Final Score Tigers 12-2 over Florida Southern College. Jose Valdez hits 98 mph to go with some nasty sliders in scoreless 9th to finish off 12-2 Tigers win. Suck it, MOC's
I guess the only one that wanted give my question list was you Will, and I like your take on them but heres my thoughts on my own questions. Im gonna sprinkle in some reality to what I hope for I say hes good a few weeks into the season, maybe a month. as long as he has no setbacks from everything Ive read he'll be just fine. He is getting older and hes a big boy so keep that in mind healthy or not this guy is Mikael Samuelsson in a Tigers uni. I really like him but hes as brittle as a Saltines cracker. Ill be shoced if he makes it through the whole season. That being said hes a flamethrower(not quite as hot as my man Zumaya) but hes got plenty of gas. He could make this pen one of the best if he can play. I slot him as a spot guy in the 7th or 8th. My fingers a re crossed here it will on the basepaths and in the field but not at the plate, I really miss Austin Jackson. him and VMart were my faves and AJ is one of only a handful of guys I go out of my way to see what he did in the boxscore - and I actually watch Mariners games now if their ever on %) he will be or we will be watching from the sidelines come playoff time, hes that important - period. My guess hes gonna be good by June as far as being 100% he can I think but hes very arrogant and sensitive. If he gets off to a rocky start the natives will be restless and hes too thin skinned to handle it. he'll shut it down and collect his 10. I think last year really humbled him and were about to see what this guy is really made of. I can tell you throwing 3 pitches(2 of which are power pitches) bodes not so well for a 40 yr old reliever. Ive heard nothing of him trying to learn some different pitches, but at that age.........can he do it? Im highly skeptical absolutely not, Ausmus wont allow it and thats smart. he will be as good but you may not see him like you did a couple years ago until he gets comfortable. I dont worry in the slightest about his range. shin splints are common in basketball players, he mustve played a lot of pavement baseball when he was younger. it s very bizarre injury especially in both legs. Larry Bird had them and it really hurt his career but that was one shin - not both.....at the same time this guy is not a starter and I think you get a carbon copy of last year, he doesnt work hard enough in the offseason and it affects his stamina. this guy will be the achilles heel of this rotation, like most 5th starters are this is where we disagree Will. Simon I think will be an anchor by July but Greene is the real deal. Hes no Scherzer but hes gonna be much better than Porcello. Hes really solid and was a blue chipper for the Yanks. there was no way the rotation was gonna be better once Max left but its younger and Max wanted more $$ - I like how we came out of this to be honest. It will be a few before we can really gauge this. I can tell you Porcello will get bombed in Boston. soft throwing,sinker ball style pitchers dont work in Fenway especially with a defense thats marginal at best I have no idea here. he wont be the leader Hunter was but Im very skeptical about a repeat performance. ML pithcers are very smart and the scouting is 2nd to none, I think he has a much tougher go of it. I think where hes slotted in the lineup will play a huge part. not batting 5th will make a huge impact on a guy like him Im gonna leave this one alone, I have no idea what to expect here probably not but Ill take what I can get here, this guy is money when he pitches I hope so, Ive seen enough of Avila. if McCann can hit AT ALL hes a shoe in. Avila never corrected his terrible Craig Monroe approach to the plate and he never will. Hes not even close to McCann defensively either another big X factor. Im hoping for .280 25-30 and 100+ ribbies, all depends on where hes slotted in the lineup. He has a Marino like arm from the OF and that will be a huge upgrade. forget all the 'hes a pain in the locker room' guy, he doesnt pull any of that crap with VMart on the bench
Tigers play a real Spring game today. Game is in Lakeland and will be on radio (97.1) against the Baltimore Orioles. [h]Today's lineup and scheduled pitchers [/h] 1. Rajai Davis, RF 2. Alex Avila, C 3. Ian Kinsler, 2B 4. Yoenis Cespedes, LF 5. Nick Castellanos, 3B 6. Tyler Collins, DH 7. Jordan Lennerton, 1B 8. Andrew Romine, SS 9. Anthony Gose, CF P: Kyle Lobstein (starter) , Joe Nathan, Tom Gorzelanny, Alex Wilson, Alberto Cabrera, Luke Putkonen, Josh Zeid, Rafael Dolis
cutter, let me explain my lack of feedback on your questions. i don't follow baseball anywhere near closely enough to waste your time by answering. ps: gary > selig
honesty is always appreciated but Im sure you have some questions/thoughts on the Tigers going into the season, fire away. Id be interested to see what you have to say ps: Gary> Manfred(atleast so far) Manfred has a ways to go to catch Gary but hes off to a good start
It's over in Lakeland. Tigers beat the Birds, 15-2. Kinsler with a shot and Cespedes with a Grand Slam. Coolness eh? Tigers got good pitching too. Nice start to the Spring campaign.
Tigers back at it against the Birds again today, this time in Sarasota. Game time, 1:05. Wednesday 3/4 1:05pm Anibal Sanchez (R) @ Orioles - Kevin Gausman (R) 1. Anthony Gose (L) DH 2. Jose Iglesias (R) SS 3. J.D. Martinez (R) RF 4. Nick Castellanos (R) 3B 5. Aaron Westlake (L) 1B 6. Bryan Holaday (R) C 7. Daniel Fields (L) CF 8. Hernan Perez (R) 2B 9. Andrew Romine (S) LF Mora is available off the bench.
Will is there a way to wacth those games on cable or anything? I combed every channel to record yesterdays game and I couldnt find anything. maybe they dont do the grapefruit league games. way to go Fox Sports, Im sure everyone in Michigan was glad to see the rerun of Austin Peay and Colorado St in college basketball
that Westlake kid is a beast, too bad he has no power. He needs to make some adjustments at the plate, swings at too much crap and if your gonna go for broke atleast put one in the seats more than a handful of times a year
I made a new Tigers Radio/TV/Sced post on the Tigers Board... Here's a link - http://live4sportnetwork.com/forumlist/viewtopic.php?pid=286619#p286619
Tigers go at 1:05 p.m. today vs Atlanta in Lakeland. The game can be heard on 1270AM in the Great Lakes region. Thursday 3/5 1:05pm Alfredo Simon (R) vs. Braves - Julio Teheran (R) 1. Rajai Davis (R) CF 2. Ian Kinsler (R) 2B 3. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF 4. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 5. Tyler Collins (L) RF 6. Hernan Perez (R) SS 7. Aaron Westlake (L) 1B 8. James McCann (R) C 9. Jefry Marte (R) 3B Yoenis Cespedes was scratched from today's lineup due to lower back tightness. Moya is in for Cespedes.
