Cutter, What if any are your concerns about the pitching staff, rotation and bully, id'e love to hear your thoughts. I'm kinda concerned about the pitching from top to bottom. Worried a bit, actually.
well I got a few thoughts here, hopefully I dont babble too long here rotation 1. David Price, obviously I have zero worries here. This guy is a horse in every sense of the word, when you talk power lefties that are the best in the league he has to make anyones top 3. Sale and kershaw would be the only ones that can give him a run at that. he signed a 1 year deal so look for a very good season from him, he'll be motivated for that next contract alas Scherzer 2. Justin Verlander, hes been terrible this spring. Unfortunately I havent watched many games so far and I havent actually seen him pitch yet so its hard for me to see what the problem is. His numbers are gaudy - in a bad way that I can tell you. It is just spring training and maybe hes just working the kinks out but until I watch him pitch this year Im gonna reserve judgment 3. Anibal Sanchez, also not having a good spring and hes always someone who seems to get hurt. When hes healthy hes a top 10 pitcher in this league maybe even higher. His injuries have really hindered his progress and I think hes a tough guy who wants the ball even when hes hurt. His stuff is excellent and his composure stands out to me. He never gets rattled and does a great job of maximizing his pitches. really good at painting the corners and his teammates love him 4. Shane Greene, well all I know is he was highly regarded as a minor leaguer. The Yanks were almost always asked about him anytime trade discussions happened and they didnt want to move him. Well they finally got an offer they liked and hes here. he looks solid as far as his pitches. hits 95 on his 4 seamer and has nice secondary pitches(cutter, sinker, changeup, slider) he walks a lot of batters though so control is an issue but hes young and has a deceptive delivery. I think the upside is high here and with the right tutelage he could really suprise. jury is still out here 5 Alfredo Simon, hes big...really big, he has the stuff to be a great reliever and thats where I think he belongs but Ausmus wants him in the rotation. He doesnt dazzle with anything but hes has a very late release point which aids in his deception but also allows baserunners to get a nice headstart on him. He was a closer a few years back and did a nice job there. His fastball tops out around 93-94, has a cutter which hes starting to use more and hes finally getting away from throwing that sinker so much. I think he bacame predictable with that pitch and hitters knew it was coming. I question his stamina not his ability Bullpen, heres how I would set it up Al Al, great stuff. wicked slider but he throws it too much and as good as it is hitters are starting to sit on it. hes often hurt too due to his taxing delivery. short relief Tom Gorzellany, heres that elusive lefty weve wanted. Hes solid and will give you a nice mix to some of the hard throwers we have. Hes a vet and has good mound presence. His stuff isnt great but all you need him to be is serviceable and that he is Bruce Rondon, if he can just stay freakin healthy. I want to see what this guy can really do. he was thrwon to the wolves too early with Leyland and then got hurt last year. He reminds me of Armando Benitez. Big, strong and a cannon for an arm. I question his mental makeup, not sure if hes past his terrible time with the Tigers a couple years ago. Hes got major gas and his biggest challenge was control and developing an offspeed pitch. Very curious to see how he does this year, he could be a difference maker. Hitters are always aware of the flamethrowers in the bullie Joakim Soria, If it was me hed be the closer. Hes just solid all around. nice mix of pitches, hes very smart and is a student of the game. Hes been a great closer in the past and as long as his control problems from last year dont resurface Im saying put him in at the end of the game Jobba the Hut, great stuff terrible conditioning and gets rattled easy. Hes got great stamina for the bullie and Id use him in long relief now that Smyly is gone but Ausmus probably wont. mentally he doesnt have it, and he walks too many batters. for what their paying him though hes a bargain Joe Nathan, this guy wont get things turned around. I really believe that, hes got Chuck Knoblauchitis. The fans are in his head and he doesnt handle adversity well at all. his pitches are flat and his control is mediocre at best anymore. no way does he get a chance to close if its up to me but for 10 per, theyll keep marching him out there. look for him to be removed from the closer role by the end of May or so. and look for him to continue to pout and brood the rest of the season. this doesnt end well for him here
Good stuff, Cutter. I'm glad i asked. Maybe when the show starts for real in April, things get better, cuz if they dont, their going to rely heavily on the offense. I still think the bully once again is the big question. Some even think it's one of the worst in the AL. I hope they prove everybody wrong.
Tigers lineup: 1 Gose cf, 2 Kinsler 2b, 3 Cabrera 1b, 4 Martinez dh, 5 Cespedes lf, 6 Davis rf, 7 Perez 3b, 8 Holaday c, 9 Iglesias ss Cabrera and Martinez both in the lineup this afternoon against Miami... which features the return of Donnie Baseball.
heres how I would set the batting order 1. Kinsler, hes the most capable on the team to handle this. Hes done it for years and makes good contact and has some wheels too. the best option to set the table for this team. Gose has had a nice spring and he hes very fast but hes not a good contact hitter(altleast so far in his pro career) and putting him here would be a mistake 2. Iglesias, this is a tricky one. I dont really know what to expect from him and you want a good contact hitter in this spot. whoever bats here will see some really good pitches batting in front of Miggy. Torii was ideal here and where I think we'll miss him the most. Castellanos is an option but he swings at too much crap still, although I have a feeling Ausmus puts him here. Iglesias has the ability and can run good too, my issue is the lack of power. If your gonna see pitches having a guy that can pop 12-16 is ideal here 3. Cabrera, Triple Crown, MVP, arguably the best hitter ever - nuff said. just stay healthy Miggy 4. VMart, the consummate professional. great plate approach, excellent discipline and after Miggy will probably lead the team in walks. hes an OPS machine and doesnt waste at bats and a switch hitter to boot. Its imperative this guy stays healthy. his teammates rave about how great of a guy he is. this guy is the glue to this team 5. Cespedes, another wild card here. he has tons of ablility. power, cannon for an arm and hes in his prime. he needs to improve his approach at the plate, still swings at garbage. hes highly susceptible(like most power hitters) to the offspeed stuff. he bats with anger and I love that, has a little Sheffield in him. if he gets a hold of one - look out. he has grade A power and has strong wrists which generates tremendous bat speed. he can turn on pitches most hitters cant. rarely gets jammed and hits to all fields. he does get antsy with runners on base which will be a concern in the 5th spot. Will see plenty of pitches, expect a career year offensively 6. JD Martinez, wow what a pickup this turned out to be. hes been lights out in spring training leading the league in slugging percentage. hes ideal in this spot, decent power and batting 6th is good for a guy who doesnt have much in the way of patience. he altered his stance last year and that changed everything for him. he closed his stance and pulled his arms closer to him allowing him a bigger area to swing. he had a looping slow swing previously and dropped his elbow sapping him of valuable power and allowing pitchers to jam him inside. this kid is a real good story, seems like a great guy too. dont take your foot off the gas kid and understand at this level theres a full scouting report on you now, wont be as easy this time around 7. Castellanos, this guy is a very vanilla player to me. doesnt do anything great but wont hurt you either. still swings at way too much crap and has yet to develop into the player this team envisioned when he was ranked as our best prospect. he has decent power and speed for his size but hes still a relatively easy out to me. he does have quick wrists and does a nice job squaring up the ball. hes also very loose at the plate which is good IMO, dont missunderstand me though this guy has top level talent. Not sure whats a miss here, almost seems disinterested at times and content with where he is. I see a .270 17 75-80 type season 8. Gose,this guy will contribute waaaay more on the defensive end. his bat is light but his speed is top notch. Ill be honest I havent seen a whole lot of this guy, all I would be doing is looking up stuff to see what others say about him which defeats the purpose here. if I can get .240+ with 25-30 steals Im tickled pink 9. Avila, Ive had enough of this guy and he does nothing well anymore. hes never improved his plate approach(Im pretty sure I could get him out right now and Im 41) and just doesnt get it. hes been given countless chances and at this point Im starting to wonder how much his dad has to do with this. hes not a major league calibre player anymore and he doesnt even throw out runners anymore. you want to get this slug out its very simple. come in with 2 fastballs and throw him some offspeed garbage away, he'll be done on 3 pitches. extremely predictable and an easy out even for a pitcher with marginal ability.the only one that doesnt get it is Alex. bring on McCann bench Romine, solid defensively and sucks balls at the plate. simple as that. he can play multiple positions so that makes him worth a roster spot as a late inning defensive replacement McCann, Ive been saying this since they drafted this kid. Once he learns how to hit the sky is the limit. he has a rocket for an arm (probably the best in the minors) with decent power. good size and has vastly improved in his few years in the minors. plug him in immediately Brad Rajai Davis, hes probably more suited for the national league where pinch runners with speed are of great importance. hes got top flight speed even as he approaches his mid 30's. he can make decent contact but hes embarrasingly bad in the field hope I wasnt too long winded here
Good stuff once again, Cutter. I would swap Gose and Iglesias and then just put the hot hitter in the 2 hole after a week or two. ________________________________________________ Tigers beat Miami, 8-4 today. Holaday with a slam. That was the difference.
Great stuff again cutter. I would personally move Cespedas to the 2 spot because I'm pretty sure that's where he was at in Oakland. Move Iglesias to the 7 spot and slide JD and Cast up to 5 and 6. Swap Avila and Gose/Davis to the 9 hole to give the lineup an extra lead off guy.
Tigers 1. Rajai Davis (R) CF 2. Ian Kinsler (R) 2B 3. Miguel Cabrera (R) 1B 4. Victor Martinez (S) DH 5. J.D. Martinez (R) RF 6. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF 7. Alex Avila (L) C 8. Nick Castellanos (R) 3B 9. Jose Iglesias (R) SS Orioles 1. Manny Machado (R) 3B 2. Dariel Alvarez (R) CF 3. Jimmy Paredes (S) DH 4. Delmon Young (R) RF 5. Nolan Reimold (R) LF 6. Ryan Lavarnway (R) C 7. Christian Walker (R) 1B 8. Jayson Nix (R) 2B 9. Paul Janish (R) SS Cris Tillman vs David Price
Nathan is an idiot, if you have a cut on your finger you call the trainer out. its a damn preseason game it doesnt matter, what matters is you being 100% for the season which is right around the corner. I dont undertsand the fascination with running him out there other than their trying to justify paying this terd the exorbitant amount that they are. 9 runs in 11 innings - really?!
Detroit Tigers 1. Anthony Gose (L) CF 2. Alex Avila (L) 1B 3. J.D. Martinez (R) RF 4. Tyler Collins (L) LF 5. Nick Castellanos (R) 3B 6. Jason Krizan (L) DH 7. James McCann (R) C 8. Hernan Perez (R) 2B 9. Andrew Romine (S) SS Toronto Blue Jays 1. Jose Reyes (S) SS 2. Russell Martin (R) C 3. Jose Bautista (R) RF 4. Edwin Encarnacion (R) DH 5. Josh Donaldson (R) 3B 6. Dalton Pompey (S) CF 7. Justin Smoak (S) 1B 8. Kevin Pillar (R) LF 9. Ryan Goins (L) 2B Verlander vs Hutchison
Uh oh... Verlander leaves the game early after running to cover first. Appeared to be pointing towards his back. Sure hope he's ok.
