GoWings1905

Hate to call it a "big" series in May, but this is a nice test for the Tigers against the Indians. They haven't typically played well in Cleveland recently and the streak of not winning consecutive games needs to end here. Fortunately Porcello, Fister and JV are starting the three games. Hopefully the offense can support them enough to get some wins.

Optimal Tigers viewing habit: every other day.

Unfortunately I couldn't see it tonight, but what else is there to say about Justin Verlander? He could easily have five no-hitters or so by now. I remember a couple games last season where he got extremely close against the Indians and Angels. Those are just off the top of my head too, so I'm sure there's more where he has gone deep and just barely missed it. Once in a lifetime talent. He's such a treat to watch.

I don't know what your basis is for that, but I'm guessing most Sharks fans are upset with just about everyone on that team by now. Besides, most Red Wings fans wouldn't care if Franzen left either, so there's always that. If your argument against Clowe stems solely from what their fan base thinks then that doesn't do much to convince me he wouldn't be a great fit here. I have provided numerous reasons why Clowe would be a nice addition, mainly because he gives the Red Wings a lot of things they don't currently possess.

Johan Franzen plays every game practically with Pavel frickin Datsyuk. I'd say that's pretty good company for a linemate. So you can't really credit Clowe's goals to the right surroundings without doing the same for Franzen. Not to mention, all the other things Clowe provides for that slightly less price tag. Does Franzen do anything else besides score goals with the most creative player in hockey? Those 17 goals (in a down season) also bring you size, grit and an actual physical presence to the top-six. Bertuzzi takes more penalties in the offensive zone than just about anyone in hockey, so it's not like the Red Wings would be adding some foreign concept of being undisciplined to the team.

Agreed. Clowe would be a fantastic addition for the Red Wings. Obviously Parise should be the main target, but imagine what injecting both Parise and Clowe would do for the top-six. No more having Datsyuk lug around Franzen and Bertuzzi. Clowe's combination of size, skill and energy is something the Red Wings are desperately lacking. We know Babcock loves having a big body on each line and sadly he hasn't had much to work with in that regard. Bertuzzi is big, but shouldn't be playing in the top-six. Franzen plays like he's Hudler's size and Hudler at least tries but is too small especially for playoff hockey. That's half of the top-six right there and we wonder why Pavel, Z and Filppula look like they have to create everything on their own most games. Having Clowe around to open up some ice for the skill players would be a huge benefit. Plus, he isn't scared to go into the tough areas of the ice to compete. The Red Wings need more of that in large doses. I would take Clowe in a heartbeat. I will live with some penalty minutes when you consider all of the other positive attributes he brings to a team. Besides, Bertuzzi is extremely undisciplined. That's a silly argument for not wanting Clowe around.

I honestly don't see the connection there. Bringing Holmstrom back isn't going to prevent the Red Wings from pursuing Parise. Granted, I prefer Holmstrom retire too, but his contact will be minimal if he does return.

Just a stellar display of pitching and defense tonight. I'm starting to think Porcello may never figure it out on a regular basis. The entire bullpen is just absolutely terrible. It seems like the Tigers frickin waste high picks all the time on relievers and yet none of them develop. I can't believe they haven't won two straight in nearly a month now. I hope this season turns out more like 2011 did than 2008. Right now it looks a lot like a talented team on paper that can't put it together.

Exactly. I definitely agree. The precedent for the Red Wings treating veteran players in a very favorable fashion has long been established. Everyone in the league knows this and I highly doubt Parise and/or Suter are going to base their decisions on what happens with Tomas Holmstrom. It's not like the Red Wings organization is running Holmstrom off -- he's a mostly ineffective player with very minimal impact at even strength. Hockey is a business; you don't keep guys around if they can't play the game anymore. You can be loyal and still have limits. Draper, Maltby and Ozzie all knew their time was over and the front office treated all of them in a respectable manner following the conclusion of their playing days. Parise and/or Suter know what they are getting if they come to Detroit. Like you mentioned, the biggest looming question surrounding the Red Wings if if they can retool from three straight early playoff exits. One of the most glaring flaws in the Nashville series was the team's complete lack of anything from the bottom-six. Holmstrom on the 4th line is just a complete misfit. Need more speed, size and energy -- none of which Holmstrom provides.

Same as the one that got eliminated in the first round.

Ugh. Homer has given so much to the organization, but it's time to move on. I appreciate his unbelievable sacrifice for all these years, however, he just isn't an effective player anymore and I would hate to see a roster spot wasted on essentially a powerplay specialist. The Red Wings need to get younger and faster - Holmstrom is obviously neither of these things and it really messes up trying to establish a useful 4th line with him around. I guess I would gladly take the trade off though if they are a package deal and Nick decides to return. I just don't think the Red Wings are doing themselves any favors by stretching out loyalty to the extreme.

PHX/LAK: 4-2 NYR/NJD: 4-2

I'd rather just give Danny Worth a shot every day at second base for awhile. Eric Patterson has never hit enough to be a consistent big leaguer. Worth is excellent defensively and has been a decent hitter for average in the minor leagues. What's to lose at this point? Raburn and Santiago can't hit either.

My goodness, how pathetic is the entire bullpen? The sorry hitting Oakland Athletics have drilled the relievers two nights is a row. There isn't one reliable arm out there right now. The Tigers just can't get any momentum going. Win a game, lose a game, hit the ball well, look lost again. Austin Jackson and Andy Dirks have been the lone bright spots lately of the offense. That's a little disturbing on a team with Cabrera, Fielder, Young, Peralta. Glad to see those two hitting the ball well, but the big guns really need to pick it up soon.

The entire offense blows. Singling out Raburn is an easy cop out. Cabrera didn't have a hit the entire series. I am all for somebody else getting some AB's instead of Raburn for now, but that's ignoring the issue as a whole. The Tigers are flawed and have been for years in the sense they rely on power to score runs. No speed nor clutch hitting exposes the shortcomings in a really negative light when you aren't coming through in the power department. Victor Martinez is proving how valuable he was more every day. Incredibly clutch and rarely had poor appearances at the plate. Cabrera usually has strong discipline but the rest of the lineup just goes up there hacking most of the time. I had low expectations for Delmon Young and he's doing a nice job of not even living up to those. It's a struggle all the way around offensively right now. The only positive I keep taking from these very frustrating losses is the continued success of the starting rotation. Smyly could easily be 6-0 with any run support at all.

Holland can't just come out and say he's pursuing Parise right now. He's under contract with another team still.

The Rangers are the best team in baseball by a lot IMO. I don't want to like them being competition of the Tigers in the AL, but they are certainly a fun team to watch. That lineup 1-9 is just lethal.

The cap hit isn't the problem, the duration of the contract is. Franzen is already lazy now - what's he going to be like another five years into the deal? Besides, Franzen brought absolutely nothing to the team in the playoffs. You notice Parise everywhere even when he's not scoring goals.

Parise. Nine goals in five playoff games. This team needs a legit goal-scorer in the worst way.

I went 40% which I think is fairly high confidence for a free agent that will attract major attention. If Parise gets to July 1st, my hunch is the Red Wings are the favorite to land him. I have nothing to base that on but speculation and maybe a whole hell of a lot of hope. I think Minnesota will be the other destination most in play here. I know the Red Wings philosophy is generally not to get into bidding wars, but Parise is the type of player you throw out the standard and go all out to sign. If we had a similar confidence poll for Suter, I would go much lower. For some reason, it just seems like Parise is the perfect fit for Detroit. I get the feeling he's the top target this summer for Holland and maybe that leftover cap space was saved up just for this.

Definitely agree. Parise has to be at the top of the priority list. If the Red Wings can hopefully get one of the two, I think they need Parise more. Both would unbelievable, but the likelihood of that happening has to be quite low.

Sigh. The Tigers are infuriating to watch right now. The starting pitching throws another gem and the s***ty bullpen gives another win away. They went 77-0 when leading after the 7th inning last season and tonight was I believe loss number six already. Valverde has been brutal, Benoit not much better and Dotel looked like he had never thrown a baseball in the 9th inning. I guess it would also be nice if the offense could score more than two or three runs per game. No clutch hitting at all, runners left on base galore. Too much talent in that lineup to be scuffling along since the opening series. They gotta start hitting to secure some wins for the great starting pitching. Anything close in the late innings is going to get blown by the bullpen it seems.

The intent may have always been to use Quincey as Stuart's replacement, but I still don't see how that benefits the Red Wings going into next season judging by Quincey's play since he joined the team. Maybe he does need some more time to adjust to the system and get comfortable. I just didn't see anything different from Quincey than when he left the first time. Bad penalties, not very reliable in his own zone and wasn't really impactful from a special teams perspective either. I understand Quincey has played top-four minutes elsewhere, but I did also stipulate I didn't think he was that quality of a defenseman on a championship calibre team. Let's say Nick does come back. The Red Wings then have Lidstrom, Kronwall, White, Ericsson, Quincey, Smith and Kindl all on defense. Ideally, Nick isn't playing top pairing minutes anymore if he does return. Kronwall can log big minutes pretty effectively. After that, there's potential, but also quite a bit of uncertainty of what you are going to get if you put those guys in larger roles. White looked worn down and overmatched in his own end as the season progressed. Ericsson is probably best suited to take over Stuart's role as the main penalty killer and rightfully so. Babcock is usually very good about spreading the minutes around on the back end, which is beneficial because the Red Wings don't have a shutdown pairing to throw out there for 30 minutes. I probably didn't make my point very well previously, but I guess my conclusion is I think the Red Wings need another top-four player in free agency, with or without Nick Lidstrom. Obviously without, then it becomes a done deal they have to add a piece. Even with Nick, I think there are too many question marks defensively and the breakdowns in the Nashville series don't leave me optimistic about heading into next season with the same group of players intact.

Nice win for the Tigs! There hasn't been a whole lot of excitement (positive at least) around the Tigers lately, so tonight's game was pretty refreshing to watch. Good to see Peralta find some power finally in a huge spot. Smyly was again very strong. With Fister coming back Monday, the rotation can hopefully become one of the best if Scherzer and Porcello develop some consistency. The offense is scuffling overall, but I still feel that will come in time. Put it on the board, Hawk.

Again, that's nice in theory if Quincey had actually been a valuable addition. You can't just say Quincey is going to replace Stuart if he isn't capable of the role. It doesn't make the move any more appealing because Holland used that line back in February. You also neglected to address the point where I said Quincey isn't a top four d-man which Stuart was. So I still don't see how you can call it a "replacement".