Another lackluster offensive performance coupled with a brilliant bullpen performance (which means that Lobstein got drilled) led to a 6-2 loss last night. The Tigers are now 13-14 since starting 7-0.

jud made the comment last night that the Tigers have now scored 2 runs or less in 9 out of their last 15 games. That is alarming. And he posted some scary low night game batting averages.

But honestly, I’m just not that worried right now. This is just baseball. It’s such a long season that you can find alarming trends in isolation which, over the course of the season, will be balanced out by  unsustainably good ones. They’ll go on another 5-0 or 8-1 run later this summer where they put up 6+ per night.

I was listening to an interview with Ned Yost yesterday on MLB radio. The host went on and on about how the AL is really just a two horse race – Det and KC. He’s probably right. This doesn’t mean that some other teams can’t get hot, or emerge, but based on talent and recent history, Detroit is one of the best, if not the best, in the AL. And we’re basically at .500 over the course of a month…

We just need to understand that the AL is extremely competitive (aka weak) and the Tigers are one of the best of a mediocre bunch. They seemingly have the talent to be better, and with some decent managing, perhaps they can be. But they’ll be in it until the end, with a lot of frustrating runs in-between, and we’ll have to hope that they can get hot at the right time. Baseball is a long season.

But it would be nice to take a series at home from the Twins…

I’m hitting the open road today – headed to Big Bend with some guys. Someone please post the lineups when available.

A few quick updates:

– Avila doesn’t need surgery, but no timetable for a return, yet.

– Verlander felt good after throwing 25 pitches yesterday, no news yet today, which is presumably good.

Ricky Nolasco v. Lobstein tonight.

1. Gose, CF
2. Kinsler, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez V, DH
5. Martinez J.D., RF
6. Cespedes, LF
7. Castellanos, 2B
8. McCann, C
9. Iglesias, SS

Ausmus’ questionable managing decisions on Sunday night, when all the Baseball world was watching on ESPN, made him the target of a lot of stories on yesterday’s off day. Never where you want to be if you’re the manager.

Typically, the Detroit media didn’t really criticize Ausmus, but rather simply brought the issue to light. I only regularly read two sets of sportswriters, the ones in Dallas and the ones in Detroit, and I am constantly amazed at how reluctant the Detroit writers are to write anything negative about the Tigers. Dallas writers (and media pundits in general) have no problem taking management and ownership to task (in fact, Dale Hansen was fired by the Cowboys because of it a long time ago). I don’t listen to much Detroit sports radio, so hopefully there’s a little more objectivity there. But why isn’t anyone calling out Ausmus? Tony Paul started to – well at least his story title did, but if you read the story, he goes on to hedge, but he does end it by questioning Ausmus. He’ll probably get some evil looks around the clubhouse for even drafting such a title (“hey, did you read the rest of the story, it’s the players fault!!”)

Cabrera is the smartest baserunner on the team. Yes, he’s light years slower than Davis, and at some point in time the move will work. But I don’t see a reason why you would ever remove THE BEST HITTER IN BASEBALL. There is no way that Francona, or Maddon, (or Gardenhire…) make that move.

What really fires me up about this Davis for Cabrera insertion is this quote: “It didn’t work out this time. But to me, it’s a move you have to make at that point,” Ausmus said.

This “you have to make…” is the part of Ausmus that brings back frightening memories of Leyland, and scares the heck out of me. For the same reason that Ausmus left in Joba last week after giving up a 3 run bomb (and then three more hits), Ausmus has certain moves in his mind – if A then B, and he doesn’t waver from those. I seem to remember a game last year (end of the year) where the exact same scenario happened and we managed to squeeze out a win on a dribbler up the middle by Perez or an equally unaccomplished and unreliable hitter.

How about leaving your BEST PLAYER IN THE GAME. How’s that for strategy?

And we haven’t even discussed the Kinsler bunt attempts. A perennial All-Star, with Hernan Perez behind him. Goodness.

(un)Fortunately, we have 130 games left in this young 2015 season, so lots of room for Ausmus to redeem himself…right?

Baseball Reference game preview here.

Lineups coming later.

Tonight the Tigers look to bounce back after a lackluster loss in the rubber game of the three-game series against the division-leading Kansas City Royals.

That is if the weather permits–there is a 68% chance of rain predicted for game time. A rainout might not be the worst thing that ever happened: a perplexing and perhaps perplexed Shane Greene will have to keep the Royals under control since the Tigers are facing Chris “Cy” Young tonight.

How bad have the Tigers done against Young? Well the combined career average of tonight’s lineup against Young is .115 (that is not a typo, 7-for-61), with only Andrew Romine with more than 1 hit (2-for-4).

Cabrera is 5-for-16 against Young–in striking out. Not to mention it’s a night game, and Cabrera is for some reason putting up bizarrely bad numbers at night this season:

Miguel Cabrera Day:

76 PA .460 BA 1.381 OPS

Miguel Cabrera Night:

57 PA .167 BA .465 OPS

What’s the opposite of a vampire? We may have one in our midst.

* * * * * * * * * *

If you recall (well, even if you don’t, I suppose), I pointed out yesterday that Anthony Gose was the 3rd most valuable player on the team, ranked by WAR, which is incredible since he is only a platoon player. Today I thought to add the WAR of Gose and Davis to see how much our two-headed center fielder is worth, and he’s the most valuable player on the team with a WAR of 1.5 (Cabrera comes in 2nd with 1.4). Not only that, with a WAR of 1.5 our Gose-Davis guy would be 8th most valuable player in the league, although well behind Lorenzo Cain with his ridiculous 2.6 WAR. It’s a bit early in the season to care about stats like that, but still, the Gose-Davis combination has worked brilliantly so far.

* * * * * * * * * *

I’m currently wearing a Tigers t-shirt that was a gift from my mom. Happy Mother’s Day to her, and all the moms out there!

Today’s Win-One-For-Mom Lineup:

1. Anthony Gose, CF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
6. JD Martinez, RF
7. Nick Castellanos, 3B
8. James McCann, C
9. Andrew Romine, SS

Iglesias due to return on Tuesday.

Yesterday’s game was looking like it was going to be a reverse of the series in Kansas City, with the Tigers opening up with a blowout, but it turned into a close game with an unusual and exciting finish. After Gose led off the inning with a double, Ian Kinsler laid down the perfect bunt to advance him to 3rd, but and ill-advised throw to first went astray, and Gose scampered home. Nothing like a walk off bunt!

Some commenter here had voiced concerns that Kinsler had no power this season, but I’ll take a singles-hitting Kinsler, especially behind the speedy two-headed leadoff platoon. Gose and Kinsler were a combined 7-for-8 for the game, which moved Gose up to the 3rd most valuable Tiger by WAR, right behind the aforementioned Kinsler.

The win didn’t come without a price though–David Price stepped on a stray bat going to cover home and injured his hamstring, although Price is optimistic that he will recover in time for his next start.

The injury news is worse for Alex Avila, who sat out yesterday’s game with a forearm bruise, after taking a foul ball off the arm on Thursday. While he was out he had an MRI on a knee that was bothering him: “loose bodies” were found, and he is going to have surgery to remove them. He is on the 15-day DL, but will likely be out 6 weeks.The Tigers have recalled Bryan Holaday from Toledo. We will be getting a very good look at James McCann now.

Today’s It’s Somebody’s-Birthday-In-Dallas Lineup:

1. Anthony Gose, CF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
6. JD Martinez, RF
7. Nick Castellanos, 3B
8. James McCann, C
9. Andrew Romine, SS

Still no Iglesias..

Well, here we are, the 2nd big Tigers-Royals series of the season. The last time they played the Royals crushed the Tigers the first two games, then the Tigers valiantly saved a series split behind great pitching by Price and Sanchez. And guess what? The way the rotation lines up the Tigers lead off with Price and Sanchez, so I’m looking for a better start to this series.

It’s hard to say enough about what Kyle Lobstein did last night. For a #6 starter for the team, he has been far beyond what anyone could have realistically expected. Most importantly, he has pitched efficiently, logging 7-plus innings for 3 consecutive starts now, and sparing us for the horror of the Blowpen attack. Thumbs up for the Lobster.

Right-handed Victor Martinez is in full Dr. Jekyll mode now, banging out hits while the left-handed Mr. Hyde, well, makes you want to hide. So tonight he will try batting right-handed against the right-handed Ventura. Just kidding! Because, you know, he’s a switch-hitter.

In other news, the JD Martinez bat has been seen displayed on milk cartons in the Detroit area.

Tonight’s Royal Pain Lineup:

1. Anthony Gose, CF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, D
5. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
6. JD Martinez, RF
7. Alex Avila, C James McCann, C
8. Nick Castellanos, 3B
9. Andrew Romine, SS

Jose Iglesias is still all groinish. Moustakas is out for KC with family issues; let’s wish him well.

Avila was announced as the catcher in the official lineup, and yet…that guy behind the plate is McCann. Hmm.

I did not know that: Anthony Gose is the 4th most valuable Tiger in terms of WAR, after Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, and Jose Iglesias. Pretty impressive for a platoon player!

And so the Blowpen, that creature that was almost starting to seem like a myth, rears its ugly head.

In retrospect, you could see this coming by the third inning.

Simon was holding off the White Sox, but very inefficiently, up to 60 pitches before he got the 2nd out of the inning. Clearly this was going to be a game where the bullpen would be a factor. Unfortunately, in Tuesday’s game Shane Greene couldn’t even make it through the 3rd, and the bullpen pitched the majority of the game. This left Al Alburquerque, Tom Gorzelanny, and Joba Chamberlain as the only real options for the Tigers, and with the dangerous right-handers in the Chicago lineup, and the struggles of Alburquerque, it’s hard to argue with the choice to go to Chamberlain.

Why he didn’t pull him when he was getting bombed is a mystery I can’t solve.

Oh yeah, Joba Chamberlain, he’s still on the team, right? When is the last time he pitched, anyway? (He got 2 batters on May 1 against KC). Joba was doing OK up until tonight. But he’d never gone as long as 4 games without an appearance. I know it seems that Ausmus didn’t get him out in time, but it all happened pretty fast. I do think that we may have a case of bullpen mismanagement though: surely, if you have a guy that you are going to trust to take over in a close game, you can’t let him sit for a week.

Last season Chamberlain appeared 68 times, and only 8 of them were with 4 days or more rest, and the majority of them with 0-2 days rest.

Alburquerque, by the way, has been battling sinus problems, which seems like a lame excuse for bad pitching. Then again, do any of you remember how we ended up getting him in the first place? Colorado gave up on him; besides struggling on the mound he had been struggling with headaches. The Tigers grabbed him and he got what was described as “serious dental problems” fixed, and went on to be a great reliever for Detroit.

Despite the disappointing blowpen appearance, we may look back on this game as a turning point, in a good way: Victor hit a home run. Is V-Mart back (at least right-handed)? I won’t miss that Inge-Mart guy.

Today’s Can’t Let These Clowns Sweep Us Lineup:

1. Rajai Davis, CF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
6. JD Martinez, RF
7. Nick Castellanos, 3B
8. Alex Avila, C
9. Hernan Perez, SS

Iglesias gets another day off. Troubling.

The Tigers wasted a chance to jump on a struggling White Sox team last night, as a leadoff run and a fielder-assisted home run by Alex Avila was all the offense they could muster. Shane Greene struggled again, but the bullpen picked him up with 5 sharp scoreless innings; however, the Tigers never really offered a threat. They say hitting is contagious; apparently slumping is also, and the infectious zone is the middle of the lineup: the 3–6 hitters were a combined 0-for-15.

Which brings us to Victor Martinez, the leader of the slump-pack. Actually “slump” is a bad word for where Victor is at right now, he’s just not able to drive the ball, and it doesn’t seem to be getting better. I know the poor guy is trying his best out there, but hey, I’m trying my best to write a good post today and still this is all you get.

I mentioned a week or so ago that Victor Martinez was the worst #4 hitter in the league, and it’s gotten worse, to the point where he is now pushing for League’s Least Valuable Player:  going by WAR, Victor is more valuable than all of *2* players in the entire American League, Rene Rivera on the Rays, and Matt Joyce on LA (Matt Joyce? How’d that happen?). I know it’s early to be looking at WAR, but I’d be shocked if Victor’s is any better at the end of the month.

So what to do? One solution would be to at least get him out of the 4th spot. Replacing him is harder now that JD is in a huge slump, but I’d go with Cespedes. It doesn’t matter though; moving a guy like Victor to the bottom of the order is never going to happen, too many Respect issues involved. Which leaves giving him an extended rest, and replacing him at DH (I’d go with Rajai or even Romine, and make it a speed lineup). Victor doesn’t want the rest though, and in fact says he needs the at bats. And those that know these things say 15 days off isn’t going to help his knee much anyway. So we are where we are.

The Tigers went through this with Victor in 2013 also, when he was coming back from a previous injury. He stood out a bit less then, batting 5th between Prince Fielder and a hot Jhonny Peralta, but as of June 30, 2013, he was hitting .232 with a .627 OPS, which beats this season’s .203 /.531, but still isn’t acceptable DH work. The second half of the season he hit .361 with a .940 OPS, including a ridiculous .390 in July. So I guess the plan is to just suck it up and hope history repeats itself.

In other news, Green means go!!! Thus tweets Justin Verlander, who has begun throwing again, and it sounds like he can’t wait to get back to it. And speaking of getting back to it, earning a promotion to Toledo is none other than Ryan Perry, who last appeared in a MLB game in 2012.

Today’s Can Victor Stay Above the Inge Line? Lineup:

1. Rajai Davis, CF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
6. JD Martinez, RF
7. Nick Castellanos, 3B
8. James McCann C
9. Jose Iglesias, SS

Jose has loosened up groin-wise, and returns, as the struggling JD Martinez slides down a spot in the lineup. McCann takes over for the hot bat of Alex Avila with a lefty on the mound.

David Price responded in true ace form yesterday, with a 5 hit masterpiece that was 1 out from being a complete game shutout. KC fans went nuts after Cain hit a bomb to trim the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th, but Price responded by striking out Hosmer in 4 pitches. It was a desperately need win b/c the prospects of being swept in a 4 game series against what looks to be our division rival were harrowing. I’m not surprised that Price came out for the 9th, since he was only at 91 pitches entering the 9th. I think it would have been Soria had he been at 101.

Anibal Sanchez climbs the hill today against Mark Guthrie. A win today and split in the series will feel like a series win to me.

J.D. Martinez back in the lineup today. Rajai Davis had a huge run in yesterday’s game. I like this Gose/Davis platoon.

Baseball Reference game preview here.

1. Gose, CF
2. Kinsler, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez V, DH
5. Martinez J.D., RF
6. Cespedes, LF
7. Avila, C
8. Castellanos, 3B
9. Iglesias, SS

We’re gonna win one, right?

It’s time for David Price to step up and be the ace that he’s paid to be. The Tigers made the game interesting last night with a couple of baserunners in the 9th inning, but fell short again to the mighty Royals. After starting the season 7-0, the Tigers are now 8-9 in their last 17.

Incredibly, Price doesn’t have much history against the Royals, having only pitched against them 3 times in the last 6 years. He somehow went all of 2013 and 2014 without facing them.

Baseball Reference Game Preview here.

J.D. Martinez who is 0-8 with 6 Ks in the series sits tonight. Hope you’re enjoying your epic sports watching Saturday.

1. Gose, CF
2. Kinsler, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez V, DH
5. Cespedes, LF
6. Avila, C
7. Casetellanos, 3B
8. Iglesias, SS
9. Davis, RF

The Royals sure did assert themselves early and often last night, as the back two of the Tigers rotation has now taken successive beatings for the first time all season. Key words there being first time. There is a reason why Greene and Simon are at the back of our rotation, so games like yesterday will happen from time to time.

I’m curious to see how the Tigers respond tonight after being pounded in the first big hype game of the year.

The Lobster gets the start tonight against fill-in Chris Young. Young has been a starter most of his career, but this will be his first start of the season for the Royals.

Baseball Reference game preview here.

1. Gose, CF
2. Kinsler, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez V, DH
5. Martinez J.D., RF
6. Cespedes, LF
7. Avila, C
8. Castellanos, 3B
9. Igleseias, SS (he happens to lead the team in BA, by the way)