Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat (and Vice Versa)

We love sports. Obviously, if you're reading this blog, you know that we do. We especially love baseball. Again, pretty obvious. But there are some annoying patterns that really drive us crazy. Perhaps the most annoying pattern of all is one that our Tigers currently experienced/are experiencing: just when we think they're about to gain momentum and go on some winning streak and everyone starts to click, we fall apart (read: Monday night's game). We lose. We fail.

At least, that's what the three of us thought yesterday as we watched our boys fall into an 0-6 hole. Oh great, we thought. Anemic offense and pathetic pitching. Thus is the story of our season so far. So soon had we forgotten the glory that was last year's comeback against the White Sox. And it happened again. In one inning, no less. Miguel Cabrera and Austin Jackson continued to be all kinds of awesome with their home runs, and Ryan Raburn decided to remember how to hit a ball and drove in for runs, including his first homer of the season. Not. Too. Shabby.

Is this finally the game that can get our boys, who we know to be capable of so much, on track? Four out of five (sorry Max) starting pitchers are looking good-if-not-great. Prince Fielder is waking up, Cabrera is alive, and Jackson is unstoppable. Hell, look at Andy Dirks. He's doing a better Boesch impersonation than Brennan himself, and Dirks has the defense to back himself up. Yes, it does look like our team is starting to put the pieces together, but to every silver lining there is a cloud.

It definitely speaks to the level of the AL Central when our boys are sitting pretty (?) at .500 in the middle of May and only 2 games out of first place. And granted, not everyone is playing poorly, as we've stated in earlier blog posts. But as everyone should realize by now, whenever you're doing something in a group you're only as good as your weakest link. The below-average fan or above-average MLive commenter would scream "RAYBURN! He's our weakest link! We shouldda never've released Brandon Inge! I always knew I loved that guy!! Screw Rayburn send him to Toledo!!!!" Guess what, idiots? Ryan Raburn is not our biggest problem. Look at what he did in yesterday's game! Obviously it isn't enough to overlook a pretty poor start to the season, but he is not what's keeping our team down. No, to even a casual Tigers viewer, it's no secret who the culprit is.

THE BULLPEN.


Ah, yes. Public Enemies #1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 (we're leaving out Duane Below). Over the past month these guys have really screwed us by blowing leads or giving up runs in tie game situations. It is a joke and proof of the irrelevance of the win statistic that Collin Balester is 2-0 right now, picking up the win in yesterday's game. Look at poor Drew "No Decision" Smyly. Boy is pitching like he's a veteran and is either a) getting no early run support, or b) getting shafted by his bullpen.

We've learned to view this season with a suspicious and wary eye. Just when we think our boys are on a roll, they disappoint us. Conversely, when we are so fed up we can barely watch, the Tigers surprise us by playing a great game. Sooner or later, they'll show their true colors, and with a homestand against the (shitty) Twins and the (streaking) Indians, we hope our boys will get hot and stay that way.

Drowning in a Sea of Mediocrity

Silly title to a blog post, isn't it? Well, a) we're silly people over here, and b) that's exactly what watching the Tigers nowadays feels like. Actually, it feels startlingly similar to last year in terms of end results of games. Having our bullpen blow so many solid leads is truly alarming (an extremely, extremely aggravating) and watching our hitters struggle at the plate is pissing us off maybe even more. What will be the event that turns us around?

The one bright spot (besides Austin Jackson. God Bless Austin Jackson) is our starting pitching. Doug "Jesus" Fister descended from on high came off the Disabled List and pitched a gem last night. The Savior then got to watch his beautiful game be f***** up by Octavio Dotel who, like the rest of our bullpen right now, has struggled mightily lately. At least Dougie is back. We can't describe how much we love/have missed him.

Our other starters have also done well, only inevitably to see our offense and bullpen fail them. The offense is especially disappointing because…well…look at them. Look at what they have the ability to do.  As we keep saying over and over and freaking over again, the offense will eventually click. It's just getting annoying that we're finally through our murderous April (in the D!) and nothing really has changed yet.

We're not asking for 4 homers per superstar like Josh Hamilton did tonight (congrats to him, by the way). We're just asking for a little more breathing room for our hot-and-cold bullpen. Last year our first good-baseball catalyst was the Verlander no-hitter. We would love to see a great game like that to turn our losing ways around.

Despite all the bitching and moaning done by us above, we know that this isn't any time to freak out. If we're pulling this shit in late July, then fans are allowed to flip their lids a little. Now is not the time, and it's maddening to see some fans take to Facebook and Twitter and other baseball sites and completely blow our team, our manager, and our record out of proportion. We've said it before: Calm the eff down, people.

Though, even we're getting a little tired of saying it.

Turnaround?

It's a funny thing about baseball...there are so many games throughout the season that teams can change their momentum multiple times in a year. Teams that start off terrible win the pennant, teams that win eight straight end up at the bottom of their division.  All it takes is a single event, series, or game to turn around a team.  Tonight's game could be that game!
Here at April in the D we've kind of refused to stop being optimistic, and after tonight's walk-off win against the hated Jake Peavy and the Chicago White Sox on a home run by slumping Jhonny Peralta, the team could be energized enough to pick up their bats and become the team we all thought they'd be at the beginning of the season.
Because the dynamic of a team can change so fast, it's no surprise that we've been slumping lately. After a couple of terrible series and The Denard Incident, the bats have been slow and the arms have been kind of lackluster.  That's why we needed this moment.
So, basically, thanks Jhonny! And we hope to see some more big bats in the next series!  EAT EM UP!

Oy.

Well. We needed to get at least one win in this series, didn't we? Going 1-6 in our own homefield (with a humiliating sweep by the Mariners) and losing a game we should have won to the Yankees was bad enough.The worst, however, came at 3 AM Friday morning when our own Delmon Young was arrested.

This has been a tough week and a half. Losing three series in a row--and going a depressing 2-8 during that stretch--hasn't done much to raise our morale. We know we've been preaching that the Tigers will get it together, it's only April, blah blah blah. All this is still true, and we are 99% confident that our team will eventually figure their shit out and comfortably win the division. And if we win tomorrow, we will technically be above .500 for the month of April. And looking at our ridiculous hard April schedule contrasted with a much-easier May, this can only bode well.

Like we said, however, we've got some major things to figure out. Max Scherzer, for instance. He seems to be reverting back to his old schizophrenic self, and now we're just waiting for that game when it all clicks for him and he starts pitching like Ace #3 again. For now, however, its frustrating watching anyone not named Justin Verlander, Drew Smyly, Octavio Dotel, or Duane Below pitch. Our relief core has been mediocre at best to abysmal at worst.

The hitters, too, need to start picking it up. Though there has been a few positive signs: (Miguel Cabrera coming back from his slump with a vengeance, Prince Fielder's continued production, Austin Jackson proving himself as a capable leadoff man) the lineup is not clicking as a whole. Yet. Just like last year, we predict they will start really coming together pretty soon. You can only keep hitters as talented as these down for a matter of time, though why they are "down" at all is kind of confusing. We should be murdering opposing pitchers, even at this early stage in the season.

This leads us to the most pressing matter--Delmon Young's arrest. We're not going to go too far into what we think about his alleged screaming of hateful Jewish slurs while extremely intoxicated, and that's mostly because we don't know enough information yet. But if everything said in the papers is true (and according to our hero Dave Dombrowski, it's not) then our opinion of Delmon's character is significantly lower.

Some people wonder if this kind of thing can damage a team, and question whether our clubhouse will rebound from it. Hello? Remember last year when our best player was arrested for a DUI, which was his second brush with the law involving alcohol? Yeah, we do too, and guess what? Our team (and the player in question) bounced back just fine. That being said, this situation is pleasant for no one, and it is one of the last things that our boys need right now. But this is something that they can recover from.

Long story short, we still have a lot (and we mean a lot) of confidence in our team. But this shit ain't pretty, and the team needs to rally around one another in this time of need and turn this slump around.

Random Tiger's Thoughts from Megan: April in the D's First 2012 Game

Hi guys!

So, it's taken me a little while to get this post up, but I was able to go to CoPa for the first time this year, due to a birthday surprise from a couple friends.  Awesome I know. Overall, I was really happy with the tiger's performance. It was the second game of the double-header against the Rangers, so I got to see a Tiger's win, and it was just plain exciting to see JV face off against Feliz in a killer pitcher's duel.  The seats were great, we won the game, and I got to enjoy great company, but there was one thing I could not get over... the overall hatred Tiger's fans seem to have against Brandon Inge.

I understand completely that the guy sucks at baseball right now.  He came into Saturday's game hitting .071.  He'd have to be an anorexic 8th grade girl to even begin to be hitting his weight.  His defense at second base isn't so good that he can hit that poorly. And even though it's the beginning of the season, it is a disturbing trend.  I understand all of this, and I personally would rather have Danny Worth up here than Inge.

I'm not going to constantly heckle the poor guy throughout the entire game though!  One of the girls that went to the game with me was kind of disturbed by it.  She is a diehard Cards fan from St. Louis and felt really bad for Inge.  When other people's fans feel bad for a guy, you know the situation has gotten out of hand.  It's okay to boo him when he misplays an easy ball. If he strikes out for the third time in one day, groans of disappointment are acceptable.  But what's sad is that people were heckling him before he even started to play.  I guess that as a Tiger's fan that doesn't have the privilege to attend many games, I don't want to spend my time harassing my team.  I'd rather heckle the Rangers.  I don't see what real Tigers fans have to gain from bothering Brandon throughout the entire game. I doubt it's going to make him a better second-baseman.

The thing that shocks me most about this whole "We hate Brandon" trend is that he was one of the most beloved players one or two years ago.  There are those who have always hated him, but as loyal fans, I honestly don't think we should be kicking the guy while he's down.  I mean, he doesn't have to play for the Tigers, but Jim Leyland doesn't need a belligerent "YOU SUCK, BRANDON" to tell him that. Let Brandon play the game, and Leyland will decide whether or not Brandon plays at Comerica or  in triple A.

Other than that, I had a fabulous time! I was kind of obsessed with the new huge Tiger sign on top the new huge megatron-thing. It's really cool!

Rant over.  That was kind of a bad loss to the mariners, but I'm still optimistic about the season! Go Tigers!

Good, but not Great. Yet.

Ah, the joys of April (in the D). Teams are just starting out and things can either go great, as evidenced with our boys' recent series at Kansas City, or they can be a liiiiitle shaky, as shown by the four game series with the evil horrible arrogant druggie Texas Rangers. Megan was able to go to Game 3 and see JV and the boys kick some Texas ass (which she will write a review on later) but in the other three games we fans got to see our boys clearly out-pitched, out-hit, and outplayed. DISASTER!

Disaster indeed. At least, that's what the Lynn Hennings of the world would have you think. We're gonna give it to you straight. Our team right now is good, and we have the potential to be absolutely phenomenal, but as of right now we are not better than those dickheads who beat us in the ALCS Texas. In fact, after seeing their crazy-good offense do some WORK against our pitchers in the first two games, we would venture to say that, as of right now, three weeks into the season, Texas has the best offense in the game.

One important thing to note about the paragraph above: we are only three weeks into the season. We are 10-6 after playing Boston, Tampa Bay, and Texas. We should consider it a triumph if we make it out of this month with a winning record. At this point last year we looked about a million times worse, and we ended up wining the Central by fifteen games. So everyone who's losing their s**t needs to take a freaking pill.

We should point out, however, that though our team looks good (but not great) and there are some major question marks (Inge, Raburn, Daniel "ThankGodHesInTripleA" Schlereth), there have been two glimmering, hopeful lights. And those lights belong to these two young men.

Yes, Drew Smyly and Duane Below, the final two candidates for the number five spot in the starting rotation. As we all well know, Smyly got the job and has performed extremely well, putting in two quality starts in a row (and getting robbed of his first win in the second one). He took a pitch in the back (someone's out to get our starters) and had to deal with the aforementioned Ranger's Murderer's Row, but recovered from both of those things and has done extremely well for a rookie starter. We like what we see in him.

Duane Below, who is bound to be overlooked, has also done incredibly well, not allowing a run or even a walk in four relief appearances. His most impressive job came yesterday afternoon when he tossed six scoreless innings against a ridiculous lineup. He looked like he should have that starting job instead of Adam Wilk, who so far looks pretty average in his replacement role for Doug Fister. Please, please please come back soon Dougie.

This isn't going to be an easy month. We have a tough schedule and some ill-timed injuries, but we would much rather struggle in April then in September. This team may not burst out of the gate like those hicks from Texas, but they'll get it eventually. And when they do…watch out.

PS-We weren't aware you could hit the ball of your knee and put it in play!?!?! Amazing!!!!!!!! We would tell Inge to try it, but his are pretty weak...

A Team Effort

So, the first two series at home were pretty fun, right? Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, the Dynamic Duo of Super BFF's smashing away. Dramatic, walk-off wins and awesome blowouts. Undoubtedly some fun stuff. Suck it, AL East powerhouses!!!

And then comes Chicago. Suddenly the big boys aren't hitting as much as they're supposed to be. Some of our defense is looking shaky. We're just not getting any productivity due to uncertain swings and bad luck. But we thought we were supposed to be destroying the Central! Everyone panic!!!!!!!!!!

We're kidding, obviously. People who are panicking at Miggy and Raburn and other players' hitting slumps, our somewhat questionable defense, and Jim Leyland's managerial decisions need to take a pill and shut the hell up. Do we sound a little harsh? Well, we mean business on this matter. What this team already realizes and what most fans need to understand is that this is a Group Effort this year, never mind the fact that we're only ten games into the season.

There are indeed some very confusing statistics to these first ten games. After six games of pure hitting prowess, Miguel Cabrera has yet to get a hit in this road trip. Ryan Raburn is hitting a truly awful .065: 2 hits in 31 at bats. And Doug Fister, who we were SO excited to see claim his #2 Ace Role behind Verlander, succumbed to injury early on. Brandon Inge returned to the lineup despite his anemic, pathetic batting numbers. Plus, no starter got a win in the first nine games, and Jose Valverde was doing his best Fernando Rodney Defibrillator Act.

And yet. And yet we are 7-3. Why do you think this is, haters and pessimists? Because we are more than just the Cabrera-Fielder show. Because we have more offensive depth than many initially thought. Because just because our number one closer can't get it done doesn't mean someone else won't.

Have you seen Austin Jackson? We know we talked about it last post, but Lloyd McClendon should be worshiped as a God right now. The eliminated leg kick seems to be exactly what AJax needs to really be a great table-setter. Look at his numbers. LOOK AT THEM. Boy is on fire, and though there is no way he'll keep his offensive production at this crazy pace, expect him to have a much better season than the last one. And what about sweet Rick Porcello? His last two starts have been good, and the one on Sunday was just plain dominant. He's hot, and in more ways than one. Don't forget Juh-honny Peralta, who seems to be slipping everyones mind, and Alex Avila, who hasn't missed a beat off of last season. They're two huge reasons why we have as good a record as we do.

And of course, Justin Verlander. While we shall not speak of the 9th Inning Atrocity vs. Tampa Bay, he has been absolutely killing it in all three of his starts. We didn't initially like Leyland's decision to keep him in last night, and it was terrifying, but Justin said he needed to prove it to himself that he could do it. And that last 100 mph pitch and his reaction was worth every second of torment that the fans went through.

So, bottom line is: if one of the stars (right now it's Cabrera, for reasons unknown) is struggling, don't think all is lost. It isn't. For one thing, we have a great all-around team. For another, he's Miguel Cabrera. He will fix it. He's in good hands. And as far as Raburn goes--we know. It's annoying. But we feel that he will come around too, even Saint Lloyd has to get in there and change some of his mechanics.

The season's very young, folks. Of course we're going to have some rough edges at the start. But look at our boys' potential, and look at what they've already done. This is going to be a good year. So relax, and enjoy the show.