http://newenglishd.com/2014/04/23/one-quick-thing-the-smyly-transition/
One Quick Thing: The Smyly Transition.
from the NewEnglishD-Tigersblog

http://motorcitybengals.com/2014/04...ielder-trade-looks-golden-far-detroit-tigers/
Ian Kinsler for Prince Fielder Trade Looks Golden So Far For Detroit Tigers.
from mcbtb

Avila looking for ways to beat defensive shifts.
DETROIT -- Alex Avila has seen his share of infield shifts in recent years as opposing teams play him to pull. His three hits to different areas of the field Tuesday night aren't likely to change that approach.

"This year, for some reason, there's been a lot of shifting going on," Avila said. "That's just all the numbers and statistics and graphs, things like that. I mean, we do it."

All he can do is try to hit over it, or in the case of his low line drive into the right-field corner Tuesday, hit through it. That said, he's tempted to take what he's being given.

"There's been times I've thought about maybe trying to lay down a bunt," Avila said. "I tried it in Los Angeles [two weeks ago]. There'll be occasions if a team's shifting in certain situations, trying to lay down a bunt might not be a bad idea.

"A lot of teams are shifting, and I think you're going to see a lot of left-handed hitters maybe drop down a bunt here and there."

It's not as easy as simply slashing an opposite-field line drive, Avila said, because pitchers are usually trying to pitch into the shift, giving the hitter a pitch he can only pull.
from the Tigers official site

Coke's slider remains a work in progress.
DETROIT -- Phil Coke flubbed up the finish on an 0-2 slider Tuesday night and turned what once had promise for a very good ninth inning into a troublesome one. He did not mess up the delivery when talking about it afterward.

"It was supposed to be away from him and I didn't get my fingers on top of the ball on the release," Coke said of his offering to Adam Dunn that became a two-run homer. "It started to get that movement that I wanted and then it came back to him at the last minute, just because I didn't get on top of the ball. If I get on top of the ball, he either fouls it off or douses it into left. I don't know. Who's to say? It didn't do what I'm supposed to do.

"It was like I threw an incidental two-seamer."

Wait, that's supposed to be an accidental two-seamer, right?

"No," Coke answered, "it was an incident, because he hit that a long way. Somebody almost died. That was an incident in the outfield seats. Seriously. I'm being totally honest, because he tattooed that ball. He really did. He's probably been itching to do that to me for a long time. Hey, he finally got me. Pitch didn't do what I wanted it to, and that's on me. But he's still a phenomenal hitter and he did exactly what he's supposed to do."

Dunn hadn't been itching to hit him, but the reaction certainly made him laugh.

"I think it's awesome," Dunn said Wednesday. "That's very witty. I don't know Phil Coke very much. I can tell you right now I like him, because that's a good one. That's one of the better ones I've heard."

As for the pitch, it's a work in progress. While Coke thought he had promise in the slider he developed late in Spring Training after talking with Ian Krol and Joba Chamberlain, he has tinkered with it some more following his struggles. He has been working on it with pitching coach Jeff Jones with mixed results.

"At times, it looks real good," manager Brad Ausmus said. "His first couple batters, he threw it a number of times and it looked really good. It's tough with a new pitch. Every once in a while, you lose the handle on it, and unfortunately against Dunn, he did."

Asked how he'll handle Coke, Ausmus took a cautious approach.

"There's got to be spots for him to pitch," Ausmus said. "I think ideally, you want to pitch him where he can be successful, and I think against a lefty is probably your best option. There are stretches where if the situation doesn't arise for him to pitch in the optimal situation, then you just have to get him in there. You can't not use him."

Tuesday's ninth inning was intended to be that situation, with an 8-3 lead and the bottom of the order coming up. Coke struck out the first two hitters before right-handed hitter Marcus Semien's double started the two-out rally.

Dunn, for one, thinks highly of Coke, not just as a quote.

"It's one of those deals where he really does have good stuff," Dunn said. "I think that a lot of times in this game, people probably overthink or put way too much pressure into things and it causes them to struggle. When you are going good, you just rear back and throw it or you swing hard and you hit it.

"Hopefully, he'll end up getting back on track. Hopefully, it's not against us."
from the Tigers official site

Worth noting;

? Joe Nathan could be seen warming up in a hurry in the ninth inning Tuesday night as the White Sox rallied against Coke and then Joba Chamberlain. He wasn't warming when the inning began or when the White Sox put a runner on base, and Ausmus said afterward that he probably would have gotten him throwing sooner.
That said, Nathan explained, he doesn't need long to warm up in an urgent situation.
"I can get ready in eight pitches," Nathan said.
While an older arm theoretically should take longer to warm, Nathan doesn't rely on velocity the same way he used to. He also knows how to warm up better than he used to.

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2014/04/tigers_white_sox.html
White Sox 6 - Tigers 4: Bullpen blows it as Ian Krol surrenders game-changing grand slam.
from Mlive

http://www.freep.com/article/201404...go-6-Detroit-4-Tigers-bullpen-blows-late-lead
Chicago 6 - Detroit Tigers 4: Tigers' bullpen blows late lead in loss.
from the freep

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...bullpen-squanders-strong-outing-by-Drew-Smyly
Tigers bullpen squanders strong outing by Drew Smyly.
from the detnews

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2014_04_23_chamlb_detmlb_1&mode=recap_home&c_id=det
Tigers bullpen unable to protect Smyly's lead.
Reed loads bases, Krol gives up grand slam in decisive seventh.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/inde...d=det#gid=2014_04_23_chamlb_detmlb_1&mode=box
Boxscore.
from the Tigers official site

http://newenglishd.com/2014/04/23/how-was-the-game-april-23-2014/
How Was The Game? (April 23, 2014).
from the NewEnglishD-Tigersblog

http://www.blessyouboys.com/2014/4/23/5645956/alex-avila-matt-lindstrom-3-0-pitch
Was swinging at a 3-0 pitch the right move by Alex Avila?
from bybtb

http://www.blessyouboys.com/2014/4/...blows-up-ian-krol-serves-up-eighth/in/5409427
White Sox 6, Tigers 4: Bullpen blows up, Ian Krol serves up eighth inning grand slam.
from bybtb

http://motorcitybengals.com/2014/04...rs-final-score-lose-to-chicago-white-sox-6-4/
Bullpen Gives Up Grand Slam, Lead as Detroit Tigers Lose to Chicago White Sox 6-4.
from mcbtb

April 24 in Tigers and mlb history:

1901 - Three rain postponements give Chicago the honor of hosting the first game in American League history.

1923 - U.S. President Warren G. Harding witnesses the first shutout ever thrown at Yankee Stadium as Babe Ruth hits a home run in New York's 4 - 0 victory over the Senators.

1926 - Unfazed by Forbes Field's ample dimensions, St. Louis Cardinals player-manager Rogers Hornsby leads by example, slugging his team to a 9 - 3 thrashing of the Pittsburgh Pirates. 3 for 3 with a single, double, sacrifice fly and home run good for 5 RBI, the Rajah's exploits are documented by Lou Wollen of the Pittsburgh Press: "Manager Rogers Hornsby is an ideal leader. Not only does he pilot the Cardinals in expert fashion, getting all the baseball possible out of his players, but he shows them on the ball field how the game should be played.

1931 - Three days before his 35th birthday, Chicago's player-manager Rogers Hornsby is again undaunted by Forbes Field's forbidding expanse. Hornsby hits three consecutive home runs to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10 - 6. This is the final season in which Hornsby will allot himself significant playing time – 357 at-bats in 100 games.

1945 - Happy Chandler becomes the second baseball commissioner. The major league owners unanimously elect the former governor of Kentucky on the first ballot and reward him with a seven-year contract. Chandler succeeds Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the game's first commissioner, who died in 1944.

1946 - Former major leaguers Jesse Burkett, Frank Chance, Jack Chesbro, Johnny Evers, Clark Griffith, Tommy McCarthy, Joe McGinnity, Eddie Plank, Joe Tinker, Rube Waddell and Ed Walsh are inducted into the Hall of Fame.

1956 - American League umpire Frank Umont is the first to wear glasses in a regular-season game when he officiates a contest between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Athletics. A former NFL tackle for the New York Giants, Umont still presents an intimidating appearance to most players and fans.

1996 - Greg Myers and Paul Molitor each have five RBI as the Minnesota Twins set a team record for runs and rout the Detroit Tigers, 24 - 11. It is the highest run total against the Tigers in 84 years, matching the mark set in a 24 - 2 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics on May 18, 1912, in a game in which Detroit did not have its regulars due to a players' strike.

2001 - The American League celebrates its 100th anniversary as a major league.

Tigers players and coaches birthdays:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Howard_Ehmke
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/ehmkeho01.shtml
Howard Ehmke 1916-1917, 1919-1922.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kruegbi01.shtml
Bill Krueger 1993-1994.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Todd_Jones
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jonesto02.shtml
Todd Jones 1997-2001, 2006-2008.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Omar_Vizquel
Omar Vizquel coach 2014-present.

from Baseball Reference

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2014/04/alex_avila_gets_green_light_to.html
Alex Avila gets green light to swing on 3-0 count in 9th inning, comes up short in Detroit Tigers' loss.
from Mlive

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2014/04/analysis_detroit_tigers_bullpe.html
Analysis: Detroit Tigers bullpen still has plenty of question marks despite recent hot streak.
from Mlive

http://www.freep.com/article/201404...d-Tigers-manager-Ausmus-employs-bench-players
Like Jim Leyland, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus employs bench players.
from the freep

http://www.freep.com/article/20140424/SPORTS02/304240028/detroit-tigers-1984
April 24, 1984: 'Team of destiny' Detroit Tigers sweep doubleheader vs. Twins, move to 14-1.
from the freep

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...ers-Brad-Ausmus-defends-leaving-Ian-Krol-game
Tigers' Brad Ausmus defends leaving Ian Krol in game.
from the detnews

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...reliever-Phil-Coke-s-struggles-he-s-here-win-
Despite Tigers reliever Phil Coke's struggles, he's 'here to win'.
from the detnews

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/273349...s-discusses-tough-loss-to-white-sox/?c_id=det
Ausmus on 6-4 loss vs. White Sox. Tigers managers Brad Ausmus talks about his bullpen's struggles in Detroit's 6-4 loss to the White Sox.

http://isportsweb.com/2014/04/23/detroit-tigers-solving-phil-coke-problem/
Detroit Tigers: Solving the Phil Coke problem.
from Detroit I-sportsweb

http://beck.mlblogs.com/2014/04/23/game-18-ausmus-aggressive-with-krol-avila/
Game 18: Ausmus aggressive with Krol, Avila.
from JasonBeck'sTigersblog

http://www.hardballtimes.com/simulating-and-identifying-platoon-players/
Simulating and Identifying Platoon Players.
from the Hardball Times

Avila mentioned here...

Things to watch for the rest of the week;

Thursday afternoon: Max finishes up the ChiSox series
A slew of K?s might be in store for Thursday afternoon?s game between the Tigers and ChiSox, when Scherzer toes the rubber. His opponent will be Jose Quintana, one of the better young pitchers in the league. Scherzer is once again among league leaders in strikeouts, he?s coming off a dominating performance against the Angels, and he looks every bit like the Max of 2013. In the afternoon sunshine, Scherzer and Quintana may rack up a lot of whiffs.

Weekend series: at the Twins
The Tigs make their first trip to Minnesota this weekend for a three-gamer against their traditional division opponent. We?ll see Porcello, Sanchez, and Verlander on the mound in that one at Target Field. So far, the Twins have shown that they can outslug opponents occasionally to make up for their shaky starting pitching. In 8 of their 9 wins, Minnesota has scored at least 7 runs. Their rotation has a dismal combined 5.31 ERA thus far in 2014. If the Tigers? offense is to get on track, it might happen this weekend against the Twins.

Gonzalez is gone, Worth is back?again
The Alex Gonzalez experiment lasted three weeks and is now over. You can?t blame the Tigers for giving it a shot: Gonzalez was hitting the ball really well for the Orioles in spring training and Detroit needed someone to step in to give them some reps at shortstop in the void that followed the devastating injury to Jose Iglesias, which may keep him sidelined all season. But Gonzalez didn?t bring his hitting shoes with him to Motown, and his defense was a nightmare that few could have imagined. We knew he would be limited somewhat in range, he?s 37 years old for goodness sake, but his range was even worse than imagined and his hands were jittery. I counted five errors he committed in 9 games, though the scorekeeper only charged him with three. All we can hope now is that Tigers? players will have to vote to determine a World Series share for Gonzo?s brief trial in Detroit. He?s gone and he won?t be missed. Ironically, the guy who delivered the game-winning hit on opening day has probably played his final major league game.

One man?s exit is another man?s opportunity. Enter Danny Worth, who starts his 8th stint with the Tigers in five seasons. ?Yo-yo? might be an appropriate nickname for the middle infielder who has now spent parts of seven seasons with the Mud Hens. I?m not sure if Worth owns a house in Toledo, but he probably knows every good restaurant, every clean restroom, and every pothole in the city. The Tigers will shuttle Worth in and out along with Andrew Romine at shortstop for the foreseeable future. The problem with Worth is that he?s a utility infielder in a game that no longer values such things. With the Tigs using 7 relievers (8 for a little while), that leaves only 3-4 bench spots, and one has to be a catcher. Another two are usually outfielders, which leaves on extra infielder, and teams want a spare infielder who can hit as opposed to pick the ball. The era when teams could carry a utility infielder for emergency situations and to give an occasional breather to the starters is long gone. Worth is a career .250 minor leaguer with little power, and even though he can play short, second, and third, he?s not particularly eye-popping with the glove.

But the organization has few options, and Worth has at least tasted big league cuisine (he spent the entire 2012 season with the major league club). So, this what we?re stuck with, but at least a Romine/Worth platoon of sorts will be an upgrade from Gonzalez.

Shortstop options outside the organization
Don?t be surprised if Dave Dombrowski acquires a shortstop sooner rather than later. Unsigned free agent Stephen Drew is still dangling out there, and he has a few things going for him: he?s a left-handed bat (which Detroit sorely needs to balance out their lineup) and he?s proven he can hit for stretches of time at least. He also has postseason experience. But several teams are sniffing around Drew, and I wouldn?t be shocked if the Braves or some other team snatched him up and moved him to second base. Drew?s range is better than that of the ancient Gonzalez, but it?s not Iglesias-like by any stretch. The Tigers may also revisit their interest in fuzzy-faced Chris Owings, a 22-year old shortstop with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kirk Gibson?s team is off to a miserable start and they may be interested in moving some pieces. The Tigs reportedly showed interest in Owings in the spring, but it might be that the asking price for the young infielder was too high (Rick Porcello was rumored to be coveted by the DBacks). But would the Tigers let go of something to get Owings, who has looked solid in his first full-time month in the big leagues? I think they could. The Tigers want to win a championship right now. Sure, they have Iglesias in the wings and they could be set at short for 10 more years with Jose, but remember this is the franchise that signed Prince Fielder when Victor Martinez was lost for the season. Owings would come a lot cheaper, maybe at the price of pitching prospect Robbie Ray and one of Detroit?s two younger middle infield prospects like Hernan Perez or Eugenio Suarez. Arizona could afford to take the long look at young shortstops like that, while Detroit wants to win now.

Matchup to watch this week: In their stellar careers, Joe Mauer and Justin Verlander have faced each other more than any other pitcher/batter. The three-time batting champ has gotten the best of it thus far, hitting .371 against Verlander with 7 extra-base hits in 74 battles against him.

Trending up: After a pair of rough outings to start his Detroit career, Joba Chamberlain has not allowed a run in five straight appearances and he?s fanned 7 batters in his last 4 innings.

Trending down: Torii Hunter hit homers in three straight games in the first week of the season, but after suffering a minor injury to his leg he?s hitting .160 since.

Interesting number: 162 ? that?s how many stolen bases the Tigers are on pace for this season after swiping 15 in their first 15 games. Though speed demon Rajai Davis has 6 of them, there has been a team effort to inject some action on the bases: 6 different Tigers have pilfered a bag. Last year the Tigers stole 35 bases for the entire season. The last time Detroit swiped as many as 100 bases was 2007, and the team hasn?t stolen more than 160 since 1997.
from Detroit Athletic