A.L. Central Smack 2015

[Howie115]

talk is avila will hit 2nd.. no lie.. wtf???

But Avila is a better OBP guy than Kinsler. Or than Hunter was.

Better OBP than Gose or Cespedes, too. Even with a .219 average. But I agree, even against RHPs only, he's too damn slow to hit ahead of the big RBI guys.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Back to back to back for Morales, Hosmer, and Rios...

If only they thumped in the regular season like they do in ST. Still optimistic on offense for the trio.

Also, Timmeh Collins got hurt. Finnegan may be in play to be in the BP now to be the LHP. Flynn as well if he wasn't already in consideration.

 

[Lord Scalious]

Back to back to back for Morales, Hosmer, and Rios...

If only they thumped in the regular season like they do in ST. Still optimistic on offense for the trio.

Also, Timmeh Collins got hurt. Finnegan may be in play to be in the BP now to be the LHP. Flynn as well if he wasn't already in consideration.

Didn't they hit a bunch of Homers last ST? Night and day between Cactus League and Kauffman.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Didn't they hit a bunch of Homers last ST? Night and day between Cactus League and Kauffman.

Yep, the running joke is Moustakas is the perennial MVP of the team in ST, and then takes the regular season off. Not like any of the three I listed aren't capable of doing well in Kauffman, however. Therefore, I remain somewhat optimistic.

I am just happy to see baseball is starting up again.

 

[Howie115]

Joel Hanrahan released. Never threw an inning for the Tigers. Oh well, guess not everyone bounces back from TJ surgery.

 

[GoreRush]

I'm reading all this excitement surrounding Justin Verlander and I don't get why people think Verlander will bounce back. he hasn't been good for two years, and last year he was really bad. I think he's past the point of being a good pitcher.

 

[Howie115]

I'm reading all this excitement surrounding Justin Verlander and I don't get why people think Verlander will bounce back. he hasn't been good for two years, and last year he was really bad. I think he's past the point of being a good pitcher.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but certainly not "excited". A core injury will eff with your mechanics, costing a pitcher both velocity AND location. It's certainly not unheard of for a starter to have a down year or two in their early 30s and still bounce back to have good seasons. I think the key word is "good", not "great". A 92-94 MPH fastball, with the secondary pitches Verlander has, can still be very effective. But he has to locate it well, something he didn't do enough the last two seasons (walks up, whiffs down). Will JV have the kind of outstanding seasons that his contract warrants? Probably not. But he's a big-time competitor and a hard worker, and I think he still has a few good-to-very good seasons left.

 

[navamind]

I'm reading all this excitement surrounding Justin Verlander and I don't get why people think Verlander will bounce back. he hasn't been good for two years, and last year he was really bad. I think he's past the point of being a good pitcher.

Not true. 2013 was a good year for Verlander. But there were some signs of concern (walks were up, was a lot more hittable than in previous years (granted that could be attributed to the Tigers' awful defense), declining velocity, and was kinda struggling to pitch deep into games). A 3.46 ERA (120 ERA+) with 218.1 innings is certainly good.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Well, the Twins offense came out slugging right off bat.

Of course...we have up 8 as well SMH

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Well, the Twins offense came out slugging right off bat.

Of course...we have up 8 as well SMH

I am just happy to see baseball. Good stuff.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

I am just happy to see baseball. Good stuff.

Ya I watched for a bit in between the Wild game.

Love our offense. Hoping the starters are at least somewhat improved. Didn't even see who got smacked around for us.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Infante and Timmeh having more problems with their elbows...

Colon may actually get the 2B job, jeebus. Infante's contract looks worse by the day.

 

[Erie Warrior]

Well, the Twins offense came out slugging right off bat.

Of course...we have up 8 as well SMH

What's with the gold on the Twins uni's?

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Royals sign Chris Young from the M's

 

[bksballer89]

How does Lions fans feel about Suh leaving?

 

[gvsulaker82]

Hate it, suh is a future first ballot HOF.

 

[gvsulaker82]

I think this is the year hosmer plays like a top first basemen...IM not sure moustakas will ever pan out.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Hate it, suh is a future first ballot HOF.

I am just hoping the Chiefs can hold on for dear life with Justin Houston. I would be going ballistic on Mayhew if I were a Lions fan.

 

[Howie115]

How does Lions fans feel about Suh leaving?

Optimistically, I would say the Lions had several very good defensive players last year, and if they can use that $19 million a season smartly and sign 2-3 other good defenders, the D will be okay. Maybe not Top 2 like last year, but at least Top 10.

Pessimistically, I would say Suh is the reason the other defenders looked so good last year. He's that kind of player -- attracting so much attention from O-coordinators that he makes his teammates better.

Of course, he also attracted a lot of negative attention -- from officials.