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

Things to watch for the rest of the week;

Thursday afternoon: Max finishes up the ChiSox series
A slew of K?s might be in store for Thursday afternoon?s game between the Tigers and ChiSox, when Scherzer toes the rubber. His opponent will be Jose Quintana, one of the better young pitchers in the league. Scherzer is once again among league leaders in strikeouts, he?s coming off a dominating performance against the Angels, and he looks every bit like the Max of 2013. In the afternoon sunshine, Scherzer and Quintana may rack up a lot of whiffs.

Weekend series: at the Twins
The Tigs make their first trip to Minnesota this weekend for a three-gamer against their traditional division opponent. We?ll see Porcello, Sanchez, and Verlander on the mound in that one at Target Field. So far, the Twins have shown that they can outslug opponents occasionally to make up for their shaky starting pitching. In 8 of their 9 wins, Minnesota has scored at least 7 runs. Their rotation has a dismal combined 5.31 ERA thus far in 2014. If the Tigers? offense is to get on track, it might happen this weekend against the Twins.

Gonzalez is gone, Worth is back?again
The Alex Gonzalez experiment lasted three weeks and is now over. You can?t blame the Tigers for giving it a shot: Gonzalez was hitting the ball really well for the Orioles in spring training and Detroit needed someone to step in to give them some reps at shortstop in the void that followed the devastating injury to Jose Iglesias, which may keep him sidelined all season. But Gonzalez didn?t bring his hitting shoes with him to Motown, and his defense was a nightmare that few could have imagined. We knew he would be limited somewhat in range, he?s 37 years old for goodness sake, but his range was even worse than imagined and his hands were jittery. I counted five errors he committed in 9 games, though the scorekeeper only charged him with three. All we can hope now is that Tigers? players will have to vote to determine a World Series share for Gonzo?s brief trial in Detroit. He?s gone and he won?t be missed. Ironically, the guy who delivered the game-winning hit on opening day has probably played his final major league game.

One man?s exit is another man?s opportunity. Enter Danny Worth, who starts his 8th stint with the Tigers in five seasons. ?Yo-yo? might be an appropriate nickname for the middle infielder who has now spent parts of seven seasons with the Mud Hens. I?m not sure if Worth owns a house in Toledo, but he probably knows every good restaurant, every clean restroom, and every pothole in the city. The Tigers will shuttle Worth in and out along with Andrew Romine at shortstop for the foreseeable future. The problem with Worth is that he?s a utility infielder in a game that no longer values such things. With the Tigs using 7 relievers (8 for a little while), that leaves only 3-4 bench spots, and one has to be a catcher. Another two are usually outfielders, which leaves on extra infielder, and teams want a spare infielder who can hit as opposed to pick the ball. The era when teams could carry a utility infielder for emergency situations and to give an occasional breather to the starters is long gone. Worth is a career .250 minor leaguer with little power, and even though he can play short, second, and third, he?s not particularly eye-popping with the glove.

But the organization has few options, and Worth has at least tasted big league cuisine (he spent the entire 2012 season with the major league club). So, this what we?re stuck with, but at least a Romine/Worth platoon of sorts will be an upgrade from Gonzalez.

Shortstop options outside the organization
Don?t be surprised if Dave Dombrowski acquires a shortstop sooner rather than later. Unsigned free agent Stephen Drew is still dangling out there, and he has a few things going for him: he?s a left-handed bat (which Detroit sorely needs to balance out their lineup) and he?s proven he can hit for stretches of time at least. He also has postseason experience. But several teams are sniffing around Drew, and I wouldn?t be shocked if the Braves or some other team snatched him up and moved him to second base. Drew?s range is better than that of the ancient Gonzalez, but it?s not Iglesias-like by any stretch. The Tigers may also revisit their interest in fuzzy-faced Chris Owings, a 22-year old shortstop with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kirk Gibson?s team is off to a miserable start and they may be interested in moving some pieces. The Tigs reportedly showed interest in Owings in the spring, but it might be that the asking price for the young infielder was too high (Rick Porcello was rumored to be coveted by the DBacks). But would the Tigers let go of something to get Owings, who has looked solid in his first full-time month in the big leagues? I think they could. The Tigers want to win a championship right now. Sure, they have Iglesias in the wings and they could be set at short for 10 more years with Jose, but remember this is the franchise that signed Prince Fielder when Victor Martinez was lost for the season. Owings would come a lot cheaper, maybe at the price of pitching prospect Robbie Ray and one of Detroit?s two younger middle infield prospects like Hernan Perez or Eugenio Suarez. Arizona could afford to take the long look at young shortstops like that, while Detroit wants to win now.

Matchup to watch this week: In their stellar careers, Joe Mauer and Justin Verlander have faced each other more than any other pitcher/batter. The three-time batting champ has gotten the best of it thus far, hitting .371 against Verlander with 7 extra-base hits in 74 battles against him.

Trending up: After a pair of rough outings to start his Detroit career, Joba Chamberlain has not allowed a run in five straight appearances and he?s fanned 7 batters in his last 4 innings.

Trending down: Torii Hunter hit homers in three straight games in the first week of the season, but after suffering a minor injury to his leg he?s hitting .160 since.

Interesting number: 162 ? that?s how many stolen bases the Tigers are on pace for this season after swiping 15 in their first 15 games. Though speed demon Rajai Davis has 6 of them, there has been a team effort to inject some action on the bases: 6 different Tigers have pilfered a bag. Last year the Tigers stole 35 bases for the entire season. The last time Detroit swiped as many as 100 bases was 2007, and the team hasn?t stolen more than 160 since 1997.
from Detroit Athletic
 
http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2014/04/detroit_tigers_brad_ausmus_on_2.html
Detroit Tigers' Brad Ausmus on pitchers using pine tar: 'I think it's overblown'.
from Mlive

Ausmus: Pine tar use 'isn't a big deal'.
DETROIT -- Tigers manager Brad Ausmus saw the highlights of Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda with pine tar on his neck. He also has heard the stories about catchers helping pitchers use pine tar to get a better grip on the ball, though he said he has never been a part of that.
If there's a huge controversy about the impact pine tar makes for a pitcher, however, Ausmus doesn't see it.
"I do think pitchers using pine tar isn't as big a deal as it's being made out to be," Ausmus said Thursday morning. "It's more about getting a grip. It's not really about altering the movement of the ball. It's about getting a grip on the ball, just like pine tar on the bat is to get a grip on the bat. It's becoming overblown, really."
Especially in cold weather, when it's tough for a pitcher to get a grip on a pitch, Ausmus said hitters aren't as likely to mind it.
"Especially if he's a hard thrower," Ausmus said. "It's not like a spitball where it's dancing all over the place, or sandpaper that scuffs it and makes it move abnormally. This is just allowing pitchers to get a grip on the ball. It's overblown."
That said, Ausmus agreed with the idea there's a limit. He had never seen a pitcher putting pine tar on his neck, or any part of his body where it was that much in the open.
"I guess if it was blatant, you certainly would have to address it as part of the rules," Ausmus said. "But again, I don't think its impact [is that vast]. He did seem to have quite a bit of it, but I'm not going to get worked up about that."
from the Tigers official site
 
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http://www.freep.com/article/20140424/SPORTS02/304240136/detroit-tigers-jim-leyland
Detroit Tigers will honor Jim Leyland at May 10 game.
from the freep

Tigers to honor Leyland May 10.
DETROIT -- Jim Leyland made well over a thousand visits to the mound at Comerica Park to change pitchers over the course of his eight-year career as Tigers manager. On Saturday, May 10, he'll be heading out there to actually throw a pitch.
The Tigers will honor their former manager in a special on-field ceremony ahead of their 1:08 p.m. ET game against the Twins, including the ceremonial first pitch. It'll be an on-field salute to a 50-year career baseball that began as a Minor League catcher in the Tigers organization and ended in the Tigers' dugout for the native of nearby Perrysburg, Ohio.
As part of the celebration, all fans will receive a commemorative Jim Leyland art piece.
The 69-year-old Leyland finished his career with three straight division titles, two American League pennants and a third-place standing on the team's managerial wins list. He's the only Tigers manager to lead the team to the postseason four times, comprising half of his eight postseason appearances over a 22-year Major League managerial career.
Leyland retired as Tigers manager at the end of last season, but he remained in the organization as a special assistant. He currently ranks 15th in wins all time among Major League managers.
from the Tigers official site
 
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Tigers' shift strategies beginning to evolve.
DETROIT -- For every piece of strategy in baseball, there's a counteraction to try to address it. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, who brought the increased use of infield shifts to Detroit with him, expects the same to happen to that.

In fact, he has talked with his left-handed-hitting catcher, Alex Avila, about doing just that to the shifts he has encountered.

"I think it's happening so often, there's going to be a little bit of a bounceback where players start bunting and getting on base," Ausmus said. "Then you're going to see shifts more based on counts or the score. We've talked about it with Alex."

Avila said the same earlier in the week, and squared around to bunt against the White Sox infield shift in an at-bat Wednesday.
from the Tigers official site
 
Worth's wait pays off with start vs. White Sox.
DETROIT -- Danny Worth spent Spring Training hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. That included the final couple of weeks of camp, when the Tigers were searching for a replacement for injured shortstop Jose Iglesias.

It's a business, he told himself, not personal. Don't get emotionally involved. Just play. He had enough emotions last year, from being the final cut of that camp to being taken off the 40-man roster last fall.
He didn't have to wait long this year to get a call back to the big leagues, his contract purchased once Detroit released Alex Gonzalez. But as he waited to see how the Tigers divide up the playing time at shortstop, he kept his emotions out of it.
"You just can't worry about it. That's what I've learned," he said. "Guys who worry about it, it just drags them down. It's more mental stress than the game already brings. You just don't think about that."

On his fifth day back, Worth got his first start at shortstop, giving Andrew Romine a day off on Thursday against White Sox southpaw Jose Quintana after six consecutive starts. Though the Tigers were seeing their fifth left-handed starter in six days, a situation that would seemingly favor the right-handed-hitting Worth, the switch-hitting Romine was on a good enough stretch to stick.

At this point, at least, it's not a platoon situation at short. Manager Brad Ausmus all but stopped that speculation Thursday morning.
"I don't know for sure. I'd say right now, the way Romine's playing, both offensively and defensively, he's kind of earned the bulk of the time right now," Ausmus said.
Romine's 0-for-3 performance was his first hitless game since taking over shortstop duties, though he sent a fly ball to the track in left-center field. He still went 6-for-17 with four walks and four strikeouts over that six-game stretch, and made a case for regular playing time.

With three right-handers scheduled to start for the Twins during the Tigers' visit to Minnesota this weekend, Romine is likely to continue getting the bulk of the time. Worth, meanwhile, is keeping out of it.
"You just play," he said. "Whatever happens, happens."
from the Tigers official site
 
http://www.blessyouboys.com/2014/4/...i-davis-miguel-cabrera-power-max-scherzer-win
Tigers 7 - White Sox 4: Rajai Davis, Miguel Cabrera power Max Scherzer to victory.
from bybtb

http://motorcitybengals.com/2014/04/24/detroit-tigers-bats-sizzle-bullpen-fizzles-tigs-prevail-7-4/
Detroit Tigers’ Bats Sizzle, Bullpen Fizzles But Tigs Prevail 7-4.
from mcbtb

http://www.thedetroitsportssite.com...troit-tigers-win-over-chicago-white-sox/42803
GIF: Batter Interference Call on Jose Abreu Seals Detroit Tigers’ Win Over Chicago White Sox.
from the detroitsportssite

http://www.sportsmedia101.com/detro...il-out-bullpen-in-win-over-chicago-white-sox/
Rajai Davis, Miguel Cabrera Help Detroit Tigers’ Bail Out Bullpen in 7 - 4 Win Over Chicago White Sox.
from Tigers101

http://walkoffwoodward.com/?p=9300
Scherzer, Add-On Runs Push Tigers To Series Split.
from WalkoffWoodwardTigersblog
 
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