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

Ausmus leaning on Avila's presence behind the plate.
DETROIT -- The offensive numbers for Tigers catcher Alex Avila took another dip Sunday with a three-strikeout game, giving him 21 strikeouts and just six hits and six walks in 43 plate appearances. The attempts to get his bat going continue.

Though the White Sox had a left-handed starter on the mound for Monday's series opener, Avila was back in the starting lineup. John Danks is a left-handed hurler Avila has hit in the past, going 7-for-20.

"We've got to get Alex going," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "I know it's a left-handed pitcher, but putting him in against a pitcher he's had success off of works in his favor."

Avila's game-calling skills are another factor working in his favor. It's not a measureable stat, but it's a skill valued by a manager who caught 18 seasons in the big leagues.

"There's no question that the game-calling is maybe the single most important thing in the game of baseball," Ausmus said. "If sabermetricians could put a statistic on someone who was good at calling pitches, we'd see catchers going into arbitration and making millions on the way they called pitches. You just can't put a number on it.

"I have given a lot [of responsibility] to Alex. I know he does a good job calling pitches and managing the game. Since that is the most important part of baseball, that would certainly give him more leeway with that. Now, there is always that line where the balance tips one way or the other, but right now, for me, his game-calling supersedes what he's done with the bat."
from the Tigers official site
 
Putkonen seeks answers to elbow inflammation.
DETROIT -- Luke Putkonen spent Monday having an MRI exam on his injured right elbow as the Tigers medical staff tries to figure out the reason for inflammation that has bothered him off and on for a while and became unmanageable after Friday's two-inning outing.

"He hadn't said much about it, but he had tightness in the forearm during Spring Training," head athletic trainer Kevin Rand said on Monday.

The Tigers placed Putkonen on the 15-day disabled list Monday, opening a spot for slugger J.D. Martinez to join the roster and restore the bench to full strength. Detroit had gone with an extra reliever over the weekend for depth. Putkonen's move to the DL means Justin Miller, called up Friday as the extra reliever, is staying put.

Putkonen pitched just twice all season, most recently last Friday, when he gave up seven runs on five hits against the Angels. His inactivity was more about the strength of the Tigers' starting pitching than it was about Putkonen's health.

That said, Putkonen's velocity has been down this year, from an average fastball just over 95 mph the past couple seasons to just under 93 mph in limited work this season. His fastball Friday averaged 92.78 mph, according to brooksbaseball.net.

Tigers team physician Dr. Stephen Lemos was scheduled to look over the MRI results, along with a CT scan, and meet with Putkonen on Monday night.

"We just want to make sure we're not missing anything," Rand said. "Everything's precautionary at this point."
from the Tigers official site
 
Miggy continues work with early batting practice.
DETROIT -- Miguel Cabrera was among the Tigers hitters taking early batting practice Monday afternoon, trying to get his swing down with more repetitions. He has made progress with it over the past week, hitting more line drives to center and right field, but has struggled to translate it into hits.

Cabrera went 1-for-11 with three walks and four strikeouts during the three-game series against the Angels, dropping his average to .220. He has had worse April slumps, including an 0-for-21 stretch two seasons ago, but mitigated the impact by heating up immediately afterward.

Both Cabrera and manager Brad Ausmus have said Cabrera physically is all right after coming off core muscle repair surgery last fall.

"I don't want to say 'I believe' -- I know Miggy's going to be fine," Ausmus said.

Cabrera has hit the White Sox well the past three seasons after struggling against them for the first three years of his Tigers tenure.
from the Tigers official site
 
http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2014/04/tigers_white_sox_anibal_sanche.html
White Sox 3 - Tigers 1: Anibal Sanchez starts strong, but unravels late as Chicago pulls out win in opener.
from Mlive

http://www.freep.com/article/201404...troit-tigers-chicago-white-sox-miguel-cabrera
Chicago 3 - Detroit 1: Early-season swoon continues for Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera (0-for-4).
from the freep

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/.../Tigers-aren-t-up-challenge-White-Sox-prevail
Tigers aren't up to the challenge, White Sox prevail.
from the detnews

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/inde...014_04_21_chamlb_detmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=det
Anibal's luck turns south in seventh
Right-hander tosses six one-hit innings before running into trouble.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/inde...d=det#gid=2014_04_21_chamlb_detmlb_1&mode=box
Boxscore.
from the Tigers official site

http://newenglishd.com/2014/04/21/how-was-the-game-april-21-2014/
How Was The Game? (April 21, 2014).
from the NewEnglishD-Tigersblog

http://www.blessyouboys.com/2014/4/...gers-1-jon-danks-win-anibal-sanchez-loss-risp
White Sox 3- Tigers 1: Wheels fall off in seventh for Anibal Sanchez.
from bybtb

http://motorcitybengals.com/2014/04/21/detroit-tigers-division-foes-chicago-white-sox/
Detroit Tigers Fall to Division Rival Chicago White Sox 3-1.
from mcbtb
 
April 22 in Tigers and mlb history:

1906 - A new baseball rule puts the umpire in sole charge of all game balls. The home team manager previously had some say as to when a new ball was introduced.

1914: At age 19, Babe Ruth plays his first professional game as a pitcher, as he throws a six-hit, 6 - 0 shutout for the Baltimore Orioles over the Buffalo Bisons. The second batter Ruth faces is Joe McCarthy, the manager he will play for 17 years later with the Yankees. Ruth is 2 for 4 at the plate in addition to his great pitching.

1915 - Pinstripes first appear on New York Yankees uniforms.

1916 - Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Jack Nabors tops the Boston Red Sox, 6 - 2. His only victory of the season evens his record at 1-1. Nabors will follow with 19 straight losses to set a major-league record.

1937 - Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson are among 18 black players who jump to the Dominican Republic league. Negro League owners regard this as desertion and plan to ban the players from the league. In May, Paige will be banned for life.

1957 - John Kennedy becomes the first black to play for the Philadelphia Phillies, making them the last National League team to integrate. Kennedy pinch runs for Solly Hemus in the 5 - 1 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. He will play only briefly in five games, two at third base, and will go hitless.

1960 - A record opening day crowd of 53,563 at Briggs Stadium sees the Detroit Tigers chalk up their third straight win, 6 - 5, against the Chicago White Sox. Recently-acquired Rocky Colavito blasts a home run in his first at-bat with Detroit, and Eddie Yost adds a home run in the 5th inning.

2012: The Rangers edge the Tigers, 3 - 2, on a controversial squeeze bunt in the 11th inning. The bases are loaded with no one out when Alberto Gonzalez squares up and lays the ball down right in front of him; it bounces and glances off his right knee, but the umpires miss it and the play is allowed to stand in spite of Detroit manager Jim Leyland's protests. After the game, home plate umpire Tim Welke will admit he missed the call and should have declared the play a foul ball. Thad Weber is charged with the loss in his major league debut as a result.

Tigers players and coaches birthdays:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Terry_Francona
Terry Francona coach 1996.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/purceda01.shtml
David Purcey 2011.

Tigers players who passed away:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Mark_Koenig
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/koenima01.shtml
Mark Koenig 1930-1931.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Ron_Cash
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cashro01.shtml
Ron Cash 1973-1974.

from Baseball Reference
 
Tigers starters lead MLB in fWAR despite only having 16 starts compared to 18-22 for the 29 other teams.
Tigers starters: 72 FIP-
Second place: 82 FIP-
 
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