MCB Digest--Detroit Tigers Week That Was

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Inching ever closer to Spring Training, the Detroit Tigers received important updates on key injuries this week. Miguel Cabrera is unlikely to be ready before Spring Training was the big news, but the news wasn’t all bad.

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It seems that the trio of players the Tigers are counted highly upon that are coming off surgeries are on the right track. Miguel Cabrera will not be ready for the start of Spring Training, but getting his walking boot removed is a very good sign to be ready in time for Opening Day (though he will be reevaluated next month). Jose Iglesias is coming around, and running at about 80 percent with no pain. Bruce Rondon is slated to throw off the mound around six times before pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 19.

David Price and the Tigers agreed to a record-setting deal to avoid arbitration. Price will get $19.75 for the 2015 before becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. The team also reupped with J.D. Martinez and Alfredo Simon and appear to be close on Al Alburquerque.

There was also speculation late Friday that the Tigers may have interest in James Shields.

So that covers most of the news (aside from constant Max Scherzer speculation). In case you missed anything else this week (or would like to read it again), check out this week’s Best of Motor City Bengals from our talented writers.

First up, Zane Stalberg supported trading David Price and getting all the team can get from the impending free agent.

The Detroit Tigers Need to Trade David Price

In Major League Baseball, if you are in desperate need of young, controllable players, there are few better teams to turn towards than the St. Louis Cardinals. Built on strong scouting, and player development, the Cardinals have harnessed an unparalleled ability to produce homegrown talent, and stay competitive. In light of this fact, the Detroit Tigers would be foolish to pass up the opportunity to flip David Price for some of St. Louis’ young talent, and, in turn, sign Max Scherzer. According to a report from Jon Morosi, and Ken Rosenthal, of Fox Sports, the Cardinals are “pursuing a major upgrade” in their rotation, and Price is one of their top targets. In fact, he may be the most attainable option. Morosi and Rosenthal believe that Scherzer’s price tag, and Cole Hamels‘ trade value, may deter the team from acquiring either pitcher. However, with just one year left on his deal, Price will not cost them nearly as much as giving 200 million dollars to Scherzer, or parting with elite prospects for Hamels. The Tigers need to take advantage of that. Price may not land the Tigers what Hamels would land Philadelphia, but he can, without question, help Detroit add to a depleted depth of quality youth.

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Credit: Lauren, Flickr, Creative Commons http://goo.gl/xV9bqF

With the wintry conditions in Michigan this past week, it was hard to understand that Spring Training is coming.

With this in mind, Tom Zahari offered a fascinating look at five times when the Tigers played in snow games or saw games cancelled because of a late season storm.

5 Times Detroit Tigers Were Affected by Snow

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Snow has swamped the state of Michigan for the last week causing car pileups, delays, and closings. Even though baseball is played in the warmest months of the year, snow still finds its way into some games in the northern part of the country. It does not happen all that often, but the Detroit Tigers have been delayed and postponed due to snow and have played through the elements. Here are five times the Detroit Tigers were affected by snow: April 15, 2014 – Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Indians Snowed Out The most recent snow postponement for the Tigers was in 2014 against the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park. Detroit received 3.1 inches of snow that morning which was the final snow needed to break the record for most snow in one winter. The Tigers cancelled their game that night and later rescheduled the matchup as a part of a split double-header on July 29. The Tigers lost the makeup game 6-2 in Drew VerHagen’s 2014 debut with the Tigers. The winning pitcher for that game was the eventual AL Cy Young Winner, Corey Kluber. The Tigers also lost the 2nd half of the double header 5-2.

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Tuesday, Dan Byrne boiled it down to see if the 2015 Tigers have the tools to succeed.

2015 Detroit Tigers: Champs or Chumps?

Every season fans look forward to a revised roster. One that corrects the flaws of the previous season but keeps all the “good stuff” intact. Whether it plays out that way or not is what makes the season interesting, exciting or frustrating. Will the 2015 Detroit Tigers roster be strong enough to win a Championship? The roster this year will present some very pivotal contributions. The outfield should be good. Perhaps very good. It will be interesting to see if JD Martinez can continue to be a front-line player and also improve defensively with his shift to right field. If JD can muster 80% of his rate of production from last year he will make the middle of the line-up hateful for opposing pitchers. The key will be how things go in center field. Anthony Gose will be challenged to become an everyday player but I fully suspect he will fall short and the other road runner, Rajai Davis, will platoon with him. Back-up depth will likely be provided by Tyler Collins. He runs well, fields well, possesses home-run type power and can play any outfield position.

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The staff gathered together for a fun look at the lineup for this coming season. All of us played Brad Ausmus and picked our lineups.

MCB Roundtable–Possible 2015 Detroit Tigers Lineups

We are approaching Spring Training which is a good thing for a number of reasons. First, of course, its good for baseball fans’ sanity. Certainly Hot Stove action is fun and rumors are great to bandy about, but its no substitute for actual games. So to warm you up on this cold winter day and remind you that Detroit Tigers baseball is not very far away, we turn our attention to the lineup. Picking a lineup in January is akin to predicting NFL draft picks the day after the Super Bowl is over, but people write them and many many people read them. It’s good for a debate and keeps everyone engaged and excited about upcoming events. We gathered the staff of Motor City Bengals and presented them with a simple task, create your perfect Opening Day lineup. Some of us took the extra mile and sent a lineup for left and right handed pitching, but others picked what we think will offer the Tigers’ the best chance to win on a daily basis throughout the upcoming 162-game season.

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We continued our Throwback Thursday feature by remembering a volatile Tiger of the past, Tony Phillips.

#TBT Tony Phillips: A feisty and versatile Detroit Tiger

In the weeks leading up to the disastrous strike of 1994 that would wipe out the latter third of the regular season, playoffs and World Series, the Detroit Tigers hosted the Boston Red Sox at Tiger Stadium on June 8. The Tigers were in fourth-place in the five-team AL East facing their divisional rivals, the second-place Red Sox. Detroit enjoyed one of their rare victories over Boston that season and romped to a 14-5 destruction. With the game winding down in the eighth inning, and both teams going through the motions as often happens in a late-inning blowout, Tigers’ leadoff man Tony Phillips hit a sharp grounder to Boston second basemen Carlos Rodriguez that bounced off his glove into the air. Rodriguez was able grab it on the bounce and quickly throw to first, but the speedy Phillips was safe. Moments later an E appeared on the Tiger Stadium scoreboard. On his way back to the Detroit dugout, Phillips glared up into the scorer’s booth and appeared to yell “Horseshit! That’s horseshit!” This angered the official scorer so much that he went to the clubhouse to confront Phillips and a shouting match ensued.

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Blair Tatrault wrapped up our week on Friday by exploring the Tigers’ steady defense up the middle.

Detroit Tiger Defense Strong Up The Middle

Traditional baseball wisdom holds that strength up the middle is essential to a solid defense. If that’s the case, then at least as far as the center of the diamond is concerned, the Detroit Tigers will be standing on very solid ground in 2015. It starts behind the plate, where incumbent Alex Avila is expected to share time with rookie James McCann. Beyond that, the keystone combination of shortstop and second base will be handled by Jose Iglesias and Ian Kinsler, whereas newcomer Anthony Gose is expected to get most of the playing time in center. So what exactly can we expect from these players who’ll form the core of the team’s defense? Let’s take a look.

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