Detroit Tigers position by position review: short stop

We all know the deal here. They made this trade at the deadline last summer. Jose Iglesias is the short stop from the next couple of seasons at least. We also kind of know what we are getting in him. His glove is gold no question, but is bat is light and I do not mind having one number 9 hitter in the starting lineup every day but for as long as Alex Avila is the catcher we are always going to have two and that bothers me a lot.

Since we know what we have in the short stop position, and yes I think Steve Lombardozzi is the backup middle infielder meaning he will play some second and some short. While Miggy plays a better first base than Prince did, it seems like Ian Kinsler and second and Iglesias will have to cover a lot of ground. Overall I think this team built this way is better defensively. They have taken a clear step back offensively, but maybe the team will be more balanced in offense and not go so cold. I still think with light bats in the infield that this team needs to upgrade the production from the catcher spot, but since Alex's dad is the Assistant GM I don't see that happening anytime soon.

For the record Jose did hit .259 in 40 some games with the Tigers and he hit .286 in the playoffs so things could be worse. However, Jim Leyland was convinced that he was just a #9 guy and I would rather see hit him 8th with Austin Jackson in front of him and Avila behind. that would give this team a little speed at the bottom of the order and maybe Brad Ausmus will even use it a little bit more.

Of all the spots in the field I feel the best about short. Iglesias is a defensive wizard and his defense is his value for this team. Sure I would like to see him hit a tad better, but if he is a bottom third of the order kind of guy I am ok if they look for bigger offense at other positions.

Even though it remains my belief that 2014 Tigers will not be better than the 2013 version, I do happen to think they will be more balanced. I think that in of itself is a major improvement and might be the difference between getting to a World Series and winning one.

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Detroit Tigers week in review: Week 21

Kind of a tough week for Detroit Tigers fans. The Tigers go out and lose 3 of 4 to the Oakland A's at home, and in one of those losses Ace Justin Verlander struggles mightily. Then they bring in the Cleveland Indians and beat up on the tribe making their record against them 15-4 for the 2013 season. While getting banged up by a team the tigers could see in the playoffs sometimes in baseball it matters who you beat and when. 15-4 versus the tribe means the magic number is 19, and the tigers handled their business at least within the division.

As always we look at the splits to try and explain exactly what is going on with this team. The overall record is 80-57 and the tigers have a 7.5 game lead on the tribe and the division title is a virtual lock. A big test comes today with the Tigers on the road in Boston playing a very good Red Sox team. We would like to see the tigers play well, but with Miguel Cabrera ailing the tigers might be tempted to but their season on cruise control and get healthy for the post season.

September call ups are upon us. Phil Coke, Jose Alvarez, Bryan Holaday, along with top[ prospect Nick Castellanos have all joined the big club and we shall see how those call ups play out over the rest of the month and what is likely another post season appearance by the team.

In other organization news Toledo Mud hens manager Phil Nevin has been let go, and the Mud Hens will begin a search for a new skipper. It seems very likely that the Tigers will look within their own system to promote someone, maybe the manager of the Erie Sea Wolves who has gotten a lot out of the talent on that team.

The Good:

• Prince Fielder- We have been a lot down on Big Prince so far in 2013 but the truth is he has had a pretty good season. Maybe not in terms of power numbers but we are talking about a huge man that has 29 doubles and will wind up with over 100 RBI. All while hitting behind Cabrera. He has some personal issues to deal with and we always knew his power numbers would suffer playing half his games at the Copa. 
• Anibal Sanchez- With Max Scherzer being basically automatic, and JV struggling (by his standards) we can sort of overlook Sanchez. he has had a very solid year with a 12-7 record 151 innings pitched, 163 K's, and an ERA of 2.68. Hopefully he keeps that up and lives up to the terms of a fairly large free agent contract. 
• Jose Iglesisas- Jose is magic with the glove and will be the starter at Short Stop for this club for years to come. However, as he nears 100 at bats for the Tigers he is hitting .292, and is good enough bunting that Manager Jim Leyland is more willing to let him drop a bunt here and there. This adds another dimension to the Tigers and that is a very good thing. 

The Bad:

• Cabrera's injury- He has missed the last few games, and we are not sure exactly what is meant by abdominal strain. This is a cat who thrives on being in the lineup everyday but who is just dinged up right now. 
• JV- We have yet to see the dominate JV this year that we have seen in past years. He did turn 30, he has pitched a lot over the last couple of seasons but before we get to concerned let's see what he does in the playoffs and maybe even next year. Players are most remembered for what they do in October and JV above anyone else in this town has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt. The good news is he was very sharp yesterday against the tribe. 

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Detroit Tigers week in review: week 19

Well that was not the best week for the 2013 Detroit Tigers. It is a little hard to fathom that they lost to the Kansas City Royals twice in one day when Justin Verlander started one of those games and pitched well but once again during much of last week the offense went cold. Why this lineup remains so streaky is beyond me, but it add a lot of drama to games and whenever Miguel Cabrera comes up to bat something special is about to happen. However, he is only one of nine and it seems that the other eight are somehow coming up a little bit short during different stretches. The good news is the team did rebound and win the series, their fifth consecutive series win at home, and still lead the Cleveland Indians by a full 7 games.

As always we look for answer in the splits and even though the Tigers went 5-5 over their last 10 the splits look very good. their overall record is 73-51 and that is more in line with the other teams that are leading their divisions currently. They are 40-21 at home and 33-30 on the road. This is still a very good baseball team, they just need to figure out how the offense goes so cold for such long stretches than instantly comes back to life. If they can figure that out they look virtually unstoppable.

The good:

• Max Scherzer- Mad Max has become automatic Max. 18-1 is an unreal number. Back that record up with a team best 185 strike outs and a 2.82 ERA and there is little doubt he is the American League fave to win the Cy Young award. 
• Jose Iglesisas- How good is this kid? Talk about the human highlight reel. He is batting .268 but his value and the fun in watching him is all when he has the glove on. He might go down as the best mid season acquisition by GM Dave Dombrowski. 
• Joaquin Benoit- 16 saves, 11 holds and a 1.57 ERA. I am not exactly sure why he wasn't given the closers role back in spring training but hey that is a decision that will get overlooked if the Tigers perform the way we expect them too. 

The bad:

For one week we are gonna suspend the bad awards for individuals and just say that 5-5 record over the last 10 against the level of competition this team faced last week isn't acceptable. Why this offense allows itself to get shut down is beyond me, and the only answer I have is the lack of vocal leaders in the Tigers' clubhouse. There is not a guy who can fire this team and that has been an issue for much of the last two seasons. We saw it last year in the World Series and if they are serious bout taking the next step it is an issue that needs to be addressed. 

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Goodbye Avasail Garcia, and hello Jose Iglesias

Dave Dombrowski has worked his trade deadline magic once again. He has swung a three team deal with the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox to get the piece that his team needed most a middle infielder and while many of us would have preferred a veteran a guy who can hit like Igelsisas and who has big range and will be under team control for the next five years is a solid pick up. The flip side of the coin is it looks like Jhonny Peralta will be lost to suspension for 50 games, and official word should come down on that very shortly.

Before we continue a look at how the trade breaks down:

• The White Sox get Garcais and maybe a prospect from Boston
• The Red Sox get SP Jake Peavy
• The Tigers get SS Iglesias 

So the loss of Peralta hurts, and makes the Tigers are worse team all around the addition of Iglesias is solid. he is the rangy Short Stop this team needs to play next to Miguel Cabrera and there is little doubt he will be the shortstop for the next few seasons. Peralta will come back before the playoffs and likely get his spot back but Igelsisas is on a 50 game try out for the job long term without question.

Iglesias is hitting .330 with little power but a guy who can consistently get on base in the bottom part of this order could help a lot. There is little doubt he is a defensive upgrade but we will have to wait and see how he helps the Tigers deal with losing their #6 hitter who was hitting .308 with 10 home runs and 58 RBI.

Looking at the cost, Garcia was a high cost to pay and to trade him within the division ups that cost significantly. However if the plan is to have Matt Tiuasosopo and Nick Castellanos as the one day everyday corner outfielders with Andy Dirks or someone else as the fourth outfielder Garcia was an extra piece and extra pieces should always be traded away to help the team win a World Series title. This feels like that kind of move. It may have been forced upon the team by Peralta's suspension but none the less on paper here and now it looks like a winner.

Of course that will change the first time Garcia steps into the box against JV and takes him long, but hey that is a complaint for another day.

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