OT: Michigan Sports Talk III: In Search of a Left Fielder

[WesNichols14]

the Lions select CB Darius Slay in the 2nd Round.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/darius-slay?id=2540288

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Well we've got two nice young corners in Slay and Bentley. I'm happy the Lions are at least focusing on defense.

 

[WesNichols14]

the Lions select OG Larry Warford I the 3rd
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/larry-warford?id=2539248

 

[JmanWingsFan]

What a Baseball game by the Tigers...

 

[newfy]

Warford in the third round is a REALLY good pick. He should be a solid starter next year, teams wont be able to have 6 man boxes with him added and Bush as well

 

[sarcastro]

Slay's tape looks pretty good, although he looks like he has stone hands. Apparently he has a torn meniscus but they're not worried about it.

Warford seems like a good pick, I just worry he'll be the only power blocker on the line and won't fit the scheme.

 

[ProPAIN]

I know this has nothing to do with Michigan sports, but I'm trying to kill time by watching NBA playoffs. Holy **** this is boring. It's timeout central. They literally took three timeouts in a row. WTF?

Watched baseball, fell asleep each time. Watched the Super Bowl, it took an hour to go through less than 10 minutes on the clock. Now basketball. I've played all these sports and liked all three, but watching this **** is boring as hell. And people who like these sports hate soccer and hockey????

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

I hate how when people talk about Cabrera they say he's "arguably" the best hitter in the league. He won the frickin' Triple Crown! There's no arguing it!

 

[sarcastro]

I hate how when people talk about Cabrera they say he's "arguably" the best hitter in the league. He won the frickin' Triple Crown! There's no arguing it!

Pujols is 200 years old and Trout is having a sophomore slump. Miggy is the giggity.

 

[Syckle78]

Home runs, home runs everywhere! Finally some run support for JV. It's going to a long summer for curly fries,fellas.

 

[Winger98]

It looks like the Tigers just pulled out their win over the Astros in 14 innings. Long night for Michigan sports fans.

 

[WesNichols14]

Tigers win again 4-3 thanks to a 2 run Home run in the 9th by Avila. were now 17-12 (.607) on the year.

I have 2 things I wanted to bring up.

(1) last year we ended 88-74 (.543) and were .500 at this time last year. and hovered between .450 and .500 until the Streak of wins in Early July right before and following the All Star Break. is this years team going to continue to play great ball and sit around .550-.650 range or should we expect a slump that brings us down to the upper .400s. Honestly I only see this team getting better as V-mart finish's shaking off the rust and the Bats heat up as summer comes in, as they do every year.

(2) Kansas City is about to play a 4 game series against the White Sox. a team most believed coming into this season would challenge us in the Central. so far this year CWS has played far less than stellar and is at the bottom of the division. albeit early in the year. the Royals however are playing great and are .600 so far. I am a firm believer on every game is a huge one, in the end a win in April (or May) is just as important as one in early September. do we want the Royals to sweep and push the White Sox even further back, or do we want the White Sox to pull the Royals down to around .500ish and give us some breathing room. I would be happy with a series split allowing each team to stay still in their position. not going to far ahead if we lose and at the same time allowing us to break free a little more if we win.

In the end we have to win our games and they are going to do whatever they are going to do. the only control we have in our division is when we play a team in our division and win. these are just thoughts I've been thinking about and would like to hear your opinions on them.

 

[Winger98]

I've been seeing warnings of KC's resurgence for the past few years. Their kids have always been supposedly on the cusp of breaking through, and they would contend for the central. I'll be happy to see them do well again, but they have to show it to me first.

And I think you're right about the Tigers, Wes. I don't see them going back to .500 any time soon. we're six games over .500 now, I'm betting they double that by the end of May. When you run Verlander, Fister, Scherzer, and Sanchez out there, you're just going to overpower most teams from night to night. And I still think Porcello finds himself this year once we quit skipping his starts.

 

[sarcastro]

KC seems to have figured out that their pitching has been the real reason they've been terrible for 20 years. I'm not sure they've improved it enough to take the division but they have made it a lot better. Shields is legit.

The Tigers' season is going to hinge on the bullpen and whether its recent success is a mirage or whether they can keep it up. With the sticks they have in that lineup, it would be nice if VMart and Avila found their strokes and if they stopped running Kelly out there every day to bat .200 with no power. But that would be a luxury. With the starting pitching and the strength of that lineup, along with the improved defense all over the field, they're going to be ahead in a lot of games going to the late innings. Whether they hold those leads determines how the season will go.

 

[Winger98]

speaking of taking leads into late innings, the Tigers are thumping the snot out of the Astros tonight.

edit: Miggy having a big big game, and Scherzer is dealing. Ugly night for the Astros.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

There are no words to describe how good Miggy is.

 

[Winger98]

There are no words to describe how good Miggy is.

It's scary looking at his stat line, seeing it extrapolated out for the year, and thinking that, "Yeah, he might hit .390, club 34 homers, and drive in 200 this year." As long as the guys in front of him get on base, Miggy can have a monster year.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

There are no words to describe how good Miggy is.

I think he might be the most complete hitter that I've ever seen.

 

[newfy]

I think he might be the most complete hitter that I've ever seen.

l think Miggys going to match Pujols but I'm not sure hes done it yet. Hes definitely taken over from him as the premiere hitter in the league though

 

[datbwoymjp]

I think he might be the most complete hitter that I've ever seen.

Only guy I've ever seen who could hit a home run to any part of the field, on any pitch, in any location, in any count. He's a genius, produces a lot of doubles which many people forget about too.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

l think Miggys going to match Pujols but I'm not sure hes done it yet. Hes definitely taken over from him as the premiere hitter in the league though

Pujols' prime has been slightly yet clearly better than Miggy's overall as a hitter (although Miggy is still clearly in his prime and possibly even peaking now)

I just meant I can't remember a hitter as complete as Miggy as far as using foul pole to foul pole with and without power. He's just takes whatever the pitcher gives and what the situation calls for.

 

[Syckle78]

It's scary looking at his stat line, seeing it extrapolated out for the year, and thinking that, "Yeah, he might hit .390, club 34 homers, and drive in 200 this year." As long as the guys in front of him get on base, Miggy can have a monster year.

Guessing his HR total will end up higher,somewhere in the mid 40s. He started slow in the longball department but has found his stride. Only going to up the pace goin into the warmer weather. That said I would much rather see him flirt with or eclipse .400 would be pretty exciting.

 

[WesNichols14]

Tigers win again 9-0. 13 hits 4 home run more free curly fries I think its safe to say Arby's is going to be on the menu a lot this year

 

[Shoalzie]

Man, Houston is a rump ass team. Tigers are going to pound a lot of teams though...good to see Dirks hitting well this weekend.

 

[sarcastro]

l think Miggys going to match Pujols but I'm not sure hes done it yet. Hes definitely taken over from him as the premiere hitter in the league though

I think it depends on how well Miggy holds up and how old Pujols really is.

Pujols is listed at 33 years old. He's at least a couple years older by most estimations. Either way, he looks like he's in a pretty sharp decline. Granted, when you're as good as he was, you're still really good for a long time on the way down. But he's not having a very good season by anyone's standards this year, and it's a horrible season by his standards. If he's winding down, Miggy's got a great shot to surpass him.

Miggy doesn't appear to have any of the age questions that Pujols has - he looked like he was 20 when he hit the league, whereas Pujols looked like he was at least 25. He's about 400 hits, 150 homers, and 300 RBIs behind Pujols. And two rings...

If Miggy holds up into his late 30s, I think he passes Pujols pretty easily at least in terms of raw statistics. I just hope he gets a ring or two along the way. And I hope like hell he stays off the sauce, because that's probably the biggest potential pitfall he has.

When you watch them hit (or when you watched Pujols 4 or 5 years ago), both guys have that ability to make the strike zone completely covered if they're seeing the ball well. Any pitch you throw that's near the plate can go anywhere in the park. A lot of similarities there.