The Tigers wrapped up their third series of the season yesterday and for the third straight time, they lost the series.  And it’s just in time for the Texas Rangers to come into town and they’re only 8-1 and the defending AL champs.  Unfortunately, there’s not just one thing we can look at and say “that’s been the problem.”  On Saturday they got a really nice start from Phil Coke and the Tigers only put one run on the board.  Then on Sunday they get five runs and Rick Porcello got knocked around.  Justin Verlander has, as expected, been the most consistent starter with Max Scherzer right behind although even though Scherzer is 2-0, his numbers aren’t all that great because of the rough start against the Yankees.

The pen has also had their rough outings.  Throw in an injured Ryan Perry and Joel Zumaya and it makes for a much shorter pen then the Tigers were looking at coming into spring training.  Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde have done their job, but you’re only going to see them if the rotation and the back end of the pen does what they’re supposed to do.

On the hitting side, Miguel Cabrera has done his job and Jhonny Peralta and Brennan Boesch have been nice surprises but Magglio Ordonez and Victor Martinez have yet to heat up.  As expected, Austin Jackson has also come down to earth and he’s tied with Josh Willingham for the AL lead with 14 strikeouts.

Just looking ahead, this Rangers series is just what the Tigers don’t need.  Fortunately they’ll have Verlander and Scherzer both throwing.  Then they head out west to play the 4-5 Athletics and the 2-7  Mariners.  Those west coast series can be tough but they’re also teams the Tigers should be able to hang with.

Joel Zumaya once again ran into a wall and his throwing program has been halted.  Once again he felt some discomfort in his throwing elbow so he’ll sit for another couple of days.  Also at the bottom of the Zumaya story is some talk about Benoit and whether he’ll see more then one inning of work.  Yes, he’s had some injury concerns in the past but I also hate how bullpens are used these days.  Let’s hope that if the Tigers need that big out in the seventh, we’ll see the best pitcher in there.  It also looks like Ryan Perry will be back April 22.  Gametime is 1:05 and I wish this game were next week because I would have gone down to the ballpark.

If a guy like Brad Penny continues to struggle you wonder how long they’ll be able to keep Jacob Turner down when he pitches like this.

Ryan Perry was the latest casualty.  He wears contacts and he has an eye abrasion so he can’t put his contacts in for about a week.  That put him on the 15 day disabled list and in his place, Robbie Weinhardt got the call up.  And the bullpen needs all the help they need right now because they once again cost the Tigers in a game where they should have picked up the win.

Brad Penny got off to a nice start (two runs through five) but then ran into a walk in the sixth when he gave up a two run home run to Andruw Jones.  Brayan Villereal got the Tigers out of the sixth but then the bottom of the seventh (the Tigers had taken a 5-4 lead) was a disaster.  Brad Thomas and Enrique Gonzalez were tagged for five runs in the frame and even Dan Schlereth gave up an inherited run.  I know it’s early, but this is a bad trend because especially the Tigers back three in the rotation don’t give me a lot of confidence (right now). Knowing the pen isn’t going to be there to pick up the slack could lead to a rough April.

Brennan Boesch had another nice game with a a double, a single a run and an RBI.  Austin Jackson went two for five in his first multi-hit game of the season.  And it also looks like, at least early, his spring strikeout to walk ratio was an anomaly because he’s already struck out ten times with just three walks so far.  In fact he’s struck out at least once in all six games.  Alex Avila belted a solo shot and he walked and scored a run as well.

Today is opening day.  It’ll be the Tigers and the 4-2 Royals at 3 pm.  Max Scherzer will go up against Kyle Davies.

First off, the 1-2 start by the Tigers didn’t worry me too much.  The Yankees are still an elite team and that lineup is just brutal.  I knew we were in trouble when the pen didn’t get the job done after Justin Verlander’s solid start.  Throw in one game against a better then usual Orioles team and a lineup full of sick players and I’m not too concerned that the Tigers are 1-3.  If they start 10-20 I’ll be worried but with the Royals coming up, the Tigers can turn things around in a hurry.

A lot has been made of Alex Avila’s slow start and that continued today.  He did draw a walk, but he’s now 1 for 10 in three games.  Probably more worrisome is Magglio Ordonez, who’s one for eleven (he got his first hit today).  The slow start is one thing but the fact that his ankle is giving him some troubles are another.  This is our number three hitter and we can have him struggling for long.

Also of some concern was Brad Penny’s start on Saturday.  Yes, the Yankees are good but he had a tough time getting anyone out.  Phil Coke struggling out of the pen is also a tough sign.  He’s given up runs in each of his two appearances so it’ll be interesting to see what he can do when he pitches a little deeper into the game.

Still, a two game winning streak puts the Tigers back at .500.  And the Royals aren’t going to stick as the first place team and the Tigers are right there with the 1-3 Twins.  If this stuff continues through the end of this week though, then that will be a different story.

I heard a completely unsubstantiated rumor that Justin Verlander was okay.  In fact it doesn’t even look like he had to go see a doctor or anyone for that matter.

April Fool’s Day has become a little bit of a tradition. If you want to check out past poor attempts at humor, be sure to click here.

The Tigers lost their season opener yesterday and while Justin Verlander threw a nice game (six solid frames), he threw 30 pitches in the first inning alone and he managed through 115 pitches through six innings.  It’s not clear whether it was the early work, or whether it was the higher early pitch count in such cold weather, but there was some soreness and the Tigers aren’t taking any chances and he’ll get to visit with renowned orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews.

The pen let the Tigers down yesterday and Phil Coke’s outing was particularly troubling.  Inge didn’t help with a throwing error but Ryan Perry came in to help but even he gave up one of the inherited runners left by Coke.  The only guy to really get out of an inning unscathed was Dan Schlereth and even he threw a while pitch and let a Ryan Perry run score.

Brandon Inge was the lone Tiger with two hits. He singled and doubled.  Miguel Cabrera went one for two with a walk, an RBI and two runs.  There weren’t a lot of hitting stars with CC Sabathia on the mound and the Tigers managed just six hits in all.

As far as Verlander, let’s hope he’s okay.  How would he be able to celebrate April Fools day with a bum arm?

The Tigers kick off their regular season today in New York against the Yankees at around 1 pm.  This should be a fun pitching matchup with Justin Verlander going up against CC Sabathia.  I’ll be in the car during most of the game so I’ll be listening in but I plan on watching it tonight while I work.  This is going to be a weird season for me because I no longer have cable so I’m relying on MLB.TV, which of course blacks out the live broadcast.  I’m more of a radio guy anyway so it’s all good.  Another game I’m going to check out is Giants versus Dodgers with Tim Lincecum going up against Clayton Kershaw.  Too bad there’s no 10 pm game because it’s always neat being able to have a live game from 1 pm to 1 am.

Baseball season is here folks.  Post as a comment what you think the Tigers win total will be this year.

If the games didn’t matter before, they really don’t matter now as only one spring game separates the spring season from the regular season.   The biggest concern was Max Scherzer was pummeled by the Orioles.  It looks like Leyland left him in their to get his pitches in but when it was all said and done, Scherzer was tagged for 12 runs (three home runs) in 2 1/3 innings.  Ryan Perry struck out two in his shutout inning and Enrique Gonzalez gave up a run in 2 1/3 innings.

The Tigers did make a showing by scoring six runs in the ninth inning to make it 14-9.  Will Rhymes went three for three with a run and Brennan Boesch went three three with a solo home run and two RBIs.  Jeff Rowland only had one hit but it was a triple and he drove in three and scored.

The Tigers finish their season out this afternoon against the Yankees in Tampa. This will be a good tune up game against the team that the Tigers will face on Thursday.  Rick Porcello will go against Freddy Garcia.  If the Tigers win, it’ll give them 21 wins which would be the most amongst Grapefruit League teams.

The Tigers made their final cuts and at least for opening day, the team is set.  The Tigers kick things off Thursday afternoon against the Yankees and while I made some predictions in my Hardball Times preview, here I’m going to make some more specific predictions.

1)  This isn’t going out on a limb, but the Tigers will compete in the AL Central.  I still think on paper, they’re the third best team in the division.  I also think that’s it’s close enough though that if a couple of things go right, the Tigers can take the division.  Either way, it should be a fun three team race.  The Tigers have two series against the White Sox and one against the Twins in September so it could be a nailbiter.

2)  Brandon Inge is going to have a career year.  This is just one of those hunches.  Inge is further removed from his injuries and he had a quietly decent season last year.  I like his chances of hitting 30 home runs and topping .800 in OPS for the first time in his career.

3)  Ryan Perry will have a breakout season.  With Joel Zumaya once again on the shelf, I think this is the year Ryan Perry puts it together and shows Tigers fans why he was taken in the first round.  He didn’t have a great spring, but hopefully that just means he’ll work harder to put it all together.

4)  Austin Jackson will struggle but he’ll also make some strides to becoming a lead off hitter.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Jackson hits closer to .250 this year but I’m hoping he makes up for it with walks.  A lot of people will write his season off as a sophomore slump but I think it’s more just one year in his evolution as a lead off hitter.

5)  Whoever wins 85 games first will win the division.  I think the division winner will end up in the high 80s but this is going to be another typical season in the Central.

6)  Jacob Turner will pitch in a Tigers uniform at some point this season, most likely as a September call up.

7)  The Tigers will win 86 games and they’ll finish second place in the division.

So there you go.  Only time will tell….

You can tell the real games are close because the Tigers are pitching some guys to come to a final decision on their 25 man roster.  Adam Wilk got the nod (he’s actually fighting for one of the last spots) against the Braves yesterday and he struggled.  He did last three innings but when the dust settled, he was tagged for four runs on five hits with a strikeout.  Brayan Villerreal walked four and game up a run in an inning and two thirds while Enrique Gonzalez pitched two shutout frames.

Miguel Cabrera went two for three in the 5-3 loss.  Danny Worth singled and scored a run.

I’ve been a little bit out of it lately because of work but the Tigers made some semi-surprising cuts this past week.  Scott Sizemore was sent down to the minors so Wil Rhymes will start the season at second base.  I thought they’d try to keep both guys up while Carlos Guillen was on the disabled list.  Robbie Weinhardt was also sent down.  The Tigers have a couple of bullpen spots to fill and there’s a four way battle for the last spot on the bench between Danny Worth, Casper Wells, Brennan Boesch and Andy Dirks.

At the end of the day, a lot is made out of these last spots when usually things are shuffled a couple of weeks into the season anyway.  Still, it gives us something to talk about.

Justin Verlander was in his usual form in the Tigers 6-1 win over the Nationals.  He gave up six hits and a walk in six shutout innings with seven strikeouts in the win.  With about a week and a half left until Opening Day, Verlander will probably get one more start but he’s been sharp all spring and he sports a 0.98 ERA.  Let’s hope this carries over into the start of the season because the last few years he’s gotten off to mediocre starts.

Ryan Perry gave up a solo home run and that was the lone run the Nationals got against the Tigers.  Fu-Te Ni and Brad Thomas each threw a shutout inning a piece to close out the game.    Ni has been sharp this spring and after being mostly written off, he may have a chance to break with the team.

Don Kelly went two for four with two RBIs and a run.  Ryan Raburn went two for four with a run and a walk while Danny Worth doubled and drove in two runs.

Phil Coke gets the start this afternoon against the Astros.  He’s had a pretty good spring as well.  Brayan Villereal, Joaquin Benoit, Jose Valverde and Enrique Gonzalez are all expected to pitch.  The Tigers pitching has been getting done and their 2.68 spring ERA is best amongst American League teams.  Justin Verlander (second), Phil Coke (eighth) and Rick Porcello (tenth) are all in the Grapefruit League top ten as far as ERA.  Game time is 1:05 and you can listen in to the Astros broadcast if you have Gameday Audio.

The Tigers improved to 13-7 on the spring season with a nice win over the Nationals.  Rick Porcello threw almost five innings and he gave up just one run on five hits and a walk.  He struck out three.  Jose Valverde and Dan Schlereth threw shutout frames while Ryan Perry got into trouble and he gave up a run in the ninth.

Victor Martinez hit his first home run of the spring.  He belted a two run shot in the sixth inning.  Magglio Ordonez went two for three and Brennan Boesch went two for three with a run and an RBI.

Justin Verlander has looked good this spring and he gets the start today against the Red Sox.  The Tigers cut 18 players to their minor league camp and the most notable were Andrew Oliver and Jacob Turner.  I think this is a smart move although it wouldn’t surprise me if we see Oliver up in 2011.  Oliver will be pitching for the Hens (with Duane Below) and Turner will start the season with the SeaWolves.  Gametime is 1:05.  I’ll probably listen to this one tonight.

One bad inning by Rick Porcello cost the Tigers their ninth spring win of the season yesterday.  He gave up four runs in the second frame including a three run home run and that was the difference in the Tigers 5-3 loss.  Adam Wilk pitched two scoreless innings and both Brad Thomas and Ryan Perry pitched perfect innings to close out the game.

Andy Dirks went two for three with a walk as the Tigers leadoff man.  Ben Guez had the only extra base hit with a double.

In the spring time, no news can be bad news because if a player sits too long, their chances of playing on Opening Day diminish.  This is a problem for both Carlos Guillen and Joel Zumaya.  Guillen hasn’t played yet and Zumaya is still sitting out because of soreness in his throwing elbow.  Fortunately for Zumaya there’s no structural damage but still, the longer he sits, the liklier it’ll be he starts the season on the disabled list.

The Tigers play their first night game of the spring against the Marlins.  Justin Verlander gets the start and it’ll be fun seeing pitchers stretch themselves out longer and longer now that we’re two weeks into the exhibition season.  The Tigers have hit a road block though.  After starting 5-0, they’ve gone just 3-6 since.

The Tigers improved to 8-4 on the spring with a 2-1 win over the Mets yesterday. Brad Penny went 3 1/3 and he gave up three hits with four strikeouts in a solid start.  He still hasn’t given up an earned run this spring.  Chris Oxspring  gave up a hit and a walk in his one inning but he struck out two.  Fu-Te Ni gave up the lone run by the Mets.  He walked two and struck out one in 1 2/3 innings.

Andy Dirks was the hitting star.  He doubled, tripled and he scored both Tiger runs.  Victor Martinez drove in Dirks both times with sac. flies.  Jhonny Peralta also had a nice game with a pair of singles.

This afternoon, the Tigers face the Marlins and Max Scherzer will make his third appearance of the season.  He’s looked great this spring in his five innings of work and it’ll be interesting to see how much he gets stretched out in this start.

Sometime I find myself wandering around baseball reference and it’s always fun looking for the interesting and sometimes pointless in player splits.  I was looking at Inge’s 2010 season and here’s some interesting tidbits.

Inge was horrible on the road (.648 OPS) but pretty good in his friendly confines (.787 OPS).  Ironically, he had exactly the same number of at bats at home as he did on the road (257).

Inge played in the fewest number of games (13) but he had his best numbers in July.  He used an Austin Jackson like .441 batting average on balls in play to rack up a .937 OPS.  It’s also the only month he didn’t a home run in.

When Inge hit seventh in the lineup, he had an OPS of .764 in 265 plate appearance.  When he hit sixth (239 PA) he had an OPS of only .653.

Inge hit seven of his thirteen home runs in the final three innings of the game.

Inge had a .424 OPS against power pitchers and a .780 OPS against finesse pitchers.

 

The Tigers lost their second spring game of the season to the Braves yesterday.  The 4-3 loss went down to the wire and the Braves needed three runs in the final two innings to pull it out.  Max Scherzer was strong in his start and he gave up a hit and a walk with one strikeout in three innings.  Ryan Perry was touched up for a run in his two innings of work and Chris Oxspring took the loss because he gave up the ninth inning run.

Brennan Boesch went two for four with a solo home run.  Austin Jackson doubled, drew two walks and scored a run while Clete Thomas went one for two with a walk and an RBI.  I like where Jackson is going this year.  He’s drawn five walks in five games and he’s struck out just once.

The Tigers play the Orioles this afternoon.  Rick Porcello gets the start and Brad Thomas, Charlie Furbush, Alberto Alburquerque, Jose Valverde and Fu-Te Ni are all slated to get some time on the mound today.  The game is on the radio locally and I’ll be out and about so I’ll catch some of the game in the car.

After five straight wins to start their spring, the Tigers lost their first Grapefruit League game against the Houston Astros.  Phil Coke last three innings and while he gave up a run, he pitched a pretty strong game with four strikeouts in three innings.  Duane Below had a tough time and he gave up four runs in his two frames while Joaquin Benoit struck out one in a scoreless inning.

On the hitting side, Casper Wells went two for three with a walk, an RBI and a run.  He saw time in both left field and center while Clete Thomas doubled, drove in a run and scored one. 

Next up are the Braves and the game is on ESPN so it’s the first chance Tiger fans will get to see their team locally.  Game time is 1:05 and Max Scherzer gets the start.  Ryan Perry, Robbie Weindhardt, Brendan Wise, Adam Wilk and Alberto Alburquerque are all slated to pitch today.  Brad Penny is expected to throw a simulated game this morning and also don’t forget that single game tickets go on sale this Saturday.

The Tigers got it done for the third straight spring game yesterday as they beat the Yankees 6-2.  Justin Verlander gave up his share of baserunners (two hits, two walks) but he walked out of his two innings unscathed.  Rick Porcello struck out three in two innings and Charlie Furbush had a tough time and he gave up the lone two runs the Yankees scored.

Of course the big news was Dan Schlereth coming out of the game with a hamstring injury.  Schlereth is slated to be the primary lefty out of the pen and while right now they’re saying the injury is minor, this is definitely something to keep an eye on going forward.  Hamstring injuries have a tendency to nag for a while so hopefully they give him the adequate time to heal before bringing him back into games that don’t matter.  Of course this could create a setback in his schedule so hopefully they’ll be able to manage things.

Cale Iorg went deep with a solo shot in his only at bat. Ryan Strieby had another nice game with a single in two at bats with two RBIs and a run.  Andy Dirks went two for four with a double, a run and an RBI.

It’s the Blue Jays again and the Phillies this afternoon in some split squad action.  Jacob Turner gets the start and the Jays will throw Ricky Romero.  Brad Thomas, John Bale, Brayan Villereal and Fu-Te Ni should all see some time on the mound.  I don’t have the rundown on who’s pitching against the Phillies but if you’re an MLB.TV subscriber, this will be your first chance to see the Tigers because the Phillies are picking it up.  This is going to be the first time I try to watch a game using the iPhone app.

Pitching reigned supreme again as Detroit beat the Jays for the second straight time without giving a run.  The Tigers won 1-0 and the two teams combined for just seven hits.  Victor Martinez drove home hitting star Andy Dirks in the sixth inning with a sac. fly for the only run on either side.  Dirks went two for three and Ryan Raburn and Don Kelly each had a single.

Brad Penny struck out one and gave up a hit in his two innings of work.  Max Scherzer gave up a walk in two shutout frames while Fu-Te Ni struck out two in the eighth inning.  Joaquin Benoit was in the right place at the right time and based on when the Tigers scored their run, he picked up the win.

This afternoon the Tigers take on the Yankees. Justin Verlander gets his first start of the season.  Ryan Perry, Rick Porcello, Dan Schlereth and Charlie Furbush will all see some time on the mound.  Game time is 1:05 and it’ll be on WXYT.

Single game Tiger tickets go on sale March 5.  I need to take a look at the schedule to see what works for me.  Hoping to get down to the ballpark more then I have the past few years.

Seven Tigers pitchers held the hard hitting Blue Jays to five hits in their 4-0 win yesterday afternoon.  Phil Coke made the start and he pitched two shutout frames and he was followed by Duane Below, who pitched a pair of innings in which he gave up three hits and struck out two.  In the final four frames (a pitcher each inning), the Tigers didn’t allow a hit or a walk.

At the plate, Scott Sizemore led the way with a double, a single and two RBIs.  Austin Jackson went one for two with a walk and a run (and he didn’t strike out) while Brandon Inge doubled and drove in one.

The Jays and Tigers square off again this afternoon but this time at Joker Marchant.  Max Scherzer gets the start and we’ll also see Brad Penny, Joel Zumaya and Joaquin Benoit get some time on the mound.    If everything works out right, Miguel Cabrera should get into his first game tomorrow.

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