Brandon Inge and Dombroski's Contract Sweepstakes

The release of Brandon Inge today is bittersweet for most of the Tiger faithful. Bitter in that Inge has been a mainstay on the Tiger's roster for 12 years. He has seen the best or times and the worst of times. He has played in a world series with Detroit and he has lost 119 games in one season with the Tigers.

His departure however is also sweet. Coming off a wretched seven game stretch against the Rangers and the Mariners, something had to be done, and Inge was the low hanging fruit. Never in the history of baseball has such a poor performer consistently been given so many AB's at third base. His numbers are embarrassing for the entire state of Michigan and any replacement will instantly mean more wins for the Tigers.

Many of these wasted AB's over the years go on Jim Leyland. He liked Inge and he allowed his relationship with him to veil the reality of what he was producing on the field. Overall, however,

we have to place the majority of Inge's wasted AB's over the past two years on Dave Dombrowski for signing him to that ridiculous contract. In 2010 he gave him a two year contract worth over 11.5 million dollars. Dave seemed to have learned from this mistake by not signing Magglio Ordonez or Carlos Guillen last winter and I hope this trend of refusing to sign aging talent stays consistent as we move into some potential golden years of Tigers baseball.

Overall Brandon Inge... We at Detroit Tigers Storyline never liked you as a baseball player. Let's be honest... You mostly sucked. But as a human, some people seem to like you. Way to go for that. Hope that your time in the minor leagues, playing for foreign baseball organizations is fun, and that you finally get rid of those lame tattoos. At least cover them up for fans.

Just for memories sake: One last boo for Inge.

Boo.

Time to move on.

What Brian Runge Learned from Jim Joyce

Congrats to Philip Humber, member of the AL Central's White Sox, for his perfect game on Saturday. He is a friend that I stood next to at a wedding and his performance on Saturday was only matched by his humility. He is a great guy, hard worker, and faithful man. Hats off to you Philip!

On another level, congrats to Brian Runge, the umpire behind the plate who learned what not to do from Jim Joyce, who blew Armando Galarraga's perfect game in 2010 with a missed call. Galarraga went to face his 27th batter, pitching what arguably could be considered the best game ever pitched. On his 83rd pitch (The 83 pitches thrown before the blown call would have been the fewest pitches in a perfect game since 1908), Jason Donald hit a ground ball to first base, Cabrera routinely through the ball to Galarraga as he covered first base, he beat the runner to the bag
and Jim Joyce called him safe. 

Brian Runge did better than Jim Joyce did as he called Brendon Ryan out on strikes on a questionable check swing strike three. Runge didn't even leave room for questioning the 1B umpire and made the perfect game official by pointing and calling him out. This was appropriate in light of Joyce's 2010 debacle and covers some of the pain that Joyce, Galarraga and all Detroit fans experienced on the first 28 out perfect game.

Tigers Move Down in Power Rankings

They had a swagger coming into Friday, didn't they? Well that swagger has been laid to rest as the Tigers go to Seattle on Tuesday after losing three out of four to the defending ALCS winners from Texas. With the poor performance, the Tigers have moved down to number 2 in ESPN's power rankings.

Overall, this weekend proves that there is still work to do. For any of us that were ready to deem the Tigers the world series champions, may this series from this weekend cause us to pause and take note.

Rick Porcello, who we thought would be a mainstay in the starting rotation this year, is now a bad start or two away from losing that title due to his embarrassing, batting practice-like performance on Saturday, giving up 8 runs in an inning's work.

Our offense goes as Austin Jackson goes. He had been red hot going into the weekend, but came back down to reality. On Thursday he was on base 0 times and we scored three runs. On Saturday he was on base 1 time in the first game and 1 time in the second game. The Tigers scored a total of 7 runs.  On Sunday he was on base 1 time and we scored 2 runs. He had a total of 1 run scored and his batting average is down to .274. More importantly his OBP is down to .366. Let's see if he can keep his levels in this space. Lower would be bad. Higher would be a gift.

On the flip side... This could be the best thing that could have happened to us. A gentle reminder that there is still work to do to get to the top. The Rangers are now officially the best team in the American League and the Tigers will once again need to go the extra mile to regain that position. Maybe losing three out of four will be the fuel to get them there.

The Implications of a Victor Martinez Return

Okay okay... We're only 6 games into the season, but let's take a moment to be thankful for how one of the most exciting off-season's in Tiger history has led to a 5-1 record... A 5-1 record, nonetheless, against foes from what the media had predestined as kings of the American League in the AL East.

Well... While we were having to place restraints of picturing Victor Martinez in our lineup this year, let's change that for just a moment. Let's allow our imaginations to run rampant and place our likely lineup on a card for playoff baseball in Detroit this fall,  assuming Victor Martinez will return on time for a run to the world series. (While my mother always told me that when one you assume, you make as ass out of me and you... I am comfortable with being an ass here.)

Austin Jackson CF

Brennan Boesch RF

Miguel Cabrera 3B

Prince Fielder 1B

Victor Martinez DH

Delmon Young LF

Alex Avila C

Jhony Peralta SS

Ryan Raburn 2B

This is, of course, assuming that everyone else stays healthy, and that there is no trade activity throughout the course of the year for the Tigers. 

All this said... This is a unbelievable lineup. In fact, I would argue that there has never been a better offensive lineup in the history of the Detroit Tigers. 1984 and 1968 included. As far as arguing that there has never been a better team? That is for time to tell.

Victor Martinez May Return to Detroit in 2012

As stated in an earlier post on this blog, and now as reported by mlb.com, Victor Martinez could indeed return to the Detroit Tigers lineup in 2012. Here's the scoop... 

"After being assessed by Dr. Richard Steadman on April 4, it was determined Martinez would not need to undergo a second surgery to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, as previously expected, the Tigers said Wednesday morning. Martinez tore his ACL on Jan. 18 doing agility drills in Florida. The Tigers slugger was expected to need two surgeries, the first a microfracture surgery performed on Jan. 27. The estimated recovery time is seven months. It was the reconstruction surgery that was supposed to take place last week that would have all but guaranteed Martinez to be sidelined for the year. Instead, he will continue physical therapy until undergoing an MRI in July to determine if he can return late in the season."

More DetroitTigersStoryline commentary to come for the implications of what this means for our lineup. 

What We Learned This Weekend

There are three observations that we would like to point out after enjoying a great opening weekend of baseball in Detroit.

1.) Our lineup is intimidating. (But not necessarily because of the 650 lbs of swat in the middle.)

Not necessarily because Prince Fielder now finds himself at the center of our lineup, or because it seems that Rod and Mario have already destined Miguel Cabrera as the AL MVP, but because Austin Jackson is getting on base. If he can improve his OBP of .317 last year to a mildly respectable .367, we can estimate an increase of 15 more runs scored this year by the Tigers offense. He is off to a great start and all signs point toward this reality.

2.) Our pitching is not impenetrable. (Even though it might have been this spring.)

Watching Jose Valverde blow the save on Thursday was new territory that hasn't been explored in a year a half. Watching Max Shetzer's inability to hold a lead was more familiar, but still unfamiliar. With Fister on the DL and a huge question mark in Smyly, we are exposed. We at Detroit Tiger's Storyline will look forward to watching who emerges from the edges and covers the holes that are sprouting in different locations within our pitching staff.

3.)  The Norms of the AL Central may be changing. (Heroes from Florida.)

After having to work through another winter filled with the media in bed with the AL Central, the tides may be changing. Granted, the season is long and we are just beginning, but the early numbers speak for themselves.

While there is no reason to yet be excited about the Orioles, who played a AAA team in the Twins this weekend, there should be excitement in Tampa. The Rays have proven themselves as a consistent contender, even in the midst of an unusual amount of transition over the past four years, through building a strong pitching staff and gathering around the personality of Joe Madden. And... Who doesn't love watching them pound the Yankees over a three game series? We at this blog are sincerely hoping that the Yankee empire is falling right before our eyes and that the unlikely heroes in Florida come to the rescue to save us from their check books.

Oh and by the way... The Red Sox could also be bad this year. But we're sure that you saw that.

Jose Valverde and the 579 Day Streak

There have been 579 days since Jose Valverde last blew a save. That is a long time. To put his 51 game streak into perspective, it was quietly the third longest streak in the history of major league baseball.

Eric Gagne has a streak of 84 saves in a row back in 2003 and 2004. Eric Gagne broke the previous record of fifty-four consecutive saves set by Tom Gordon of the Boston Red Sox from April 19, 1998 through June 5, 1999. Valverde now stands third. 

While the streak would have been fun to continue through this season, Jim Leyland said it best.

"When I say this, I mean it," Leyland said. "In a way, I'm glad that streak's over because it puts that behind us and we can just go forward."

While there is no doubt that the professional nature of the Tiger clubhouse would have managed the streak well, Leyland does have a point. Working through the tweaks of the new faces and keeping the team focused on winning the AL Central can now remain the obvious priority. 

In the midst or quietly aging, Valverde had a good spring (10IP 2.70ERA 10k 1BB) and his stuff today looked the same as last year. (Similar velocity and movement.)  So... Don't worry about him this season. His streak had to end at some point and expect him to continue to be the rock solid foundation to the Tiger's bullpen.

Questions Answered for Opening Day

There were two main questions that were to be worked out as we moved to the final roster and the beginning of the season. Especially once we worked through how the team would function with both Fielder and Cabrera in the lineup. Both have been answered as the Red Sox come to Comerica tomorrow. 

1.) The Tigers 5th Starter

From the edges has emerged Drew Smyly. With Jacob Turner having a spotty spring, including an injury and Andy Oliver slowing down at the end of our time in Lakeland, Drew Smyly will be our guy... At least for the first quarter of the season. 

What to expect: With his solid performance in spring, Smyly will have numerous opportunities to cement his spot on the Tiger's rotation. However, expect for Oliver and Turner to emerge on the scene with any injuries or with inevitable poor performance by anyone out of the bullpen.

2.) The Second Extra Infielder

We knew that one of the three would not be on the roster. It was either going to be Brandon Inge, Ramon Santiago or Danny Worth. This decision was made easy through Inge's pulled groin. The question will now become whether or not Inge will be one the team or sent to Toledo once he returns. 

What to expect: Once Inge is better, he will begin at AAA and then earn his way back onto the team with good enough numbers heading into the summer. Whether or not he and his 6 million dollar salary will compete well enough to say is anyone's guess.