Can Tigers Improve on Dismal 2022 Season

 Unfortunately, the 2022 season proved to be less than stellar for the Detroit Tigers.  A team that was expected to contend for a playoff berth, was only able to muster a 66-96 record, good enough for a 4th place finish in the Americas League Central Division..  It was a combination of injuries, poor play in the field, and an anemic offense that doomed the Tigers season.  The lone bright spot was the consistent performance of the Tigers’ pitching staff, although they were hit by the injury bug as well. With the hiring of new President of Baseball operations, Scott Harris, hopefully the team will find themselves well on their way to a path of improvement in 2023.

Consistent performances from key players turned out to be a monumental and virtually impossible task for last year’s squad.  From Javy Baez to Spencer Torkelson and Miguel Cabrera, they were all unable to perform well enough to make this team achieve their desired goals.  Between all of them, they were able to help this club to a team batting average of .231, far below what is needed to be considered an elite baseball organization.  Along with this, their defensive play was less than desirable most of the season.  Many nights saw multiple lapses in the field that led to numerous errors.  With a heightened attention to better play in the 2023 campaign, this team is destined to achieve greatness in the near future.

One of the very few bright spots for the Tigers that kept the team competitive in many games in 2022 was the pitching staff as a whole.  Collectively, they accrued an ERA of 4.03, a statistic that is more than adequate for a team to compete at the highest level.  Furthermore, the pitchers were able to collect 38 team saves.  If the team is able to duplicate these numbers in some form in 2023, success should not be far behind.

A major hindrance to this team’s success in 2022, was the constant lack of performance from the likes of Javy Baez, Jonathan Schoop, and Austin Meadows.  With the expected production from these three and others, it was thought the Tigers may be carried straight to a playoff berth.  Unfortunately, it didn’twork out as planned.  These guys all turned in low to mid .200 batting averages, and were anemic in power and run production categories that include home runs and RBI’s.  Baez only garnered 17 homers with 67 RBI’s, while Schoop managed 11 homers, with 38 RBI’s, and Meadows hit .258 in only 56 games.  Though some of these results were directly impacted by injury, this offensive output is not a recipe for success, and must be corrected for future positive outcomes to occur.

The Detroit Tigers success in 2022 was less than acceptable, and certainly was not expected.  This offense was supposed to score runs and hit for some power, unfortunately this never came to fruition.  This was partly due to the injury bug that virtually never left the Tigers last season.  Though injuries decimated the pitching staff, it seemed they performed at an acceptable level, and steadied this team to the extent that they could.  If the offense can at least at expected levels, an exciting season is in store for Tigers fans.

Ghost Runner on 2nd Base Made Permanent By MLB in 2023

 In what was seen as somewhat of a controversial move, Major League Baseball has decided to make the Ghost Runner rule permanent when extra innings occur.  Originally implanted during the pandemic laden season in 2020, the rule allows the offensive team to place a runner on 2nd base beginning in the top of 10th inning.  The purpose of the rule was to limit wear on pitchers, and maximize the use of a limited player pool due to pandemic limitations.  In a supposed effort to preserve as many resources as possible for baseball clubs, the MLB competition committee voted to implement the ghost runner rule on a long term basis.  Consequently, it would appear the offenses will have a distinct advantage over pitchers, and MLB has apparently succumbed to the demands of a now, impatient society.  Therefore, baseball is watering down the strategy and fabric of the game.

Though initially adapted to ease the strain on rosters due to potential widespread illness and injury, the ghost runner regulation will now become a permanent fixture in the Major League game. Theoretically, according to MLB sources, it is meant to maintain the health of each team’s expensive rosters.  However, it is my contention that extra inning games do not occur frequently enough to impact health outcomes of players.  In fact, each team may play only a handful of games per season.  Is the minimal risk of injury due to extra innings worth depleting the integrity of such a great game? Definitely not.

Having such a peculiar rule implemented in baseball makes parts of the game inordinately unfair.  First of all, the offense doesn’t have to earn their way on base through a hit or walk.  Therefore, the offense can score a run on a single hit, rather than stringing several together.  On the other hand, a pitcher has almost no room for error, and must perform perfectly to give their team a chance to win.  Furthermore, such undo pressure placed on a pitcher could increase the chance of injury, the very thing MLB is claiming they are trying to avoid.  To me, such a rule that provides such unfair advantages is no way to resolve the outcome of a professional baseball game performed at the highest level.

Everyone knows that professional sports is about more than competition, it’s about making money.  With that being said, is the ghost rule purely about protecting players?  My guess is no.  Needless to say, we have a society that is quickly evolving into a people of impatience that has an insatiable appetite for instant gratification.  As a result, I think professional organizations in baseball feel they must cater to the whims of today’s fan in order to remain relavent, and maintain financial viability.  Is the ghost rule a solution to speed up games?  No, I think there are numerous other adjustments that can be made that would not affect the overall manner in which Major League Baseball is played.

For a time, there was a purpose for putting a man on 2nd base in extra innings.  It served its purpose in compensating for shortened rosters due to unforeseen circumstances.  Because of these needed, supposedly temporary changes, it altered the way the game was played, unintentionally creating certain advantages and disadvantages for certain players on the field.  The fact that the powers at be haven’t permanently eliminated this rule lays bare the ulterior motives MLB has for maintaining such an unusual rule that tears at the purity of the game.

2023 Super Bowl Full of History Making Events

 If a sport has existed long enough, it is inevitable that records will occur and be broken time and time again.  Along with this, history making events are almost certain to take place throughout its existence, and the Super Bowl is no different.  For the first time ever, two historic occurrences will happen in this year’s Super Bowl.  Therefore, not only should the game be entertaining between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, but two rare events will be viewed by all of America and the world as they tune into the game.

For starters, Kansas City Head Coach Andy Reid will attempt to defeat his former employer, the Philadelphia Eagles in the big game.  Reid coached the Eagles from 1999-2012.  During his tenure there, he led them 9 playoff appearances that included 6 Division Titles, 5 NFC Championships, and a Super Bowl appearance.  However, he was unable to win a Super Bowl with the Eagles.  Similar success was achieved with the Kansas City Chiefs, which saw them win 5 consecutive AFC Championships, appear in three Super Bowls, while winning one of them.  Needless to say, the success of Reid is undeniable, and he hopes to continue building on that legacy. 

In another historic first, two brothers will compete against each other.  Jason and Travis Kelce will compete on opposite sidelines, Travis for Kansas City and Jason for Philadelphia.  Both are elite players, Jason, a center is a 6 time Pro Bowler, who graduated from the University of Cincinnati.  On the other hand, Travis is a tight end, drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013.  In addition, he is an 8 time Pro Bowl selection, and has had 7 seasons of 1,000 yards receiving.  In an unusual occurrence, two family members are competing at a world class level in the most important game of the year.  Furthermore, it’s likely we may never see such a unique occasion ever again.

It is not that unordinary to see historical happenings in any particular game, however it’s quite unique to see multiple, once in a lifetime occasions happen in one game, let alone the Super Bowl.  Furthermore, all parties involved have had years of sustained success.   Consequently, the success of the NFL as a whole will continue, and its popularity will become greater.   Success is the pathway to greatness in sports.  Perhaps, no one exhibits this principle more than Andy Reid, Jason Kelce, and Travis Kelce.

Does Trash Talking Against a Team Help Win Games?

  It goes without saying that Trash Talking is a prominent aspect of the sports world.  Through it occurs for many reasons, most of the time it is doled out to intimidate the opponent.  Does it work? The jury is still out on that, but my contention is, probably not.  But undoubtedly, teams and sports fans alike engage in it frequently.  There is perhaps no greater example of this than the public exchange between Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval and Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kielce.  It began when Mayor Pureval essentially made a public proclamation that the Cincinnati Bengals would beat Kansas City Chiefs to make a second straight Super Bowl appearance.  However, he did so through some extraordinarily hostile and confrontational comments, which many feel provided fuel for the Chiefs ultimate victory over the Bengals.  Upon further review of the events of the game, it becomes quite clear that Kansas City may have very well won for other reasons.

The drama commenced when Mayor Pureval decided to compose a “Gotta Play Us Day” proclamation.  In  it, he labeled Kansas City’s Arrowhead stadium Burrowhead Stadium, a play off the Bengals quarterback’s name Joe Burrow.  Furthermore, the mayor sarcastically wondered if the officials suggested that Patrick Mahomes take a paternity test to see if Burrow was Mahomes’ father.  Many times they say that teams can come into a contest overconfident in their ability to defeat an opponent, and it’s quite apparent through these comments that the Mayor had little doubt that his team would come out victorious.  Unfortunately, the Bengals were unable to ride his wave of confidence to a win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

After a 23-20 Kansas City victory over Cincinnati, the rhetoric continued to heat up when the Chiefs Travis Kielce hit back.  In classic WWE style, he proclaimed, “Know your role, and shut your mouth, you jabroni,” which was the oft used phrase of former wrestling superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.  In a parting shot, he also said the city was better run when Jerry Springer was the mayor.  So by many people’s logic, will this motivate Pureval become a better mayor because of Kelce’s comments?  It is tough to square that circle.

At this point, it is worth exploring the question, “What is the overall result of “Trash Talk” on all parties involved?”  My contention is that it is negligible.  Most of the time, I would suspect that players want to perform at their best for pride’s sake.  In addition during competition it is highly unlikely that previous derogatory comments made enter the thought process on the field, this would result in concentration lapses that hinder performance.  Therefore, there are two main aspects that play major roles in competitive outcomes: talent, and fortune, both of which were pivotal to the teams’ performances in the AFC Championship Game.  On the final drive Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes was able to drive his team down the field for a long field goal opportunity.  However, due to a roughing the passer penalty called on the Bengals, the field goal took place from a much closer range, making it more makeable, ultimately resulting in a Chiefs 3 point win.  Clearly, “trash talk” had little impact on the result of this game.

It is undeniable that trash talk is an integral facet of athletics, and is used frequently as a tactic in competition.  Generally it is used to attempt to degrade and intimidate an opponent.  In many circles, it is thought it also serves as motivation for the team being disparaged.  Ultimately, the impact of derogatory rhetoric serves as interesting talking points for sports enthusiasts, but it is ludicrous to insinuate that it comes into play when actual competing occurs.