Detroit Tigers: Week 9 Heroes and Zeroes

Credit: Flickr Creative Commons, Justin Rumao https://goo.gl/hC2J5U

Are you a glass half full or a glass half empty Detroit Tigers’ fan?

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If you are a glass half full person, you are likely ecstatic over the Detroit Tigers’ two-game winning streak, but if you’re a half empty fan, you are glaring at the 2-8 over this team’s last 10 games.

The Tigers ended the week with a very encouraging pair of victories. These were encouraging for a number of reasons. They received good starting pitching (Alfredo Simon eventually settled down on Sunday), finally some meaningful hitting and showed resolve after losing an incredible heart-breaker on Friday night in which they were one out from ending their long losing streak.

The team and fans had to wait 24 hours for the streak to end as David Price put the team on his back and earned a complete game victory. The offense scored 13 runs in the last two games, which was more than they had scored in the other four games this past week.

So hopefully the lineup is coming around and it is not simply a mirage, but with a 2-4 week, there are still fewer heroes than zeroes on our list.

One player that did not make the cut on the heroes list was Tyler Collins. The utility outfielder knew he would not be receiving many at-bats when he was called up a few weeks ago, but recently has made the most of his chances, posting a .385/.429/.769 slash line over the past seven days. Because of his limited appearance he did not make the cut, but should be recognized for giving the Tigers some much needed pop off the bench.

Let’s get rolling through the slide show, starting with the first of our two heroes.

Next: The Price of Success

May 28, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher David Price (14) during batting practice before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

#5 Hero: David Price

We mentioned in our game preview before Saturday night’s game that to finally break their long, long skid they needed a gem from their ace, probably a complete game shutout given the offense’s track-record during the 8-game losing streak.

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There was no shutout, but David Price did go the distance and the offensive came alive in the surprisingly easy 7-1 victory to end the losing skid.

Price tried to be the streak stopper on May 31. He was not quite as effective, but deserved better after Joba Chamberlain allowed two of Price’s runs to score with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to turn a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 Angels’ lead and eventual win.

The left-hander may only have five wins thus far in the season, but aside from the Yankees’ game earlier this year, he puts his team in a place to win games as is attested by the Tigers’ 10-2 record during his 12 starts in 2015.

We discussed on last week’s MCB TigerTalk Podcast on whether or not David Price is an ace. I think his performance this week–and this year–has made it clear that he is an ace.

Next: Cespedes Improvement

Jun 7, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Yoenis Cespedes (52) hits an RBI single during the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox at U.S Cellular Field. Detroit won 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

#4 Hero: Yoenis Cespedes

We were particularly harsh with our criticism of Yoenis Cespedes last week in this column and our previous podcast.  While he had three homers that week for the Detroit Tigers, we were concerned that he was not able to get the big hit when it was needed.

Cespedes had another homer this week, and it was a big one. While it did not give the Tigers a lead, it came in the sixth inning while Chicago’s Jeff Samardzija was in a comfortable groove against Tigers’ hitters, something he had been able to do in his two previous starts against them this season.

With two outs and Detroit seemingly going quiet again, Yoenis hammered an opposite field homer (his first oppo of the season) and pulled the Tigers within a run. Two batters later, J.D. Martinez gave them the lead and Cespedes hit a single later in the game to pad the lead and give Detroit their second win in a row after dropping eight straight.

Although his average (.455) and OPS (1.115) will garner the headlines from last week, his five runs scored is a big number for the Tigers’ struggling offense and hopefully a nice sign of things to come.

Next: Gose of a Player

May 24, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers center fielder Anthony Gose (12) hits an RBI double in the fourth inning against the Houston Astros at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

#3 Zero: Anthony Gose

Anthony Gose has found himself on this list multiple times this year for the spark he usually gives the Detroit Tigers. When he gets on base, he causes havoc and distracts the pitcher and, more times than not, he moves to second or third after a single or walk.

But that is the problem–Gose has not been getting on base much lastly ashis strong start is beginning to fade. In 17 at-bats last week, Gose reached safely just once–not what the Tigers need. What else they don’t need is a lead-off man striking out a lot. Gose continually put the Tigers in a hole by striking out to start the game or in the face of a rally, fanning four times (meaning he is striking out 24% of the time or about one out of four at-bats, roughly once per game).

Honestly though, it should not be very surprising that Gose has struggled. After all, he is a career .247 hitter with an OPS of .655. Obviously you want more from your leadoff hitter and during the offensive cold streak extending well before the eight-game skid, the team was not getting that from Gose.

He is still a young player and very dynamic when going well. If he is going to take a step forward in his career, it can stand to be reasoned that he will take a step back from time to time.

Gose will be back–at least he had better if the Tigers have postseason aspirations.

Next: Greene's Got me Green

May 24, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez (19) reacts to a three run home run by Houston Astros left fielder Preston Tucker (20) in the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

#1 Zero: Anibal Sanchez

The Detroit Tigers have to be concerned that Anibal Sanchez is not going through a slump but something is majorly wrong with him.

Whether that be an undiagnosed injury, a mechanics flaw, telegraphing pitches, or (more dire) he has just suddenly lost it.  He is still relatively young (31), but something is just not right with Anibal this season.

Unlike Greene, however, the Tigers were counting on Sanchez to be a horse this season. With Greene, you thought you were getting a decent starter but he was just a rookie last year for the New York Yankees, so he could really go either way this year. Unfortunately he has struggled.

But Sanchez was counted on to be a reliable #3 guy and his importance was ratcheted up with the departure of Max Scherzer and the Spring Training injury of Justin Verlander. He has failed to live up to any expectations the Tigers have had for him this year.

After an encouraging outing in Anaheim two weeks ago when he allowed just two runs but received no run support in a 2-0 loss, he, like Greene’s start, put the Tigers’ anemic offense in an early hole after allowing four runs by the third inning. The Tigers could only muster one run, in the bottom of the ninth to avoid the shutout, so he probably would have lost that game too, but it might have been a different story if it was 0-0 or a 1-0 deficit in the middle innings.

Sanchez starts the Cubs’ series Tuesday night. Which Anibal will we get?

Next: Tigers getting healthy at right time