Thread: Detroit Tigers

Win total for the year? With the ****ty division that is the AL Central (outside of them of course) I believe they could hit 100 wins this season.

Originally Posted by Badsmerf

Win total for the year? With the ****ty division that is the AL Central (outside of them of course) I believe they could hit 100 wins this season.

It's possible but it's going to require a lot of health and a little luck, something they had last season (apart from Martinez) but still only managed 88 wins.

I think people are forgetting just how injury-free Detroit was last season.

From Wikipedia:

Key injuries

• On December 16, the team announced that relief pitcher Al Alburquerque had surgery on his pitching elbow, to replace a stress fracture.^[10]

• On January 17, it was reported that designated hitter/catcher/infielder Víctor Martínez tore his ACL and needs surgery to repair it.^[11] On March 12, the team placed Martinez on the 60-day disabled list and declared him out for the season.^[12]

Outside of the closer, I just don't see many flaws in this team. Verlander, Scherzer, Fister, Porcello, Smyly are all pretty good. Obviously Verlander makes a huge difference. They struggled a little to score runs, and V-Mart coming back and adding Hunter will help. Their defense is a little weak, but Verlander, Scherzer and Smyly are all strike-out pitchers which will help cover it up.

Originally Posted by Badsmerf

Outside of the closer, I just don't see many flaws in this team. Verlander, Scherzer, Fister, Porcello, Smyly are all pretty good. Obviously Verlander makes a huge difference. They struggled a little to score runs, and V-Mart coming back and adding Hunter will help. Their defense is a little weak, but Verlander, Scherzer and Smyly are all strike-out pitchers which will help cover it up.

Sanchez ain't too bad either.

Originally Posted by Brock Beauchamp

It's possible but it's going to require a lot of health and a little luck, something they had last season (apart from Martinez) but still only managed 88 wins.

I think people are forgetting just how injury-free Detroit was last season.


From Wikipedia:

Key injuries

• On December 16, the team announced that relief pitcher Al Alburquerque had surgery on his pitching elbow, to replace a stress fracture.^[10]

• On January 17, it was reported that designated hitter/catcher/infielder Víctor Martínez tore his ACL and needs surgery to repair it.^[11] On March 12, the team placed Martinez on the 60-day disabled list and declared him out for the season.^[12]

Interestingly the Tigers lost more man games to the DL than the Twins and the White Sox, especially in pitching. I agree with you however that in the big picture they were the 5th healthiest team in the AL last year and still only managed 88 wins with that lineup. They are improved this year but odds are they won't escape as unscathed.

Granted this data also doesn't account for who was actually injured, which is noteworthy.

They are clearly the class of the division on paper.

Although, (seemingly) every year a loaded squad like the Tigers fail. The Angels looked unbeatable on paper last year.

I don't think the Tigers will win 100 games... I think the Royals, Indians and Twins are all improved from last year. I think the young Royals were starting to put things together at the end of 2012 and I think the Royals have a chance to walk out of the Central on top. I'm picking the Tigers but I wouldn't bet the house on it.

Tigers win total for the year. 90

Bring on April!!!

Originally Posted by twinsnorth49

Interestingly the Tigers lost more man games to the DL than the Twins last year and the White Sox, especially in pitching. I agree with you however that in the big picture they were the 5th healthiest team in the AL last year and still only managed 88 wins with that lineup. Granted they are improved this year but odds are they won't escape as unscathed this year.

Granted this data also doesn't account for who was actually injured, which is noteworthy.

wonder how they're accruing those stats. Baker made zero starts and Pavano made 11.

The Tigers are a puzzle to me. They should have cartwheeled through the AL central, with the amazing seasons that Cabrera, Fielder and Jackson all had. Yet, they barely scored any runs that those three didn't have something to do with. Their defense was bad, and doesn't figure to get better. Even with the Big Addition of Torii. Hunter is probably a bigger boost offensively, at this point. Add in Victor for 100 at bats, and the O should go up a little. Of course they have good pitching, but I dunno. They could go either way.

My 2 cents worth is the Tigers win 94 games in the central this year

Indians will run over the Tigers this year. Tigers 3rd. Tigers win total for the year. 80

Originally Posted by Brock Beauchamp

wonder how they're accruing those stats. Baker made zero starts and Pavano made 11.

Here's the link, haven't had time to review it. Unfortunately it's sorted by the day the player went on the DL, so it's a clusterf**k to go through, could try to export it and re-sort it. Baker and Pavano are both on there though. Fister and Smyly had numerous trips to the 15-day.


2012 DL Information

Originally Posted by Top Gun

Indians will run over the Tigers this year. Tigers 3rd. Tigers win total for the year. 80

Las Vegas begs to differ:

Baseball Futures						Odds		Status
2/14/2013 - 2013 American League Pennant - Odds to Win
Detroit Tigers						13-4		In Progress
Los Angeles Angels						13-4		In Progress
Toronto Blue Jays						5-1		In Progress
New York Yankees						7-1		In Progress
Tampa Bay Rays						9-1		In Progress
Texas Rangers						10-1		In Progress
Oakland Athletics						15-1		In Progress
Boston Red Sox						15-1		In Progress
Kansas City Royals						20-1		In Progress
Chicago White Sox						20-1		In Progress
Baltimore Orioles						25-1		In Progress
Seattle Mariners						30-1		In Progress
Minnesota Twins						40-1		In Progress
Cleveland Indians						40-1		In Progress
Houston Astros						50-1		In Progress

92 wins. Only team in the division with a shot at 100, I guess they could finish below .500 if a lot falls apart but that's true of any strong team.

If all goes reasonably well, I would guess that the Tigers will win 95 games. But maybe Top Gun has something there with the Indians, despite what Vegas thinks. My understanding is that the Indians made good some moves during the offseason.

Originally Posted by glunn

If all goes reasonably well, I would guess that the Tigers will win 95 games. But maybe Top Gun has something there with the Indians, despite what Vegas thinks. My understanding is that the Indians made good some moves during the offseason.

I was kind of surprised by the Vegas odds, as well. Ken Rosenthal is positively giddy about all the moves the Indians have made: Addition of Michael Bourn ? along with newcomers Nick Swisher and manager Terry Francona ? is more evidence Cleveland Indians will matter in 2013 - MLB News | FOX Sports on MSN. It turns out there was a big media deal that freed up a ton of cash and further explains why Francona wanted to tackle this job.

We can only hope that the Indians continue to find ways to screw up their on-paper superiority.

Originally Posted by jokin

Las Vegas begs to differ:

Baseball Futures						Odds		Status
2/14/2013 - 2013 American League Pennant - Odds to Win
Detroit Tigers						13-4		In Progress
Los Angeles Angels						13-4		In Progress
Toronto Blue Jays						5-1		In Progress
New York Yankees						7-1		In Progress
Tampa Bay Rays						9-1		In Progress
Texas Rangers						10-1		In Progress
Oakland Athletics						15-1		In Progress
Boston Red Sox						15-1		In Progress
Kansas City Royals						20-1		In Progress
Chicago White Sox						20-1		In Progress
Baltimore Orioles						25-1		In Progress
Seattle Mariners						30-1		In Progress
Minnesota Twins						40-1		In Progress
Cleveland Indians						40-1		In Progress
Houston Astros						50-1		In Progress

No offense but isn't Las Vegas about getting you to bet your money? Who bets money on what teams will move the odds tp preserve the profit margins.

Originally Posted by old nurse

No offense but isn't Las Vegas about getting you to bet your money? Who bets money on what teams will move the odds tp preserve the profit margins.

Do you see any talent correlation between the Tigers and Angels at one end and the Astros and Twins at the other? No? Neither does Vegas. Vegas is pretty good at finding a median ground of where a team ultimately ends up- in conjunction with finding enough bettors on both sides of their odds-setting. If the Twins suddenly drop to 13-4, I will have to assume that either Arnold Rothstein has come back to life or that every Twins optimist is a multi-billionaire with money to burn.

The Tigers have too much history of not living up to the hype for me to view them as an unstoppable force. They were the talk of the offseason in '08 after the Cabrera and Renteria trades, and fell flat on their faces, finishing in last place.

Last year, with the amount of talent they had playing in the weakest division in baseball, they should have had a playoff spot wrapped up in August. Instead they needed a late-season collapse from the White Sox. They finished with the 7th-best record in the AL, even though they had much more opportunity to feast on bottom-feeders than the 6 teams ahead of them.


Like RB said, on paper, they are the most talented team in the division, and the smart money is on them to win it. Their starting rotation and lineup (at least 1-6 anyway) are several notches above the competition. However, their defense and bullpen, both of which cost them some games last year, don't figure to be much better. And they are a pretty top heavy, stars-and-scrubs team. A couple of key injuries could derail their season.

I see them having a similar kind of season to last year. They'll win the division, but it won't be the cakewalk that a lot of people are predicting.

It'll come down to injuries. Practically every team loses at least one starter to a season-ending (often career-ending) injury. Most teams lose another guy to injury for weeks, and a third guy underperforms. Detroit lacks pitching depth throughout their system, and especially in the high minors. Same with Chicago and even Cleveland. Frankly, I think the best odds would favor the Royals.

The Royals? Maybe. Shields will help them, though I think they may come to regret that trade down the road. They've got a few other pieces. But just about every spring for the past decade or so we've heard that they were on the verge of having a breakout season, and it hasn't happened. So I'll believe it when I see it.

I'd probably put the Royals third behind Cleveland. Toss-up between the Twins and Whiteys for 4th, I think both are in for long seasons.