Sbee said:

Also, remember that I'm not saying for Ausmus is some super star manager, I'm saying that you're completely focusing on the wrong thing. The team not scoring has next to nothing to do with managing. We don't score because we have 3 black holes in the lineup, CF, C, SS. Upton has been terrible but has a good track record, McCann, gose, and Iglesias have always been terrible offensive players.

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I'm focused on a manager trying to play with what he wants to be there instead of what is. There is no excuse for not throwing a line up out there last night that would have given the offense a slightly better chance of getting at least 1-2 runs off Tillman..Brad said in the post game Tillman is tough on righties..so why wasn't goose and salty in over upton and McCann or maybe even lettuce over iggy at short.? Leyland always liked that left right left right line up Brad had the players do to that with and probebly never even considered it just says well we're a prodometly right handed hitting line up aw shucks do de do what to do what to do, you got 5 left bats there are 9 line up postions if the opposing teams pitchers has noticeable splits differences between left and right use it ffs, twice in the last four he's made that mistake.

Whatever Brad

We've now lost 10 of our last 11 games.

Sbee said:

It's a common practice among tiger fans to blame the manager for the team playing poorly, it's totally wrong but completely common, I remember all of the same stuff about Leyland. There isn't really an option to exchange the 25 man roster for a new one but you can swap the coaching staff relatively easily so people want to do that in a desperate effort to improve performance. Our struggles are 99% on the players or bad luck and 1% on the coaching staff.

If the front office fires ausmus it will make fans feel better but it will not improve this team in any significant manner. Replacing Mike Aviles with a better utility player would go a lot further than replacing the coaching staff.

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You're right. Though I think it's not just Tigers fans. Though the problem I have with Ausmus, for 2plus years now.. is that fact Salty should bat against RHP with McCann against LHP, only. Gose should not bat vs LHP, ever. Even when we had Rajai Davis he'd bat Gose against LHP. It made no sense.

vs 2014-Present

J. Saltalamacchia 748 PA .315 OBP .409 SLG .724 OPS

A. Avila 720 PA .333 OBP .332 SLG .665 OPS

J. McCann 480 PA .286 OBP .361 SLG .647 OPS

B. Holaday 287 PA .277 OBP .333 SLG .610 OPS


vs RHP 2014-Present

J. Saltalamacchia 587 PA .323 OBP .412 SLG .735 OPS

A. Avila 563 PA .348 OBP .355 SLG .703 OPS

B. Holaday 169 PA .305 OBP .357 SLG .660 OPS

J. McCann 354 PA .273 OBP .319 SLG .592 OPS

tigermud said:

I'm focused on a manager trying to play with what he wants to be there instead of what is. There is no excuse for not throwing a line up out there last night that would have given the offense a slightly better chance of getting at least 1-2 runs off Tillman..Brad said in the post game Tillman is tough on righties..so why wasn't goose and salty in over upton and McCann or maybe even lettuce over iggy at short.? Leyland always liked that left right left right line up Brad had the players do to that with and probebly never even considered it just says well we're a prodometly right handed hitting line up aw shucks do de do what to do what to do, you got 5 left bats there are 9 line up postions if the opposing teams pitchers has noticeable splits differences between left and right use it ffs, twice in the last four he's made that mistake.

Whatever Brad

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Again, the lineup isn't really the problem. You want to isolate the game as if this was game 7 of the world series. You want to give some guys reps and rest other guys. You have to look at how much some guys played the previous week, also, there are other splits other than the pitchers splits. there are platoon splits for each player, how they do against a certain type of pitcher, maybe splits against that particular pitcher, etc.

either way, it's funny to see how people focus so intently on the lineup and how they're quick to blame that for any problem. Sometimes the answer is simply that the team isn't hitting well, you can put whatever lineup you want out there and it won't make much of a difference.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sp...5/14/anatomy-early-season-nose-dive/84375792/
Anatomy of Tigers' early-season nose dive.
Detnews

James McCann slowly shook his head as he searched for the right words.

?Baseball is a funny game,? he said. ?It has a way of humbling you. It has a way of putting you back in your spot.?

The Tigers spent a wonderful off day on May 2. They had just swept the Twins in Minneapolis and rode a five-game win streak into Cleveland. They were 14-10 and back near the top of the American League Central Division.

Eleven days later and it?s all gone to hell in a handbag, to borrow a phrase from Brad Ausmus.

The Tigers, after being shutout for the fourth time this season, 1-0 by the Orioles Friday, have lost 10 of 11 since that series in Minnesota. They have fallen to 15-20, better only than the Twins in the division.

?It?s kind of the typical baseball slump,? said Justin Verlander, whose brilliant complete-game effort went in vain Friday night. ?It is one of those team down periods. It?s testing us. I think we have the personnel. We have the guys to turn this around. But we need to do it in a hurry.?

By all accounts, there are no sinister roots to this slide. There?s no disharmony in the clubhouse. There is no revolt against the manager. It isn?t for a lack of caring, effort or preparation on the part of the players and coaches.

?It?s not about the effort or anything like that,? Ausmus said. ?We just aren?t getting the job done?If you were to walk through the clubhouse, these guys are fine before games. They really are. They are veteran guys and they understand there is nothing they can do about yesterday. That?s why they say in baseball you have to be even-keeled.

?There?s no bickering. They are still doing their jobs, doing the work, doing the preparing. Nothing has changed. Except they haven?t performed as well on the field.?

Picked a bad time to scuffle

To look at the raw statistics, it?s relatively simple to understand how and why this is happening.

Start with the scheduling. Eight of the 11 were on the road against four teams with a winning record. The Indians are 17-15, but the Rangers (20-16), Nationals (22-13) and the Orioles (22-12) are either at or within a game of the lead in their respective divisions.

After this series in Baltimore concludes Sunday, and they get through three games at home against the Twins next week, the Tigers will have finished a run of 30 games in 31 days.

Look at the pitchers they?ve faced. Cy Young Award winners Corey Kluber and Max Scherzer, World Series MVP Cole Hamels, and all stars Stephen Strasburg and Chris Tillman.

It was going to be a tough stretch, even if the Tigers were playing well.

?That said, if we want to be a post-season team, we have to beat those guys,? McCann said. ?But when you combo facing guys like that with the struggles were in, it doesn?t make it easier.?

Don?t misunderstand. The Tigers have played a leading role in their own demise in this 11-game slide. They are the true culprits here.

Pick a phase of the game and it has contributed to team?s malaise.

Starting pitching: Although there have been wasted gems by Verlander and Jordan Zimmermann, there have only been five quality starts in this 11-game stretch. The team?s starters are giving up 3.7 runs per game in this stretch.

Relief pitching: Not good. The bullpen has yielded 27 runs in the last 24.2 innings.

It imploded in a seven-run eighth inning against the Rangers, after Verlander left with a 2-0 lead. The damage was wrought against Justin Wilson and Mark Lowe, the two set-up arms the Tigers acquired in the offseason.

Lowe gave up a walk-off home run to Washington?s Clint Robinson the next night, as the Tigers blew a 4-1 lead against Strasburg.

A 5-2 lead was lost in the seventh inning in Baltimore on Friday, wasting the best start of the season by Mike Pelfrey. Justin Wilson again took his lumps in that inning.

Closer Francisco Rodriguez has worked just two innings, one in a save situation.

Where?s the clutch at-bats?

But if you want to name a true villain in this skid, point to a sputtering offense.

The middle of the Tigers batting order ? J.D. Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Justin Upton (who on Friday was dropped to sixth in the order) ? have a combined two home runs and 11 RBIs in 11 games.

Nick Castellanos, who has moved up to the fifth spot, has produced most of the team?s offense with a 1.063 OPS, three home runs and 10 RBIs.

Victor Martinez has been the only other hot hitter, with a .375 average and .807 OPS, but he?s only batted five times with runners in scoring position.

Cabrera is getting on base plenty, a .316 average, but he?s not getting a lot of RBI chances (2 for 6 with runners in scoring position).

Here?s the breakdown:

Ian Kinsler: 12 for 47 (.255, .726 OPS), two home runs, four RBIs, eight strikeouts.

J.D. Martinez: 6 for 42 (.143, .510), two homers, four RBIs, 16 strikeouts.

Cabrera: 12 for 38 (.316, .764), no homers, four RBIs, eight strikeouts.

Victor Martinez: 15 for 40 (.375, .807), no homers, two RBIs, three strikeouts.

Castellanos: 13 for 37 (.351, 1.063), three homers, 10 RBIs, six strikeouts.

Upton: 6 for 41 (.146, .466), no homers, one RBI, 18 strikeouts.

McCann: 2 for 24 (.083, .298), no homers, one RBI, nine strikeouts.

Jose Iglesias: 5 for 30 (.167, .494), one homer, one RBI, five strikeouts.

Anthony Gose: 5 for 24 (.208, .603), no homers, one RBI, 13 strikeouts.

The most damning statistic is this one: The Tigers collectively are 14 for 64 (.218) with runners in scoring position in this stretch, with 12 RBIs.

Here?s the breakdown (top six hitters):

Ian Kinser: 1 for 5, 2 RBIs.

Cabrera: 2 for 6, 2 RBIs.

J.D. Martinez: 0 for 5, 1 RBI.

Victor Martinez: 2 for 5, 1 RBI.

Castellanos: 4 for 11, 6 RBIs.

Upton: 0 for 6.

On the season, Iglesias has knocked in just two runs in 24 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.

Put all of that in one pot and you have one foul tasting baseball stew.

?Do I think over the course of 162 games, we?re going to look back at these (11) games and laugh? I think so,? McCann said. ?I think there?s good times ahead. Our lineup is too good not to start doing something special.?

That?s been the mantra. At some point, though, soon, it?s going to start sounding hallow and false.

and Ausmus is not a good strategist.

Sbee said:

Again, the lineup isn't really the problem. You want to isolate the game as if this was game 7 of the world series. You want to give some guys reps and rest other guys. You have to look at how much some guys played the previous week, also, there are other splits other than the pitchers splits. there are platoon splits for each player, how they do against a certain type of pitcher, maybe splits against that particular pitcher, etc.

either way, it's funny to see how people focus so intently on the lineup and how they're quick to blame that for any problem. Sometimes the answer is simply that the team isn't hitting well, you can put whatever lineup you want out there and it won't make much of a difference.

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I focus on that because it's a problem the manager has direct control over, he doesn't have direct control over all the other problems, I tend to not focus on things you don't have direct control over.

Hey maybe ya should treat every game like game 7, every win matters