I loved interleague when it started because it seemed to bring the Cardinals to town every year, and I’d get to watch Mark McGwire in person at Tiger Stadium.  McGwire was my child hood favorite player with the A’s, and getting to watch him play my favorite team once he was in the National League was what I wanted.  Think of how great it would have been to see Mike Schmidt take a hack at Tiger Stadium?

And that’s what its about:  The fans.  Because the media covers both leagues, and fans are well aware that there are other great players, great cities, and great stadiums that they want to see.  I have family members who went to the great PNC park this week to watch their favorite team play in a new stadium.  I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching the Tigers play in San Francisco and at Dodger stadium; why would i want to see the Dodgers play Colorado?  I don’t.  I want to see Detroit play the Dodgers, in the historic stadium that I grew up watching on “this week in baseball“.  While Jerry Green argues no one cares about a subway series, I agree, with a caveat:  no one in Seattle cares what Detroit does against the White Sox, either.

Sure, its no fun to play the Pirates.  But Wojo‘s suggestion that he’d rather see Boston or the Yankees come to town one more time brings up the real problem:  There are too many crappy teams lacking star power.  Bob W doesn’t want to see a last place Seattle or Baltimore come through either.  Maybe we can scrap interleague and play an extra few series against only the biggest, most over-hyped teams such as Boston and New York, and they can barn storm the league and let all the small markets know what they’re missing?  Do you think that if the Phillies came to town, Wojo might be singing a different tune?

And what about the Pirates.. know who might want to play them?  Seattle.  Don’t you think Seattle fans have a sour taste in their mouth from losing a Super Bowl to Pittsburgh a few years ago?  (If you don’t know any big Seahawks fans, here’s a hit:  They’re still a bitter.  Very.  Very.  Bitter).

Seriously, the issue here isn’t the rules or the teams.  Baseball’s killed many of their rivalries by adding a third division and the wild card, so everyone jumps on the idea that the two big name teams might come back for one more series and the guy who can’t field gets to hit.  But when was the last time Detroit and KC had a real rivalry?  Yet the Tigers have to play the Royals 18 times per year.  Can’t we just say that both fans would be fine with a home and home against each other, and just bring the bigger name teams into town?

Honestly I don’t care if they scrap inter-league.  I’d be fine with that, or even with a round-robin tournament where all the teams play each other around the all star game for a one game elimination.  But let’s remember that fans move as much as free agents do, not all teams have star power, and this ‘experiment’ wasn’t to placate baseball purists like Jerry Green.  Its fine if you don’t like it, but using a large contract you gave a guy who can’t field as your argument makes little sense.  If you want to lobby against the sac bunt and outlaw wooden bats, be my guest.

–Hot hitting Victor Martinez and the improved-offensive attack of Alex Avila may be running into a collision course during inter-league.  Sitting Avila’s bat and defense may be difficult.

–Jim Leyland won’t go into a playoff run with Sizemore at second.  I agree with Lee’s options on how the Tigers could make a run for either a shortstop or third baseman with Jhonny Peralta’s flexibility, but the more I’ve thought about it, Sizemore’s the odd man out.  He’d have to be on a massive offensive tear for Detroit not to make a move for a veteran at second.  Nothing against Sizemore, but its just not Leyland’s MO to ride a relative rookie if they smell a playoff race.

–Magglio’s DL stint came at the right time.  Now’s the question of how long it’ll take to get healthy.  20% of Detroit’s 2011 payroll is on the DL for essentially the rest of May; Carlos Guillen still appears a ways away.

–Not sure what to make about Jhonny Peralta’s start yet.  But I can see why Detroit was ready to jump on him:  the market for shortstops blows.  Watching the corpse of Miguel Tejada on a nightly basis is depressing.  The discussion around what it would take to lure Jose Reyes away from the Mets sounds like a king’s ransom; it would only make sense if you could sign Reyes immediately to an extension.  However, Detroit actually has both prospects and (finally!) what appears to be some financial flexibility in 2012.  I imagine this is all crazy talk.

–UZR is killing me.  At this point I have no idea who can field and who can’t based on that stat.  Here’s what I can tell on my own:  Austin Jackson can field.  Miguel Tejada cannot.

–It was widely thought that Curtis Granderson would settle into a corner outfielder role as he aged.  He’s certainly hitting like it right now.

–I had totally forgotten about Matt Joyce.  Wow… really?  Matt Joyce is batting .360?

Before reading a Terry Foster article, I imagine its going to be crap, but his headline was classic this week:

When no-hitter’s in progress, do us all a favor:  Zip it!

Foster talks about how you’re jinxing the no hitter if you mention it in-progress.  Then he disproves his theory by saying someone mentioned Verlander’s gem to him on Saturday.  Over at M5 Industries, they’d say this to you Mr Foster:  Myth Busted.  Apparently you CAN tell someone that a no-hitter is in progress and it won’t have dire consequences.  Actually, if you really believe in this crap, then the person who told you there was a no-hitter in progress is NOW OBLIGATED to call you every time there might be a no-hitter being thrown or else it won’t happen again.  Well played Terry.  He goes on:

But this was very risky business. When your hometown pitcher is involved in a no-hitter after the sixth inning, you not only are not supposed to talk about it, but you are not supposed to move. Tigers broadcasters Mario Impemba and Rod Allen refused to talk about the no-hitter during the game.

So how well is that working out for you?  (assuming Foster is in his mid 30s to mid 40s) – three Tiger no hitters in your lifetime?  Here’s a hint Terry Foster — maybe you need a new strategy.  Maybe YOUR superstition is getting in the way of Tiger greatness.

I received a few different txt messages during the game and was able to catch the last two innings… and one txt told me about the no hitter.  The earth continued to rotate around the sun; life continued to exist.

Apologies to those of you who believe in Jinxes.  And to those of you who think Elvis is still alive.  And that the world is flat.

No-hitter update for those who asked:  I was not in Toronto for this no-hitter, nor did i have plans on being near Toronto.  I was wearing my beautiful Michigan Panthers tshirt all day, and attended the Giants victory over the Rockies… but thats as close as I got to this one.  And F yes I look good in purple.

The second base situation is bizarre:  Detroit is keeping a one-dimensional player on their roster (Will Rhymes, who can only play second base) with a guy who didn’t play an inning of spring ball at second base (Ryan Raburn).  So far, its working (offensively and in the win column).  John P asks the question:  WTF Why not Scott Sizemore? The logic is sound; Kurt hypothsizes that the coaching staff might have a reason (Sizemore isn’t ready yet, etc).  I think its pretty easy:  Its Carlos Guillen’s job.  Though Guillen hasn’t been working out*, Detroit either needs to eat his salary or find a position for him.  Having a hole both offensively and at second base, maybe they don’t want to promote Sizemore just to demote him in June when Guillen returns.  Also — this division is up for grabs; Sizemore hitting .350 in Toledo remains trade bait.  A slow start in the big leagues ruins Sizemore’s immediate trade value.  So I think its a calculated move — get Casper Wells & Brennan Boesch more at-bats, ride the offense and see where it takes you.  If Raburn continues to warm up, it might be a big win.

If you want to play “Dave Dombrowski takebacks”, just take a look to see how Placido Polanco is doing, both 2010 and his hot start in 2011. Would have been an easy solution to the batting order and the infield.

(*Hat tip to Jennifer C, where I found the link for Guillen’s status)

I’ll pick a number… and that’s 75%.  75% chance that if Will Rhymes and Don Kelly were both released tonight, they would pass through waivers and not be placed on a major league roster by Saturday.  Is that fair?  I think so.  The number might even be higher.  But let’s just say that Detroit has two players that right now are hitting poorly and have no track record that they might turn it around.

Now let me tell you that in a close game, after 6 innings, both of these players had more plate appearances then Detroit’s best player, and maybe the top 5 hitter in the league.

So.. 32 teams… 9 players in a starting lineup… 288 possible offensive hitters tonight.  Where would you rate Don Kelly and Will Rhymes on that list?  Bottom 10% (not including pitchers)?  And Jim Leyland just placed both players in front of Miguel Cabrera.

Sorry, this is insulting.  Worst case — they should have shifted the entire lineup up one spot — Cabrera hitting third, etc — and moved Kelly to bat ninth.  Is this a contract year for Leyland?  What is he possibly thinking?

Detroit currently has too many players on its roster that wouldn’t play for other teams in the AL Central.  If they continue to trot out lineups involving ALL of these players, they’re going to have a disappointing summer.  Yes, the pitching was disappointing tonight.  But Detroit’s payroll exceeds the requirement to try to win 1-0.

I don’t want to say “a move has to happen because X sucks” but Leyland’s actions indicated the move is coming.  You can’t have Raburn play over Rhymes, who has no other position.  Either a move is coming, or Leyland grasping for straws this early in the season, which would be concerning.  Worrisome that they are trying to kick-start the offense with a guy batting .226.

Detroit needs to keep Martinez and Magglio Ordonez healthy.  I’d sit both for a 15 day DL stint; if these injuries drag into the summer, the playoffs will be out of the question.  Its possible that either could still hit while injured, but they don’t have roster room for both.

Kudos last night to the offense, who worked the starting pitcher out of the game and hit Seattle’s bullpen, and to Max Scherzer for keeping the game close.

*** — Going with a second base order of Rhymes / Santiago / Don Kelly over Raburn in terms of defensive ability.  Mix and match the first three.

• Detroit isn’t hitting starting pitching well
• Detroit has been successful against team’s bullpens
• Teams won’t pitch to Miguel Cabrera in a tight situation; when they do, he delivers
• Detroit will probably come out of this slump, but mostly everything that Lynn Henning wrote about I agree with.

I also agree with Henning in that the answer probably isn’t on the roster or farm system.  What I’d do right now is alter the lineup.  Why?  Get past the 100 pitch mark and into the bullpen as soon as possible.  Also, require that Brandon Inge or Don Kelly gets to start, but not both on the same day.

Until the Tigers hit their way out of this funk, play to their strengths:  Miguel Cabrera and bad bullpens.  Due to his ability to take pitches, Alex Avila should hit sixth (if Boesch, Ordonez, Martinez, and Cabrera are all in the lineup?  Avila can bat 7th).  Brandon Inge or Don Kelly should hit 9th.  The sixth through nine spots haven’t been fantastic lately, but the faster you can work up the pitch count, the better.  With the power afforded by Boesch, Martinez, and (when healthy) Ordonez, I’d consider moving Miguel Cabrera up to third in the order as well.

I won’t offer any roster changes, but if Carlos Guillen were healthy, he’s the type of bat that could help.  Unless some guys get going, Guillen will be playing 2nd base and left field, just to get his bad in the order.

Detroit won’t be able to make a monster trade, but the type of player they need is Nick Swisher.  Someone who can work the count in the bottom of the order.

I’m impressed with Detroit’s willingness to shift the bullpen to find some answers; I imagine we’ll see that happen on the offensive side of the ball as well.  I don’t know where Guillen is currently in his rehab, so i’m not sure if they’re waiting for a move on Rhymes / Sizemore swap to see where how Guillen responds or not.

None of this is drastic, and Detroit will improve as the summer warms up.  Why not make a few tweaks to your current order and play to your strengths?

UPDATE:

Just as I posted this, Jason Beck twitter’d tonight’s starting lineup.  Raburn playing second base (batting second).  Leyland’s trying to find something that works — Raburn at second seems like a desperation move, with all the work he’s been making to be a better outfielder.  No word on Santiago or Rhymes being injured.

One big item I knocked off last year was ‘rooting for your team in enemy territory’, when I attended a Tigers game in the infamous Chavez Ravine, or Dodger’s Stadium.  I had a great time with some friends and some fun interaction with Dodger fans.  There have been numerous tales told by others about the nasty / vile / thugish Dodger fans, especially in the Giants / Dodger rivalry**.  I didn’t mention that there was a 35-ish female Giants fan, for some reason wearing Giants gear, attending the Tigers / Dodger game sitting 10 feet from me.  No one bothered her at all, though she was not unattractive and had breasts that defied gravity.  We joked that to be safe at Dodger Stadium, it was like the Tom Brady / Saturday Night Live sexual harrassment skit — don’t be unattractive and you’ll be fine.

I enjoyed myself and didn’t have any problems.. though I sat in premium seats purchased off stubhub, on a Sunday afternoon.

Bryan Stow wasn’t so lucky.

There’s a massive outpour of sympathy for the Stow family, and even some surprising LA fans implying he deserved it for showing up.  Well, it takes all kinds I guess.  At opening day in San Francisco Friday, there was a moment of silence for Bryan.  I was amazed… nearly everyone took off their hats as if the national anthem was being played.  Later on, they showed Bryan’s wife and two children on the jumbotron, all in attendance, and they received a standing ovation.  What really troubles me is the Dodger organization seems to have done little for their own security issues in recent years.  I have no reason to support the Dodgers — there is a bizarre but strong rift in the NorCal vs SoCal population — and I was pleased that we refused to pay for alcohol inside Dodger Stadium last year.  Now I hope that more people boycott the stadium until they figure it out.  And, honestly, it absolutely sucks getting in and out of there.

The Giants are dedicating Monday’s game to Bryan; if you feel so giving, there’s a website to donate funds to support the family and offset medical costs.

Sobering, but when we describe supporting your team in hostile areas, there might be a few ground rules to think about going forward.

First.. spring training is tame and easy.  Go to Lakeland to watch the Tigers, and go watch them play on the road.  You’ll see all the great little ballparks of the area and its still fun to sit in between the opposing fans in March.

Second — try to pick out good tickets.  Avoid the bleachers; its easy to be embarrassed by your own fans at home games sometimes.  Opposing fans in bleachers isn’t much fun.  Closer to home plate the better — one reason I love stubhub is the ability to map out the stadium area.  These seats are the season ticket holders and less likely to be belligerent drunks.

Third — day games.  Less chance for all day drinking and tailgating.  Pick out a noon start time and you can almost sit where you want.  Follow day game preference with week day games.  They’re cheaper anyway.  Friday night, Saturday night, or opening day — those are party days.

Fourth — know your travel mates.  Mix and match from the above based on who you’re attending the game with.  Bringing your wife and 8 year old?  Plan it out.

Last — don’t ever got to Dodger Stadium.  Its a cesspool.

My heart goes out to the Stow family, and he ran into trouble in the parking lot on the way out of the game by two thugs, who got into a car driven by a woman and sped off.  No one has come forward at this time.  I’m not suggesting that Bryan could have done anything different to avoid the situation; I’ve had beer knocked out of my hands by thugs during the Oakland / Detroit playoff series in 2006 when random guys went out of their way to find me because I had a Tigers tshirt on.   These are just some suggestions on how to enjoy your favorite team in hostile grounds.

The last suggestion I have is this:  Be a good host.  Not being a complete drunken dick at Comerica Park (or your home stadium) will go a long way. These out of town fans are helping to pay for Carlos Guillen’s dead contract; make them feel welcome!

** There have been plenty of tales of people having years of happy experiences at Dodger Stadium.  You go sit in the bleachers.

What is the rotation?  Two “#1″ pitchers and three “#5″ pitchers?  Thats what i can’t shake right now.  Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer have shown top of the rotation makeup; I think they’re both outstanding.  Brad Penny / Rick Porcello / Phil Coke have a lot of question marks.  But it doesn’t matter — if Verlander or Scherzer can get on the right side of a 2-1 decision, the rest doesn’t matter.  If both of them figure it out, the Tigers will be in the playoffs.  Rick Porcello is a huge wild card — if he doesn’t improve, Detroit has to start wondering how his future contract will pay out.  At his still very young age, he’ll demand a monster contract in 2013 from *someone*.  With the club controlling his 2012 costs, and Detroit having a solid farm system, Porcello could be trade bait.  Its the big question:  Who is Rick Porcello, and is this a stupid exercise since he’s only 22?

Brad Penny hasn’t had a lot of American League experience and is kind of an average pitcher anyway; Phil Coke hasn’t started at the big league level.  All of these are big questions, but again, it really depends on Scherzer and Verlander.  If they avoid injury and pitch effectively, the rest is gravy.

Bullpen:

Ouch.  I don’t know what to make of this bunch.  Jose Valverde is solid.  The rest are unknowns.  Joaquin Benoit had one outstanding year and a few good ones, and he’s 33.  I don’t see a proven LOOGY (are they really necessary?  Not sure), don’t see a good long reliever, don’t see the progress in Ryan Perry yet.  If Perry and Benoit can be lockdown, it will go a long way.

Pitching is short and sweet:  It rests on Verlander and Scherzer.  Verlander might be enough; there seems to be quality depth in the farm system.  The bullpen is rather unknown but filled with above-average arms; can they pull it together?  This is probably the area where the trading deadline moves will occur.
There’s your basic season preview.  Want more? Go to blessyouboys.com, they have an army of writers over there.  Now go enjoy your home opener!  And look for TigerGeist sunday edition with a weekly recap… this sunday.  Unless I get hit with another foul ball this weekend… it’ll be there.

• Miguel Cabrera will have MVP-esque numbers
• Brandon Inge will strike out a lot
• The team has a lot of pop

I’m not diving into too many stat-specifics here.  Overall, the team will ride Cabrera, Victor Martinez and any sort of starting pitching.  Whether or not Ryan Raburn has a career year probably has little to do with the team’s success — if Cabrera and Justin Verlander are down, the team is in third place.  In a way its hard to argue much more in terms of the team’s success, but its a fun exercise even when it means little.

Outfield

Going into the year, you’re looking at Ryan Raburn / Austin Jackson / Magglio Ordonez.  I imagine Brennan Boesch controls his own destiny — if he hits, he’ll platoon with Raburn.  Magglio’s aging and an injury concern; Jackson has sophmore slump concerns, and Raburn doesn’t feel like a starting outfielder.  However, Boesch / Raburn / Jackson could easily show improvement over their past years (some are younger then others), and if Magglio holds serve they’ll be fine.  Jackson’s defense is key to this group.  By July I could see as many as 8 outfielders seeing playing time (Casper Wells, Don Kelly, and two current minor league-rs) based on injuries or ineffectiveness.  In the big picture, Jackson and Boesch’s development play a gigantic role into success of the franchise 2012+.

Infield

Brandon Inge / Jhonny Peralta / Will Rhymes / Miguel Cabrera.  Inge and Peralta underwhelm; I imagine Danny Worth and Ramon Santiago will see time at short and third (Worth currently in Toledo).  Rhymes is intriguing and this battle with keeping Scott Sizemore and Carlos Guillen’s gimpy knees at bay is worth watching.  Cabrera’s Cabrera.  The second base battle (and the players involved) are the type of battles that fans love, and are probably good for teams.  I wish Sizemore could seize the job, as he provides the best balance of power and hitting average; so far Rhymes (with a solid 200 at bats in 2010 and a good spring training) has shown no reason that he doesn’t deserve playing time.  The offense will dictate Guillen — if Detroit is hitting, I bet they slow play him and eventually cut him.  If they are not hitting well, they’ll find room for Guillen on the roster (with either Rhymes or Alex Avila’s playing time getting cut — the latter having Martinez catch and Guillen DH).

Catching:

Alex Avila, all the time.  Victor Martinez backup.  I like Avila, but he’s going to wear the fans thin if he doesn’t hit.  Not much to look at here; an upgrade over Gerald Laird is all I ask.  The less Martinez catches, the more the happier the pitchers will be.  There’s plenty of arguments about the role of a catcher, and how to define the value of a defensive catcher over an offensive one.  The bottom line is this:  Detroit DID NOT sign Victor Martinez to a 4 year / $50m contract to catch 120 games, and its a wrinkle in their plans if he has to.
Where does the lineup stand?  Top to bottom, its pretty formidable.  Martinez provides backup for Cabrera; Jackson, Rhymes, Magglio(or Boesch) give you a solid 1-5.  While there is some pop at the bottom, there are still too many outs between Inge / Peralta / Avila to be happy.  The key to success is Avila — if he can hit, the lineup is very good.  If not, the defense will take a hit to improve the offense.

Fielding?  Left side of the infield worries me more then normal.  Corner outfielders are average, though Detroit has the ability to play some outstanding fielders when Magglio moves on and (if) Raburn struggles.