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[kalinecountry]

http://beck.mlblogs.com/2012/09/26/a-whole-different-anibal/
A whole different Anibal Sanchez.
from Jason Beck's Tigers blog

 

[kalinecountry]

Anibal Sanchez gaining steam as September rolls on.
Gerald Laird saw it coming.
"You could see it coming the last couple of outings," Laird said of Anibal Sanchez's complete-game three-hitter in Detroit's 2-0 win over Kansas City on Tuesday night. "His stuff's gotten a lot better. He's starting to feel comfortable, kind of finding himself on this team. Tonight I knew after the second inning."

Pitching coach Jeff Jones is particularly optimistic.
"I think every time he goes out there, he gets a little more comfortable," Jones said. "The quality of his stuff has been really good his last few times out."

Two starts before Tuesday night's gem, Sanchez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in Cleveland before three consecutive hits knocked him out of the game. He had the shadows of a late-afternoon start at Progressive Field working in his favor, but he also had tremendous command of the strike zone. Then last week he came back and threw five solid innings against Oakland before giving up a four-run sixth.

On Tuesday he sustained his early excellence.
"I felt more strong on every pitch," Sanchez said. "I tried to be aggressive all the time. I don't want to miss, I don't want to leave any pitch for the hitters. I don't want to give any chances, especially today. I know the game's important and we are in the end of the season. We're really close in the race in the AL Central."

The result was not only sustained velocity but sustained command. According to data from brooksbaseball.net, Sanchez gained a full mile per hour on his fastball from August to September, and is now just under 94 mph, and he's mixing his pitches more.

On Tuesday he was able to throw fastballs with movement at 94 and 95 mph while throwing 12 of his 16 curveballs for strikes. He got 17 swings and misses from Royals hitters, seven of them on sliders, on his way to 10 strikeouts. He also induced 14 ground balls compared with six hit into the air.
from the Tigers official site

 

[kalinecountry]

Verlander quietly making his case for Cy
Lost in all the buzz about Miguel Cabrera's Triple Crown and MVP chances is that ace Justin Verlander has a realistic shot at being named the American League Cy Young Award winner for the second straight year.

It hasn't been a huge topic of conversation in the clubhouse, mostly because Verlander's 2011 numbers were so outstanding that his stats this year seem almost pedestrian, but he's once again among the league leaders in most statistical categories.
He paces the league in innings pitched (231 1/3) and strikeouts (231), is second to Los Angeles' Jered Weaver (1.00) with a 1.06 WHIP and second to Tampa Bay's David Price (2.56) with a 2.72 ERA. He's also tied for fifth in wins (16).

"Justin's definitely been a good enough pitcher to be talked about as far as the Cy Young Award winner," catcher Alex Avila said. "Price has pitched unbelievable, though."
As the season comes to a close, the race for the Cy Young has seemingly narrowed to Price and Verlander -- with Weaver and White Sox lefty Chris Sale a bit farther behind.

Both Verlander and Price are scheduled to make one more regular-season start. What makes it interesting for the Tigers is that whereas a poor outing from Price would certainly bolster Verlander's candidacy, that last outing for the Rays lefty is in U.S. Cellular Field, against the White Sox.

But with the Tigers and White Sox tied atop the division entering Wednesday and with eight games left in the regular season, the individual awards aren't of prime importance.
"To be honest with you, when Price pitches against Chicago, I hope he shuts them out for nine innings," Avila said. "I mean, Justin winning a Cy Young would be phenomenal, just like Miguel winning the MVP would be great, but all that kind of takes a backseat to us getting to the playoffs."

Manager Jim Leyland, who hasn't been shy in making his case for Cabrera when it comes to who deserves the MVP nod, was asked to weigh in on Verlander's chances on Wednesday. He believes the Cy Young race is much closer.
"I don't really know. I think he's got a shot. I think if he wins another start, he's got a shot," Leyland said. "I think if David Price wins on Sunday, which I hope he does, that'd be his 20th win."

Price would be the first AL pitcher to 20 wins. But since the biggest disparity between Cabrera and Angels outfielder Mike Trout is the wins above replacement (WAR) stat, it's worth noting that Verlander's WAR, according to FanGraphs.com (6.5) and Baseball-Reference.com (7.1), is higher than Price's -- 5.0 and 6.2, respectively.
"As far as the opportunities he's given us to win games he pitches, it's second to none," Avila said.
from the Tigers official site

 

[kalinecountry]

Leyland turning to Berry instead of Boesch.
Rookie outfielder Quintin Berry began the month of August by playing in three straight games. After Aug. 4, though, he didn't appear in the lineup for back-to-back games for more than a month.

He found himself in a reserve role, serving mostly as a late-game defensive replacement and pinch-runner, as Austin Jackson, Andy Dirk and Brennan Boesch served as the three starting outfielders.

He's still used in both roles against lefties, but as of Sept. 15, he's been used in the lineup instead of Boesch on a more regular basis against right-handed pitching.
"In my opinion, at this particular time, against a righty, I think I have to play Berry over Boesch," manager Jim Leyland said on Wednesday. "I made that decision down the stretch. That's just the way it is."

Leyland also likes the added threat of Berry's speed at the top of the lineup.
Berry, batting .280 against right-handers this season compared with Boesch's .247, is 8-for-28 in the seven games he's started in September. Boesch is 10-for-47 in 14 starts this month and, as a result, has started one game since Sept. 17.
from the Tigers official site

 

[kalinecountry]

Infante feeling more comfortable in the field.
Omar Infante said on Wednesday that he's feeling more confident and comfortable in the field in recent days after a spate of miscues at second base. He thanks infield coach Rafael Belliard, in part, for that.

"I've been practicing a lot in the field with Raffy," Infante said. "I'm more relaxed from being more confident in my glove and in turning double plays."

Belliard worked with Infante in 2006 and 2007 before the Tigers traded Infante to the Cubs. At that point, however, he wasn't the Tigers' everyday second baseman but a utility player. Second base, at the time, belonged to Placido Polanco.

The tip from Belliard that made a big difference, he said, was quite specific in regard to double plays after he had trouble making throws, and dealing with takeout slides became a glaring issue.

It was certainly an issue last week in Chicago. Infante took the throw from Jhonny Peralta and stepped forward, right into the slide of Alex Rios. It's not something he does all the time, and it wasn't an issue with the Marlins this year, according to Infante, but it was noticeable in that instance.
"Raffy gave me a tip to stay back when I throw to first," he said.
from the Tigers official site

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2012/09/suspicious_package_triggers_in.html
Suspicious package triggers investigation at Comerica Park hours before Detroit Tigers game.
from Mlive

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...Comerica-Park?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports
Suspicious package for Tigers player causes scare at Comerica Park.
from the detnews

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.freep.com/article/201209...it-tigers-kansas-city-royals?odyssey=nav|head
Detroit Tigers 5 - Kansas City 4: Andy Dirks' slide gives Tigers slight lead in AL Central.
from the freep

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2012/09/detroit_tigers_play_kansas_cit_1.html
Hard slide from Andy Dirks, five shutout innings from bullpen help Detroit Tigers to 5-4 victory.
from Mlive

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...-first-moment?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports
Tigers 5 - Royals 4 : Tigers slide into sole possession of first, for the moment.
from the detnews

 

[kalinecountry]

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/mlb/g...012_09_26_kcamlb_detmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=det
Tigers 5 - royals 4 : Tigers top Royals, keep pace in AL Central.

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/mlb/g...mlb_1#gid=2012_09_26_kcamlb_detmlb_1&mode=box
Boxscore.

from the Tigers official site

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.blessyouboys.com/2012/9/26/3410930/game-155-lineups-royals-at-tigers
Game 155: Tigers rally to 5-4 victory over Royals.
from blessyouboystigersblog

http://walkoffwoodward.com/?p=5725
Doom to Potential Broom: Andy Dirks Takes Out The Royals.
from walkoffwoodwardtigersblog

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.foxsportsdetroit.com/09/...anding_tigers.html?blockID=796117&feedID=3701
Tigers slide past Royals 5-4.
from DetroitFox

http://www.thedetroitsportssite.com...down-kansas-city-royals-with-late-magic/24467
Home Runs, Hard Slide Combine as Detroit Tigers Down Kansas City Royals With Late Magic.
from the detroitsportssite

 

[kalinecountry]

September 27 in Tigers history:

1908: The Tigers take over first place with a Sunday 5 - 2 win over the A's behind righty George Mullin.

1935: All American League games are rained out today.

1938: Hank Greenberg again hits 2 homers, extending his record to 11 times in the same season. They are the last he will hit this season, as he falls 2 short of Babe Ruth's 1927 record of 60.

1940 - Besides Bobo Newsom (21-5), Schoolboy Rowe (16-3), and Tommy Bridges (12-9), the Tigers' pitching staff combines for a losing record. Needing one victory to gain the title, manager Del Baker decides to withhold Newsom and Rowe and picks Floyd Giebell, an obscure rookie just called in from Buffalo. Giebell shuts out the Indians 2 - 0, to beat Bob Feller who gives up just 3 hits. Not eligible for the World Series, Giebell will never win another game in the major leagues.
During the game, unruly Cleveland fans shower the field with fruit and vegetables. At one point, a basket of green tomatoes is dropped onto Tigers C Birdie Tebbetts' head while he sits in the bullpen.

1972: Trailing 5 - 1, the Tigers score three in the 8th and two in the 9th to beat the Yankees and Sparky Lyle. It's another multi-hit game for Al Kaline with 2 hits and 2 rbi. Kaline carries the team on his back batting .376 for the month (29 for 77), 5 doubles, 4 homeruns, and 11 rbi, but more importantly the the last 10 games of the season, Kaline ends the year with a 10 game hitting streak (21 for 41) as the Tigers win 8 of 10 to clinch the AL East.

1986 - Jack Morris shuts out the Yankees, 1 - 0, in 10 innings, raising his record to 20-8.

1999: With each of the Tigers wearing the uniform numbers of all-time great Detroit players at their position (OF Gabe Kapler, standing in for Ty Cobb, wears no number) the Tigers defeat the Royals, 8 - 2, in the last game ever played at Tiger Stadium. Robert Fick's grand slam in the 8th brings the capacity crowd of 43,356 to its feet. Luis Polonia and Karim Garcia also homer as Brian Moehler beats Jeff Suppan.

Tigers players and executives birthdays:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/casalje01.shtml
Jerry Casale 1961-1962.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Bill_Lajoie
Bill Lajoie Scout 1969-1973, Scouting Director 1974-1978, Assistant General Manager 1979-1983, General Manager 1984-1990.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wickeda01.shtml
Dave Wickersham 1964-1967.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/suthega01.shtml
Gary Sutherland 1974-1976.

from Baseball Reference

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18476
The Race for the Triple Crown, Part. 2.
from Baseball Prospectus

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.highheatstats.com/2012/09/why-miguel-cabrera-deserves-the-al-mvp/
Why Miguel Cabrera Deserves the AL MVP.
from HighHeatStats

 

[kalinecountry]

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog...-only-rational-choice-american-league-mvp-mlb
Trout the rational choice for AL MVP.
from ****faceposassholekeithlawespninsider

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.freep.com/article/201209...nesday-s-win?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Detroit Tigers
Notes from Wednesday's win.
from the freep

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.freep.com/article/201209...g-big-splash?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Detroit Tigers
Fundamentals, not flash, help keep Tigers in first place.
from the freep

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.freep.com/article/201209...roit-careers?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Detroit Tigers
Several Tigers, including Jim Leyland, could be near end of Detroit career.
from the freep

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.freep.com/article/201209...ose-Valverde?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Detroit Tigers
Agent Scott Boras touts talents of new client, the Tigers' Jose Valverde.
from the freep