77-55, first place, 5.5 up on the Cleveland Indians.

Rain put a merciful end to the debacle of the 6-3 loss to the A’s. It was a forgettable game, but I remember a few things:

A. Prince Fielder’s 2-run, bases-loaded single to tie the game wasn’t just a 2-run, bases-loaded single to tie the game. It was also a fine display of “old style” Prince at the dish, the whole at bat.

B. Justin Verlander did record 15 outs. It just took him a while.

C. Iglesias cost the Tigers an A’s run with a poor relay throw. Little disappointed there.

D. Moss’s 2-run backbreaker was brought to you in part by Omar The Sloppy, taking a page from Callaspo, apparently.

I shall refrain from further comment on Matt Tuiasosopo, in order to avoid a repeat of last night’s hex. At bats weren’t good.

The A’s have been beating the Tigers at their own game, hitting-wise. Give them some credit. Now it’s up to Doug Fister to turn that around, and I think he’s just the guy. Vida Blue was a late scratch for the A’s. Instead, they send out RHP Dan “Cy” Straily, who may cause us to sigh frailly.

This one-game, 6-inning slump from Cabrera is alarming. He needs to get back on track with another one-pitch, multi-run HR in the 1st, I say. I mean, come on, Miguel. Dues to pay. You gotta earn that money, carry your weight. Every day. For our sakes.

77-54, 1st place, 5.5 up on the Indians.

The Tigers just treated us to one of the most exciting games of the season, but wound up on the wrong side of 8-6. There was another Miggy Moment, the 2-run HR to right field on a 3-1 pitch off the plate that tied the game at 4. Miguel Cabrera is the Babe Ruth of our time, make no mistake. No pinstripes on that guy, either. He’s a TIGER. Fielder gave the ball a nice ride with the bases loaded. Tuiasosopo was flat out robbed by CF Crisp on the play that may have saved the whole game for the A’s. Martinez gave the Tigers hope when it was fading. The team didn’t let up. For a loss, it was a thing of beauty.

Except for the pitching. It was like a tug-of-war between Tigers pitching and Tigers hitting. Pitching wanted to lose. Hitting wanted a draw. Pitching prevailed. Four Tigers pitched, and four Tigers pitched poorly. Sanchez was withering in the heat from the get-go, throwing 100 pitches in the first inning alone, and things might have gone still worse later if not for a gift strikeout on Tiger-killer Crisp from the 3B ump. Alvarez was very Coke-like. Looking sharp, pitching crisply. Giving up 4 hits and 2 runs, the nails in the coffin when all was said and done. Poor Alburquerque can’t keep a good thing going to save his life. One pitch, 2 outs, inning over was such a promising beginning. Bonderman is slowly pitching himself off the team.

The Illustrious Mr. Iglesias had his first bad game going until a clutch hit in the 8th kind of redeemed him. But by abandoning his position on a guess, he gave up the 4th A’s run more than Sanchez did. He also watched three called strikes go by in one three-pitch AB. But ultimately, just about everybody except the pitchers did something good. Infante even got a hit that mattered for a change, tying the game at 2 with his line drive 2-run homer.

Yes, it was a good game. Balfour-Cabrera showdown in the 9th. Wasn’t over till it was over. Best of all, since it was at Cabrerica Park rather than O. Co., it ended before 2 AM. Disappointment after midnight is strongly discouraged.

For those of us who like to complain, which is all of us, Detroit’s Pythagorean record is now +6 at 83-48. However, contrary to what you might have been thinking – which is exactly what I was thinking – the Tigers are actually 8-2 in first home games after road trips. 8-2. Do you believe it? I don’t. But it’s true.

Dotel pitched and Avila played with Toledo last night. I can’t say I’m excited about the prospect of either returning, but both surely will, and probably soon.

Except when conceding courtesy strikeouts to the likes of P Ryan Raburn, when Tuiasosopo is at the plate, good happens. Destined to remain a role player with the Tigers, probably. But I hope he keeps getting his chances. For a while there it seemed like he was well out of the picture. I hope he’s back in it.

Rod Allen informs us that… damn, can’t remember who it was now… well, whoever it was, he has good plate recognition. I really need to get around to streaming the radio broadcast while watching mlb.tv.

Tonight it’s lefty Tommy Milone against Justin Verlander. We ache for a standout performance from Justin. Let it be so. The performance, I mean, not the ache.

77-53, 1st place, 6 games ahead of Cleveland. 24 games above .500 is a new high water mark. Best team in baseball (Baseball Reference SRS). Best record in the AL.

It was early in the season, so early that the yet to be coined AlburCokey would have still meant a good thing, and the Tigers were off to a so-so start when they traveled to Oakland to take on the yellow-green-hot A’s. First game, Bartolo Colon was as frustratingly baffling as usual, and in my mind’s eye I can still see Brayan Villareal serving it up to Josh Donaldson for the game-loser in the 12th. (For us more easterly sorts, a West Coast extra innings loss is just about the worst.) Less easily recalled is that Drew Smyly blew the save. After that, the Tigers mauled a couple of young A’s starters (staff widely considered “best in baseball” at that time) to take the series, and order was momentarily restored. In retrospect, the Tigers were this close to a road sweep, though it should be noted that Oakland was without Cespedes and Crisp for parts of the series. Nonetheless, our early season Tigers had now more or less dominated the first couple strong teams (+ Blue Jays, though they were struggling early) they’d faced. But were only 7-5 to show for it.

April 12 A’s 4, Tigers 3 (12) WRAP

April 13  Tigers 7, A’s 3 WRAP

April 14 Tigers 10, A’s 1 WRAP

This time around, Oakland is fighting to keep pace with the Rangers, while Detroit continues its efforts to stiff-arm the Indians. The stretch draws near, and these are two very likely playoff teams. Let’s call it a big series, even if they all loom large now. The Tigers may catch a break by not having to face Colon, who has been on the DL. Other news out of Oakland is that Josh Reddick might be headed to the DL and that Yoenis Cespedes has been in a slump. Their best hitter over the past month has been SS Jed Lowrie, while Coco Crisp and Brandon Moss have been swinging it over the past week. Notable: Crisp and Cespedes have combined for 1 SB over the past month. However, the A’s are yet another opposing team with a bit of speed sprinkled throughout the lineup, which will be the usual stressor if the games are close. Oakland has some rotation issues going on, leading to the ever-annoying TBA as currently-named starter from Tuesday-Thursday. I like to have my images set before a series, so I don’t think I’m going to wait on Bob Melvin to name his starters.

The 12-game winning streak seems like only yesterday. Gone but not forgotten, that bolt from the blue put the Tigers in the catbird seat they currently occupy. The Tigers are 9-8 since, but you may have noticed that the high level of play has continued. There was a lot to like about every game of the just-concluded sweep of the Mets. It all starts with another 3 quality starts back to back, Fister-Scherzer-Porcello. Too much to cover, really, but I will mention that the emergence of new secret weapon Victor Martinez the Catcher is an exciting development. For starters, it opens up some possibilities related to a certain MC (who) Hammer(s). Also, I could get used to having my prayers for an insurance run answered like they were in the 9th inning of the final game against the Mets. But there’s never enough, is there? I cursed Torii Hunter for ending the onslaught, and then became nervous again when Jeremy Bonderman walked the first batter in the bottom half. With an 8-run lead.

With Porcello’s Sunday win, for the first time since 1962 the Tigers have 5 starters with 10+ wins. Max Scherzer, now 19-1, faces uphill odds in trying to beat ElRoy Face’s long-standing winning percentage record of .947 (Face was 18-1… as a reliever!), but wouldn’t that be sweet? For starters (pun intended), that would mean more wins for the team… unless we’d be willing to take a bunch of no-decisions and eventual losses. Hmmm. Well, I’ve thought about it, and I think I’d prefer that Scherzer finished 25-1. That record would stand for a while, I think.

Now it’s the Tigers back home at Comerica, with Anibal Sanchez, who has, can, and should again own the A’s hitters, going up against A.J.Griffin, who has given up an MLB-leading 30 HR. I like what that points to, but you know how baseball can be.

76-53, 1st place, 6 games up.

Three stars from last night –

1) Scherzer. He joins Rube Marquard (1912 New York Giants) and Roger Clemens (2001 Yankees) as the only pitchers to start 19-1.
2) Dirks – 3-3, 1 R.
3) Bullpen – 3 IP, 0 H, 1 K, 0 BB.

Three goats –

1) Brookens with an awfully late change from run to stop on Pena after the Scherzer double. Pena looked ridiculous trying to read Brookens.
2) Brookens sending Infante on the Fielder hit.
3) Brookens trying to send Cabrera on the ensuing Tui hit, which Cabrera correctly ignored.

I love going into Sunday’s game with the series in hand, as a sweep will be a tall task today. There aren’t many pitchers on a better roll than today’s Mets starter Dillon Gee. Over his last 10, Gee is 4-1 with a 2.10 ERA. He’s averaging nearly 7 innings per start and a 1.11 WHIP. (Actually, there is at least 1 pitcher who has been better over his last 10, but I don’t think it’s fair to compare normal humans to Scherzer).

Porcello looks to get the Ricky P train back on tracks after it was derailed last time out against Minnesota, when he gave up 5 ER in 4 1/3. Prior to that Porcello had won 5 decisions in a row. A win today would be his 10th, joining every other Tigers starter at the 10 win plateau. Our rotation is just flat out sick.

Tigers head home after the game today for 7 v. the A’s and Indians.

A few notes:

– Casper Wells gave up 5 ER in 2/3 of an inning last night after he was called in to pitch in the 18th…all 5 of those ER came with 2 outs.

– Every division leader in the Majors is within 2 games of each other (21 games over to 25 games over).

– Has anyone else noticed that TB has caught the Red Sox? And that after the Rangers were 6 games behind Oak a few weeks ago, they are now 2.5 games up (was 3.5 yesterday)?

I’ll get the lineups out in a bit.

75-53, 1st place, 6 games up on Cle.

Solid win last night.

Hunter and Cabrera put the Tigers up early, and Fister pitched well enough over 6 1/3 innings of 1 run ball for the W. Martinez looked good behind the plate and I like that he was spelled by Pena late in the game.

Bruce Rondon closed out the 9th nicely, allowing 1 hit and striking 1 one in the 9th. He’s been doing a lot of this lately. Here are his numbers over his late 10 games: 11 2/3 IP, 11 Ks, 3 BB, and a .94 WHIP. On the season his ERA is down to 3.65 and he’s nearly as effective against Lefties (.257 BAA) as he is against righties (.246 BAA). Eight of his last 10 appearances have been for at least an inning, and 3 of those have been for longer. Salty.

Today’s matchup pits Scherzer against All Start starter Matt Harvey, on the same mound, no less. How weird is this? It’s the first time the All-Star Game starters have met at any point during that same regular season (I borrowed that from the Elias Sports Bureau). A little more – the only two times the All-Star starters pitched against each other in the same season came in the World Series, according to Elias: Dwight Gooden vs. Roger Clemens in 1986, and Red Ruffing vs. Paul Derringer in 1939. This will certainly be the last Harvey Scherzer match-up of the season.

Should be the game of the week on Fox.

Today’s Hunter/Martinez/Iglesias Less Lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Infante, 2B
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Tuiasosopa, RF
6. Dirks, LF
7. Pena, C
8. Santiago, SS
9. Scherzer, P

74-53, 1st place, 5 games up.

“WAR – What is it good for?”

Well, evaluating players, for one thing. Or so we think.

As we all know, the WAR debate dominated the MVP race last year, with Cabrera and his old school hitting stats (summarized as “the best right handed hitter in our generation”) beat out the sabre-favorite Mike Trout and his 1st to 3rd ability and low GIDP. So where are we in 2013? Well, even with the historical season that Cabrera is having this year, Mike Trout is dominating him in WAR.

That’s an average of 1 additional win. Worth about $4-5M in salary in the theoretical FA market where WAR sets salaries.

But anyway, Joe Posnanski posted a great blog about the Trout/Cabrera debate and seems to reluctantly admit that Trout is a better player because of his overall skill in spite of Cabrera’s prodigious numbers. (Though did you know that Mike Trout is a below average center fielder this year?) It’s a good read, and I would encourage you to read the comments as well. One of the commentors noted that Cabrera is better than Trout in the Smoking Loon threesome of RE24, WPA and RBI%.

I used to like WAR because it was new and complicated and I wanted to be cool. Now that I’m a dad with two kids, a mortgage, car payments, and Dora the Explorer placemats, I know I’ not cool, and I’m much more concerned about being right. And WAR is a good tool, but it’s not everything. And I’m starting to understand that the guys who live and die by WAR are greatly uninformed.

There is no doubt that Trout is a better WAR player. But WAR just happens to be a shiny tool in a chest full of dozens of useful ones used to measure the value of a baseball player.

********************

On to the Mets. The Mets are the Mets. 3rd place in the NL East this year, and they actually have a worse record at home (26-33) then they do on the road (32-34). The Tigers have struggled on the road (33-30), so this could be interesting. Tonight the Boys draw new Met Dice-K.  So, if like me, you’ve been wondering where he went, the answer is “NY Mets.”

Lineups coming later today.

Detroit Tigers: 74-51, 1st Place (5.5 ahead of Cleveland). Best record in the AL.

Anyone who woke up this morning and looked at the 7-1 score of last night’s game would think the Tigers had an easy one, but it was anything but. Kevin Correia breezed through the Tiger lineup in what looked like it was going to be a 2nd consecutive hat-tip to the Twins’ pitching, and the inevitable stolen base led to the lone run against Anibal Sanchez as he left in the 7th with a 1-0 deficit.

Then the Tigers rallied in the bottom of the inning with 2-outs when Holaday singled, Jackson singled, and Torii Hunter came through with a big 2-run double. Still, the Tigers clung to a slim 1-run lead. Then came the play of the game; after an intentional walk to Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder struck out, and the floodgates opened.

• The catcher couldn’t handle the pitch, and it flew his glove to the backstop.
• Fielder recognized the situation immediately and bolted for first (no trundling there–you always get hustle with the Prince).
• The inexperienced Caleb Thielbar stood on the mound and and didn’t think to cover home.
• The experienced Torii Hunter saw the above and scored from 2nd.

After that Martinez doubled, and the game was now a safer 4-1 score.

*****

How good has Anibal Sanchez been in the 2nd half? (I cleverly waited until after the game for this, when the jinx was no longer in order).  4-1, 1.51 ERA, best among Tiger starters since the break.

*****

The Tigers will try to take the series today with Justin Verlander matching up against Dreaded Rookie Pitcher Guy–make that Dreaded Lefty Rookie Pitcher Guy, this one named Andrew Albers. Pena says he is available to catch if needed (Holaday is starting), and Alex Avila is starting a rehab assignment with the Mud Hens tomorrow.

*****

Jose Iglesias still has the reigning Web Gem. But is that play as good as the one Victor Martinez made back in June?

*****

Fun With Small Sample Sizes

• Worst bunter on the Tigers: Omar Infante. 4 sac bunt attempts, 0 successful.
• Best bunter on the Tigers: Omar Infante, 4 bunt hits.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Not Victor Martinez again. Victor hasn’t been doing so well with the day games:

• VMart in the day: .233 BA .652 OPS
• VMart at night: .320 BA .809 OPS

Clearly we have a vampire on our hands.

We’ll go with the day splits of Matt Tuiasosopo here: .352 / .963 during the day vs. .219 / .832 at night.

Today’s Rubber Afternoon Lineup:

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

Detroit Tigers: 73-51, 1st Place (5.5 ahead of Cleveland). Best record in the AL.

Well, apparently I managed to jinx Omar Infante, Rick Porcello, and Miguel Cabrera, all in the same post yesterday.

Of course, nobody wins them all. And sometimes you have to tip your hat to the other guy. No, really, all joking aside, this from Jim Leyland in the post game interview: “I’ve got to tip my hat to Pelfrey.” Yes, he really, actually, said that.

OK, as much as we joke about the hat-tipping here, sometimes lack of hitting is really great pitching, and vice-versa. But Mike Pelfrey? Not buying it.

****

Catching is hard. As in difficult, and as in hard on the body. Avila took batting practice again today, but is still not ready to play. The Twins put Joe Mauer on the new special 7-game concussion DL, so we won’t see him in this series. For Detroit, Pena is day-to-day with a bad toe (he has been a real spark lately), and Victor Martinez–yes, that Victor Martinez–has been putting in work behind the plate.  “I’m contemplating catching him a game in New York, and I’ll leave it at that,” Leyland said.

*****

As you all probably know by now, Phil Coke has been optioned to Toledo, and Jose Alvarez has been called up to take his place. Which is intriguing. Is he now the lefty bullpen specialist, instead of the 5th-6th starter guy? Not to worry about Phil Coke though: he could still be eligible for the postseason.

*****

Speaking of relievers, imagine this situation: tie game, bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, bases loaded, and you need to bring someone in from the bullpen…hmmm, who do you go to? The Red Sox decided Brayan Villarreal, and every Tiger fan yelled Noooooooo!!!! Walked in the winning run. This is not to say that Zorro won’t turn out to be a key bullpen arm, but right then and there…um, no.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Victor Martinez. Martinez has a career 0-fer against Correia, but he has been hot (.358 in 2nd half), and has been strapping it on. I’m going against the splits today.

Today’s Celebrate Holaday Lineup

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

Detroit Tigers: 73-51, 1st Place (6.5 ahead of Cleveland). Best record in the AL.

Taking 3-of-5 from Kansas City was nice (sorry, Cleveland, but KC seems the the bigger threat right now), but after being swept in both games of the double-header–and held to 1 run and 6 hits–it was very nice indeed. All the better that the two series ending wins were driven off the bat of Miguel Cabrera, in back-to-back pitches ending Saturday’s game and beginning Sunday’s.

How good is Cabrera anyway? Lee Panas suggests the talk of the possible Triple Crown actually undersells how good a season he is having–whether he wins or not, his season is better than most Triple Crown seasons have been. Jason Beck points out that if his season ended today that he would have an historic season under his belt. Only 16 other people in baseball history have had a season batting .360 with 40+ home runs and 120+ RBI, and Babe Ruth is 6 of them. If he continues on the pace he is at, he would finish over .360 with 50 HR and 150 RBI, which has only been done twice, by Babe Ruth in 1921 and Jimmy Fox in 1932.

Is there any chance he could continue at this pace? Oh, he is just warming up. Here are Cabrera’s month-by-month OPS numbers:

• .995 Mar/Apr
• 1.222 May
• 1.196 June
• 1.028 July
• 1.265 August

Fasten your seat belts.

*****

This is not to say that everything is roses in Tigerland. Despite his ridiculously hot bat, Miguel Cabrera is playing hurt, with multiple injuries. His inability to move in the field and inability to run the bases (congratulations Victor, you are now no longer the slowest guy on the team) have already cost the Tigers a couple of runs (we’ll take it). I predict he will get some rest after September call-ups.

Alex Avila’s health is also a concern. The good news is, that Avila has been cleared for workouts, and will take BP and run drills today.

*****

Detroit looks to keep rolling with 3 against the Minnesota Twins, before going on a weird 3-game road trip against the Mets, and then back home. Tonight features Mr. 2nd Half Rick Porcello (5-0, 2.84 since the break), who will have to solve Josh Willingham (.438 lifetime against Porcello).

And a tip of the cap across the diamond to Mr. Joe Mauer. Miguel Cabrera isn’t the only one playing today who is compiling a pretty darn good career. Mauer is still doing it, and doing it on a team that that is OK on its good days, depressing on others. The Twins were awful in July (9-17), during which time Mauer merely hit .360. He just doesn’t give away at bats. After 10 years as a career .323 hitter, he is hitting .324 this season, mostly at catcher, on a team eliminated from contention roughly in May. [Tip].

[Update: Mauer scratched with dizziness in BP–he has been taking a lot of foul tips lately, like Alex has. Let’s hope they are both OK].

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Omar Infante. Omar returns to the lineup with a 15-for-34 lifetime vs. Pelfrey in his back pocket.

Today’s Infantastic Lineup:

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

Omar Infante is back after a day off with back stiffness. I am liking how the Infante-Pena-Iglesias bottom of the order is coming together.

72-51, 1st place, 6 up on Cleveland and 7.5 on KC. Ho-hum, just another day…

As you can see, Miggy pounded the ball into a misshapen lump and shot it right out of the screen.

OH! How sweet it is. A game like last night’s 6-5 win over the Royals is one of those up and down, back and forth affairs where you’re telling yourself near the end, “Well, no matter what, it was a good game,” knowing full well that if the Tigers lose, what you’ll really feel is what Kevin has expressed so well: “I hate baseball.” Well, we LOVE baseball now, don’t we? The Tigers had to pull this one out, to avenge the blown call and the ejections. Just like against the Phillies. Yeah.

Before Miggy brought us into his legend yet again, it went sorta like this:

The Squeeze: Can you believe it? Leyland called it, Iglesias and Infante executed perfectly, and you would not be mistaken to call this play every bit the game winner Cabrera’s home run was.

The Blown Call: Terrible call on the “WP,” aka Escobar foul ball. Unforgivably bad. But if you think the tying run scored because of it, I say you’re stretching it.

The clutch: Miggy’s double to put the Tigers up 4-3. Wasted. Prince’s shot to put the Tigers up 5-4 (view the video frame-by-frame, and his bat is still a blur). Wasted.

The narrow escapes: Fister all evening. How did he manage to go 6.1? Great curve, though, and I suppose he got nickel-and-dimed – and clown-showed – some. Veras by the skin of his teeth (and some Princely body parts), and the usual Benoit Show.

The Clown Show: The Pena throwing error. The Holaday throwing error (which the Amazing Mr. Iglesias has a share in; Holaday’s second crap throw on a SB was all on him.) Santiago’s ridiculous error which should absolutely be ruled an error. What was he looking at? Was he awake when the ball was hit? The game itself nearly bounced past him. Sheesh.

Anyway…

I was thinking about the (now) 60-23 in quality starts and the flip side of it, 12-28 in non-quality starts. And eventually came up with:

Hats off to the starter wins: 60
Decent non-QS + win: 5
Bad non-QS rescued by bats/bullpen: 7

QS wasted by bats and/or bullpen: 23
Blame the starter losses: 13
Non-QS blown by the bullpen: 8
Non-QS blown by the bats: 4
Decent non-QS blown by the bullpen: 2
Decent non-QS blown by the bats: 1

If that doesn’t blow you away, I’m guessing you would also say that Miggy is “putting up decent numbers.” Yeah. He’s batting a “solid” .358.

Wondering whether there’s anyone who gets Miguel Cabrera out took me down the following avenue. I invite you to check out the following matchups. If you’re too lazy to look up the numbers yourself, I’ll do you a favor by giving you the hint “first name = good news, second name = bad news.” I could have mixed it up just to confuse you:

Miguel Cabrera v Phil Hughes… and v David Price
Prince Fielder v Ervin Santana… and v Kevin Correia
Victor Martinez v David Price… and v C.J. Wilson (and Doug Fister, for laughs)
Torii Hunter v Jon Lester… and v Clay Buchholz
Austin Jackson v Luke Hochevar… and v Chris Sale
Omar Infante v Mike Pelfrey… and v Mark Beuhrle
Alex Avila v Jeremy Guthrie… and v Corey Kluber
Brayan Pena v Derek Holland… and v Chris Sale*
Don Kelly v Justin Masterson… and v Phil Hughes
Matt Tuiasosopo v Gio Gonzalez… and v John Danks
Ramon Santiago v Bartolo Colon… and v Felix Hernandez
Andy Dirks v Jeremy Guthrie… and v Ubaldo Jimenez
Justin Verlander v Nick Swisher… and v Billy Butler
Max Scherzer v Alexei Ramirez… and v Alex Gordon
Anibal Sanchez v Josh Willingham… and v Seth Smith
Doug Fister v Asdrubal Cabrera…. and v Michael Brantley
Rick Porcello v Alexei Ramirez… and v Carlos Santana
Joaquin Benoit v Derek Jeter… and v Lance Berkman
Jose Veras v Alex Rios… and v Kevin Youkilis
Phil Coke v Denard Span/Ben Zobrist… and v Chris Davis
Al Alburquerque v Asdrubal Cabrera.. and v Alex Rios
Drew Smyly v Joe Mauer… and v Paul Konerko

*Here’s some consolation: Martinez, Hunter, and Tuiasosopo eat him alive.

I don’t know what the following means, but we like to look at numbers, so here are some more to look at. This is combined runs & the Tigers record in corresponding games:

< 5: 12-14

6 – 11: 41-26

12 +: 19-11

I guess it might be a bit of a surprise that Detroit is so close to .500 in the < 5 category.

And now more from the Let’s Be Appreciative department:

1. Let’s not forget that at the time of his suspension, Jhonny Peralta was arguably the best all-around SS in the American League. His contribution to the success of the team was not small. I doubt that PEDs had anything to do with it. Plus, he kind of brought us Jose Iglesias. Could be a retroactive MVP thing happening here.

2. Last night’s game notwithstanding, the Tigers have become a pretty good defensive team while we weren’t looking. With the addition of Iglesias, I’d say more than a shade above average. The only liabilities that come to mind are 3B Cabrera (and this is moderated by his ability to confuse you with great plays), IF Santiago (not be confused with a late-inning defensive replacement at ANY position any longer, I’m afraid), and maybe the catchers, slightly. OK, some of the pitchers are pretty scary (in the wrong way) as defenders. OK, so maybe the Tigers are merely average defensively. That’s still an improvement. It’s trending upward.

3. As Coleman pointed out, AlburCokey(TM) appeared in two consecutive games on the same day without a) increasing its ERA, b) blowing a lead or a tie, or c) frightening us badly. I’m not sure what to make of it, but this has to be called good news, even in a losing cause.

Looking ahead (never too early to speculate), it goes without saying that some 2013 Tigers won’t be 2014 Tigers. The following ordered list of “top prospects” isn’t a wish list, but an educated guess list. Some of it’s pretty obvious:

1. Octavio Dotel
2. Jhonny Peralta
3. Ramon Santiago
4. Matt Tuiasosopo
5. Phil Coke
6. Al Alburquerque
7. Doug Fister
8. Joaquin Benoit
9. Alex Avila

In an earlier draft I made the flip comment that Dotel and Avila would be retiring. The notion of Avila retiring is pretty bizarre speculation. But hasn’t he struck you all season as a guy who doesn’t want to be there? I mean, seriously. And he would seem to have an off-the-field career in baseball ahead of him, yes? Maybe it’s not so bizarre to speculate that we would take a few years off from the grind for family reasons before coming back to the organization in another capacity. That speculation aside, the catching situation in 2014 is ripe for all kinds of speculation.

Max Scherzer’s only non-quality start since May 21* was an 8 IP, 4 R affair against Texas that you’d have to call decent and winnable; it’s where he took his only loss of the season. In Detroit, sadly enough. He’s faced the Royals twice, first time at home not so good (but a win), next time in KC an outstanding effort (and win). Is there anyone else we’d rather have on the mound today looking for the series win? I’m thinking that the bats have awakened now – nap time was Friday. Nap time is over.

*By my calculations, that is about 3 months ago.

Go Max. Go Miggy. Go Tigers. I don’t like Matt Tuiasosopo. Never did, never will. His flash in the pan time has come to an end. I hope he’s not even in the lineup today. Bruce Chen is going to hang 3/4 of a golden sombero on him if he is, and he’ll probably commit 7 errors in LF and get thrown out at home twice (despite never reaching base)…

71-51, 1st place, still way ahead of Cleveland and Kansas City, whoever they think they are.

I’ve just returned from the past, but I can’t tell you anything you don’t already know about the Tigers losing two in one day to the Royals. 2-1, 3-0. Yup. Royals-Tigers scores there, fer shur. The results were disappointing, but were the games bad? No, not really.

I don’t know whether to blame mlb.com or Ned Yost, but I was told that the first game starter for the Royals was going to be Big Game James. This appears to have confused the Tigers as well, a problem they solved by deciding to hit neither pitcher.

We complain a lot around here. It’s only natural. We want nothing but hits and runs from Tigers hitters, and nothing but outs from Tigers pitchers. We want nothing but wins from the team. If the Tigers were to finish 161-1 some season, that one loss would haunt us for years. It also seems like the negative lends itself to more description and analysis (and more humor). But this season has been a good one that only seems to be getting better, so I’m going to try to focus more on the positive. Once in a while.

It’s easy to be positive about the Tigers starters. Some look askance at the notion of “quality start,” but to my mind, going 6 innings or more while allowing 3 runs or less is about as big a contribution to a winning effort as any individual player is capable of, even though more dramatic events, especially late in a game, might draw more attention. Only 6 pitchers have started for the Tigers this season – that’s quite an accomplishment in its own right, and testimony to the health and consistency of the staff. Here’s how they have fared as far as quality starts go:

Sanchez: 15 QS in 21 starts, streaks of 7 and (currently) 6 in a row
Verlander: 16 QS in 26 starts, streak of 6 early
Fister: 17 QS in 24 starts
Scherzer: 20 QS in 24 starts, streak of 10
Porcello: 14 QS in 22 starts, streak of 6
Alvarez: 1 QS in 5 starts

Further good news is the team record (59-23) in these quality starts:

Sanchez: 11-4
Verlander: 10-6
Fister: 11-6
Scherzer: 16-3
Porcello: 10-4
Alvarez: 1-0

Drew Smyly is the most underrated good news of the season. Prior to the season, most of us had our money on either Porcello being traded or Smyly to Toledo. That Smyly would be so good out the bullpen… well, no, that’s not it. He worked out of the pen in 2012, too. The surprise is that he’s this good, and that it’s been that way all year.

Losing Jhonny Peralta to a suspension was a thing of dread, and being without Omar Infante for a month was an unexpected blow, and having these circumstances overlap could have been a disaster. And yet from it all emerges SS Of The Future Jose Iglesias and Utility Infielder Of The Middle Distance Hernan(do) Perez, just when we thought the pickings were slim and the cupboard was bare. Talk about a silver lining.

Matt Tuiasosopo is perhaps the biggest (positive) surprise. Even though I liked him right away and was delighted when he made the team, even I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I mean, look at his career numbers prior to this season. There is nothing there to indicate that he was anything. You had to see him to suspect it. You have to watch him now, perhaps, to continue to believe. He’s good. He’s an asset.

Look at Rick Porcello. He’s quietly having a career year, and is both still young and a veteran. Porcello, I would wager, is no longer the guy who falls off the edge of the table when Smyly is slid onto it. Uh-uh. Have you found yourself feeling something resembling confidence when Porcello is slated to start? I have.

Take another look at Justin Verlander. Look over his game logs and such. You know what? He’s still Justin Verlander. This is good.

Victor Martinez is the bad news that became good news. His roaring comeback is such that I find it hard to remember what it was like earlier in the season. I never doubted him, of course.

Torii Hunter, for all the occasional overstating and overrating, and some at bats and plays that make you go “huh?,” lights a fire under this team. It has helped a good deal how he’s gone from setting the table to clearing it.

Don Kelly. On balance, not a bad idea keeping him around, eh? How I wanted Berry and Worth over Kelly and Santiago. But Don Kelly has earned his keep.

And then there’s Miguel Cabrera, having an insanely productive year of insane consistency. What’s a slump for Miggy this season – 1 for 8 with only 1 HR? Every day we watch an all-time great playing at a high level, and while it’s fun, it’s just an everyday thing, isn’t it? You get used to it. For Most Valuable Player, defined carefully and reasonably, there is no competitor and no contest. And statistically, he’s having a Triple Crown season whether he literally acheives that or not. Winning a Triple Crown is usually if not always a matter of seasonal accident in one of the three categories. As of Game 121, the full season pace Cabrera was setting is this (without penalty for games missed): .359, 54 HR, 166 RBI. That’s not even modern. That’s black-and-white photo, herky-jerky newsreel stuff.

You know, one thing Miggy has over a number of contemporary and near-contemporary greats is his personality and showmanship. Did you see, not too long ago, when he tripped over third base and, after getting up, tipped his helmet to the fans? The kicker was that he didn’t grin and ham it up. He was annoyed with himself and embarrassed, you could tell. And he still made a joke of it. He knew it (the stumble) was funny, he knew people watching thought it was funny. There was nothing to add to it except an irritated but obliging tip o’ the cap. Which made all of it even funnier. Perfect touch. Prince Fielder was dying in the dugout.

What’s your 2013 Tigers good news? I know there’s more.

All right. Still time to take this series. Go Doug. Go Miggy. Go Iggy. Is he just on loan from the Red Sox or what? I’m having a difficult time associating the plays Iglesias is making at SS with the uniform he’s wearing. Is this for real? Do the Tigers get to keep him?

Go Tigers.

Look away. You may not read this or comment here until Game 121 is completed.

OK, it’s time for game two of the doubleheader. I’ve just returned from the future, but I promised not to give anything away about Verlander owning the Royals, or whether Fielder tied or broke the all-time record for home runs in a doubleheader.

Jose Alvarez turns out to be the TBA for the second game. I was highly annoyed when TBA was all I found yesterday at mlb.com, though I had a hunch it would be Alvarez. I was sorely vexed as to why it was necessary to substitute here, particularly as I had relished the prospect of getting all five regular starters in a single series. But seeing Jose pitch again is nothing to complain about, I guess. He’s been pitching up a storm in Toledo.

Some interesting matters brought up in the comments sections have caught my eye recently: Avila v. Pena. Tigers performance in extra-inning games. The left field situation.

There was the matter of team W-L for Avila and Pena games. In Avila starts, the Tigers are 49-24. In Pena starts, the Tigers are 20-22. More info:

Complete extra-innings games caught: Avila 3. Pena 12.

Games catching Scherzer and Sanchez: Avila 31. Pena 15.

CS% with Fister on the mound: Avila 20% of 5. Pena 50% of 6.

Only Porcello pitches appreciably worse with Pena catching.

Batting in losses: Avila, 24 G, 171/267/197/465, 0 HR, 2 RBI. Pena, 27 G (22 as starter), 362/384/500/884, 3 HR, 11 RBI.

One big reason the Tigers are 5-11 in extras is that a man on first base for the opponent constitutes a threat, every time. Not so when the Tigers are up. Does a Tiger reaching first in extras fill you with confidence that a run will score? I didn’t think so. The Tigers are a laughingstock on the bases and intimidate no one. Another reason is that Tigers home run power resides largely in the person of Miguel Cabrera. Yes, a lot of other Tigers can hit home runs, but no one but Cabrera is a home run waiting to happen. A number of teams have several such guys, and it comes in handy in extras. Yet another reason is that the bullpen chokes, even in the best of times. Tigers pen is 11-19. That’s 38.7% of team losses. They were 8-16 at one point, though. It must be getting better. Also, when you reach 5-11 in extras, doesn’t the law of averages start to side with you? Let’s hope so. I wonder if averages have lawyers.

Looking back over the Leyland Years, there have been more losing records in one-runs and extras than not, but enough exceptions to make you question blaming that on Leyland or the way the team is constructed. That’s baseball, as someone might say. Still, the blunders and failures to make things happen on the bases are glaringly apparent this season. (Maybe that’s just because this season is the one happening NOW, though. Whereas past seasons seem to have happened, you know, like, in the past.) Things like that can send a game to extra innings and rob you of any confidence once you get there.

Wasn’t I just saying that the Detroit Tigers are the best team in baseball? They must be, to be 71-49 in the face of all that. I mean 72-49, of course.

Is there a problem in LF?

Dirks 83 G, 252/310/355/665 6 HR, 24 RBI
Tuiasosopo 43 G, 279/394/486/880 6 HR, 22 RBI
Kelly 24 G, 326/356/535/890 2 HR, 7 RBI

Add that all up, you get “a guy” with a line close to this: 119 G, 275/350/400/750 14 HR, 53 RBI. Pretty respectable numbers. Add in the defense, and…

I don’t think there’s a problem in LF.

Go Jose. Go Miggy. Go Tigers. We get another chance to evaluate Alvarez and speculate on his future with the Tigers. A Smylyesque bullpen apprenticeship in 2014 before joining the rotation in 2015, perhaps?