Even after Dombrowski has pieced together yet another great off-season from a front office standpoint, it is too early for me to completely buy in to this year's Tigers just yet. Acquisitions like Benoit, V-Mart, and Brad Penny look great on paper but the main concerns for myself have been consistent for the past three seasons: hitting with runners in scoring position, bullpen performance, defense, and (most importantly) staying competitive and focused after the all-star break.
I'll address the bullpen first. While Valverde routinely finished games last year, the sabremetric stats prove that he may have just been lucky more than good. Ryan Perry is a young arm with a high ceiling but he has to overcome his control issues to become a legitimate, late inning stopper. Benoit has all the tools necessary to become "the" set-up man, but as we've seen with seemingly hundreds of hurlers in the past (*cough*Farnsworth*cough*), new teams in new cities can change relievers. Some fit, some don't. Defensively... Frankly, this team scares the shit out of me. Jackson is obviously a five-tool player but Ordonez becomes more of a liability in left as the years pile up. Inge isn't getting any younger and the possibility of a Guillen / Peralta middle infield seems like an awfully slow-moving double play tandem.
The lineup could, and should, be great offensively, but who knows what we should expect from Porcello and Brad Penny could be a whole new player in the American League, a la Edgar Renteria. If Leyland can keep this team moving throughout the second half of the season there is no reason why the Tigers are not a post-season team, however as we have learned from the post-2006 teams, that is easier said than done.
As of now, I'm full with the blind hope that always accompanies opening day in Detroit. It's that time of year again and this could be our year alongside an aging AL Central.
T Kaminski
M '15
M '15
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