ICYMI: MCB Digest–Detroit Tigers Week That Was

Sep 15, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder J.D. Martinez (28) hits a RBI single in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The next morning, I discussed five second-tier Detroit Tigers (not the superstars) that need to have a solid 2015 for the team to have success.

5 Detroit Tigers that MUST succeed in 2015

"#5: J.D. Martinez What you say? J.D. Martinez shouldn’t be on this list since he had a career year in 2014! But J.D. Mart is on here for a simple reason, he needs to repeat that success. We are well aware of Martinez’s struggles with the Houston Astros, but after a slow start with Detroit he became one of the most valuable players for the team. He finished the season with a .315 average, which is astonishing considering his career batting average through his first three seasons was .255. He launched 23 homers, many of them in very clutch situations, and finished with an OPS of .912. But we understand flashes in the pan in Detroit, Brennan Boesch and Andy Dirks immediately come to mind, so J.D.’s goal for 2015 is just to keep on doing what he did last season. This is why I would advocate that, despite the presence of Yoenis Cespedes, not breaking up the 3-4-5 in the Tigers’ lineup from last season. V-Mart clearly benefited from hitting behind Miggy and J.D. Mart clearly benefited from hitting behind Victor. Why mess with success? READ MORE"

Thursday, Josh Scramlin looked at how Andrew Miller‘s career post-Detroit and Miguel Cabrera trade seemed to be on the rocks, but he turned it around and became one of the most prized free agents on the 2015 market. A player Tigers’ fans unsuccessfully pined away for…

The Fall and Rise of Andrew Miller

"It seems as though the year 2006 occurred ages ago. Looking back it was a completely different culture despite it only being a short nine years ago. George W. Bush was in his second term as Leader of the Free World, Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira was on the radio every five minutes, and people were literally trampling over one another just to purchase a Wii game console. For Detroit Tigers fans, 2006 was the year their beloved Boys of Summer went to the World Series for the first time since 1984. And due to the excitement surrounding the possibility of October glory just a mere three seasons since a 119-loss season, many forget that Detroit had super-prospect Andrew Miller in their back pocket after drafting him 6th overall in the 2006 MLB Draft. When drafted, Miller was the freshly crowned Baseball America National Player of the Year, earned for his dominance at University of North Carolina. Detroit snatched him up when given the chance and awarded him with a guaranteed 5.45 million dollars. READ MORE"