The Tigers continue to keep their noses about the surface as they float along treading the .500 line. The did just have a good series though–they took 2-of-3 on the West Coast, and were an extra-inning loss away from a sweep. On top of that they did it without their best player, and are now 3-2 without Cabrera. It’s what good teams do. Are the Tigers a good team? They are supposed to be, but haven’t really showed it yet. Perhaps they are showing it now. They have 4 games with the 2nd-place Twins that will go a long way toward how that conversation veers over the break.

Speaking of the break, JD Martinez got stiffed for the Home Run Derby. I am happy he won’t be participating: it may be more myth than anything, but the last thing we need is for JD to suffer from the Home Run Derby Effect. Still, I feel for the guy. He has 24 home runs and was passed over for Prince “13 Cheap Shots” Fielder. At least his hand seems to be OK. As Ausmus said when Martinez got hit, “my gut turned.”

The Home Run Derby, by the way, has a new format this season, in which the players will be timed instead of having a certain number of outs. I get why they are doing this, after watching players take 8 or 9 pitches in a row last season. That’s no fun to watch. However the additional rules made my head spin.

Josh Wilson cleared waivers and is going to Toledo. Same with Gorzelanny, who will be working on a new sidearm delivery.

Today’s It’s Price So We Only Need 1 Run Lineup:

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
3. Victor Martinez, DH
4. JD Martinez, RF
5. Alex Avila, c
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Marc Krauss, 1B
8. Anthony Gose, CF
9. Jose Iglesias, SS

Another game another day closer to .500.

Jason Beck had some interesting thoughts on Ausmus’ late inning decisions last night. He’s not quite calling them into question, but the fact that he’s writing about it…

Ryan down, Farmer up. Not sure if that helps or hurts one of the worst bullpens in the AL.

TIGERS (career numbers off Happ)

1. Rajai Davis, CF
2. Yoenis Cespedes, LF (3-for-13, double, walk, 5 K’s)
3. Victor Martinez, DH (1-for-2, walk, K)
4. J.D. Martinez, RF (0-for-3)
5. Nick Castellanos, 3B (2-for-2, double)
6. James McCann, C
7. Jefry Marte, 1B
8. Andrew Romine, 2B (0-for-4)
9. Jose Iglesias, SS

Hello Friends –

Nice win last night. Baseball is a long season. We just happen to be over 1/2 way done and it’s not looking so good. There’s still a lot of hope out there and Lynn Henning wrote today that the Tigers could chase Cole Hamels, Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, or Jorge de la Rosa. I have no idea what we would give up in return for a guy like these, and it pains me to even think of depleting even further one of the worst farm systems in the majors. This will be a constant story over the next few weeks, and one worth following. I never want to “throw in the towel”, but let’s be smart about things. Cabrera will be an elite hitter for years to come, so let’s not go all-in in a year when we don’t have the cards.

Evidencing how awful the farm system is, the Tigers claimed some guy named Mark Krauss off of waivers from Tampa Bay yesterday, and he’s starting at first tonight. Krauss is posting a .595 OPS this year, which is slightly higher than Cabrera’s OBP.

Props to JD, Price, and Iglesias for their well deserved All Star selections. The little kid in me will cheer them on next week. Cespedes is still a candidate for the last spot as part of the “Final Vote.”

Tonight’s lineup:

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
3. Victor Martinez, DH
4. J.D. Martinez, RF
5. Alex Avila, C
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Marc Krauss, 1B
8. Anthony Gose, CF (0-for-3, 2 K’s vs. Taijuan Walker)
9. Jose Iglesias, SS

Is it just me, or is Justin Verlander way the heck out of touch with reality? Here’s a quote from him yesterday: “There’s two ways that you can approach this. You can look at the fifth inning and think negatively. Or you can look at the rest of it and think positively.” … “Felt really good about it. It’s a shame that I kind of feel out of sync there in the fifth, but it’s my fourth start. Gotta keep that in mind.”

The 5th inning was not a “negative.” It was catastrophic. He once went entire seasons without an inning like that. Last season Justin Verlander was one of the worst full season starters in the majors, He’s quickly working his way back into that form.

*****

So the Tigers finish the first half of the season 1 game above .500. And, other than Joba Chamberlain, no one has lost their job. Miguel Cabrera is on the shelf until late August, the only reliable starter (David Price) is also our biggest piece of trade bait, the bullpen remains a mess (as it has been for two years), and there are glaring holes at C and 3B, one of which should be a premium position in the AL.

I’ll say what everyone else is thinking but no one else has yet said. It’s time to become sellers. Let’s trade Price and Cespedes at the deadline for younger talent (hopefully a 3B), and shelf Cabrera for the rest of the year if we have to. We can build an offense next year around Cabrera, Martinez, and Martinez, and Iglesias can anchor an infield for years to come, but unless we get younger and cheaper, we’re going to be the Phillies soon.

TIGERS (career numbers off Iwakuma)

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B (9-for-23, double, 3 HR, 2 walks, 5 K’s)
2. Yoenis Cespedes, LF (10-for-24, 5 doubles, 3 HR, 6 K’s)
3. Victor Martinez, DH (3-for-6, HR, 2 walks)
4. J.D. Martinez, RF (0-for-3, 3 K’s)
5. Alex Avila, C (0-for-9, walk, 2 K’s)
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B (1-for-3, double, 2 K’s)
7. Anthony Gose, CF (0-for-2, walk, K)
8. Andrew Romine, 1B (3-for-7, K)
9. Jose Iglesias, SS (1-for-5, 2 K’s)

The Tiger bats boomed again yesterday afternoon, which means that today they have a chance to be on the right end of the broom, which would be more than welcome after getting the business from Pittsburgh.

The Blue Jays are not exactly known for their pitching, but they can score a lot of runs in a hurry, so another offensive outburst today would be useful. Especially as the Tigers are sending out Justin Verlander, who may or may not be back to normal, whatever normal is for him now.

Did anyone else notice a strange encounter during the celebration following yesterday’s victory? Iglesias approached Kinsler and reached out to grab his arm and Kinsler turned on him and seemed to get in his face. What in the world could that have been about? Perhaps they were just clowning around, but nobody’s smiling.

Here is a clip, but these things don’t tend to stay up long.

Today’s Can I Borrow a Broom? Lineup:

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

Pretty much the same lineup as yesterday, with Iglesias stepping back in at SS. Although I’m not sure why Josh Wilson got to bat 8th, and Jose has to bat 9th.

The diagnosis is in: Miguel Cabrera has a grade 3 calf strain, and is expected to miss 6 weeks. The good news is that Cabrera has no achilles damage and won’t require surgery; the bad newses are most of the summer without Cabrera and no real Plan B to replace him.

The Tigers have called up Jefry Marte from Toledo, who is at .271 for the season, with 13 homers and 55 RBI, and has had a hot June (.317). He has played 10 games at first over the span of his minor league career. For today, the Tigers are going with Alex Avila at first. Brad Ausmus said that playing Victor Martinez at first is “not an option.”

The Cabrera injury was the beginning of what was a very strange baseball game. He probably actually injured it on a strange play where he tried to go from 1st to 3rd on a goundout, and was tagged out on a hard and slightly awkward slide. But the Blue Jays put on a clown show (including errors on back-to-back plays by former Tiger Carrera), and it looked like a blowout win. All the excitement in the game came from the mound, with Anibal Sanchez cruising into the 8th with a no-hitter. At 110 pitches Anibal was probably just out of gas, but Ausmus tried to let him finish the inning, and the Blue Jays pounced. By the time the inning was over, the game had turned into a nail-biter.

If the Tigers had come out on the wrong end of last night’s game, that and the Cabrera injury could have been too big of a blow to rebound from. As it is, the team will have to show some character and come together to fill in for the big man. Miguel has had some mini-slumps over the season, and when he does the team has tended to not do well. Let’s see what they can come up with without him in the lineup at all.

Today’s Who’s On First? Lineup:

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

“And now batting fifth, 1st baseman Alex Avila!” [Crowd roars]. I had figured we’d see Romine at first, but Avila makes sense also: he had played first in Spring Training in case Cabrera wasn’t going to be ready to start the season. (But batting 5th?). To me the curious move is resting Iglesias. A win today, on Cabrera’s first day on the DL, would make a statement. I say rest Iglesias tomorrow. Unfortunately, Brad isn’t taking my calls at the moment.

The Tigers will be wearing special 4th of July uniforms; the game post picture is from a JD Martinez tweet.  Happy Independence Day everyone!

Well, us fans aren’t the only ones who feel like something has to be done with this team. The front office started off by shaking up the bullpen. It couldn’t hurt, right? The Tigers brought up converted starters John Ferrell from Toledo and Drew VerHagen from AA Erie, and gave the boot to Joba Chamberlain and Tom Gorzellany (which leaves Hardy as the only lefty in the bullpen). I’ll miss Joba–I’ve been missing him all season, he just never really came back after falling apart in the postseason last year.

Brad did a little shake of his own, his with the lineup. Kinsler will be leading off, and Cespedes will be taking over the 2nd spot. Gose was certainly not cutting it as a leadoff hitter, but why not move the very consistent Iglesias into the 2nd spot? Or the hot JD Martinez in the 4th spot?

Even Miguel Cabrera has seemed to be a problem lately. The air has seemingly gone out of him like he’s a football in New England. I checked the team hitting numbers over the last 7 days, and there he is a mere 8th on the team with a .200 avg. and .600 OPS, and he’s made some uncharacteristic and costly blunders in the field.

Topping the list by the way is young James McCann (.500, 1.500), who is back on the bench now that Alex Avila is back (Bryan Holaday back to Toledo).  And the bottom of the list? With a cringe-worthy .056 BA and .111 OPS I present to you your new #2 hitter, Yoenis Cespedes.

Tonight’s All Shook Up Lineup:

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

This team seems so uninspired. We may be beating a dead horse, but how long can this go on?

Baseball-Reference game preview here.

BTW – I have a friend who works for the Indians. I texted him last night after the 2nd out of the 9th to say “looks like you’ll be busy tonight.” Next pitch was a line drive single to right.

TIGERS (career numbers off Liriano)

1. Rajai Davis, CF (7-for-23, 3 doubles, HR, walk, 4 K’s)
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B (3-for-20, 2 doubles, HR, 4 walks, 4 K’s)
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B (9-for-35, 3 doubles, 2 HR, 8 walks, 8 K’s)
4. Victor Martinez, DH (13-for-28, 6 doubles, HR, 4 walks, 6 K’s)
5. Yoenis Cespedes, LF (1-for-12, 2 K’s)
6. J.D. Martinez, RF (2-for-5, HR, walk, 3 K’s)
7. Nick Castellanos, 3B (2-for-5, K)
8. Bryan Holaday, C
9. Jose Iglesias, SS (1-for-1, walk)

Last night’s loss is on the O, not the pen, or even Gorzelanny. Alex Wilson was at 50+ pitches and Gorzelanny was the last guy in the pen. Ausmus didn’t have any other options. A hit with a RISP would have been nice. 3-15 usually isn’t going to get the job done; unless of course you are Pittsburgh and get a W hitting 2-16 w RISP. Baseball is a funny game.

TIGERS (career numbers off A.J. Burnett)

1. Rajai Davis, CF (6-for-13, 2 doubles, triple)
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B (5-for-29, HR, walk, 7 K’s)
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B (6-for-28, 2 doubles, HR, walk, 4 K’s)
4. Victor Martinez, DH (8-for-29, 2 doubles, 2 HR, 7 walks, 4 K’s)
5. Yoenis Cespedes, LF (1-for-3, double, K)
6. J.D. Martinez, RF (1-for-13, 3 K’s)
7. Nick Castellanos, 3B (1-for-3, K)
8. James McCann, C
9. Jose Iglesias, SS (1-for-2, walk)

Let’s go JV, show us you’ve still got it.

TIGERS (career numbers off Gerrit Cole)

1. Anthony Gose, CF (0-for-3, 2 K’s)
2. Ian Kinsler, 2B (0-for-6, 3 K’s)
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B (1-for-3, K)
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Yoenis Cespedes, LF (2-for-6)
6. J.D. Martinez, RF (0-for-2, walk, K)
7. Nick Castellanos, 3B (1-for-2)
8. James McCann, C
9. Jose Iglesias, SS (0-for-2)

It seems to be finished raining all over Detroit, so we resume what is now a three-game series against the White Sox, with what should turn out to be a pitcher’s duel type of affair. If Samardzija vs. Price sounds familiar, it’s because they faced each other in Detroit on April 17th. In that one Samardzija went 8, and gave up only 1 run, while striking out 7 (no walks). Price himself only gave up 1 run on 4 hits and struck out nine. Detroit ended up winning that one 2-1, although neither starter got a decision.

Hopefully the rainout didn’t damage the efficacy of the lucky JD Martinez game post picture.

Today’s Lineup:

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

The Tiger who has hit Samardzija best, in limited opportunities, is Yoenis Cespedes, who is 4-for-10 with 2 HRs.

It’s going to be a deluge tonight in Detroit. Accordingly, tonight’s game has already been postponed. It will be made up as a double-header on September 21.

It is too bad, really; I was hoping the momentum from last night’s win would carry over tonight (although it has been said that momentum in baseball is only as good as your next starting pitcher, which was to be Kyle Ryan and his sideburns).

Everyone got a hit last night, and Ian Kinsler got 2, after working on his swing with the Skipper. Boy would it help the lineup a lot if he could get back to being even reasonable productive. And what can you say about JD Martinez, who over the last 7 days has 6 home runs and an OPS of 1.554.