Uncertainties, not question marks: 2015 Tigers

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/93bfc216c092147d62b01dcce3f1064c35b4aa4b/c=150-0-4411-3204&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2015/02/17/DetroitFreePress/DetroitFreePress/635597908110587910-DFP-1030-dombrowski-1-1-T08VKMDR-L509150957.JPG

DETROIT (AP) -- Despite making plenty of changes in the offseason, the Detroit Tigers still expect to be a contending team.

Team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski spoke at the team's annual TigerFest event at Comerica Park and addressed those issues.

"Our expectations are to win the division and try to win a world championship," Dombrowski said. "It's just a less-certain club."

Dombrowski said fans are not sure if shortstop Jose Iglesias and reliever Bruce Rondon can come back from missing time with injuries, if Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez can bounce back and what to expect from new pitchers Alfredo Simon and Shane Greene, plus new outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Anthony Gose.

Dombrowski said the front office is not concerned about it.

"They're not really question marks to us," Dombrowski said. "I really like our club. I think we have a chance to be very good."

His offense, he said, is "getting better."

What he can do to improve that offense, he said, is "keep hitting."

When asked what he will do anything differently with the Blue Jays, he said: "I'm going to try and do a lot of things different. Try and hit the ball."

Gose was swapped for prospect Devon Travis and was coveted by the Tigers mainly because of what he can do in Comerica Park's spacious centerfield.

"Defense and speed" are his strong suits, Gose said, and about the Tigers' home outfield, he said: "They're all big. It's the big leagues. You just gotta catch the ball."

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2015/01/22/detroit-tigers-anthony-gose/22171247

this facial expression

http://media2.wxyz.com/photo/2015/01/24/185481804_1422133726753_12776952_ver1.0_640_480.jpg

It isn’t a bad team. In fact, I feel strong Red Sox ’13 vibes.

dude needs to turn that frown upside down!

http://i.imgur.com/5bn6O4u.jpg

The Joel Hanrahan Era is over.

@DOBrienAJC
Alfredo Simon just pulled into Tigers parking lot in a Benz that is entirely chrome-plated. So there's that.

@Verly32
I thought our whole complex was exploding today. Then we realized it was just Cespedes' Lamborghini

This is an improvement over Coke's remote-control helicopters.

verlander giving up homers to quad-a players

@beckjason
Recap: Kila Ka'aihue HR over scoreboard off Verlander, batboy dressed as leprechaun, Leyland doing YMCA, Nathan gets ovation. Just thru 5.

Attention, #Tigers fans! Don Kelly will be making the trip to Lakeland for tomorrow's #Marlins game.

o god what are they going to offer price

@beckjason
Standing ovation for David Price, who retired his first 10 and final 10 batters. In between, he gave up 3 runs on 3 hits in 3-batter span.

Out or across in three pitches

@Lynn_Henning
Definitely a legit 94-95 from Verlander. He'll be able to consistently run 4-seamer at that throttle in 2015.

@beckjason
Jays writers saying radar gun here in Dunedin runs maybe a tick hot, for what it's worth. Not spot-on, but not as bad as other places.

15-day DL for Verlander and Rondon, pitchers on the same staff as the embattled Joeba Chambernathan.

@Lynn_Henning
Brad Ausmus, asked if a manager admit dread over bullpen, already struggling, now minus Rondon: "It's possible. I'm not going to say it."

SAY IT

@FollowThePadres
RHP Jose Valverde has informed the #Padres that he will opt out of his Minor League contract. Team will grant him his release.

...

...

@beckjason
Tigers place Verlander on 15-day DL. Kyle Lobstein recalled from @MudHens.

Comstock Park, MI – Opening Day is tomorrow and the West Michigan Whitecaps are expanding their menu to highlight one of their newest players! Joey Pankake is a second baseman for the team and starting on Thursday, April 9, the Whitecaps Opening Day, fans can get “The Joey Pankakes.”

Consisting of two alternating layers of pancakes, hickory flavored pulled pork and bacon, it is then all topped with a generous helping of syrup. The Joey Pankakes satisfy the foodie in just about everyone. Whitecaps President Scott Lane thinks fans will enjoy this item. “When you add bacon and syrup to give you that salty and sweet taste it is mmm tasty!”

@beckjason
Joe Nathan to DL with right flexor strain. Joakim Soria to close.

Terrible news!

offense seems okay

@beckjason
Joba on new bullpen setup in Cleveland: "It was interesting. There was a never-ending joke about midges. I never heard that before."

Advice: The Big Pasta walked a pair and punched out three on the afternoon. He cruised through the first five innings virtually unscathed, but ran into trouble as he seemed to tire in the sixth. He'll look to extend his winning streak when he takes the hill against the Pirates in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
(Rotoworld.com)

So far so good heh?

American League Leaders
AL BATTING AVERAGE

1. Jose Iglesias, DET .526
2. Miguel Cabrera, DET .520
3. Anthony Gose, DET .450
4. Ian Kinsler, DET .440

raise it

Sanchez gave up four home runs last year.

shane greene looks pretty good . . . when he's not batting, anyway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljo2FI9ynAE

We want that Kake Kake Kake Kake Kake Kake Kake Kake

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCmAaU_W0AEffEs.png

Joba, unacknowledged Dom DeLuise son

Only one appearance -- a rough one -- for Joba thus far. Zero tolerance!

Meanwhile, Joakim Soria has been sharp (two hits allowed, both in a nonsave situation) and will lose his current role once Joe Nathan is off the DL.

Price: 22.1 innings, 20 SO, 5 walks, 1 HR. Some pretty good stuff so far.

Poor Denny McLain

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2015/04/20/detroit-tigers-denny-mclain-memorabilia/25990339/

http://www.postandcourier.com/storyimage/CP/20130709/PC20/130709436/AR/0/AR-130709436.jpg&maxw=400&q=90

https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vsveDzdxYIscff0GqfOKP1xKV6g=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3626326/Iglesias_omg.0.gif

what a pick by miggy

v pretty infield plays tonight

"yr welcome detroit!" - ben cherington

Oh no!

‏@TonyPaul1984
It was an off-speed pitch that landed #Tigers Joe Nathan on the DL. Reports say he just left Toledo outing after another off-speed pitch.

@cmccosky
In his last .2 innings vs. Yanks at Comerica, Price has given up 14 runs, 13 hits. Crazy

had to restrain myself from posting another joey pankake video here today

rip joe nathan

alfredo simon: staff ace

Despite Chad Fairchild:

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/numlocation.php?pitchSel=430580&game=gid_2015_04_25_clemlb_detmlb_1/&batterX=4&innings=yyyyyyyyy&sp_type=1&s_type=3&league=mlb&pnf=&zlpo=&cache=1

Meanwhile, in nine appearances, Nathan understudy Soria -- who was mopping up for Phil Coke only seven months ago -- has allowed two base runners, both during a nonsave situation.

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/numlocation.php?pitchSel=430580&game=gid_2015_04_25_clemlb_detmlb_1/&batterX=4&innings=yyyyyyyyy&sp_type=1&s_type=3&league=mlb&pnf=&zlpo=&cache=1

(Pitch six: "Ball four!")

Maybe!

Norris and Boyd's first starts as Tigers: 14.1 IP, 11 H, 2 ER, 7 K, 1 BB

Tiger fans: "Waaaaa, wake us when Avila's off the team, waaaaa..."

Yikes.

https://twitter.com/blessyouboys/status/629828436849238017

https://twitter.com/blessyouboys/status/629829251290787840

@Lynn_Henning
Quite candidly, the last two guys on this team you'd expect to squabble would be James McCann and Jose Iglesias. But 2015 hasn't made sense.

digging the spanish jerseys

new vp of player development: dave littlefield

rip

Promising:

"One thing I will bring different is expanded analytics," Avila said. "I will tell you that I feel that we have a ways to go to catch up with the industry. We have been making some strides, but we'll fast-forward a little bit and add to that department.

"You'll see a big difference there."

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2015/08/12/avila-bringing-new-look-tigers-front-office/31595203/

daniel norris, career: 1.000/1.000/4.000

also he grows a beard and camps out on the way to spring training cause he's a lefty

Left the game with a strained oblique.

Wonder how that happened.

Welcome, Guido Knudson.

Really appreciate HR-allowed leader Sanchez pitching through a strained rotator cuff "the past few months."

Farmer Tanned

Whole staff tanned.

Gose cooked.

Playoff tix on sale!

From a Detroit Free Press article on Gose's Saturday mishap:

"Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said after the game that Gose knew he screwed up and it wouldn’t happen again."

It did happen again--on Sunday.

So...who managing this team next April???

Todd Jones and the cast of Sharknado 4.

kingfish?

Seems like the least surprising choice would be Gardenhire.

Guido Knudson gave up a home run to Cheslor Cuthbert.

Guido Knudson is the first relief pitcher to give up a home run in each of his first four career appearances.

The Tigers were already in a 4-0 hole by the fourth inning, and losing their best hitter did not help matters, as Cabrera was ejected for arguing after a called strike. The 32-year-old slugger was visibly upset after Quinn Wolcott punched him out following a pitch that Cabrera clearly felt was a ball.

Cabrera voiced his displeasure to Wolcott and appeared headed back to the dugout when third-base umpire and crew chief Gary Cederstrom tossed him from the game.

It was not immediately clear what prompted Cederstrom to toss him, though Cabrera appeared to gesture at him at one point before heading to the dugout.

"He don't got nothing to do with that play," Cabrera said of Cederstrom. "I don't know. Eventually, [the media is] gonna write something and Major League [Baseball] is gonna fine me, so I don't care. What am I gonna do? I didn't do anything."

After being ejected, Cabrera approached Cederstrom, with manager Brad Ausmus trailing close behind.

Ausmus said Cabrera was restrained when he approached Cederstrom after the ejection.

"Miggy was very calm when he was talking to Cederstrom," Ausmus said. "He didn't use any bad language."

The Tigers manager wouldn't venture a guess as to why Cabrera had been ejected.

"You'd have to ask Gary that," Ausmus said.

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/numlocation.php?pitchSel=570649&game=gid_2015_09_02_detmlb_kcamlb_1/&batterX=28&innings=yyyyyyyyy&sp_type=1&s_type=3&league=mlb&pnf=&zlpo=&cache=1

http://m.rays.mlb.com/tb/video/v461145183/?partnerId=as_tb_20150907_52089086&adbid=640958719941935104&adbpl=tw&adbpr=39682297

Better reaction: Wolf's or the Rays fan's?

Detroit Tigers Minor League outfielder Magglio Ordoñez, Jr. has received a 50-game suspension without pay following a second positive test for a Drug of Abuse.

Looks like the manager's firing is being handled as well as that of the GM.

If Brad Ausmus is going to be fired at the end of the season, as WDIV was reporting late Thursday night, it’s news to him.

“I haven’t been told anything,” Ausmus said in a text message to The Detroit News.

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 51s52 seconds ago
#Tigers GM Al Avila: “I spoke to Mr. I today and to Brad and I can reconfirm that our evaluation is ongoing and decision has not been made.”

decision to arrive by the end of the season, apparently?

Whenever Gardenhire's ready.

@DannyKnobler
On clumsily-handled Ilitch manager firings, Larry Parrish still ranks first. This one would fight for a spot with Buddy, Tram, Garner.

Tigers rookie James McCann has done something no other catcher in modern baseball has done before. In 102 appearances behind the plate, he's been completely flawless.

The record was previously held by former Cleveland Indians catcher Frankie Pytlak, who didn't commit an error in his first 93 games in 1932-34.

As expected, the Tigers lost the Verlander start and won the "nightcap" in which their AL-worst bullpen went six innings. Cabrera went 0-for-5, team scored nine runs -- of course.

Sanchez's rotator cuff strain, which put him on the DL Aug. 19, flared up at the end of his bullpen session Monday. He said he planned to be examined by Dr. James Andrews, possibly as soon as Tuesday.

Thanks again for being a bulldog and toughing it out.

2014 HR9: 0.3
2015 HR9: 1.7

And the same to you, Victor Martinez (.291/.347/.637).

There are reasons for the falloff. He had surgery to repair his left meniscus on Feb. 10. It was the second operation in three years on that knee, and in hindsight, with Martinez being 36 years old, he probably tried to come back too soon.

He's never been fully healthy. Compensations were made in his swing early on, particularly from the left side, which threw off his mechanics. To alleviate the stress on the back leg, he began hitting more off his front leg, losing balance and power.

And try as me might, even as the knee has strengthened through the season, he hasn't been able to get his old, smooth swing back.

"When you are hurt, you definitely try to do stuff so you don't feel the pain here and there," Martinez said. "We definitely picked up bad habits and then it's just been fighting and fighting and fighting.

@Lynn_Henning
One thing impossible to find today at Comerica Park: a line at the concessions stand. Each fan gets his or her own stand.

congrats to JOEY PANKAKE and the MIDWEST LEAGUE CHAMPION WEST MICHIGAN WHITECAPS

“Bruce Rondon, because of his effort level, has been sent home,” Ausmus announced. “And other than saying that (general manager) Al Avila and myself completely agreed on it, there will be no other details or comment.”

BEST TEN-GAME STRETCH SINCE APRIL

.500 STILL WITHIN REACH

AUSMUS TO RETURN

@KatieStrangESPN
Tigers pitcher Alfredo Simon said he has pitched through knee pain virtually the whole SSN. Going to DET tmrw to undergo PRP treatment

OK, great.

if only buck farmer had been given a shot

anyway fuck them for not calling up hessman

Dan: Ausmus says he doesn’t care what people say about his handling of Norris because they don’t know the game like he does. Can the Tigers hit the reset on their decision?

Klaw: Except that all available evidence is that he doesn’t know the game. That was unconscionable; two AGMs texted me during that first inning to ask what the fuck (their word) Ausmus was doing.

http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/09/30/daniel-norris-54-pitch-first-inning-tigers-brad-ausmus

But if he gets hurt, or if his velocity and effectiveness fade next year, there will be many fingers pointing to Tuesday night’s 54 pitches and the manager who let him throw them.

Looking forward to a poor start or the slightest injury being attributed to 54 pitches thrown without a five/ten-minute break.

Probably wouldn't have left Norris in there to finish the inning, though.

@Dan_Dickerson
Verlander's final 14GS of this year:
2.27ERA, 74H in 99IP, 20W/91K - and opp. hit .207/.249/.299 - .548OPS in 358AB....

Tigers' Daniel Norris reveals he has thyroid cancer

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2015/10/19/detroit-tigers-daniel-norris/74236764/

Heard on the radio it's very treatable.

lloyd mcclendon is the new manager of the toledo mud hens

also it is joey pankake's birthday

Great day for the organization.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CZ0tlyrVAAA6XON.jpg

In Faygo orange for graying Juggalos

https://twitter.com/Field_Jordan/status/695599881071624192