The Tigers Ninth Inning For The ALCS

The past three games the Tigers pitchers have given up eight runs, of those eight the Tigers closer since 2010, Jose Valverde has given up every single one of those runs, except one.  He literally is the problem for the Tigers right now.  Valverde has been good to the Tigers in 2010 and 2011 but he has had a massive collapse this year and it’s almost crazy how it happened and how in the playoffs it’s at its worst and changing closers in the postseason never happens, but after Valverde’s last two outings I think he has blown his job.  The Tigers have a good bullpen right now besides him and lots of other guys could close out the rest of the postseason.  What I’d do is pt Octavio Dotel as closer since he has postseason experience and I’d keep Benoit in his role because he is doing just fine there minus his home runs given up.  Al Albuquerque is another option but I don;t think putting him in that role in this situation his a good idea.  I’d keep Valverde as a mop up guy for now and if the Tigers are winning by a ton or losing a game that is out of reach for sure put him in.  If the Tigers keep Valverde in the role I think he will rebound somewhat and could get a save or two but he is still at high risk for blowing them.  He has good stuff, but it’s not working for him right now and he needs to figure out, but the Tigers can’t afford another blown save this series, so if they keep Valverde in there the Tigers are taking a big risk.  Valverde will be a lot better if he can get movement on his pitches like his fastball, but he could make that adjustment anytime.

If Valverde Is Out, Who Closes?

The Tigers are rebounding and part of their slow start has to boil down to injuries, which struck the Tigers again last night when Jose Valverde was taken out of the game before getting the  save and diagnosed with a sprained wrist.  He will be back, but the question is when?  If he has to take a trip to the DL for a few weeks the Tigers will need a closer.  Many fans want to see Brayan Villarreal get the chance, who finally broke out and lived up to his stuff and fastball this season.  He even has a fantastic pick-off move for a righty, which can come in handy for a closer in a sticky situation or a close game but I wouldn’t mess with his role or success and he seems to have a very bright future as a middle reliever.  Then there is Joaquin Benoit, the best reliever on the Tigers, but he’s a setup man and a relief ace will be needed in other situation outside the ninth inning, which is exactly what Benoit does best.  The two best options boil down to Phil Coke, who had a very clutch save in Game 5 of last season’s ALCS or former closer Octavio Dotel, who blew a big save against Seattle, but to his benefit it was only one bad outing.  Both could be decent fill-ins, but what I’d do is put Dotel in first, because he’s good and has experience even if he hasn’t closed in a while, and Coke can still help in LOOGY situations and other late inning needs, but if Dotel struggles I would give the job to Coke right away.  The best news would be for Valverde to be healthy and keep closing, because he can get saves and I think he will bounce back, maybe not to last years form but with his skill and some luck Valverde is still an all-star closer.  If he does go on the DL, I would call-up Chris Bootcheck, who could turn into a pretty good reliever.

Tigers Quarter Mark

THE IDEA: Famous Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson said you will know a lot about your team after 40 games, that’s true a lot of the time, but not always as proven by the 2011 Tigers
THE LOOK SO FAR: They are 20-21 through 41 games, but last season they struggled like this too and they have some slow starters that are starting to hit and pitch better such as Fielder, Young, Valverde and Scherzer.  Now just Avila and Peralta plus the bottom of the order, which it will sort out and the Tigers will win at least 90 games, very likely more and along with the line-up the bullpen will get a bit better at least and some acquisitions could boost the team a lot.  The rotation is really taking shape and the five arms in it, I like a lot.  This team is still good, they just need to put it all together for a few game and it will all take off, just like last year.  They might have already done that with Verlander and Scherzer’s great games and we will see if they can build a winning streak on this road trip, which could turn them around.
WHO’S HOT?
Miguel Cabrera: Average will rise and so will OBP, but he’s here for being the top offensive performer like usual and being above average, slightly, at third base.  He’s done what everyone’s expected and more, and he will do even better too.
Austin Jackson: He is hitting like 2010 again and with power, and that is the real Jackson and his defense is as good as usual
Andy Dirks: His will cool down a little bit but his power will stay and he will still hit very well.  He can stay in LF and may be able to keep starting and he’s been great
Justin Verlander: You know why he’s here
Drew Smyly: He wills struggle some, but for the most part he’s a dominant lefty and that’s what he will develop into too and he will be very useful this year
WHO’S COLD?:
Jose Valverde: Will warm-up
Prince FIelder: Not cold but will warm-up
Alex Avila: Will warm-up
Ryan Raburn- Second half will be his
Delmon Young- Will warm-up, do decent
Jhonny Perlata: Will warm-up
RECAP: Boesch will also be a big and good factor and the first 40 games aren’t that telling this year, this tigers team will heat up and June and July could be some of it’s best months.

Tigers Predictions for 2012

MVP: 3B Miguel Cabrera
CY: SP Justin Verlander
Breakout Player: SP Rick Porcello and OF Brennan Boesch
Chance at Dissapointing: Nobody really bad but if I had to pick one guy, Brandon Inge
Rising: OF Austin Jackson
Falling: 2B Brandon Inge
Chance at 100 Wins: 65%
Better:
Benoit or Valverde: Valverde
Fielder or Cabrera: Cabrera
Young or Peralta: Young
Avila or Young: Avila
Scherzer or Porcello: Porcello
Boesch or Jackson: Jackson, in a really close one
Home Runs Hit: 209
Verlander K’s: 268
Valverde saves: 42
Benoit Holds: 30
Jackson K’s: 144
Boesch HR: 22
Cabrera AVG: .347
Avila Games Caught: 127
Fielder HR: 45

Note: Inge could still make some contributions this year

The Top 10 Detroit Tigers Right Now- March 2012

Top 10 Right Now- March 2012

1 3B Miguel Cabrera
2 SP Justin Verlander
3 1B Prince Fielder
4 RP Jose Valverde
5 C Alex Avila
6 SP Doug Fister
7 SS Jhonny Peralta
8 LF Delmon Young
9 SP Max Scherzer
10 RP Joaquin Benoit
HM: Jackson, Porcello, Boesch, Dotel, Coke, Inge

The guy with the biggest possible jump is either Austin Jackson or Rick Porcello.  Porcello may be the team’s version of Avila only for pitching this year and Scherzer and Jackson could return to their 2010 ways and climb.  Cabrera is the best hitter in the game right now and JV the best pitcher, it’s so hard to decide between them but Cabrera is just a little better.  Avila and Peralta and Young should all be great offensive forces with power.  Valverde and Benoit are both bullpen aces and this team is just stacked.  Boesch could do great, so could Turner or Smyly or Crosby or even Oliver and Below.  Fister should regress a little but not much and he should still be very dominant.  Fielder should be Fielder and make the offense do big, big things.

Fantasy Baseball 2012- Relief Pitcher Rankings with Closer Chart

The Rankings

RANK	PLAYER	TIER	ROUND	$	STOCK
1	Mariano Rivera	1	6	22	Same
2	John Axford	2	7	20	Same
3	Craig Kimbrel	2	7	20	Up
4	Drew Storen	2	8	19	Up
5	Jon Paplebon	2	9	19	Same
6	Ryan Madson	2	10	16	Same
7	Jose Valverde	3	10	16	Same
8	Joel Hanrahan	3	10	16	Up
9	Brian Wilson	3	10	16	Same
10	JJ Putz	3	11	14	Same
11	Andrew Bailey	3	13	12	Same
12	Heath Bell	3	13	11	Same
13	Joakim Soria	4	14	11	Same
14	Jason Motte	4	17	9	Up
15	Chris Perez	4	18	8	Up
16	Jordan Walden	4	19	7	Up
17	Sergio Santos	4	19	7	Up
18	Carlos Marmol	4	20	6	Same
19	Rafael Bentancourt	4	20	5	Same
20	Joe Nathan	5	20	5	Down
21	Brandon League	5	20	5	Same
22	Huston Street	5	20	4	Same
23	Kyle Farnsworth	5	21	4	Same
24	Brett Myers	5	22	4	Same
25	Grant Balfour	5	23	3	Same
26	Matt Thronton	5	23	3	Same
27	Johny Venters	5	24	3	Up
28	Javy Guerra	5	24	2	Same
29	Kanley Jansen	5	25	2	Up
30	Frank Francisco	6	26	2	Same
31	Matt Capps	6	26	1	Down
32	Addison Reed	6	26	1	Up
33	Tyler Clippard	6	27	1	Same
34	Jim Johnson	6	28	1	Same
35	Sean Marshall	6	28	1	Same
36	Joaquin Benoit	6	28	1	Same
37	Fernando Salas	6	29	1	Up
38	Sergio Romo	6	29	1	Same
39	David Hernandez	6	30	1	Same
40	Mark Melancon	6	30	1	Same
41	David Robertson	6	30	1	Same
42	Phil Hughes	6	28	1	Same
43	Antonio Bastardo	6	W	0	Same
44	Vinnie Pestano	6	W	0	Up
45	Mike Adams	6	W	0	Same
46	Scott Downs	6	W	0	Same
47	Eric O’Flarthey	6	W	0	Same
48	Octavio Dotel	6	W	0	Same
49	Francisco Cordero	6	W	0	Same
50	Rafael Soriano	6	W	0	Down
51	Jonathan Broxton	6	W	0	Same
52	Greg Holland	6	W	0	Up
53	Aaron Crow	6	W	0	Up
54	Jesse Crain	6	W	0	Same
55	Brian Fuentes	6	W	0	Same
56	Luke Gregerson	6	W	0	Same
57	Joel Peralta	6	W	0	Same
58	Koji Uehara	6	W	0	Same
59	Francisco Rodriguez	6	W	0	Same
60	Tony Sipp	6	W	0	Same

 

The Closer Rankings and Job Security Chart

RANK	PLAYER	SECURITY
1	Mariano Rivera	Nailed
2	John Axford	Nailed
3	Craig Kimbrel	Nailed
4	Drew Storen	Nailed
5	Jon Paplebon	Nailed
6	Ryan Madson	Nailed
7	Jose Valverde	Nailed
8	Joel Hanrahan	Nailed
9	Brian Wilson	Nailed
10	JJ Putz	Nailed
11	Andrew Bailey	Nailed
12	Heath Bell	Nailed
13	Joakim Soria	Good
14	Jason Motte	Good
15	Chris Perez	Nailed
16	Jordan Walden	Good
17	Sergio Santos	Good
18	Carlos Marmol	Decent
19	Rafael Bentancourt	Decent
20	Joe Nathan	Decent
21	Brandon League	Nailed
22	Huston Street	Decent
23	Kyle Farnsworth	Decent
24	Brett Myers	Shaky
25	Grant Balfour	Shaky
26	Matt Thronton	Hot Seat
27	Javy Guerra	Shaky
28	Frank Francisco	Hot Seat
29	Matt Capps	Hot Seat
30	Jim Johnson	Hot Seat

2012: Will These Players Be Better, Worse, or the Same- Tigers

What this is is rating on if a player will improve in 2012 on thier 2011, stats and contributions and such.

Alex Avila- Worse, just a little bit
Prince Fielder- Better, by a little
Ramon Santiago- Better
Jhonny Peralta- Same
Miguel Cabrera- Better
Andy Dirks- Better
Austin Jackson- Better
Brennan Boesch- Better
Ryan Raburn- Better
Gerald Laird- Same
Don Kelly- Same
Brandon Inge- Better

Justin Verlander- Worse, will still be best pitcher in the league
Doug Fister- Same
Max Scherzer- Better
Rick Porcello- Better
Jacob Turner- Will be good (Rookie, not MLB stats to rate)
Jose Valverde- worse, but will still be great
Joaquin Benoit- Same
Octavio Dotel- Worse, just a little
Phil Coke- Better
Collin Balester- Better
David Pauley- Better
Al Alberquerque- Better (upon return)
Daniel Schlereth- Better
Duane Below- Same

Tigers Sign Dotel

Octavio Dotel has signed with his record-setting 13 team, the Tigers.  he’s nearing the end of his career but was huge for the Cards down the stretch last year and could be for the Tigers this season.  He will have a few struggles, more likely at first and he will have a bit of regression but an ERA in the range of 2.83-3.38 isn’t a bad expectation.  Dotel will be a great reliever in almost any inning but in seventh he will be the best.  He’s a great fit and should do okay in the AL Central and a great fit and he will be great for one year and I would maybe pick up his option.  Dotel will have a good and successful stint with the Tigers and he was a good signing and for the Cardinals he was a huge loss, the Cards needed him for one more year.  He’s a good reliever all-around and he won’t have any wild streaks and his experience will help him.  Dotel-Benoit-Valverde is a great 7-8-9 and is a huge upgrade to this team and bullpen, which is looking a lot better for 2012.

My GIBBY Award Ballot

Player Of The Year

1. OF Matt Kemp
2. OF Rya Braun
3. OF Jose Bautista
4. 1B Miguel Cabrera
5. OF Jacoby Ellsbury
6. 1B Prince Fielder
7. 1B Albert Pujols
8. OF Curtis Granderson
9. OF Justin Upton
10. 1B Adrian Gonzalez

SP Of Year

1. SP Justin Verlander
2. SP Clayton Kershaw
3. SP James Shields
4. SP Roy Halladay
5. SP CC Sabathia
6. SP Cliff Lee
7. SP Jered Weaver
8. SP Felix Hernandez
9. SP Ian Kennedy
10. SP CJ Wilson

ROY

1. SP Jeremy Hellickson
2. 1B Eric Hosmer
3. RP Craig Kimbrel
4. 1B Mark Trumbo
5. 1B Freddie Freeman
6. SP Vance Worely
7. 2B Danny Espinosa
8. SP Michael Pineda
9. SP Ivan Nova
10. 2B Jemile Weeks
11. 2B Dustin Ackley
12. RP Jordan Walden

Closer

1. Jose Valverde
2. Mariano Rivera
3. Craig Kimbrel
4. Joel Hanrahan
5. John Axford
6. Drew Storen
7. JJ Putz

Setup man

1. Eric O’Flarthey
2. David Robertson
3. Johnny Venters
4. Tyler Clippard
5. Joaquin Benoit
6. Mike Adams

Defensive Player

1. Jeff Francouer
2. Brett Gardner
3. Brandon Phillips
4. Andrew McCutchen
5. Jacoby Ellsbury
6. Cameron Maybin
7. BJ Upton
8. Mark Teixeira
9. Asdrubal Cabrera
10. Adam Jones
11. (Where’s Austin Jackson?, would’ve been No. 3)

Breakout

1. C Alex Avila
2. SP Ian Kennedy
3. SP Doug Fister
4. OF Mike Morse
5. RP Joel Hanrahan
6. OF Melky Cabrera
7. SP Justin Masterson
8. SP Ryan Vogelsong

Comeback Player

1. OF Lance Berkman
2. OF Jacoby Ellsbury
3. SP James Shields
4. SS JJ Hardy
5. C Russell Martin

WOW Factor

1. SS Jose Reyes
2. 2B Robinson Cano
3. OF Mike Stanton
4. SS Starlin Castro
5. OF Shane Victorino
6. SS Asdrubal Cabrera

Manager

1. Kirk Gibson
2. Tony La Russa
3. Joe Maddon
4. Jim Leyland
5. Ron Roenicke
6. Ron Washington
7. Charlie Manuel
8. Joe Girardi

GM

1. Dave Dombroski
2. Andrew Friedman
3. John Mozeliak
4. Kevin Towers
5. Jon Daniels
6. Doug Melvin
7. Ruben Amaro Jr
8. Brian Cashman

Postseason MVP

1. 3B David Freese
2. OF Nelson Cruz
3. C Mike Napoli
4. SP Chris Carpenter
5. 1B Albert Pujols

PLAY: Lillibridge’s Game Saving Grabs
MOMENT: Jeter’s 3,000th hit
PERFORMANCE: Verlander’s No-Hitter in Toronto
WALK-OFF: Longoria HR clinches Playoff Berth
POSTSEASON MOMENT: Freese’s Walk-Off HR in Game 6

My 2011 Season Awards

ALL MLB TEAM
C: Alex Avila
1B: Miguel Cabrera
2B: Robinson Cano
3B: Adrain Beltre
SS: Troy Tulowitzki
LF: Ryan Braun
CF: Matt Kemp
RF: Jacoby Ellsbury
DH: Curti Granderson
SP: Justin Verlander
SP: Clayton Kerhaw
SP: Roy Halladay
SP: James Shields
SP: Cliff Lee
RP: Craig Kimbrel
RP: John Axford
CL: Jose Valverde

SECOND TEAM
C: Mike Napoli
1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Dustin Pedroia
3B: Aramis Ramirez
SS: Jose Reyes
LF: Jose Bautista
CF: Hunter Pence
RF: Justin Upton
DH: Adrian Gonzalez
SP: Jered Weaver
SP: Ian Kennedy
SP: Cole Hamels
SP: CC Sabathia
SP: Matt Cain
RP: Joel Hanrahan
RP: Drew Storen
CL: Mariano Rivera

MLB PLAYER OF THE YEAR: SP Justin Verlander
MLB HITTER OF THE YEAR: OF Matt Kemp
MLB PITCHER OF THE YEAR: SP Justin Verlander
MLB ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: SP Jeremy Hellickson
MLB MANAGER OF THE YEAR: MGR Kirk Gibson
POSTSEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: OF Nelson Cruz
MLB CLUTCH PLAYER OF THE YEAR: DH Victor Martinez

MiLB PLAYER OF THE YEAR: SP Matt Moore