Tigers Look to Improve on Less than Stellar 2022 Campaign

 Every spring, hope springs eternal for every MLB team and their fans that this is the year the team will win a World Series.  All teams are undefeated, and all clubs believe they have made the right changes to the roster to improve on, or continue the success of the previous season.  Logic tells us however, this scenario will not be the case for every team.  For the Detroit Tigers, they are hoping that the numerous roster moves they have made this offseason, combined with Jonathan Schoop, Javy Báez, and Spencer Torkelson being able to substantially improve from their 2022 performances, that this year’s version of the team will evolve into a successful 2023 season.

In order to boast about this upcoming season being a success, I believe the Tigers need to finish with a record around .500.  This means winning ten to twenty more games this season, 10 would be considered good and 20 would be exceptional.  Can the Tigers pull anything like this off? The odds makers say no. They have them winning 69 games.  In order to prove Vegas wrong, our new acquisitions, as well as, the foundation of our team need to perform well.  It is imperative that Javy Báez perform at the level of a guy making $140 million over 6 years should.  No longer can he strike out 147 times and lead the league with 26 errors.  Likewise, Jonathan Schoop needs to return to his 2021 form, when he had 84 RBIs and batted .278 in 156 games.  Along with this, new additions like Nick Maton must duplicate his spring performance, where he accrued a .313 batting average.  If the Tigers are able to get better production from the big guns, and others on the squad are moderately successful, this team is destined to outperform expectations.

To further bolster the team’s chances of improving on a dismal 2022 campaign, the Tigers need to vastly improve their defensive statistics.  When your supposed best defensive player led the league in errors in 2022, that is not exactly a recipe for success.  Not only did Javy Báez have 26 errors, but many times he had difficulty throwing the ball accurately, which could have led to many more miscues. Despite his error prone habits, the Tigers ranked near the middle of the pack in defensive play.  In fact, they happened to rank 12th of 30 teams in defense.   Just a modest improvement in defensive prowess is bound to equate to increased victories.

Unlike last season, the team is hoping that injuries are kept to a minimum this year.  Already, however, new starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen has found his way to the injured list.  Unfortunately, the pitchers were decimated by injuries during last year’s campaign.  Despite this, the compilation of pitchers were able to compile a 4.04 ERA, while notching 38 saves.  The Tigers hope a mostly healthy starting pitching staff this season will help them build on the successes that were seen last year.  If improved play occurs, along with a good performance from a healthy pitching staff, more overall success is not far behind for the Tigers.

The fan base for this team has waited for quite awhile to see this team have sustained success again.  Due to woeful underperformance, multiple rebuild attempts have been undertaken with no success.  Players that were expected to lead this team to success year in and year out have not panned out.  Though Miguel Cabrera had many years of success, for the last several years, he has fell far below expectations.  With the advent of a new General Manager, are the Tigers now on a path to be a perennial winner? This season will go a long way to answer that question.

Michigan State Spartans Advance to the Sweet 16 After Unlikely Victory Against Marquette

 In their 25th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the Michigan State Spartans have earned victories against USC and Marquette.  Despite not playing their best in either contest, the team was able to do just enough to move on in the tournament.  Unfortunately, they have not been able to click on all cylinders against the USC Trojans or the Marquette Golden Eagles.  Against the Trojans, making free throws proved to be a difficult task to tackle.  Conversely, with the Golden Eagles, the Spartans went 2-14 when shooting 3 pointers, while sinking most of their free throws.  Hopefully, as the tournament progresses, the Spartans will find themselves playing more consistently as competition becomes more difficult.

Since Tom Izzo took the head coaching job at Michigan State 28 years ago, his teams have always had the reputation of playing their best basketball in March, as well as, in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  In College Basketball, head coaches put together their team’s non conference schedules each year.  In Izzo’s case, he ensures his squad has one of the toughest schedules in the college game.  Annually playing teams such as Kansas, Duke, and Kentucky, the Hall of Fame coach hopes his team will be playing at its finest by the end of the year.  Though this is not the case this year, they are playing well enough to best their competition.  In their last contest, they beat a number 2 seed in the tournament, while the Spartans were number 7.  Izzo has beaten the higher seeded team 16 times in his career to advance in the tournament.  He’s hoping to do it a few more times in an effort to guide his team to National Championship.  The first one for the Spartans in 23 years.

As throughout the season, the offense has struggled to find itself this postseason.  Generally, if they are hot from the 3 point line, they win, if they aren’t they lose.  In fact, until Sunday the green and white had only won one game this season when they struggled from behind the long line.  Thanks to decent free throw shooting,  tight defense, and some sloppy play from Marquette, the Spartans overcame the lackluster performance on offense, that included missing some high percentage shots.  If the team wants to go much further in the tournament, there are some aspects of their play that need refinement.

To compensate for Michigan State’s poor play at times, the Golden Eagles turned the ball over 16 times.  Furthermore, the Spartans were able to block several shots in an effort to put an end to Marquette’s 9 game winning streak.  The upset of the Golden Eagles adds to a growing list of upsets that have occurred in this year’s tournament, including 16 seeded FDU putting an end to the  number 1 seeded Purdue Boilermakers’ tournament run.  This is only the second time in the history of the tournament that a 16 seed has sent a number 1 seed packing.  If Izzo and the Spartans want to have continued success, they will have to pile up several more of those upsets.

As a rule, March is where the Spartans thrive.  Thanks to their early season tests against some of the best teams in college basketball, they are able to withstand the challenges that the postseason offers.  When March arrives, they seem to perform at the necessary level to beat most of their competition.  One reason for this is that Tom Izzo always strives for his team’s perfection.  Though it will never occur, because this team is expected to play as flawless as possible, success will occur more often than failure for this squad.

Detroit Tigers Sign Pitcher off of Nicaraguan World Baseball Classic (WBC) Roster to Minor League Deal

 In a highly unusual move, the Detroit Tigers have signed pitcher Duque Hebbert to a minor league contract.  Despite Nicaragua’s 6-1 loss on Monday, Hebbert struck out MLB stars Juan Soto, Raphael Devers, and Julio Devers.  After the outstanding performance, Tigers scout Luis Molina sought him out to become a part of their organization.  Will he be able to translate his brief success into a productive professional career?  The Tigers took a gamble and hope the answer is yes.

Generally, a player is a few years into a professional career by the age of 21.  In Hebbert case, his journey is just beginning.  As a result of striking out three of the best players in MLB, Duque’s baseball career may have taken a startling turn in a positive direction.  Though his pitches do not light up the radar gun, as he only features velocity in the mid 80’s to low 90’s, his ability to locate pitches that also have plenty of movement must have been enough for the Tigers to open up their pocket books for him.  Will they get enough bang for their buck? Only time will tell.

It is well known throughout baseball circles that unless a pitcher can throw 95-100 MPH, their chances of cracking the Majors are slim and none, with few exceptions.  If a pitcher can master the art of locating pitches that also feature plenty of movement, they may be able to buck that trend.  For Hebbert, his sinker, slider, and changeup may be just what he needs to accomplish his dream of becoming a Major Leaguer.  All of these pitches, if perfected, can be very difficult to hit, even for the best of hitters.  If Hebbert can extrapolate his success experienced in the WBC into long term positive outcomes, he will be destined to make major contributions in the Major Leagues.

A pitcher of Duque Hebbert’s skill set, as a rule, do not get a second look by Major League personnel.  Generally, there are a baseline set of data points that must be met to get noticed by the right people.  On paper, Dugue met none of those criteria.  However, he was able to blow away some of the best hitters in the game.  For that reason alone, Tigers brass felt he deserved a chance to prove he could make it as a pitcher at the highest level in professional baseball.  Can he master his skills enough to get Major Leaguers out for years to come?  The Tigers think he might.

World Baseball Classic (WBC) Kicks off This Week

 For the first time since 2017, the WBC gets underway this week.  The most recent installment of the Olympic style event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  This baseball extravaganza began in 2006 with 16 countries participating.  Since then, the event has expanded to 20 teams that has included several Major League players.  Such a worldwide event is meant to broaden and expand interest in the game.

The 5th edition of the World Baseball Classic will feature teams from around the Globe, including Japan, Chinese Taipei, the Netherlands, Israel, and the USA, among others.   Popular players like Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Paul Goldschmidt, and Mike Trout will be competing for their respective countries.  The 30 man rosters for each ball club can consist of 10 Major League players, or 15 athletes from any MLB organization.  Without a doubt, this tournament will feature some of the greatest baseball talent from around the world.

The 2023 version of the 2023 WBC will feature 4 pools of 5 teams.  The first round of games will be a round robin format, with the top two teams from each division advancing, which eventually devolves into an 8 team single elimination playoff.  At the conclusion of the process a World Baseball Classic Champion is crowned.  This year, Japan, Chinese Tapei, and the United States are among the favorites to come out on top.  Will the prognosticators be proven right, or will another squad emerge victorious.

For the most part, the WBC will use MLB rules to govern its play, with a few exceptions.  Firstly, the tournament will be without the newly implanted Major League pitch clock.  Furthermore, there will be no 6 visit mound visit limit in effect.  Additionally, the newly introduced ban on shifts on the field will not be utilized during these games.  This ban mandated that 2 players remain on the 2nd base side of the bag, and 2 players must be on the shortstop side.  However, rules such as the ghost runner on 2nd base after 9 regulation innings will be a part of the format.  Though the rules may be slightly varied, the foundations of  the game should be on full display.

In an effort to give the game more worldwide exposure, the World Baseball Classic was developed.  To attract the largest audience possible, the greatest players in the world were urged to participate.  This meant that some of the best Major Leaguers had the opportunity to play for their country.  Generally, most players asked jumped at the chance to represent their homeland.  Therefore, baseball had opportunity to become more popular, and participation could increase exponentially.

MLB Adopts New Rules To Shorten Time of Games

 For Major League Baseball’s entire history, it has remained one of the only major sports that remained without a clock to manage its time.  Unfortunately, due to changes in societal operations and a culture that has become impatient and intolerant of the slowness of time, MLB has deemed it necessary to implement policies and rules that expedite the pace of play.  As much as many may not relish the idea of such drastic adjustments to the way baseball conducts itself, MLB must see this as one of the most effective ways of maintaining its financial viability in ever changing society that seems to be operating faster as time goes on.  Can baseball keep its current fan base satisfied, while meeting the needs of future generations?  Only time will tell.

Yes, throughout the years baseball games have gotten steadily lengthened.  In the 1980’s, a game lasted around 2 and a half hours.  Back then, pitchers got the ball and threw it.  You didn’t see batters stepping out multiple times in the same at bat.  Pitchers did not step off the mound as frequently.  For some unknown reason these occurrences have taken place with much more frequency recently.  Maybe because pitchers have added many more pitches to their repitoire?  Maybe because pitchers throw harder?  I don’t think anyone has a solid answer to this question.  In any event, games are about 30 minutes longer than they used to be.  30 minutes!  Is this any reason to add a pitch clock that limits the time a pitcher or batter can take preparing for an at bat? I’m not sure about that.  Especially, when it completely overhauls the way parts of the game are played.

To eliminate the added time, several regulations have been put in place to speed the pace of games.  First of all, pitchers have 15 seconds between pitches to deliver the next pitch with no runners on base.  This time increases to 20 seconds with runners on the base paths.  In addition, a batter can only step out of the box once during each at bat, and must be in the batter’s box looking at the pitcher with 8 seconds on the clock.  When the runner gets on base, the pitcher can only throw over or step off the rubber twice.  If the pitcher steps off the rubber or throws over to first a third time, the runner must be picked off by the pitcher, or a balk will be called.  Is the addition of so many rules that will inevitably cloud players’ minds the appropriate manner to ensure games are played in the most efficient manner possible? This seems highly questionable.  Again, all these adjustments are being made to save 30 minutes.  Why not just tell umpires to continually remind players and coaches to be quick, and then implement rules as a last resort.

Baseball must be relevant to multiple generations to ensure that it is able have a flourishing existence.  Therefore, they have to find ways to adapt to our accelerating cultural needs, ideally without tearing at the tenets of the original game.  For the current powers at be, they failed at this task miserably.  Other adjustments could have been implemented to shorten games without monumentally changing the way the game operates.  What makes baseball great has been damaged to a certain extent, due to the attempt to cater to a population whose patience has run woefully short.