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It was an eventful first half for the Detroit Tigers...
• The team currently sits at 46-43, respectable but also a tad underwhelming.
• The most the Tigers have ever been over the .500-mark is six games (44-38). The lowest they have been under .500 is the same: six games (15-21).
• They have been solid in contests decided by one run (12-10). They have been calm and confident in extra-inning affairs (4-2).
• If only they could’ve beaten those pesky Indians more than once in a dozen games.
• More match-ups with the lowly Minnesota Twins would be very welcome. The Tigers have destroyed the Twinkies, outscoring them 42-21 and emerging victorious six times out of six.
• The Tigers are Top 10 in all of baseball for several important hitting categories: they are 10th in runs scored, 9th in home runs, and 6th in batting average. Only the Red Sox have collected more hits than the Tigers in the American League.
• Anibal Sánchez must be stopped. The Tigers cannot afford to send him to the mound again. Of all big league pitchers this season with at least 80 innings of work, Sánchez has the second-highest ERA (6.75). Only Ubaldo Jimenez (7.38) of the Orioles has been worse. It is difficult to wrap your head around a guy that was one of the best in the league in 2013 (ERA champion, 4th in Cy Young voting) becoming the league’s favorite punching bag three years later.
But that is precisely what has taken place. He’s obviously a far lesser threat coming out of the pen, so maybe stashing him there is a semi-tolerable solution. Or even just letting him sing opera and sell hot dogs in that area around home plate. The organization has been missing that feature for a while now.
• The Tigers’ longest winning streak was six games. The longest losing streak was seven. This team is destined to finish 81-81.
• Michael Fulmer has started 13 times. The Tigers are a sparkling 11-2 in those games. He’s also the only Tigers pitcher this year that’s been able to take down the Indians. In maybe the most remarkable statistic of all, Fulmer has allowed either one or zero earned runs in each of his last nine starts. Perhaps Brad Ausmus should give serious thought to using a one-man rotation for the rest of the 2016 season. It’s never really been done. Who’s to say it wouldn’t work??
• Justin Upton strikes out a lot. A whopping 112 times, to be exact. Only three players in baseball have whiffed more. Once he starts putting the ball in play more often, that .235 average should begin to rise. Otherwise, the Tigers will be left with what is essentially the Charlie Villanueva of baseball contracts; flashes of brilliance here and there, but ultimately, a deal you deeply regret offering.
• Where would this club be without age-defying Víctor Martínez? The creaky 37-year-old DH had a monster first half -- smashing 17 homers, hitting .305, and staying healthy enough to appear in 86 of the team’s 89 games. Aside from Fulmer (and maybe Kinsler), there has not been a more valuable Tiger in 2016 than Víctor Jesus Martínez. His clutch 8th-inning bomb against the Blue Jays on Saturday gave the team a much-needed road victory and prevented what would have been a devastating four-game sweep heading into the break.
• Should Brad Ausmus think about player-managing for part of the second half? It’s not a ridiculous notion. Current starting backstop James McCann is hitting .208 with limited power. Backup Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.180 BA over last two months) turned into a pumpkin after a hot start to the season. Ausmus was obviously not some hulking slugger during his 18 years in the bigs, but he was never as anemic as his current crop has been so far this summer.
The skipper is 47 years old, but he looks like a young 47. If Rip Hamilton can make a comeback to the NBA, why not Ausmus in a highlight-stealing mid-summer return behind the plate? Even at his advanced age, he’d probably still make a better catcher than manager.
