Second Base In Detroit

Our Twitter account has been filling up with all sorts of different conversations happening within the world of Detroit Tiger baseball. Within the diversity of thoughts and ideas, there seems to be one thing that we can all agree upon, and that is that we need an everyday second baseman. 

The Ryan Raburn project fell through this year and Ramon Santiago seems destined to stay as an utility player. All this in mind, here is an idea that we hope Dave D. is working through.

Trade any number of players for Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve. 

His numbers are solid, and his upside is even better as he is only 22 years old.

To top it off... He is from the same city in Venezuela as Miguel Cabrera. The city is called Maracay.

We may lose Brennan Boesch, Delmon Young, Nick Castellanos, Jacob Turner, or any combination of these players, plus more. However, we feel that this trade may be worth it as 2B has been an black hole of outs and errors every since templeton (Polanco) left in 2010.

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. 

The Over/Under on Rayburn Locking Up 2B

How many more days until Jim Leyland officially places Brandon Inge where he belongs, and announces Ryan Raburn as the everyday starting second baseman for the Detroit Tigers? There are exactly 18 days until the Tigers take the field against the Red Sox and as far as we are concerned, the "battle" for second base actually ended before spring even started. As spring training has unfolded, the inevitable has emerged. Here is a comparison of numbers between the two. 

          Brandon Inge

9G 25AB 3R 6H 1HR 1RBI .240BA .736OPS

          Ryan Raburn

8G 21AB 6R 10H 5HR 15RBI .476BA 1.859OPS

As if the past two year's of stats weren't enough, this spring has decided who should be at second. With all of this in mind, we will be placing the over under on the number of days until Raburn is announced as the starting second baseman at 11 days. He should have at least a week to settle in and prepare for the season ahead.