TRULY OFFENSIVE

/ totallytigersblog
by Holly Horning

The Detroit Tigers are currently projected to repeat their horrific start of the 2021 season.  What’s unclear is whether they will snap out of it as they did last year.

With more than a month into the season, at what point should we start panicking?

Ironically, the only thing we don’t need to worry about is the bullpen.  On the other hand, the Tigers rank dead last in almost every offensive category.

Thank goodness Miguel Cabrera had historic records to chase.  Otherwise, this team has been unwatchable.

Through Sunday’s game, they are averaging just less than 2 runs per game.  It doesn’t help that they consistently strand runners in scoring position.  The MLB runs average is over 4 runs per game.

A recent professional analysis breaks down the lineup this way in order to explain the lack of production:

  • Derek Hill can bunt and run but has no power.
  • Javy Baez strikes out way more than the MLB average.
  • Robbie Grossman is “weak hitting” because he has a very low exit velocity.
  • Miguel Cabrera doesn’t produce enough to be the DH.
  • Jeimer Candelario can’t hit breaking balls and pitchers now are feeding him a steady diet of them.
  • Jonathan Schoop is a real puzzle and there are no stats that support his current inability to hit.
  • Spencer Torkelson takes too many strikes.
  • Eric Haase is hitting better than last year but he’s not driving the ball.
  • Akil Baddoo has yet to hit a single slider and pitchers know it.
  • Tucker Barnhart is either striking out or hitting grounders.
  • Austin Meadows is the best hitter so far.
  • Harold Castro is hitting better but he’s rarely getting multi-base hits.
  • Willi Castro is chasing 44% of all pitches thrown outside the strike zone.

Imagine how bad things would be if Riley Greene hadn’t broken his foot and Austin Meadows, the only legit hitter right now, hadn’t been signed.

Despite adding Baez, Barnhart, Torkelson, Schoop (moved back to 2B), Meadows, Pineda, Rodriquez and Chafin, there is zero – zero – improvement in this team so far outside of the bullpen.

While there are multiple other concerns with the team, let’s focus today on the offense that is truly offensive.

There is such an incredible lack of power.  Last year, 5 of these players crushed 20-30 HRs each.  Some of them currently don’t have a single HR to their name.

The team leader in HRs?  Rookie Spencer Torkelson with 3.  Who also happens to be hitting .167.

But if you listen to Matt Shepard, the ship will right itself when Riley Greene makes his debut and inspires the Tigers to start hitting.  Yes, he actually said that. 

Imagine, a rookie with zero experience is being touted by the media as the savior of the team.

Matt should be writing fiction.  Or at least heading up his own baseball PR firm. We know who his first client will be.

So where should the blame be placed?

It’s hard to say although the first suspects who come to mind include the hitting coaches and GM.

Given that all but one hitter is struggling, it’s logical to think that Scott Coolbaugh and Mike Hessman can have fingers pointed at them.

But Al Avila is the architect of this rebuilding blueprint.  And he has been way too focused on prioritizing the drafting and development of pitchers over that of adding legit hitters.

To be fair, it’s never really just 1 person or group. But there are some who should shoulder more of the blame than others.

All I can say is that after adding $243 million more to the payroll for this year just on free agents alone, Chris Ilitch is undoubtedly not a happy camper right now.

Depending upon how this all plays out, he’s going to be expressing his unhappiness to those in charge at some point. 

And if he doesn’t see even a marginal improvement this year, we should expect some changes.  We should hope that he’ll want some changes.  Ilitch is currently receiving a horrible ROI.

In Part 2, we’ll explore the issues that go beyond offense.  For today’s blog, let’s focus on addressing only the Tigers’ hitting woes.

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28 thoughts on “TRULY OFFENSIVE”

  1. High-level indignancy in Holly’s post today, and with good reason – 6 straight losses and 24 straight innings without scoring a run. In games against Houston, Tiger players performed like they knew they are not very good but have no reason to worry because there are no available replacements. Starting like 1988 Baltimore Orioles.

    Liked by 3 people

  2. I love the Tigers, a dedicated fan since 1961. In all these years I have never seen such a inept offense ever. The roster is void of any sluggers or hitters who put fear into the opposing pitchers. We are stuck with a happy go lucky Cabrera as DH and AAAA level hitters thruout our lineup.

    Liked by 6 people

  3. A few hitters in a slump or off to a slow start I can understand, but a whole team? I’m an old guy, and this is something I don’t recall ever seeing before. When virtually every hitter under-performs their career stats for this length of time, one can only suspect some broader issues – particularly with the hitting coaches and how (or if) they’re communicating anything useful to the players.

    Liked by 5 people

  4. Good summary by Holly. I only question this comment: “Chris Ilitch is undoubtedly not a happy camper right now.” If Al Avila survives another losing season, we can suppose that Chris simply blames the weather, injuries, hard hit balls at opponents like many “fans.”

    Liked by 2 people

    • Hi, Hughie – Do you really believe that Chris will stay silent or make excuses if there is another significant season of losses and after he spent over a quarter of a billion dollars trying to improve it? I doubt it. This is the man who cut payroll down to the bone after he took over, finally turned the Tigers into a profitable team and firmly kept that wallet shut until this year. He and Steve Cohen are the 2 richest MLB owners and you don’t get that way by accepting failure on your investment. Loyalty only goes so far esp. when your boss is hugely successful at making money. And should anyone forget, Ilitch was the one who ordered the trading away of all the favorite long-term players in order to save money. I doubt he’ll turn a blind eye on Avila if this season goes in the dumper. But let’s hope that this season does turn around….. – Holly

      Liked by 1 person

      • Sure, they could be sellers at trade deadline and batting coaches could be let go at seasons end. I do not think Avila is in danger, regardless. I took “unhappy” to mean feeling emotional, not making bottom line or pr decisions. He already has his lackies in the press more or less saying, “This is what a rebuild looks like.”

        Liked by 4 people

        • Illitch and Aliva (following orders) bungled the rebuild big time. The total teardown was not necessary. The trades were unbelievably bad. Numerous ex-Tigers are still performing at career levels and Aliva received nothing in return for them.

          Liked by 2 people

  5. The batting coaches are unacceptable. Hill and Willy Castro are not major leaguers, just like Goodrum before them. Most of the others will come out of this OK, Harold Castro is arguably the best hitter on the team, but continues to be criticized for “lack of power”. They should get better during the year, but they’re a long way from being contenders with the present personnel.

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Hitting is a highly psychology activity where momentum reigns and slumps are oddly contagious. Like Yogi said, you can’t hit and think at the same time. Just about every player who emerges from a slump says they simplified things and got back to having fun hitting the ball. At some point the players must empty their heads, rely on their natural instincts, and “see ball, hit ball” instead of focusing on “good at bats”.

    Liked by 6 people

    • Great post Jim. Sadly, baseball is no longer a fun game. It is so over inundated with “analytics” and garbage such as launch angle, exit velocity, swing plane, etc., these guys are taught to think the formulas are a substitute for instincts and talent when it comes to hitting a ball.

      Liked by 4 people

  7. At the start of the season I wasn’t overly excited about this lineup, but I was hoping they might be entertaining like the early 1990’s Tigers. Mediocre club with free swingers galore, but hit a ton of homers and were fun to watch overall. This team has the free swingers without the contact and the power. I certainly didn’t expect this unwatchable dreck again.

    Liked by 6 people

  8. Except for Meadows, Javy (who lacks plate discipline) and Cabrera – who is but a shadow of his prime self, these hitters have all had very uneven careers. Grossman and Schoop have had seasons that ranked near the bottom of the league and good results last year were probably an outlier. There is still simply a lack of talent coming to the plate and it has made itself obvious.

    Liked by 5 people

    • If they are this messed up in their heads, dare we say that the competitive culture is lacking or that Hinch sized up some of his veterans incorrectlY? He is still that teflon guy and probably will be unless they re-surge or he opts out. (Yes, this horrendous batting performance today has made me very cynical).

      Liked by 5 people

    • Great point – I was going to write something similar. Grossman, Schoop, and Baez have all been incredibly streaky hitters throughout their careers. They are decent ball players but definitely have major warts offensively. As a joke, I sent a friend of mine a comparison between Rob Deer and Javier Baez at the beginning of the year. Turns out, their offensive numbers are incredibly similar.

      Liked by 2 people

  9. The blame should be put on AJ and I think he realizes that after seeing his frustration last night. I washed my Detroit Tiger rally towels so things should start to get better.

    Liked by 4 people

  10. CI created this mess and he has no one to blame. AA is a horrible GM and everyone knows it. He brought no talent back in his trades. Other than the #1 picks, who else is pushing to get to the top level. Last year was a fluke, everything went right for the Tigers, the opposite is happening this year. AJ is not the hero we thought he was and I think Gardy and staff were better than they were given credit.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Totally agree. Other than Avila hiring Hinch, what has he done worth mentioning? He gave away all his trading chips and got no major league talent in return. As far as the drafts, my grandson (3 years old) would have taken Mize and Tork, too; no skill or savvy needed here. He pretty much did what the “experts” told him to do for the drafts. The sad part? I’m still gonna follow this team. (Not at the park, though. Not until they get respectable again.)

      Liked by 4 people

  11. Perhaps AJ and his coaches are having a “Sophomore Slump”. Someone please light a fire under this whole team because the complacency and lack of urgency are driving me nuts. Recent games have been totally unwatchable.

    Liked by 5 people

  13. Glad to read that I am not the only one who is tired of the self-styled comedians on the Bally Sports broadcast crew. With the exception of Jack Morris, the crew should be DFA’d.

    Liked by 2 people

  14. Holly: who or what are the constants on the Tigers over the past few years – look at those elements and see if change is necessary! You get what you pay for – building through farm system is tough and you’re correct about goin after some offense sooner than later!!

    Liked by 1 person

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