Detroit Tigers: Thoughts on the Season so Far
By Rich Seroka
Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera (24) Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Sparky Anderson used to say that you cannot tell anything about a Baseball team until they had played 40 games, while I think Sparky was the greatest Tigers manager of all time I disagree with this statement. So this is a couple of thoughts on the Detroit Tigers Season so far. The offense has been as bad as I feared, although Ian Kinsler has been better and Rajai Davis has been what I thought bad at the plate. The defense has been fine, even without Jose Iglesias, whose bat has not been missed. Starting Pitching has been just short of last year, with Rick Porcello being good and Drew Smyly still learning how to start in the Majors. The Bullpen has been mostly terrible with an occasional alright game. Brad Ausmus is doing the best he can with what he was giving by Dave Dombrowski.
First the Offense has been as bad as I feared when they made the Prince Fielder trade along with the letting go of Johnny Peralta and Omar Infante. Johnny Peralta and Omar Infante were two of the five Detroit Tiger players who averaged .300 last year. While Ian Kinsler has been impressive so far Rajai Davis has proven his lifetime batting average of .256 against right handed pitching true by not hitting. Miguel Cabrera has not earned his $292 million contract by only hitting .250+ this year while his excuse is probably valid that his mechanics are out of whack because of the injury the Tigers need him to figure it out sooner rather than later.
Even without Jose Iglesias the Tigers defense has not been bad at all, Andrew Romine and Alex Gonzalez have filled in nicely. Miguel Cabrera has returned to first base successfully. Nick Castellanos has played third base great, and the outfield has been fine. While defense in baseball is important you can get by with just adequate defenders and the Tigers have some more than adequate defenders. The defense will be better than last year, it will not be the reason they win or lose this division.
The Starting Pitching last year was the best in the majors, and this year it has fallen to top 5. Now normally that would not be that big a deal Top 5 is still great however when you trade Doug Fister for basically nothing, thanks Dave Dombrowski, it becomes a very big deal. The Starting Pitching will once again be good enough to win this division and win in the playoffs. The only question might be if they get too frustrated over the bullpen not getting the job done. If they do get frustrated over the bullpen they could become less effective because they are trying to go longer into games to lessen the effect an ineffective bullpen can have on them.
The Bullpen has been as bad as I feared, you replaced Joquain Benoit with Joba Chamberlain. You signed Joe Nathan as a free agent and kept Phil Coke, Al Alburquerque, and Luke Putkonen, because despite Dave Dombrowski’s saying otherwise you were trying to save payroll to pay Miquel Cabrera and Max Scherzer. So now the bullpen been as bad as last year if not worse. Your best relief pitcher has been Evan Reed who has been accused of a sexual assault charge thats like the start of a bad joke.
My last thoughts are on our current manager, while I was an outspoken critic of Jim Leyland I will give Brad Ausmus at least a couple of years before I blame him for anything. With the added pressure of the World Series expectations and the injuries he does not need any fans blaming him for anything just yet.
All of these things have led to their 8-6 and being tied with Kansas City in first place in the Central Division. Unlike Sparky I never feel its too early to be worried, especially when your General Manager has down graded your team. If they do not turn it around it could be a long summer in Detroit.