An Early Look at The Terrific Tigers
PLUS: PROBLEMS PERSIST FOR FORMER DODGER STAR JULIO URIAS
Pregame Pepper
Did You Know . . .
The Chicago White Sox lost 101 games last year, nine of their first ten this year, and stars Luis Robert, Jr., Eloy Jimenez, and Yoan Moncada to significant April injuries . . .
After taking some batting practice swings with a modified cricket bat, Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani plans to keep using it during BP . . .
Mets announcers Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez consistently and incorrectly turn the surname of Atlanta outfielder Jarred Kelenic — a one-time Met — into a triple-syllable word . . .
The wave of injuries, mostly to elbows of pitchers, has sent a slew of potential All-Stars to the sidelines, with aces Spencer Strider (Braves) and Shane Bieber (Guardians) included but no team as stricken as the Houston Astros, where Framber Valdez has joined Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia, Jose Urquidy, and Justin Verlander sidelined simultaneously . . .
American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, the first to go down with a 2024 elbow injury, escaped the surgeon’s knife and is due to return to the Yankees by June . . .
Hard to believe such solid hitters as Brandon Belt and Tommy Pham are still free agents.
Leading Off
Small Sample Warning!
By Joe Underhill
It’s early…like there is still 93.3 per cent of the season left to be played. However, 11 games is enough to start recognizing some trends for the 2024 season.
For the Detroit Tigers, the season started about as well as it could, winning the first five games before losing four of the next six. About to embark a stretch of 14 games in 13 days, the Tigers are on course to win 103 games. If the Tigers are still above .500 at the end of that stretch, conversation about them completing for the Central Division will begin to pick up steam.
So far in 2024, the Tigers offense has struggled to register consistent performances. However, one thing they seem to do very well is score late in games.
The Tigers have already played five one-run games this season and gone 4-1. Of the 38 runs the Tigers have scored, 22 have been scored in the seventh inning or later. Manager A.J. Hinch told reporters one-run games are not a sustainable method of success, but it is a positive to see the Tigers hitters be able to retain their focus and discipline late in games, and as a fan it’s a refreshing to feel like your team is never out of the game.
Pitching was supposed to be the strength of the 2024 Tigers, and through the first 11 games that has been the case.
The starters have had some rough starts and Kenta Maeda has had a rough start to his Tigers tenure. His second start was better but the Tigers will need him to round into form soon. The other free-agent starter, Jack Flaherty, has had one good start and one rough start. The Tigers need more good starts from Flaherty for the season to be successful.
Tarik Skubal, on the other hand, has looked like an ace and a possible Cy Young contender.
The bullpen has been rock solid, across 43 innings, allowing only seven runs, good for an ERA of just 1.43. With the struggles of the offense, having a bullpen that can protect a lead or keep the team close is vital. Jason Foley may have supplanted Alex Lange as the “closer,” even though Hinch refuses to name one. Foley throws 100-mph sinking fastballs that have resulted in a 57.1 per cent ground-ball rate and a K/9 of 11.81.
The last early trend to talk about is the aggressiveness of the Tigers on the base-paths. During spring training, the Tigers said they were going to be aggressive on the bases and force opponents to make “perfect” throws.
Well…they’ve been thrown out six times on the bases so far in 2024. With one exception, all of the outs on the bases have been close plays and it could be argued that all six required the defense to field a difficult ball and then make a strong accurate throw.
The value in putting this pressure on the defense showed up against the Pirates when Zach McKinstry forced a bad throw from Michael A. Taylor, allowing the Tigers to come back against David Bednar and the Pirates. The Tigers won’t stop being aggressive, it will cost them some runners being thrown out on the bases, but it will also lead to runs being scored.
Joe Underhill is a high school administrator and diehard baseball fan and fan of the city of Detroit. Joe currently writes for www.mlbreport.com and HTP Newsletter. You can follow Joe on Twitter @TransplantedDet and @transplanteddet.bsky.social or joe.underhill@auburn.org
Cleaning Up
Legal Woes Increase For Ex-Dodger Julio Urías
By Dan Schlossberg
Remember Julio Urías? The embattled left-hander, who went 20-3 for the Dodgers in 2021, has been charged with five misdemeanors by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office in the wake of his 2023 arrest.
According to The Los Angeles Times, those charges include one count of spousal battery, two counts of domestic battery involving dating relationship, one count of false imprisonment and one count of assault. Arraignment has been scheduled for May 2.
Known for his white-framed glasses and single digit number — unusual for any pitcher not named Blake Snell — Urías was a solid starter for the Dodgers after breaking into the big leagues at age 19.
Now 27, he won an ERA title (2.16 in 2022, when he went 17-7) and was a post-season stud (8-3, 3.68 while making six starts).
The 6-0, 225-pound southpaw returned to earth last season, the walk year of his contract, with a pedestrian 11-8 record and 4.60 ERA over 21 starts before running into legal trouble late in the season.
Arrested in early September, Urías was charged with “corporal injury on a spouse” after an alleged altercation occurred outside BMO Stadium in downtown Los Angeles after a soccer game between LAFC and Inter Miami.
He was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball, which is still conducting its own investigation into the pitcher’s off-the-field misbehavior.
The D.A. reported in January that Urías “pushed his wife against a fence and pulled her by the hair or shoulders” but stated that “neither the victim’s injuries nor the defendant’s criminal history justify a felony filing.”
As a result, the matter wound up in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, which filed the five misdemeanor charges reported.
Major League Baseball has the power to impose discipline even in the absence of criminal charges under its Joint Domestic Violence policy — one of few areas of agreement it shares with the Players Association.
Urías was previously suspended for 20 games for violating the same policy in 2019 but no charges were filed then and he helped pitch the Dodgers to World Series victory a year later after the pandemic-shortened, 60-game season.
If he were suspended again, the portly Mexican pitcher would become the two-time violator of the domestic abuse policy, though the Office of the Commissioner is expected to wait until the city attorney’s case is done before making any decision on the case.
To say the lefty’s career is in jeopardy is putting it mildly. Nobody wants a hothead in uniform — just ask Trevor Bauer or Domingo German — and Urías seems as likely to be suspended even longer in free-agent limbo than he is in legal proceedings.
The Dodgers, who already tried but failed with Bauer, won’t come calling again, even though most of their best starters are currently on their injured list.
It’s too bad: the guy’s temper just supersedes his talent.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ covers baseball for forbes.com, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, Memories & Dreams, MLB Report, Here’s The Pitch, and many other outlets. Email him at ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: Welcoming the A’s to Sacramento
“The clubhouse can’t be worse. The visiting clubhouse can’t be worse. And even if the attendance is small, in a smaller venue it’s not going to look as egregious as it does in the Coliseum, which is massive.”
— Toronto DH Justin Turner on Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park, where the Oakland A’s will play from 2005-27 while waiting for their new Las Vegas stadium to be built
Capacity of the Triple-A park is 14,014, which should accommodate Oakland’s average crowds of 8,660, 9,849, and 10,276 during the past three seasons . . .
Clubhouses in Sacramento, like those in Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, FL, are beyond the outfield . . .
Sacramento native Rhys Hoskins, a potential free agent, says, “The idea of playing at home has always been enticing but the lack of big-league facilities and the product that organization is putting out there is not something I’d want to be a part of.”
Nor do the A’s want any part of Sacramento, insisting they will use only their nickname rather than their geographical location for the next three seasons . . .
Although the Athletics have said they will ramp up their payroll in Sacramento, will any free agents be tempted to sign with them?
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.