Detroit Tigers Links: Rick Porcello’s infielders, Casty likes to be aggressive & Ian Kinsler still stewing

Mar 31, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Rick Porcello during batting practice before an opening day baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Porcello plus iffy infield could be trouble – Christina Kahrl, ESPN

Rookie third baseman Nick Castellanos may not be that much of an improvement on Miguel Cabrera — he was moved to the outfield corners when he moved up to Double-A in 2012, and the scouting reports on his work at the hot corner have involved terms like ‘timid’ and ‘stiff.’ As a result, it shouldn’t surprise people to hear that Miguel Cabrera’s days at third base aren’t over, and that he’ll apparently play there some this season (also getting Victor Martinez some reps at first base). I guess if the standard is “we can survive with Cabrera, so…” then Castellanos will be fine by the Tigers’ standards, but we’ll if Porcello continues to be the ground-ball guy who pays a particular penalty as a result.

I’m not buying this argument. One can argue that every infield position has been upgraded except for shortstop. Casty > Miggy at third, Kinsler is a tad better defender at second than Omar Infante and Cabrera is an upgrade over Prince Fielder at first. Also, I would expect Miggy playing third and Victor Martinez catching will be mostly limited to games in National League cities.

Exhibit A came on Saturday and the defense behind Rick was flawless–behind the relievers, well that’s another story.

Nick Castellanos on baserunning gaffes: ‘It’s better to make an aggressive mistake than a timid mistake’ – James Schmehl, MLive

“It was an aggressive mistake,” Castellanos said. “You could say it’s because I’m young, but I think it’s more because I want to play hard. I wanted to score for Ian.”Castellanos attempted to return to third when he recognized the mistake, but Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, a three-time Gold Glove winner, had his throw from center cut off by first baseman Chris Davis, who made a quick toss to third for the easy out.“I told him I loved the approach he took on the bases,” manager Brad Ausmus said. “It’s just a matter of picking up his head a little earlier. That’s all it was, and that’s an easy fix.”

The Detroit Tigers have made some base running errors in the season’s first week, but they also made some errors and had some success in Spring Training. You will have the bad with the good while being aggressive. I chalk Casty’s error on Friday to a rookie mistake not aggressiveness–though he and Ausmus is not going to say that.

Time not likely to heal rift between Tigers’ Ian Kinsler, Rangers’ Jon Daniels – Tony Paul, Detroit News

“It is what it is,” Daniels told Detroit Sports 105.1. “Ian’s a guy that speaks his mind. You kind of let it roll off your back.”

May 22-25 Rangers at Tigers figures to be a hot ticket, no?