Brad Ausmus

2017 Detroit Baseball Dinner

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So I’m a little late in writing about this, but with the season fast approaching, I figured better late than never.

Since 2001, The Detroit Baseball Society has been holding an annual dinner. This is the fifth year that I have attended.  Previous dinners were held a the Bloomfield Hills Country Club. This year’s dinner, however, was held at the Amnesia Room on the 16th floor of the MotorCity Casino.

In addition to dinner, drinks and appetizer’s there as a silent, sports memorabilia , auction and a slate of guest speakers.  The guest speakers included Andrew Romine, Brad Ausmus and Steve Chilton.

Romine was awarded the Bill MacAdam Tenth Man Award and gave a very nice speech. He seemed personable and genuinely excited about receiving the award, which I wondered about, given that the award and presenting organization are not widely known.

Brad Ausmus spoke for about 20 minutes and then took questions for the audience. If you weren’t a fan of BA before the dinner, you probably were after. He was smart, articulate, and seemed like a good guy, he was pretty funny too.

Worth the price of admission was Steve Chilton.  The first time I heard of Steve was when I saw him at the 2014 dinner. He is a genuine baseball / Tigers fanatic and a fabulous speaker.  In 2014, he spoke about his heartbreak at the Tigers’ playoff loss to the Red Sox.  This year he spoke about a shift in trends in MLB in how teams evaluate and value players.  Apparently, some teams are using advanced, video analysis of players that allows them to better evaluate their defense and runs they are able to save by making the proper defensive play.  He said the these advanced metrics are going to show up in the contracts free agents are offered.  I guess we got a little taste this past off season where Bautista and Encarnacion didn’t find the demand they were expecting.  (Incidentally, Chilton informed us that the advanced metrics  valued Kevin Kiermaier higher than Jose Batista.)

The price of the dinner was $150 and in my opinion, worth every penny.

I picked up a sweet autographed Gordie Howe picture in a baseball uniform.

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White Sox 10 Tigers 9

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This game was like watching a train wreck.  When the Sox started chipping away I knew this game was lost.  I guess we can give K-ROD a pass, he had converted 19 in a row but this one is going to leave a mark.

I thought Brad Ausmus had a good game in the losing effort.  I liked the suicide squeeze with Iggy and Salty to extend the lead to 9-7 and I liked leaving Nick “The Quick” in the game in the late innings. There was not much he could do about the pitching, I thought he made the right moves at the right time, it just didn’t work out.

I often call Robin Ventura the dumbest manager in baseball but I have to give him and Big Game Jame Shields credit.  The Tigers were beating Big Game James into a conniption but Ventura left him in the game and he ended up giving the White Sox five innings and a chance to win.  This is the type of move that can turn Shields’ season around, not good news for the Tigers.

Anyway, Hat Tip to Robin Ventura and James Shields and Brad Ausmus.

 

Tigers 3 Angels 0

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The Tigers were able to salvage one game in Anaheim, and two on the road trip, thanks to Michael Fulmer and Francisco Rodriguez.

Fulmer was smokin’ balls and K-Rod finished off the game with a four out save.

Even if K-Rod couldn’t save the game I thought Brad Ausmus made the right move in bringing him in for an extended save.  Really, what other option did he have, Mark Lowe?

The offense sucked, this game should have been a blowout but nobody could deliver the knockout blow.

Miggy looks bad, again. I’m not sure what his story is this year.

In other news, Anibal Sanchez has been removed from the rotation and sent to the pen.  Although, I agree with Sark, I’m not sure what he’s going to do there.

Oh well, a win is a win, and they’re home tomorrow for the makeup game with the Yankees.

Angels 11 Tigers 9

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This one is going to leave a mark!

Down 9-2, the Tigers offense came all the way back to tie the score at 9, then Mark Lowe entered the game.

THE END.

Ok, so yesterday I was critical of Ausmus, I thought he should have taken JV out of the game in the 8th on Monday.  His pitches were up in the zone and the bottom of the order were hitting the ball hard.  However, had he gone to the pen, the result probably would have been the same.

In yesterday’s game, I don’t think there was anything Ausmus could have done.  The bullpen is an abomination and Anibal Sanchez is worse. Sanchez has to come out of the rotation, but replace him with whom?  Mark Lowe can’t come pitch in close games, if at all anymore, but what do you do with him and who replaces him?  Sanchez to the bullpen? Lowe DFA?

I’m not sure Buck Farmer is an answer to either the pen or the rotation.

This is ugly.

 

Orioles 7 Tigers 5

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The the Tigers could have add on runs but if you can’t hold a 5-0 lead, you are in a lot of trouble.

Ladies and Gentleman, the Tigers are in a lot of trouble. The starters are only good for 5-6 innings and the bullpen may be the worst we have seen since, well, 2015.

BA sat Nick “The Quick” the night before.  He’s back in the lineup yesterday and goes 0-5.

The only manager worse than Ausmus is Robin Ventura.

Speaking of Ventura, remember when Nolan Ryan beat him into a conniption?

http://flashinleather.mlblogs.com/2013/08/04/a-gem-from-mario-impemba/

Nationals 3 Tigers 2

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Zimmerman was good but Max was on fire.  That being said, despite striking out 20 times the Tigers still had chances but couldn’t get the key hit.

Now, can someone explain why Brad Ausmus didn’t have Nick “The Quick” in the lineup?  I understand there is no designated hitter but how do you sit Casteallanos in the middle of this run he’s on.  This might be crazy but Miggy should have been the odd man out today.

How do you sit Nick “The Quick” ?

Nationals 5 Tigers 4

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Make it seven losses in a row. Again, the bullpen couldn’t hold a lead.  And again, Mark Lowe is doing his best Joba Chamberlain imitation.  I think it’s time to try someone other than Lowe.

From what I’ve seen so far, the 2016 season is looking like a disaster.  The starters aren’t pitching late into the game and the bullpen is, well, an abomination.  Hmmmm, this sounds familiar.

Weekend Debacle…

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The Tribe completed their sweep of the Tigers on Sunday with 6-3 thrashing.

The Tigers are struggling mightily, perhaps non more than the Mighty Miggy.  Although Miggy always starts slow, the start to this season is exceptionally so.

There were two things from Sundays game that really annoyed me. First, having Miggy pinch hit with the bases loaded.  I know he was the go-ahead run but he is only hitting .210 and expecting his slow bat to produce a big pinch hit, late in the game, I think was more hope than anything else.  What does Nebraska say, “hope is not a strategy”?

Second, BA’s complaining about the the tape on the ring finger of the Indians pitcher was more desperation and frustration than anything else.  I was irritated, I thought it was un-called for and just another sign of the funk this team is in.

 

Tigers 7 Pirates 4

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This was a nice win and a nice four game series win.

The starting pitching was excellent as was the offense.  I’ll call out Jordan Zimmerman and Nick “The Quick” Castellanos. Also, I hope BA listens to Sark and decides not give Castellanos the day off tomorrow.

The bullpen was an abomination,nothing new here. Why can’t the Tigers ever right this ship?  I know it is only eight games in but we’ve been looking at the same pen for about eight years now.  The names have changed but not the results.

I’ll take the win.