In baseball, tomorrow is always a new day. No matter what happened the day before, there’s always a new game on the horizon. For the Detroit Tigers, that will come with four games at home against the New York Yankees, forever a powerhouse, starting tonight at 7:05.
After the weekend, the Tigers are now 1.5 games back of the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central lead.
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(The Cleveland Indians, 9.5 games back, are virtually out of the race.) The Tigers also are tied with the Oakland Athletics for the two AL wild-card spots, with the Los Angeles Angels at a half-game back, the Baltimore Orioles at a game back, and the Tampa Bay Rays at two games back. As a reminder, the wild-card is now two teams that will play one game to decide who will play in the Division Series, and there’s many teams bunched together for those couple of spots. All of that random drama is avoided with a division championship.
What could push the Tigers past Chicago? Some say it will be the team chemistry after Sunday’s comeback victory, but general manager Dave Dombrowski had one more move to make. Dombrowski traded for Chicago Cubs utility player Jeff Baker on Sunday, for some prospects to be named later (before October 31st). To make room, infielder Danny Worth was sent to Toledo, and utilityman Don Kelly was designated for assignment.
Baker is batting .269 on the season, with 4 home runs and 24 RBI, along with a .753 OPS percentage. He’ll mainly be used for infield depth on the days when the Tigers are facing left-handed pitchers, as his stats bump up to a .304 batting average and a .868 OPS against lefties. Baker also will likely come up for pinch-hitting against lefties, as he’s typically made more appearances in right-field and first-base for the Cubs this season. When in the field for Detroit, Baker probably will be at second or a defensive replacement in right-field for Brennan Boesch. Baker also has the best named birthplace of all the Tigers, as he was born in Bad Kissingen, West Germany, a tremendous name.
Dombrowski mentioned that this will be the last move for the Tigers, so here’s the full roster. Rosters will expand to 40 players in September.
#14, Austin Jackson – Starting star centerfielder, #1 in the lineup every day
#52, Quintin Berry – Has won starting job in left field, #2 in the lineup against righthanded pitching
#24, Miguel Cabrera – Starting star third-baseman, #3 in the lineup every day
#28, Prince Fielder – Starting star first-baseman, #4 in the lineup every day
#21, Delmon Young – Everyday DH, typically #5 or #6 in the lineup on most days
#26, Brennan Boesch – Everyday rightfielder, #5 or #6 in the lineup, can DH to get Dirks in the outfield
#13, Alex Avila – Everyday catcher, #7 in the lineup
#27, Jhonny Peralta – Everyday shortstop, usually hits #8 against righties, #6 against lefties
#4, Omar Infante – Top second-baseman, but not always in the lineup. Hits from #9 spot, but can hit #2 or #8
#39, Ramon Santiago – Utility infielder who can switch hit, will be the substitute for SS/2B late in games, can pinch hit if needed, starts around twice a week
#12, Andy Dirks – Utility outfielder, usually comes in to replace Boesch late in games
#–, Jeff Baker – Will be the utility replacement against lefthanded pitching, can start at second if needed, can hit towards the end of the lineup if needed
#9, Gerald Laird – Backup catcher to give Avila some rest, comes in about once a week
#35, Justin Verlander – 1st starting pitcher, ace of the staff
#37, Max Scherzer – 2nd/3rd starting pitcher, power pitcher with lots of K’s
#58, Doug Fister – 3rd starting pitcher for now, can become the #2 with continued quality starts
#19, Anibal Sanchez – 4th starting pitcher, Tigers hope better team can improve his outings like Fister in 2011
#48, Rick Porcello – 5th starting pitcher, has had amazing outings but little consistency
#40, Phil Coke – 7th-inning reliever, typically the first reliever after the starting pitcher. lefty
#53, Joaquin Benoit – 2nd-best reliever, 8th-inning shutdown pitcher, but can also close games and finish blowouts
#20, Octavio Dotel – 5th/6th/7th inning reliever who can minimize damage after a starter begins to struggle
#60, Brayan Villarreal – Comes in for an inning to get out of a jam, also used in blowouts
#64, Duane Below – Innings-eating workhorse who comes in late during likely losses, not used often, lefty
#38, Darin Downs – Has recently been coming in for late-game appearances in longer relief when others pitched the day before, can pitch multiple innings
#46, Jose Valverde – Closer, pretty much for good
That’s pretty much the 2012 Detroit Tigers. When rosters expand, some prospects will come up, and one or two of them might break into the postseason roster, but that’s it.
After yesterday’s remarkable win, there isn’t much that could come close to that excitement. However, Justin Verlander against the Yankees can probably create a great night at the ballpark. Verlander is 11-5 on the year, and Yankees pitcher Ivan Nova is 10-5. Both pitchers are coming off of disappointing games, as Verlander’s last start in Boston was rain-shortened and Nova’s last outing included nine runs over five innings. Jim Leyland will have the Tigers’ top lineup in all series, as he rested and substituted a couple big players yesterday, such as Miguel Cabrera as the DH (for only the fourth time all season), and Gerald Laird in for Alex Avila. Today’s game will be on ESPN and ESPN3 nationwide, at 7:05.
Tuesday’s matchup has the Tigers’ Rick Porcello (8-6, 4.65 ERA) against the Yankees’ Phil Hughes (11-8, 3.96 ERA). Both pitchers have had inconsistent seasons, but both have had good outings lately. Given the formidable nature of both lineups, this game will probably come down to one lineup lighting up a starting pitcher. Game time is at 7:05.
Wednesday’s game is the first big test as a Tiger for Anibal Sanchez. He will face the New York Yankees with CC Sabathia as the other starter, and will have to be on his game for the Tigers to have a chance. Sanchez went six innings with one run against Cleveland this weekend, but a struggling Indians squad is nowhere near the Yankees offense. Sabathia, on the other hand, threw a complete game against Seattle in his last outing, with one hit through eight innings. Like the Yankees and Indians, the Tigers offense is much better than the struggling Mariners’, but Sabathia will still become quite the challenge. This game is at 7:05.
Thursday’s game will be the next start for Doug Fister, who has been extremely hot since the All-Star break. Fister is 4-1 since then, and just pitched a complete game victory against Cleveland on Saturday. Last year, Fister caught fire down the stretch after coming over from Seattle, and it looks like the same thing could happen again. For the Yankees, Thursday’s starter will be Hiroki Kuroda, a solid starter who isn’t anything too special. Kuroda can have a big outing, but Fister has the definite edge going into this one. Since it’s Thursday, this game is an afternoon matchup.
This Tigers-Yankees series could be the next step into a dominant last two months. The Tigers are starting to come around like in 2011, and a good performance against the Yankees could start to turn heads around baseball. Also, the Tigers travel to Texas for the weekend, and it would be nice to have some momentum heading into Arlington. (Incidentally, potential pitchers for the weekend series are Scherzer, Verlander, and Porcello, which could hopefully get two wins.)
August is the time where teams are sorted out into contenders and everyone else. The Indians are already gone. It’s time for the Tigers to solidfy themselves and major players in this pennant race.
Preview: Fired-up Tigers face Yankees, look to gain on White Sox added by Gordie Fall on
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Gordie Fall
Gordon Fall has been around the Detroit sports scene for his entire life and even entered the world with a Red Wings hockey stick in hand. With a variety of connections around the Detroit area, Fall will be presenting the unspoken, yet optimistic truth of our city’s sports scene.
