2014: What is to Come?

Since Spring Training has just started, there are always many predictions that come with a new season. Here are some predictions for the Detroit Tigers 2014 season.

Drew Smyly will be a great starter

Drew had lost his starting spot to Rick Porcello in the 2013 pitching rotation. He moved to the Tigers bullpen, and apart from a few bad outings, did a great job out of the bullpen. With Doug Fister now playing for the Nationals, there is now a spot in the rotation for the left hander. He has done well in spot starts for the last 2 seasons, and will be a great addition to the starting rotation.

Max Scherzer will continue to be a force

While Max may not have as many wins as he did in 2013, he will continue to be a great part of the starting staff for the Tigers. His consistency was an issue in 2011 and 2012, but Scherzer has the confidence now to continue to rack up strikeouts and win games.  Winning the Cy Young in 2013 will be just the beginning of Max Scherzer’s coming out party as one of the great pitchers in baseball.

Miguel Cabrera will go for 3 in a row

Back-to-back AL MVP Miguel Cabrera is not going anywhere. He will continue to dominate the American League as he has done in the past. In 2013, he outplayed most of the AL with an injury.  In the very least, he will lead the league in most categories, and be in the discussion for his third straight MVP.

Teams will actually look for the Tigers to steal bases

With the additions of Ian Kinsler and Rajai Davis, the Tigers are now a team that other teams will give a second glance to on the base paths. Austin Jackson and Jose Iglesias can also steal bases, which is a lot more than what the Tigers are used to. When former manager Jim Leyland was asked about how slow the Tigers were on the base paths, he responded with “Well, the idea is that our guys are going to be trotting the bases.” The Tigers have added a new dimension to their game that will help them win games, and speed can prevent outs and stretch singles into doubles.

The Detroit Tigers will win their 4^th straight AL Central Championship

There is no question that the Detroit Tigers are still the best team in the AL central. While Cleveland and Kansas City have gotten considerably better, they are still no match for the Tigers. Cleveland will take a step back in 2014, as they need better starting pitching. The team that will give the Tigers the most trouble this year is the Kansas City Royals. They have greatly bolstered their pitching staff, they have a great bullpen, and they have a core of young guys that are good players. Alas, the Tigers still have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, great veteran presence on the field, and 30 years seems like the time to win it all, which is right now. The Tigers have also improved in some areas they were lacking in past years, such as speed on the base paths, which means they can bring something different to the table. 

Who is Brad Ausmus?

What we know about the Detroit Tigers new skipper:

·         Former major league catcher

·         Last year in the majors was 2010

·         Played for the Padres, Tigers, Astros and Dodgers

·         All-star in 1999, 3 Gold Gloves (2001, 2002, 2006)

·         Worked in the Padres front office as a special assistant until accepting manager position with the Tigers

Obstacles

The first, and most obvious obstacle that Brad Ausmus will have to overcome in the 2014 season for the Detroit Tigers is the fact that he has never managed a team before. He will have to go through all of the growing pains, getting to know the players and trying to find common ground with them.  No matter what, there will be an adjustment period while Ausmus gets used to the Tigers, and the players get used to having someone other than Jim Leyland at the helm. The Tigers are a veteran team that is used to winning, so Ausmus will have to find a balance with the players.

Another obstacle the new skipper will have to overcome is the expectation that comes with managing in Detroit. In the past few years, Tigers fans have come to expect a playoff run, and this season are looking for their first World Series win in 30 years. With expectation comes scrutiny, and Ausmus’ every move will be analyzed, and every decision he makes will be questioned. He will have to know how to deal with this kind of pressure, and be able to do his job despite what is going on around him.

Can He Do It?

Brad Ausmus can absolutely come to Detroit and do a great job as manager. He is said to be very smart, and would be an asset to any team that he became a part of. The fact that he is a former catcher will be great for the pitching staff, and he will know how to help them. The players could also relate to him because he is a former player. Jim Leyland has said that because he only ever played minor league baseball, he felt that as a manager he had to earn the respect of the players. At one point in time, not too long ago, Ausmus was one of them, and that certainly can’t hurt. Let’s also not forget that the Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2013 with a brand new manager, so anything is possible.

Max Scherzer: What Will It Take?

One question that the Detroit Tigers will have looming over the 2014 season is in regards to the 2013 Cy Young winner, and second starter in the rotation, Max Scherzer. He will reach the end of his contract after this coming season, and the Tigers must decide if they would like to extend Scherzer’s contract. Scherzer is a power arm, and has had large strikeout numbers, particularly in the past couple of years. While Verlander struggled in the 2013 season, this was Max’s year to shine. Every fifth start, it was expected that Scherzer would get a win, and he rarely disappointed. With all of this success comes expectation, both for a team looking to sign a pitcher like Scherzer, and for Max himself, in his expectations of his worth to a team. There are a couple of things to consider when the season comes to a close for the Tigers. Scherzer has said in the past that he will not talk of his contract during the season, and it will be interesting to see if he holds to that, with media pressure that will surely ensue.

Scott Boras

Max is represented by Scott Boras, who manages many other major league players as well. Boras has been known to be aggressive for his clients, and ask for as much money as he can get them. The Tigers need to understand that Boras will not want to be talked down, unless Max is willing to do so. The Tigers are well aware of Boras, since he also represents Austin Jackson, Jose Iglesias, and Rick Porcello.

Money

Coming on the heels of his Cy Young award, Max will no doubt be looking for a pretty large sum of money, and he has certainly earned it. He will at least want more than what Anibal Sanchez, the 3^rd starter for the Tigers is making. Sanchez makes 16 million a season. When the Tigers got rid of the huge Prince Fielder contract, it seemed that they were making room financially for a contract extension for Scherzer. Only time will tell.

What the Tigers Have Going For Them

Scherzer has openly stated in the media that he loves Detroit and all of the fans. He has also stated that he would like to stay in Detroit. While many things can happen during the course of a season to change a player’s mind, the Tigers should do everything in their power to keep Scherzer, and keep the 1-2 punch of Verlander and Scherzer. Allowing him to sign with another team would be a huge blow to the Tigers rotation, one in which they have already taken a blow from in losing Doug Fister. 

Justin Verlander

                To say that Justin Verlander’s 2013 season was a disappointment in the eyes of Detroit fans would be putting it lightly. He went  13-12 with a 3.46 ERA, 217 strikeouts and a 1.31 WHIP. While these stats may be decent for other pitchers, this is not the Justin Verlander Detroit is used to seeing, especially in the last few years. This past season there were times where he lacked that confidence that constantly surrounds him. The one in where it is obvious that he thinks he can strike anyone in baseball out, and he usually does. There were times when he looked lost on the mound, and it left Detroit fans worried if they ever would see the Verlander of old.

Fast forward to the 2013 playoffs. In the 3 games that Verlander pitched, he only allowed 10 hits,  3 walks, one earned run, and had an ERA of .39. In the final game of the ALDS, Verlander had a no hitter going through the end of the 7^th inning. It seemed as though the Verlander of old was back, and just in time. Going into the offseason, there was no doubt that Verlander was turning a tide.

Fast forward to January. The Tigers announce that Justin Verlander underwent core muscle surgery for an injury sustained in the offseason. It is speculated that he should be ready to pitch by the beginning of the season, but there is a possibility that he could miss the start of the 2014 season. Honestly, this is not the end of the world. The injury that he sustained in the offseason could have started during last season, and been the reason that he was not his usual self. This surgery could be just the thing that brings the old Verlander back. Also, some rest wouldn’t hurt Justin. He has been the workhorse for the Tigers since he came up in 2006, and all of his innings pitched have no doubt taken a toll on his body.

What will hurt Justin is this. Not necessarily his relationship with Kate Upton, but constantly being seen out and about with her, and taking pictures at parties with her. If there are any setbacks in his rehab, it will all get blamed on his relationship with Upton. The press will eat him alive, and say that he’s not focused on baseball. Verlander prides himself on being the best, and the last thing that should happen to him is something similar to Alex Rodriguez, where who he is dating, and his off-the-field accolades overshadow what he does on the field. Justin has already seen the effects of this in the 2012 All-Star game. He pitched horribly in the first inning, and the press blamed it on his alleged romance with Upton. The best thing that Verlander can do is keep his head down, and focus on baseball.  There is no doubt that he is still one of the best pitchers in baseball. 

Detroit Tigers 2014: Who is Missing?

The game of baseball is a business.  In any business, there are certain transactions that are made from time to time. In baseball, those transactions are the players. Players are traded every year to make room for younger players, to try to free up money to sign a big free agent, or keep a superstar player. These transactions can get quite the reaction from fans, both good and bad. There are 2 Detroit Tigers that have been traded this offseason that have been a huge part of the Tigers success for the last 2 seasons.

Doug Fister

In an unexpected move, starting pitcher Doug Fister was traded to the Washington Nationals in return for infielder Steve Lombardozzi, left-hander Ian Krol, and minor league left-hander Robbie Ray.  So in exchange for a solid starter that will give a team a lot of innings pitched, we received a bench player, bullpen pitcher, and a minor league prospect. This trade honestly does not make much sense to me. This was obviously to free up money to resign Max Scherzer, but there must be some other way. What the Tigers gave up does not make any sense for what they received in return. Also, are the Tigers a better pitching staff with Drew Smyly taking Doug Fister’s place in the lineup? I don’t think so. While Drew Smyly has the potential to be a great starter, trading Doug Fister just does not seem like the answer.

Prince Fielder

The Detroit Tigers let go of the enormous contract of Prince Fielder in exchange for 2^nd baseman Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers. This was absolutely in part to save money for the resigning of Max Scherzer, as well as with the Doug Fister trade. While Fielder has had some big hits for the Tigers in the past 2 seasons, he has failed to show up when the Tigers needed him the most, which is in the postseason. Unfortunately for Prince, someone who is paid the money he is paid is expected to get the big hits, whenever they are needed, and with no excuses. While initially it was sad that Fielder was traded, the Tigers can win without him. A lackluster presence in the clubhouse may have also cost him his spot on the Tigers. Comments that he made after the disappointment that was the 2013 ALCS made him look like a player that did not care that his team just got kicked out of the playoffs. While there were many ups and downs with Prince Fielder in his time with the Tigers, this will always be his most memorable moment: