Tiger Tizzy

Cespedes reportedly to sign 4-yr deal with A’s.

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:39:00 +0000

According to multiple sources, Cuban OF Yeonis Cespedes will sign a 4-year contract worth $36-million with the Oakland A’s.

MLBtraderumors.com first broke the story earlier today. Major League Baseball had said that Cespedes couldn't finalize a contract until he obtained an unblocking license from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, because of his status as a Cuban national, who is established residency in another country, in this case, the Dominican Republic, but reports today say that Cespedes has had the block removed, thus paving his way to sign the deal with Oakland.

The A’s signing of Cespedes ends months of rumors linking the 26-year-old OF, with the Miami Marlins, who offered him a contract last week, as well as the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs and White Sox as well as the Detroit Tigers.

I have to admit I am suprised by the signing, and for a 4-year deal worth $36 million, I am a little suprised that the Tigers weren't a little more aggressive in signing Cespedes.

Granted Detroit got the 2nd best Free Agent bat on the market in Prince Fielder. He cost them a lot of money with his deal, I still think that somehow over the past few weeks, that the Tigers interest in Cespedes has waivered. Cespedes might turn out to be the "real deal" but he could also turn out to be a huge bust. I guess only time will tell what kind of player Cespedes becomes. I'm kind of glad the Tigers aren't the ones taking the risk.

Cepedes intrigue much like Tim Tebow fascination.

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:03:00 +0000

The intrigue of Major League Baseball and Cuban OF Yoenis Cespedes is becoming much like the story that captured the attention of the NFL world this fall, Tim Tebow.
After Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder signed huge contracts, my guess is that the most discussed story in baseball is Cespedes, in the same manner many people discussed and dissected the Tim Tebow.

Not in a literal sense, mind you, because unlike Tebow, whose life has become an open book for all to read, the Cepedes story is full of mostly speculation and guess work.

Starting with this question: What kind of player will he be?

ESPN posed that very question and came up with the following. (the article is limited to access for ESPN Insiders so I will share some of the highlights, rather than post a link)

A group of MLB Executives were asked if they would choose Cepedes over similar “toolsy’ 20-something outfielders; Colby Rasmus, Drew Stubbs, B.J. Upton, Chris Young and Adam Jones in the following scenario: You can choose Cespedes or each of the current MLB OF for the remainder of their career, (contract and finances not figuring in the equation). The bottom line is that most would choose the current MLB players over Cespedes, but it would be close.

Interestingly enough, as I believe we have posted here on Tiger Tizzy, the consensus of the writers at Baseball America, would rank Cepedes as the top prospect of the teams that are considered in the running to land him. The following teams have been linked to the Cuban who now lives in the Dominican Republic: The Tigers, Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies. Of those teams, the 6 most likely suitors in my estimation of where he would sign; are Miami, Chicago (Cubs or Sox), Baltimore, Detroit and Cleveland.

Cespedes was in Miami and toured the new Marlins ballpark and met with team officials on Thursday, but has since left the country to return to the D.R. According to the Detroit News, the Tigers are still interested but the team is refusing to comment much on Cespedes, except to confirm that he didn’t visit Detroit.

Dombrowski did however have a discussion regarding the Tigers defense. His feeling is that the Tigers can indeed field a “good defensive club” if the decision is made to do so. The expectation is that with signing Prince Fielder and moving Miguel Cabrera to 3B, and with Delmon Young in LF, that on most nights Detroit will chose an offensive flavored lineup. On Tuesday, Dombrowski stated; “We’re going to hit, and that’s how we’re going to win or lose”.

In posting a February wrap-up yesterday, I forgot to include that the Tigers had signed IF Brent Dlugach to a minor league contract on Feb 4. Dlugach spent last season hitting .222 in 236 plate appearances with Boston’s Triple-A affiliate. Dlugach had previously spent his first 7 seasons playing in the Tigers farm system.

Recapping things involivng the Tigers in February 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:16:00 +0000

Tiger Tizzy has been down for a few days due to computer issues.

So now that things are back up and in working order let's take a few minutes and get caught up on what has been going on with the Tigers and some ex Tigers who have been in the news.

Lynn Henning of the Detroit News explains how he thinks that GM Dave Dombrowski will handle all the young arms that will vie for the Tigers open #5 starter slot.

Meanwhile, Tony Paul insists that the Tigers would be making a mistake to sign Cuban OF Yoenis Cespedes.

Former Tigers players were in the news over the past few days, with Brad Penny, Edwin Jackson, Armando Galarraga and Carlos Guillen signing contracts with new teams.

Penny signed a contract with Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball, that is reportedly the largest deal for an American pitcher to sign to play baseball in Japan.

Agent Scott Boras got another nice contract for one of his clients, former RHP Edwin Jackson signed a reported 1-year $11-Million deal (with incentives) with the Washington Nationals.

Galarraga signed with the Baltimore Orioles and will be invited to Spring Training with the club. Galarraga was 3-4 5.91 with the Arizona Diamondbacks last season before being demoted to the minors.

Guillen signed a minor-league contract with the Seattle Mariners and will also recieve an invite to Spring Training, he returns to the team that he made his Major League Debut with on Sept 6, 1998, as Guillen played with the Mariners from 1998-2003. Guillen was traded to the Tigers on January 8, 2004.

The Tigers also signed a 16-year-old Dominican prospect to a contract.

I would like to thank John at Budget Computers for his work on my computer.

The latest word on Cuban defector Yeonis Cespedes

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:36:00 +0000

According to MLBTradeRumors.com, things are heating up on Cuban OF Yeonis Cespedes, whom the Tigers were rumored to be one of the teams that were interested in signing the former Cuban star.

Yeonis Cespedes

Baseball America’s Jim Callis said that Cespedes would rank in the top 7-15 of the Magazine’s Top 100 prospects list, meaning that he would end up being at the top of the list of any team that were to sign him.

Meanwhile Cespedes’ agent Adam Katz has told people, that “expects to be in camp with one of the Clubs in pursuit, and calls the market for Cespedes “meaningful and aggressive”.

Jim Bowden of ESPN says that meetings are expected to take place here in the U.S in the next 7-10 days, as Cespedes was granted free agency last week, by MLB, with his gaining residency in the Dominican Republic.

I am not convinced that the Tigers will be willing to spend the money to land Cespedes now that they have so much money invested in Victor Martinez, Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and now Prince Fielder.

Without the injury to V-Mart, I fully expected the Tigers to be one of the teams that would be aggressive in signing the former Cuban star, but while Owner Mike Ilitch has proven that he is willing to spend his money to try and win, i.e.; the Prince Fielder signing, I don’t think the Tigers have enough money left in the tank to go full bore after Cespedes. I also think that Cespedes play in winter ball, 10 strikeouts in 35 at bats while hitting 1 HR and only 5 hits, in a very brief winter ball stint in his new home the D.R. has dampened the shine on his star somewhat.

Media outlets are reporting that Cespedes and his agent are looking for a reported contract greater than that offered to Cuban LHP Aroldis Chapman last year, who signed a six-year, $30.25 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds. Cespedes is seeking a 4-6 year deal for as much as $6 million per year.

While that price tag comes a lot cheaper than the $23 Million/yr deal signed by Prince Fielder it is also more than the Tigers might be able to afford now.

Victor Martinez undergoes left knee surgery

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:45:00 +0000

The Detroit Tigers issued the following statemtent around 12:30pm this afternoon regarding Victor Martinez knee surgery.

Here is the link to the press release (if you should want to see)

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers today made the following announcement regarding catcher/designated hitter Victor Martinez:

Martinez underwent microfracture surgery and repairs to both the medial and lateral meniscus in his left knee on Friday, all of which occurred when he suffered a torn ACL during his off-season conditioning. Friday’s procedure was performed by Dr. Richard Steadman in Vail, CO.

The preliminary surgery on Friday went well according to Dr. Steadman and he is optimistic Martinez will be ready to undergo ACL reconstruction surgery on his left knee in approximately six-to-eight weeks. The Tigers continue to expect Martinez to be sidelined for the 2012 season.

This news shouldn't come as a suprise for anyone who has followed the Tigers off-season. Of course, as with most injuries, the Tigers are following the very safe and predictable course with the words: "The Tigers continue to expect Martinez to be sidelined for the 2012 season".

Martinez' injury was the reason for the signing of Prince Fielder, and while Detroit isn't expecting Martinez to return this season, if he does in time for the post -season, the Tigs could very well blast their way to a World Series run, with Cabrera, Fielder and V-Mart if he's healthy. Add to that the returing Cy Young Award winner in Justin Verlander anchoring a solid rotation. AL playoff teams watch out!

**NOTE**- Jason Beck just posted that V-Mart will also have to have surgery on his ACL as well, and that surgery will be in 6-8 weeks, so it is unlkely that Martinez will be back before December so he won't even be healthy enough to get AB's for any post-season run.

Tigers place 3 in MLB.com Top 100 prospects list.

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:04:00 +0000

Jacob Turner

Last week, MLB.com posted their top 100 prospects list for the 2012 season. I’m sure most of you missed it because of the Prince Fielder signing news. So, as always, Tiger Tizzy is here to keep you informed.

Coming in at #15 is Tigers RHP Jacob Turner, who is in the running for Detroit’s #5 slot in the rotation in Spring Training. Turner is considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball coming in to last season, and despite posting his 0-1 8.53 ERA numbers in his brief MLB career thus far, he remains an elite prospect. By most accounts Turner will never end up getting to the JV-type numbers in his career - but then again who will, he should end up becoming a solid #2 or at worst #3 starter over his career. I’m going to date myself here, but I would say that Dan Petry, ended up with a pretty decent career as a #2 behind Jack Morris.

Nick Castellanos

Next up is 3B prospect Nick Castellanos, who came in as the #51 prospect. The 20-year old Castellanos will more than likely start the 2012 season at High-A Lakeland. With his decent .312/.367/.436 numbers last year at LoA West Michigan, Castellanos still projects out to be a quality MLB 3b over the course of his career. His power numbers (7 HR) at West Michigan were less than the club expected, but as many experts surmise, some of his 36 Doubles will end up going for more distance as his frame fills out.

Rounding out the Tigers 3 prospects is a kid who has gotten an awful lot of publicity over the past few months, like this mention by GM Dave Dombrowski, (via Jason Beck’s blog) and being on the list of this post on fangraphs.com, which gives another look at the Tigers top 15 prospects.

Drew Smyly

Without any further delay, coming in at #82 is LHP Drew Smyly. Smyly is described as a solid #4-type starter. Smyly, throws 4 pitches well with good control, but his lack of “plus” velocity will limit his upside, but his make-up and control should enable him to be a solid MLB starter as he progresses.

You can find the entire list of prospects here.

Smyly and Castellanos have been invited to Spring Training in Lakeland as non-roster invites. You can find the entire list of non-roster invitees here, as well as key dates for Spring Training 2012.

With Turner, the Tigers should have a nice compliment to Justin Verlander at the top of the rotation in the near future, and if Smyly ends up progressing as the Tigers perceive, he will add nice depth and solid LH arm to a strong right-handed rotation of Verlander, Turner, Porcello and Fister. Castellanos reminds me, from everything that I have seen, as a Travis Fryman-type player at 3B, albeit with slightly less average but more power. Turner and Smyly should be entrenched in the Tigers rotation by the end of 2013, with Castellanos joining them as a fixture at 3B by the end of 2014 if not sooner.

Tigers rotation update, how Comerica might affect Fielder’s blasts

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:24:00 +0000

According to an interview on ESPN radio this afternoon, Tigers prospect Drew Smyly has a “legitimate chance” to open the season as the Tigers #5 starter. So said Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, who was being interviewed (presumably) about Prince Fielder as opposed to Drew Smyly.

For those of you who don’t know much about Smyly.

The Left-handed Smyly is the # 3 prospect in the Tigers system according to Baseball America. Smyly features a fastball in the 87-92 mph range, with a slider and curve as well as a splitter-like change up, that will allow him to be a #3 or 4 starter in the bigs.

I was wondering about what a difference the dimensions of Comerica Park would play on Prince Fielder’s HR numbers compared to Miller Park and the folks at ESPN’s stats and information department were kind enough to do some number crunching.

For 2011, 9 of Prince’s 24 HR would not have cleared the fences at Comerica with 1 that might or might not have gone out. All of the nine were hit from Left-Center field to Right-Center, so Fielder might have to adapt and become a little more pull heavy with his swing to compensate, if he is going to duplicate his one HR every 15.3 AB ratio.

With Smyly not having quite as much upside as Jacob Turner, who projects out to be a solid #2 or #3 rotation guy, being a LH pitcher might give Smyly the edge needed to finish off a very RH heavy rotation of Verlander, Fister, Scherzer and Porcello. Also vying for the # 5 slot are fellow LHP’s Andrew Oliver and Casey Crosby, the Tigers #4 and #5 rated prospects by Baseball America respectively.

Regardless of who ends up with the #5 spot, I am curious to see how Oliver, Crosby and Smyly end up pitching at AAA Toledo and for the Tigers this season, as none of the three LHP’s end up projecting into the Tigers lineup down the road, according to BA.

Something to keep in mind, regarding Fielder and his power numbers, his HR total might take a slight dip, at least at home, but I would expect to see a rise in Prince’s Double and maybe the occasional Triple numbers as many of Fielder’s blasts that don’t clear the fences, end up being chased around spacious Comerica Park. I don’t know about you but seeing the 5’11”- 275lb Fielder headed into second base or rounding it into third is not a sight that the infielders of the AL will look forward to seeing. I fully expect Prince to keep up his ranking of being in the top 5 in Slugging Pct in all of baseball, in 2011.

(Just a quick reminder, when I post here on Tiger Tizzy, any paragraphs entirely in BOLD font, is my opinion)

Tigers Payroll for 2012.

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:32:00 +0000

Taking a look at the potential 25-man roster for the 2012 season I have assembled the payroll for the team for the upcoming season.

Obviously some of the players and roles have yet to be defined with Spring Training reporting date of Feb 19, 2012 still 23 days away, this is a guess on my part of who will be filling what role for the Tigers.

Based on the information listed below, the Tigers will be adding over $9.5-Million over 2011 to their payroll:

2012	$116,814,500
2011	$106,953,000
	$9,861,500

25 Man roster

1B	Fielder	23,000,000
2B	Raburn	2,100,000
3B	Cabrera	21,000,000
SS	Peralta	5,500,000
C	Avila	425,000
LF	Dirks	414,000
CF	Jackson	440,000
RF	Boesch	430,000
DH	Young	6,750,000

BN	Kelly	900,000
BN	Inge	5,500,000
BN	Laird	1,000,000
BN	Santiago	2,100,000

SP1	Verlander	20,000,000
SP2	Fister	436,500
SP3	Scherzer	3,750,000
SP4	Porcello	1,344,000
SP5	Turner	1,375,000

CL	Valverde	9,000,000
SU	Benoit	5,500,000
SU	Dotel	3,500,000
RP	Coke	1,100,000
RP	Pauley	422,000
RP	Schlereth	418,000
RP	Balester	410,000

		$116,814,500

Including V-Mart and Alburqueque contracts (injured)

Cabrera	21,000,000
Verlander	20,000,000
Fielder	23,000,000
Valverde	9,000,000
D Young	6,750,000
Benoit	5,500,000
Inge	5,500,000
Peralta	5,500,000
Sherzer	3,750,000
Porcello	1,344,000
Dotel	3,500,000
Raburn	2,100,000
Santiago	2,100,000
Turner	1,375,000
Coke	1,100,000
Laird	1,000,000
Kelly	900,000
Avila	425,000
Boesch	430,000
Fister	436,500
Jackson	440,000
Schlereth	418,000
Balester	410,000
Dirks	414,000
Pauley	422,000
Alburqueque	414,000
V Mart	13,000,000
	$130,228,500

As always please leave your comments and feedback below and thanks for visiting Tiger Tizzy.

Prince Fielder Introductory Press Conference with Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:35:00 +0000

Prince Fielder

Yesterday afternoon the Detroit Tigers officially announced the signing of 1B Prince Fielder to a 9-year $214-Million contract.

With his Agent, Scott Boras next to him and the key players of the Tigers brass, including owner Mike Ilitch, GM Dave Dombrowski and Manager Jim Leyland sitting at the table, after passing his physical, Prince Fielder was introduced as a Detroit Tiger in front of a packed crowd of media at Comerica Park.

As Columnist Mitch Albom points out the signing of Fielder is a BIG deal. Meanwhile, Michael Rosenberg points out that the Tigers are trying to keep everyone happy, for now.

Agent Scott Boras and Fielder

Tony Paul of the Detroit News reminds everyone that Fielder isn’t the first of his clients that Scott Boras has brought to Motown, when the Tigers needed, and the News also shows what the Tigers batting order might end up looking like with Fielder and Cabrera.

You will notice that Brandon Inge ends up with the short end of the stick, which is nothing new for the longest tenured Tiger. Jason Beck noted that Inge found out the Fielder news through the media and not from the Tigers brass and he’s not a “happy camper”.

GM Dave Dombrowski, Fielder, Owner Mike Ilitch
and Manager Jim Leyland

Drew Sharp, was critical of the signing as he announced on ESPN on Wednesday, “ Logically this deal, makes not one damn bit of sense for the Detroit Tigers, long term …what your saying is you are going to pay Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera, two guys who are basically the same player offensively and unfortunately defensively, close to $45 Million annually, ... and to move Cabrera to 3rd base, they tried that in ’08 when the Tigers first acquired him, it was a disaster”. But he (Sharp) tells everyone that owner Mike Ilitch wants to win a World Series, and will pull out all the stops to do so.

So does the Fielder signing bring an end to the Tigers moves for this off-season?? Dave Dombrowski was asked that question, and he worded his answer carefully, as Beck shows.

For those of you who want to see the transcript of the entire press conference, the folks at Mlive were kind enough to post it, and you can find it here.

Heavy Hitting Prince joins Tiger$

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:43:00 +0000

It’s been a little over 24 hours ago that the shocking news broke that the Detroit Tigers were the team to land the last ‘big” free agent on the market; Prince Fielder.

It’s been 7,008 hours since I updated Tiger Tizzy. That number just might be the same number of errors that get committed by the Tigers infield during 2012.

Obviously the injury to Victor Martinez created a hole in the lineup that GM Dave Dombrowski and Owner Mike Ilitch decided needed to be filled, and fill they did.

Of course, within minutes of the Fielder signing, twitter and Facebook both exploded with the humorous announcements “Little Caesars Hot N Ready pizza’s was $5.99 now $59.99” etc, etc.

The AL Central was the Tigers to lose for 2012, with the Twins and White Sox losing ground to the Tigers in 2011 and in the off-season, with the Twins biggest signing being Josh Willingham, or is it Joel Zumaya?? , and losing Michael Cuddyer, while the Sox only signing (thus far) being Jason Frasor.

Here’s to the start of 2012 on Tiger Tizzy and there’s nothing better than some big news to kick off the baseball season and what I honestly hope will be one of the most entertaining blogs in all of baseball.

My plan for 2012 is to make sure that the 2012 Detroit Tigers season coverage and Tiger Tizzy site gets updated at least once a week. I have NO EXCUSES for not doing so before but the past is just that…the past.

Keep reading and I will keep writing about your favorite baseball team, the Detroit Tigers here on Tiger Tizzy.

Bullpen problems surface as Tigers lose lead and game to O’s 9-5

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:44:00 +0000

It wasn’t exactly an implosion, but the bullpen definitely faltered Thursday night in Baltimore. Brad Thomas, took the loss without recording an out, as the Orioles broke a tie game open in a 5-run 7th inning, in which the Orioles sent 10 batters to the plate.

Brad Penny started for Detroit, and pitched better than in his first start against the Yankees in New York. Of course, better is a relative term, as he lowered his ERA on the season from 16.62 to 11.17 as he pitched 5.1 innings allowing just 4 earned runs.

Alex Avila continued his torrid streak as he homered for the 2nd consecutive game, and is now hitting .294 on the season, after a 1-10 start to the season. Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch both had 2 hits to contribute to the Tigers offense, that scored 5 runs and should have been enough for the win.

In Buster Olney’s blog today he notes that late in Spring Training, Manager Jim Leyland talked about his concerns with the middle of the Tigers ‘pen, and they sure came to the fore-front in last night’s loss. Detroit lost the lead on three separate occasions in last night’s game.

The good news for the Tigers, who stand at 2-4 on the season, is that they return to Comerica Park for the home opener this afternoon with a 3:05pm first-pitch, weather permitting, as rain is in the forecast for Comerica Park this afternoon.

More good news came about last night, and it will hopefully have a positive effect on the Tigers bullpen, as Joel Zumaya, who remains in Lakeland Florida as he rehabs his injured arm, has been given clearance to begin throwing again. It’s not known when Zumaya will return to Detroit and rejoin his teammates.

An interesting theory was bandied about on the internet this morning, as the MLBtraderumors.com is reporting that Russell Branyan who signed a minor-league deal with Arizona might be cut loose at some point, and one of the landing spots “could be” Detroit. You can read the story here.

I hope that the Tigers aren’t tempted to tinker with the lineup just because they are under .500 this early in the season. I think that the Tigers bats will be fine, and once the bullpen situation comes around, the Tigers will play the kind of ball we all expect.

In case you missed it, in the recap of Wednesday night’s game Tiger Tizzy pointed out that Alex Avila became the first Tiger catcher to drive in 5 runs in a single game, since Pudge Rodriguez accomplished the feat against the Philadelphia Phillies back in 2007.

I’m not saying Mario Impemba, the Tigers broadcaster reads Tiger Tizzy, but he mentioned that very fact during last nights Tigers broadcast.

As the Tigers host the Kansas City Royals for the opening series of the season at Comerica Park, Max Scherzer get the start, becoming the 5th different pitcher to start a home opener in Jim Leyland’s 6 years as Manager of the Tigers. Scherzer will be opposed today by the Royals Kyle Davies. In Game 2 of the series, a pair of lefties square off as Phil Coke goes against Bruce Chen, and in the 3rd and final game of the Royals series, Rick Porcello take to the mound against the Royals Luke Hochevar.

Verlander, Avila impressive, as Tigers trounce O’s 7-3

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:50:00 +0000

Justin Verlander had never lost to the Baltimore Orioles in his career, and the Orioles were undefeated heading into Wednesday night’s game. Somebody’s streak was going to end. Especially with the O’s off to an impressive 4-0 start, and according to Elias Sports Bureau, they tied a MLB record with 4 consecutive wins to start a season, while not allowing more than 1 run in each game.

With the Tigers ace coming off a season debut in New York where he threw 114 pitches in just six innings of work, Verlander knew he had be more efficient with his pitches.

Mission accomplished. Verlander allowed just 4 hits in 8 IP, in the game where he threw 108 pitches and struck out 9 Orioles, to improve his career record against Baltimore to 6-0. Said Verlander after the game, "Definitely feel like I am throwing the ball better than I did at this point the last couple years."

Offensively for the Tigers Miguel Cabrera (3), Victor Martinez (2) and Alex Avila (1) all homered for Detroit, with, Avila and Martinez adding in a 2-base hit each, to pace the Tigers. Avila set a career high in the game as he drove in 5 runs, becoming the first Tiger catcher to drive in 5 runs in a game since Ivan Rodriguez did so against the Philadelphia Phillies back in 2007. Avila also came a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, for the first time in his career, as he added a single to go along with his double and home run in the game.

Manager Jim Leyland told Avila to “loosen up” prior to the game. Avila and Victor Martinez had been criticized for allowing an AL leading six Wild pitches behind the plate in the Tigers first 4 games. Leyland said after the game that he saw “tension” in his 24-year old catcher as he was working behind the plate in the teams first few games. Obviously Avila took the comment to heart and relaxed.

So, as some in the media are pressing the panic button on the Tigers 2011 season, (see here, here, and here), with Wednesday night’s victory the Tigers improve their record to 2-3 as they finish up their series at Camden Yards, on Thursday night, with Brad Penny, facing Chris Tillman, for the Orioles.

Brad Bergeson started Wednesday night’s game against the Tigers, in place of the scheduled starter, Jeremy Guthrie, who spend Monday and Tuesday in the hospital with a case of pneumonia. The Tigers win on Wednesday, prevented the 2011 Orioles from tying the team record 5-0 start to the season that was set by the 1970 Orioles ball club. The 1970 team won the World Series.

RHP Ryan Perry was placed on the 15-Day DL, and the Tigers recalled RHP Robbie Weinhardt from Toledo to take Perry’s place. Weinhardt saw action in 28 games with Detroit during the 2010 season.

Tigers start the season 1-3, is it really time to panic?

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:38:00 +0000

Every morning when I wake up, I drink my morning coffee and hop in the internet and browse the internet for the latest news, sports scores and articles about the Tigers.

It took a 10 run outburst as they beat the Yankees on Sunday, for the Tigers to avoid starting the season 0-3, and then the Tigs lost game one of the series against the Orioles, to fall to 1-3.

But being totally honest, it NEVER occurred to me to start to panic at the Tigers less than great start.

So when I opened up my browser on Wednesday and saw this article, I was a little surprised. Later on I got to THIS, and really became puzzled.

Hey, I am as much of a Tigers fan as ANYONE, and of course I want them to go 162 and 0. DUH! Of course it won’t happen, as even the biggest Tigers fan in the world knows. But is a 1-3 start really cause to question starting lineup choices, or pitching rotations, or even take actions, whatever they may be, to avoid “panic”??

I mean seriously, the season is 162 games long. Heck I could understand panic if we were talking about the Tampa Bay Rays, or Boston Red Sox. I mean the Rays were expected to contend for the AL East, or at least the Wild Card spot in the American League, and the BoSox were picked by ALL of ESPN’s experts to win the AL East title, with 33 of them picking the Sawx to win it all.

Now, if we are on May 1st and the Tigers record stands at 6-21, yeah I would be in panic mode. Heads would roll, changes would be made, the lineup would be completely blown up, minor league recalls would take place, and firings would happen.

Heck, I might even consider re-constructing Tiger Stadium, so the team could move back to the friendly confines of “the corner” just to try and turn the season around.

OK, maybe that was a bit much, but….

Hey, in the mean-time, gang, we are 4 games into the season. Let’s avoid panic, just yet. Give the boys a chance to have a few home games at Comerica before we let panic set in. I mean, we haven’t even seen a 70 degree day yet.

It’s early, relax.

Oh and by the way, congrats to Armando Galarraga, for picking up the win in his debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are managed, lest we forget, by former Tiger great Kirk Gibson, with Alan Trammell as his bench coach.

Tigers “sick” as they lose to O’s 5-1

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 23:48:00 +0000

Maybe it was the plane food, maybe it’s a stomach virus making its way thru the Detroit Tigers locker room, no matter what the reason, and two Tigers were under the weather for the Baltimore Orioles home opener on Monday.

Closer Jose Valverde and Miguel Cabrera both had issues with the “bug”, during the game Cabrera had to make a visit to the clubhouse, and I shall avoid going into further detail. Unfortunately, for the Tigers, Valverde remained un-used in the ‘pen so his game performance wasn’t affected by the illness.

On the field, Rick Porcello made his first start of the year for Detroit, and pitched relatively well, allowing 5 runs in the loss. Included in the 5 runs scored was a 3-run homer to the Orioles Brian Roberts. With that homer allowed, Tigers pitching has now given up 10 HR in just four games this season. Prior to the inning in which Roberts hit his HR, Porcello had allowed just 4 hits. He allowed 3 consecutive his before Roberts went yard, in the 5th.

Also an issue for the Tigers has been the fact that between the pitchers and catchers, the Tigers lead the league in Wild Pitches, with 6.

I can’t say it for a fact, but my guess is that the Tigers are making a concerted effort to try and offset their reliance on the fastballs in key situations, and set them up with the breaking stuff. In May and later on during the season when it is warm, the cold weather won’t effect the pitches and make it as difficult to get a grip on the ball, but thus far the wild pitches are coming with great frequency. I can’t say that the other team’s pitchers are having the same difficulty with the ball, but both teams are pitching in these conditions, and Tigers pitchers have thrown twice as many wild pitches as their opponents. Is it pitchers or the catchers I am not sure, but no matter where you place the blame, it’s not a good start.

Jason Beck’s blog today brings to light what the Tigers are doing, specifically Alex Avila, to work on stopping the wild pitches.

The Tigers and Orioles are off today, with the series resuming on Wednesday, with Justin Verlander on the mound against the Orioles Jeremy Guthrie.

Tigers beat Yankees by a Field Goal, to claim first victory of 2011.

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:23:00 +0000

In a game that featured 7 home runs by both teams, pitching was obviously not at a premium in game 3 of the Tigers 2011 season. The bottom line however was that the Tigers avoided the sweep at the hands of the Yankees by picking up a 10-7 victory on Sunday afternoon. Max Scherzer notched his first victory of the year, with Closer Jose Valverde recording his first save of the season as well.

The Highlights of the slugfest:

Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera hit his 2nd homerun of the game, only to be matched by the Yankees Jorge Posada who also hit 2 home runs in the contest. Not to be out done was Tigers DH Brennan Boesch, who became the first Tiger since Dmitri Young to have at least 4 hits, 4 runs and 4 RBI’s in a game. Young’s feat came on April 4, 2005. Of the 26 hits recorded in the game, 12 of them went for extra bases. Cabrera’s multi home run game was the 19th of his career, and in a bit of irony, his last multi-home run game also came at Yankee Stadium.

Meanwhile the Tigers picked up their first victory of the young season, as the got just their 2nd win in “new” Yankee stadium, as Detroit was 1-6 in their previous 7 games in the Bronx Bombers new stadium. And the victory was all that mattered to the Tigers, said Scherzer after the game, “I got the win, even though it wasn’t the best outing”, and when Cabrera was asked how good it felt to hit his first (and 2nd) home runs of the season, Cabrera answered, “it just feels good to get the win”.

The Tigers pitching staff doesn’t necessarily catch a break as Detroit now heads to the cozy confines of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, as the Tigers staff ERA stands at 7.92. The Orioles enter the series with a 3-0 record, for the first time since 1997.

In the Series opener against the Orioles, Rick Porcello makes his first start of the season, after going 0-2, with a 3.90 ERA during spring training. Taking the mound for the Orioles will be Jake Arrieta. Porcello has a 1-1 record with a 3.00 ERA against the Orioles in his Career.

So much for the “brand new Penny”

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 14:23:00 +0000

As the season started, many experts voiced concerns over the fact that during the previous 11 years of his MLB career Brad Penny has a 101-80 record, with a 3.99 ERA, while pitching in the National League, and a 7-8 record with 5.61 ERA in the American League.

One game into “Brad Penny: AL edition 2.0”, the experts concerns appear to be valid.

After going 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA in spring training and coming into the season with confidence. Tigers’ starter Brad Penny gave up 3 runs in each of the first two innings before settling himself down and holding the Yanks scoreless in the next two. After the Tigers scored 1 run in the 3rd, they added two more in the top of the fifth inning go reduce the Bronx Bombers lead to 6-3, Robinson Cano hit a disputed lead-off, double in the bottom of the 5th for the Yanks, Penny got Nick Swisher to ground out, but he walked the DH, Jorge Posada, and that was the end of the day for Penny on the mound.

The book wasn’t closed on the Tigers right-hander until Russell Martin hit a 3 run homer to left-center field off Brad Thomas to give the Yankees their 9-3 lead that eventually turned into the 10-6 win. Penny ended up allowing 8 of the Yankees 10 runs, while striking out 3 and walking 4.

Penny was making his first American League start since August 1, 2009, when he was a member of the Boston Red Sox, ironically against the New York Yankees.

The Tigers and Yankees conclude their opening weekend series from Yankee Stadium this afternoon, when Max Scherzer takes the mound for Detroit, against the Yankees Phil Hughes.

If you have been paying attention to the predictions heading into the 2011 MLB season, it would appear that the opening weekend series against the New York Yankees would loom to be important.

Many writers and sportscasters have predicted that the Boston Red Sox would win the American League East, leaving the Yankees to battle for the Wild-Card slot. Of the 45 experts to pick for ESPN, all 45 picked the Sox to win the east. While 34 picked the Yankees to win the wild card, 6 of the 45 picked the Tigers to win the AL Central, while another two picked Detroit to win the Wild Card.

So, if the prognosticators are correct and the Tigers and Yankees are battling for the Wild Card slot in the playoffs, thru games 1 and 2 of the season, advantage goes to the Yankees.

Despite the fact that the Tigers can’t win this series against the Yankees, for the season opener, they have a chance to redeem themselves against the bombers in a 4-game series back at Comerica Park May 1-5.

Let’s hope that during that series, Brad Penny, has returned to the form he showed in spring training, and “Brad Penny: AL edition 2.0” is proving the so-called experts wrong.

2011 Season is underway. 1-down, 161 to go.

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:37:00 +0000

Coming into the season the Detroit Tigers said that one of the keys to the season was Justin Verlander having a good April. Technically today is still March, but the fact remains the same, in season action for his career, Justin Verlander has a 7-11 5.06 ERA in games during the months of March/April.

Verlander said all spring that he wanted to start the year strong. His record in the month of May stands at18-8, with a 2.75 ERA, so while what is considered the 2nd month of the season is Verlander’s best month; his season start pitching in March/April is his worst pitching month.

Verlander has said he was going to try and get off to a better start. Um, sure thing Justin.

Next!

The Tigers lost game one of the season, to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, 6-3. The good news is that Verlander didn’t take the loss- that went to Phil Coke, pitching out of the bullpen to start the season. The bad news for Detroit is that Verlander still struggled, despite striking out 8 Yankees in the outing, and was pulled at the end of the 6th inning, because he had thrown 114 pitches. Today’s game was the 62nd time in 166 career starts Verlander has thrown over 114 pitches.

I understand that the Yankees take a lot of pitches, and that Verlander has the tendency “go for the K” instead of pitching to contact and allowing his fielders to make the play. That being said, Manager Jim Leyland and Pitching Coach Rick Knapp, can’t continue to allow Verlander to throw that many pitches early in a game, let alone in the season.

Coke gave up a home run to former Tiger Curtis Granderson in the 7th inning, and that was soon followed up Derek Jeter driving in Russell Martin, on a Sacrifice Fly. The Yankees later added an insurance run in the 8th inning. Coke was in the game for 2 reasons:
1) Curtis Granderson was the lead off batter in the 7th and part of the reason the Tigers shipped him off to New York back in December 2009 was that the team felt that Granderson was weak against left-handed pitching, and that fact was just going to get worse.
2) Phil Coke is starting the season as Detroit’s 5th starter, and won’t be needed to start a game for the Tigers until later on this month, so- in order to get him some work, he is pitching in relief.

So today’s Tigers game ended the way many others have, with Mariano Rivera recording his 560th career save in a New York Yankees win.

The star of the game had to be former Tiger Curtis Granderson who went 1-3 at the plate with the tie-breaking homer off Coke, as well as 2 outstanding plays in the field in the Yankee victory.

The Tigers have the day off tomorrow, and the series returns on Saturday from Yankee Stadium with Brad Penny taking the mound for the Tigers against A.J. Burnett for New York.

Wow, where DID the time go??

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 22:57:00 +0000

Wow, sometimes life can certainly get in the way and keep someone from accomplishing things that need to be done, like working on Tiger Tizzy.

That being said, the season is 4 days away, and as spring training games come to a close, the Detroit Tigers could only manage 3 field goals as they lost to the Baltimore Orioles by a 14-9 score this afternoon in Sarasota, Florida.

The good news for Detroit is that the recently named starter at 2B, Will Rhymes went 3 for 3, with a run scored as he raised his spring training batting average to .328, to go along with a .377 OBP for the spring.

While I certainly don’t expect Rhymes to keep up that kind of production during the course of the regular season, it certainly bodes will for the first month of the season, and who knows, Rhymes could end up being a “sleeper” for the Tigers this year. So much for my speculation earlier in spring training that Sizemore would win the job.

The bad news for the Tigers is that Max Scherzer got pounded allowing 12 runs, 11 earned in his final start before the regular season. Hopefully this was just a one-time thing for the young right-hander. It’s hard to be terribly optimistic about a pitcher that ends spring training with an ERA that is 10.38 however.

Every time I start discussing spring training stats, I am reminded of Midre Cummings, however.

For those of you who do not know the name, well there’s a reason for it. Cummings ended up playing 11 seasons in the Majors, but from 1993-1997, he was in just about EVERY Pittsburgh Pirates spring training highlight shown on SportsCenter. And just like clockwork, by the time July rolled around Cummings was buried deep on the Pirates bench or back in the minors.

Yet, for 4 seasons, the man was just KILLING it in spring training. There is no way of tracking it but it just seemed like every spring training at bat ended up with Cummings striking out in glorious fashion, or hitting a bomb, that might be landing in Cuba just about now. I mean those baseballs he hit out of the park had some SERIOUS hang-time. For the record, Cummings ended his 11 year MLB career with a .257 career batting average, and 22 career homers.

I wish I could find out, but I bet he had close to 22 career spring training home runs in far fewer than his 1,113 regular season AB’s.

There, so I guess that was a really LONG winded way of saying I’m not expecting a .328 batting average for the season for Will Rhymes, or a 10.38 ERA for Max Scherzer.

Just call them spring training fluke events.

Oh, and by the way, welcome back to Tiger Tizzy, and I'm glad you stuck around.

Cabrera Reports, makes statement.

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 14:02:00 +0000

According to reports Cabrera’s agent met with Dave Dombrowski Wednesday night making it clear Cabrera’s arrival in Lakeland was immanent.

Team officials announced after the team’s workout on Thursday, that Cabrera would address the media in Lakeland later in the afternoon.

Cabrera spoke, for a few moments, mostly in Spanish, with translation provided by Tigers Vice President, Assistant General Manager Al Avila. In his statement, which lasted for around 30 minutes, Cabrera “asked for forgiveness” and said the alcohol-fueled incident of 9 days ago was “just one bad decision on my part”.

Major League Baseball issued no suspension or even mandatory counseling for Cabrera, but in a statement released by MLB, Rob Manfred- Executive Vice President of Labor Relations, said “Mr. Cabrera understands the importance of this problem and is fully committed to the program”, and continued with “He also understands that any future alcohol-related incidents could involve more serious consequences”.

This is Cabrera’s second incident involving alcohol, where authorities have had to become involve, and is violation of MLB’s substance-abuse policy. The first of course was back in 2009.

Despite the fact that MLB did not suspend or require Cabrera to enter mandatory counseling, the last line of the statement issued, made it clear that Cabrera will not be given a “slap on the hand”, if there is a 3rd strike violation of the policy.

Cabrera also said that he won’t be issuing a statement to the entire Tigers team, but that he would speak to his teammates individually to apologize.

Reaction from his teammates, of course was forgiving. Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge said” We’re not mad at him. We’re not disappointed in him. We’re going to forgive him”.

Tigers officials are working hard to find someone who can supervise Cabrera on a regular basis, much like what the Texas Rangers have provided to their All-Star, but abuse-troubled, Outfielder Josh Hamilton.

In the meantime, the Tigers confirmed that Cabrera’s treatment will take place while he is around the team, and that Cabrera has been cleared to rejoin the club in full capacity, starting with workouts in Lakeland Friday morning.

Cabrera will not be taking part in the team’s annual exhibition opener against Florida Southern College, which will take place this afternoon.

Worst Case scenario, what if Miguel Cabrera misses the season?

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:28:00 +0000

The elephant that has been in the room since last Thursday has finally been seen and introduced to everyone in attendance.

Since he was arrested for drunk driving in Florida late Wednesday night, and the news got out Thursday morning, the question everyone was asking so VERY silently has finally been asked. Kudos to Matt Sussman of Mlive.com for doing so.

What happens if Miguel Cabrera misses the entire 2011 season?

Let’s face it; the Tigers have already announced that Cabrera will not be disciplined by MLB. So the idea of Cabrera missing even most of the season is very unlikely, but what will the Tigers do if Cabrera must sit out the season as he takes care of this problem?

Here’s what I think. (I have not read the article yet, so this is MY opinion, and not that of Matt Sussman.)

Well for starters, Cabrera won’t be traded or released, for better or worse, the Tigers have made Cabrera the “face” of the lineup, if not the team- apologies to Justin Verlander if I am completely off base. Cabrera is under contract with the Tigers thru the 2016 season, with no way to leave unless the team does the unlikely and makes a trade.

In all likelihood, the Tigers move Magglio Ordonez from RF to first base, but in conjunction with that move, newly acquired Victor Martinez, will split time with Ordonez at first base instead of at Catcher. The Tigers also might have to add another catcher, in some sort of minor move, to fill in for Alex Avila behind the plate.

That is just the first part of the scenario, involving the pieces of the puzzle.

Next, Jim Leyland and his coaching staff will have to take into account that Ordonez has zero games played at first base in his career. The already iffy Detroit defense will get worse having Ordonez at first, it won’t be AS bad with Martinez, but by having Ordonez at first base, every other player in the Tigers infield will have to work harder and concentrate solely on making the routine play, anything involving more risk has to be taken out of the equation. The impetus has to be on getting the “safe” out.

The pitching staff will also be affected by this move, as they too have to take a more conservative approach to trying to get the batters out. They will have to work on pitching to the strength of the defense, again with the intent of getting the safe out.

To see what Matt Sussman of Mlive thought the course of action would be in the “worst case scenario”, click on the link, as always.

Spring Training Update: Tuesday Feb 22

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:27:00 +0000

Just Days after announcing the pitchers who will start the first two games of Spring Training, Leyland announced the starting pitchers for the regular season opener and the home opener.

It’s no surprise that Justin Verlander will start the season opener on Thursday March 31, at Yankee Stadium in New York. The start will be Verlander’s 4th season opening start, the most since Jack Morris started 11 in a row from 1980-1990. Meanwhile, the starter for the Tigers home opener at Comerica Park will be Max Scherzer on April 8.

This spring training, there has been lots of optimism regarding the Tigers, Miguel Cabrera excluded, and in addition to Leyland announcing that Verlander will be the Opening Day starter, Leyland also said that he expects that Verlander will be a 20-game winner,“on a consistent basis”. Verlander has been close, winning 17 and 19 games once and 18 games a season twice already in his 6 major league seasons.

With the signing of contracts by 6 players on Monday, the Tigers now have 31 of the 40 players under contract for the 2011 season. At the time of this posting, I am still trying to figure out the final 9 players on the 40-man roster unsigned for 2011. By my records Detroit as 12 players unsigned, but according to an article published today in the Detroit News, Tom Gage says the Tigers have 9 unsigned- so I have missed the signing of 3 players. As soon as I have it, figured out, I will be updating things here on Tiger Tizzy.

Speaking of Tom Gage, at the bottom of this article, Gage lists 10 things that “Tigers nation” should be keeping an eye on for 2011. Interestingly enough, Tiger Tizzy has already addressed issues #2, 3, 4 and 9.

Stay tuned, as I am currently finishing my Starting Pitchers, OF/DH and Bench reviews, as well as taking a quick look at the role Jim Leyland and GM Dave Dombrowski will end up playing in the success or relative failure of the 2011 Detroit Tigers.

Also good news on how Carlos Guillen is looking as he comes back from micro-fracture surgery. Word all during the off season was that Guillen was on track. Then, just days before spring training started, Jim Leyland told reporters that he “didn’t think Guillen will be ready”. Of course red-flags went up all across Tigers-nation that Guillen’s injury history would end up coming back to hurt the Tigers for 2011.

Now that camp is underway, Leyland is backing off of those pre-Tigers Winter Caravan comments, as evidenced by this comment on Sunday afternoon; “I’m pinching myself. I don’t want to get crazy, but he has looked really good”. The Tigers aren’t yet ready to hand the starting job at 2nd to Guillen just yet, because there is still a lot of work to do to have Carlos ready for the 162-game grind, but it certainly eases MY mind that Guillen seems to be headed in the right direction health-wise.

Just coming across the wire as I was working on this post, news came from Florida that Tigers Slugger Miguel Cabrera has an arraignment date of Wednesday March 16, 2011 in Circuit Court in Fort Pierce, Florida. In the meantime, camp continues without the slugger, for the rest of your Detroit Tigers

Spring Training Update.

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:18:00 +0000

All is quiet on the Miguel Cabrera front as Spring Training enters week #2, and the first week with all players at camp (Cabrera excluded).

Dave Dombrowski said on Sunday that Cabrera is being looked at by MLB doctors and he didn’t rule out that Cabrera “could be away longer than a few days”, if it is decided that Cabrera needs to enter a rehab facility, but that decision hasn’t yet been reached. Dombrowski also said that the Tigers will comply with the recommendation from the Doctor.

New Tiger Victor Martinez has endeared himself to the catchers in camp. On Friday night Martinez treated all 6 minor league catchers, as well as catching mate Alex Avila, and bullpen catcher Scott Pickens to dinner in Orlando.

Manager Jim Leyland has announced who will get the starts for the Tigers first two games, this spring. Minor league prospect Andy Oliver will start the game Friday in the annual tilt against Florida Southern College. He will be followed by prospect Jacob Turner, Daniel Schlereth and Ryan Perry. Detroit’s 2nd game of the spring is against the Toronto Blue Jays, with Phil Coke getting the start, to be followed by Jose Valverde, Brad Thomas and Robbie Weinhardt.

Former Tiger Sheffield files retirement papers

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 20:57:00 +0000

Former Tiger Gary Sheffield has officially filled his retirement papers with Major League Baseball, on Thursday.

The 42-year-old Sheffield, hit 509 career home runs, with 1676 RBI in a career that lasted 22 seasons with 8 teams, including Detroit. Sheffield played with the Tigers during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, he ranks 24th all-time in career home runs.

The always opinionated Sheffield says that he thinks he’s got a Hall of Fame worthy career, but unfortunately for Sheff, his testimony to the BALCO grand jury, admitting steroids, will probably keep him out.

Whether or not Sheffield is really a HOF worthy candidate will make for a fun debate.

One Man's Opinon on the Miguel Cabrera Story

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:32:00 +0000

The Detroit sports-talk radio shows have been covering the Miguel Cabrera story all day, since earlier today the story broke that Cabrera was arrested on charges of Drunk-Driving in Florida.

Most everyone knows that Cabrera had an alcohol related incident at the end of the 2009 Tigers season, and after the story broke this morning about his latest incident, Dan Le Batard reported of an incident that happened during a photo-shoot for ESPN the Magazine where the then 20 year-old Cabrera was drunk to the point of “scaring” people.

I am a HUGE baseball and lifetime Detroit Tiger fan, that’s one of the reasons why I started writing for Tiger Tizzy.

The 2011 season SEEMED to be one full of potential and promise as Spring Training started. The news of Miguel Cabrera’s relapse to drinking has put that cause for optimism on hold. As a Tiger fan I want to see Cabrera on the field for 162 games and 600+ AB’s so they can maybe reach the World Series. If Miguel Cabrera does that, the Tigers have a better chance of going to the Series, than if Cabrera misses significant playing time, that’s not fiction; it’s just the bottom line truth.

MY hope for the Detroit Tigers is that they do the proper thing for Miguel Cabrera the PERSON. I don’t know Miguel Cabrera, nor have I ever even met the man, and I probably never will. The number of athletes, who have battled alcoholism and lost, is well documented. The Tigers can show they are a first–class organization by doing whatever is needed in 2011 to take care of Miguel Cabrera the person, no matter what the effect will be for the 2011 team on the field.

Hopefully, the Detroit Tigers, Cabrera’s agent, the MLB players union and Cabrera himself will admit there is reason to believe he has some sort of addiction, and they all work together to treat the disease. Thousands of “regular” people without Cabrera’s talents, money and potential support systems have been able to beat alcohol. They have done so because they realized what they might have lost in their lives if they didn’t change. I hope that Miguel Cabrera will come to the same realization, sooner rather than later.

Do the Tigers have "dead weight"? They might...

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:11:00 +0000

In an article yesterday in the Free Press, beat writer John Lowe points out that unlike last season, where the Tigers were carrying dead weight, specifically in the form of members of the pitching staff. Three days into spring training, the word out of Lakeland is; that is not the case this season.

Last year the Tigers paid over $20 Million for the performances of Dontrelle Willis, Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson, who combined for 60 appearances 315.2 IP, 15-20 with a 5.59 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in the Majors during the 2010 season. The details of the various contracts are listed at the bottom of this article for those of you who are interested.

I think that the Tigers have a couple of players that can either contribute or end up being “dead weight”, and hopefully for Detroit’s sake they end up being able to contribute.

I hope the Tigers get a good contribution out of Carlos Guillen this season, but if he can’t recover fully from micro-fracture surgery, he could VERY well end up being $13 Million worth of dead weight.

Another potential “dead weight” player, in my opinion, is reliever Joaquin Benoit. Pitcher performances can fluctuate radically from season to season, and while Benoit last year in Tampa Bay, appeared to be perfectly healthy after having rotator cuff surgery in 2008, the possibility exists that he could struggle in his first season in Detroit.

With the breaking news out of Florida this morning, Miguel Cabrera could end up having a very rocky year as he struggles with his sobriety, and while you can’t say that a potential MVP candidate (when sober) like Cabrera will end up being dead weight, if he has to miss time to get sober and struggles with it, his $20 Million contract will be VERY hard to live-up to.

So I ask you, Tiger Tizzy followers, do the 2011 Tigers have dead weight on the roster? If so, who?

Here are the details of how much the Tigers paid of Robertson and Willis's contracts for last year, as well as where Willis, Bonderman and Robertson are now.

Robertson was traded to the Marlins at the end of March, with Detroit paying $9.6 Million of his contract. He was then designated for assignment on July 21 and released on July 27, and pitched for two other NL teams and in the minors.

Willis was traded to Arizona in June, with the Tigers picking up all of Willis salary except for a pro-rated portion of the $400,000 MLB minimum, and he too spent time pitching in the minor leagues.

Of course, Bonderman spent all of 2010 in the Tiger organization, and they let his contract expire and he remains a free agent at this point of spring training. Robertson signed a minor-league deal with the Mariners while Willis signed a minor-league deal with the Reds.