The Youngbloodz

First off: Bravo, Miguel Cabrera. He literally apologized to everyone he could think of, and is committed to getting treatment for his alcohol abuse. The team loves him, the organization loves him, and the fans should love him. If we hear one more slam against Cabrera from self-proclaimed Tigers fans, s**t's gonna hit. Seriously. 

So now can we move on from this ordeal? Cabrera's back in action, and our team is as solid as ever. Bring on Spring Training. 

Ok, so our rotation is basically set: we have an All-Star ace (Verlander), a soon-to-be-All-Star ace (Scherzer), a kid who is hopefully coming out of his sophomore slump and is returning to glory (Porcello), a question mark (Coke) and an even bigger question mark (Penny). Our rotation is pretty much set, and we will profile the Fab Five soon. In addition, we have a pretty solid bullpen, and we will profile their eccentricities in good time. For now, though, we will take a look at the two up-and-comers who (besides playing in the massacre exhibition game today, another useful forum to asses their talents)  make our usually bland farm system suddenly so exciting! 

#43    Andrew Oliver

2010 BIG LEAGUE STATS

W/L: 0-4   ERA: 7.36  WHIP: 1.77 

So he didn't have the best stint last year, but remember, he's 23 years old. Andy Oliver could be a great Pitcher of the Future. Or, better yet, he could be excellent trade bait. But you know what? We at April in the D kind of want him around. He has the potential to be the next big thing out of our farm system, specifically in the Justin Verlander mold. He's not bad looking. He's not married, unlike 95% of the other Tigers. The veteran Tigers seem to like and respect him. Club chemistry may not be theeee most important thing, but it definitely doesn't hurt. So, if Coke can't handle being a starter or Porcello blows up or Penny just sucks in general, we would have no problem giving this rookie a chance. All that being said, we have even more confidence in this next guy...

#50        Jacob Turner

2010 Big League Stats:

NONE

There's no doubt about it: we need to hold on to this kid. Jim Leyland himself said that he doesn't "want to get carried away with anything, [but] Turner looks really good." In our opinion, Leyland gets carried away with a lot of things, but we think he's right about this one. He's only 19 years old and in his second year of Major League ball, so people probably shouldn't go crazy and think he'll be at the Big Show to start the year. No. He needs to work on his control and decrease his walks, yes. But, when if someone on our pitching staff gets injured, he would be a great choice for a call-up. We think that Turner is the kid we need to hold on to. It would be a mistake to give up this gem. 

Yes, it is important to take care of the Tiger Cubs in the system, especially these two. It will be an exciting part of Spring Training to see how well these guys perform. We're rooting for you both!

Sound Off!

http://www.foxsportsdetroit.com/pages/aprilinthed

So a few days ago we reported that FSDetroit was about to announce their semifinalists for their much-anticipated April in the D theme song contest. Well, just a day later they revealed their choices for the 10 semifinalists, and we as the constituency must vote for our desired top 3 finalists. You can check out the semifinalists in all of their glory here, and as an added bonus you can read our heartfelt critiques below! We don't claim to be music critics here at April in the D, but we do know what we personally would like to hear every inning during the month of April. We know it has nothing to do with the game of baseball, but...just deal with it! Join us after the jump!

Beam Me Up Scotty!

As many of you know, we have a lot of talent and potential at the second base position.  Carlos Guillen, a veteran and fan-favorite, continually has pop in his bat and has played second base incredibly well, but we have a lot of fresh young boys--Mighty Mouse (Will Rhymes), Scott Sizemore, and danny worth--who could do the job as well.   Earlier this week on DesigNateRoberson(a great and very funny Tigers blog if you haven't checked it out), the second basemen were compared by many variables, which inspired us over here to look, in depth, at what makes baseball players important.

LOOKS.

So why don't we start with who really should get the job?

Carlos Guillen

Although he has great numbers
(Career .286 AVG, and .801 OPS, our personal favorite statistic, (PLUS he hit .320 in '05 and '06)),
he still manages to look so bad in every picture he takes! How does he have a double chin? He's an infielder!  We've also heard that he's a flirt, which we guess is a plus, but that's about all he has going for him.
Okay, in truth, Carlos is a fantastic player, and has done a lot for the Tigers in the past (the magical '06 season, to be sure).  He may be a little old and fragile right now, but if the Tigers were to base their second baseman choice on experience and skill, then he would be the choice.  But, obviously, the Tigers need to account for "other" factors... so on to the backups.

Will Rhymes

Everyone loves Mighty Mouse.  Everyone.  But let's take a look at his statistics, shall we?
5'9, 155lbs, and greasy hair that looks like a 70's porn star. 
Will is great because of the way he involves the fans in everything that he does. And on the plus side, he's got intelligence: he graduated from William and Mary with a degree in molecular biology, so when he's too old for baseball he can be a famous doctor or something; but we're not gold diggers here at April in the D, we pick our men based on APPEARANCES...not income.
In real life, Will has proved himself in his limited time in the majors.  In 191 AB he's hit .304 with 19 RBI and an acceptable OPS of .763. His main competition comes from our last contender, last year's starting second baseman:

Scott Sizemore

Good Lord!! The guy that just last year Jim Leyland said was "as pale as a milk bottle" is stronger, faster, and better looking than ever!  Let's see one more:


PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com


So nice.  Scotty has amazing minor league numbers, but when he came up to the big leagues last year,  despite us all rooting for him, he kind of crashed and burned.  According to Leyland though, he's looking better than ever.  Although his major league numbers are worse than Rhymes' (143 AB, . 224 AVG, 14 RBI, .631 OPS)  he has a larger range than Will (maybe because he's +3 inches?), and is much better at turning the double play.  We believe, here at April in the D, that THIS one deserves the job!  (Just look at those eyes! Good lord!)

Here's lookin' at you, Scott!

Sweet, Sweet Music

It's funny how, after such a boring offseason, as soon as Spring Training starts everything goes crazy. And not just in bad ways. Miguel is getting help, thank God, so hopefully he will be blasting 400 feet HRs soon enough, in the loving embrace of his Tigers family. Also, today is the day that the whole team reported for the first official full-squad practice! Finally! Finally! After three and a half months of bleak, baseball-less winter, Spring Training is here to bring meaning back into our lives.

If all of that wasn't enough to put a smile on your face, check this out. As we were perusing the web today looking for interesting baseball tidbits, we found this. If you're too lazy to click on the provided link, then we'll just go ahead an tell you what it is: FSDetroit's April in the D song contest 2011!!!!!

Yes, the song that inspired this blog is going to be recreated again for the magical 2011 season. On the website you can find past April in the D song winners from 2008-10. Our personal favorite was The Good Luck Joes' stunning rendition from 2009. That was the soundtrack to my April two years ago. Last year's winner by Victorious Secret was just so-so (they moved on to bigger and better things, though--namely, Freecreditreport.com commercials) but this year's competition holds such promise! 

First of all, the judges: all you need to know here is that Kid Rock is judging. Awesome. Kid Rock knows rock and the D. We also like the choices of Brad Stuart, the sexy accomplished defenseman from the Red Wings, and Mickey York, who is to Tigers Live what Al Roker is to the Today Show. We're not sure what they have to do with music, but they know the D. The other judges (especially ones with names like "Treasure"--what is she, a stripper?) are a little suspect, but overall this is promising!

However, as fun as it may be, we don't think this competition is necessary. We should just have Eminem do it! Hello?! It would be perfect. His new album, in which he shares his struggles with addiction and how he overcame it, is kick-ass. He obviously knows the D and music in general. He's intimidating as hell. All of this embodies our 2011 Detroit Tigers!!!! I mean, obviously people like Clete Thomas and Will Rhymes aren't too intimidating, but we're talking the team as a whole. Would it be good? It would be the sickest April in the D ever. Family friendly? Maybe not, but thats not what we're going for here. We're going for original. 

Despite Eminem or someone just as cool not singing the April in the D theme, we're very excited for this contest, not just because we can't wait to hear the entries, but because April is drawing nearer and nearer. Hurry up, Spring!!! 

Happy, Happy! (Happy?) Happy.

Now, in the midst of all this trouble and despair (see post below) you might think that even thinking about the Tigers might make us feel miserable and melancholy.  Not so! There is (almost) always something happy/fun/amusing going on in the Tigers organization, and there is one person in particular who pretty much EVERY DAY puts a smile on our faces.  THIS is that person:

courtesy willrhymes.com

Will Rhymes, aka Mighty Mouse (thank you Rod Allen) is a God-send to Tigers fans like us because he is CONSTANTLY updating his twitter/website with pictures, quotes, and general Detroit Tigers information to keep us bored-out-of-our-minds-during-the-offseason fans entertained.  SO, in his honor, we have decided to start a segment dedicated to the tiniest Tiger's little twitter adventures.  

Let's see what Mighty Mouse has been up to, shall we?

Yesterday:

WILL RHYMES

Red Wings are good, fun to watch. Detroit fans outnumbered tampa fans. Further proving Detroit has the best fans.

Well, thank you Mr. Rhymes!!  For saying we are the best fans ever! And isn't he just Mr. Detroit, going over to watch the Red Wings!
See?!  You're happier already! But that's not all ... Mighty Mouse has a whole website dedicated to himself and to his glory (and to "reaching out" to the Detroit Community).  Go over and check it out.  Really. Do it.  Also go stalk his twitter for little pictures of Tigers stuff.  And why don't you just follow him if you have a twitter, so you ALWAYS KNOW what he and the Tigers are up to!

Also, to make you all feel better:

PURE HAPPINESS
We still love you, Tigers!

Whole Lotta Trouble

Happier Times....

Really, Gods of Baseball?
Someone up there has a very sick sense of humor. Catching Miguel Cabrera drunk and driving in Florida is bad enough--letting him then be busted by cops while clearly in blackout mode is even worse. Why couldn't it be Joe Mauer???

All kidding aside, this is really bad. Miguel had supposedly sobered up since his last binge right before our key playoff game with the Twins. Now its happened again, putting question marks up for our already questionable team before Spring Training games start. Who else will play first base if Miggy's out? Don Kelly? Miggy could play better completely smashed than Don Kelly could sober (sorry Don, its true).

And I know we have V-Mart now, and he can play first base, but the idea behind that was that Miggy and V-Mart would play at the same time! Total ass-kicking can commence. Without Miguel, there will not be total ass-kicking. There will be no ass-kicking. Wins would be more of the come-from-behind or win-by-a-fluke variety.

Ok, I over-exaggerate...none of that is important at all. Obviously, the most important thing here is that Miguel gets better, even if that means he takes some time off. And it's very unlikely that the Tigers organization turns their back on him... no, it's actually impossible. And, as a bleak, faintly glimmering silver lining, at least this is happening before the season happens. He can take the time to get better and hopefully be ready by April. His health is always the most important thing. We hate fair weather fans here at April in the D, and Tiger Nation should be behind Miguel 110%. This is the kind of challenge that the team can overcome and that will make them better in the long run.
Still, with all that being said...
Why couldn't this happen to Minnesota?!

Let the Games Begin!

Hello, Tigers fans everywhere! This is our sad little attempt at blogging about the mayhem and misadventures that occur in the amazing city of Detroit.

We are sure you're wondering a little bit about who WE are. Well, we'll tell you! We're three collegiate sisters who have a big obsession with everything Tigers. Why "April in the D?" Because of our love for those ridiculous songs that come on FSDetroit. You know the ones. It's hard to find more devoted Tigers fans than ourselves, and we are crazy about this 2011 team--but we don't mind objectifying or making fun of them, either. There's nothing wrong with that!

Over the course of the season, we will attempt to share our views on everything from the the coaching staff, front office decisions, the crazy antics of Rod Allen and Mario Impemba, individual games, our hatred of the Yankees Twins White Sox most of the other teams in the AL, and, of course, the beloved Tigers themselves.

Spring Training is finally here, so that means the first games are as well! We. Can't. Wait.