Kuzul

The Detroit Tigers came into the 2012 MLB season with expectations of World Series grandeur. Now nearing the 2012 MLB All-Star break, the Tigers are hovering just below .500. The team hasn’t been consistent all season, which leads to heavy trade talks amongst restless members of the media and fans. 

One name that has been brought up frequently in water cooler trade debates this season has been Delmon Young. Tigers fans have become suddenly spoiled by the team spending big bucks in free agency and tasting success since 2006. With over 80 games to be played, this is no time to hit the panic button. There’s plenty of time left in the season and the Tigers won’t be trading Young for multiple reasons. 

The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 MLB draft is only 26 years old and has yet to hit his prime. After being traded from the Minnesota Twins to the Tigers late last season, Young caught fire, knocking in 32 RBI in 40 regular season games.

If the Tigers are willing to hang onto Ryan Raburn for his second-half stats, then Young will stay in town. 

Another reason he’ll stay is that he’s had a few highly publicized incidents in his career that have tarnished his image, including one in New York earlier this season which led to a seven-game suspension.

What team is willing to trade for a player with his track record who is currently batting .269 with six homers and 29 RBI?

Young has made mistakes in the past, which he has publicly apologized for, but has to prove that he’s learned from them. Finishing the year by letting his bat do the talking will serve him best. 

He is set to become a free agent this offseason, and while he may not be a member of the Tigers in 2013, what could the team truly expect in return for him, a couple of mediocre prospects? Young is a player who has shown that he has the capability of being a top-tier hitter in the majors. Yes, he’s only hitting .269 this season, but he’s been making consistent, solid contact for nearly a month now.

Believe it or not, he’s the key to the Tigers’ success on offense the rest of the season.

Fans know that Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder will produce, but besides the team’s stars, a reliable bat has eluded the Tigers’ bottom-half of the lineup this season. Beyond all their struggles, the Tigers are still near .500 and find themselves only a handful of games out of the lead in the AL Central.

Practically giving Young away now wouldn’t bode well for a team in contention. 

Now is the time for Young to make his positive mark in the big leagues, and both player and organization realize it. He knocked in 112 RBI in the 2010 season, but the remainder of the 2012 season is where Young can legitimize himself as a former No. 1 pick. By Young becoming a constant threat at the plate, the Tigers will be a playoff team and true contender to win the World Series. 

Young won’t be traded by the Tigers this season and fans will be jubilant because of that decision come October.  

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Whenever an athlete is playing on the last year of his or her contract, it is crucial to have a good season in order to parlay that success into a long-term deal.

No matter a player’s age, if he shows he can perform at a substantial level, he will greatly enhance his chances of a long-term deal.

Every free-agent class has its top-tier players, but for every good player that maintains their previous levels of excellence, such as Cole Hamels and Zack Greinke, there are guys who do not perform as well when the money is on the line. 

There are a variety of reasons why these players fail. Whether it is age, luck or simply an inability to handle the big moments, their stats do not live up to their expectations heading into the season.

Here are five guys who are having disastrous seasons in their contract year.

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Earlier today, Buster Olney reported that Miguel Cabrera has a small fracture under his right eye and might be out a week or two.

It almost goes without saying that Cabrera is a very lucky man. As a Cyclops who has undergone numerous vision-altering (and destroying) eye surgeries, you just don’t want to get in a position when the doctors have to start poking at your peepers with a shrimp fork. I don’t mean to denigrate the wonderful professionals who saved my life, but once you go down that road, there really aren’t a lot of good outcomes. For me, a writer, it means small but significant limitations on my activities. For a ballplayer, it can be the end. If Kirby Puckett was still alive, you could ask him about it.

I alluded to the Tigers’ short-term alternatives to Cabrera in yesterday’s post on the mishap. Assuming the diagnosis and timeframe for recovery are accurate, these are less important than whether the injury calls into question the entire Cabrera-at-Third experiment. The answer, in three one-syllable words: Of course not.

The Tigers will derive great benefits from playing Cabrera at third, or at least they could if they are smart about how they use the designated hitter spot. Instead of alternating Prince Fielder and Cabrera at designated hitter and playing a non-hitter at third base (or spending organizational resources to upgrade there), they get to place bats at both corners and move Delmon Young’s astoundingly poor glove out of left field. This presents only two problems:

1.  Delmon Young isn’t a good hitter for a designated hitter or left field. Young is only 26, but despite his solid hitting in 2006, he must be rated one of the game’s great prospect busts.

2. The Tigers aren’t exactly going to exploit their left field opening. Neither Andy Dirks nor Clete Thomas is an impact hitter; the Tigers might be better to try to pry Kirk Gibson away from the Diamondbacks and see what he has left at 54.

Any third baseman can be undressed, Charlie Brown style, by a hard-hit ball; yesterday’s play was not the inevitable result of Cabrera’s lack of ability at the position, and there is no reason to think that he will be in mortal danger each time a ball is hit his way. The remaining question is,
will Cabrera’s defensive shortcomings be so severe that they will negate whatever offensive advantage the Tigers derive from this alignment?

The answer is probably not, but that may also have more to do with how the left fielders and designated hitters perform. If his defense somehow is that bad, nothing says that the Tigers can’t make another change, whether by moving Cabrera back to first base/DH or trading for another third baseman. It’s a common mistake, but everyone makes it: just because a team is playing a certain roster or lineup on Opening Day doesn’t mean that they’re locked into that alignment.

Given that, it seems particularly unlikely that this is the Tigers lineup we will see in October. They are almost certainly going to win the AL Central, and with the World Series scent in their nose, they’re almost certainly going to upgrade somewhere, be it in left field, at DH, or even second base, where Ryan Raburn may be challenged to last a full season. The good news, in a glass-half-full sense, is that they have the flexibility to make a move, flexibility that Cabrera at third base allows them to have.

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As the Detroit Tigers gear up for their ALCS showdown with the defending league champs, the club got some bad news on the medical front. The injury oblique Delmon Young suffered in Game 5 against the Yankees is serious enough that he was left off the ALCS roster altogether.

For most teams, losing their regular No. 3 hitter when they’re already facing a superior offense would be the death knell for their chances at a pennant. The Tigers’s roster being what it is, though, they could be headed to the World Series even without Young.

First and foremost, of course, the Tigers boast the best pitcher in the A.L. in Justin Verlander. With the presumptive Cy Young winner getting to start Game 1 (and a potential Game 5 at home), the Tigers may not need to score many runs to get a pair of wins.

Then, too, Young is being replaced by Ryan Raburn, whose numbers on the season (.297 OBP, .432 SLG) are nearly identical to Young’s since being traded to Detroit (.298 OBP, .458 SLG). Both are right-handed hitters, so that’s a wash as well.

Lastly, neither Raburn nor Young is really the heart of a Detroit offense whose biggest production has come from the infield. First base Miguel Cabrera (.344 BA, 30 HR, 105 RBI) is the star, but designated hitter Victor Martinez (103 RBI) and catcher Alex Avila (.895 OPS) have both had big years as well.

Having Young would’ve helped, especially by leaving Raburn available for situational hitting. Young’s roster spot is going to infielder Danny Worth, whose OBP is a hair higher than Young’s or Raburn’s at .308 but who posted a dreadful .324 slugging percentage in 30 games this season.

Still, even without their starting left fielder, the Tigers have a good shot to capture their second pennant in six years.

Game 1: Detroit at Texas, 10/8, 8:05 P.M.

Game 2: Detroit at Texas, 10/9, 7:45 P.M.

Game 3: Texas at Detroit, 10/11, 8:05 P.M.

Game 4: Texas at Detroit, 10/12, 4:19 P.M.

Game 5 (if necessary): Texas at Detroit, 10/13, 4:19 P.M.

Game 6 (if necessary): Detroit at Texas, 10/15, 8:05 P.M.

Game 7 (if necessary): Detroit at Texas, 10/16, 8:05 P.M.

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On August 15, the Minnesota Twins traded then-struggling outfielder Delmon Young to the Detroit Tigers for two minor-league prospects. The change of scenery proved to make a big difference.

In 84 games as a member of the Twins this season, Young batted .266 with four home runs and 32 RBI. In only 40 games as a Tiger, he hit .274 with eight bombs and equaled his RBI tally. This production became something the Tigers and manager Jim Leyland grew used to while making their run to the playoffs.

In September, Young finished third in RBI for the club and tied with Miguel Cabrera for the club lead in home runs.

With all that said, Detroit will have to find a way to win without his bat in the lineup if they are going to beat the Texas Rangers and advance to the World Series. Young is out of the AL Championship Series because of an oblique injury suffered during Thursday’s win in New York.

Hitting third in the order during all five AL Division Series games against the Yankees, Young hit .316 with three solo home runs for all three of his RBI. He scored once outside of his home runs, and those numbers will be difficult to recreate.

In the ALDS, Leyland had the luxury of playing either Magglio Ordoñez or Don Kelly. In the ALCS, both will likely have to play. Against the Yankees, Ordoñez swung a hot bat—hitting .455—however scored only one run and did not drive any batters in. Meanwhile, Kelly hit .364 in the series with one home run, two RBI while scoring three times.

Neither of these two really can replicate the production that the Tigers got when Young occupied the third spot in their order. If they expect to win the ALCS, their star players are going to have to step up.

In the ALDS, their top run producers from the regular season, Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Alex Avila struggled, combining for two home runs, seven RBI and a .163 batting average. Without Young, all three of these players are going to have to pick up the slack immensely.

Justin Verlander and Doug Fister cannot win the series for Detroit. The lineup is going to have find a way to score runs without one of their best hitters. Tiger fans better hope someone steps up, because if no one does, Detroit’s days are numbered.

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There have been many words used to describe the Minnesota Twins‘ 2011 campaign—frustrating, humiliating, injury-ridden, disappointing, lost.

However, one word that has come into view following their assent from the American League Central’s cellar: historic?

That’s right. The Twins have a chance to erase the largest deficit in Major League Baseball history, should they come all the way back to win the division.

As of June 2, the Twins sat 16 1/2 games behind the division-leading Cleveland Indians. By June 25, following a three-game losing streak, the Twins have closed that gap to eight games behind Cleveland and seven games behind the Detroit Tigers (who I identify as the real team to beat in this division).

Should the Twins erase the deficit it would be the largest comeback in MLB history.

The current record is held by the 1914 Boston Braves, who sat at 26-40 in early July that season, 15 games back in the standings.

The “Miracle Braves,” as they became known, finished the season by going 70-19, eventually winning the pennant by 10 1/2 games over the New York Giants. The Braves would go on to sweep the favored the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series that season.

The Twins are facing an uphill battle, but have shown great resolve in recent seasons. In 2009, the Twins erased a seven-game lead of the Tigers in the final weeks, eventually securing the division title in one of the most memorable games in Twins history—Game 163.

The Twins will now turn to Fransisco Liriano to get the comeback back on track in the second game of a three-game set in Milwaukee.

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There’s no doubt that 2010-2011 has been extremely disappointing for Minnesota sports fans. 

The Timberwolves again failed to hit 20 wins, the Wild missed the playoffs yet again, and the Vikings look to be in a free fall after being within one 14-men in the huddle penalty from the Super Bowl only 18 months ago.

It would seem that things couldn’t get any worse.

But hope springs eternal and the time is right for baseball, the one constant within the Minnesota sports landscape. 

With the new stadium smell still hovering over Target Field the expectations have been the greatest for the local nine. What was supposed to be a season full of hope appears to be falling in line with all of the other professional teams as the Twins are in the midst of the single greatest turnaround in franchise history—the problem is this turnaround is in the negative direction.

Taking a look as what has transpired for the Twins since they were last swept by the New York Yankees in the divisional round of the playoffs it might be all that surprising that the team is struggling.  

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Over the past nine years, the Minnesota Twins have dominated the American League Central. They have won six division titles in that span (seven if you count their tie for first in 2008), since Ron Gardenhire was named manager. Although they have not necessarily had the most talent, they play hard—and they scrap for every win possible.

Unfortunately, in that span, they have only six playoff victories. Four of them were in 2002 and their last playoff victory was in 2004. Regardless of their disappointments, the Twins have been resilient. They keep coming back for more. Their desperation for playoff victories is reminiscent of a child actor not named Neil Patrick Harris trying to hold on to Hollywood. No matter how hard they work, the big bad industry continues to shut them down.

Last year, however, they moved outside. With Target Field came a new swagger. They won 94 games and they looked poised to take down the Yankees. They had this new, beautiful stadium and they had home-field advantage over the Bronx Bombers. Unfortunately, the Yankees embarrassed the Twins, coming from behind twice at Target Field, then dismantling them at Yankee Stadium.

This year, though, was going to be the Twins year. Still, they are off to terrible start. They have lost each of their first three series—and they are sitting in last place in a division they have won six times. So, there are two main questions the Twins must answer. What is the cause for their poor start? Also, is there a legitimate cause for concern in the Twin Cities?

The Twins take pride in doing the little things right. Clutch hitting, good pitching and solid fielding will win you baseball games. Nevertheless, the Twins have been completely unable to do two of those things.

The hitting has been terrible.

Slumps happen. To have a collective batting average of .214, however, is an embarrassment to the game of baseball.

In hitter’s counts (3-1, 2-0), the team is a combined 2-19. Tsuyoshi Nishiokia and Delmon Young singles shouldn’t be all hitter’s counts accumulate to. The team is relatively patient, but when they do get ahead, they need to capitalize on it. Until they start getting hits when they are ahead in counts, the hitting woes will continue.

When teams struggle, they need their veterans to carry them through. Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau and Young have a combined four extra base hits. Four. Not each. Four total. That can’t happen for guys that are staples in the middle of the order. Jason Kubel and Jim Thome have played relatively well, but without the other three producing, the Twins will be in for a long, unsuccessful summer.

Sometimes, slumps can be overcome. Doesn’t good pitching out-do good hitting anyway? Well, the Twins have been unable to pitch well either.

Outside of Nick Blackburn, who has been lights out, the Twins pitching staff is in shambles. Every other starter’s ERA is over five. Francisco Liriano can’t throw a strike (eight walks in 9.1 innings)), Carl Pavano can barely keep the ball in the park (three home runs in 12 innings) and Scott Baker has been pretty brutal on both accounts (six walks and four home runs in 11 innings). When three of your starters consistently give up runs, it doesn’t matter how the team is hitting.

The bullpen has been a little brighter, but it hasn’t been that much better.

Although Jose Mijares and Joe Nathan have pitched well—and the rest of the crew has been slightly promising. Even though Jeff Manship and Dusty Hughes have been shelled, Kevin Slowey and Matt Capps have been decent.

If the pitching, especially the starters, doesn’t improve, it won’t matter how well the Twins hit; they will continue to lose games.

Another problem for the Twins is their inability to win on the road (and against certain opponents). They have a 114-130 record away from home in the last three seasons (including the playoff against the White Sox). Even though they’ve been tremendous at the Metrodome and Target Field, they need to start winning on the road to be considered a legitimate contender. Last year, they took a step in the right direction and finished above .500 (41-40), but they have returned to their losing ways on the road (2-4).

Regardless of winning or losing on the road, the Twins can’t beat the Yankees. They have only won six games in their last 26 chances and the Yankees seem bored with defeating them. The Twins had an impressive comeback win over the Bombers last Tuesday, but they followed that up by blowing an early lead on Thursday. Every time they take a step forward, they seem to take two steps back. Until they beat the Yankees, the Twins will struggle making it to the World Series.

So, is there reason to panic? No, not yet. While the early-season struggles could turn into problems, right now, the Twins have nothing to seriously worry about. They are a veteran squad that knows how to win. Gardenhire is a proven winner (in the regular season, at least) and he will right this ship by the end of the month (especially with the easy schedule they have upcoming).

Obviously, no panic should be pressed in April, but the Twins need to be aware of their issues, and they need to take the appropriate steps to correct it.

Cuddyer, Morneau and Young need to get their swing back and the offense will start working again.

Liriano and Pavano need to start throwing strikes and the pitching will start to look better.

If they figure these things out, then maybe (just maybe!), the Twins will put themselves in position to face the Yankees in the playoffs. And maybe, after all these tribulations, they will conquer the Evil Empire once and for all.

Then again, we probably shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves.

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These are the players who I believe to be the top 20 fantasy baseball outfielders in the American League going into the 2011 season. 

Here are my other 2011 fantasy baseball rankings:

Top 50 Hitters

Top 35 Pitchers

Top 25 First Basemen

Top 25 Second Basemen

Top 20 Shortstops

Top 20 Third Basemen

Top 15 Catchers w/ Analysis

Top 20 NL Outfielders w/ Analysis

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  With all the talk about the 2011 Minnesota Twins, I decided to take a very early look at the 2012 Minnesota Twins and what kind of lineup they could have. Joe Mauer signed his 8 year/$184M contract extension last spring because this is his team and he wants to win a World Series in a Twins uniform. What players will be around him in 2012 and do they have enough talent around him and in the farm system to get him a ring? I’ll share my thoughts on what players will make up their 2012 batting lineup.

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