Can The Tigers Survive Without Magglio Ordonez?

Yes they can but it’s a very tough blow and it will be hard to deal with, the Tigers can still win though.  Raburn is in left for Delmon Young this series which isn’t bad since Raburn kills the Rangers.  For Magglio’s replacement we will get to see Andy Dirks, a guy who fits in the two or seven hole and a guy who should hit both lefties and righties.  Dirks is a obvoius upgrade on defense and he may just surprise everybody and do what Maggs had been doing on offense lately.  His hitting won’t be as good likely but it will be good.  Losing Ordonez will be tough on the Tiger but I can still see them having an offensive outbreak and possibly winning the AL championship and World Series.  This injury on;ly makes it a little less likely they do and just a little.  Clete Thomas may replace him on the roster and if he does Clete may get a couple hits and make a contribution or two but nothing more.  Kelly may also see more playing time and I can see him hitting .280-ish in it.  Delmon young may be reinstated which is the best situation because you can pinch hit him in key situations for the next few games and he may get to start the last few games of the series.  Guillen getting reinstated for this series isn’t a bad move either, at this point I’d stick him out in left field and move Raburn to right for the first six innings and then put Kelly or Dirks in.  The last option is pure speculation but if Boesch could comeback and start and then Young in the World Series this team would barely miss a beat.  It seems likely that Dirks will start or Kelly will start and Thomas or Young ar reinstated, if Young is he probably won’t be ready to start right away like I said so he’s a good pinch hitter until he can, better than Thomas.  Dirks may breakout and losing Ordonez and Young makes this team on a little bit worse and if Young comes back at all the Tigers are in shape.  So yes, the Tigers can survive without Ordonez.

A Look At The Tigers Game 1 Line-Up

1. Austin Jackson CF- If he can get on than he can stay here and he found ways to get on even when he wasn’t hitting very well in the ALDS
2. Ryan Raburn 2B- A Ranger killer who does good in Rangers Ballpark and is doing well right now should stay here
3. Miguel Cabrera 1B- As long as he hits a few homers, gets on and gets RBIs he can hit third or fourth, third might be the better choice because he could get ane extra at-bat along the way but it doesn’t really matter a lot
4. Victor Martinez DH- I like him hitting fourth and should do a lot better this series and I have a feeling he will flash his power
5. Magglio Orodnez RF- He’s been hot and is a great postseason hitter, he should shit here or second but no lower
6. Alex Avila C- He needs to regain his swing and then he can hit a couple of homers and he can hit here with ease
7. Jhonny Peralta SS- A great number seven hitter who will contribute a lot
8. Ramon Santiago SS- When he gets a start he has some pop and can geta few hits here and on another note his defense is great
9. Brandon Inge 3B- He does well and will hit a few homers in the playoffs

Losing Delmon hurts but this line-up can still get a lot of runs and do well.  Betemit should hit a homer and get a few hits here and there if he stops swinging at everything.  Kelly can do some nice things for the Tigers with a few starts too

What The Tigers Line-Up Should Look Like For ALDS Game 5

Here’s what I’d do

1. CF Austin Jackson
2. RF Magglio Ordonez
3. LF Delmon Young
4. 1B Miguel Cabrera
5. DH Victor Martinez
6. SS Jhonny Peralta
7. C Alex Avila
8. 3B Brandon Inge
9. 2B Ryan Raburn

I’d do this because Jackson has been getting on and I’m not sure Dirks would do much better and Maggs had his best game in the two hole.  I trust Inge more than Kelly or Betemit right now and I’d put Avila in the seven hole because even though he’s struggling he can hit a homer just like that in Yankee Stadium.  Santiago will start doing worse and worse if he plays everyday and Raburn will come up better and I like Peralta in the six hole for some reason.  Betemit then Kelly then Dirks would be my pinch-hitting options in order of who I’d want up there the most.

Leyland said Kelly and Maggs will start so I’d put Kelly hitting ninth and Raburn seventh in that case and the lien-up Leyland is putting out there is decent but could easily win more importantly.

Ranking The Tigers Hitters From Who’ll Do Best To Worst

1. Miguel Cabrera
2. Victor Martinez
3. Delmon Young
4. Johnny Peralta
5. Magglio Ordonez
6. Alex Avila
7. Wilson Betemit
8. Austin Jackson
9. Ryan Raburn
10. Brandon Inge
11. Ramon Santaigo
12. Andy Dirks
13. Don Kelly
14. Omir Santos

Most of these guys should do very well.  The first nine will make some contirbutions and Inge could do something big and Satiago is sneaky, very sneaky

Tigers Playoff Question 3: Who Starts at Second?

THE CASE FOR RABURN: He’s a better hitter and will likely stay hot in October after his good September and can hit second, seventh or eighth or ninth.  I like him better and he will provide more power but his defense stink and it could even out.  I would view him as a better version of what Brooks Conrad was for the Braves last year who will perform on offense and most likely not make three errors in one game.  Raburn should hit in between .300 and .400 and get on but won’t be a guarantee or rally killer.  He should just do a  good job and make some big contributions and small ones no matter how much he plays in the ALDS and beyond.
THE CASE FOR RAMON: He’s streaky and always will be that way but he’s hot and will stay that way in the playoffs, just like Raburn, but he should be a worse hitter and just not do as well but keep doing good.  I would say he hits between .200 and .300 but closer to .300 and with some pop and maybe a big homer.  His hits will mostly be big in some way but some will just be normal and his defense at second will do good all-around.  I like him but not as much as Raburn.  He will do decent in the ALDS at least and pretty well overall in the playoffs.
WHO WINS: I say Raburn most of the time and he does better but it should be a platoon with Santiago getting less playing time and both doing well in their roles.  Betemit might not be a bad idea to start a game or two at second either

Tigers Line-ups

THE BEST: That’s what Leyland is putting out today but a close second would be

1. CF Jackson
2. LF Young
3. SS Peralta
4. 1B Cabrera
5. DH Martinez
6. C Avila
7. RF Boesch/Ordonez
8. 3B Betemit
9. 2B Raburn

Simply put the best line-up for the Tigers right now is the one where their best hitters get to bat the most and this is how I’d rank the guys

1. Cabrera
2. Martinez
3. Peralta
4. Avila
5. Young
6. Boesch

Jackson and Dirks are the only two who can hit leadoff and one of these guys would be good in the bottom along with Raburn and Betemit so the line-up can be feared all the way around.  Another way to spice the line=up is to start Don Kelly less, he hasn’t done much on offense lately.  Ordonez and Raburn could really show up soon too.

Best line-up with Maggs and Young hitting third

1. CF Jackson/Dirks
2. RF Ordonez
3. LF Young
4. 1B Cabrera
5. DH Martinez
6. C Avila
7. SS Peralta
8. RF Ordonez
9. 3B Betemit

Let’s also face this, Boesch is the Tigers two hitter and though he may not be the best two hitter he will give you something and actually show up in this year’s second half.  Ordonez could hit there too and if Raburn heats up, he’s okay there every once in a while.  Avila and Peralta may need to move up too they can’t miss the ball right now and with Young they could alternate.   This is a good group of players that can win even in a mismatched line-up.

A’s Acquire Scott Sizemore From Tigers for David Purcey

• The A’s got another second baseman and a decent one too.  I think he can start hitting in the MLB and in Oakland, you just have to stick with him.  With some more time he will get to hitting, he’s only played in a small parts of two seasons and his minor league numbers are more reliable to what he is.  He is a pretty good defender at second but needs work at third.  He will get better and by the end of the year he should be in the MLB again doing ok and showing some pop.  The A’s are now absolutly set at second and third and now they will get a lot out of Sizemore, who can still fully live up to his abilities and I think he will.
• The Tigers got David Purcey who will do some work out of the bullpen for now and I like him but he might now be as good as his last 10 games suggest but he still has ability and could even do better than he’s doing now and become a big part of the team.  He should keep a lower ERA for now, especially pitching at Comerica.  He may be built for the park and have success all year and beyond but he might struggle a little bit too.  Just expect him to be one of the Tigers better relievers for now and eventually develop into more.  I expect Will Rhymes to come up soon and start hitting the way he did last year, he should have a better career than Sizemore too.
• Ryan Perry has been sent down, which is okay because he needs some work but as soon as they can he needs to be back up with the club, Adam Wilk might not last or someone else and once he gets it going again he can start to dominate.  I expect Oliver to stick a lot longer this time too.  Danny Worth was called up and he should provide a little offense and a ton of glove until Rhymes can come back up.  Raburn is now the starting second baseman which means for now Boesch and Wells should play more and all three ould start to do a lot better.

Should Celte Thomas make the Tigers?

ANALYSIS: He’s coming off of surgery and he still is one of the better defenders in the system but I don’t see him hitting over .250 and I think there are better options.  Thomas could be .250-5-40 at best but he probably won’t get there.  If he does make the roster, when he plays should bat him eighth or last because he won’t do that much this year.  He could have a better year in 2012 but he’s coming off of an injury and he won’t hit very well no matter what.  i think he should play in AAA and if he earns it get called up and play twice a week.  He could do some good things for the Tigers but I just don’t think he will make the cut.
HERE’S HOW I SEE IT: I think Boesch, Wells and Kelly are all better.  Kelly is more versatile and he can hit at times and Wells and Boesch could mash at times and will always be better than Thomas.  I think the back-ups should be Boesch, Kelly and Wells coming out of Spring Training and Thomas should start the season in AA.   He could be productive in 2011, but not that much.

Some Tigers Line-ups that might work

They should try these out in September

CF Jackson
2B Rhymes
SS Peralta
1B Cabrera
DH Damon
LF Raburn
RF Boesch
3B Inge
C Avila

CF Jackson
RF Boesch
DH Damon
1B Cabrera
SS Peralta
LF Raburn
2B Sizemore
3B Inge
C Avila

NOTES:

• The Tigers should start Avila more often, he will get a bit better with his at-bats
• Jhonny Peralta shouldn’t hit lower than sixth, he’s doing to good and will continue to, same with Raburn
• Rhymes should get more playing time then Sizemore and he might just be a bit better
• The Tigers should score a decent amount of runs in September.

Tigers Outfield for the rest of the year

With Magglio out for 6-8 weeks this is what the Tigers outfield will be like…

ANALYSIS: I don’t think the Tigers should acquire an outfielder.  I would just start Ryan Raburn.  This is a big loss for the Tigers and now their chance of making the playoffs goes down, they should still stay in the pennant race. They will struggle scoring runs for a while.  Austin Jackson will be the one guy who will carry this offense and Boesch should get better soon.  This loss is big and without Maggs the Tigers will always find struggles, he was the perfect number three guy and now they will lose a lot of runs.  When Magglio does come back the Tigers will thrive.
LINE-UP:

1. CF Jackson
2. DH Damon
3. 1B Cabrera
4. RF Boesch
5. 2B Guillen
6. 3B Sizemore
7. LF Raburn
8. C Laird
9. SS Santiago