Game 2015.40: Brewers at Tigers

(doesn’t he look injured in the pic above?)

Victor Martinez and his inability to hit left handed (against right handed pitching) has been the most popular Tiger topic as of late. He’s in a massive slump (let’s hope it’s a slump), and looked downright awful in two key late inning game-tying/go-ahead situations over the past two nights. He weakly grounded out to 3rd on Sunday night, despite an overshift where a normal speed runner would have likely made it to first, and then grounded into a 1st and 2nd no out double play last night which was upheld on replay, to the great dismay of Rod Allen. Had he not been “injured” he may have beaten the relay last night. Just moving the runners over last night would have put the Tigers in a great position to win the game.

Through 34 games this year he’s posting an OPS of .578, which ranks him 89 out of 92 qualifiers in the AL.

In 2013, his only season to finish with an OPS below .832 in his past 7 seasons, he had a .562 OPS through the first 34 games of the season. From game 35 on, he resumed his normal V Mart awesomeness, and posted a slashline of .326/.377/.469 for an OPS of .847 the rest of the season. I know he’s been downright awful this year, but let’s not forget this guy’s resume. He finished 2nd in MVP voting last year. He’s well established as a professional hitter. Guys like VMart don’t forget how to hit. It’s a bad slump, but he’ll be out of it soon.

Collins up for VMart. Collins has been a borderline average minor leaguer at every level above A, and he’s about to turn 25, so don’t hold out too much help that he’ll be anything more than a role player. But even if he hits league average for a bit (or even a little below it), it will be an upgrade over what injured VMart has been producing.

Here’s a take on how VMart’s DL stint will affect the lineup.

Baseball-Reference game preview here.

1. Gose, CF
2. Kinsler, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Martinez J.D., RF
5. Cespedes, LF
6. Collins, DH
7. Castellanos, DH
8. Holaday, C
9. Iglesias, SS

17 thoughts on “Game 2015.40: Brewers at Tigers”

  1. There are guys doing better than Collins in the minors right now, but Collins is on the 40-man roster and I don’t think the Tigers want to change the 40-man at this point. This may be Collins’ Last Look.

  2. Assmus screws up again! What has Collins done to deserve to DH ahead of Rajai ….. nothing, as my fellow bloggers have pointed out! How many times does Assmus have to screw up or how many games does he have to throw away before the brain trust opens their eyes and shows him the door?

  3. Back home and back into my normal routine after attending the three-game series against the Cards. Watched a great defensive series against the Cards in which Cespedes was awesome. Card fans are a great bunch and I recommend the stadium tour. While we were on the field durning the tour they let us go in the Tigers dugout. David Price and Shane Greene had just finishing a day-after throwing session. Price tossed his ball to a kid on the tour for a classy act. Highly recommend visiting STL for a weekend of baseball. Meanwhile Card fans were looking forward to a Royals v. Cards series this weekend when two first place teams will go at it in an intrastate rivalery.

  4. Pathetic, just pathetic ….. on the verge of being swept by one of the worst teams in baseball ….. and at home for that matter!!!

  5. Going to be heading east of the Mississippi for the first time in 6 years. Our daughter is graduating from Law School Saturday, and Sunday will find us at the Cathedral of Boston, Fenway. I will see two teams I do not care for, but it will still be a thrill! Beginning to become more than a little concerned about the 2015 Tigers, do we need to wheel and deal or what? The lead, which I buried, is that my blood lab work shows no viral load!!! The cure is working!!!

    1. Great news all the way around! Congrats on the law school grad. Good luck to her on the bar exam.

    2. Congrats Jim (on your health and daughter)!!!

      Enjoy Fenway, and Boston traffic.

  6. Great news Jim!!!!. And..we, will keep your daughter in mind in case we need to take some legal action against the Tigers, some time in the future, for the way they play!….

    My son who lives in Portland just informed us that he took a job in Boston…..Fenway…bucket list!!!!

  7. Wings fans do not despair, Blashill will be a better coach for DET.

    How long before Babcock says, this decision (to sign for 8 yr $50M contract) “was not about money”?

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