Surprisingly, last night turned out well, thanks mostly to a career performance by The Pride of Butler, PA, Don “The Donkey” Kelly.

As expected, the game turned into a strikeout duel, with Rick Porcello doing more than expected, and the Tiger hitters a little less so.

The key play of the game could have easily turned out to be Tuiasosopo being thrown at at home in the 11th.  I will go on the record as saying that the move by Brookens was absolutely the right one, usually: on the road, extra innings, 2 outs, the odds are in your favor to be aggressive and to send the runner home, every time. Think of it this way:  if the next hitter is a .200 hitter, the odds are 1 in 5 that the next batter will hit the runner in. The odds are much better that the defense will not throw the runner out.

On the other hand, you need to consider the variables. As in: Ankiel in RF, and Tuiasosopo on 3rd base. Tui might be a tad faster than Victor Martinez (who should never, ever again be sent home in anything other than a gimme situation). I like the aggressive approach of Brookens, but he needs to know when he is working against elite arms, armed with leadfoots.

OK, time for a new nickname: Tuiasoslopoke.

*****

Tonight Doug “The K” Fister faces a guy named “Bud.”

*****

If the game is sparsely attended tonight, you have to forgive the Houstonians. At 8-21, there is hardly joy in Mudville. And the real fans were all up late waiting out that extra-inning downer. And on top of all that, apparently the Main Event in town is a culture war.

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Don Kelly. DK gets the rare start after his heroics last night.

Today’s No-Jack Lineup:

1. Dirks, LF
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Martinez, DH
6. Kelly, CF
7. Peralta, SS
8. Avila, C
9. Infante, 2B

The Tigers travel to Houston to take on the newly-American-League Astros, who have so far been welcomed into the AL to the tune of a league-worst 8-20 record.

The probable pitchers for the series are:

• May 2 8:10  Porcello vs. Lyles
• May 3 8:10  Fister vs. Norris
• May 4 7:10  Scherzer vs. Harrell
• May 5 4:10  Verlander vs. Humber

If there is any good news for the beleaguered Astros it’s that they get to start out the series with Porcello, the one Tiger pitcher who is not putting up huge strikeout numbers. Houston has struck out a MLB-leading 276 times; the K-stros hitters meeting the Tiger pitchers should make for a perfect storm of strikeouts this weekend.

*****

Not surprisingly, Bruce Rondon was returned to Toledo, just in time to be fitted for his Chewbacca uniform, as the Mud Hens honor Star Wars Weekend. Why did no one tell me about this? It is far too late to get a decent costume now. Anyway Mud Hen players will hope that the increased attention the uniforms will give them will help in their Wookie-of-the-Year bids.

OK, I can’t help it, had to look up a picture of the things. Words fail me.

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Jose Valverde. Finally another save situation arrives, and Valverde comes out especially animated against his former team.

Today’s Welcome to the AL Lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Martinez, DH
6. Dirks, LF
7. Peralta, SS
8. Avila, C
9. Infante, 2B

15-10, in first place and leading K.C. by half a game still, and the win streak is at 5 games and counting. Anibal Sanchez got this thing rolling with a career outing against the Braves last Friday, and while we won’t see 17 strikeouts from him today, we might see a more subtle masterpiece here in his second 2013 outing vs. the Twins. Such as a no-hitter, for example. Just a suggestion.

I had the thought that the Tigers hitters might “let up” a bit when they had the lead. One gets that impression once in a while. So I checked it. Not true, and it’s easy to see why I shouldn’t have expected otherwise. Here’s a clue: The Tigers lead the AL in BA, and we don’t even have to look it up to know that the Tigers have spent the majority of their innings in the lead. So….

You might know this, but I just heard about it. Compared with 10 years ago, strikeouts in MLB are at a frequency where you might say we are in another era. Why is this? And what are the new parameters for judging a pitcher’s K/9? We are programmed to consider a strikeout per inning the baseline for being impressed. Do we need a new standard? I wonder the same things about other shifting stats: BA, HR, wins for pitchers. Is that .300 batting average thing as arbitrary as it seems? It seems we are now in an era where 20+ home runs should impress us as much as it did 40 years ago, are we not? And 20 wins as the threshold for greatness just seems completely out of line today. 15+ is more like it. Pitchers aren’t starting 40 games a year any more, and I would bet that no-decisions are more frequent than they used to be.

Your one-stop shop for some rapid perusal of the current state of Tigers minor league teams and players:

Toledo (7-20, last place; 18 of their games have been on the road so far)

Erie (12-11, first place)

Lakeland (11-14, tied for 4th of 5)

West Michigan (10-13, 5th of 8)

Some Tigers team stats AL rankings:

Hitting: Best in AVG and OBP, 3rd in OPS. Best hitters at home by a mile; nearly the worst on the road. Best two-strike hitters, again by a mile; decisively the worst at first-pitch hitting. Tops in hits, 3rd in walks, and 3rd fewest strikeouts. Among the elite with 2 outs, and 6th with RISP. Against LHP, 3rd best; RHP, 6th best. Considering who the slumpers and strugglers have been, this LHB line is no surprise: 227/317/363. Well, maybe a bit of a surprise. Hey – the Tigers are 6th best at staying out of the DP. There’s a surprise.

Starting rotation: Rivaled only by Texas and Boston, and Detroit starters have given up the fewest HR by far (7 in 156 IP!). (Side note: Doug Fister – the pitcher – is tied with the Yankees and Orioles – the entire rotations – for the AL lead in HBP.) Let me put this in perspective: If Tigers starting pitching totals were projected out to 34 GS, that stat line would win the Cy Young award handily. Mr. Tiger would trounce Mr. Red Sox and Mr. Ranger. That’s how good Tigers starters were in April. Phenomenal or close to it.

Bullpen: Well, you know, they’ve allowed 37 of Detroit’s 92 earned runs. 12th in WHIP, but 4th best in BAA. Tops in strikeouts, but also 2nd in walks. Tied for 2nd best in HR allowed. Oft-maligned but serviceable, and maybe getting better. The 1-5 W-L counts for something more than it would for starters, though. Gotta even that up.

Speaking of which… I have no confidence in Al Alburquerque. None. It’s Dejareal all over again. Did someone say “DL” or “Toledo”? I didn’t say that, but I thought I heard something there.

Miguel Cabrera makes some nifty plays at 3B sometimes. Great arm, of course. He has decent range in my view, and good reactions. Why is he a liability there… still? It’s his glove – literally. Glove control. It’s also a hands thing, ball transfer and such, and also, often, a judgment thing. He’s got the legs and the arm, but the hands…

Watching Pedro Florimon of the Twins, I thought, that guy’s swing reminds me of Don Kelly’s. Kelly has a nice-looking swing, in my opinion. Despite that, it’s obvious that it’s not a swing that’s ever going to get much done at the plate with any frequency. I can’t tell you why. I’m not a hitting coach or an amateur baseball genius. But it’s a nice-looking swing.

Andy Dirks and Victor Martinez are back. I don’t think it’s too early to declare this. On the other hand, I have just about resigned myself to a bad year at the plate from Alex Avila. No real signs of life. The occasional HR is not the same as what you saw with Martinez, which was good contact more and more frequently, well before the hits actually started to fall. I also think Jhonny Peralta is overachieving a bit, but he did that for an entire season not so long ago, so let it ride.

Kelly has been good in the outfield, but then so has Dirks. I’m hoping this Kelly as LF replacement late in games isn’t one of those auto-Leyland things. Because I think Dirks has an even nicer-looking swing than Kelly does.

Still wondering why Martinez was sent home to be thrown out last night. Did you see him rounding third? Maybe it’s just a traditional thing for games against the Twins,  or maybe Tom Brookens felt Dirks needed the RBI. He did, but he wasn’t going to get it with Martinez on second.

Maybe today Ramon gets the start at SS or 2B. Even though he’s better as a LHB. So maybe not. The real question is whether Matt Tuiasosopo gets the presumed start in LF. Matt is one of my guys, but I’d roll with Dirks today, roll with the hot hand. Will Leyland? I’m guessing… no.

On to the sweep. (Jinx, schminx.) Doesn’t have to be a blowout. I’ll take 7-0 Tigers.

POST-GAME: Twins 6, Tigers 2. They weren’t without their chances, but the Tigers were outplayed in all aspects of the game today. The game hung on 5 events, most before it floated out of reach courtesy of Rondon and Downs:

1. Twins 1st. Close to 40 pitches already, men on 1st and 2nd, Sanchez gives up a LF single to Parmalee. Tuiasosopo makes perfect throw to the plate that Pena a) is not positioned well on, and b) that Pena drops while turning to make the tag on Morneau he would have gotten.

2. Tigers 1st. Two men on, two outs, and Martinez gets under one for an easy flyball out to Hicks in CF.

3. Twins 2nd. Twins score their 3rd run on Carroll double that makes it to LF to Cabrera’s right. Don’t know whether to blame Cabrera or Sanchez or just give Carroll (and the running on pitch Florimon scoring from 1B) credit, but 3 will be enough.

4. Tigers 6th. The tide was turning, the score was 3-2, the Tigers had capitalized a mistake into one of those runs. Cabrera at 3B, 2 outs. Martinez scorches one that hooks foul down the LF line. Then hits a grounder to 2B in the RF grass that most any person with legs would have had an IF RBI-single on. It’s all over.

5. Tigers 9th. Cabrera at 2B, Fielder at 1B, no outs. This is what you call a rally when you’re down 6-2. Martinez hits the first pitch to Carroll at 3B for a 5-4-3 DP. This is what you call a dead rally.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Scott Diamond, Justin Morneau
HONORABLE MENTION: Pedro Florimon, Jamie Carroll, Chris Parmalee. Miguel Cabrera, Jose Ortega
NOT SO GOOD: Brayan Pena, Victor Martinez, Bruce Rondon

Sanchez finished strong after an uncharacteristically labored beginning, retiring the last 11 he faced… Nice acting job by Miggy on his “HBP”… Prince lingered at the railing after pursuing an out of play foul ball. Brought some laughs to the people there with whatever he said or did. Cool moment… Pena and Peralta premiered their new comedy routine “Hit and Run,” one pretending to swing while the other pretended to run. Nice ABs today, Brayan. Platoon? Ha ha ha… It’s official. The bullpen stinks. But Ortega was dynamite. Could the Tigers be saved by not one but two Jose’s?… Strikeouts thrown are not runs scored, unfortunately. I’m a bit weary of strikeout hoopla.

One pitch, one hit, one Prince, and the Tigers are 14-10 and atop the division by a half game over the Royals going into this game. They’ve won 4 straight for the second time this season. Now it’s Verlander vs. Worley, also for the second time this year, and this time it’s in Detroit.  In complete game weather, if you catch my drift. Though there is that JV right thumb blister to worry about.

Quote of the day: “Our bullpen is still complicated,” Leyland said. “It’s a whole lot less complicated because [closer Jose] Valverde is back at the end. That makes it less complicated. However, we have a lot of one-inning guys. That makes a big difference. I’m looking at that.”

I’m guessing that it’s just about time to get Ramon Santiago a bit of playing time and some at bats. He hasn’t had a plate appearance since April 20 against the Angels. I say he gets the start at SS tonight. Correct me if I’m wrong.

POST-GAME: Tigers 6, Twins 1. A smooth win on the surface, seemingly all Tigers, but I know Detroit’s bullpen makes you as nervous as it does me, even with a 5-run lead. Or a 10-run lead.

Game-changer and game-winner: Tigers 5th. Although Detroit had just made it 4-1, Jackson getting thrown out at 3B entirely unnecessarily in the middle of a rally is the sort of thing that a game can turn on. Fortunately, Cabrera safe on the fielder’s choice preserved a man on, and the next Fielder’s choice was lined into the RF seats for 2 runs and the nail in the coffin.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Justin Verlander, Prince Fielder

HONORABLE MENTION: Victor Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Andy Dirks

NOT SO GOOD: Vance Worley

Wow!! That bad omen rain made me sooooo nervous.

The Detroit Tigers (13-10) wrap up their 9-game (less one postponed) home stand with three against the Minnesota Twins (11-10). The Tigers are coming off an exhilarating sweep of the Braves, while the Twins are coming off the AL equivalent, 2 convincing wins in a row over the Texas Rangers. You may recall that the Tigers began the season in Minneapolis with a series loss, and the names that come back to mind as the doers of damage are not Mauer and Morneau, but instead Escobar, Plouffe, Correia, Dozier, and even two former Tigers farmhands in Casey Fien and Wilkin Ramirez. But that was then and this is now. Real baseball weather for this series, and they won’t have to face the de facto Twins ace Correia this time. Detroit area forecast looking good through Wednesday.

Monday. April 29, 7:08 PM ET: RHP Mike Pelfrey vs. RHP Max Scherzer
Tueday, April 30, 7:08 PM ET: RHP Vance Worley vs. RHP Justin Verlander
Wednesday, May 1, 1:08 PM ET: LHP Scott Diamond vs. RHP Anibal Sanchez

SCOUTING REPORT ON THE TWINS: STARTING PITCHING: Not too good, with the exception of Correia. At the bottom of the AL in BAA (.312) and strikeouts (58!). And yet only the Tigers rotation has given up fewer HR. BULLPEN: Very good, quite deep, and to be feared. Tops in AL in WHIP (1.12). OFFENSE: Not so good. Their .362 SLG is lowest in the AL. Fewer HR than Detroit, if you can believe that. If the Tigers regular lineup was so peppered with dismal stat lines, we’d be climbing the walls. Mauer and Willingham are the big guns. The rest seem harmless, until you find out otherwise, as the Tigers did in Games 2-3. DEFENSE: The Twins might have a bit of an edge on the Tigers, not that the clowns don’t come out once in a while. Where they really have an edge is in controlling the running game. Remember how beatable Mauer looked the first time around? No more. OVERALL: So how do the Twins manage to be 11-10? Pretty much the same way they took 2 of 3 from the Tigers last time.

SCOUTING REPORT ON THE TIGERS: Pretend you’re a Twins fan and don’t know all of this already. STARTING PITCHING: Outstanding, well-nigh unbeatable so far. BULLPEN: If trustworthy is good, then not good. And even a little less good than that. With apologies to the reborn Papa Grande. Sorry, Al-Al. You make me as nervous as Villareal did. OFFENSE: Very good in a small ball sort of way (the times they are a-changin’), albeit prone to inconvenient funks that can last a whole series or more. Delve into the stats if you question the “very good” assessment. At least give me “good.” The base-running and related on-base strategy has been rather smart and aggressive so far, at least by Tigers standards. DEFENSE: Solid. Not a lot of highlight reel stuff, but astonishingly short on Clown Show. OVERALL: The Tigers hover on the brink of very-goodness.

PELFREY vs.SCHERZER: Current Tigers have an OPS of 1.014 in 107 PA against Pelfrey vs. his career .764. Pelfrey pitched fairly well against the Sleeping Bat Tigers (no relation, we hope) earlier this month, his defense letting him down although he took the win (with no ER) in 5.1. Pelfrey has pitched once at Comerica Park, for the New York Mets on June 30, 2011. It didn’t go so well for him. Omar Infante has really hit him in 30 PA. This season, Pelfrey has had a rough go of it after that first promising start against the Tigers. When he pitches well, he gets a lot of ground balls. When not, not. Not a strikeout pitcher.

Max is coming off a game vs. the Royals where he reinforced my impression that a significant lead seems to make him slack off. His strikeouts are off the chart, but I’d like to see him going a little deeper into games than he has been (2 of 4 starts were 5 inning affairs). Current Twins have an OPS of .809 in 96 PA against Scherzer vs. his career .732. The M & M Boys in particular have been scary good against Max. But maybe that was all in Minnesota?

WORLEY vs. VERLANDER: Current Tigers have only 36 PA vs. Worley, so suffice it to say that Game 2013.1 is our history here for the most part. Worley got the loss in a quality start against the Tigers on cold Opening Day, and wouldn’t you know it, he draws Verlander again. A couple bad starts since have his stats looking ugly, but from the last couple , you’d expect that what we saw the first time vs. the Tigers is more like it. He’s a bit tougher on lefties for a righty, and has the stuff to shut down the Sleeping Bat Tigers should they appear again, make no mistake. Worley has never pitched at Comerica Park.

Justin has been consistently damn good this year (let’s take a break from taking him for granted with “as expected”), but the Tigers have only scraped up an average 2.74 runs in support. Current Twins have an OPS of .744  in 201 PA against Verlander vs. his career .651. You can ascribe all of this to Joe Mauer. He shut the Twins down over 5 innings Opening Day, and the last time at Comerica against Minnesota (July 4, 2012) was a complete game gem. Run support, guys. Let’s have some here and avoid the “Cy Worley” comments.

DIAMOND vs. SANCHEZ: Whatever their record against LHP starters is (1-2? Better?), Detroit is hitting lefties – top of AL in BA, OBP, and OPS (4th in SLG). Current Tigers have an OPS of .543 in 86 PA against Diamond vs. his career .764. His career splits have him better against RHB than LHB (hello, Prince). Only Miggy has had much success against him. Diamond beat the Tigers twice in a row last they saw him, and handily, once in Detroit and once in Minneapolis. But he started this season on the DL and has not looked unusually impressive in 3 starts to date.

Anibal is coming off an astonishing performance against the Braves, but he’s been brilliant all year. He’s got the whole arsenal of pitches working, no doubt. Current Twins have an OPS of .601 in 74 PA against Sanchez vs. his career .708. Interestingly, Josh Willingham has drawn 7 walks in 17 PA. None intentional. Sanchez has never faced the Twins at Comerica, but there’s no reason to believe he can’t deny them like he did in Game 2013.2, even if the Twins did shellack him once in 2012, in his 4th start as a Tiger. Any chance the Twins are the same hackers the Braves were? No. Don’t look for 17.

The Tigers are in 2nd place at the moment, half a game behind the Royals. But let’s have a look at the important standings:

Kevin in Dallas…..7-2

Coleman…………..4-4

Smoking Loon……2-4

I am well aware that this is the result of a conspiracy against me. But this time I have Max, JV, and Anibal going for me, and nothing less than a sweep will do. If I have to sit Avila all three games and put Kelly Dirks on the DL to keep him out and Tuiasosopo in, so be it. (The Avila reverse jinx is in effect.)

Is there a bona fide platoon situation shaping up in LF? I think there is. Is Brayan Pena going to start catching about 1 game per series until further notice? I think he is. Is Ramon Santiago, despite kind of being the 26th man at the moment, going to get all the ABs Leyland can give him through May at the very least? I think he is, and really have no quarrel. Should we disregard the  current Toledo stats of Quintin Berry and Danny Worth in judging their (by and by) call-up-ability and ability to contribute? Yes, to a degree I think we should. And keep an eye on Jose Ortega.

And now, may we have the starting lineups, O Kindly Person? (Note plural. Or am I pushing my luck? Research has shown that posting the opposing teams lineup bestows a wWPA of +0.667.)

POST-GAME: Tigers 4, Twins 3. A nice come from behind and stay ahead win. After 5, with Kelly stranded at 3rd, I had my commentary on the loss written in my head: “If you’re the Twins, this is how you beat the Tigers. Just like last time.” I’m hoping not to copy and paste this tomorrow or Wednesday.

Elevator going down: For a while there, Max seemed to be working on demonstrating how to lose slowly while throwing nothing but strikes, while the Sleeping Bat Tigers were back in town. Only one scored in the Twins 2nd, but the way it was set up – the errorless error by Cabrera and the Scherzer wild pitch – brought an air of doom to the proceedings. Then in the Twins 5th, Max gave the  4th inning Dirks HR right back by challenging rookie Arcia with the fastball (hit for an RBI double), which seemed contrary to what the first Arcia AB had shown. Scherzer’s K on Arcia in the 7th was either an ingenious adjustment or straight out of the scouting report. Game-changer: The well-executed bunt for a hit by Andy Dirks in the Tigers 6th. Broke the spell. Game-winner: Tigers 6th, Prince Fielder’s first-pitch 3-run HR off of Pelfrey.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Prince Fielder

HONORABLE MENTION: Max Scherzer, Drew Smyly, Andy Dirks

12-10, 2nd place, 1 game behind KC.

(this image may look familiar)

After laying an egg against one of the weaker teams in baseball right now, the Tigers have responded nicely with two comfortable wins against the hot Braves. Yesterday’s win was brought to you courtesy of the middle infield, as both Infante and Peralta hit twho rhun homers, and Cabrera was Cabrera again. Porcello was okay, but given the shellacking he took last time out, last night’s performance was just fine. Let’s remember that he’s our #5 guy.

The Tigers go for the sweep tonight against Braves lefty Mike Minor. Remember all those horrible stats I brought up on Friday? The Tigers proceeded to pound Maholm for 8 runs in 3 2/3 on 10 hits and 3 walks. Minor had a breakout year in 2012, and 2013 is pointing up. Though his 2012 record was only 11-10, he was much better than that and his 4.12 ERA. He posted a 1.15 WHIP and 7.27 K/9 against 2.91 BB/9. In 2013 he’s posting a .92 WHIP with 21 Ks and only 3 walks in 25 innings.  He’s holding hitters to a .220 BAA, but that’s .050 against lefties (1 hit and 8 Ks in 21 batters) and .268 v righties. Other than Prince, who is crushing lefties to the tune of .400/.500/.760, we’ll have the platoon righties.

A few notes about Sanchez’s gem from Friday:

– He faced 29 batters. He walked 1, gave up 5 hits, and had 6 non Ks. Of those 12 non-K batters, 5 went to 2 strike counts.

– Of the 5 hits he gave, up, 3 went for extra bases.

– 15 of the 17Ks were swinging.

– He struck out the side in the 2nd and 8th, and at least 2 in every other inning except for one. The 4th was the only inning where he struck out less than 2 batters.

Tonight’s Series Sweeping Lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Martinez, DH
6. Peralta, SS
7. Tuiasosopo, LF
8. Pena, C
9. Infante, 2B

11-10, 2nd place, 1 game behind KC.

(traveling today, gonna be quick here, more on AS tomorrow)

Unbelievable. I didn’t get to watch the game live. But I’ve watched the K by K video a handful of times to the point where I shout on #17 just like Sanchez.

A few notes other than the obvious one that Sanchez was historically awesome last night.

– The Tigers pounded a lefty. Demolished him really.

– The Tigers had 5 XBH (4 doubles and a HR) for a .579 slugging.

– Tigers were 6-15 with RISP.

– This warm and fuzzy feeling could go away very quickly in a few hours.

If someone could please post the lineup when it is up I would appreciate it.

10-10, 2nd place, 1.5 games behind KC.

On the heels of an incredibly disappointing 1-5 stretch, the Tigers welcome the best team in baseball thus far, the Atlanta Braves, to the D. The Braves are 15-6 and an incredible 9-4 on the road. Their early season success is entirely attributable to their sparkling pitching. You ready for this?

Team ERA: 2.52 (Tigers: 3.91)

Team WHIP: 1.13 (1.33)

Team BAA: .230 (.252)

BB/9: 2.42 (3.37)

On the other side of the field, their team batting average is only .250 (.269), but the Braves are near the top of the league in slugging at .446, which adds up to a strong .772 team OPS. I found this to be fascinating..unfortunately this led me to an inspection of Tigers’ slugging numbers.

The Tigers have the third best team BA (.269), but the team’s .372 slugging percentage is 23rd in the Majors. The Tigers vaunted offense is in the bottom 5 of the league in HR and 2B. Avila, VMart and Dirks have a combined 5 XBH between them in 185 ABs. Which is six less than Prince Fielder has in 74 ABs. This is very simple. Two of Avila, VMart and Dirks have to get to average production (let’s say a .400 slugging), else we’re going to have a few more stretches like last week. Note, I’m not asking for them to be above-average players. But a .270/.340/.400/.740 slash line is expected. Martinez and Dirks have ISO numbers of .027 and .021, respectively. Avila’s is a respectable .097, but that’s only because his avg. and OBP are so terrible.

Yes, it’s early, and these rankings are largely a result of a historically awful offensive week. But the numbers are painful to look at nonetheless.

Things won’t get any easier this weekend. The Tigers face a nasty lefthander tonight in Paul Maholm. Maholm has been nearly unhittable in 2013, posting a microscopic 1.03 ERA and .87 WHIP while compiling a 3-1 record in 4 starts this year. The Tigers simply can’t hit lefties (.206/.299/.312/.611 – all at the very bottom of the bigs) so make sure you have a few extra cold ones on hand tonight.

I’ve got to head down to Austin this afternoon for a meeting, so someone please post the lineups when they are avail.

The Tigers have a new closer (same as the old one).

And they are lucky to get him:  “A lot of teams wanted to sign me,” Valverde said. “Like the Yankees and Mets. A lot of teams.” Count on the Yankees to spoil the fun: Yankees GM Brian Cashman told WFAN radio: “False, false, false.” Then Buster Olney piled on and said the Mets didn’t make an offer either.

At any rate, an optimist (or something) can say that Valverde is the missing piece that completes the bullpen. “Valverde could be the answer. Truly, the answer…Leyland will be able to use his bullpen cast in the slots to which they’re best-suited.” As Vince said, the greatest gain from signing Valverde may be that Leyland can manage more comfortably now, and doesn’t have to think about who pitches when.

Not that there are not opposing views. Setting aside the whole debate about how important having a designated closer even is, some are calling the signing of Valverde in particular a panic move.

For what it is worth, he did look like a different pitcher last night. He still came in with a spit and a hop (although without the trademark glasses), but has a different delivery now, and a quicker one by the way. His fastball seems to have picked up a couple mph from the end of last season.  But where was that supposed improved slider? (All 18 pitches were fastballs. It may have been just too cold for anything else). Does he have a strikeout pitch? The three outs were hit rather hard. And how will he pitch with men on base? Valverde’s celebration dance was subtle and subdued, as should be ours until those questions are answered.

*****

This afternoon is the marquee pitching matchup game, James Shields vs. Justin Verlander. Look out for Billy Butler, who has tormented Verlander at a .396 pace over his career.

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Victor Martinez. V-Mart finally became unstymied with some “in play, no out” balls. Let’s stay on a roll here.

Today’s Kelly-Time Lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Martinez, DH
6. Kelly, LF
7. Peralta, SS
8. Avila, C
9. Infante, 2B

Well, what to do on a rainy day with no baseball? If you are Dave Dombrowski, sign Jose Valverde, that’s what. Jim Leyland didn’t waste any time either: Valverde is coming back as The Closer (“one thing you know about him, he’s done it before”), and you can expect the bullpen to settle into The Role type of bullpen, as The Committee is disbanded. What Rondon’s role will be remains to be seen, and he may just be a placeholder until the team figures out what exactly is going on with Octavio Dotel.

Valverde will be available to close today’s game, if the situation arises, and how can one hope that it will not?

So The Big Potato has come full circle now from The Closer to the Struggling Closer to the Postseason Disaster Closer to The Unsigned and Unloved Former Closer to the Aww What The Heck Minor League Signing to…The Closer. Dave Dombrowski says that “his stuff is back throwing like he did a couple years ago.” Well, we shall see. What is undeniable is that there will not be any dull moments the next time a save situation arises. Jason Beck has an amusing timeline of the circular evolution of Jose Valverde from Tiger Closer to Tiger Closer.

Of course, with Valverde back, someone had to go. Brayan Villarreal was the one thrown onto the bus from Detroit to Toledo. Villarreal has stuff that has been described as “unhittable,” but unfortunately teams have figured out that they don’t need to hit him, and that standing there like a house by the side of the road can actually work when he is on the mound.

The 41st man on the 40-man roster turned out the be the sort-of-forgotten Duane Below, who was Designated For Assignment, and can now be claimed on waivers. The Blue Jays may be his next stop–they have already claimed Aaron Laffey, Casper Wells, Mauro Gomez, and Edgar Gonzalez this month.

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Speaking of Casper Wells, The Ghost will be haunting Oakland now. The Blue Jays Designated Wells 5 days after claiming him on waivers, and the Oakland A’s acquired him for “cash considerations” (and moved former Tiger Scott Sizemore to the 60-day DL to make room for him). Wells seems like he would have been a good fit for that RH LF platoon role: he has outstanding numbers against left-handing pitching, and his glove is a plus at all 3 outfield positions. The Tigers have virtually no chance to claim anyone on waivers (every MLB team but one has to pass first), but it seems like they could have come up with “cash considerations.”

And since we’re at it with the former Tigers: Inge is back up with the Pirates (1-4, 2B, RBI). Cue the peanut gallery. And Delmon Young had his first rehab assignment for Philadelphia. Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said that Young is expected to step in as the Phillies’ everyday right fielder, but not until he’s “adequate” in the field.” Oh, stop it Ruben, you’re killin’ me!

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Today’s starting pitchers are still Max and Wade, so I will stick with the lucky slump-busting picture.

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Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Well, Max still figures in the equation, but the POPG obviously has to go to Jose Valverde, whose appearance or non-appearance alike will be the topic of the game.

Today’s Powerless Lineup (reverse jinx in effect):

1. Jackson, CF
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Martinez, DH
6. Dirks, LF
7. Peralta, SS
8. Avila, C
9. Infante, 2B

Well, we needed that off-day. I’m not speaking for the team; the fans certainly did though.

The news of the day is that Octavio Dotel has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation, the 2nd time he has suffered this ailment (the first just landed him on the day-to-day list). Whether the elbow inflammation caused his ineffectiveness or his ineffectiveness caused the inflammation diagnosis, the Tigers decided it was time to give Rondon a roll in the bigs. Rondon solved some control problems from Spring Training (he hasn’t walked a batter in his last 4 Mud Hen outings), and he has been rewarded. It remains to be seen how this might effect the Valverde situation–Valverde continues to pitch well, and has a May 5 call-up deadline in his contract.

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Surprisingly though, the bullpen had very little to do with the Tigers slumping on the 2nd half of their West Coast trip. The bats simply disappeared, especially with runners in scoring position. (For those wondering why Phil Coke was left in to face Trumbo, by the way, Dotel’s injury meant there were no right-handers left in the bullpen to bring in anyway).

The Tigers have a meager 12 home runs for the season, and an anemic .379 slugging percentage, good for 12th in the league (they are being outslugged by the Royals). With runners in scoring position they are only hitting .230, with a .654 OPS (12th), and with bases loaded it only gets worse, an astounding .087 BA with a .301 OPS.

Prince Fielder, after being named Player of the Week, began striking out like his body had been snatched by Inge, and had a golden sombrero and a platinum poncho to add to his luggage for the return trip.  It would be easy to just say “that’s baseball,” but the more astute fan would detect the working of a jinx, and blame John Lowe for wondering if the Tigers could have two .400 hitters this season.

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A big part of the offensive malaise of course is the continued struggles of Victor Martinez, which have left the Tigers with a Ramon Santiago-like OPS of .542 from the DH position (14th) and from the 5th spot in the lineup (13th).  Martinez has had some bad luck on balls in play, but he is not making any excuses.  At any rate, the Martinez situation could turn into one of those Raburn/Boesch/Ordonez situations:  it is too early to do anything but stay with the course, but if the Tigers end up on the other side of the All-Star break with a 5-hitter with a .600 OPS, that spells trouble.

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Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Max Scherzer. Max will strike out a bushel of batters, but more than that, we are going with the slump-busting, Creepy Max Glare game picture to hypnotize the Royals. If Max gets in trouble, look for Leyland to bring Rondon in for his first MLB appearance with bases loaded and nobody out.

Today’s Powerless Lineup (reverse jinx in effect):

1. Jackson, CF
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Martinez, DH
6. Dirks, LF
7. Peralta, SS
8. Avila, C
9. Infante, 2B

After two resounding losses to the Angels and three consecutive overall, the Detroit Tigers are on their heels trying to salvage one win in the series and end their road trip on a positive note with a positive record (for the trip and the season both). We don’t want to see .500 again, do we? And we sure don’t want to get to the point where we do want to see it again.

Today RHP Doug Fister goes up against LHP C.J. Wilson. Have the Tigers beaten a southpaw yet in 2013? I’m thinking not. Fister was brilliant last time out. Wilson had a decent albeit labored outing against the Astros in his last start. In 67 PA, current Angels have put up an OPS well over Fister’s career OPS-against, but 19 of those PA belong to Josh Hamilton, whom Fister has had in his pocket to date. (Beware: This usually spells trouble.) Wilson, despite a marginally significant current Tiger .714/career .674 OPS-against, has done well against the Tigers he’s faced the most. (Don’t be surprised to see Santiago at SS, and maybe even a day off for V-Mart.) He’s a bit generous with walks, but stingy with home runs.

Alarm status on Tigers hitting has been officially upgraded to Code Funk, after 9 runs in 5 games. Let’s look at these 9 runs. 5 were driven in by Miggy. 2 scored on infield outs. 2 were walked in. Hmmm. What does it all mean? I don’t want to look at the RISP numbers over this stretch. Really I don’t.

Being humbled by C.C. Sabathia and humiliated by King Felix is one thing. Being humbled by Tommy Hanson and humiliated by Garrett Richards is quite another.

Why don’t we move on to a cheerier subject, such as the Tigers bullpen? This problem has been overshadowed by the hitting woes, but it’s still there. I often wonder why stats such as inherited runners scored and first batters faced (each inning) reaching aren’t more front and center for relievers. Drew Smyly and Darin Downs have turned in some good work, but I guarantee you the aforementioned stats aren’t pretty for the rest of the pen. I was going to work up the stats for you, but two ugly games have left me exhausted. Perhaps by the time of my next series the issue will have gone away. That would be nice. In the meantime, Octavio Dotel and Joaquin Benoit appear to be making their inexorable way down Valverde Road, and perhaps Brayan Villarreal could go to Toledo and stay there for a while.

And now the Redemption Game starting lineups, courtesy of that inveterate baseball savant…

POST-GAME: Angels 4, Tigers 3, in 13 innings. Tough loss. Taking back a lead is not the Tigers’s strong suit.

TURNING POINT: After Tigers hitters leave the bases loaded in the first two innings, the bottom 3rd becomes outright Clown Show, with 2 Fister HBPs, a Pujols “double” that was clearly a Cabrera error good for 2 haunting runs, and a botched DP throw by Infante (Fielder gets a share) good for 1 haunting run more. TURNING POINT: Top of the 5th, Prince golfs a 2-run shot to RF off of Wilson to turn back the clock with one swing. TURNING POINT: Top of the 9th, Cabrera and Fielder draw what are essentially intentional walks to load the bases with 2 outs to get to Martinez. Martinez battles, but Frieri gets him to pop out harmlessly to left. Big time fail. GAME-LOSER: The 3-1 breaking ball Coke (not Jim Leyland) threw to Trumbo for the walk-off HR. Cokey has to deal with his 2nd walk-off of the year. He was way good for the 2 innings prior, though.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Mark Trumbo, Mike Trout

HONORABLE MENTION: Al Alburquerque, Doug Fister, Prince Fielder, Jerome Williams, Ernesto Frieri, C.J. Wilson

NOT SO GOOD: Victor Martinez, Miguel Cabrera

Minus some generous official scoring, by my count Cabrera has 5 errors at 3B this year. 2 today, including the first very costly one.

Tigers hitting failing to turn threats into runs is the THE story now, and the bullpen was good today – Alburquerque especially was in otherworldly 2011 form – but here are those bullpen stats I mentioned just the same, updated through today’s game:

INHERITED RUNNERS SCORED (8 OF 17 TIMES, 12 OF 24 RUNNERS SCORED OVERALL)

ALBURQUERQUE: 2 OF 4 TIMES, 3 OF 7 SCORED

VILLAREAL: 3 OF 4 TIMES, 3 OF 4 SCORED

COKE: 1 OF 3 TIMES, 1 OF 3 SCORED

DOTEL: 1 OF 2 TIMES, 3 OF 5 SCORED

DOWNS: 1 OF 3 TIMES, 2 OF 5 SCORED

BENOIT: 0 OF 1 TIMES, 0 SCORED

FIRST BATTER FACED IN AN INNING RESULTS IN REACH OR ADVANCE (23 IN 80 BF); WITHOUT SMYLY, 22 IN 62 —  FIRST BATTER OBP = .275; WITHOUT SMYLY, FIRST BATTER OBP = .339

ALBURQUERQUE: 4 IN 11 BF (5 K, 2 BB, 1 H, 2 WP ON SAME BATTER)

VILLAREAL: 5 IN 8 BF (3 K, 3 BB, 1 H, WP, SB)

COKE: 2 IN 11 BF (4 K, 0 BB, 2 H)

DOTEL: 4 IN 7 BF (1 K, 0 BB, 4 H)

DOWNS: 4 IN 11 BF (5 K, 3 BB, 1 H)

BENOIT: 4 IN 12 BF (3 K, 2 BB, 2 H)

SMYLY: 1 IN 18 BF (9 K, 0 BB, 1 H)

PORCELLO: 0 IN 2 BF (0 K)