GoWings1905

Kronwall was the Red Wings best d-man in the playoffs and Stuart has been nothing but solid since coming to the team. Why are we using the preseason to justify Ericsson's contract?

Oh yeah, not even close. Dombrowski looks better every day by not trading for Jimenez and getting Fister instead. Saw an interesting stat on Twitter: Fister has five wins in September, the Red Sox have six as a team. AL Wild Card is now tied; Red Sox led by nearly ten games a month ago. If it comes to a tie and there is a one game play-in, the Rays are going to make the playoffs.

GO ANGELS!

- Zetterberg and Filppula dominated together. - I thought Emmerton and Brunnstrom were very strong too. You have to think those two are the front-runners to win the two rosters spots with Mursak out now. - Ericsson and Kindl are atrocious as a pairing. Commodore is going to dress a lot. - Smith still has too many defensive lapses to make the team. - I really like White's ability to move the puck.

I am by no means upset with JV because of that start. He was too hyped up early on, but I don't blame him. That being said, the Orioles are indeed playing well but they are also a last place team and the third worst team in the AL. If the Tigers want to play at home in the ALDS, they need to beat lesser teams with nothing to play for. Texas isn't having any issues doing what they need to. I don't even really think home field means much in baseball, but in this case the difference between the two possible opponents is definitely worth striving for. Lester just got shelled yesterday -- he's likely going to pitch again on short rest Wednesday meaning he wouldn't even start in the ALDS until Game 3. I like the Tigers chances at home with JV and Fister against Beckett and maybe Erik Bedard better than at Yankee Stadium against CC and Nova.

How many years do we wait for the Filppula "breakout"? I'm not trying to rip on Fil as he is an important part of the team, but maybe we just need to accept he isn't going to be a big point producer in the NHL. I voted 60 points as a breakout, which I believe is fully attainable for a top six forward on the Red Wings playing with Pavel or Hank especially for a guy with a skill set like Filppula has. I expect Filppula to probably get around 50 points though. I need to see more consistent offensive production before I buy into this hype every year.

I guess the Tigers would rather open at Yankee Stadium than at home against a team with 5 wins in September.

Fister will start Game 2 in the ALDS regardless of opponent/venue according to Jimmy Leyland. I'm somewhat conflicted by that decision. Fister is definitely the second best pitcher on the team, but what happens if the Tigers split those first two games? Scherzer pitching at Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium may get very ugly and Porcello following up in Game 4 isn't exactly reassuring.

.800 is a pretty good OPS. A really strong OPS is generally considered to be at least .900. Cabrera is close to 1.000 which is exceptional. I don't get real hardcore into the different stats, but I do think the more commonly used stats such as batting average and ERA can be a bit flawed. OPS is a pretty good one because it factors in total bases. The Tigers will be going with 14 position players and 11 pitchers at least for the ALDS. After last night especially, I don't see where Penny has any role on the team. Avila, Martinez, Cabrera, Santiago, Raburn, Peralta, Betemit, Inge, Young, Jackson, Ordonez, Kelly and Dirks I would say are all locks. That leaves one spot open for either Santos, Worth or Rhymes. My vote goes to Worth as he's far better defensively than Rhymes, neither can hit and Worth can also play short or third. I could see carrying Santos to have another catcher, but it's not like Avila is going to get a game off anyways. I'm also assuming Guillen isn't healthy by then or else I would probably pick him just for his bat off the bench. Verlander, Fister, Scherzer, Porcello, Valverde, Benoit, Coke, Al Al (if healthy), Schlereth are going to be on the roster. Two spots open with Penny, Below, Pauley, Perry and Marte to choose from. I'm taking Below and Pauley if the decision is up to me, but I suspect the Tigers will choose Penny and Perry. Perry's wildness scares the s*** out of me and Pauley has been somewhat decent lately and he can chew up multiple innings if needed.

OK, no Brad Penny please on the playoff roster. He can't get outs and a relief role would be no different.

I think you answered your own question in the original post: Homer is essentially a PP specialist at this point with probably minimal time at even strength. Still a valuable asset to the team, but he clearly shouldn't be playing top six minutes anymore especially with the Red Wings having other stronger options. No way Holmstrom gets sent down though. He still has an important role to fill on the team.

Nice optimism, but considering NONE of the Red Wings established forwards even hit 30 goals last season, I find it unlikely a guy that spent time in the AHL is going to come in and score 35.

Exactly. I like the Commodore signing for the price and depth purposes, but he couldn't stay up with Columbus and they have one of the worst defensive units in the league.

I don't think I want the Rays to catch the Red Sox. Playing at Fenway scares me because the Red Sox offense is so lethal, but the Rays rotation is very deep. Verlander obviously washes out Lester and Fister is pitching better than Beckett. The Red Sox seem to be wearing down as the season progresses while the Tigers are picking up steam.

CENTRAL DIVISION CHAMPIONS!!! :chug: Way to go Tigers!

6-0 Rangers leading the Indians in the 6th. I am so incredibly excited right now. Let's do this boys. GO TIGERS!

I hate the Tigers schedule especially the interleague portion. Why the hell do we need to play the Pirates twice and can we quit with the Rockies every freakin year? Only positives are the Cardinals coming to Comerica and the Tigers play at Wrigley. Go Rangers (tonight) and hopefully we get good Max. Time to win the AL Central!

Unreal win today. Penny was his usual self, but the guys battled back and kept the streak going. Nice game for Carlos and Avila just never stops. Gotta give some credit to Leyland too for using his bench in the 9th and 10th almost to perfection. The original starting line-up today was lackluster, but he pulled all the right strings late getting his better bats off the bench into the game. Huge at-bats by Raburn and Ordonez too that got overshadowed by Avila and Guillen's hits. It appears the magic number will be two after tonight as the Rangers are destroying the Indians. The Tigers can clinch the AL Central tomorrow in Oakland with some help!!!

Just curious, but why Franzen and Bertuzzi? My guess would be Cleary, Stuart and probably even Filppula would all get the 'A's' in some order in a situation where it was warranted.

That's more based on the timing of the deal than a performance indicator. Kronwall and Stuart will easily surpass Ericsson next summer.

I don't think E is as bad as some people make him out to be, but this contract certainly is going to require Ericsson to improve immensely to live up to the terms. I think the best thing for Ericsson right now would be to play with Lidstrom. The pairing with Rafalski didn't do Ericsson any favors in his own zone. As mentioned already, my biggest gripe with Ericsson is his inability to use his size to play physical and clear the front of the net. If he can add that element to his game, he can be a solid top four d-man which is especially important when Nick leaves.

Agreed. Kronwall has by all accounts taken on more of a leadership role with the team. Might as well get him in on the alternate rotation now as he is likely to get an 'A' permanently next season anyways once Nick retires.

Ryan Raburn for starting RF in the playoffs. I'm serious.

Magic number down to 7 after win number 9 in a row! I would love to catch the Yankees and I think there is an outside chance considering the Tigers remaining schedule is very weak and the Tigers are on such a roll. I would be thrilled though just to stay ahead of the AL West contenders and get to open at home in the ALDS at least. I'm pretty biased, but after seeing Comerica in 2006 for the playoffs, I don't know there is a better atmosphere in baseball. The division could very well be won by the end of this road trip. Exciting times to come.

Sorry, Joe Maddon is manager of the year for me. Acta second and then maybe Jimmy.