Baseball In The D

Part 4: The Present and The Future

With the star-studded team they have now, they are the team to beat. But does that for sure mean for the future too?

Right now, the stars of the Tigers are Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, and the recently-emerging Max Scherzer. They are most likely the biggest pieces of their ball club, so there’s one thing the Tigers have to do: lock them up. In other words, they need to keep them under contract long-term. The Tigers have already done so with Miggy and Verly, but as of late April, keeping Scherzer has been a challenge (Gaines). Scherzer had been offered a 6-year, $144 million contract, but he rejected it. They have then ceased extension talks, and will likely try to resign him during the offseason. If it seems very unlikely that they can, he could possibly be traded before the trade deadline.  

The Tigers made some key moves during the offseason that’ll help with their run to the playoffs. For outfield help, they signed outfielder Rajai Davis to a 2-year deal, worth $10 million, who brings a lot of speed on the base paths, hits for average, and has some sneaky power too (Mensching). The Tigers also got a new closer, signing the aging, but still dominant Joe Nathan to a 2-year, $20 million deal (plus a $10MM club option for 2016), and also made a big trade, shipping away Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers for the dangerous second basemen, Ian Kinsler (Adams). Victor Martinez and Torii Hunter are both in the last year of their contracts, so by the end of the 2014 season, they show that they’re effective players, the Tigers should resign them.

Despite some of these players just being signed for a short term, the Tigers already have some young, emerging young talent. Jose Iglesias is an example, who is a defensive wizard, and a smart hitter as well. He has already been considered the Tigers’ shortstop of the future, just after his rookie year. He is missing most of the 2014 season due to stress fractures to each of his shins, however (Adams). Another is Austin Jackson, who has only been in the majors for a few years now, but seems to be finally reaching his potential, as it showed, with his much-stronger recent 2013 season. Young catcher Alex Avila has struggled the past couple years, but he did have an all-star season in 2011. 

The best up-and-coming talent they have this season however, is Tigers’ top prospect, third basemen Nick Castellanos. He has been widely regarded as one of the top prospects in the game right now, and he is starting off the 2014 season as the starting third basemen for the Tigers. If he plays the way that he’s expected to all season, he should be a contender for Rookie Of The Year. The Tigers have been urged to sign him to a contract extension, despite his little MLB experience. He’s that good. It would take out a few years of free agency as long as the deal is over 6 years, which would end up saving money for the Tigers. Expectations are high for Castellanos (Paul).

Overall, the future is very bright for the Tigers. They’ve locked up Cabrera and Verlander for multiple years, they have young rising stars on the horizon, and they’ve got a good farm system with young players working their butts off in the minor leagues, just waiting for that major league call-up. With the hard work and dedication of these Tigers players, there’s no doubt that someday, they'll get that World Series win. 

Works Cited

Gaines, Cork. “Detroit Tigers Obliterated Their Star Pitcher After He Rejected A $144 Million Contract.” 24 Mar. 2014. http://www.businessinsider.com/detroit-tigers-max-scherzer-contract-2014-3

Mensching, Kurt. “Tigers' surging Rajai Davis might steal full-time job.” 28 Apr. 2014.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140428/SPORTS0104/304280066/Kurt-Mensching-Tigers-surging-Rajai-Davis-might-steal-full-time-job

Adams, Steve. “Offseason In Review: Detroit Tigers.” 10 Apr. 2014. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/04/offseason-in-review-detroit-tigers-5.html

Paul, Tony. “Tigers might be smart to lock up Nick Castellanos now, despite limited experience.” 7 Apr. 2014. http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140407/SPORTS0104/304070063

Baseball In The D

Part 3: Post-2006 World Series Performances

With that World Series appearance, it brought the team to a whole new level, but how?

With their previous 2006 World Series appearance, it brought a lot of mojo into Motown. They quickly seemed to become the team to beat in the American League. However, a World Series appearance doesn’t guarantee that they’ll have a season like that again, but it could. How have they done since then, and how are they now? I will analyze the team by year.

2007-

The Tigers followed up the 2006 season with another well-played season. However, it was not enough for a playoff spot. The Cleveland Indians won the Central Division that year, with the Tigers, once again, in second place. They finished with an 88-74 record, which is very good, but the Yankees came up with the Wild Card that year, with an impressive 94-68 record. The Motown Mashers may not have made the playoffs, but the players had some individual success. On June 12, Justin Verlander threw the first Tigers’ no-hitter since ’84, against the Milwaukee Brewers. The reigning Rookie Of The Year went on to have a great season, finishing with a 18-6 record, and a decent 3.66 ERA (earned run average). Magglio Ordoñez had a monster season, leading the league with a phenomenal .363 batting average and in doubles, with 54. He surprisingly finished second in the AL MVP voting that year, to Alex Rodriguez.

2008-

Expectations were high for the Tigers, especially because of the blockbuster deal they made during the offseason. The Tigers and the Florida Marlins agreed on a big trade that would send pitcher Dontrelle Willis and superstar Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers, while prospects Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Mike Rabelo, Eulogio De La Cruz, Dallas Trahern, and Burke Badenhop would be sent to the Marlins. However, this didn’t pan out right away. The Tigers had a very disappointing season, finished 74-88, and barely in last place in the Central Division behind the Kansas City Royals. Due to poor performances from Willis and Verlander, along with many injuries to the pitching staff, the Tigers just couldn’t get on a groove. They were expected to bounce back the next year however, considering they are still a talented playoff bound team. Still, Cabrera had a big first season with the Tigers, leading the American League in home runs, with 47, and driving in a career-high 127 RBIs (runs batted in).

2009-

In 2009, they certainly had a much better season, looking like a playoff team, but they came just short. Despite that, they became a much stronger pitching team, with Justin Verlander reaching up to his potential, Rick Porcello having a strong rookie year, and trade acquisition Edwin Jackson contributing as well. Miguel Cabrera had a big second season with the club as well, batting .324, with 34 home runs and 103 RBIs. With Brandon Inge having a big season with the club as well, finishing with 27 home runs, he saw himself participating in the Home Run Derby in St. Louis for the first time in his career. But at season’s end, it all came to a game 163 due to a tie atop the division between the Tigers and the Twins. Game 163 was considered to be one of the greatest games played of all time, due to its energy, extra-inning thrills, and its dramatic ending. Alexi Casilla of the Twins ended up hitting an RBI single up the middle to win the game, and send the Tigers home broken-hearted. 

2010-

With a 3-team trade, the Tigers said farewell to Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson, and said hello to top Yankees prospect Austin Jackson, Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Max Scherzer, and other prospects as well. Jackson would play very well that year, along with other rookie Brennan Boesch. At one point, they were both considered to contend for Rookie Of The Year. Jackson would finish second after Texas Rangers’ reliever Neftali Feliz. The biggest controversy of the season however was when Armando Galarraga was one out away from pitching the Tigers’ first perfect game in franchise history. But a missed call from first base umpire Jim Joyce ruined that from happening. He still finished with a shutout however, but he could not make history that night. Galarraga was very mature about it, but he definitely wanted that perfect game as much as anyone else would. After that near-perfect game, the Tigers went on to win 12 of their next 17. Unfortunately, after injuries to Carlos Guillen, Brandon Inge, and Magglio Ordoñez, the team quickly got weaker. The Tigers fell at .500 at the end of the season, finishing at 81-81, and did not make the postseason.

2011-

With hopes of reaching the playoffs, the Tigers signed switch-hitting catcher/designated hitter Victor Martinez to a four-year deal to help give more power and hitting to the lineup. He also helped mentor young catcher Alex Avila, who ended up having an all-star season. This season was a historical season, at least for certain individual Tigers. Closer Jose Valverde went on to save 49 games, which was a franchise record. However, he didn’t blow a single save, which made it an even more impressive feat. But the biggest feat was for Justin Verlander, who had an absolutely dominant season, finishing at 24-5, with a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts. This pitching Triple Crown was impressive enough to award him with AL Cy Young Award honors, as well as the AL MVP, being the first pitcher to win the MVP award since Roger Clemens in ’86. Not only that, but he also pitched his second career no-hitter in Toronto on May 7. With all of these impressives player performances from just about everyone, it brought them to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. They made it through the ALDS against the Yankees, but they came just short of the World Series when they lost to the Texas Rangers, 4 games to 2. They finished with an impressive record, topping the AL Central, with a 95-67 record.

2012-

The Tigers may not have had an even better record from last year, but it ended up being a better season otherwise. But before that, the Tigers made a splash during the offseason, signing first basemen Prince Fielder to a lucrative 8-year deal, to be the starting first basemen, while Miguel Cabrera would move back to third base, where he previously had played. They also resigned pitcher Anibal Sanchez to a 5-year, $80 million deal after acquiring him in a deal the previous season which also brought second basemen Omar Infante back to Detroit, for the first time since 2006. The 2012 season would be a memorable one. Not only did Miguel Cabrera win the batting Triple Crown for the first time since Carl Yastrzemski in ’76, but the Tigers also made a return to the World Series. The Tigers swept the Yankees in the ALCS and faced the red-hot San Francisco Giants. However, it did not go well for them. The Tigers would go on to get swept by the Giants and they would win their second World Series in 3 years. So for the most part, it was a very successful season. Plus with the achievements of Miguel Cabrera, he would be named the AL MVP. 

2013-

With a playoff-caliber team already built up, there was no question that the Tigers would win the division for the third consecutive year. Miguel Cabrera had another MVP season, finishing first in batting average in the American League for the third year in a row with a .348 batting average, along with 44 home runs, and 137 RBIs. Max Scherzer would emerge as an elite pitcher, as he started out the season 13-0, and also started the All-Star game in New York. He would finish the season with a 21-3 record, and a 2.90 ERA, and took home AL Cy Young Award honors. The Tigers once again had a fantastic season, finishing 93-69, atop the division. In the playoffs, the Tigers would once again face the Oakland Athletics in the ALDS. Solid pitching from the whole rotation, even the struggling Justin Verlander, would help them reach the ALCS once again. However, with a late season groin injury to Miguel Cabrera, poor hitting from Prince Fielder, and an awful bullpen, they couldn’t play well enough to get to the World Series, as they lost the series to the hot-swinging Boston Red Sox.

For the most part of this 7-year span, the Detroit Tigers been mostly successful. But what about the present and the future of this ball club? Next time, I will discuss how with the team they have now, and the young talent they have in their farm system, they could be contenders for many years to come.

Works Cited

Regular Season Standings. http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/mlb/standings/index.jsp#20071001

Justin Verlander Statistics and History. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/verlaju01.shtml

Tigers Timeline. 27 Mar. 2014. http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/det/history/timeline.jsp

ESPN.com news services. “Tigers send top prospects to Marlins for Cabrera, Willis.” 

5 Dec. 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3141703

Kornacki, Steve. “Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge shut out in Home Run Derby.” 14. Jul. 2009. http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2009/07/brandon_inge.html

Wojchiechowski, Gene. “Twins, Tigers save the best for last.” 6 Oct. 2009. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?id=4538157

ESPN.com news services. “Sources: Three-team deal near.” 9 Dec. 2009. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4725108

“Tigers’ Galarraga robbed by terrible call.” 3 Jun. 2010. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Tigers-Armando-Galarraga-robbed-of-perfect-game-by-bad-call

Miguel Cabrera Statistics and History. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cabremi01.shtml

Tigers Image. http://www.justaonegirlrevolution.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Detroit-Tigers-2012-ALC-Champions-e1349181708888.jpg

Baseball In The D

Part 2: Here Come The Tigers

The Tigers had been a mediocre team for so long up to 2006, and since then, they’ve been a whole new ball club, and thus, my passion for baseball began.

It was October 14th, 2006. I was only about 9 years old, almost 10 at the time. My family and I were at a motel in Arcadia, Michigan, and we were coming back for dinner after walking down the sandy shore of Lake Michigan. My dad knew that game 4 of the ALCS (American League Championship Series) was on that night, so we decided to watch that. I started liking baseball around that time, but I wasn't big on it. But this game was exciting. This was the first time the Tigers had made the playoffs since 1987. They came in as the Wild Card, meaning they were the best second place team record-wise in the American League. It was definitely a start, considering their long playoff drought. The Tigers had gone through and defeated the New York Yankees 3 games to 1 in the ALDS (American League Division Series), and then won the first 3 of the ALCS against the Oakland Athletics. That’s when things got exciting.

It was all tied up in the bottom of the 9th, 3-3. If they scored, they would make it to the world series for the first time in 22 years. Despite a tied score, the A’s brought in the closer Huston Street. First up was Marcus Thames, pinch hitting for Ramon Santiago. He flies out. I’m just crossing my fingers, hoping we can score. Then Curtis Granderson comes up to plate, but he lines out to right field. With two outs, it seemed likely that they would go into extra innings. But you couldn’t count out these Tigers. 

With back-to-back singles by Craig Monroe and Placido Polanco, they finally had something cooking. Then Magglio Ordoñez came up to plate. This was the moment of the game, considering that he had a homer earlier in the game. First pitch was a ball. The crowd was going wild, and I was too, hoping that Magglio could do something. The next pitch, he takes a swing, and he blasted that ball deep to left field, Jay Payton going back, at the track, at the wall, GONE! The crowd went crazy, my family went crazy, and the Tigers went crazy. A three-run homer finally sent them to the World Series, and thus, brought me to liking baseball. It was the probably the most amazing ending to a game I’ve ever seen, even to this day. 

Despite the fact that they were on fire going in to the World Series, they weren’t so hot when they got there. They lost Game 1 to the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-2. But in Game 2, Kenny Rogers pitched very well for the Tigers, and they won 3-1. Unfortunately, that’s all they had left. From then on, pitching, hitting, and defense were a problem for them, as they eventually lost the World Series in Game 5, 4-2. I was obviously very disappointed about that. However, I was excited for their next season. Since they had finally made it to the postseason that year, who knew how well they would play in 2007, and the next season, and the season after that, and so on. 

Now that it’s 2014, I know how their seasons have been, and I will analyze how their seasons were from 2007 to now.

Works Cited

“Tigers Postseason Results.” 27 Mar. 2014. http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/det/history/postseason_results.jsp

“Game HQ.” 14 Oct. 2006. http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/playbyplay?gameId=261014106

Leach, Matthew. 22 Oct. 2006. “Rookie Reyes Delivers Game 1 Victory.” http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061021&content_id=1720173&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl

Baseball In The D

                                Part 1: The Beginning Of The Detroit Tigers

                   This magnificent ball club has a large, rich history, and it all started in the 1900s.

Being a native suburban Detroiter, I grew up around many Detroit Tigers fans. Especially my dad, who got me interested in baseball in the first place. After seeing probably hundreds and hundreds of tigers games with him on TV, it made me wonder about how this ball club got started. 

The Detroit Tigers first became a team in 1901. Their first game ever was on April 25, 1901, against the Milwaukee Brewers. At first it seemed like a blowout, but then they showed some life in the bottom of the ninth. Down 13-4, a series of hits helped them bring the score to 13-12, then a two-run double from Frank “Pop” Dillon sealed the deal of the comeback, and sent 10,000 tigers fans home happy with the 14-13 win. Their first season as a ball club was surprisingly decent, as they finished in third place with a 74-62 record. Unfortunately, the next three seasons were not as good, as they finished with records under .500. Although when one of the greatest tigers of all time debuted in 1905, they suddenly became a much better team.

Tyrus Raymond Cobb, or better known as Ty Cobb, made his Tigers debut on August 30, 1905. He would be one of the best hitters from 1907 until the end of his career in 1928. Not only was he known for his superb hitting skills, but he was also known as a troublemaker as well. He was constantly getting in fights with teammates and opponents, and he was narcissistic as well, calling himself “the greatest baseball player of all time.” While watching the motion picture Cobb, it helped me understand more of how he was really like on and off the baseball diamond. Tommy Lee Jones was the role of Ty Cobb, and he portrayed him as a fantastic athlete, yet a ruthless man. And the real Ty Cobb definitely showed why, as he ended up winning 9 straight batting titles. His superb play on the field helped the Tigers reach their first pennant in 1907.

After finishing at 92-58, and winning the pennant, the Tigers were going up against the Chicago Cubs in their first world series. It was expected to be a close series, but was ultimately not even close. The Cubs ended up sweeping the Tigers 4-0, with a disappointing performance by Ty Cobb, hitting only .200. The next two years they won the pennant, facing the Cubs once again, then the Pittsburgh Pirates, though they did not win the world series either of those years. It wasn’t until 1935 when they finally won a world series. This was after Ty Cobb had retired, though they had the 1935 MVP Hank Greenberg, who was just as good, if not better. Their first world champion came, ironically, against the Chicago Cubs. 

The Tigers would go on to win three more world series after that, in 1945, 1968, and 1984. After their last world series win, they just couldn’t seem to get back to the world series, despite having great players such as Jack Morris, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Kirk Gibson, and so on. Time went on, and through most of the 90’s they became a mediocre ball club. Through the early 2000’s, still, they didn’t seem to be contenders ever. Even moving into Comerica Park in 2000 didn’t help. I wasn’t even interested in baseball yet. And it wouldn’t help in 2003 when they ended up with a 43-119 record, the worst year for a team ever. Though after a few years of rebuilding, acquiring high draft picks, signing free agents, they gradually got better. In 2006, my interest in baseball skyrocketed after watching maybe one of the most memorable Tigers games ever. 

Works Cited

Creamer, Chris. “Historical Moments.” 12 Oct. 2013. http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/al/detroit/tigers.html

“Tigers Timeline.” http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/det/history/timeline.jsp

Ebert, Roger. “Cobb.” 2 Dec. 1994. http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/cobb-1994

World Series Image. http://www.legendaryauctions.com/ItemImages/000117/121191a_lg.jpeg

ROHS Proposed Rule Change (Existentialism)

I propose an ROHS rule that will let upperclassmen be able to leave for lunch every year, and to have the dress code be more lenient than it is at the moment. Despite the attempt of the creation of students becoming more pour soi I would rather attempt to make this rule keep us being en soi. The principals want to have their own rules for us, but what about how we think? I understand that there’s going to be some obvious rules that the school board will want us to follow, but these two rules used to be more in favor of the students. We should all be able to do what we want, and that includes upperclassmen being able to go out for lunch and have a better dress code. The lunchrooms are going to be way more crowded if the principals don’t allow upperclassmen to leave for lunch. Rumors are said that they’ll have another room to eat, but wouldn’t it just be way easier to just let us leave for lunch? I really don’t get it. We should be able to leave anyway. And about the dress code, people will still be breaking it when the weather gets warmer. Even with these new rules, people will still wear shorts that are too short, or tank tops, or hats, or whatever. What’s the point of having this rule if people will still break it? We the students, are still going to continue to do what we think is right for us. Of course we would follow the biggest rules, but we should be able to have more freedoms with where we go to eat, or what we wear. It’s what we want to do, and it’s what we should do.

On Cookie Dough

My mother never let me have cookie dough when I was a child. She was afraid that I would get sick from too much of that sweetness. As a child I would get sick a lot from different things, but seriously, I really wanted to try some cookie dough. I always heard stories about about how delectable it was, however I was stuck with the baked form of the food. Which isn’t bad obviously, but I really wanted the cookie form of it too. I haven’t been even close to forgetting that desire, and to this day, I haven’t been able to taste the sweet embracing treat that is cookie dough.

I felt like I was being tortured, always hearing about this sweet, sugary goodness that my mean mother would never let me have. When I was younger, I used to help my mom make cookies a lot, and it would get pretty frustrating, because I couldn't even get a lick of that scrumptious cookie dough. I would dream about eating it, even just getting the slightest taste of it. But any chance I thought I could get would be taken away from me. Now that I’m older, I’m able to go to the store and buy a big tub of cookie dough, but I’d have to sneak it in by my mother, who still believes that I will get sick from it.

If there’s a lesson in this, it’s that my mom has ruined my childhood. Although I did have fun memories in my childhood, such as going to disney world and having a bunch of toys, this prevention of cookie dough consumption from my mother absolutely ruins it. Every kid deserves something sweet in order not to be narcissistic about the world. When I have children, they will not be shut out from the world and will be given choices. The only thing that makes people human is from choice. They can make their own choices in where they want to go to college, or what they want to work as in the future, who they want to marry and when, and so on. Rules will obviously be placed, but in the end, my child will be free.

The Principals Are Big Brother

In the novel 1984, there is someone by the name of “big brother.” There would be signs around reading, “Big Brother is Watching You,” giving a signal that whatever you do, he’s watching, and there’s consequences for any poor decisions. In relation to big brother in real life, I believe that the principals everywhere take the place of his similar resemblance in life. 

The way how they can figure out anything that’s happening all around the school has a big brother feeling to it. For example, if you’re eating in the halls of the school, there seems to be a principal in almost every corner, just waiting to find someone’s wrongdoing, and they find out fast. There are also security cameras everywhere in the school so that automatically gives another feeling that they’re like big brother. 

There are most likely other people everywhere that are somewhat similar to “big brother,” such as parents, the police, the president, and so on, though the principals of ROHS, and any other school, to me, feel the most like big brother.

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/ernest-istook-knowing-inside/2013/nov/5/obamas-1984-big-brother-hes-revising-history-what-/