Thursday, May 21, 2015

Detroit Tigers. An objective look

Tiger fans likely remember when their team started off this season 6-0. True to form, some of their local scribes went off the Pollyanna deep end and mentioned the 1984 Tigers which had started their season an incredible 35-5. Could this year's team match it? Seven more games and the Tigers were 11-2. Still very impressive and they would have to go 24-3 in their next 27 outings but, dammit, anything's possible, the glass half-fullers said.

Since then, the Tigers have gone 14-15. A thud back to reality. Instead of being in first place in their own division, the Tigers find themselves 2 1/2 games behind the KC Royals, and only a half game ahead of the Minnesota Twins for third. For that matter, they're only a couple games away from being fourth in the AL Central. So much for the glass half empty scenario, but it should come as no surprise given their roster.

They lost Cy Younger Max Scherzer to free agency.
Rick Porcello is now with the Red Sox.
A while back they gave up starter Doug Fister in a trade for which they basically got nothing in return.
Long time work horse and former ace Justin Verlander has been on the shelf with arm problems since shortly after this season began. The Fastball Flakes man was merely a journeyman pitcher last year and nobody knows if he'll ever return to his former dominating self. Father Time and all those 130+ pitch games over the years are not exactly working in his favor these days.
Anabel Sanchez was terrific in 2014, but lately looks like he's throwing batting practice to other teams. Crack. There goes another one.
In other words, their once formidable starting rotation is no more.
Sure, the Tigers have plugged in other pitchers who have had some degree of success this year, but mostly they're castoffs from other teams. Even the Tigers have subliminally admitted it. Take Shane Green, for example. You don't assign a starting pitcher the uniform number of 61 if you think he's going to be a star. That's for scrubs in spring training or maybe an offensive guard for the Detroit Lions that play across the street.

Their bullpen is as nail-biting as ever. The Tigers keep hoping flame-thrower Bruce Rondon will come around as a closer. That's good news and bad news. The good news is Rondon can throw fastballs a bazillion miles per hour. The bad news is he can only stay healthy for 5 minutes at a time. It's always something.

Slugger Miguel Cabrera continues to be a force at the plate. That's a good thing. Defensively, Cabrera isn't exactly a standout, and speed-wise on the basepathes -- fuhgettaboutit. Not so good. He's there for his bat. Period.
Aging co-slugger Victor Martinez finds himself hobbled and may or may not ever get back to 2014 form. See Father Time mentioned above. Thing is, Martinez can only play in the American League. That's because of the designated hitter rule that the National League doesn't have. Martinez can play no, repeat NO defensive position. And he's even slower than Cabrera. Truly a one-dimensional player.

Ian Kinsler remains a solid second baseman both with the bat and the glove, and the Tigers adding Yoenis Cespides to clear up that pesky "who's in left field today" problem last year was a terrific move. Yo Ces is the real deal.

Catcher Alex Avila was never much with the bat but known for his defensive abilities behind the plate. Now he's out too with an injury, duration unknown. Plus he seems to have an uncanny, if dubious talent for repeatedly getting hit in the head by objects travelling at a high rate of speed. This is great for a crash test dummy, but maybe not so good for the long term health of a major league baseball player.

Anthony Gose came on board for the Tigers this year. He was drafted way back in 2008 by the Phillies and has spent most of the last seven years bouncing around in the minor leagues. The Tigers got him for a ham sandwich from the Toronto Blue Jays. He's fast, but there's a reason he hasn't stuck with a major league club. Something about hitting consistently.

J.D. Martinez had an out of his mind season last year. Nobody saw that coming. Is that the real J.D. that others somehow overlooked, or will he thud back to earth as well? Time will tell.

All in all, the Detroit Tigers are currently an average team. They have their assets, but their liabilities as well. They could well win their division again, but could just as well wind up in fourth place, even the basement if the Cleveland Indians (who Sports Illustrated predicted to win the World Series this year) ever get their act together.

It all depends on which philosophy one wishes to buy into. Glass half-full? Glass half-empty? Take your pick and see you in October when we'll all find out who's who.

In the meantime, yours truly will continue to steadfastly stick by his own way of analyzing such complex issues. My system is actually quite simple and it's served me well over the years.

Start off with utter lunacy, and stick to it. What could possibly go wrong, go wrong, go wrong with that?

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