Detroit Tigers: Cole Hamels, Dreamy Ausmus, world’s heftiest payrolls

The Detroit Tigers have enjoyed a surprising aspect of their season, up until Thursday that is–a lockdown bullpen. Where they have struggled is in the rotation as the starters have been less than consistent.

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We even saw this with the same starter on Thursday. David Price rolled through six innings, making Houston Astros’ batters look foolish and then he hit a wall in the seventh and was responsible for three runs, which ultimately led Houston to tie it on Joakim Soria‘s first blown save of the year.

We are not used to seeing this within the same game, but are used to seeing it through the rotation with Shane Greene, Alfredo Simon and Anibal Sanchez having very good starts followed by awful starts.

So what’s the answer? Could the Tigers’ pull off a blockbuster trade that addresses the rotation like with Price a year ago? Brad Faber thinks so but do the Tigers have the pieces to win the Hamels sweepstakes? I’m not so sure.

The Tigers have hit a rather pedestrian month of May, but that doesn’t mean the team is not having fun in their off-hours. A t-shirt circulated through the clubhouse on Thursday promoting their manager, Brad Ausmus‘ “dreaminess.” Hey, if you can’t manage very well, you might as well look good while trying to do it, so kudos to Brad!

Since the Tigers lost 119 games a dozen years ago, Mike Ilitch has made it his mission to spend money in order to win a title. It has not worked out, but the bill keeps piling up. According to a report, the Tigers paid their players the 12th highest cumulative sum of any sports organization in the world.

As Jim Price would say, that deserves a wow.

Trading For Cole Hamels Could Solve Detroit Tigers’ Rotation Woes – Brad Faber, Rant Sports

"The Tigers’ minor league program may not exactly be in terrific shape, but they still have a few fairly enticing prospects, two of whom are right-handed pitcher Buck Farmer and left-handed slugging outfielder Steven Moya. Center fielder and 2014 first-round draft pick Derek Hill could be a valuable trade chip as well, even though he is off to a rather slow start in Single-A West Michigan.While it remains to be seen just how willing the Tigers are to deplete their farm system even further, it might be worth it for Hamels. One may also be inclined to argue that they should wait and see how Verlander fares upon his return prior to making a move, but it may be a bit risky to count on him returning to greatness at this point. There is also the possibility that another team could swoop in and make a move for Hamels before Verlander even returns to the mound."

Someone on the Tigers thinks manager Brad Ausmus is ‘dreamy’ – Chris Cwik, Yahoo Sports

"Ausmus, to his credit, seemed to have a pretty good sense of humor about the whole thing. He told Schmehl he might even wear one of the shirts if it leads to a winning streak.It’s not like anyone would notice, though. Who is going to look at the face on a shirt when they can stare longingly at the real thing?"

Detroit Tigers rank among world’s elite for player salaries – Bill Shea, Crain’s Detroit Business

"The Detroit Tigers are ranked 12th globally in the annual ESPN/SportingIntelligence Global Salary Survey published Wednesday.The survey ranks the world’s professional sports teams by average annual player salary, and the Tigers come in at a $6.2 million average this year on a payroll of $173.8 million."

Next: Tigers Grades: Sanchez

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