A.L. Central Discussion 2016

[MiamiVice]

Howie...my point was looking at the two teams from a spring training few point. I think you are taking the poor results of the 2015 Tigers and comparing them to the ''hope'' of the 2016 team. At this time last year, we did not know that Krol was going to be bad. And for all we know...Rondon may blow up, literally, in April.

You thought Krol was going to be good?

 

[MiamiVice]

Just having F-Rod close all year would be a blessing, because it means considerably different roles for the likes of Alex Wilson, Hardy, Verhagen and even Rondon ... roles in which I think they are better suited to succeed. If Lowe is a decent setup guy and LHP Justin Wilson is the multi-purpose guy he looks to be (actually better versus RH batters in his career), I can't see the bullpen NOT being better than last year's. Of course there are questions as to whether or not they will be GOOD ... but I'd settle for mediocre at this point.

My guess is if the Tigers are legit playoff contenders around the deadline.. they will make a trade for another back end reliever that may push f-rod out of the closer role.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

but I'd settle for mediocre at this point.

If the lineup stays healthy, average pitching could work.

 

[MiamiVice]

I am hoping Boyd lights it up in AAA and has a few decent spot starts in the MLB so he can be used as trade bait.

 

[Howie115]

Howie115 said: ↑
but I'd settle for mediocre at this point.
Click to expand...

SlinkyRedfoot said: ↑
If the lineup stays healthy, average pitching could work.

Seriously, the Tiger 'pen was so godawful last year, I'd blow a wad if they were even middle-of-the-pack in 2016.

Just having more starters go 6 innings vs. 2015 will make a HUGE difference. Besides being bad, Detroit's bullpen was way overused, too.

 

[MiamiVice]

Seriously, the Tiger 'pen was so godawful last year, I'd blow a wad if they were even middle-of-the-pack in 2016.

Yup. The Tigers pen was done the second Nathan blew out his elbow... people can say what they want... but Nathan as closer/Soria as setup would have been a much better bullpen than what they had most of last year.

 

[MiamiVice]

Like @Howie115 said... forcing guys like Alex Wilson and Rondon into roles in the back of the bullpen made the team worse. If those guys were working the 6th or 7th.. its not quite as bad... and you don't have to see Jeff Ferrell making his MLB debut and having Ausmus leave him out there for multiple innings until he gets hit around...

Speaking of that.. Hopefully Ausmus learned in the offseason how to pull a pitcher BEFORE he gives up 3 runs instead of leaving the guy out to dry all the time like he loved to do last year.

 

[MiamiVice]

I can't count how many times Ausmus used an inexperienced reliever and had him go back out for a second inning after pitching one good one.. only to have him get smacked around in the second one.

 

[Howie115]

... and you don't have to see Jeff Ferrell making his MLB debut and having Ausmus leave him out there for multiple innings until he gets hit around...

The overuse of the pen led to a lot of that. Too many games where multiple bullpen arms were unavailable due to pitching 2, 3 games in a row, thus Ausmus left the youngsters out there to die.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Just having more starters go 6 innings vs. 2015 will make a HUGE difference. Besides being bad, Detroit's bullpen was way overused, too.

Oddly enough, the Tigers got more innings per start from their rotation than the AL average.

Tigers - 5.85 INN/GS
AL Ave - 5.84 INN/GS

I think their rotation is improved, but I'm not sure how much. Even on the high end, I'm not sure it's enough to put it above average.

 

[MiamiVice]

The overuse of the pen led to a lot of that. Too many games where multiple bullpen arms were unavailable due to pitching 2, 3 games in a row, thus Ausmus left the youngsters out there to die.

I remember yelling at the TV when he did it to Jeff Ferrell a few times. The kid was destroyed mentally.. because he would come out and pitch a clean inning then Ausmus had him come back out and kept him out there until the kid was walking off the mound with his head down.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Crazy, the World Champs averaged less than 5.2 IP from their starters.

 

[MiamiVice]

Oddly enough, the Tigers got more innings per start from their rotation than the AL average.

Tigers - 5.85 INN/GS
AL Ave - 5.84 INN/GS

I think their rotation is improved, but I'm not sure how much. Even on the high end, I'm not sure it's enough to put it above average.

This has more to do with David Price and Verlander going 7 strong every start than the overall rotation. There were plenty of starts in May and June where Simon and Greene didn't get out of the 3rd.

 

[Howie115]

Oddly enough, the Tigers got more innings per start from their rotation than the AL average.

Tigers - 5.85 INN/GS
AL Ave - 5.84 INN/GS

I think their rotation is improved, but I'm not sure how much. Even on the high end, I'm not sure it's enough to put it above average.

I am really shocked at that stat. Maybe pumped up from Price's first half and Verlander's second half. But I know Sanchez went through a 12 or more game stretch before he hit the DL where he had only 1 QS. And Simon had a similar streak at the end of the year.

 

[MiamiVice]

Crazy, the World Champs averaged less than 5.2 IP from their starters.

They also had 3 relievers that could lock down the 7th, 8th, and 9th.... their margin for error was much bigger in the rotation because of that... wouldn't count on that happening every year.

 

[Howie115]

I think their rotation is improved, but I'm not sure how much. Even on the high end, I'm not sure it's enough to put it above average.

The Tiger staff was 28th in the MLB last year, and 14th in the AL. Even "average" would be a major improvement.

 

[MiamiVice]

I am really shocked at that stat. Maybe pumped up from Price's first half and Verlander's second half. But I know Sanchez went through a 12 or more game stretch before he hit the DL where he had only 1 QS. And Simon had a similar streak at the end of the year.

Simon, Sanchez (he had a decent amount of games he made it to the 7th but gave up 4+ runs), Greene, Farmer, all had a good ammount of short starts.

The fact Verlander and Price had so many 7 and 8 inning starts helps out a ton. Even Simon had a few 7+ inning starts.

 

[MiamiVice]

When you only have 1 guy out of 5 that can be counted on to get into the 7th.. you better have a good bullpen. Last year the Tigers didn't.

 

[Howie115]

The fact Verlander and Price had so many 7 and 8 inning starts helps out a ton. Even Simon had a few 7+ inning starts.

Yeah, Simon led the team in innings. He got enough 6+ starts in, for sure, even if he gave up 4 or 5 runs in the process.

 

[MiamiVice]

I wonder what the Vegas odds are on Ausmus making it through the 2016 season. I would put a little cash on the Tigers firing Ausmus at some point and bringing Loyd up from AAA to manage the rest of the season.

I doubt Ausmus is going to have much of a leash if they Tigers don't start out strong.