Baseball is back, and so are we! As the regular season has finally gotten underway, the three of us think it's high time to resume writing on this blog regularly. With the added stress of school, work, family, and other stressors, we haven't gotten to see as much baseball as we would like. That is about to change.
After the first week of baseball, our boys are 4-3. Not great, you say? We beg to differ. This season we have made a solemn vow--we are NOT gonna let the haterz get us down. How quickly people forget what happened last season! A shitty first 2/3rds of the season and almost everyone was checking out, and then BOOM! Our Tigers were World Series bound. So even if we DON'T do as well in April (in the D! [!!!!!]) as everyone thinks we should, who the hell cares? It's one month! That being said, 4-3 ain't all that bad, folks, and we'll tell ya why.
This top 5 (Austin Jackson, Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Victor Martinez) is the best we've ever seen on our team. When they're on, they're on, and it has been evidenced very early in the season that they can be hard--if not impossible--to stop. Save for V-Mart, who we are expecting to take a little more time to get going (he HAS been gone for a year) the Fab Five have already made their mark.
Ajax is the catalyst for this group, and whenever he gets on base their is a high likelihood that the Tigers will score. Torii has been extremely impressive in his first week as a Tiger, hitting .424 and scoring 4 runs. While we obviously don't expect him to keep up with that BA number, we do think he is going to fit in quite nicely in the D. And don't even get us started on his bromance with Austin!
And then there's our big boys, the dynamic duo of Miguel & Prince. If we're perfectly honest here, we think both have the potential to win an MVP award. Seriously. The potential of their numbers has grown exponentially thanks to V-Mart's intimidating presence. In our minds, Triple Crown King Miguel has a great shot a repeating by simply coming close to the numbers he did last year. We're not saying he will win the Triple Crown again, but we are saying he should be plenty of folks' pre-season pick for MVP.
As far as starting pitching go, we're willing to overlook a few bumps in April! All these group of fine (and we mean fine) gentlemen need are a few outings under their belts and they can get back to kicking ass and taking names like they did in the postseason. Why, look at Anibal Sanchez! His outing today against the better-than-average Toronto Blue Jay offense was outstanding. We predict by May/June JV & Co. will be utterly dominant.
And then we come to our bullpen.
This, as we have said before, is clearly going to be a trouble spot--our only real trouble spot, hopefully--this year. While we are confident in Drew Smyly, Al Alburquerque, Joaquin Benoit and Octavio Dotel, we honestly have not a clue what is to happen with our closing spot. True, the club did sign Jose Valverde, but we wouldn't call ourselves (or the rest of the Tigers fanbase) big fans of that move. Hopefully the team can figure out this issue sooner rather than later, or it could end up costing us more than a few games.
So for now, before people get too caught up in the stress and worry of will-the-or-won't-they-be-good-enough-to-make-the-playoffs-gahhh-help!!, relax and enjoy this lovely season of April in the D. IOnce again, it's going to be a fun and exciting year. We just know it.
PS-Congrats to Alex Avila and his wife on the birth of their first child!!!!! We remember when Alex was just a yougin' making his first start in the bigs....*sniff sniff*
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Breaking Dawn
Can you feel it?
Feel what, you ask? Why, just the glorious sensation of this 2013 baseball season finally, mercifully starting up again. Pitchers and catchers officially reported to training camp today, and it feels like the beginning of something beautiful.
While the Indians may be making wanna-be flashy, late off-season moves, our team doesn't have to. Our Tigers are, once again, the team to beat in the AL Central, and THIS year our boys have the leadership and all-around experience to make another post-season run. The question is: are they going to put us through as much pain and stress as last year?
Seriously. You remember the absolute torture of last season. The last month was fun and exciting, but we do not deserve the up-and-down emotional roller coaster of 2012. But this year, we have our beloved V-Mart back, and the addition of perennial leader Torii Hunter. They can hopefully keep our team on pace and not give us so many heart attacks.
But lets get to one of the burning issues of the offseason, a question which we're sure you're all sick and tired of, which has been dissected by almost everyone and talked about at length. But who cares, because we're going to talk about it anyway!
There aren't many uncertainties on our roster this season, but the biggest and most obvious one would have to be Bruce Rondon.
Welcome to the team, Bruce! The haters have already started talking about how his inexperience and youth are going to doom our closer spot and wreck our chances at being an elite ball club. While it is true that having a crappy closer can definitely affect the swagger of a team, how is it fair to say that Bruce
Look. If Jimbo and our main man Dave Dombrowski think that the kid has the stuff to be a closer for this team, then he does. It's just a matter of him executing. We think Master Bruce is talented enough to close for our club. Whether he can handle the pressure remains to be seen, but we're not going to count him out before he even steps on the field.
The sun is rising once more on our team. It is no coincidence that our team is seemingly getting better and better as the years go on, but we think that our time is now. Who knows how long we're going to have all of these superstars and young talents together? It's time for our boys to take what is theirs, and it all starts in Lakeland. We can't wait to see what happens next.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Bye-Bye Brinks Truck
The boss gone. Whose walk-up song can we make fun of this year?!
We all know that Delmon Young was a free agent at the end of last year, but now we finally know where he'll be playing! The Phillies signed the portly DH to a one-year $750,000 contract. However, if we were Phillies fans, now would not be the time we'd be poppin' bottles of dat Rosé.
The Phillies' General Manager Ruben Amaro has said that they signed Delmon Young so that he could play right field for the Phillies. Everyday. Pardon our French, but what the f***?! This kind of decision is too ridiculous for even Jim Leyland to consider. Delmon Young is no good at defense; This is probably something to which even Delmon himself could admit. And he hasn't played right field in years...certainly not since he came to the Tigers. This makes the fact that the Phillies want him to play right field every single day for them simply unbelievable. It's so crazy, that we can hear the cries of despair from Phillies loyalists from around the nation as we type.
Perhaps Amaro sees something in Delmon that we Tigers fans did not. It's true that he came alive for us the past couple of postseasons. This postseason, Delmon was hitting when pretty much no one else was, and that was why he won MVP for the ALCS. You can't be a talentless hack and get a 1.186 OPS in the ALCS at the same time. Maybe the Phillies are hoping that Delmon hits like he did in the postseason all season for them. However, the chances of that happening are slim, especially since Demon might start the season for the Phillies on the Disabled List.
Despite the strangeness of this contract, we're happy thatwe don't have to deal with Delmon's bullshit anymore Delmon was signed somewhere else, and that he can continue playing the game he loves. If he plays for the Phillies like he played for us, we'll enjoy seeing him on the road this year! Bye-bye Brinks truck! And good riddance!
 |
| An injured Delmon Young goes to Philadelphia |
The Phillies' General Manager Ruben Amaro has said that they signed Delmon Young so that he could play right field for the Phillies. Everyday. Pardon our French, but what the f***?! This kind of decision is too ridiculous for even Jim Leyland to consider. Delmon Young is no good at defense; This is probably something to which even Delmon himself could admit. And he hasn't played right field in years...certainly not since he came to the Tigers. This makes the fact that the Phillies want him to play right field every single day for them simply unbelievable. It's so crazy, that we can hear the cries of despair from Phillies loyalists from around the nation as we type.
Perhaps Amaro sees something in Delmon that we Tigers fans did not. It's true that he came alive for us the past couple of postseasons. This postseason, Delmon was hitting when pretty much no one else was, and that was why he won MVP for the ALCS. You can't be a talentless hack and get a 1.186 OPS in the ALCS at the same time. Maybe the Phillies are hoping that Delmon hits like he did in the postseason all season for them. However, the chances of that happening are slim, especially since Demon might start the season for the Phillies on the Disabled List.
Despite the strangeness of this contract, we're happy that
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
The Return
We're baaaaaaaaaack!
Not as soon as we would have hoped, but April in the D is back in blogging business once more!
Sorry for the extended leave of absence, but after the acquisition of Torii Hunter, things got crazy for us! With finals, holidays, and job stress quickly rising, it was hard for us to keep up with this thing. Add on the heartbreak of our boys' World Series and it was the perfect recipe for completely neglecting this blog. We apologize.
But like a phoenix rises from the ashes, our blog too will be reborn! Our break was only temporary, folks--we are back for good.
Now, down to business. Stuff has happened since we've been gone, but not too much stuff. Miguel Cabrera did indeed win the MVP (yes, it has been THAT long since we've been on here) and it wasn't even all that close, and thank goodness for that! We always knew Cabrera would win out in the end, but we didn't think it would be such a convincing victory. Now he's in the running to be on the cover of MLB 13 The Show, but we have to vote him in. So, VOTE!
Also, lest we not forget that Anibal Sanchez is returning!!!! Yes, it's to the tune of $80 million, and yes, the Tigers apparently insulted him by a lesser offer at the Winter Meetings, but Dave Dombrowski waved his magic money wand bestowed to him by Mike Illitch and all was taken care of. We even got the pleasure of stealing Sanchez right from underneath the Cubs' nose! HA!
Since then, however, it's been a pretty tame winter. No big splashes at the Winter Meetings. No acquisitions of any hot rod stud players. Not that we care. With V-Mart healing up, Sanchez returning, and Torii on board, we should be ready for one hell of a season.
TigerFest and the caravan are upcoming, and with pitchers and catchers reporting in a matter of weeks, this winter is looking brighter already!
Not as soon as we would have hoped, but April in the D is back in blogging business once more!
Sorry for the extended leave of absence, but after the acquisition of Torii Hunter, things got crazy for us! With finals, holidays, and job stress quickly rising, it was hard for us to keep up with this thing. Add on the heartbreak of our boys' World Series and it was the perfect recipe for completely neglecting this blog. We apologize.
But like a phoenix rises from the ashes, our blog too will be reborn! Our break was only temporary, folks--we are back for good.
Now, down to business. Stuff has happened since we've been gone, but not too much stuff. Miguel Cabrera did indeed win the MVP (yes, it has been THAT long since we've been on here) and it wasn't even all that close, and thank goodness for that! We always knew Cabrera would win out in the end, but we didn't think it would be such a convincing victory. Now he's in the running to be on the cover of MLB 13 The Show, but we have to vote him in. So, VOTE!
Also, lest we not forget that Anibal Sanchez is returning!!!! Yes, it's to the tune of $80 million, and yes, the Tigers apparently insulted him by a lesser offer at the Winter Meetings, but Dave Dombrowski waved his magic money wand bestowed to him by Mike Illitch and all was taken care of. We even got the pleasure of stealing Sanchez right from underneath the Cubs' nose! HA!
Since then, however, it's been a pretty tame winter. No big splashes at the Winter Meetings. No acquisitions of any hot rod stud players. Not that we care. With V-Mart healing up, Sanchez returning, and Torii on board, we should be ready for one hell of a season.
TigerFest and the caravan are upcoming, and with pitchers and catchers reporting in a matter of weeks, this winter is looking brighter already!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
NoTORIIous
Well!
So, it's been a while. Fifteen days, to be exact. We don't know about you guys, but the three of us needed to take a breather from baseball. There is still too much pain after that World Series From Hell, and we needed to to remove ourselves from that situation.
But, as per usual, the game we love sucks us back in, in none other than the form of a notorious, card-carrying Tiger Killer, Torii Hunter. When we first read about the Tigers showing interest in the slick-fielding outfielder, our interest was piqued, but we didn't pay too much attention to it. We knew other teams were interested in him, and we figured Torii would need to take some time to weigh his options.
We were so, so wrong.
Torii Hunter doesn't wait for you to contact him, HE goes out and contacts YOU. We have never heard of a player pitch himself so strongly and confidently to a team, let alone our own Tigers. Remember when Dombrowski & Co. had to beg people to play in the D? Those days are clearly long, long gone. Now we have All-Star Gold Glove winners banging on our door, demanding to be let on the American League Championship team.
Times, they have a'changed. To put it crudely, the Tigers are suddenly the hottest bitches on the block, and everyone wants a go. Best part is, everyones on the same page: Hunter wants a WS ring. So does Illitch. The time is now.
Do people even realize what has happened? We have gone from Delmon Young and Brennan Boesch to Victor Martinez and Torii Hunter. In what world does this happen? Yankee Land, maybe, but not in Detroit. This is absolutely crazy.
So we guess it's time to cross Mr. Hunter of our hate list and nestle him in our hearts, because he is now One Of Us. It only makes it that much sweeter that Torii wanted to play in the Old English D. What can we say? We're an appealing club.
We will address the issue of JV's Cy Young loss and Miggy's impending MVP decision (gulp!) soon. Right now, let us bask in the glow of another already successful offseason.
So, it's been a while. Fifteen days, to be exact. We don't know about you guys, but the three of us needed to take a breather from baseball. There is still too much pain after that World Series From Hell, and we needed to to remove ourselves from that situation.
But, as per usual, the game we love sucks us back in, in none other than the form of a notorious, card-carrying Tiger Killer, Torii Hunter. When we first read about the Tigers showing interest in the slick-fielding outfielder, our interest was piqued, but we didn't pay too much attention to it. We knew other teams were interested in him, and we figured Torii would need to take some time to weigh his options.
We were so, so wrong.
Torii Hunter doesn't wait for you to contact him, HE goes out and contacts YOU. We have never heard of a player pitch himself so strongly and confidently to a team, let alone our own Tigers. Remember when Dombrowski & Co. had to beg people to play in the D? Those days are clearly long, long gone. Now we have All-Star Gold Glove winners banging on our door, demanding to be let on the American League Championship team.
Times, they have a'changed. To put it crudely, the Tigers are suddenly the hottest bitches on the block, and everyone wants a go. Best part is, everyones on the same page: Hunter wants a WS ring. So does Illitch. The time is now.
Do people even realize what has happened? We have gone from Delmon Young and Brennan Boesch to Victor Martinez and Torii Hunter. In what world does this happen? Yankee Land, maybe, but not in Detroit. This is absolutely crazy.
So we guess it's time to cross Mr. Hunter of our hate list and nestle him in our hearts, because he is now One Of Us. It only makes it that much sweeter that Torii wanted to play in the Old English D. What can we say? We're an appealing club.
We will address the issue of JV's Cy Young loss and Miggy's impending MVP decision (gulp!) soon. Right now, let us bask in the glow of another already successful offseason.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
World Series Games 2, 3, & 4: An Abrupt End
It's over.
We can't even believe we're writing this right now, but it is what it is. A fantastic, exciting, thrilling end of the season has culminated in a stunning, abrupt 4-game sweep at the hands of the San Francisco Giants. We're still in shock. There wasn't even anything to really cry or be too upset about. It wasn't a slow, painful loss. It was so…sudden.
The three of us were at Game 4, and it was fun. Until we lost. But even then we knew: this was not our year. We're not sure what the Giants did to become so dominant so sudden, but we're pretty sure its going to involve them all owing a debt to Hades or something.
But we're done talking about the disappointment. Even though the ending was shitty as can be, this CANNOT take away from our amazing run in this crazy year.
Our boys, who a month and a half ago looked too inept to win the division, made it to baseball's biggest stage. They played in the last game of the season. They made it to a World Series. Plus, we witnessed the first Triple Crown in 45 years courtesy of Miguel Cabrera and another Cy Young-deserving performance from Justin Verlander. Prince Fielder returned in triumphant fashion to the D, and fit seamlessly into the clubhouse. And you know what?
It will only get better next year.
Yes, we have to wait a few (four) months until Spring Training. But it will be worth it. Victor Martinez himself is returning to us, making an already formidable offense downright terrifying. Hopefully Dave Dombrowski will figure out a way to get Anibal Sanchez to return to the Fab Four, making our pitching staff as good as we've ever seen in the D.
Plus, we've got some scary good upcoming talent. Avisail Garcia, anyone? Kid may still need some work, but he's going to be good. And don't even get us started on (future outfielder?) Nick Castellanos. Those two are major reasons to get pumped about upcoming seasons.
And finally, Leyland is coming back. While some may not like this idea, and while we're certainly not 100% behind everything he does, Leyland just managed this team to a World Fucking Series after underperforming all year. He deserves some credit for this amazing year. The 1-year contract extension is perfect.
While we're ALL going to need a few days (or weeks, or months) to recover from this tragic ending to our season, we need to all remember how far this team went and how much further they can go next year. That's the beautiful thing about this team--even in the darkest of times, the future is very bright. We can't wait to see what it brings.
We can't even believe we're writing this right now, but it is what it is. A fantastic, exciting, thrilling end of the season has culminated in a stunning, abrupt 4-game sweep at the hands of the San Francisco Giants. We're still in shock. There wasn't even anything to really cry or be too upset about. It wasn't a slow, painful loss. It was so…sudden.
The three of us were at Game 4, and it was fun. Until we lost. But even then we knew: this was not our year. We're not sure what the Giants did to become so dominant so sudden, but we're pretty sure its going to involve them all owing a debt to Hades or something.
But we're done talking about the disappointment. Even though the ending was shitty as can be, this CANNOT take away from our amazing run in this crazy year.
Our boys, who a month and a half ago looked too inept to win the division, made it to baseball's biggest stage. They played in the last game of the season. They made it to a World Series. Plus, we witnessed the first Triple Crown in 45 years courtesy of Miguel Cabrera and another Cy Young-deserving performance from Justin Verlander. Prince Fielder returned in triumphant fashion to the D, and fit seamlessly into the clubhouse. And you know what?
It will only get better next year.
Yes, we have to wait a few (four) months until Spring Training. But it will be worth it. Victor Martinez himself is returning to us, making an already formidable offense downright terrifying. Hopefully Dave Dombrowski will figure out a way to get Anibal Sanchez to return to the Fab Four, making our pitching staff as good as we've ever seen in the D.
Plus, we've got some scary good upcoming talent. Avisail Garcia, anyone? Kid may still need some work, but he's going to be good. And don't even get us started on (future outfielder?) Nick Castellanos. Those two are major reasons to get pumped about upcoming seasons.
And finally, Leyland is coming back. While some may not like this idea, and while we're certainly not 100% behind everything he does, Leyland just managed this team to a World Fucking Series after underperforming all year. He deserves some credit for this amazing year. The 1-year contract extension is perfect.
While we're ALL going to need a few days (or weeks, or months) to recover from this tragic ending to our season, we need to all remember how far this team went and how much further they can go next year. That's the beautiful thing about this team--even in the darkest of times, the future is very bright. We can't wait to see what it brings.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
World Series Game 1: Wait…What?
Ahem.
So.
That game did not turn out as expected. Like, really, really not as expected. Crazy shit was happening and we kept looking around the room like, "Is this a joke? Are we on Punk'd? What in the world is going on here?"
First off, Justin Brooks Verlander did not look anything like Justin Brooks Verlander. Sure, he gave up his standard first-inning home run (to one persistent Panda). Annoying, but not unexpected and not anything our boys couldn't bounce back from. And then the third inning happened and all hell broke loose. A ball that should have been easily fielded by Miggy hit the bag and errantly rolled into left field. This seemed to shake our sweet JV, as he subsequently gave up 3 more runs in the inning and 4 more overall, including an RBI single to Barry Zito.
'Tis true. BARRY ZITO. That was when we knew the laws of nature/physics/the Gods were not on our side this game. We especially knew it when Delmon Young grounded into the weirdest double play ever, when Gregor Blanco robbed us not once but twice on identical plays, and JV was out of the game by the fifth inning. Unreal.
We would like to know--what kind of voodoo witch magic did the Giants cast to get such improbable wins? Who or what did they sacrifice to which god? Did they sell their souls to the devil? We're not sure, but that game was such a shit show of Improbable Things You Never Thought Would Happen that we're wiling to believe anything at this point. It was almost funny!!!
Almost.
You know what we need our Tigers to do now? Get pissed. Get angry. Get revenge. Justin Verlander has carried our team pitching-wise all year long. Now it's time for our team to come back in Game 2 and avenge him. We all know this team can bounce back from disappointment. The Giants and their Panda have had their fun. It's our team's turn now.
And for all you people giving up on our team already (we know you're there! We see you!!!): FOR SHAME. The sky is not falling, the world is not ending, and our team is nowhere close to being done. This was only a minor setback, and now it's time for our boys to step up on the world's biggest stage.
So.
That game did not turn out as expected. Like, really, really not as expected. Crazy shit was happening and we kept looking around the room like, "Is this a joke? Are we on Punk'd? What in the world is going on here?"
First off, Justin Brooks Verlander did not look anything like Justin Brooks Verlander. Sure, he gave up his standard first-inning home run (to one persistent Panda). Annoying, but not unexpected and not anything our boys couldn't bounce back from. And then the third inning happened and all hell broke loose. A ball that should have been easily fielded by Miggy hit the bag and errantly rolled into left field. This seemed to shake our sweet JV, as he subsequently gave up 3 more runs in the inning and 4 more overall, including an RBI single to Barry Zito.
'Tis true. BARRY ZITO. That was when we knew the laws of nature/physics/the Gods were not on our side this game. We especially knew it when Delmon Young grounded into the weirdest double play ever, when Gregor Blanco robbed us not once but twice on identical plays, and JV was out of the game by the fifth inning. Unreal.
We would like to know--what kind of voodoo witch magic did the Giants cast to get such improbable wins? Who or what did they sacrifice to which god? Did they sell their souls to the devil? We're not sure, but that game was such a shit show of Improbable Things You Never Thought Would Happen that we're wiling to believe anything at this point. It was almost funny!!!
Almost.
You know what we need our Tigers to do now? Get pissed. Get angry. Get revenge. Justin Verlander has carried our team pitching-wise all year long. Now it's time for our team to come back in Game 2 and avenge him. We all know this team can bounce back from disappointment. The Giants and their Panda have had their fun. It's our team's turn now.
And for all you people giving up on our team already (we know you're there! We see you!!!): FOR SHAME. The sky is not falling, the world is not ending, and our team is nowhere close to being done. This was only a minor setback, and now it's time for our boys to step up on the world's biggest stage.
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