The series now even-IngeBasher, the Tigers (28-16, 1st place Central, 1st place AL) seek the advantage over Texas (23-25, 4th place West. 11th place AL)) in a game to be broadcast throughout the solar system, with Nick “Don’t Call Me Cy” Martinez on the mound for the Rangers and Rick “Don’t Call Me Frederick Alfred” Porcello for the Detroit. Yes, the Detroit. I left that in there because it looks so stupid. Anyway, I wish I could be of one mind on W-L records for pitchers, because I really do think that they’re practically meaningless, but still feel that great ones are cool, so I’ll feel as dazed and delighted as you will if Porcello can push it to 8-1 today. You may recall that Rick was stellar against Texas (at Arlington) last season in salvaging one win in an otherwise dismal series.

I recall a discussion this past offseason or the one before about players likely to be on the hot seat for criticism. This season has been such a success that there has been nothing on the Inge, Sheffield, or Renteria level, nothing close. Nor even the like of the Cold V-Mart impatience or the Fielder murmurs of 2013. (I’m sorry, but I can’t take the occasional scathing critique of Ausmus as more than venting in frustration. I think he’s been flat-out brilliant.) But the favored whipping boys on a more subdued level have clearly been Phil Coke, Alex Avila, and more recently Andrew SombreRomine (trademark Coleman). Now that the Bullpen As A Whole has essentially redeemed itself, that is. Wouldn’t you know it, Avila has really been swinging a better stick lately, and Romine just hit a HR. Which leaves us with Phil Coke.

On the positive side… well, we’re not really raving about anyone, are we? It’s hard to miss the more eye-popping stats of Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera (who has been on an absolute tear that is somehow flying a bit under the radar), and we recognize them, but the most fearsome 3-4 combo in baseball has been taken for granted to some extent. Even before the recent four-game blemish, I think the starting pitching had been… a little lot taken for granted. Could be a side effect of success. Team success. But Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Ian Kinsler, Rajai Davis, and Torii Hunter can be added to the list of those who deserve a little more raving about. Adding any of the bullpen guys to that list is probably tempting fate, so I’ll wait.

Speaking of tempting fate, I tempt the Tigers to make a monkey out of me by losing after I’ve said it, but my, what a fun team to watch.  2011, 2012, 2013, 2014. You wouldn’t think it could keep getting better, but it does.

Down a game in the series, Detroit (27-16, 1st place Central, 2nd place AL) is back at it against Texas (23-24, 3rd place West, 10th place AL), with Anibal Sanchez (who has fared poorly v. the Rangers) facing Scott Baker.

Reliever Corey Knebel is called up from Toledo – talk about a fast track to the majors – while starter Robbie Ray returns there to work on his curveball. Luke Putkonen (on the DL) will not require surgery, but the rehab path looks to be slow and uncertain for him. Meanwhile, injury-riddled Texas has been dealt a couple more blows with the loss of Prince Fielder for the season and the same possibility facing them regarding Jurickson Profar, not to mention OF David Robertson’s injury Thursday.

The silver lining in Thursday’s 9-2 drubbing by the Rangers would seem to be the revelation of Danny Worth’s knuckleball. A clean inning from any Tigers pitcher is something of a novelty these days, so welcome to the pen, Danny. Four straight losses and four straight collapses of the team’s greatest strength leave you wondering how long this can go on. Rough stretch, but 6-4 on a rollercoaster still beats a 5-5 of one step forward, one step back, doesn’t it? That six-game ride was fun. Let’s get back there.

The Texas Rangers (22-24, 4th in the West, 11th in AL) visit the Detroit Tigers (27-15, 1st in the Central, 2nd in AL) for four games (1 PM, 7 PM, 4 PM, 1 PM), Yu Darvish against Robbie Ray in the first one Thursday.

SS Eugenio Suarez has been promoted to AAA Toledo. Rick Porcello (left side soreness that bothered him last two starts and delayed this one) should be ready to face the Rangers on Saturday. Prince Fielder will miss the beginning of the Tigers series and may not play at all.

Really bad outing by Verlander yesterday, its going to happen. I thought that Vince in MN had a great point regarding Verlander’s transition into a finesse pitcher. If you need any more evidence than what you’re watching, check out his K and BB rates. His K rate this year is a 6.7/9, the lowest it has been in 8 years. Only his rookie year had a lower K rate (6.0). Meanwhile, his walk rate has been jumping at an alarming rate over the past two years, as he struggles to put away hitters with dominant stuff. This season it is a 3.7/9, which is the highest since it was 3.9 in 2008 (when he went 11-17). I think it make sense that he’s walking more as he tries to pitch around some hitters rather than through them.

He’s still one of the best, and he’ll get it sorted out.

Not a lot of time to dwell on it, as first pitch is less than an hour away.

Today’s Let’s Not Get Swept By the Indians Lineup:

1. Rajai Davis, LF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. J.D. Martinez, RF
6. Austin Jackson, CF
7. Nick Castellanos, 3B
8. Bryan Holaday, C
9. Danny Worth, SS

Postgame:

The entire game was a long drawn out kick to the groin. Can’t get out of there fast enough. Some pitching tomorrow would be a welcome sight.

We’ll likely have another dozen or two games just like this throughout the remainder of the season. It’s every true fan’s curse.

You know, as you peruse through the AL stats leaderboard and notice that Miguel Cabrera is 2nd in the AL in batting at .325, behind some old guy, 2nd in the AL in RBI, 5th in XBH and 8th in TB, you may forget that the Tigers have played an average of 5 games less than everyone, which equates to 20+ PAs for Miggy.

Last night’s game as about as exciting as one can get where you lose to the Indians in extra innings. Starting pitching was bad, Coke was bad, yet the Tigers were in a great spot to win in the late innings.

In other news –

– Romine/Worth here to stay. Drew wasn’t really discussed, says Brad Ausmus.

– No word on whether Joba owns Zubaz stock. Since Miggy is wearing the t-shirt: have fun.

Gotta win tonight if we want to take the series.

1. Kinsler, 2B
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez, DH
5. Jackson, CF
6. Castellanos, 3B
7. Avila, C
8. Worth, SS
9. Davis, LF

Standings Check:

Det   27-12   —
KC    22-21    7
Min  21-21    7.5
Chi   21-24    9
Cle   19-25   10.5

My car had a mechanical failure and I sat around in my work parking lot in Jams all day.

Lots to talk about, coming post-game.

Tonight’s Put Kelly in Coach Lineup:

1. Kinsler, 2B
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez, C
5. Kelly, CF
6. Castellanos, 3B
7. Avila, C
8. Romine, SS
9. Davis, LF

Postgame:

Corey Kluber struck out 7 of the first 12 outs he notched, and only 1 of the last 9.  His stuff was NASTY early on. BOOBS did a hell of a job to tie it up; twice.

I don’t think it’s useful to gang up on Romine’s (lack of) hitting. He was our third option at SS, and is doing a fine job defensively.

Smyly got lit up like a christmas tree. A 2.4 WHIP, over 5 innings, should not keep you in the game. The Indians are not good.

Coke was terrible, again. And yet his ERA plummeted by over 1/2 a run.

JV up tomorrow.

A 5-game winning streak, a 10-game road winning streak, 26-12, a 6 1/2 game division lead. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Rick Porcello also hasn’t been much better than he’s been this year. Here  is a nice story about Porcello, where Jeff Jones talks about how much better Porcello’s secondary pitches have gotten.

Tonight the Tigers pursue the difficult task of pulling off a Fenway Park sweep; the last time the Tigers even won a series there (which is a given now) was in the magical season of 2006; the last sweep was…well I don’t know when. The preview said Sept 28-30 1993, but when I look back at that season I see that they actually split a doubleheader on the 28th. The Research Department will have to look into this.

Their hopes will rest on newly returned Anibal Sanchez, making his first start since leaving his April 26th start with a lacerated finger. To make room for Sanchez, Justin Miller was sent packing to Toledo. I had assumed it would be Robbie Ray heading back to Toledo, where he could continue to get work in as a starter. Combine this with seeing Ray get up in the bullpen in the 8th inning last night, and it looks like Ray is going to stick around in the bullpen for now, a move I don’t like. He is going to be a starter, he should be in Toledo starting. But that’s just me (obviously).

The Red Sox will send out Jake Peavy, the last man standing in the Peavy-Garcia-Iglesias trade. Seeing Jake should bring a smile to the face of Torii Hunter, who is 8-for-18 career (.444) against Peavy, with a 1.307 OPS.

Tonight’s Sunday Night Baseball Lineup:

1. Kinsler, 2B
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. V Martinez, DH
5. Kelly, 3B
6. Jackson, CF
7. JD Martinez, LF
8. Avila, C
9. Romine, SS

The Tigers seem to do the opposite of whatever I through up there in the lineup header: when I called them Green Monster bashers they squeaked out a 1-0 win; when I called them one-run wonders they blasted Boston 6-0. I’m trying to figure out how they will not be a Sunday Night Baseball lineup.

Postgame

The Tigers are now a ridiculous 14-4 on the road.

Of course we have been beating up on the weak division: currently the AL Central is 32-18 against the AL East.

A 4-game winning streak, a 9-game road winning streak, 25-12, a 6 1/2 game division lead. There is a lot of baseball left to be played; it is still early in the season. If the season were a 9-inning baseball game, we’d just be starting the top of the 3rd. The winning won’t last forever, without a losing streak here and there. It’s baseball. One more tonight would be nice though.

I used to look up this stat reluctantly last season, coming as it did with sighs and grumbles. But the 2014 Tigers so far have excelled in one-run games, the latest being the 1-0 victory last night. So far this year, the Tigers are 8-4 in 1-run games, as opposed to a 20-26 record last season. Feel free to offer your thoughts on the difference between this year and last (small sample size is a fair caveat).  On the other end of things, the Red Sox are at 5-10 in 1-run games (the 10 1-run losses leading the league), which is one reason they can be under .500 with team hitting and team pitching near the top of the league.

Perusing the League Leaders, one sees a bunch of Tigers right now:

• Max Scherzer leads the AL with a 1.83 ERA
• Victor Martinez leads the AL with a .333 BA (how’d that happen? That actually surprised me).
• Joe Nathan is tied for the AL lead with 11 saves (see parentheses above)
• Rajai Davis leads the AL with 14 stolen bases. The Tigers have 36 SB as a team. In 2013 they had 35.

Tonight’s Trivia: Who was the last Tiger to lead the AL in stolen bases?

And how about that Tiger bullpen? So far on the East Coast road trip: 4 games, 12 innings, 0 runs.

The bullpen should get another workout tonight, with Rick “Six Great Innings” Porcello on the mound vs. John Lackey.

Tonight’s game is on the MLB Network, unless you live in the wrong place, in which case you get Orioles-Royals.

Tonight’s One-Run Wonders Lineup:

1. Kinsler, 2B
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez, DH
5. Jackson, CF
6. Avila, C
7. Castellanos, 3B
8. Romine, SS
9. Davis, LF

Postgame

Well the Tigers keep rolling along. Last night was one of those rare games, even during this winning streak, where there were never really any moments when it seemed like the Tigers might lose.

Thumbs Up:

Rick Porcello. Porcello is now 7-1 with a 2.91 ERA and an impressive 1.03 WHIP. He made one mistake pitch to Bogaerts, and got in one jam (that he calmly got out of with a ground ball), but otherwise it was smooth sailing. He even made it through 8 innings, which is what I get for being a wise guy and calling him 6-inning Rick.

Doubles. Kinsler, Hunter, Cabrera, Martinez, Jackson, Avila, and Davis. No manufacturing runs last night.

The bullpen. That makes 5 straight games without a run–and Phil Coke pitched.

Rajai Davis. Davis kept daring Mujica to pick him off at 2nd, refusing to shorten his lead after one pickoff attempt, then two, then three. The fourth went into center, Davis went to 3rd, and came home on a sac fly. That was fun to watch.

Thumbs Down:

Andrew Romine, or Golden Sombreromine as we can now call him. Right-handed, left-handed, it didn’t matter, he didn’t look like he would have hit anything in 10 at bats. And he booted one in the field.

The Tigers continue their East Coast road trip with a 3-game sweep of Baltimore under their belts, and an 8-game road win streak, their longest since 1984 (good luck catching that one: 17).

Going into Fenway comes with its perks, and the Tigers will be showing on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, which is a treat for those of us who normally watch the games via laptop. On the downside, the series is being inevitably plugged as a rematch of that ALCS some of us would like to forget, and the promos all feature that Ortiz blast that makes us feel whatever the opposite of warm and fuzzy is.

Here is the series schedule; Anibal Sanchez is scheduled to make his comeback on Sunday night.

Tigers (24-12) at Red Sox (20-20)

Friday        May 16    7:10     Max Scherzer vs John Lester (L)

Saturday    May 17    7:10     Rick Porcello vs John Lackey

Sunday      May 18    8:00     Anibal Sanchez vs Jake Peavy

Boston, at .500, might not look like quite the same team that handled Detroit in the ALCS (although it is worth noting that Boston was only 23-17 at this point last season).  The Red Sox are also only 10-11 at Fenway, and 3-3 against the AL Central, having just lost 2-of-3 to the Twins. One difference so far for Boston has been less offense. Last year’s league leader in team OPS (.795) is currently 7th at .721. Perhaps they are missing Jacoby Ellsbury more than anticipated.

Tonight Max Scherzer (5-1, 2.04) takes on lefty Jon Lester (4-4, 2.75).  Before the Tigers get too excited about getting a rare shot against a lefty, they might want to check out Lester’s 2014 splits: right hand batters are only hitting him for .220 this season (.617 OPS).

One guy who is probably looking forward to facing Lester is Miguel Cabrera, who is hitting over .500 against him (10-for-19). On the other side, Boston’s big man is certainly not phased by Max: 7-for-15, with 3 HRs. This game may hinge on the battle of the big men.

Game time weather forecast: 64 with 30% chance of rain. At the moment (4:15) rain is 100% likely at the park.

In other news, Putty Time is on hold. Luke Putkonen’s rehab assignment has been halted, and he and his elbow are off to see Dr. James Andrews. Could Putkonen by joining this season’s Tommy Johnapalooza?

Tonight’s Green Monster-Bashing Lineup:

1. Davis, LF
2. Kinsler, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez, DH
5. Hunter, RF
6. Jackson, CF
7. Avila, C
8. Castellanos, 3B
9. Worth, SS

Postgame

OK, so there wasn’t much bashing going on last night. When Torii Hunter drove in a run with a clutch 2-out single in the first, it looked like the game was off to a good start, but in fact the scoring was all done for the day. Max was great (as was Lester), the bullpen held–again–and here we are with a 4-game winning streak and a 6 1/2 game lead.

Thumbs Up

• Torii Hunter, for the 2-out single that turned out to be the game-winner
• The Tiger Bullpen (Reed, Krol, Chamberlain, Nathan). The bullpen is still yet to give up its first run on this road trip.
• Max Scherzer. He struck them out when he needed to (7), and got the double play when he needed to. Ausmus after the game “This might have been the best his stuff has been all year, really.”
• The Tiger infield. Three double plays killed Red Sox rallies.

Thumbs Down

• The weather. Max struck out the side in the bottom of the 3rd, and looked unhittable. Then the rain started, and it looked like some of that Fenway bad luck. Luckily it only lasted 45 minutes, and didn’t seem to throw Scherzer off his game.
• Evan Reed. It might seem picky when the bullpen is doing so well, but starting an appearance with a balk and a hit batter is not what we were looking for. I could throw in Alex Avila and the strike zone, which drew some comments, but two thumbs down is enough–the Tigers won!

Early day game, Verlander vs. Gausman, highly recommended. Don’t bring brooms; 9 bats will do.  Enjoy it while it lasts… all season.

We seem to be coming to life here lately. A little more chatter, a few more voices. I like it. You know, if you guys ever look at the, um, “stuff” I write and think to yourselves, “I could do that,” well, you’re right. I’m not sayin’. I’m just sayin’. For instance:

Only Tiger Fan in Mississippi May 13, 2014 at 3:45 pm

A good stint in the show for Ray that will motivate him even more while he is in Toledo fine tuning his game to become genuine and tested starter. Small but important steps first.

BTW, I am getting excited about this coming weekend series with the Red Sox. Looks like Little Ricky gets the start for the Sunday ESPN game. Another chance for him to make a statement to the national audience. I also look forward to seeing V-Mart bounce a couple off the left center field wall and Davis running on A.J.

Vince in MN May 13, 2014 at 4:00 pm [edit]

Duane Below pitched a nice game yesterday as Toledo swept 4 from Rochester (the starting pitching was good in all 4 games). It looks like his control has come back, and if all continues to go well maybe he makes the most sense as LH relief help when Coke is replaced. Unfortunately, he isn’t on the 40-man, so a promotion would likely ONLY come in the event of a DFA for Coke, although there are a couple of position players they could consider removing. In fact, none of our minor league relievers who are on the 40-man are doing particularly well, so it looks like whatever fixes are in the works (other than waiting for Hanrahan and Putkonen to heal) for the Tigers current bullpen woes, some kind of roster jiggling is will be needed.

StorminNorman$ May 13, 2014 at 1:21 pm [edit]

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/47186/tigers-show-why-theyre-the-best-team

some interesting stats cited on Porcello, Cabrera & VMart

Drew Smyly and the Tigers (22-12, 1st place) aim to clinch the series against Ubaldo Jimenez and the Orioles (20-16, 1st place). 

Some of us are old enough to actually remember a time before divisions. Leagues was leagues. I was around, but by the time I was a more fully aware young baseball fanatic, there was East and West. I would see the final standings of the recent past in the sports sections of these big “year in the news” almanac-like volumes (more about words and pictures than the old World Almanacs) and find coolness in the novelty of how it appeared to the eye. Of course, there were divisions back then in the sense that the expressions “first division” and “second division”  had arisen to describe the obvious. But consider how much more first place – the pennant! – meant then. (And the cellar was really, truly the cellar back then.) Finishing first was finishing on top of 9 other teams (and being rightfully rewarded for it). Right now, the Tigers are on top of 14 other teams. If this keeps up, I think I’m going to start posting “old style” AL standings. I really wouldn’t mind if baseball dispensed with divisions for purposes of standings. There are other ways to use divisions in the background for purposes of scheduling. I’m partial to the idea of “scheduling divisions” that actually change every year based on the results of the previous season. But that’s a story for another day, if ever. For now, we have East, West, and Central, along with closers and their precious saves, interleague play, the DH, and a few dozen other things you might look forward to dispensing with yourself. 

Today’s guess at the lineup is that it will be mostly the A team but not entirely. Worth at SS, Kelly in there somewhere, Holaday spelling Avila? Surprise us, Brad. Go Tigers. 

Detroit (21-12, 1st place) is in Baltimore (20-15, 1st place) for three as the Tigers begin a season long 9-game trip that will even up the home/road games. Coming off of a disappointing conclusion in the series loss to Minnesota and with the 8-game winning streak a distant memory after dropping 3 of 4, and with much tougher teams to face than the Astros and Twins, you might fairly conclude that this road trip… is just another 9 games where we expect Detroit to win at least 6. 

These East Coast game times are going to make it impossible for me to sneak in the lineups in time for the games. I don’t anticipate any surprises for Monday night. The current “A team,” I suppose, with Castellanos back at 3B. 

Rick Porcello vs. Bud Norris. Orioles C Matt Wieters is on the DL. Porcello’s fine season began in fine fashion against the Orioles and Norris back in April. Be warned that this W, well in hand by the 9th inning, nearly fell to a bullpen disaster.