HHS: Autin: Miguel Cabrera to the max

Baseball Fates, please note (please?): I’m just playing around here! None of these things will actually come to pass; it’s just a way of expressing how hot he’s been so far.

Miguel Cabrera finished Thursday’s game #45 with a .391 BA, .701 slugging, 1.168 OPS, 14 HRs, 55 RBI, 39 Runs, 72 hits, 129 total bases, and an OPS+ well north of 200.

The projection multiplier from 45 to 162 is 3.6, so….

  Heads up, Hack? Bourn’s gift to Miggy (plus Thursday’s daily dinger) put him on a pace of 202 RBI.
  You, too, Babe? Cabrera’s on pace for 464 Total Bases. Ruth’s 1921 record is 457.
  The last qualified season of .680+ slugging: Bonds, 2004. Same goes for OPS of 1.120 or better or OPS+ of 200 or more.
  Last with 250+ hits: Ichiro, 2004, record 262 hits. Cabrera’s pace is 259 hits, which would be #2.
  Last with .380+ BA: Gwynn, 1994. Last in a full season: Brett, 1980. But Brett also played just 117 games that year. The last to hit .380 with 500+ ABs: Carew, 1977.
  Besides Ruth ’21, the only guy with 450+ Total Bases was Hornsby, 1922 (450 even). Last with 400+ Total Bases: Sosa, 2001.
  Cabrera’s batting .391 with a 50-HR pace. No one ever has batted .380+ with 45+ HRs. The most HRs with a .380+ BA is 42 by Hornsby ’22 (.402 BA). The highest BA with 45+ HRs is .378, by Ruth in ’21 (59 HRs) and in ’24 (46 HRs); Ruth is also #3 (.376, 54 HRs in 1920), and tied for #4 (.373, 46 HRs in ’31) along with Gehrig (.373, 47 HRs in ’27).

Cabrera over Detroit’s last 162 regular-season games (161 G for Cabrera):

  .355 BA, 1.092 OPS, 50 HRs, 159 RBI, 125 Runs, 222 Hits, 419 Total Bases, 97 strikeouts.

Thanks to Carlos.

Leyland breaks his own rule, lets Verlander get win after delay

Must…let…him…tie…Bob…Purkey…in…career…wins…at…all…cost…...

Wednesday, though, Leyland got a little sentimental. After a 65-minute stoppage in the fifth inning, he let Justin Verlander go back into the game and get the two outs he needed to pick up the victory.

“Since I got here in 2006, that guy has been our horse, and tonight was a reward for that,” Leyland told FOX Sports Detroit’s Shannon Hogan after Detroit’s 11-7 win over the Indians. “I stretched it for five minutes because of what he’s done for us. I wouldn’t have gone 15 or 20 minutes, but I gave him five. Thank heavens it worked out.”

The decision wasn’t as easy as it sounds. While Verlander is considered one of the best starters in baseball, he’s been in a rare slump. He came into the game coming off two bad losses — allowing 11 runs in 7 2/3 innings — and was struggling again against Cleveland. He allowed single runs in each of the first two innings, then gave up a two-run homer to Carlos Santana just before the delay.

Leyland, though, thought he understood the problem.

“I think I’m right on this one,” he said. “He was a little jittery in the first couple innings after what’s happened to him, and then he got into a great rhythm in the third and fourth. In the fifth, he was trying to beat the Indians and trying to beat the rain and beat the umpires and get everything done before they pulled the tarp. He just started rushing everything and they got him.”

...Verlander used his best skills of persuasion to get the last two outs, and may have even resorted to simple bribery.

“I was lobbying him, but when it got to be close to an hour, I knew I was running out of time,” he said. “I might owe him a sleeve of golf balls. Or a dozen golf balls. Maybe a case of golf balls.”

Barry Bonds: Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera ‘the best’ ... but not better than me

Seems as if The Barry Bonds Family Foundation has welcomed a new member.

“I don’t try to compare me to anybody,’’ Bonds said. “I was the best on the field. I did more things than he did. My game was different than his game. So comparing him, to me, there’s no comparison.

“He doesn’t have my MVPs. He doesn’t have my numbers. Well, not yet, anyways.

“But does he have that ability? Yes, he does.

“Does he have that gift? Yes, he does.’‘

...“Winning a Triple Crown is amazing to me,’’ Bonds said. “I tried to win a Triple Crown, and couldn’t do it. I tried to do it, I really did, but I had guys like Tony Gwynn in the way.

“So it’s amazing to see him do it once. But to see him do it again, wow, that would really throw me off the charts.

“I couldn’t do it once, and then to see him to do it twice, now that would be shocking.

“Absolutely shocking.’‘

...“You guys can analyze it all you want,’’ Bonds says, “but his hands aren’t quicker than anybody else, or anything else like that. He’s just smarter than anybody else. He knows what he has to do, and can recognize pitches better than anyone.

“People don’t realize he’s the same person he was last year, and the year before that, but he’s got that experience now. It’s hard to explain, but what he does is minimize what a lot of people pile up on themselves. He puts it in a compartment, and utilizes it to the best of ability.

“Without giving you too much information about hitting, that’s what he does.

“It’s no different than Tiger [Woods] on the golf course. Or Michael Jordan on the basketball court. Or Muhammad Ali in the ring. They have that gift too. Ken Griffey Jr. had it better than anybody, but injuries got to him. Same with Alex Rodriguez.

“There are other athletes that have it too, but where they go with it, that’s up to them..

“I wasn’t the best at that part, but I was the best on the field.

“Cabrera is doing it all, as well as anybody I’ve ever seen.’‘

Justice: 3-homer effort puts Miguel Cabrera ahead of pace from MVP 2012 season

If you wondered what Cabrera would do for an encore after winning the Triple Crown, he’s sailing along. His batting average is 83 points higher than it was at this time last season. He also has three home runs and 13 RBIs more than he did after 42 games last season.

...For his part, Cabrera seemed almost embarrassed by the attention. He said he took no joy from doing great things in a loss. He also said that any talk of comparing him to the all-time greats is premature.

“It’s too soon to say that,” Cabrera said. “There are a lot of great players that have played this game. I respect them. Guys have gotten 3,000 hits and had 500 home runs. You have to give respect to guys who’ve already done it. It’s a long way to go to say that about me.”

Still, even Cabrera acknowledged he was in a nice little comfort zone. The Tigers lost three out of four to the Rangers, but Cabrera went 9-for-17 and raised his batting average 18 points from .369.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” Cabrera said. “When you’re feeling good, you’ve got to keep going.”

Thanks to GH

Holmes: Where does Miguel Cabrera rank among Tiger greats?

Bah! No mention of Em Lindbeck...he was an on-base machine (.000/.500/.000)!

However, and I know this will irk the legion of Kaline fans out there, Cabrera is a better hitter than #6. He has more power, he pulls the ball better, he goes to the opposite field better, and he is a better RBI man than Al was. It’s not a knock on Kaline, because Cabrera is one of the best hitters to ever play the game. He has a career .320 batting average and his slugging marks are among the best of the last 25 years. Kaline had 3-4 seasons that were really good, but he was always getting hurt for three or four or five weeks a season, which kept his numbers down a bit. Cabrera has missed a grand total of 18 games in his six seasons as a Tiger. He’s in the lineup every day mashing.

The Tigers have several other Hall of Fame greats who starred in their lineup: Charlie Gehringer, Sam Crawford, Harry Heilmann, and George Kell among them. But Cabrera has already established himself as a better offensive player than those fellas. Which is why it’s a dead-certain lock that Miguel will have his mug on a plaque in Cooperstown some day.

There’s one more player I’d put ahead of Cabby as of now, and he’s the former Tiger who is most similar to the current Detroit star. Hank Greenberg was a powerful slugger who played first base, hit mammoth home runs, and drive in runs like it was a bodily function. What matches him well with Cabrera is the fact that Hank also hit for a high average. Baseball history has been filled with sluggers who could smack home runs and drive in runs. But the ability to do that and also hit for a high average is rare. Very rare. That’s why there have been so few Triple Crown winners. That’s why the list of guys who have even won an unnatural Triple Crown (led the league in HR, RBI, batting at any time in their career) is short too.

Given his fantastic season so far and his stellar career numbers to this point, Miguel Cabrera is already one of the four greatest Tigers to ever wear the uniform. Give him another 5-6 seasons and he’ll move up that list.

Schoenfield: Ten awesome things about Miguel Cabrera

7. OK, where does Cabrera rank among all-time right-handed batters?

Right now he’s playing his age-30 season. He has 327 home runs, which ranks 11th—more than Willie Mays had through age 30 but fewer than Andruw Jones or Juan Gonzalez. He’s fifth in RBIs, behind only Jimmie Foxx, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Hank Aaron, and is a good bet to pass Aaron and maybe Pujols (70 behind).

8. Those are old-school stats. What about some of your fancy sabermetric stuff?

OK, let’s look at OPS+ from Baseball-Reference.com—a player’s on-base plus slugging percentage, but adjusted for park and era. Cabrera doesn’t fare quite as well there, with an OPS+ of 152, 16th-best since 1901, and behind Frank Thomas, Pujols, Jeff Bagwell, Ramirez and Mike Piazza, among more recent players (although better than A-Rod). Remember, the early part of Cabrera’s career still came in the high-scoring period, which really didn’t end until about 2008, when offensive numbers started dropping.

Using the wRC+ stat from FanGraphs, Cabrera ranks 19th among right-handed batters since 1901.

This makes Cabrera elite, but not necessarily a more valuable hitter than others we’ve seen in the past two decades. He can’t match the on-base percentage that Thomas (.443) or Pujols (.426) posted through age 30, for example. (Cabrera is at .396). Even compared to Ramirez, Miggy’s career-best slugging percentages have been .622 and .606 while Manny had seasons of .697, .663, .647 and .609 through age 30, plus three more above .600 after turning 30.

Thanks to Jed.

FCP: Armida: Detroit’s Strikeout Defense

Team Putkonen on!

The blueprint has worked once again. Cabrera and Fielder are putting up another elite season. Hunter is thriving, Austin Jackson is still getting on base at a .350 rate, and the supporting cast of Andy Dirks, Omar Infante, and Jhonny Peralta are performing well. The offense ranks in the top four in every offensive category. They are doing so while Victor Martinez continues to shake the rust after a year layoff.

The Tigers are not without their flaws. Defensively, they rank just 13th according to DRS and 12th according to UZR. While defensive metrics still lack complete clarity–especially in the early part of the season–, there is no mistaking that the Detroit Tigers are a poor defensive club. It is a defense that would have the potential to submarine the quality pitching staff had Dombrowski not built the pitching staff in the manner that he assembled it. Because the Tigers have a rotation that leads all of Baseball in strikeouts, the lone flaw is mitigated.

The starting rotation leads the American league with a 25.5% strikeout rate. While the Red Sox and Rangers’ rotations are close, the rest of the League is more than 4% lower than the Tigers when it comes to strikeouts. The impact of this statistic is rather obvious. Because the Tigers strike out more batters, there are less balls put into play, leaving the lackluster defense to handle less plays than most other teams. Adding to the brilliance, Tigers starters walk just 5.8 percent of batters, the third lowest total in the American League. With an outstanding offense and a strikeout staff, the Tigers are not only built to win for 162, but for the playoffs as well.

...Strikeouts are up in Major League Baseball in general, but the Detroit Tigers’ increase in strikeouts is even more than the league increase. The staff limits baserunners, doesn’t give up many home runs, isn’t overworked, and doesn’t rely on its defense as much as a typical staff. Run prevention in Detroit comes from missing bats. So far, they are executing perfectly. And, there there is every reason to believe they can keep this up for the entire season. To the rest of the division, that’s a scary thought.

Mensching: Do-it-all Don Kelly more valuable than many Tigers fans believe

Overreaching the Kelly criterion…

Kelly is now hitting .192.

What kind of idiot defends a guy hitting .192?

One that acknowledges he is the 25th man on the roster and has accounted for just about 2.7 percent of the team’s plate appearances, that’s who.

What the well-paid stars of the team do — or don’t do — on a day-to-day basis matters far more than what Kelly does.

Here’s what Kelly does, exactly: play first base. And second, and third, and he’s even played shortstop before, though that came during his time with the Pirates.

He plays left field, and right field, and can even spend time in center field.

In a pinch he’s an emergency catcher.

Being able to play a position isn’t enough, of course. This isn’t a video game. You can’t just put the fat guy at shortstop to see what happens.

What makes Kelly useful is that he does all this at capable levels. His running catch in the ninth inning Sunday against the Braves that likely saved two runs is just one recent example.

Would Matt Tuiasosopo or Dirks have gotten to it? Maybe, but there’s no guarantee.

You can make an argument using advanced fielding statistics that shows Kelly to be an above-average outfielder, especially in left, and at worst a neutral infielder at third.

But when the statistics and the eye test agree, you probably don’t need to worry about it.

GIF: Victor Martinez concedes getting thrown out at home

I haven’t seen a Victor mail it in this bad since Victor Mature in “Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood”.

With two outs in the bottom of the third in Detroit, Tigers infielder Jhonny Peralta sent a line drive single to right field, scoring Prince Fielder from third. Victor Martinez—who had previously doubled—attempted to score from second on the play.

The problem here was three-fold:

1. Martinez was already slow.
2. He’s a season removed from having his ACL (knee) repaired.
3. Royals right fielder Jeff Francoeur sports one of baseball’s most lethal throwing arms.

The result was predictable, but it’s worthy of GIFdom due to the hilarious manner in which Martinez conceded that he’d been hosed—he never even tried to touch to home plate, instead electing to head straight to the Tigers’ dugout and be called out due to leaving the baseline.

Betzold: Why are the Tigers resting at .500 and where will they go from here?

I didn’t mention Rod Allen’s recent riff of “you don’t need range to have a good defense.”...because my Glasgow Coma Scale numbers hadn’t come in yet.

The Tigers’ few overall weaknesses — an unimpressive bench, shaky infield defense on the right side — shouldn’t be fatal over the course of a long season. But in the first month of this season, the bullpen has been a shambles. And that is a major dilemma.

I’ll pass over the glaring lack of infield range (particularly the gaping gap between an immobile third baseman and another third baseman who’s playing shortstop) with a smirk at Rod Allen’s recent on-air remark that “you don’t need range to have a good defense.” Allen must be one of the few remaining baseball commentators who think that fielding percentage is the hallmark of defensive prowess rather than an indicator that fielders are failing to get to many hit balls. And I’ll agree that Miguel Cabrera’s offense far outweighs the runs he gives away at third base (but his defense should have been a bigger factor in last year’s MVP vote).

...It may be that the skipper’s bullpen tactics have been dictated more by necessity than anything, like when Rick Porcello came into a blowout to pitch two innings of relief and give the relievers a rest. That harkened back to the way fifth starters used to be used. And it makes me ask: with their four solid starters, why don’t the Tigers keep those four on a strict rotation, with four days’ rest between each start whenever possible, and use both Porcello and Drew Smyly as swingmen? Each could be an irregular fifth starter and available from time to time as a long reliever. Leyland is halfway to this solution already. Take the next step, and try to use the Big Four as often as possible on regular rest, with Porcello and Smyly filling in as starters and providing more bullpen options.

...The big question for the Tigers is not so much on the field but with their manager. Can Leyland find a plausible end-of-game strategy? Can he stop overusing marginal major leaguers Don Kelly and Matt Tuiasosopo? Can he somehow talk Martinez into being VMart again? This pennant is his to lose: he’s got the horses, and it now just depends on how he handles the reins.

Tigers 2, Mariners 1: Pitchers’ duel ends in 14th, masterful Scherzer strikes out 12

AL SO/9 is now up to 7.6. Ho-hum…K’s are becoming the HR’s of the 90’s.

The Detroit Tigers needed 14 innings, 19 strikeouts, eight pitchers and ended the game by throwing out a runner at the plate, all in order to beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1. The two teams combined for 40 strikeouts (Mariners 19, Tigers 21), the second-highest single game total of all time.

Neither starting pitcher was eligible for a decision, but Max Scherzer and Felix Hernandez deserved better. Scherzer and Hernandez dueled for eight innings, each allowing just one run and striking out 12.

Then, our worst fear. An extra base hit! NO!

Ackley lined a double off the wall in right. Smoak was going to try and score, no matter what, and was waved around. Hunter flagged down the ball, and overthrew Infante. But he hit the second cut-off man, Fielder, who fired to Pena, who was slightly up the third base line.

Smoak was going to be out by ten feet, so he lowered his shoulder and tried to run through Pena.

The Tigers’ backup catcher had his bell rung in a huge collision…but he held onto the ball like all of our lives depended upon it.

At 2:38 AM, the marathon came to an end, the Tigers finally winning 2-1.

CAPUTO: Can Detroit Tigers compete with Murderers’ Row

Bengough home!

Baseball has had its share of great lineups. Is the Tigers’ current batting order next?

It may not be far-fetched.

...After a dozen games this season, the Tigers have a long way to go to be mentioned in the same breath with “Murder’s Row” and the “Big Red Machine.”

Yet, it does appear the Tigers have put together one of the most formidable lineups in recent baseball history.

The Tigers’ team batting average is .307 - 30 points better than the next best team (Colorado) though Sunday. The major league average is .250. The Tigers’ on-base percentage is .367 - 18 points higher than the next best team (the New York Mets). The Tigers are in the top five in runs scored and OPS. Their power numbers are average, but who doesn’t believe that will change as the whether warms?

...Left fielder Andy Dirks might perceived as the weak link in the lineup, until it is considered he batted .322 last season with an .857 OPS. Dirks, over three seasons, has had roughly a full 162 games of plate appearances in the major leagues (618 and 564 at bats). He is a .287 hitter with 15 home runs and 67 RBI and a .778 OPS. Not exactly a weak link on most clubs. On some, he might be hitting third.

This Tigers’ lineup is capable of true greatness, perhaps setting the measure for its generation.

Lowe: Could Tigers be first team since 1894 Phillies to have more than one .400 hitter?

“I hopped on Baseball-Reference.com” Obviously, Lowe hopped up on something…

I got on the scent of this question during Wednesday’s game between the Tigers and Blue Jays. Miguel Cabrera singled in the first inning, giving the Tigers two .400 hitters on the young season, Cabrera and Torii Hunter.

I hopped on Baseball-Reference.com and learned that the only team to have more than one .400 hitter was the Philadelphia Phillies of 1894. They had three players bat at least .400: the starting outfield of Sam Thompson, Ed Delahanty and Billy Hamilton.

None won the batting title. Boston’s Hugh Duffy established that season what remains the highest single-season average in major league history. Duffy’s mark for 1894 was listed for decades at .438, but the scrupulous Baseball-Reference.com now lists it at .440.

I was eager to know why the 1894 season produced all those .400 hitters, and why the Phillies had three. So I called the library at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Within a few moments, I was speaking with Tom Shieber, the Senior Curator of the Hall of Fame. He cited one immediate reason for all that .400 hitting in 1894: It was the second season since the pitcher had been moved 10 feet farther away from the batter, to the current 60 feet, 6 inches.

...More runs would seem to mean more hits. Maybe one or more of those .400 hitters on the 1894 Phillies was able to hit .400 because he played the final few months in one or two parks below major league standards, and which favored hitters to an unfair extent.

Shieber said day-by-day individual records for players don’t go back to 1894. We don’t know if those trio of .400 hitters were hitting below .400 when the fire occurred, then raised their averages above .400 at the temporary parks.

This might sound frustrating. I find it refreshing. In modern baseball, we know everything down to the decimal point. I love a mystery.

Buzzfeed: A Star College Quarterback Couldn’t Throw a Baseball to a Catcher.

This week [Robinson] received the honor of throwing out the first pitch at a Detroit Tigers game. No problem, right? He’s a quarterback. There job is to throw passes. Piece of cake, right? Right? RIGHT?!

Baseball IS harder than football!

The Baseball Show with Rany and Joe - 4/2/13

Now sponsored by Baseball-Reference.com’s Play Index!

- Joe is a character in the new MLB: The Show video game.  (So is Aaron Gleeman, BTW.)  Since Joe isn’t a video game player, he doesn’t really know the details, but he’s happy.

- Playoff predictions:
Rany: TOR, DET, LAA, TB (wild card), TEX (wild card), WAS, CIN, ARI, ATL (wild card), STL (wild card); play-ins: TB d. TEX, ATL d. STL; World Series: WAS d. TOR
Joe: TB, DET, TEX, TOR (wild card), LAA (wild card), WAS, CIN, SD, SF (wild card), ATL (wild card); play-ins: TOR d. LAA, ATL d. SF; LCS: TB d. TEX, WAS d. CIN; World Series: WAS d. TB

- Award predictions:
AL MVP: Rany: Mike Trout (LAA), Joe: Evan Longoria (TB)
AL Cy: Rany: Justin Verlander (DET), Joe: Felix Hernandez (SEA)
AL Rookie: Rany & Joe: Wil Myers (TB)
AL Manager: Rany: Jim Leyland (DET), Joe: Joe Maddon (TB)
NL MVP: Rany: Joey Votto (CIN), Joe: Bryce Harper (WAS)
NL Cy: Rany & Joe: Stephen Strasburg (WAS)
NL Rookie: Rany: Julio Teheran (ATL), Joe: Kolten Wong (STL)
NL Manager: Rany: Davey Johnson (WAS), Joe: Bud Black (SD)

Joe sings an Animotion parody.

- Justin Verlander extension: Joe doesn’t like it because in the two years between now and the time the extension kicks in, there’s too much risk of injury.  He likes the Adam Wainwright extension better because it’s only one year forward.  Rany speculates that Verlander’s ability to “dial it up” within a game indicates that he isn’t a “max effort” pitcher and thus is less likely to be injured.  Joe thinks that makes a lot of sense, but points out that there have been logical arguments why previous pitchers with solid health records would keep it up, yet they then proceeded to get hurt anyway.  Joe compares late-era Bill James to late-era Gary Busey.

- Buster Posey extension: Joe thinks that the Giants “bought high” on Posey, paying him as if he will consistently repeat 2012, which is very unlikely.  Rany thinks Posey is worth the money - “given where offensive numbers have dropped, [Posey] is very, very close to Mike Piazza as a hitter, and better as a catcher.”  Joe clarifies that he likes it better than the Verlander deal, but does feel that the Giants overpaid.

- Ned Yost’s managing: Joe criticizes Yost’s decision not to pinch-hit George Kottaras for Jeff Francoeur against closer Addison Reed on Opening Day.  Rany doesn’t like it either, but points out that most current managers also wouldn’t have pinch-hit with their sole backup catcher.  Rany: “The state of managing in baseball, overall, generally sucks.”

Detroit Tigers Max Scherzer pitches - ESPN

Depression is serious. Hopefully someone suffering from the illness will be helped by the Scherzers sharing their story.

Detroit Tigers sign relief pitcher Jose Valverde to minor-league contract

Reunited and it feels so good….

- Jose Valverde has signed a minor-league contract—with no major-league commitment from the Detroit Tigers—general manager Dave Dombrowski announced late this morning.
Valverde will report to extended spring training in Lakeland and face some hitters before joining Triple-A Toledo.

Tigers scouts watched Valverde pitch Saturday during a workout in the Dominican Republic. Dombrowski said Valverde is in excellent shape and threw his splitter, a pitch he got away from last season, during the workout.

Denny McLain: Thank God Opening Day Has Arrived!

Not even the eggheads at Government Code and Cipher School at Bletchley Park can figure out what Denny McLain is talking about on Facebook.

One great benefit that we have is that we are a “lock” to win our division; there are no significant teams in our division. KC, Minnesota, Chicago and Cleveland.

Is there one of those teams that could be 500 this year, of course not…..so all we do to do is coast, get ready for playoffs now, we actually could be getting ready already for the playoffs. I’m not kidding, that is how brutal our division is at this moment.

Don Kelly

Our announcers were talking about the great change in Don Kelly, he will probably never be a starter in the major leagues, he’s going to have to work like hell to get the number of years required to be a member of the pension that’s just because Don Kelly is now hitting with a shorter version of his long swing huh?

Don Kelly has never received this much airtime in his entire career, guys pick it up on the broadcasts, do some Jimmy Northrup, tell the stories, get excited, and explain the situations, Don Kelly is a great guy, but his career so far is a hair more exciting than warm milk.

Does that mean that Don Kelly is going to hit .350 or .340 or .330…NOT!! Don Kelly is reliable defensively, there are others on teams that are reliable defensively, I suggest to you what we will wind up needing is runs. What wins ball games is also good defense, in a lot of games the ability to hit and run, the ability to bunt at the appropriate times, those things make up a ball game today.

...Houston’ Manager said this: “When we get on the baseball field with whomever the opponent is, they are not sitting there saying: `Well, their players make more money than us so therefore you’re deemed a winner and we’re deemed a loser.’”

This is true. It’s also true that Houston could lose 110 games this year. But Houston sucks big time!

Pray For The Tigers At Special Service Tonight

Fr. Steven J. Kelly is holding his annual “Pray Here for the Tigers” service at 6 p.m.

They’re praying for everyone from the players, to the vendors, to the owners, to the fans.

“ With a couple of hymns, a couple of readings — the service will last about 25 minutes and it’s open to the public. Kelly said it’s a fun service that ends with a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

But, does God really care about the Tigers?

Kelly said he hopes God cares more about them than the Yankees.

Wait…I thought God cared more about the weak?

Flashback, 1960: When Jerry Reinsdorf Played Softball, He Played For Keeps

The King and his Court-ing Hank Greenberg.

The student nine was ahead, looking like it had the chance to notch its first victory over the faculty in years, when the plot thickened. The faculty called time out and appointed Greenberg honorary dean for the day, a move that made him a de facto member of its side and sent the man with the .313 career batting average, 331 home runs and 1,276 RBI to bat.

Reinsdorf, who had anticipated the faculty would pull some such underhanded stunt, countered by summoning a girl to pitch and surreptitiuosly slipping her a ball stuffed with cotton. He figured Greenberg would not be able to give the truly soft ball much of a ride. But the former Tiger slugger clobbered the first pitch and knocked the stuffing out of the ball, which landed foul, so the girl had to deliver a regulation 16” softball. Greenberg drove her next pitch “as far as you could and still stay in the park,” Reinsdorf says. “We had a guy stationed in the outfield about 800 miles away who caught it.”

The next time up with runners on base and the students clinging to a one-run lead, Greenberg slashed a drive that the shortstop tried—unsuccessfully—to field. “It nearly took the hand off the shortstop,” Reinsdorf says.

Greenberg’s hit drove in two runs that put the faculty ahead. The law school’s permanent dean promptly declared the game over, preserving the faculty’s winning streak. “Cheaters,” Reinsdorf says. “I thought for sure we were going to beat them.”

Reinsdorf didn’t see Greenberg again until an old-timers game at Comiskey Park the day before the 1983 All-Star Game. By then the owner of the White Sox himself, Reinsdorf ran into Greenberg in the dugout. Twenty-three years later, the ump who had produced the game-winning hit still remembered the softball tilt. That pleased Reinsdorf, who was finally able to accept the loss.

NY Times: Modern Stats Bring WAR to Broadcast Booth (B.A.B.I.P., Too)

As players, managers and front office executives embrace the esoteric statistics, teams increasingly want their radio announcers just as fluent in the language of WAR, VORP and B.A.B.I.P. (Those stand for wins above replacement, value over replacement player and batting average on balls in play, for those of you dusting off your radios as the season begins.)

“They wanted a broadcaster who is at least comfortable with exploring the idea of discussing advanced statistics and what they mean,” said Robert Ford, 33, who was hired by the Houston Astros in the off-season, along with Steve Sparks, 48, a former pitcher, to call the team’s games. The advent of advanced statistical analysis, Mr. Ford said, has “changed the way we think about baseball.”

Now, as the two settle into the Astros’ broadcast booth, they and their colleagues across the country face a balancing act. How much do listeners want to know about these advanced numbers? How much is informative? And how much would prompt the audience, a group that spans all generations, to tune out?

Listeners and announcers alike say that striking the right balance will be a challenge.

Tigers, Justin Verlander Agree To Contract Extension

And Kate Upton won the Sun’s “best cleavage” poll. Life is good.

The Tigers announced that they have agreed to terms with Justin Verlander on a five-year contract extension through the 2019 season with a vesting option for the 2020 season.  Verlander will earn $180MM over the next seven seasons and the option is worth $22MM, meaning that he can earn a total of $202MM under terms of his new deal, sources tell Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Including the vesting option, the SFX client has achieved his stated goal of becoming baseball’s first $200MM pitcher.  The guaranteed $180MM portion of the deal makes Verlander the highest paid pitcher of all-time by every measure, as it surpasses the six-year, $175MM deal obtained by Felix Hernandez earlier this winter.

ESPN: Tigers demote Bruce Rondon to AAA, find themselves without a set closer

Oops.

KISSIMMEE, Fla.—The Detroit Tigers will start their AL title defense without a set closer after optioning rookie reliever Bruce Rondon to Triple-A Toledo on Thursday.

“I’ll tell everybody ahead of time, this is going to be tough,” manager Jim Leyland said. “It’l be a second-guesser’s delight, a second-guesser’s heaven.”

Mario Impemba: Al Kaline: Number 6

Mario Impemba: Al Kaline: Number 399

That mental toughness and focus is also necessary if a player has any thoughts of being a quality major league hitter.

“I used to drive to the games at Tiger Stadium with Bill Freehan and he would tell me that I wasn’t a good driving partner because I never said a word the entire ride,” Kaline said.  Truth was, I was thinking about that night’s pitcher and how he pitched me the last time I faced him.  We’d arrive at the stadium and I wouldn’t remember anything about the drive.  I’s a miracle I didn’t get us killed,”

Kaline had a reputation as being stoic at the ballpark and it was a reputation born from focus.

“I was always criticized because I never smiled on the field,” he said.  My wife always used to ask me why I would never wave to her in the stands.  That’s how focused I was.”

Kaline’s focus and mental toughness was also the result of a fear of embarrassing himself on the field.  So to was his decision to retire when he did, instead of prolonging his career and collecting a paycheck.

He finished his career with 399 home runs and instead of coming back for one more year to reach 400, Kaline called it quits.  “I could see that I had lost my skills and I didn’t want to hang around and embarrass myself,” he said.  “I never wanted to take a paycheck if I felt I didn’t earn it.”

It’s a refreshing attitude that isn’t always prevalent in today’s game.

Jerry Green: Tigers need a closer — why not Rick Porcello?

Jerry Green (flips open wallet with pre-installed Ruth Chatterton photo intact) BBWAA Badge #2 at your service.

It is time for some logic, I say from my perch, long distance.

Presto — Rick Porcello just might make the highly qualified closer the Tigers are seeking.

He might — who knows? — be another Dennis Eckerlsey. A decent starting pitcher who suffered one poor season converted into a better than decent closer.

...Eckersley made it as a dominant closer when his fastball throttled down. His best pitch was a slider — the groundball pitch.

By coincidence, Porcello’s best pitch is his slider.

Once upon a time — the same year as Eckersley was being converted by La Russa’s logic into a Hall of Fame closer — the Tigers had a young pitcher of high promise in their farm system. They traded the kid away so they could win their division in September.

The trade worked. There was logic used. Doyle Alexander pitched the Tigers into the postseason playoffs.

But the Tigers are still hearing from the criticism crabs for trading away John Smoltz to the Braves.

Odd — many of the finest closers in the history of baseball entered the majors as starters, just like Eckersley. Among such pitchers were Hall of Famers Hoyt Wilhelm and Rollie Fingers, the great Rivera himself, and also Johnny Smoltz.

And even odder, there are just two pitchers in all the 137 years that professional baseball has been played who have won 20 games as starters and later saved 50 games as closers, in separate seasons.

Dennis Eckersley is one of these multi-talented athletes. John Smoltz — traded away by the Tigers in a deal still controversial 26 years later — is the other.

This one time a trial with Porcello is more logical than another trade.