This is a big 2-and-2 swap series for me, living in the Cincinnati area. It has been ridiculously hot and humid here, until late this afternoon, when it became overcast and windy. So I went on a nice walk; then the sun came out, and it became hotter and hotter, and I began walking more and more slowly, and…this is a metaphor for something, I’m not sure what. There is a lesson here that will apply to today’s game, if only you have the proper interpretive skills.

There are plenty of Tiger alumni on the Reds: tonight we get Eugenio “Hey, I was Way Better Than Hernan Perez” Suarez at short, and Brennan “Boesch Bash” Boesch in left, and we will see Brayan Pena probably tomorrow, who has become a fan favorite in Cincinnati, the way he does everywhere he goes.

The weather will be a big issue tonight; I will be shocked if there are no delays. It will also be an issue in Cincinnati Wednesday and Thursday.

I’ve been pondering the GIDP issue. Perhaps I’ll have some thoughts on that tomorrow.

Tonight’s Dial it up to the Red Lineup:

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

Raj and Gose swap spots in the 1-9 / 9-1 world. Nick is back. Yay. Well, OK, Yay-ish. Sort of. McCann moves up to 6th, his highest spot in his career.

The Tigers continue to roll; 3 and counting. Also 3 and counting for Ian Kinsler multiple hit games. Coincidence? I think not.  I think we can safely say The Slump is over.

You wouldn’t necessarily think it in a 6-0 game, but the Rajai Davis catch was a game-changing moment. Baseball is like that. How many times have you seen games where a pitcher throws what should have been the 3rd strike, and the ump calls it a ball, and it all falls apart after that. If that ball clears the wall, the Tigers are down instead of up, and a bunch of people, including maybe Anibal himself, are muttering about more Anibal Long Balls. Just ask Anibal, who said after the game: “he made the game with that catch.”

Tonight’s Get Out the Mini-Brooms Lineup:

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

Have the Tigers turned some sort of corner? Their season was beginning to unravel when they headed into Chicago: swept by LA in LA without much of a challenge, then swept by Oakland at home. When the White Sox took the opener in extra innings on Friday, it looked like maybe David Price would be all that was standing between them and another series sweep.,

Price came through in brilliant fashion to stop the bleeding, and, even more heartening, the Tigers came back from an early 4-1 deficit on Sunday to take the series and their 2nd in a row. The comeback was fueled by power, something the Tigers have seen very little of this season. And while the home runs by Cespedes and JD Martinez won the game, perhaps even more encouraging was the 2-for-4 game by Ian Kinsler, following up on Saturday’s 2-for-5 performance. You could almost hear the sighs of relief from the dugout. Is Kinsler finally out of his funk? If so, that will change the whole look of the Detroit offense.

In a rare treat the Cubbies head into town for a quick two. These aren’t your father’s Cubs though: with a lineup featuring Anthony Rizzo (1.057 OPS) and rookie phenom Kris Bryant (7 HR, 34 RBI), and a brilliant year from Jason Hammel (2.76 ERA, 0.89 WHIP), and run by old Tiger nemesis Joe Maddon, the Cubs look poised to make a run at at least a Wild Card spot this season.

Draft note: in the 5th round, the Tigers take Cam Gibson (MSU), son of Kirk.

Tonight’s More or Lester Lineup:

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

Josh Wilson cracks the lineup again with his 5-for-9 as a Tiger (Hernan Perez is still looking for his 4th hit of the year). Before you get too excited about Wilson tonight, I should mention he is 0-for-14 with 6 K’s against Lester in his career.

Cabrera is the only Tiger who has a good record of hitting Lester, but boy does he hit him: 14-for-27 (.519).

There isn’t much to say about last night’s game: the Tigers, were completely baffled by a legitimate Cy Young caliber pitcher. Games like that will happen. The problem is that when you are on a losing streak it’s harder to take them in stride.

Miguel Cabrera does seem to be coming out of his night-game malaise, so there’s that.  Then there’s Ian Kinsler.

A lot of good comments on last night’s post about managing and leadership; they were more interesting than the actual game.

Today’s Drifting Down the Standings Lineup:

1. Anthony Gose, CF
2. Jose Iglesias, SS
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
5. Ian Kinsler, 2B
6. JD Martinez, DH
7. Tyler Collins, RF
8. Nick Castellanos, 3B
9. Bryan Holaday, C

I’m not sure why Fields doesn’t get a shot this series, what could it hurt?

Well, I really think we could use another day off, as could the team. But none is forthcoming, so here we are.

Ausmus on last night’s game: “Anaheim was a slap in the face. This is a punch in the gut.” I don’t know. I was thinking more “kick in the…shins.”  But I guess nobody’s reaction could sum up the game better than Grand Slam Boy. If only they’d had that kid’s glove at 3rd base.

This seems like a good time to also throw in a gratuitous link to Villanova’s Crying Piccolo Girl.

Now where were we? Oh yes. One thing is clear: these guys are in a funk right now. If it’s not the pitchers letting the hitters down, it’s the hitters–and fielders–letting the pitchers down. The at bats of the Tiger hitters the last 3 innings were awful (including Miggy whiffing on a chin-high pitch), as if the grand slam took the wind out of their sails. But the grand slam never would have happened without a couple of clown plays in the field. I can almost forgive the klutzy Castellanos attempt to corral the Iglesias throw, because, well, that’s just who he is (I think it was Jud who pointed out that of all his defensive liabilities maybe fielding throws is his weakest point). But what was Kinsler thinking?

Kinsler said he just had a “gut reaction.” He also added that there shouldn’t have been a guy on third in the first place, but they blew that out. Bus, meet 3rd baseman. Poor Nick. After weeks of struggling at the plate, he finally came through with a big hit, what could have been a game-winning hit, then was partly the cause it all fell apart. For his part Nick explained that he felt he had to lunge for the ball because he didn’t think it would get there in time. Usually the ball travels faster than your glove, although it is true it was not a full-speed throw by Iglesias. Castellanos just isn’t quick enough with his hands to snag a ball that way though. Poor Nick: he should have stopped there. He went on to add that also Lawrie is notorious for “coming into bags pretty hard,” which makes him sound like he really didn’t want to be on the bag for that anyway.

And might as well throw Ol’ Punch-Gut under the bus here too: with bases loaded and a lefty up, this is why teams have that lefty reliever, to get that one guy at that one key spot of the game. Unfortunately, Detroit doesn’t have any lefties in the bullpen. Oh wait…it looks like they have two, they just didn’t use either. But hey, they’ll be fresh for tonight’s game!

I’ll end by going back to this again. Yes, the grand slam was a punch in the gut. But instead of coming back with some fight, they curled up in a ball and went home. There were still 3 at bats left–that’s 1/3 of a baseball game. Winning teams play as if they intend to win, even after things have gone very wrong.

Tonight’s Since It Worked So Well Last Night Lineup:

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

After that frustrating 7-game road trip out west the fans probably appreciated the day off Monday almost as much as the team did.

The team was busy though, and there are a number of roster changes.

• First, Alfredo Simon returns from bereavement leave and will resume his spot in the rotation tonight.  Buck Farmer has been sent back to Toledo to make room for Simon’s return.
• The Tigers, having got their 2-hits worth out of Hernan Perez, put him on waivers. Perez was claimed by the Milwaukee Brewers. Perez is young enough the he still may have potential, but since he was out of options the Tigers were stuck keeping him on the major league roster or letting him go.
• To replace Perez, the Tigers added infielder Josh Wilson from Toledo. Wilson has hit .291 with 10 RBI for the Mud Hens.
• Rajai Davis has gone to join his wife for the birth of their 2nd child and has been placed on paternity leave, which means he will be back Friday at the latest. Getting his first major league call up to replace Rajai will be local boy Daniel Fields, who’s father played for the Tigers in 1986, was a hitting coach for Alan Trammel’s Tigers,  and is now a minor league instructor. Fields has hit .271 with 3 home runs and 7 triples for the Mud Hens. Fields’ stay is likely to be short, but he provides that elusive left-handed bat with power.

Tonight’s Lineup:

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

Brad tries something a little different and moves the slumping Kinsler to 5th, and tries Iggy in the 2-spot.

Perhaps he stayed up to watch the Tigers’ nail-biter last night; perhaps he was already asleep by then. Either way, Kyle Ryan couldn’t possibly have anticipated a call from the Big Club, especially one telling him that he was being called up. To start. Today. In Oakland.

Alfredo Simon, the scheduled starter, had to leave suddenly to be with his gravely ill father in the Dominican, and has been placed on the Bereavement List. Officially, today’s starter is still TBA, since the team isn’t sure Ryan’s plane will land in time to get him to the stadium in time to warm up and pitch. Ryan had hardly been impressing in Toledo: he was 0-5 with a 4.67 ERA, not to mention the jet-lag issue we discussed previously.  Plus he has two first names.

If Ryan can’t make it there by game time, I’m guessing that Alex Wilson will get the start.

[Update: Alex Wilson has been named starting pitcher.]

Either way, 1 run probably won’t do it today. The pitching and defense carried the team last night though; does anyone cover more ground in centerfield than Anthony Gose? Not to mention his hitting and legs got Detroit their only run. Player of the game, followed by everyone who pitched (even Joba has quietly become reliable).

Apparently last night some signs were missed. Notably, Castellanos missed a hit-and-run that left Cespedes out to dry, then flailed at a 3rd strike a foot in front of the plate to make matters worse. I think Brad pulling him early for defensive purposes (his spot was still due to come up again) was sending a message.

Today’s Let’s Try For at Least 2 Runs Today Whether We Need Them or Not Lineup:

1. Rajai Davis, RF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
5. JD Martinez, DH
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Bryan Holaday, C
8. Dixon Machado, SS
9. Anthony Gose, CF

Well, that was a forgettable start to the road trip, wasn’t it? Actually, it wasn’t as forgettable as I wish it were. It was also, somehow, the first time they were shut out this season.

If you knew that one of the teams on the field last night was the worst in baseball, it would have been hard to guess which one: the A’s kicking the ball around like they had taken the field with spiked clown shoes, or the Tigers who were unable to score a run off Cy Whatshisname, despite getting 4 guys freely clowned onto base.

To distract myself from the debacle, I read a rant by Cubs manager Joe Maddon about the horrible Memorial Day schedule.  Poor guy had to play a game that ended at 3:45 in Arizona on Sunday, then play another that began at 1:20 on Monday afternoon in Chicago. And this after traveling 1,700+ miles. “Quite frankly to play a day game two time zones away then come back [to] another one the next day … it’s tough,” Maddon said.

I mention this because the Tigers had a similar day game-day game turnaround, and had to travel through three time zones to do it. No whining from Brad though. I would chalk yesterday’s sluggishness up to travel fatigue, were it not for the fact that we’ve already seen the same a lot this month.

My annoyance with last night’s performance was exacerbated when Rod Allen said that Tiger pitchers can count on getting a lot of run support “with the potent offense the Tigers have.” Has he even been watching the games he broadcasts? Yes, the Tigers are at the top of the league in many offensive categories. But they also have already had 21 games with 2 runs or fewer (that’s 46%), including 12 already in May. (The Royals, by way of comparison, have 11 this season). That’s hardly “potent.”  The Tigers actually won 6 of those games, but I think counting on many more 1-0 and 2-1 wins is expecting a bit much out of the pitching staff.

Tonight’s Potent Third-Place Lineup:

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

Miguel is back in the lineup tonight, night-game woes and all (he is still struggling through a .231 night batting average, with a light-weight .689 OPS). Ian Kinsler, he of the 0-for-20 slump, finally gets his first day off of the season, to be replaced by Hernan the Barbarian, who could probably pull off an 0-for-20 if he only got enough playing time. Kind of makes you miss Don Kelly, doesn’t it?

Brad tries a little something different tonight and leads off with Gose followed by Davis. I like it.

Gold stars for any of you Eastern Time Zone fans who stay up for this one.

Well, and here I thought having Dixon Machado called up would mean that we’d be spared the awe-inspiring sight of Hernan Perez at the plate for a while. A lot of us have been saying that Ian Kinsler could really use a day off (he was 1-for-Houston, with a number of cringe-worthy strikeouts), so Brad Ausmus is giving the day off to…Miguel Cabrera, who just went 2-for-4 with a HR. Hmm. Miguel will be replaced by Babe Hernan Perez at first; Dixon Machado gets his first major league start at short.

There will be more days off coming I presume; the Tigers are beginning a West Coast trip without the usually travel day off, going from a late-afternoon Detroit game to an afternoon game on the West Coast, something I can’t remember happening in a long time.

They play three in Oakland, then travel down to maybe their least favorite place to play the LA Angels, which will give them 20 straight games without a day off by the time it is finished.

Kevin asked whether this is just a .500 team we are watching (throw out the first week-and-a-half of the season, and that is what they have been achieving). Something to ponder. The A’s have been struggling, but the Tigers have a habit of letting struggling teams off the hook (I’m sure when they read today’s lineup they felt the hook loosen a bit).

Hopefully the return to his old stomping grounds will put Yoenis Cespedes in a Home Run Derby kind of mood.

Today’s Jet-Lagged Lineup:

1. Anthony Gose, CF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. JD Martinez, DH
4. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
5. Tyler Collins, RF
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. James McCann, C
8. Hernan Perez, 1B
9. Dixon Machado, SS

Here is a nice story about the cover photo. Hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day.

Miguel Cabrera went deep last night for the 3rd consecutive game, this one his milestone 400th, although there was a long wait before he could be sure the game would finish and his home run count. It did, earning Cabrera congratulations–and awe–from his teammates and fans alike.

It wouldn’t be for another hour and a half before the first inning finished and much later than that when Cabrera also turned in a defensive gem, making a tough catch on a pop foul, then immediately turning and throwing a strike to third to get the runner tagging up from 2nd.

In addition to Cabrera’s big day, JD Martinez had another solid game (1-for-3 with 2 walks) in the cleanup spot, Kinsler and Cespedes had 3 hits each, and Jose Iglesias came through with what proved to be a game-winning RBI single in the 10th. Pretty good stuff against the team who had the best record in the majors heading into the series.

Let’s hope tonight the Tigers break their bad recent habit of flopping on nationally televised games.

In other news, here’s an update on Shane Greene (courtesy of Mr. Stormin).  Ausmus says the “the level of concern is way down.”

Tonight’s Broom-Wielding Lineup:

1. Anthony Gose, CF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. JD Martinez, RF
5. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. James McCann, C
8. Jose Iglesias, SS
9. Alfredo Simon, P

Anthony Gose is a few plate appearances shy of qualifying for the league leader lists; if he weren’t, he’d be leading the AL in hitting right now at .354, bumping current leader Jose Iglesias down to 2nd.

So are the Tigers (in other words Miguel Cabrera) over their night game funk? It certainly seems like it after last night. On the other hand, other than Gose and Cespedes the bats seemed to be full of NyQuil until the 7th inning, so maybe it was more a St. Louis Blowpen issue than kicking the night-game stupor. At any rate, it’s incredible how often that scenario happens: Cabrera gets a big hit, then the rest of the team suddenly starts hitting.

For 2/3 of the game, it was looking like a Cespedes home run and a Gose triple were going to have to be enough to win the game, and maybe would. Greene was cruising along and doing so well that he felt all tingly. Oh, actually, that was an ulnar nerve, which is why he left at only 70-some odd pitches. File under: never good news without some bad news.

I was thinking in the 5th inning or so, when it looked like the Cespedes blast might be the big hit of the game, that this is how teams run up a lot of wins in a season. Cespedes was the only guy in the starting lineup yesterday without a hit, and one of only two without multiple hits, and here he is with the big blast today.

When guys in a lineup take turns getting hot it seems to result in a lot more wins than when you have one or two guys with MVP seasons and a bunch of slugs. I don’t think we’re going to get anything like consistency from Cespedes. But if he is hot while the others are cold, that will work. No matter, I’ll take the 23 runs in two days.

Miggy’s home run, by the way was #399, which is statistically significant for two important reasons: his next home run puts him past Mr. Tiger himself, Al Kaline, and the Venezuelan home run king, Andres Galarraga, who Cabrera grew up idolizing. (The link was an interesting read; the reverence for Galarraga from Cabrera and Sanchez makes you realize how much he meant to Venezuelans).

Random impression: McCann’s got some wheels. His first double was a real hustle double; his second was a single that he stretched into a double, in a way a 220 pound catcher shouldn’t be able to do.

Other, less random impression: it’s National League baseball, so you might not have noticed the Hernan Perez at bat, because it looked like the standard pitcher at bat. There is a reason Hernan is still on the team–he was highly regarded, and is out of options, which means they can’t just send him back to Toledo without risking him being claimed. I suspect we’ll see a lot more of Perez in coming weeks, and if he continues to look as lost at the plate, that sometime after that we’ll not see any of him at all.

Let’s end on a good impression: last 4 games for JD Martinez:

• 1-for-4, RBI
• 2-for-2
• 2-for-4
• 2-for-5, RBI

That adds up to 7-for-15 (.467), the last two games of which had the added pressure of hitting in the cleanup spot. And this after an 0-for-weeks slump. JD may actually end up being an even better hitter for this slump experience.

Today’s OK, NOW Go Back to That Day/Night Thing Lineup:

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

The Tigers tried something a little different yesterday (no, I don’t mean scoring run, although that too) and it worked: going with both Davis and Gose in the outfield, resting Victor Martinez and letting JD bat 4th, and giving Holaday his first start all worked like a charm, and the Tigers pulled out the series win.

Gose and Davis combined for 7-for-10 with a double and triple, Holaday went 3-for-5 with his 2nd career home run, and even JD Martinez knocked in a run from the cleanup spot with a 2-for-4 game. Of course none of them could match Miguel Cabrera with his two home runs and 5 RBI, but it was nice to see the very different lineup work so well.

The Tigers finished the series with 17 runs, which works out to an average of 5.7 runs per game, which is excellent. It isn’t recommended, however, to accomplish that average with games of 2, 2, and 13.

The difference between yesterday’s game and the first two was like night and day. The difference might not have been the revamped lineup though–it might have been, well, night and day.

The Tiger is becoming a fully diurnal creature this season, pouncing in the daytime and snoozing at night.

Day Tiger:   14 – 4  (.778)  Night Tiger: 7 – 10 (.412)

Most of this can be traced to the Big Man, Miguel Cabrera, who is actually a giant during the day and a little guy at night.  I ran his numbers earlier; they’ve split even farther apart.

• 2015 Night:  70 PA .158 BA .472 OPS
• 2015 Day:    81 PA .471 BA 1.455 OPS

Last season, and over his career, he was actually better at night than day:

• 2014 Night: 437 PA .343 BA .983 OPS
• 2014 Day:   248 PA .260 BA .741 OPS

• Career Night: 5266 PA .328 BA .979 OPS
• Career Day:  2696 PA .304 BA .925 OPS

So there you have it: last season his success split significantly toward the night from his career average; this season it has split even more significantly toward the day.

Any theories? There are some guys who are just better at one than the other; it’s not to hard to theorize that that is because of how they see the ball in different conditions, since hitting is so much about vision. But someone who has been better at night throughout his career flip-flopping like that is very unusual.

It is most like just a random variation that will even itself out over the season. And remember, a lot of these early night games have been quite cold, and maybe that is a factor. Something to keep an eye on as the season unfolds.

Tonight’s A Little Greene With the Bat Lineup:

1. Anthony Gose, CF
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. JD Martinez, RF
5. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. James McCann, C
8. Jose Iglesias, SS
9. Shane Greene, P