Monday, December 17, 2012
Short Tigers Update
In my other posts I have written about the quest to sign free agent Anibal Sanchez. It was announced Monday that the Tigers have signed the right hander to a five year deal worth $80 million dollars. This move firms up the Detroit rotation with only the fifth stater sport left to fill. There are rumors floating around that teams are interested in talking trade with the Tigers for the services of Rick Porcello but unless something happens there then the rotation stands as such: Justin Verlander, Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez and Porcello.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Another MLB & Tigers Update
Today I have both MLB and Tigers news. On Sunday the Tampa Bay Rays and Kansas City Royals made a big trade with Tampa sending pitchers James Shields, Wade Davis and a player to be named later to Kansas City in exchange for outfield prospect Wil Myers, pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery and third baseman Patrick Leonard.
Yesterday I mentioned that Anibal Sanchez and a few other pitchers are waiting for Zach Greinke to sign before finalizing their own contracts, well, today was the day. The Los Angeles Dodgers officially announced the signing of former American League Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke to a six-year, $147 million contract on Monday. The deal ranks as the highest annual salary ever given to a pitcher and is second behind only CC Sabathia's 7-year, $161 million deal with the Yankees the largest given to a pitcher. Greinke joins a deep rotation for the deep-pocketed Dodgers that's headlined by 2011 NL Cy Young recipient Clayton Kershaw and three-time All-Star Josh Beckett, and also now includes highly regarded South Korean lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, whom the team formally signed to a six-year contract on Sunday. The move also pushes Los Angeles' projected payroll for the 2013 season above $225 million, which would be the highest in MLB history. It will be interesting to see how this signing will effect the other free agent pitchers. The Tigers announced the signing of catcher Brayan Pena to a one-year contract on Monday.
Pena had spent the past four seasons with Kansas City. The switch-hitting catcher has a lifetime average of .248 with 14 homeruns in 335 games. Last year with the Royals he hit .236 with two homers and a career high 25 RBI's. Pena is the favorite to backup Alex Avila this season. "We are pleased to add an experienced catcher like Brayan Pena to our club," Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "As a switch- hitter, he will serve as a solid complement to Alex Avila as our backup catcher for the 2013 season."
Yesterday I mentioned that Anibal Sanchez and a few other pitchers are waiting for Zach Greinke to sign before finalizing their own contracts, well, today was the day. The Los Angeles Dodgers officially announced the signing of former American League Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke to a six-year, $147 million contract on Monday. The deal ranks as the highest annual salary ever given to a pitcher and is second behind only CC Sabathia's 7-year, $161 million deal with the Yankees the largest given to a pitcher. Greinke joins a deep rotation for the deep-pocketed Dodgers that's headlined by 2011 NL Cy Young recipient Clayton Kershaw and three-time All-Star Josh Beckett, and also now includes highly regarded South Korean lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, whom the team formally signed to a six-year contract on Sunday. The move also pushes Los Angeles' projected payroll for the 2013 season above $225 million, which would be the highest in MLB history. It will be interesting to see how this signing will effect the other free agent pitchers. The Tigers announced the signing of catcher Brayan Pena to a one-year contract on Monday.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Tigers Update
The Tigers have made several moves lately firming up their spring training plans for 2013.
The first move the Tigers completed was refusing to tender a contract offer to relief pitcher Daniel Schlereth. Schlereth was 4-2 with a 3.98 ERA in 73 appearances with the Tigers but has sidelined with shoulder tendinitis for most of the 2012 season. This move doesn't really effect the roster other than making another spot available.
The other and more significant move was the trade of left handed starter Andrew Oliver to the Pittsburgh in exchange for switch hitting catcher Ramon Cabrera. Oliver was once a highly touted young pitcher in the Tigers system but turned out to be a bust. He was 5-9 with a 4.88 ERA in 28 appearances with AAA Toledo last year. He never had much luck in the majors either going 0-5 with a 711 ERA for Detroit. Cabrera, a 23 year old Venezuelan, hit .276 with 22 doubles, three homeruns and 50 RBI's at AA Altoona last year. In my first post of this blog I spoke about the Tigers need for a backup catcher and the players in line for the job. This trade puts a new spin on that discussion. I believe that Cabrera will be the first call up if Bryan Holaday is not up to the task and could stay a long time if he plays well. He hit for a higher average and forty more RBI's then Holaday and the fact that he is a switch hitter is a point in his favor. I would not be surprised at all if Cabrera sees significant playing time in Detroit in 2013.
There is also an update on the Anibal Sanchez situation. Sanchez has not yet signed with a club, his agent is negotiating with several teams including the Tigers but seems to be waiting to see where Zach Greinke will go. After Greinke signs several other pitchers including Sanchez will sign. They are just waiting to see how much money Greinke goes for and then they will be able to set their own contract levels.
The Rule 5 draft was held Thursday 12/6/12 in Nashville and the Tigers selected two players. Detroit acquired second baseman Jeff Kobernus from the Red Sox, who had selected him from the Nationals, and dealt him to Detroit for Mud Hens utility man Justin Henry. Detroit also acquired left-handed pitcher Kyle Lobstein from the Mets for cash, the Mets had selected him from the Rays in the Rule 5 draft. Both players are former second round pick in the entry draft and both are players general manager Dave Dombrowski said were targeted going in.
If either player does not make the Tigers 25 man roster then they would have to be offered back to their original organization. Kobernus, 24, hit .282 with one homerun, 19 RBI's and 42 stolen bases in 82 games for AA Harrisburg. In his minor league career Kobernus is 120 for 149 in steals over 290 games. Dombrowski said it was his speed that was the main attraction of Detroit. "We've tried to add some speed," Dombrowski said. "If he could be a guy that made our club, then all of a sudden you have a guy that can really run on the bench at that point, it gives you some versatility." Dombrowski added that he could see Kobernus playing both second and outfield. "We not only like his ability to play second, but we think that perhaps -- and he hasn't really done much of it -- he could have some versatility where we might be able to move him to the outfield and get some playing time there," Dombrowski said.
The 23-year old Lobstein was 8-7 with a 4.06 ERA striking out 129 batters in 144 innings over 27 starts for AA Montgomery. "He's more of an average-fastball guy, good breaking ball and a changeup," Dombrowski said. "We just like him as an overall pitcher. We look at him as a guy that might be able to come in as a starter and compete, but of course we don't look at him as ahead of the other guys. He's a guy that would be protection in the rotation and maybe a second lefty reliever, because we do like him in that regard." If Lobstein doesn't make the team out of camp, the Tigers have to offer him back to the Rays. But if Tampa Bay, which has plenty of pitching depth, decides it doesn't need him, the Tigers can work out a deal to keep him and move him into the Minor League system.
The Tigers also added a player in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, selecting outfielder Eliezer Mesa from Oakland's organization. The multi-tooled 24-year-old saw time at all three outfield position at three different levels this past season, hitting .255 average on the year with four home runs, 43 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 29 attempts. He's batting .321 (17-for-53) so far for Estrellas in the Dominican Winter League.
Detroit lost two left-handers in the Double-A portion of the Rule 5. Left-hander Jay Voss had found some stability in the Tigers organization after coming over in the Nate Robertson trade a few years ago, but will join the Cardinals system after his selection. The 25-year-old pitched in just three games this year for Double-A Erie in an injury-shortened campaign. Another lefty farmhand, Efrain Nieves, went 4-1 with three saves, a 2.79 ERA and 42 strikeouts in as many innings for Connecticut in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League. Having just turned 23 years old a few weeks ago, however, he was left unprotected, and the Blue Jays took advantage of that.
It is an increasingly interesting off season and expectations remain high for the 2013 season and the end of the 28 year World Series Championship draught.
The first move the Tigers completed was refusing to tender a contract offer to relief pitcher Daniel Schlereth. Schlereth was 4-2 with a 3.98 ERA in 73 appearances with the Tigers but has sidelined with shoulder tendinitis for most of the 2012 season. This move doesn't really effect the roster other than making another spot available.
The other and more significant move was the trade of left handed starter Andrew Oliver to the Pittsburgh in exchange for switch hitting catcher Ramon Cabrera. Oliver was once a highly touted young pitcher in the Tigers system but turned out to be a bust. He was 5-9 with a 4.88 ERA in 28 appearances with AAA Toledo last year. He never had much luck in the majors either going 0-5 with a 711 ERA for Detroit. Cabrera, a 23 year old Venezuelan, hit .276 with 22 doubles, three homeruns and 50 RBI's at AA Altoona last year. In my first post of this blog I spoke about the Tigers need for a backup catcher and the players in line for the job. This trade puts a new spin on that discussion. I believe that Cabrera will be the first call up if Bryan Holaday is not up to the task and could stay a long time if he plays well. He hit for a higher average and forty more RBI's then Holaday and the fact that he is a switch hitter is a point in his favor. I would not be surprised at all if Cabrera sees significant playing time in Detroit in 2013.
There is also an update on the Anibal Sanchez situation. Sanchez has not yet signed with a club, his agent is negotiating with several teams including the Tigers but seems to be waiting to see where Zach Greinke will go. After Greinke signs several other pitchers including Sanchez will sign. They are just waiting to see how much money Greinke goes for and then they will be able to set their own contract levels.
The Rule 5 draft was held Thursday 12/6/12 in Nashville and the Tigers selected two players. Detroit acquired second baseman Jeff Kobernus from the Red Sox, who had selected him from the Nationals, and dealt him to Detroit for Mud Hens utility man Justin Henry. Detroit also acquired left-handed pitcher Kyle Lobstein from the Mets for cash, the Mets had selected him from the Rays in the Rule 5 draft. Both players are former second round pick in the entry draft and both are players general manager Dave Dombrowski said were targeted going in.
If either player does not make the Tigers 25 man roster then they would have to be offered back to their original organization. Kobernus, 24, hit .282 with one homerun, 19 RBI's and 42 stolen bases in 82 games for AA Harrisburg. In his minor league career Kobernus is 120 for 149 in steals over 290 games. Dombrowski said it was his speed that was the main attraction of Detroit. "We've tried to add some speed," Dombrowski said. "If he could be a guy that made our club, then all of a sudden you have a guy that can really run on the bench at that point, it gives you some versatility." Dombrowski added that he could see Kobernus playing both second and outfield. "We not only like his ability to play second, but we think that perhaps -- and he hasn't really done much of it -- he could have some versatility where we might be able to move him to the outfield and get some playing time there," Dombrowski said.
The 23-year old Lobstein was 8-7 with a 4.06 ERA striking out 129 batters in 144 innings over 27 starts for AA Montgomery. "He's more of an average-fastball guy, good breaking ball and a changeup," Dombrowski said. "We just like him as an overall pitcher. We look at him as a guy that might be able to come in as a starter and compete, but of course we don't look at him as ahead of the other guys. He's a guy that would be protection in the rotation and maybe a second lefty reliever, because we do like him in that regard." If Lobstein doesn't make the team out of camp, the Tigers have to offer him back to the Rays. But if Tampa Bay, which has plenty of pitching depth, decides it doesn't need him, the Tigers can work out a deal to keep him and move him into the Minor League system.
The Tigers also added a player in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, selecting outfielder Eliezer Mesa from Oakland's organization. The multi-tooled 24-year-old saw time at all three outfield position at three different levels this past season, hitting .255 average on the year with four home runs, 43 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 29 attempts. He's batting .321 (17-for-53) so far for Estrellas in the Dominican Winter League.
Detroit lost two left-handers in the Double-A portion of the Rule 5. Left-hander Jay Voss had found some stability in the Tigers organization after coming over in the Nate Robertson trade a few years ago, but will join the Cardinals system after his selection. The 25-year-old pitched in just three games this year for Double-A Erie in an injury-shortened campaign. Another lefty farmhand, Efrain Nieves, went 4-1 with three saves, a 2.79 ERA and 42 strikeouts in as many innings for Connecticut in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League. Having just turned 23 years old a few weeks ago, however, he was left unprotected, and the Blue Jays took advantage of that.
It is an increasingly interesting off season and expectations remain high for the 2013 season and the end of the 28 year World Series Championship draught.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
NHL 2012: Will There Be A Season?
This post isn't strictly about Detroit Red Wings hockey because right now there isn't any NHL hockey to watch. Rather it is about the current lockout, the positions of the two sides and the prospects for a deal. Now, I’m one of the biggest hockey fans around, if the Wings don’t win the Cup every year I sulk all summer long but this is getting ridicules. This is the NHL’s third labor disruption since 1995 and it is starting to look like it might be the second complete season lost since 2005. Why are we going through this again? To answer that question we need to go over a little history between the two sides. In 2005 the owners said that the deal they were pressing for, would guarantee labor peace for years, unfortunately we did know they only meant seven years. The owners stood by their guns in 2004-5 locking the players out for the entire season to get a salary cap installed, the players fought the cap tooth and nail then after the season had been cancelled rolled over and accepted a deal that was the same as the one the owners had originally offered and would have saved the season. It was universally thought the NHLPA was broken and people wondered if it would ever be the same. Bob Goodenow the Executive Director of the union was forced out but they continued to have problems when in 2007 then Director Ted Saskin was fired after accessing player email accounts since 2005. Lawyer Paul Kelly replaced Saskin but only lasted until 2009 before being fired. One month later interim director Ian Penny resigned and in December 2010 interim director Mike Ouellet resigned in favor of Donald Fehr. Fehr, who led the 232 day Major League Baseball Players Association strike that led to the cancellation of the World Series, was viewed as a strong leader that would attempt to win back some of the concessions the players made in 2005. In fact six of the eight contract negotiations he has been involved in have resulted in labor stoppages. Fehr was true to his press clippings and failed to get a new collective bargaining agreement done before the deadline, leading to the current lockout. There has been absolutely no progress thus far in the negotiations and both parties state that they remain far apart on the key issues.
An examination of the key issues would be helpful at this point. The three main issues in this negotiations are the NHL/NHLPA split of "hockey related revenue", the length of player contracts and the length of service time to become an unrestricted free agent.
Before we look at the main issue we need to understand exactly what is hockey related revenue. If you want the complete definition, read the CBA, and let me know if you can get through it all. In the most general terms HRR is money from regular season and playoff gate receipts; preseason and special games (such as international exhibitions); national and international digital broadcasts; the NHL Network; all local cable, over-the-air, pay-per-view and satellite TV broadcasts; local radio; club Internet sites; all club publications, merchandise and novelty items sold in and out of arenas; concessions; luxury boxes, suites and premium seats; fixed and temporary signage and arena sponsorship rink board advertising; parking in club operated facilities; and some other stuff. The newly expired CBA excludes the following items from HRR: money teams make from waiver claims on players; money the NHL makes from moving teams or granting expansion franchises; revenues that teams receive from operating other clubs, such as AHL affiliates; fines collected from players and teams; any money teams make through financial transactions, such as loans, interest income or investments; and the sale or leasing of real estate. Last year this amount was $3.3 billion, up from $1.2 billion in 2005. The owners want the players to agree to a deal that would split the hockey related revenue (HRR) with 57% going to the owners and 43% to the players. In the expired deal the shares were the opposite, players had 57% of HRR and the owners 43%.
The second issue is the length of player contracts and their monetary structure . The owners asked for contracts to be no longer then five years and they wished to void all years and money owed over the five year mark for every current contract for every active player in the NHL. The owners also wanted to end signing bonuses and set a uniform salary for every year of a contract, ending the practice of "front loading" as well as extending the entry level contract term from three years to five.
The third prong of the negotiations are the extension of the qualifications for unrestricted free agency from the current level of seven years of service to ten years. This would mean that a player would have to play ten years before becoming a unrestricted free agent.
All these issues on top of the salary cap and the 24% salary roll back from the 2005 CBA made the players dig in their heels in an attempt to regain, some of the concessions or at least some face. The initial offer from the owners was rejected by the union and was countered with a proposal that would give 55% to the players and 45% to the owners, but the owners said no before the paper had even hit the conference table. Bettman offered a limited time offer of a 50-50 split of HRR but the NHLPA did not agree to or refuse the offer responded with three offers none of which came close to the 50-50 offer and the deal was taken off the table. The owners have taken the issue of making all current contracts five years and rolling back the money, off the table. They still want to have all future contracts be five years but they knew the players would never agree to losing money already guaranteed. The two sides are were still very far apart as of Thanksgiving and both sides agreed to bring in an outside mediators in an effort to end the lockout or at least make significant progress. FMCS (Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service) were brought in and both sides met with the mediators for two days. After the second set of meetings the spokesman for FMCS stated they would not be any more meeting as no significant progress was made. FMCS would stay in contact with both sides and if any movement was made there could be more meetings but as of 12/2/12 there was no movement. The two sides announced that they would meet again starting Tuesday 12/4/12 and this time it would be a delegation of six owners and 12 players without either Bettman or Fehr. According to reports the negotiations went well but neither side would make any statements regarding the progress made. The talks continued on Wednesday and went until 1:00 AM with both sides agreeing to meet again Thursday.
What would the loss of another season mean to the NHL? In 2005 the NHL lost ESPN as a television home and were lucky to get a deal with the Outdoor Life Network. The what? this was a network that has changed it's name twice since 2005. It is now a stable home as the NBC Sports Network but it is not on nearly as many cable and satellite systems as ESPN. After the 2005 lockout the NHL lost a lot of cache as a major sports league and another lost season could quite possibly finish it. Quite a large segment of the American sports viewers already think of hockey as a second tier sport, on par with MLS or MLL but a larger number of people will leave the sport without looking back, if the whole season is scrapped. When was the last time you heard a segment on ESPN TV or Radio about the NHL? Even before the lockout, ESPN had made the decision that the large majority of their audience don't care about the NHL and will even show highlights of D-League basketball before the NHL. This will only get worse if this season is lost and the hockey loving people of the world may find themselves without any national coverage of the NHL.
In short the two sides need to get off their soap boxes, stop thinking about their wallets and get a deal done before the whole season is gone. I understand that this is a business and both sides are watching out for their future but they are forgetting one important piece of the puzzle; the fans. The fans are the ones spending all the money the owner and players are fighting over and it would be nice if somebody thought about them once in a while. I fear that if this season is lost the NHL will never recover and it will disappear from the sports landscape.
An examination of the key issues would be helpful at this point. The three main issues in this negotiations are the NHL/NHLPA split of "hockey related revenue", the length of player contracts and the length of service time to become an unrestricted free agent.
Before we look at the main issue we need to understand exactly what is hockey related revenue. If you want the complete definition, read the CBA, and let me know if you can get through it all. In the most general terms HRR is money from regular season and playoff gate receipts; preseason and special games (such as international exhibitions); national and international digital broadcasts; the NHL Network; all local cable, over-the-air, pay-per-view and satellite TV broadcasts; local radio; club Internet sites; all club publications, merchandise and novelty items sold in and out of arenas; concessions; luxury boxes, suites and premium seats; fixed and temporary signage and arena sponsorship rink board advertising; parking in club operated facilities; and some other stuff. The newly expired CBA excludes the following items from HRR: money teams make from waiver claims on players; money the NHL makes from moving teams or granting expansion franchises; revenues that teams receive from operating other clubs, such as AHL affiliates; fines collected from players and teams; any money teams make through financial transactions, such as loans, interest income or investments; and the sale or leasing of real estate. Last year this amount was $3.3 billion, up from $1.2 billion in 2005. The owners want the players to agree to a deal that would split the hockey related revenue (HRR) with 57% going to the owners and 43% to the players. In the expired deal the shares were the opposite, players had 57% of HRR and the owners 43%.
The second issue is the length of player contracts and their monetary structure . The owners asked for contracts to be no longer then five years and they wished to void all years and money owed over the five year mark for every current contract for every active player in the NHL. The owners also wanted to end signing bonuses and set a uniform salary for every year of a contract, ending the practice of "front loading" as well as extending the entry level contract term from three years to five.
The third prong of the negotiations are the extension of the qualifications for unrestricted free agency from the current level of seven years of service to ten years. This would mean that a player would have to play ten years before becoming a unrestricted free agent.
All these issues on top of the salary cap and the 24% salary roll back from the 2005 CBA made the players dig in their heels in an attempt to regain, some of the concessions or at least some face. The initial offer from the owners was rejected by the union and was countered with a proposal that would give 55% to the players and 45% to the owners, but the owners said no before the paper had even hit the conference table. Bettman offered a limited time offer of a 50-50 split of HRR but the NHLPA did not agree to or refuse the offer responded with three offers none of which came close to the 50-50 offer and the deal was taken off the table. The owners have taken the issue of making all current contracts five years and rolling back the money, off the table. They still want to have all future contracts be five years but they knew the players would never agree to losing money already guaranteed. The two sides are were still very far apart as of Thanksgiving and both sides agreed to bring in an outside mediators in an effort to end the lockout or at least make significant progress. FMCS (Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service) were brought in and both sides met with the mediators for two days. After the second set of meetings the spokesman for FMCS stated they would not be any more meeting as no significant progress was made. FMCS would stay in contact with both sides and if any movement was made there could be more meetings but as of 12/2/12 there was no movement. The two sides announced that they would meet again starting Tuesday 12/4/12 and this time it would be a delegation of six owners and 12 players without either Bettman or Fehr. According to reports the negotiations went well but neither side would make any statements regarding the progress made. The talks continued on Wednesday and went until 1:00 AM with both sides agreeing to meet again Thursday.
What would the loss of another season mean to the NHL? In 2005 the NHL lost ESPN as a television home and were lucky to get a deal with the Outdoor Life Network. The what? this was a network that has changed it's name twice since 2005. It is now a stable home as the NBC Sports Network but it is not on nearly as many cable and satellite systems as ESPN. After the 2005 lockout the NHL lost a lot of cache as a major sports league and another lost season could quite possibly finish it. Quite a large segment of the American sports viewers already think of hockey as a second tier sport, on par with MLS or MLL but a larger number of people will leave the sport without looking back, if the whole season is scrapped. When was the last time you heard a segment on ESPN TV or Radio about the NHL? Even before the lockout, ESPN had made the decision that the large majority of their audience don't care about the NHL and will even show highlights of D-League basketball before the NHL. This will only get worse if this season is lost and the hockey loving people of the world may find themselves without any national coverage of the NHL.
In short the two sides need to get off their soap boxes, stop thinking about their wallets and get a deal done before the whole season is gone. I understand that this is a business and both sides are watching out for their future but they are forgetting one important piece of the puzzle; the fans. The fans are the ones spending all the money the owner and players are fighting over and it would be nice if somebody thought about them once in a while. I fear that if this season is lost the NHL will never recover and it will disappear from the sports landscape.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Detroit Tigers Off Season & 2013 Moves
The 2012 season saw the Detroit Tigers make their second World Series appearance in six years but Detroit was disappointed again losing 4-0 to the San Francisco Giants. The season started out with very high expectations, Justin Verlander’s Cy Young and AL MVP awards and the signing of Prince Fielder gave the Tigers fans hope of another Fall Classic appearance. As the season went on it looked like not only would the Tigers fail to live up to expectations but they might not even make the playoffs. After a late season winning streak and another late season swoon by the White Sox the Tigers found themselves in the post season, where they beat the A’s and Yankees before losing to the Giants. If the Tigers want to end their World Series drought, which is now 28 years, then there are a few issues that need to be addressed regarding off season moves as well as next year’s roster.
The first issue is the closer spot. Jose Valverde was a perfect 52 for 52 in 2011 but struggled early and often in 2012. It was announced shortly after the season that Valverde would not be re-signed making him a free agent. So the question became who will fill that role? It appears that the Tigers are going to promote current Mud Hens closer Bruce Rondon to the big club. Rondon was 2-1 with a 1.53 ERA and 29 saves in 53 games. He allowed 32 hits, twelve runs, including only three homeruns, 26 walks and 66 strikeouts in 53 innings with Lakeland, Erie and Toledo last year. The Tigers named Rondon their Minor League Pitcher of the Year and Dave Dombrowski called him a rare talent with a fastball over 100 MPH, but it is yet to be seen if he can bring that kind of dominance to the majors. The outfield is another area of concern for Detroit even as several moves have been made.
The Tigers announced early on in the off season, that they would not resign Delmon Young and released utility player, Ryan Raburn. Young hit .267 with 18 homeruns and 74 RBI’s this season, but was a defensive liability and went through big slumps. He was the ALCS MVP and hit .367 in the World Series but the return of Victor Martinez made Young disposable. Raburn slumped all year hitting only .177 with one homerun and 12 RBI’s in 66 games, although he was very versatile defensively, playing four positions, his struggles at the plate put him on the chopping block. The Tigers made the first big splash of the Hot Stove League season, signing Angels right fielder Torii Hunter to a two year deal worth 26 million dollars. Hunter is a career .277 hitter with 297 homeruns, 1193 RBI’s and nine Gold Gloves but is a bit of a free swinger, fanning 1434 times in his career while only walking 577 times. In 2012 Hunter hit .316 with 19 homers and 94 RBI’s striking out 133 times and walking only 38. The 133 K’s are only one behind 2012 Tigers team leader Austin Jackson. The word is Hunter will hit second behind Austin Jackson and I question the idea of having 267 strikeouts hitting 1-2 in front of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. The Tigers brass has already stated right fielder Brennan Boesch will be brought back in 2013 but for what reason? With Hunter already announced as the starting right fielder, how much time will Boesch get? Yes, Boesch had an off year in 2012, hitting 43 points lower with eight less hits, four less homeruns and 21 more strikeouts in 17 more games than in 2011 and Hunter hit 73 points higher than Boesch but he struck out 31 more times in only eight more games. Is Boesch’s play in right so bad that the Tigers needed to bring in someone to shore up that corner? If you simply look at errors, than Boesch wins with two over Hunter’s four but in today’s baseball it is all about sabermetrics and Hunter leads in these new categories such as; range factor, speed score, defensive runs saved, out of zone plays made, value over replacement and wins over replacement. I’m not real sure how much credence I put in these stats but the powers that be in baseball look at these factors more and more so I guess that is why Hunter gets the nod over Boesch. By all accounts, Hunter is a real asset in the clubhouse and has a work ethic second to none, so we will see how this move turns out for the Tigers. With Young gone the Tigers have a need for a left fielder but have two young players waiting in the wings to take over and become every day players. Andy Dirks shared time with Young in left and in right with Boesch. Dirks had a decent season; hitting .322 with eight homers and 35 RBI’s with five triples and 23 walks in 88 games. Quintin Berry spent time in center as well as left and was the surprise of the season, earning Tigers Rookie of the Year honors. Originally brought up to replace Jackson after he was hurt, Berry stayed with the big club after Jackson returned, hitting .258 with two homeruns, 29 RBI’s and 21 steals, a area in which the Tigers have been lacking for some time. Berry can play either left or center but with Jackson in center it appears he will platoon in left with Dirks while spelling Jackson in center from time to time. The status of Avisail Garcia is another question. Will he be returned to the minors or stay with the big club? After being brought up late in the season he played well enough to earn a spot on the post season roster hitting .319 in 23 games. In the playoffs he hit .330 with four RBI’s. Garcia is a natural center fielder but down the stretch and in the playoffs played right and can play left as well giving the Tigers even more versatility in the outfield. There are a few other moves the Tigers have made or need to make, catcher and pitcher being the most important.
Gerald Laird was let go by the Tigers and signed by the Braves opening up the backup catcher spot. Bryan Holaday the other catcher listed on the 40 man roster was an unimpressive .240 with 2 homers and 25 RBI’s at AAA Toledo last season and .250 in six games with Detroit. The top prospect at catcher is James McCann who is solid behind the dish but a light hitting .237 with two homeruns and 39 RBI’s in the minors. It is possible Patrick Leyland could be brought up but he is only 21 and probably needs a little more seasoning in the minors but a real good spring training effort could change that. I have heard people say that Victor Martinez could be Avila’s backup, but that idea is just ludicrous, he is returning from a whole season on the disabled list with a torn ACL and the worst thing for him would to be behind the plate at all. Holiday will most likely start the season backing up Avila but I would not be surprised if both McCann and Leyland see time in Detroit next year. The other player on the Tigers free agent list is right hand starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez. The Tigers traded top pitching prospect Jacob Turner along with catcher Rob Brantley left handed pitcher Brian Flynn and a 2013 draft pick for Sanchez and second baseman Omar Infante and I’d hate to see the Tigers give up on him so quickly. Sanchez suffered from poor run support in 2012 going 4-6 with a 3.74 ERA while giving up 31runs on 81 hits, eight homeruns, 15 walks and 57 strikeouts in 74-2/3 innings of work. That works out to three runs per game, it is not the fault of a pitcher if he gives up three runs but still loses six games and doesn’t get a decision in another two. That stat is placed squarely on the shoulders of the offense and while Sanchez struggled in the regular season he pitched well in the post season and the Tigers should make every effort to resign him. If not, then the questions become who will be the fifth starter?
The Tigers have not made any noise concerning the signing of a big name free agent pitcher so will most likely promote one of the pitchers already in the organization to take the 5th spot. That would mean Drew Smyly, Duane Below, Luis Marte or Andrew Oliver. Smyly was 4-3 with a 3.99 ERA, giving up 44 runs on 93 hits, 33 walks and 94 K’s in 99-1/3 innings, Below was 2-1 with a 3.88 ERA giving up 20 runs on 49 hits, eight walks and 29 strikeouts in 46-1/3 innings and Marte was 1-0 with a 2.82 ERA giving up seven runs on nineteen hits, nine walks and nineteen strikeouts in 22-1/3 innings. Oliver is 0-5 with a 7.11 ERA and 23 strikeouts in his Major League career. Oliver had the most promise of any of these pitchers but either he needs more seasoning in the minors or he’s a bust. The Tigers gave him multiple starts last year and not only did he not get a win but he didn’t even last six innings in any start. At various times last season both Marte and Smyly were named the fifth starter but injuries and poor pitching ended both of those experiments. The current rotation is right hander heavy while all but one of the pitchers mentioned are lefties. I think everybody would agree Detroit needs a left handed arm in the rotation so it comes down to Smyly or Below. However, if I start thinking out of the box, an argument could be made to replace Porcello, the weakest of the current starters, with Below and maybe dangle Porcello as trade bait to get a decent backup catcher. Porcello was the only starter with a losing record, 100 runs and more than three runs per start. His ERA is more than half a run higher than either Below or Smyly and he has a higher WHIP as well as striking out less per nine than either pitcher. That would give the Tigers a rotation of Justin Verlander, Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, Smyly and Below, three right handers and two lefties a much more balanced rotation then the 2012 version. If Sanchez is resigned then my idea regarding Porcello would still work, just replace Below with Sanchez. 2012 presented no matchup problems for an opposing manager because they knew no matter who was pitching it would be a righty. With my scenario, at least managers would have to put a little more thought into their batting order when facing the Tigers. This version of the rotation might even help the entire pitching staff by keeping opposing batters a bit more off balance in a series. Whatever decisions are made by Dombrowski and the coaching staff it will be a very interesting off season and a promise filled 2013.
The city of Detroit and the fans of their sports teams are hungry for a champion. The Red Wings haven’t won a Stanley Cup in four years, the Pistons haven’t won a Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy in eight years, the Tigers haven’t won a Commissioners Trophy in 28 years and the Lions haven’t won a NFL championship or a Lombardi Trophy in 55 years. It doesn’t look like it will be the Pistons year, the Lions will struggle to be .500 and the Red Wings might not even play this year unless the NHL lockout is settled soon, so the hopes of fans are pinned on the Tigers. If the Tigers come out of the gate strong fans will flock to Comerica Park in droves and stay as long as they keep winning. We saw this past October that fans will endure horrible conditions to see their team win. If Mike Ilitch, Dombrowski, Jim Leyland and his staff make the right choices and the players play well and the winds blow the Tigers way then a city in desperate need of some hope might be rewarded with the Commissioners Trophy in November 2013.
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