Detroit Tigers week in review: week 22

I do not want to press the panic button just yet, but I have my hand over it for sure. This team has lost five of the last seven and wound up the season series with the Kansas City Royals with a less than stellar 7-9 record. Once again we are seeing late season struggles against the Royals and it could wind up costing the Detroit Tigers big once again. Just like in 2006 when all they had to do was win one game to win the division.

While it is way to early to panic, can anyone honestly say this looks like a team capable of winning the World Series? I think we are all agreed 2013 is a World Series title or bust situation for the Tigers, as it stands right now I do not see a team that can do just that. Never mind the fact once we get to the Fall Classic I have zero faith in Manager Jim Leyland.

The magic number is 15, and that is any combination of Tigers wins and Cleveland Indians losses for a third straight division title. After that we are into the post season and there is not a great way to predict what is going to happen.

Overall the picture is a little more rosy. The Tigers are still 82-61, they are 44-27 at home and 28-34 on the road. It has been a pretty good year, but the expectations were very high when the season began and that could ruin the impression of this year moving froward into history.

There are no more good and bad. After 20 plus weeks we know what this team is. We know what they can do, and we know what they have done. With that being said let us take a look at the team totals as the 2013 season enters the stretch run.

• At 728 runs the Tigers are second in the AL
• 1,448 hits ranks them first in the Junior league
• 162 home runs ranks just fifth in the AL
• They have the fewest stolen bases
• With a .286 team batting average the Tigers easily lead the AL

We turn our attention to the pitching staff:

• with 82 wins they are 3rd in the AL
• 3.72 gives them the fourth best staff ERA
• They easily lead their league in strike outs
• The staff has given up the fewest home runs 

All in all pretty good numbers, and being as far above .500 as they are says 2013 was a pretty good season, but if this team fails to live up to its expectations.

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Analyzing the 2013 Detroit Lions roster: Defensive back's

For the first time in a long time I am not as worried about the secondary as I am other parts of the defensive specifically the Linebacking corps. I like the mix of talent here this year and I think the one real weak spot is Louis Delmas and his inability to stay healthy. If it were not for that I would feel pretty confident heading into the season with this personnel grouping.

Chris Houston is back and I have always been pretty high on him. When we look over the stats from the last two seasons we find that teams are not very willing to throw to his side of the field. Sooner or later he is going to come up with one. I will not say he is an excellent corner, but he is a very good one. In the draft the Lions added Darius Slay and after off season surgery he has locked down the other starting Corner spot. I think teams will look to test the rookie early and hopefully he is up to that test. I am pretty high on the starting corners. Of course there is still a lot of questions about depth here. Bill Bentley, Jonte Green and Rasheen Mathis are the other corners on the roster so if there are injuries the Lions could be in trouble.

At Safety I love Delmas but his inability to play 16 games in any one season has me doubting he is the guy for this job. He is a leader and the defense responds to him, but when you are not on the field week in and week out changes have to be made. I don't see his health concerns getting any better but I have been wrong before. He is joined at safety by free agent addition Glover Quinn. This was a very astute pickup by the Lions and his influence has already been felt in the secondary. If Delmas stays healthy and Quinn performs like he did for the Houston Texans the secondary could be very good.

Don Carey, John Wendling, and DeJon Gnomes are the other safeties on the roster and will make more of an impact in the Special Team arena if everyone stays healthy.

There is a lot of potential in this unit, and sure as Lions fans some years we have feasted n potential only to be utterly disappointed but let us save judgement till we see what this unit can do in normal game conditions.

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Analyzing the 2013 Detroit Lions roster: D Line

We all know the big names. Ndamukoing Suh and Nick Fairley and they will be the two boys in the middle of the line most of the time. We also know the name Ezekial Ansah who takes over for the departed Cliff Avril. Add to that free agent Jason Jones and we know the four men who will start along the D line. That is three first round picks, and a free agent all playing with one another for the first time this season.

The Lions have a lot of draft picks and salary cap money invested in their D Line, and this unit has the talent to be nothing less than dominant. That might take a few games or it might happen right away. Through the pre-season we have seen the D line be dominant and opportunistic helping to create turnovers.

There has been a lot of turnover from 2012 to 2013. Kyle Vanden Bosch, Avril, Corey Williams, Andre Fluellen, Lawrence Jackson, Ronnell Lewis, and others are all out. Vanden Bosch has been the locker room leader for this unit the last few years and the Lions are betting that Suh is mature enough to step up into that role. From what we have seen so far this pre-season that certainly appears to be the case. However, Jim Schwartz has made his living in the NFL having a strong rotation at along the D line especially at the DT spots and as it stands there are just four DT's on the roster. CJ Mosely and Justin Bannan will back up Suh and Fairley who might be the best DT pairing in the entire NFL.

Ansah, who the Lions are hoping makes a big step up to the NFL game, and we have seen signs o fthat this pre-season, along with Jones are the starting ends. Willie Young and  Israel Idonije as the primary backups. Devin Taylor is also on the 53 man roster and is an extra end if needed.

This looks like a strong group and with what is invested here it certianly better be. I like the amount of talent contained here, but still think a tad much of the salary cap is invested here but that is more out of circumstance that any kind of mismanagement.

The things to watch for is Ansah's ability to pick up the game at  this level, the leadership qualities of Suh, and the amount of production the ends can get when teams double team one of the two tackles which is likely to happen a lot. This unit has the skills to be very good, and let's hope they get opposing QB's on their toes.

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What to watch for: Detroit Lions pre-season game #2

The Detroit Lions will make the short trip to Cleveland tomorrow night to take on the Cleveland Browns in what has become a pre-season tradition. Both teams are in similar spots as they are both sort of rebuilding towards something better, and while the expectations might not be as high for the Browns playing this regular pre-season game will up the ante a little. 

While pre-seasons is more about evaluating talent and seeing guys perform in game situations than the final score it is still nice to win. With the larger picture in mind here are some things to watch for when the Lions take on the Browns tomorrow night:

• The Running game- two concerning numbers from the Jets game. 7 yards was the longest rush by any Lions running back and they averaged just 2.8 yards per carry. The O line did a poor job of opening up running lanes and that needs to be fixed sooner rather than later. It seems a little odd that potential starting RG Larry Warford played 7 series against the Jets but the offense rarely ran at that side of the line. He is supposed to be a road grader and the Lions need him to be exactly that. Look for more running plays to the right side as the RT spot is also open for debate. 
• Offensive quick start- The offense was plagued last year with slow ineffective starts. When your offense is loaded with the weapons the Lions have they need to go out score quickly and take some pressure of their defense. Matthew Stafford needs to show and be the player we know he can be. 2013 might very well be a make or break year for him. 
• Linebackers in coverage and the Secondary- one of the defensive backs on this teams needs to step up and make an impact. Someone needs to be ready to lead this unit if the very brittle Louis Delmas cannot play due to yet another nagging injury. The linebacking corps did not look very good in coverage against the Jets and the Lions gave up 292 passing yards and 2 TD's last week and while shootouts might be fun a quick look at the Lions' secondary would suggest that they would not fair well if a lot of their games become shootout type scenarios. 

Other than that the kicking battle will continue between David Ackers and Harvard Rugland. The Lions are still evaluating kick and punt returners and hopefully those two units are much improved over what we saw a year ago. The Lions did not get a chance to return a kick against the Jets so we still don't know exactly what this team has there. 

Again, more than the final score of the game and let us not discount the pride taken in beating the Browns and going to Cleveland and showing up their classless fans who like to chant things that are way out of line, but the ultimate goal here is for the Lions to progress from what we saw last week against the Jets. 

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Detroit Tigers week in review: Week 12

It is hard to find things to complain about when your baseball team is in first place by 4 games. A team that

looks almost unbeatable (at least most nights) at home, and a team that has the last two American League MVP's as well as a guy who is 11-0 and making a strong case for the Cy Young award this season.

It is not a familiar role for Tigers fans to be in. It has been a long time since this team ran away with a divisional championship but this is still a roster with glaring needs and it will be up to General Manager Dave Dombrowski to make the right move that puts this team over the top. If he does not his legacy could be tarnished. He could wind up being the guy who made a few great moves spent a billion dollars on payroll to get close. We shall see on that one.

As always we look at the splits to see where this team may be lacking. Overall they are 42-32. Over the last 10 they are 6-4. At home they look almost unstoppable (again on most night) with a 26-13 record. On the road they are a pretty disappointing 16-19. The theme of the season is this is a team that doesn't play well against the better teams. However the 2013 Tigers record against opponents with a winning record is 24-17. that is not great but is pretty good. Where the team is not so good is in close games and extra inning affairs. In one run games they are just 8-11. In extra inning games they are 2-7. Those numbers seem to suggest the biggest flaw on this roster is the bullpen. We shall see how that plays out over the next month or so.

The Good:

• Max Scherzer- What more can be said about a guy who has started 11-0. In a year where Justin Verlander is struggling more than usual it has been Max that has performed like the ace of this staff. In a contract year one has to wonder if the team will be able to afford Max moving forward. Right now Max is making a very strong case to start the All Star Game, and a very real case for the Cy Young award.
• Austin Jackson- What a difference he makes at the top of the order. Since returning from the Disabled List Austin is hitting .457 with a home run and 5 RBI. He is the table setter for this offense and it runs a lot better with him hitting lead off. 
• Drew Smyly- The one bright spot of a bullpen that is a complete disaster. Drew is killing it. His ERA is 1.75 and his K/9 innings is 8.94. Drew has pitched 46.1 innings and given up just one home run and 9 earned runs while racking up 2 saves and 7 holds. 

The Bad:

• Justin Verlander- sure he is 8-5 but he has not been the dominating force we have seen over the last two years. After some struggles with control; yesterday his ERA has climbed to 3.90 second highest to Rick Porcello on the starting staff. It now seems like this is a mental issue and someone needs to get inside JV's head.
• Alex Avila- I know I know the kid is on the DL, but he went 0-3 in Toledo in his first rehab start and the bottom of the Tigers order needs him to hit better. It really is that simple. 
• Jose Valverde- This ridiculous experiment is finally at a end. How did no one see that he didn't have his split finger anymore? This was such a bad idea and it really speaks to flaws in the tigers scouting staff. 

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Detroit Tigers week in review: week 11

It is hard to complain about a first place baseball team. it is hard to look at the 2013 Detroit Tigers, who

have a 38-29 record, and say that the team has one if not two rather significant flaws. This team has one, and may have two but we can get back to that later. The Tigers are in first place by 4.5 games over the Cleveland Indians and look like they are good enough to run away with this division, however is a third straight divisional title the goal? I think not!

The Tigers have a good record, and they are 16-10 against the teams in their division. However, hen we look at the splits closer we start to see this team isn't 150 million dollars good. They are just 12-11 against teams with a winning record. While they are 7-3 over the last 10 they are still woefully below .500 on the road. 16-19 is not a good enough road record to carry this team to any kind of success in 2013. Remember the goal here is not to simply win the division. The goal for a team in win now mode, and spending the kind of money they are, is to win a World Series. This team, as presently constructed, does not look good enough to do just that. The plus side at 22-10 they are nearly unbeatable at home.

We could debate what the biggest issues is but with a 4-13 record the Tigers bullpen is amongst the worst in all of baseball and we have seen this pen give back far too many wins. If a move is gonna be made it seems that adding a closer and another late inning option are the two things the 2013 Tigers need most.

The Good:

• Torrii Hunter- Torii was in a pretty big slump chasing his 300th home run. He got that in Minnesota yesterday and maybe he can get back to where he was in May. Big congrats to a kid who hit his first home run with the Twins against the Tigers at old Tiger Stadium and his 300th for the Tigers at Target Field. What a great baseball story. 
• Drew Smyly- Drew has pitched the most innings out of the tigers pen this season, not a huge surprise since he is the long reliever but he has a 2-0 record with a 2.09 ERA. He also has 39 strike outs. He is the bright spot or a under performing unit. 
• Prince Fielder- When you hit behind a guy like Miguel Cabrera it is a little easy to get overlooked even if you are a giant of a man like Prince Fielder. He is hitting .292 with 54 RBI and 12 home runs and the biggest minus for him is he has hit into 8 double plays (second most on the team). 

The Bad:

• The bullpen- a 4-13 record is just not good enough. I do not want to single out Jose Valverde here, even though he should not be given any more chances to close out games for this team. The simple fact here is outside of Smyly and Joaguin Benoit this bullpen is terrible. 
• Alex Avila- I am almost sick of saying this but his .172 batting average is not major league worthy. He handles the staff fairly well but he needs to produce more at the plate. This is one of the reasons the offense is so streaky, the bottom of the order guys are not consistent enough. 

Stuff to watch:

• Anibal Sanchez- it looks like his shoulder injury is something to be concerned about. The Tigers skipped his start last week and then he only last 3 and a third the last time out. He may need sometime off and that means the Tigers will need to bring someone up from Toledo or try and get Smyly stretched out in the Minors to come in and make a start or two till Sanchez is right. Manager Jim Leyland is concerned and so am I. 

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Detroit Tigers week in review: Week 8

The 2013 Detroit Tigers season is now two months old. For the most part we know what we have now. A

very good team with a pretty large flaw. We see a team that should be dominating and at times they are, but once again they are getting off to that Jim Leyland eske slow start. Maybe it is how he manages giving guys rest so early on, and maybe it is just the mix of players the Tigers have currently.

Of course the news good be a lot worse. This is a team that needs to make a big splash kind of move at the trading deadline but they are in first place by 2.5 games after a couple of statement games against the Indians in Cleveland at the beginning of last week.

So let us take a look at the splits. The Tigers are 29-20 and that puts them on the bottom half of the teams currently leading their own divisions. They are 7-3 over the lat 10 and that includes the two impressive wins at the Indians. They are extremely good at home with a 17-8 record and .500 on the road. However they are still just 10-7 against the teams in their division and have yet to play the Chicago White Sox.

The Good

1. Anibal Sanchez- This kid is scary good. He came within two outs of his second no hitter, a game that I had the pleasure to take my son too, and is certainly worth every penny of the large contract he signed this off season. Somehow he is just 5-4 but he has looked unhittable at times and his 2.38 ERA speaks to that. On top of that he has 80 strike outs and may just be the most impressive Tigers starter so far.

2. Miguel Cabrera- Talk about scary good. He looks better this year than last year when he won the Triple Crown. He is hitting .377, with 14 home runs and 57 RBI. By far he is the most consistent Tigers offensive threat.

3. Jhonny Peralta- It is hard to give this guy any credit but he has been better defensively. However he has been a great presence in the bottom half of the batting order. Jhonny is hitting .341 with 13 doubles, 24 RBI, and 5 home runs.

The Bad

1. The bullpen- Jose Valverde has done an ok job closing out games. he has six saves already. Joaquinn Benoit has 7 holds, but the real weakness for this team is getting from the starter to the 8th and 9th inning guys. The Tigers continue to mix and match guys in their pen, but it is clear a move has to be made.

2. Justin Verlander- this seems like one of those good problems to have. JV has just not looked like the dominant force he has over the last two seasons. However he is 6-4 and has 82 K's to go along with his slightly inflated 3.68 ERA. A string of tough starts was snapped on Memorial Day when he went a strong seven innings giving up just three runs.

3. Alex Avila- This might not seem like a big problem but Alex is hitting just .171 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI. The team could use a little more offensive production out of the catchers spot and having him get hot would certainly help the bottom half of the lineup continue to pressure opposing pitching.

Things could be a lot worse, but for a team with a 150 million dollar payroll it seems the 2013 Tigers have not exactly shown their true potential yet.

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