and Tomlin. And bullpen looks solid as hell with Shaw, Miller & Allen. Add in Encarnacion (people here still cant believe Dolan shelled out the money to sign him) and it's World Series or bust for Chief Wahoo.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:28 PM ^
i am not able to read it. chief wahoo has left the area.
signed,
a jealous tigers fan
March 20th, 2017 at 10:16 PM ^
And, Big Mike is dead so look for the payroll to be slashed to ribbons.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:25 PM ^
This team had a window a few years back and missed it. Now they are aging and the pitching is almost all gone
March 20th, 2017 at 10:26 PM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 10:39 PM ^
85-86 wins, 2nd place in the AL East.
Minnesota is still hideous, CWS just dealt their ace in the off-season, and KC is about ready to have a fire sale, too, after losing their young starter.
Kinsler will not repeat last year's success. The bullpen is still unproven for the 55th year in a row. And you can't leave a gaping hole in CF like we have, if you think you're going to win.
Enough to contend into September. Not enough to make the postseason. The fire sale and deconstruction begins in October.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:49 PM ^
Except for the minor details that they are in the AL Central. Being an old guy too, I still recall the days of the AL East Fortunately they are not in the AL East..Being in the Central always gives some hope.
Don't like hearing that Miggy is already dealing with back issues, this is something that comes up on August, not March.....
And now JD and his foot? This is not a good trend.....
March 20th, 2017 at 10:58 PM ^
I have no idea why I typed "AL East".
If they order a fire sale, Miggy's contract is going to be a major anchor on this team. And we're married to him until 2023 at the earliest, with 10 & 5 rights.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:39 PM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 11:25 PM ^
Do we really believe the Indians will own the head to head matchup this year like last???? I think not. Motor City Kitties win walking away.
To the board.
March 21st, 2017 at 12:23 AM ^
I will be excited to watch the 3 young pitchers if Boyd gets in. If Boyd is somehow optioned to make room for a contract i.e. Sanchez I will not be excited.
Fulmer - I expect a step back as it's almost impossible to replicate the monster season he had and more homework will be done on him. I am hoping a step back still means a sub 4.00 ERA (I know, that's not the advanced stats everyone cool is talking about) WHIP of 1.10 or below would be nice.
Norris - would like consistency, he looks lik ea guy who will wow you one game and then depress you the next. So if his bad outings can be manageable like 4 ER in 6 innings or something vs Pelfrey.Sanchez type bad outings.
Those 2 are the guys who can determine the next half decade if they can be paired with the 2 vets.
Then you hope Boyd is a guy who gets you sub 5.00 ERA in his first full year if they go that route.
I expect the bullpen to disappoint and ruin some games as its the Tigers and some of these young pitchers will only get us to the 6th so a lot of scary things can happen with the 7th and 8th innings with this pen.
The lineup is the lineup - not much change from last year despite the talk. The catalyst at the top of the lineup is gone in Maybin and if I recall they had a pretty bad record without him and a good one with him in. A lot of the same feast of famine - 7 runs or 1 run games as that is how they are built. Hopefully Upton can be more consistent rather than concentrating all his good games in a 40 game stretch. Guy like Castellanos seems poised to breakout from all the talk in camp. Kinsler has been a phenom since we got him here - always feel like he is set to come back to earth so we'll see.
All in all a tad above .500 as most of their field players continue to get older and creakier. Hopefully none of the top 4 pitchers goes out for an extended period of time like happened with Zim last year or it could be .500 or just below IMO.
My main hope is Norris develops into a legit #3/#4 over the years and Fulmer a legit #2 and if Zim is your #3/#4 you have a pretty good rotation here that can keep you in it for many a game - and you can retool your lineup over the next few years to stay competitive. Starting pitching has been the backbone of the team for 10 years now.
Cleveland looks scary on paper.
March 21st, 2017 at 10:59 AM ^
Hoping for a sub-5.00 ERA?!?! Yikes, that's awful. There won't likely be a wildcard spot if we're hoping for that.
Unfortunately, in nearly equal numbers. But this still goes here (man I miss Ernie Harwell):
could listen to that voice for hours on end, and like many of us, did for many years gone by. i bet his newest gig in heaven is going perfectly.
The White Sox, Twins and Royals are poo and the Tigers will do quite well against all three.
The Indians will be a machine this year, however, however, I don't think that the Indians could possibly replicate their record against the Tigers from last year.
The AL East and West will eat each other alive given how competitive most of the teams are in each division; resulting in a wildcard opportunity for the Tigers.
That being said, this team has several holes that need filling (they should fill them by dumping Sanchez and Pelfrey in said hole), and I don't think that this team is built for any kind of playoff run.
I say 88-74, and an early wildcard game exit.
A few seasons ago, the starting rotation sucked; the next season, the bullpen sucked. Then, they fix pitching, only to see the bats go completely silent.
It feels like it's been an awfully long time since the entire team played like a contender in all phases of the game.
Despite the payroll numbers, I don't expect the Tigers to win the Central this year. Should they? Probably. Will they? I doubt it.
I'm not sold that Sanchez can come back and be a starter but I hope I'm wrong. Who knows how bad JD's foot injury is? I don't think Al Al is the answer and the Tigers aren't getting any younger.
This season might be a watershed moment for the organization. Dump some contracts? Make one more push?
I think they'll do well. Injuries up the wazoo last year and they still managed to just get pipped out for the postseason. Might see some regression from JV and Fulmer, but I expect a very good year from Castellanos and I think Matt Boyd will be a big breakout player. CF is a disaster and I think Jones doesn't go north, but grabs that spot by June 15. McCann should be better too now that he's healthy.
A weak division (CWS in full rebuild mode, Minny in full Twinkies-as-usual mode, and KC going down the tubes fast) means the Tribe and Tigers should be able to pile up wins and the loser of the division race is a likely wild card.
I think they're in good shape against the cap, too, despite some obvious anchors. If for some reason they tailspin, JD and Frankie are great trade pieces. Almost $30 million comes off the books with Sanchez, Pelfrey, and Lowe after this year, so they should be able to do a little rebuilding on the fly. They could be in better shape in places, but they're still contenders.
March 21st, 2017 at 10:36 AM ^
Honestly, they need to move the first day of spring back a month to mid-April.
Or at least put an asterisk after "first day of spring" with the disclaimer ("unless you live north of Kentucky").
March 21st, 2017 at 11:17 AM ^
I've always thought we should repeat a month sometime so that they line up according to how weather should be. Our April weather should be March's. March should be February. January should be December, December should be November, and so on back down the line.
March 21st, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^
but if they finish above I will be happy and if they get a wild card or win the division, then I will all excited!