Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat (and Vice Versa)

We love sports. Obviously, if you're reading this blog, you know that we do. We especially love baseball. Again, pretty obvious. But there are some annoying patterns that really drive us crazy. Perhaps the most annoying pattern of all is one that our Tigers currently experienced/are experiencing: just when we think they're about to gain momentum and go on some winning streak and everyone starts to click, we fall apart (read: Monday night's game). We lose. We fail.

At least, that's what the three of us thought yesterday as we watched our boys fall into an 0-6 hole. Oh great, we thought. Anemic offense and pathetic pitching. Thus is the story of our season so far. So soon had we forgotten the glory that was last year's comeback against the White Sox. And it happened again. In one inning, no less. Miguel Cabrera and Austin Jackson continued to be all kinds of awesome with their home runs, and Ryan Raburn decided to remember how to hit a ball and drove in for runs, including his first homer of the season. Not. Too. Shabby.

Is this finally the game that can get our boys, who we know to be capable of so much, on track? Four out of five (sorry Max) starting pitchers are looking good-if-not-great. Prince Fielder is waking up, Cabrera is alive, and Jackson is unstoppable. Hell, look at Andy Dirks. He's doing a better Boesch impersonation than Brennan himself, and Dirks has the defense to back himself up. Yes, it does look like our team is starting to put the pieces together, but to every silver lining there is a cloud.

It definitely speaks to the level of the AL Central when our boys are sitting pretty (?) at .500 in the middle of May and only 2 games out of first place. And granted, not everyone is playing poorly, as we've stated in earlier blog posts. But as everyone should realize by now, whenever you're doing something in a group you're only as good as your weakest link. The below-average fan or above-average MLive commenter would scream "RAYBURN! He's our weakest link! We shouldda never've released Brandon Inge! I always knew I loved that guy!! Screw Rayburn send him to Toledo!!!!" Guess what, idiots? Ryan Raburn is not our biggest problem. Look at what he did in yesterday's game! Obviously it isn't enough to overlook a pretty poor start to the season, but he is not what's keeping our team down. No, to even a casual Tigers viewer, it's no secret who the culprit is.

THE BULLPEN.


Ah, yes. Public Enemies #1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 (we're leaving out Duane Below). Over the past month these guys have really screwed us by blowing leads or giving up runs in tie game situations. It is a joke and proof of the irrelevance of the win statistic that Collin Balester is 2-0 right now, picking up the win in yesterday's game. Look at poor Drew "No Decision" Smyly. Boy is pitching like he's a veteran and is either a) getting no early run support, or b) getting shafted by his bullpen.

We've learned to view this season with a suspicious and wary eye. Just when we think our boys are on a roll, they disappoint us. Conversely, when we are so fed up we can barely watch, the Tigers surprise us by playing a great game. Sooner or later, they'll show their true colors, and with a homestand against the (shitty) Twins and the (shitty) Pirates, we hope our boys will get hot and stay that way.

Good, but not Great. Yet.

Ah, the joys of April (in the D). Teams are just starting out and things can either go great, as evidenced with our boys' recent series at Kansas City, or they can be a liiiiitle shaky, as shown by the four game series with the evil horrible arrogant druggie Texas Rangers. Megan was able to go to Game 3 and see JV and the boys kick some Texas ass (which she will write a review on later) but in the other three games we fans got to see our boys clearly out-pitched, out-hit, and outplayed. DISASTER!

Disaster indeed. At least, that's what the Lynn Hennings of the world would have you think. We're gonna give it to you straight. Our team right now is good, and we have the potential to be absolutely phenomenal, but as of right now we are not better than those dickheads who beat us in the ALCS Texas. In fact, after seeing their crazy-good offense do some WORK against our pitchers in the first two games, we would venture to say that, as of right now, three weeks into the season, Texas has the best offense in the game.

One important thing to note about the paragraph above: we are only three weeks into the season. We are 10-6 after playing Boston, Tampa Bay, and Texas. We should consider it a triumph if we make it out of this month with a winning record. At this point last year we looked about a million times worse, and we ended up wining the Central by fifteen games. So everyone who's losing their s**t needs to take a freaking pill.

We should point out, however, that though our team looks good (but not great) and there are some major question marks (Inge, Raburn, Daniel "ThankGodHesInTripleA" Schlereth), there have been two glimmering, hopeful lights. And those lights belong to these two young men.

Yes, Drew Smyly and Duane Below, the final two candidates for the number five spot in the starting rotation. As we all well know, Smyly got the job and has performed extremely well, putting in two quality starts in a row (and getting robbed of his first win in the second one). He took a pitch in the back (someone's out to get our starters) and had to deal with the aforementioned Ranger's Murderer's Row, but recovered from both of those things and has done extremely well for a rookie starter. We like what we see in him.

Duane Below, who is bound to be overlooked, has also done incredibly well, not allowing a run or even a walk in four relief appearances. His most impressive job came yesterday afternoon when he tossed six scoreless innings against a ridiculous lineup. He looked like he should have that starting job instead of Adam Wilk, who so far looks pretty average in his replacement role for Doug Fister. Please, please please come back soon Dougie.

This isn't going to be an easy month. We have a tough schedule and some ill-timed injuries, but we would much rather struggle in April then in September. This team may not burst out of the gate like those hicks from Texas, but they'll get it eventually. And when they do…watch out.

PS-We weren't aware you could hit the ball of your knee and put it in play!?!?! Amazing!!!!!!!! We would tell Inge to try it, but his are pretty weak...

Five Guys

SO. It is now down to just two contestants, folks. Duane Below vs. Drew Smyly in the fight for their lives. Or, rather, the fifth starting spot on the Detroit Tigers pitching staff: the opportunity of a lifetime.

So, what do you know about these dashing young prospects? Not much, you say? Well, we're here to give you a ton of info about the dynamic duo that you need to know (and probably some that you don't).

Duane Below
Duane Arthur Below, as many of you know, is a Michigan boy, born and raised. This 6'3, left-handed, 26-year-old stunna started for the Tigers last year and did reasonably well in the job. However, he excelled in the bullpen with one of his best outings being in that horrible, drawn-out, extra-inning clusterf*** of a game at Progressive Field, where Duane pitched four scoreless innings with nary a baserunner. (He was one of the only bright spots of that game of terrors, if we remember correctly).

He's also fairly adorable, and this is one quality that never, ever hurts. Ladies, are we in agreement???

The upside to Duane is that we know what he can do. He's proven that he's more than capable of, at the very least, coming out of the bullpen, since he did pretty well in that role last year and barely missed making a playoff roster spot. The real question is though is if he has the stuff to perform consistently well in a starting role. We're not looking for Justin Verlander material here. We're just searching for a guy who can go out there and get a quality start the majority of the time. And Duane definitely has the potential to do that.

Now, on to our other canidate…

Drew Smyly
Todd Andrew Smyly. What a name. This alone gives him some sort of leg up, right? Wrong? Well, either way, this guy may be a skinny kid with a funny name, but boy can he throw. At 22 years old he is already vying for a starting spot in the Bigs after posting a stellar 2.07 ERA last year in Lakeland and Erie.

He, too, is also fairly adorable. This never hurts.


However, he is a gigantic question mark when it comes to taking a starting spot in the Major Leagues. He's never done it before, so why rush him? The Unproven Rookie scares a lot of people (read: Lynn Henning), and we can't say we blame them. The question is if it will scare away the coaching staff as well. Baby Smyly has put up some really impressive numbers this Spring Training and last year. It would obviously be a move laced with risk (is he really ready?), but it could be hard to deny him.

A Fight to the Death this probably isn't--these two could both wind up on the team at the same time--but it is exciting nonetheless. There seems to be a small faction of Tigers fans still hoping that Dombrowski will look outside of the system for our Number Five Guy. We think that Tigers fans should see what the new starter--whoever he may be--can do.

As a quick PS: We're so excited for the one and only Craig Monroe to be a part of the Fox Sports Detroit team!!! Can you imagine Rod Allen AND C-Mo in the same broadcast? Mind. Blown.

One week to go. We can make it. We can make it!

Who's It Gonna Be?

With Spring Training winding down and Opening Day looming right around the corner, it's almost the time when the final cuts are made and the official 25-man roster is formed. So far some semi-interesting decisions have already been made (Jacob Turner and Quintin Berry are gone) but, as expected, the major question marks still linger. Will Brandon Inge or Ryan Raburn get the nod at second base? Will Inge be on the team at all? Will Miguel Cabrera really be ready for Opening Day? Will Andy Dirks or Clete Thomas get the fourth-outfielder spot? And, most intriguingly, which young gun will get the fifth starter job?

First things first. Brandon Inge has long been a topic of conversation on this little blog, not to mention all of Tiger Universe, so we know we're kind of beating a dead horse when we bring him up. We don't think he should start. Period. His fielding at the 2nd base position has been decent, but his hitting has been poor as usual, hitting a whopping .174 with very little power.

That's been the problem with Inge his whole career. His spectacular defense used to make up for his hitting, but that has diminished as he's gotten older. In our minds, there is no question that Raburn should  start at second, given his massive RBI production and power this Spring. The defense hasn't been horrific either, so that's a plus! The question that Leyland and the Tigers face now is to keep Inge on the team at all. Want to know our opinion? Bench player. But we'll see what the coaching staff thinks…

In good, happy news, it looks as if our poor Miguel Cabrera will be ready for Opening Day! He was cleared by the doctors this morning and his eye is de-puffed, and as usual he's hungry to get playing. We had to admit, the image of Miguel all bloodied and badass with his teammates and coaches frantically swarming him made us incredibly worried, but it seems like everything's all good. We'll meet you in Comerica, big fella!

But who else will we meet in Comerica? Clete Thomas or Andy Dirks? People (read: Jim Leyland) keep making this sound like an actual freaking debate, but we don't think it is. Andy Dirks all the way, baby. He's younger, faster, has a bigger learning curve, and is just plain better offensively. Andy is raking up the hits, while Clete is playing at his same lukewarm pace. Look. We love our selves some Clete Thomas (who doesn't?), but it would be absolutely ridiculous for him to be chosen over Andy "Forrest" Dirks.

The final, big, most interesting question of who should get the starting spot? We have no idea. Three young, attractive guys are neck and neck. No problems here. Sure, we think it would be great if Drew Smyly got a chance, since Andy Oliver is stumbling a little recently. But Duane Below, dark horse that he is, looks pretty decent too, though he might be better suited for the bullpen at this point. Smyly has that 1.13 ERA, after all. And there ain't nothin wrong with that.

This Spring Training isn't really that cut-and-dry. But that's what makes it so exciting. Whatever Leyland chooses to do with Inge, Dirks, Smyly and the rest, the 25 men we will have in Comerica Park in less than 10 days is going to be a great group.

Battle of the Babies: Who Will Take the Fifth Spot?

For the second year in a row, the question of who the Tigers' fifth starter will be is a pressing issue in the minds of all serious tigers fans.  As it stands right now, there are six youngins who could make the starting spot.  Let's take a look at each of them, and we'll reveal who we think should get the top spot!

1. Jacob Turner
Probably the most well-known name on the list, Jake is also the youngest player that could make the starting rotation. He is known as the top prospect in the Tiger's minor league system and one of the top 30 prospects in the entire minor league.  However, in the three games that Turner started in the bigs last year for the Tigers, he was kind of a failure.  He got one loss, but had an ERA of 8.53.  Granted, last year he was just a baby, but he'll still be very young this year too.  We think he should probably stay in the minors for at least the first half of the season to build up his confidence before coming up to the majors again.  To have the starting job after having a few shaky outings last year probably wouldn't do good things for Turner, and it definitely wouldn't do good things for the Tiger's win/loss ratio.

2. Drew Smyly
Smyly has a lot of things going for him, including the fact that his last name is "smiley."  The tall kid from Arkansas played well with the Seawolves last year, starting in 7 games and finishing with an ERA of 1.18.  He's also a lefty, which would add balance to the starting five. (Max Scherzer is the only southpaw.)   The negatives for Smyly are that he's never played in the Big Leagues before, which is a serious concern, as we really can't trust him with a starting job if he's never faced Major League bats.  Also, although Turner may be the youngest, Smyly will only be 23 at the beginning of the season, so he's just a Tiger cub as well.  We see him more in relief this year, and maybe coming up in the latter half of the season if serious problems occur with our chosen starter.

3. Andy Oliver
We say "no" to Andy, but we understand why he has his fans. He has been the most "tested" candidate, starting 26 games in the minor leagues and appearing in two games in the majors with one start. This is a plus, because he's used to the pressure of being a starting pitcher. However, he hasn't exactly been the most reliable pitcher, sporting a 4.71 ERA in the Toledo and a 6.52 ERA in his two appearances with the Tigers. Experience means nothing if you can't execute, and we're not so certain Andy is big league material, as much as we hate to say it.  If he performs well in Lakeland this Spring, then good for him, but the three of us are thinking that 2012 is not his year.

4. Casey Crosby
In our opinion, kind of a long shot. The tall 24-year-old from Illinois is about as seasoned as Oliver, starting 25 games on the Seawolves with a 4.10 ERA.  However, everything Oliver has done, Crosby has done a little worse... he played in AA instead of AAA, and although his average is a little better, he may not have faced the bats Oliver did.  Also, Crosby has never seen the bigs, and unless you're phenomenal (a la Rick Porcello) it's very hard to trust a young kid with a starting position without ever testing him at the Major League level first.  The same goes for Crosby as did for Oliver. If he does well, great, but he probably won't be starting this year.

5. Adam Wilk
Adam played five games in the bigs last year in relief, but we don't remember it too well. Maybe that's a good thing, because after he left we weren't screaming in pain and frustration.  He had a 5.24 ERA in the majors, which isn't great, but it's better than the guys we've listed before him.  Also, in the minors, he started 18 games and had an ERA of less than 3.30.  We still think Wilk is a long shot, but expect to see him in the relief rotation at least sometime this year.

6. Duane Below
Michigan's Pride Duane Below is our choice for the starting gig.  Duane has proven himself the most out of all the candidates, he's a lefty, and he's the only one of the candidates older than 25.  Age shouldn't matter that much, but with it comes maturity and composure, age helps (sometimes), and, as we all know, that's super important on the mound.  He started 18 games in Toledo and had a 3.13 ERA, and he played in 14 games in the big leagues (starting 2) with an ERA of 4.34.  He had a record of 0-2, but don't let that fool you.  Below came into some games in dire circumstances and showed incredibly composure for a minor leaguer.  He played in some pretty tight games and often came through for the team. We remember being very impressed by his performance in the major league.  If he can perform in Spring Training, we think Below will get the job over the more high-profile turner.

Actually, Leyland will probably just shuffle them around all year like he does with his batting lineup, so we don't know why we're thinking so hard about this stuff anyway.  Whatever the case, it's sure to be an interesting off-season as these six pitchers battle for that starting spot!