Detroit Tigers: Week 6 Heroes and Zeroes

May 12, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler (3) celebrates with teammates after his game winning RBI in the tenth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

#5 Hero: Ian Kinsler

Snipping this list down to just five Detroit Tigers’ players was a monumental task, but Ian Kinsler gets the nod in a close race between a couple of others.

Anthony Gose, who was the only hero in the tough week a few weeks back, warrants an honorable mention for seemingly always being on base, getting into scoring position and wrecking havoc on opposing pitchers’ concentration levels.

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Jose Iglesias was also a tough cut. The AL’s leading hitter had another solid week at the plate and drove in the winning run in extra innings on Saturday. In between the boredom of the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball crew, they did make an interesting point. If Iggy continues to hit like this coupled with the iconic defense he displays every day, he could enter into the AL MVP race.

Lasty, we were critical of Yoenis Cespedes last week, but he had a very productive week, earning eight hits, scoring three runs and knocking in six.

But the reason we chose Kinsler is because he helped set the table for a phenomenal week for Miguel Cabrera (who we will get to later). Had Kinsler not reached base consistently last week (.385/.414/.577 slash line), who knows if Miggy would have been as productive. He certainly would have been walked more with first base open.

Ian has also been responsible for the last two Tigers’ walkoffs this season. May 8 against Kansas City on the bunt/error walk-off and Tuesday with a game winning single to beat the Twins in 10 innings.

Kinsler is having the same level of success that he experienced in the first half of last year. With Victor Martinez still working his way out of his funk, having a solid Kinsler all season long will be key for the Tigers and very beneficial to Cabrera.

Next: Hardy Boy

Apr 26, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Blaine Hardy (65) pitches in the eighth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park. Detroit won 8-6. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

#4 Hero: Blaine Hardy 

We have discussed it a bit recently, but shockingly (other than the defense) the bullpen has been the most consistent unit for the Detroit Tigers all season long.

While the offense has surged, tanked and surged again this past week and the rotation has been nothing but inconsistent, the bullpen has actually been very reliable aside from a few hiccups along the way (though much less than we had originally thought).

In fact the Tigers have not been blown out very often this season because they have gone to the bullpen early when a starter has gotten drilled in the first few innings and the bullpen has kept them in the game.

One of the reasons for the surprising success of this unit has been Blaine Hardy, who experienced another solid week. This should not really be a surprise however as Hardy was one of the more reliable options in a bad bullpen last year.

In 2014, he sported a 2.54 ERA in 29 appearances with a WHIP of 1.38. This year those numbers are up to 3.77 and 1.40, but the high ERA has been on a steady fall in recent weeks.

Hardy appeared in three games last week, earning a hold along the way. He did allow two walks but no hits in three innings. He also fanned four batters.

The Tigers are becoming increasingly comfortable turning to Hardy no matter the situation, chewing innings in middle relief or setting the table in the sixth or seventh inning of a close game.

Next: Took a Wrong Right Turn at Alburquerque

May 14, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Al Alburquerque (62) hugs catcher Bryan Holaday (50) after the game against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Detroit won 13-1. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

#3 Hero: Al Alburquerque

We have hammered Al Alburquerque hard this season. His velocity has been down, he’s allowed a lot of homers and just does not seem right on the mound these days, but quietly he has seemed to turn things around a bit.

The nature of a reliever is you can be bad for awhile and then have a solid couple of outings before returning to what you really are, a marginal major leaguer. Al-Al has shown throughout his stint here, up until this year, that he is effective more times than not.

Weeks ago we talked about how he might have “lost it.” I don’t know if we will soon see the bad Al-Al reemerge, but like Hardy, he was very effective in whatever role the Detroit Tigers needed from him last week.

He appeared in three games, pitching three innings and earned a pair of holds. Al is still not getting the amount of strikeouts he would like (two last week), but he limited two things that have been problematic for him recently: walks and homers. He allowed just one free pass and no homers. In fact he held his opponents hitless last week.

Considering the depth of awfulness Alburquerque found himself in just a couple of weeks ago, that was a very good and encouraging week.

Next: J.D. Stands for Just Dandy

May 14, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers designated hitter J.D. Martinez (28) hits a single in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

#2 Hero: J.D. Martinez

Much like the previous post on Alburquerque, the Detroit Tigers’ 4-2 week allowed for plenty of redemptive stories, none more important than that of J.D. Martinez.

J.D. resided on this column the past two weeks as a zero although we did note in last week’s article that he did appear to be emerging from his struggles.

Emerge did he ever and Martinez seemingly made the most of the absence of Victor Martinez for much of the week by moving up in the lineup to hit directly behind Cabrera.

Motor City Bengals

His .409 average was first on the team (not counting Bryan Holaday‘s .500 in six at-bats) and he sported an OPS of 1.162.

These statistics are much more J.D. Martinez-like from a year ago than this year, but let’s remember something. Martinez was called up in late April 2014 and struggled through limited playing time. He did not get regular at-bats but he wasn’t earning more in his few chances.

Right around this time last year, Martinez really started to rake and never cooled off. Perhaps this is the case again?

As we discussed earlier with Ian Kinsler, while V-Mart works out his issues, the Tigers really need offense from other sources to have success. Kinsler fits that mold and so does J.D. Mart.

Next: Simply the Best

May 14, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera (24) hits a two run home run in the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

#1 Hero Miguel Cabrera

Could there be any other choice for this week’s honor? Not only did Miguel Cabrera hit his 400th homer of his career, putting him over Andres Galarraga for the most hit by a Venezuelan-born player, he may have also jump-started the Detroit Tigers’ slumbering lineup.

Have a week why don’t ya Miguel? Cabrera put up a slash line of .375/.464./.917 with a team-leading OPS of 1.381. He launched four big flies all coming over a three-game stretch.

I mentioned this earlier this morning in another post but I really feel it bares repeating. For those of us who suffered through the terrible age of Tigers’ baseball in the 1990’s and early 2000’s when the team tried to sell us on “sluggers” for the team being an aging Reuben Sierra, and overrated Bobby Higginson, or the one-and-done Juan Gonzalez, Miguel Cabrera is something we all dreamed of.

He’s a player that everyone in baseball talks about and wishes was on their team. He makes the team better and makes for more exciting games to watch.

It’s a privilege to watch Miggy play and to see all the accomplishments he will meet while a member of the Tigers.

Hall of Famers are a rare commodity for Detroit baseball, but it’s fun to cheer on a sure-fire guy still in the prime of his career.

Next: Tigers defensive improvements are remarkable