Opening day is upon us and once again the Detroit Tigers have a World Series on their mind.
Although the Tigers have made it to three straight American League Championship Series (ALCS), they have yet to bring a world championship back to the city of Detroit and to owner Mike Ilitch. The last time a team made it to the ALCS four years in a row was the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2001. Making it to four league championship series in a row is not easy, but the Tigers have an extremely talented roster and are in very good shape to make another run.
The Detroit offense is led by the reigning AL MVP Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera has won two AL MVP awards in a row, three batting titles in a row and a Triple Crown in 2012. Joining Cabrera is newcomer Ian Kinsler, who was acquired in the Prince Fielder trade and will play second base. Kinsler is a three-time All-Star who brings tremendous versatility on offense and a good glove on defense. Another newcomer to the Tiger offense is rookie third baseman Nick Castellanos. Castellanos has been the organization’s top prospect for the past two years. He hit 18 homers and 37 doubles with the Toledo Mud Hens last season. Mix those three with the always dangerous Victor Martinez, the veteran leader Torii Hunter and the ever-improving Austin Jackson, and the Tigers offense is going to be fun to watch this year.
On the other side of the game is the pitching staff. Even with the departure of Doug Fister, the Tigers’ starting rotation is still one of the best in Major League Baseball (MLB). Justin Verlander is a perennial All Star and is coming off of a somewhat uncharacteristic season. Knowing Verlander’s competitiveness and his pure ability, I would not be the least bit surprised to see him come out and be the most dominant pitcher in baseball. Max Scherzer is the reigning AL Cy Young winner, and is entering his last season before free agency. Expect Scherzer to come out and have another big year. While JV and Max are the two stars of the rotation, you can’t forget about how good Anibal Sanchez was last year. Sanchez signed a five-year deal with Detroit after the 2012 season and led the AL in ERA (2.57) in 2013. To round out the rotation, the Tigers have two solid starters in the young Rick Porcello and Drew Smyly.
The bullpen is still a question mark going into the season, but the acquisition of closer Joe Nathan will surely provide the Tigers an edge late in games. Losing the flame-throwing Bruce Rondon for the entire season will undoubtedly hurt, but hopefully former Yankee Joba Chamberlain can bounce back to his pre-Tommy John surgery days and dominate hitters with his slider. Both Phil Coke and Al Alburquerque will need to have bounce-back years too, and newcomer Ian Kroll is going to have to show everyone why Detroit traded for him. If the bullpen struggles out of the gate, don’t expect Dave Dombrowski to sit around and let it work itself out. Dombrowski is one of the better general managers in MLB and is not afraid to make bold trades that will help the team win now.
This is a big year coming up for the Tigers. Miguel Cabrera is in his prime and isn’t getting any younger. Due to his impending free agency, Scherzer’s future in Detroit is uncertain. The time to win is now, and the window isn’t going to stay open forever. Rookie manager Brad Ausmus has taken over an extremely talented team, though not without their own fair share of problems. The Tigers lost Fielder and Fister to trades in the offseason, and this spring have lost Jose Iglesias, Andy Dirks and Bruce Rondon to injuries. However, situations like those are part of baseball, and that’s part of what makes it such an interesting sport. Each season is a new puzzle, and the Tigers are going to have to find a way to piece theirs together. The Tigers are good. Everyone knows that. But are they good enough to win a World Series? We’re just going to have to wait and see — so sit back, strap in and enjoy the ride.
The Tigers open their season at home against the Kansas City Royals at 1:08 p.m. March 31.
Cameron J. Kaiser is a senior at St. Francis de Sales High School. He blogs about the Detroit Tigers on his website, ttowntiger.com.
