Detroit Tigers Ongoing 2016 Thread

[broncosmitty]

Didn't realize Fulmer was 23. Bout time he got around to playing in the bigs tbh.


Why is Mike Pelfrey on the roster? I'm being serious. Someone enlighten me, please.

 

[broncosmitty]

At this point, no, they aren't looking like a playoff team. Call it Dougie-level optimism, but I'm still feeling good about Verlander having a decent year. He's had 4 QS in 5 starts, and only one truly horrible outing (7 ER, 10 hits in 4.1 IP). Throw that out, and his ERA is 3.91 and his WHIP is 1.14. He hasn't walked more than 2 batters in any start, and he's struck out more than a batter an inning so far (31 in 29.2 IP), which we haven't seen in some time. There's reason to be encouraged, but we will see.

That said, they need more than even Verlander and Zimmermann in the rotation to make an impact in the ALC race.

Dude....

Throwin out bad stats to get a guy under 4....

Don't do it.

JV has looked like a guy with plenty of career left. Stats or no stats, I'll take that.

 

[Iffster]

Didn't realize Fulmer was 23. Bout time he got around to playing in the bigs tbh.


Why is Mike Pelfrey on the roster? I'm being serious. Someone enlighten me, please.

1. $16 million
2. Al Avila's ego
3. Mike Illitch's ego
4. Vicious sports writers, waiting to pounce
5. Front office has not received "OK" from Miami UM Alumnus

 

[Iffster]

Speaking of Mexico....I see that the Brewers purchased the contract of former Tiger infielder (and future All-Star), Hernan Perez, due to an injury. Hernan was labeled for greatness by a local sports guru when the Tigers traded him....but he has yet to show the superstar status The Viceroy predicted. Of course, this same baseball guru is also calling for Dixon Machado (he of the near Mendoza line at Toledo) to replace Iglesias at SS next year. So....good luck, Mr. Perez.

 

[broncosmitty]

1. $16 million
2. Al Avila's ego
3. Mike Illitch's ego
4. Vicious sports writers, waiting to pounce
5. Front office has not received "OK" from Miami UM Alumnus

Was looking for "he'll eat innings and with the injury concerns with Sanchez and Norris we'll need the veteran arm".

Cuz that's what I'm trying to convince myself of.

 

[burfboy]

Detroit Tigers
1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. J.D. Martinez, RF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Justin Upton, LF
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Mike Aviles, SS
8. Bobby Wilson, C
9. Anthony Gose, CF

Minnesota Twins
1. Danny Santana, CF
2. Brian Dozier, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, 1B
4. Miguel Sano, RF
5. Byung Ho-Park, DH
6. Oswaldo Arcia, LF
7. Eduardo Nunez, 3B
8. Eduardo Escobar, SS
9. Kurt Suzuki, C

 

[Iffster]

Was looking for "he'll eat innings and with the injury concerns with Sanchez and Norris we'll need the veteran arm".

Cuz that's what I'm trying to convince myself of.

Pelfrey the innings eater? Well? I suppose he ''could'' become that type of pitcher....the kind that could start every 5 days, give you 6 + innings and a chance at a win. But he will have to work on that 1.92 WHIP to get to that level. So far he has been lucky to keep his ERA under 5....and terribly unlucky in getting run support. He'll have to work his way UP to "Innings Eater".
As for veteran arm? Not sure a veteran arm is better than a young one, when you are considering a #5 starter.

I am sure Pelfrey will be dragged out there every fifth game until Avila/Illitch can't take it any longer and makes the call to Ausmus. (OR until Pelfrey regains his touch and pitches like...well....like the bottom of the rotation starter we hoped for??????)

 

[Iffster]

Nothing really exciting about Fulmer's first start. But it was good enough that he should have earned himself another start.
Upton with a multi-hit game. That might move the political news off the front pages.

 

[BUD]

I didn't know that KC had lost 3 in a row.. The Tigers lead MN 6-2 top 8th, Fulmer is did ok

 

[BUD]

Detroit has 3 wins in a row

They all count..

 

[Iffster]

Iffy's Three Stars of the Game:*

1. VMart (4 hits and a HR)
2. Nick Castellanos (3 hits and 3 RBI)
3. Michael Fulmer (First game - first W)

*Brought to you by: The Iffy Toy Company. Makers of the "Original" Kim Kardashian Bobble-butt toy.

 

[Lions=TeHsUcKs]

Dude VMart is mashing like he did in 2014.

 

[burfboy]

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Detroit Tigers
Jordan Zimmermann (4-0, 0.35 ERA)

Minnesota Twins
Tyler Duffey (0-0, 2.25 ERA)

GAME NOTES
--Zimmermann's season-opening scoreless streak ended at 24 1/3 innings. But he's been everything the Tigers have hoped for and more so far in his first season with the club. That nifty ERA is best in the American League among those meeting the minimum innings requirement.

 

[burfboy]

Detroit Tigers
1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. J.D. Martinez, RF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Justin Upton, LF
6. Nick Castellanos, 3B
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
8. Anthony Gose, CF
9. Jose Iglesias, SS

Minnesota Twins
1. Danny Santana, CF
2. Brian Dozier, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, DH
4. Miguel Sano, RF
5. Byung Ho Park, 1B
6. Eduardo Escobar, SS
7. Eduardo Nunez, 3B
8. Eddie Rosario, LF
9. John Ryan Murphy, C

 

[themuzzer]

KA-BOOM!!!!!! UPTON WITH A THREE RUN JACK!

 

[Iffster]

Let's see if Mr. 89 can hold a three run lead.

 

[Iffster]

Iffy's Three Stars of the Game:*

1. Zimmermann (5-0)
2. VMart (hot!)
3. Upton (3 run homer)

*Brought to you by: Brandon Inge's Cleaning Rags. "Ignore the graphics, they clean just fine."

 

[BUD]

The Tigers have won 4 in a row. KC has lost 4 in a row . The Sox have lost 2 in a row. We are in 2nd place now. Not a bad week at all

 

[burfboy]

MINNEAPOLIS -- When the Detroit Tigers score in the first inning, they win. It's as simple as that. Or at least it has been through 23 games.

The Tigers are 6-0 in games in which they score in the first inning following their 4-1 win Saturday afternoon against the Minnesota Twins.

They are just 7-10 when they don't score in the first this season.

Justin Upton hit a three-run home run off Minnesota Twins starter Tyler Duffey in the first inning to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead Saturday. Starter Jordan Zimmermann and the Tigers bullpen made that lead hold up.

The Tigers have won four in a row and five of their past six. A big reason for that success has been early scoring. They scored runs in the first inning of three of those six games after scoring runs in the first inning just three times in the first 17 games of the season.

The Tigers were 8-9 after those first 17 games. That included a stretch of 12 days (April 13-24) in which they did not score a run in the first inning.

Yes, you read that right. The Tigers played almost two weeks' worth of games -- two in Pittsburgh, three in Houston, three in Kansas City and three at home against the Cleveland Indians -- without scoring a run in the first inning.

It's ironic that Upton, hitting in the fifth spot in the lineup, blew the game open Saturday since he was one of the biggest reasons the Tigers struggled to score runs in the first inning early on.

It is common for the first inning to be the best inning for an offense. The opposing pitcher is not in a groove yet. It's the only inning in which the lineup is guaranteed to be set exactly the way a manager wants it. Teams score a lot in the first.

Want evidence? Look at the Tigers' numbers in the first inning last year:

2015
* Batting average: .305
* On-base percentage: .360
* OPS: .845
* Runs: 102 (0.63 per game)

Each of those numbers was the best that the Tigers posted in any inning over the course of the season. (The .484 slugging percentage they posted in the first was a close second to the .485 they had in the fourth inning.)

But look at the first-inning numbers this season:

2016
* Batting average: .221
* On-base percentage: .261
* OPS: .633
* Runs: 11 (0.48 per game)

Those numbers are pretty awful. That final number is skewed a bit since the Tigers have scored six runs in the first inning -- more than half their first-inning total for the season -- this weekend in the first two games of their series against the Twins.

There is a similar trend when it comes to the numbers the Tigers have posted the first trip through the lineup against an opposing starter. Here are those from 2015 and 2016:

2015
* 1st time through: .280 BA, .764 OPS
* 2nd time through: .262 BA, .717 OPS
* 3rd time through: .297 BA, .845 OPS

2016
* 1st time through: .230 BA, .629 OPS
* 2nd time through: .253 BA, .727 OPS
* 3rd time through: .350 BA, .958 OPS

Here is how some individual Tigers have fared in the first inning:

Ian Kinsler: .238 (5 for 21), 2B, BB, 5 SOs
Justin Upton: .190 (4 for 21), 2B, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs, 0 BBs, 12 SOs
Miguel Cabrera: .190 (4 for 21), HR, 3 RBIs, BB, 5 SOs
Victor Martinez: .500 (4 for 8), 2B, 1 RBI, BB, 2 SOs
J.D. Martinez: .250 (2 for 8), 2B, 2 RBIs, BB, 2 SOs
Some numbers to note there:

* The 12 strikeouts by Upton. When he was hitting second and striking out regularly, he was very often making the second out of the inning but sometimes not doing anything to advance Kinsler.

* The four RBIs by Upton. Three of those came Saturday on his home run in the first inning.

What's the takeaway here? It seems to be this: The top of the Tigers' order struggled to start the season. That led to a large number of games in which they did not score in the first inning. Now that guys like J.D. Martinez and Upton are hitting the ball better, they are scoring more first-inning runs. As a result, they are winning more games.

Kinsler, Upton and Cabrera are not going to hit from .190 to .238 in the first inning all season. They're too good to do that.

As the sample sizes grow larger and the numbers level off, the Tigers should score more first-inning runs than they did early in the season. As a result, they should win more games.

 

[burfboy]

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Detroit Tigers
Mike Pelfrey (0-4, 4.64 ERA)

Minnesota Twins
Ricky Nolasco (1-0, 3.25 ERA)