Detroit Tigers Links: Ausmus heads home, Team-Danny Worth vs Team-Andrew Romine & 2014 offense is rad

May 13, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus (7) during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Detroit Tigers’ Brad Ausmus eager to spend some time in New England – George Sipple, Detroit Free Press

"Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Wednesday that he planned to spend today’s off day at his home on Cape Cod. He planned to have lunch with his parents and had hoped it would be warmer for his rare in-season visit.Ausmus also has a home in Del Mar, Calif., so both coasts are covered. “I should have got one in Michigan on the lake,” he said."

Mario & Rod talked about “Boss-mus” going to one of his homes on the Tigers’ day off Thursday. They said he’s “bi-coastal.” I imagine he’ll soon become “tri-coastal” and obtain a place in Michigan as well.

Detroit Tigers Should Consider Making Danny Worth Everyday SS – Brad Faber, Rant Sports

"…the 28-year-old Worth has shown that he can in fact help the Tigers win a few games with his bat since being recalled from Triple-A Toledo on Apr. 20. In nine games, Worth is batting a very respectable .286 (6-for-21) with a double and five RBIs. He was also one of the heroes of yesterday’s 7-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, when he went 2-for-4 and drove in a key run with a squeeze bunt.Romine, on the other hand, is batting only .209 with two RBIs at the moment. He has also struck out 18 times in 67 at-bats. Although he is a switch-hitter on a team that has less than a handful of left-handed bats, it is becoming hard to see how that should give him the edge over Worth when he is batting a mere .179 from the left side of the dish. Furthermore, Worth has proven that he can be just as sound as Romine defensively, as he has committed no errors in the 53 innings he has logged as shortstop so far this season."

We are truly “fair and balanced” here at Motor City Bengals and present all sides. This is your pro-Danny Worth article and here is your pro-Andrew Romine article….

Andrew Romine brings more than solid defense to the Tigers – Catherine Slonksnis, Bless You Boys

"Romine has only been with the Tigers for a month and a half but his ability to play the position is solid. The strength of his throwing arm is a nice plus and despite learning about his team on the spot, Romine has settled in with the Tigers nicely, which doesn’t surprise Vizquel.Romine’s bat however, is about where the Tigers were expecting it to be. He’s not likely to hit home runs — in fact, in 250 MLB plate appearances Romine is yet to have one — but Ausmus doesn’t care about that. “He brings a lot when he gets on base, so if he can continue to get on base via a walk or whatever, I don’t even care if he hits home runs. Although, I’ll take them. But if he can get on base with a walk, or a hit, or even on an error, that’s great.”"

I am in the “Team Romine” camp. I think he’s done a fine job defensively. Offensively? Well, his near .200 batting average is not a good thing, but hardly unexpected. Jose Iglesias, the man he extensively replaced (ignoring the whole Alex Gonzalez debacle), wouldn’t have hit much and would have been in the lineup mostly for his defense. That said, if the Tigers are not going to use Worth more than once a week and shuttle him back to Toledo when the first opportunity arises, perhaps they should release him. He obviously has no future in the organization. Danny deserves a chance to sink or swim on a big league roster on a more full-time basis.

Detroit Tigers offense in 2014 really might be ‘better’ even if it scores fewer runs – Chris Iott, MLive

"Of course, that doesn’t mean the Tigers will score that many runs. But following the trade of Prince Fielder and the departure of Jhonny Peralta and Omar Infante in the offseason, general manager Dave Dombrowski retooled the lineup with a stress on team speed and the ability to manufacture runs. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus stressed aggressiveness on the bases from the first day of spring training."

Iott points out that the Tigers are on-track to score 792 runs this season–after 796 in 2013. His argument is very valid when you consider how they won games in Baltimore: Game 1: small ball, Game 2: clutch home runs, Game 3: station-to-station, singles and doubles. This is what makes the Tigers tough for opponents to prepare for this season–they’ll beat you different every night.