By:
Advanced search…

Welcome to Detroit Sports Forum!

By joining our community, you'll be able to connect with fellow fans that live and breathe Detroit sports just like you!

Get Started
  • If you are no longer able to access your account since our recent switch from vBulletin to XenForo, you may need to reset your password via email. If you no longer have access to the email attached to your account, please fill out our contact form and we will assist you ASAP. Thanks for your continued support of DSF.

Detroit Tigers Team Notes Over 3 Million Views!!! Thankyou!

Game Preview for August 7.
Rookie Danny Salazar was announced as a spot starter earlier this week, but now he is charged with being the Tribe's stopper after the Tigers won the first two games of the series. Doug Fister will start for Detroit.
Terry Francona didn't like the way Ubaldo Jimenez has pitched against the Tigers this season, so the Indians manager decided to call up the 23 year old Salazar for a spot start. Salazar has one big league start under his belt, a win over the Toronto Blue Jays on July 11th. He allowed one run on just two hits in six innings and struck out seven. Given Jimenez's numbers against the Tigers this season -- he's 1-2 with a 6.92 ERA and 1.85 WHIP in three starts -- this is probably the right move. Jimenez will start on Friday.

Salazar has logged 99 innings this season between Double-A Akron, Triple-A Columbus, and his major league debut, so it's unlikely that he will be in the Indians rotation for the remainder of the season. The organization has reportedly placed a limit of around 120 innings on him -- he had Tommy John surgery in 2011 -- leaving some wondering if those last 21 innings are better spent shoring up a bullpen that has had trouble locking down leads.

John Sickels of Minor League Ball (and a gazillion other publications) profiled Salazar just before his big league debut and had this to say about his arsenal:
Born January 11, 1990 in Santo Domingo, DR, Salazar isn't a huge guy at 6-0, 190, but he has plenty of arm strength, clocked as high as 100 MPH and working regularly in the mid-90s. He's always had good velocity, but he came back stronger after surgery. He has a very good changeup, but the real key has been improvement of his breaking ball. This was poor early in his career (reflected in his weak strikeout rates in A-ball), but he's made great strides with it over the last year. It is variously described as a slider or power curve, but it is effective when he's on, and he's usually been on in '13.

The most impressive thing about Salazar's 2013 season is that his strikeout rate has skyrocketed. He fanned 7.8 batters per nine innings between Advanced-A Carolina and Double-A Akron in 2012, his first season after Tommy John surgery. In 2013, he has struck out a whopping 12.5 batters per nine innings at Double and Triple-A. It's tough to predict whether those strikeout numbers are here to stay, but I'd expect a fair number of Tigers to be set down swinging this evening.

I don't know what it is about the All-Star Break that morphs Doug Fister from mere mortal into a pitching demigod, but I like it. In his three starts since the break, Fister is 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, and 6.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He hasn't exactly faced a murderer's row of opposing lineups, but those types of numbers are impressive against anyone at the big league level. He has been a ground ball machine, increasing his ground ball rate to 66.2% in those three starts. The 13.2% line drive rate probably isn't sustainable, though.
from bybtb
 
Since Avila returned from DL, Tigers have gone 23-7, with pitching staff recording a 2.90 ERA, holding opposing hitters to .231 BA.

With Avila behind the plate: 19-4, .219 BAA, 2.78 ERA, 7.58 K/9.
With Pena: 4-3, .267 BAA, 3.21 ERA, 5.67 K/9.

Avila has caught all but one of the current 10-game win streak for Tigers.
 
The Tigers have unconditionally released Jose Valverde.

I believe Jose Valverde had an opt-out clause in his contract. I'd assume he exercised it, receiving his release from #Tigers.
Mlive
 
Last edited:
http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2013/08/detroit_tigers_put_end_to_jose.html
Detroit Tigers put end to Jose Valverde era by giving former closer his unconditional release.
from Mlive

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/.../It-s-over-again-Tigers-release-Jose-Valverde
It's over (again): Tigers release Jose Valverde.
from the detnews

http://www.blessyouboys.com/2013/8/7/4598918/jose-valverde-released-tigers
Jose Valverde released by Tigers.
from bybtb

http://www.freep.com/article/20130807/SPORTS02/308070135/1050/rss15
Papa Grande era over (again): Detroit Tigers release Jose Valverde.
from the freep

http://motorcitybengals.com/2013/08/07/detroit-tigers-and-jose-valverde-again-part-ways/
Detroit Tigers And Jose Valverde Again Part Ways.
from mcb-tb

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130807&content_id=56193574&vkey=news_det&c_id=det
Tigers release former closer Valverde.
In 20 games for defending AL champs, veteran had 5.59 ERA and nine saves.
from the Tigers official site
 
Last edited:
Miguel Cabrera in lineup for third straight game.
Don Kelly earns himself another start in left. He'll bat sixth for second straight day.
 
Infante scratched from rehab game due to ankle.
Omar Infante was scratched from his rehab start for Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday night with soreness in his previously sprained left ankle. Whether it's a day-to-day situation or something that sets him back a little longer remains to be seen.

Infante was originally in the Mud Hens' lineup at second base, where he was expected to play seven innings. However, he was scratched at the last minute. According to a Tigers spokesperson, Infante felt "a little soreness" in his ankle, so he was taken out of the lineup as a precaution.

Infante had a setback in the ankle when he played second base in his previous rehab assignment last month for Class A West Michigan, but he felt the issue while running the bases. He has felt fine taking ground balls and hitting, and he went 1-for-5 with an infield single as the designated hitter on Tuesday.

The Mud Hens were finishing a two-game set at Columbus on Wednesday night, and travel from there to Indianapolis. Infante would most likely follow the team there. The Tigers, meanwhile, finish up in Cleveland on Thursday night before heading to New York for a three-game weekend series against the Yankees.
from the Tigers official site
 
Adjustment pays off for Verlander vs. Indians.
Tigers pitching coach Jeff Jones knows the look from Justin Verlander. It's not just about the way he's pitching, but the confidence -- maybe a little arrogance -- behind it.

He saw it Tuesday night at Progressive Field, and he saw it pretty early.

"It looked to me like it started in the second inning," Jones said. "Alex [Avila] came over to me in the third inning and he just kind of smiled and said, 'He's got it tonight.'"

After the first inning, Verlander came into the dugout and had a long talk with Jones. It wasn't about the mechanics, Jones said. He just worried that Verlander was too conscious of the baserunner and was getting too quick in his delivery to be consistent with it.

"I don't want him to sacrifice stuff just to be quick so that a guy doesn't steal a base on him," Jones said.

The adjustment that Verlander made between starts, Jones said, allowed him to extend his arm better in his delivery. That gave him some more velocity, sure, but it also allowed him to put his pitches on either corner, too.

That shows in the numbers, and not just on the radar gun. His fastball, which had dropped into the low 90s in some starts earlier this summer, averaged just under 97 mph Tuesday night according to data from MLB.com Gameday and brooksbaseball.net. That's his highest average velocity with it since last September.

The more impressive numbers were on strikes. He threw 50 of his 69 fastballs for strikes, a 72 percent rate, and he induced 10 swings and misses. Both numbers were around his best of the season.

Verlander also threw more curveballs, and threw them consistently for strikes. That wasn't a change, Jones said, so much as a trend.

"His curveball his last three times has been impressive," Jones said.

Jones doesn't want to prematurely proclaim that Verlander is back, though his trend the last few starts strongly suggests it. His next start Sunday at Yankee Stadium might be the sign.

"I think you have to wait and see," Jones said. "In the back of my mind, I'm hoping, but to me you have to keep going out there every time and doing it. But I think he's happy where he's at."
from the Tigers official site
 
Miggy makes it 10 straight years of 100 RBIs.
It took a little longer than expected thanks to an abdominal strain, but Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera reached the 100-RBI mark on Tuesday when he doubled in Torii Hunter as part of Detroit's five-run fifth inning. Even with all that time between RBIs, Cabrera managed to hit the century mark at a record pace for him, and a pretty good pace for the best in the game.

Cabrera had been stuck on 99 RBIs since July 27, when he drove in three runs against the Phillies. He didn't start in four consecutive games and eight out of 11, but he also had four games without an RBI (though one game was merely a pinch-hit appearance).

Cabrera reached the 100-RBI mark in his 103rd game of the season, and the team's 111th. Chris Davis, the American League's RBI leader with 106, reached the century mark in his 108th game, but the Orioles' 109th. So the issue of pace depends on whether the criteria is the number of games the hitter plays, the number of games his team has played or the date on the calendar.

Cabrera had 95 RBIs at the Tigers' 111-game mark last season. He had just 84 RBIs over his first 103 games of the season, though. There's a case to be made that the abdominal strain and hip flexor Cabrera has been battling for more than a month has derailed what had the makings of a record pace.

Cabrera also clinched his 10th consecutive 100 RBI season. He became just the fourth Major League player age 30 or younger with that many 100-RBI seasons. Albert Pujols and Jimmie Foxx put theirs up consecutively as well, while Alex Rodriguez had 10 in his first 11 seasons.

Cabrera, Pujols, Foxx and Rodriguez join Al Simmons and Lou Gehrig as the only Major Leaguers in history with 10 consecutive 100-RBI seasons. Foxx (1929-41), Gehrig (1926-38) and Rodriguez (1998-2010) share the record with 13. If Cabrera posts 100 RBIs next season as a Tiger, he'll tie Hall of Famer Harry Heilmann for the club record with seven in a row.

Cabrera is also the third player in Major League history to post 100 RBIs in 10 of his first 11 seasons, joining Pujols and Rodriguez.
from the Tigers official site
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

About Us

Founded in 2011, Detroit Sports Forum is a community of fanatics dedicated to teams like the Lions, Tigers, Pistons, Red Wings, Wolverines, and more. We live and breathe Detroit sports!

Stay Connected

Forum statistics

Threads
34,780
Messages
1,129,161
Members
978
Latest member
Kamakzie

Affiliates

    Discussion Hub
Back
Top