All of the Joses Leave Toledo

The Toledo Mud Hens are in a flux tonight due to the disappearance of three pitchers off of their roster: Jose Valverde, Jose Ortega, and Jose Alvarez. The sudden desertion of the players is believed to be connected to Detroit's trade for Jose Veras.

Brayan Villarreal stated to police and team executives that he believes his teammates misconstrued his words. Villarreal received notice of the trade shortly after eleven o'clock this morning while changing into uniform for an afternoon game. He claims that he muttered angrily that there would be yet another Jose to compete against for a roster spot.

In the right-hander's words: "As soon as I said this, I saw Papa Grande stiffen up three lockers down. He must have thought I said he was getting yet another roster shot. Anyways, Valverde immediately did a celebratory two-step, dropped his home uniform in the clogged-up toilet, and skipped out of the locker room in his hot dog jersey screaming "JOSE'S BACK!"

Jeremy Bonderman, after much prodding and the offer of pancakes, was able to confirm that Ortega packed up his belongings after Valverde's outburst. Nobody has been able to confirm whether or not Alvarez left in the same way, although Danny Worth believes he heard Alvarez mutter, "Take that, Phil Coke."

The Mud Hens, who were forced to skip Ortega's regularly scheduled inning, are unsure of what to do about the missing players. None of the three players could be contacted as of press time, but there were unconfirmed sightings of Valverde at a dance club in Washington, D.C. He, as well as the other missing players, seem to have failed to remember Detroit has a home series against the Nationals. It is believed Alvarez will not be back to Toledo in time for his start tomorrow night.

Dave Dombrowski and Bull Durham were unavailable for comment. However, when asked by reporters, Jim Leyland commented, "If Valverde's down here, we may as well see what he's got for another four or six weeks."

Andy Dirks Has Issues

Coming into play on July 30, the top ten American League hitters in infield flyball percentage:

1. Matt Dominguez: 21.6%

2. Vernon Wells: 20.9%

3. Alexei Ramirez: 18.6%

4. Mike Moustakas: 18.1%

5. Jose Bautista: 17.6%

6. Ichiro Suzuki: 17.4%

7. Manny Machado: 16.8%

8. Brett Gardner: 16.3%

9. Andy Dirks: 16.0%

10. Lorenzo Cain: 15.4%

What can we make of this list?

-It's not just you. Dirks is popping out left and right.

-Matt Dominguez sucks. Poor Astros fans have to watch him pop out once in every five times he hits the ball.

-None of these hitters are that good, outside of Bautista. Machado and Ichiro are relying on a smoke and mirrors of BABIP that can't be sustained with that many infield flies. Bautista, of course, hits everything in the air anyway.

-Dirks has a line drive rate of 25.5%, which is actually quite good. I would say that's the only thing saving his BABIP going from the .285 it is to .240 (Don Kelly's career average). At this point, Dirks' batted ball profiles are a mystery wrapped in an enigma. High LD and IFFB rates usually don't go hand in hand. One or the other must give.

It better be the popups. I'm sick of watching those.

Tigers Acquire Jose Veras

Trader Dave Dombrowski struck again early this morning. News came out that the Tigers had traded Danry Vasquez, a 19-year-old outfielder, for Houston's Jose Veras. In signature Dombrowski style, I had no clue that anything was going to happen until I checked MLBTR and saw the deal. I promptly got really excited, which I always do when the Tigers add someone, then started mulling it over in my head.

Remembering Dominance- Volume 1

Every once in a while, a baseball player runs into a historic season. Everything has to break right. They have to be supremely talented and supremely lucky. In 2013, Miguel Cabrera is having such as season. In 2011, we witnessed this with Justin Verlander.

Tigers Fanbase Drinking Game

via blog.mlive.com

Author's note: To be played with either green Powerade or rbbaker's latest offering. Please drink responsibly, unless your name is Bill Simonson.

Take 1 Drink If

• PhilCoke'sBrain makes you laugh on Twitter.
• Someone complains about a tactical decision by Jim Leyland. Drink double if this includes a decision to bunt. Finish the drink if the person in qustion is Baroque.
• #AustinJacksonStrikesOut
• Dave Dombrowski is referred to as "DD."
• A "trade for Stanton" idea is brought up. Drink double is Castellanos isn't involved.
• Don Kelly pinch hits over Matt Tuiasosopo.

Take 2 Drinks If

• Rogo curses Don Kelly online.
• MLiveCommenter tweets something eerily similar to a comment on their site.
• Someone says "FIRE LEYLAND."
• Jose Valverde is verbally ripped apart by a fan.
• Jim Leyland is referred to as "Smokey."
• The Tigers score after the 6th inning.

Take 3 Drinks If

• Prince Fielder is unclutch.
• Kurt is spotted at Bless You Boys.
• Someone praises a tactical decision by Jim Leyland (not including Rod Allen).
• Tom Brookens is complained about.
• Someone clamors for Ramon Santiago to be replaced by Danny Worth.
• Dave Dombrowski is referred to as "Dumbrowski."

Take 5 Drinks If

• Rod Allen is praised by a fan. Drink double if it does not include a Rod-Allenism.
• Bill Simonson says something stupid, but you were stupid enough to listen. You will welcome the inebriation.
• Chris Iott writes something excellent, only to be torn apart by the commenters.
• You read a defense of bunting. Finish the drink if it's Big Al.
• You spot an obscure nickname, such as "Big Squiggles" or "Food Truck." AJax does not count.
• Lloyd McClendon is blamed for a struggling hitter.

Take 10 Drinks If

• Rogo praises Don Kelly online.
• Samara Pearlstein's work did NOT make you smile today.
• Patrick O'Kennedy praises Phil Coke.
• Jose Valverde returns to the Tigers (Note: This isn't exactly a punishment).
• Brandon Inge is referred to as "Cringe."
• Rayburn homers off of the Tigers (Note: you must see him spelled Rayburn somewhere to drink).

Finish Your Drink If

• You survive one night of this game.

(Editor's note: Sorry about the links to SBNation. I wrote this on Bless You Boys and did a lazy copy-paste.)

Why the Tigers Shouldn't Trade For Your Reliever

It's a well-known fact that Dave Dombrowski is trolling around for a reliever at the deadline. It could be a closer; it could be a 7th inning guy; heck, it could be a new and better Phil Coke. However, every option you can think of stinks.

Some Thoughts on Justin Verlander

You've heard of Justin Verlander 2013 before. The best pitcher in Detroit history has had his share of mechanical issues this year. He's still an All Star pitcher, but he's also been less efficient this year. What do we make of him?

• 3.50 ERA
• 3.23 FIP
• 3.64 xFIP
• 3.69 SIERA

All of these rate stats are quite excellent. Verlander is well above the average American League pitcher right now. However, these stats are all the worst he's posted since 2008. Yes, this is his worst season since he went 11-17 with a 4.84 ERA.

What should we expect going forward? Is Verlander going to be better, the same, or continue to decline? Well, the signals are mixed. Since that awful start in Boston that made me want to pull my fingernails off, he's gone 2-1, 2.17 over four starts. However, over that span he's had just a 15/10 K/BB ratio and has given up 3 home runs. So basically, while he's been underperforming his peripherals all season, Justin has massively outperformed his peripherals over his last 4 starts. Weird.

Of course, we could also play "The Porcello Game" and take out that other awful start that made me want to pull my fingernails off in Texas. If we take out that 8 run, 8 out game, Verlander's ERA is 2.99. Hooray! Unfortunately, we are still left with a pitcher who's peripherals are out of whack.

Justin's K/9 is 8.93 (rapidly dropping over the past month, I might add.) This is highly respectable and pretty much near his career norms. However, because he's yielding more baserunners, it becomes rather clear that Verlander isn't striking out as high a percentage. His 23.3% K rate is his lowest since, again, 2008. Obviously, the "something is up with Verlander" talk, while overblown, has some truth to it.

My thinking? JV has probably lost grip of his mechanics briefly, and is working to correct it as fast as he can. I bet the All Star Break will prove beneficial for one of baseball's most taxed arms. Verlander will soon resume striking out batters at a 25% rate and finish the year with an ERA of about 3.25 and 18 wins.

Hopefully, that's good enough for everyone's expectations.

A Trip To The Ballpark: Pittsburgh

Visiting all thirty ballparks isn't easy. Of course, it helps when you spread it out over years and have no work commitments. In any case, my dad and I recently embarked on an epic journey to see two parks: PNC Park and the SkyDome.

10 Things That Annoy Me More Than Phil Coke Pitching

The other day I received a text from my dad: "I hate Phil Coke with every fiber of my being." My dad isn't a particularly huge baseball fan, but even he is sick of Coke. This got me thinking. I'm not the type to overreact to bad performances, and I'll usually stick with a player to the bitter end, but even I'm sick of Coke. What annoys me more than him on the mound?

Is Miguel Cabrera's 2013 Season the Best Ever For a Tiger?

Yes, that is Miguel Cabrera. Yes, he hit the ball so hard that it flattened.

Cabrera's massive tater in the first inning today was the first hit in a 4-4 day. His season line now sits at an otherworldly .368/.457/.679. Seriously, look at that stat line. For comparison, a 'roided up Barry Bonds hit .336/.458/.677 in his MVP 1993. We've reached the point where Cabrera can be compared straight-up to Bonds in his prime.

Does that mean Cabrera's 2013 is the best ever for a Tigers hitter?

A Belated Fourth of July Post

Happy belated Independence Day to all of you out there. I hope it was a fun and safe time for everyone. It's great to live in a country where we feel safe enough to set everything aside for a day and celebrate 'Merica. Now, on to some Tigers-themed patriotic songs.

Midseason Grades- Pitchers

Good win tonight for the boys of the D. The Indians won, so they'll remain in second for the time being. A good reason for their contention? Pitching. Who's been good, who's been bad, and who's been Valverde so far?

Midseason Grades: Hitters

The season is already half over. Let that sink in. Pretty soon, we'll be back to waiting for baseball. Enjoy the season while you can, folks.

Now, for out first semester report cards!

I Met Lou Whitaker!

Yesterday was "Family Fun Night." The options were a movie, a 45-minute trip to Grand Haven to see the sunset on a night with popup thunderstorms, or a Whitecaps game. Let's be real, I wanted to go to the Whitecaps.

My Imaginary Trade Deadline

July 31 is coming. The non-waiver deadline, always an exciting time of transactions, looms large. In 2011, Detroit received Doug Fister, Wilson Betemit, and (after the non-waiver deadline) Delmon Young. In 2012, the Tigers swindled Miami into trading Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante. Nobody mention 2009, please.
 Will the Tigers be wheeling and dealing as the cutoff approaches? Knowing Dave Dombrowski, probably. What is he going to do?

Jim Leyland vs. Pythag

Following up yesterday's post, a reason for angst among Tigers fans lies in their Pythagorean record. Bill James' formula for "true" team success pegs Detroit as a 46-28 team. This is four wins better than the team's actual 42-32 record. Is this a recurring issue during the Jim Leyland tenure?

Is Detroit Underachieving?

3 out of 4 from the Sawx. Everyone's gotta love that, right? Not exactly. There seems to be an undercurrent among fans that Detroit is underperforming expectations. Obviously, this is completely subjective, as some people expected a 105-57 season, while others would settle for a repeat of the 2012 regular season. Still, let's take a look and see if Detroit is "underachieving."

An Introduction

Hello, out there. My name is Nolan, a Tigers fan living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. You and I may have different views on our team, but we can probably agree on one thing: Miguel Cabrera is pretty good.

I made this blog to give myself a creative outlet in an area where I spend way too much of my thinking: the Detroit Tigers. I've been a diehard fan since 2004. This is only impressive because I was 6 at the time. Anyway, you should probably know some of my stances on Tigers-related subjects for future reference.

My favorite player- My method for finding my "Who's your Tiger?" Troll. Find a player on the team who is either forgotten, hated, or criminally underrated by the fanbase. That player then goes on to have a banner year, like Ramon Santiago in 2011 or Drew Smyly in 2012. This year? Jhonny Peralta is hitting over .325. You're welcome.

Jim Leyland- #HireLeyland all the way. Jim knows more about baseball and the state of his players than any fan does. If Phil Coke pitches to a righty, there's probably some deeper reason than "Smokey is just too stubborn." He's done a fantastic job during his tenure in Detroit.

Jose Valverde- Worth a shot. He sucked. Too bad, the guy is just so likable.

Sabermetrics- I consider myself a blend between the two. Sure, I understand and am impressed by Carlos Gomez's WAR. On the other hand, a Triple Crown is just so rooted in baseball history that it's impossible not to be in awe of. 

Call up Castellanos? I'd like to wait until 2014 and give him more time defensively.

Justin Verlander- The dude's a stud, let's give him some time to work out his mechanical issues. He's still backing up a Brink's truck worth of Ks. Once the defense remembers how to turn 2 behind him? Watch out, AL.

Don Kelly- In the past, I wished he would be pecked to death by Comerica seagulls. He's somewhere in between "exists" and "mildly liked" now. Good year for the guy. It's also good for Andy Dirks, who has to keep and eye out for Donnie. Hopefully Kelly keeps it up.

Team Edward or Team Jacob? Jacob all the way. Cullen's a douche.

There you have it. Let's see Detroit try to make a little playoff magic this fall.