With one day to go before the Tigers kick off their 2012 campaign, I think it is time for some season predictions.
This off season has been one that most Detroit fans are not used to. Instead of getting mad because the 4 letter network has a minor addiction to the Yankees and Red Sox, this season Detroit has been featured more than ever. The old English D is the talk of the baseball world. With the addition of Prince Fielder, now analysts care and take the time to break down the roster weaknesses. Everyone has shared their opinion, and finally the Tigers can just play and leave it on the field.
The Tigers are the hot pick to win the AL Central and make the World Series. I think this should be the expectation from us, Detroit fans, but it also seems like high expectations from analysts and “baseball experts.” Nobody has seen this team play a regular season game together yet. Boston had similar expectations last year, and they didn’t even make the playoffs. The difference between Detroiters and experts is view point. For us small time fans, we are the people who fill the stands and will be forced to pay the higher prices of beer and food. We are the ones who will experience the most disappointment in Tiger’s failures. We have the much bigger investment in this team, and now the only thing that will make this HUGE Prince Fielder deal (and the side effects) worth it, is at least a World Series berth. Improvement will be the only measure of success. While I will be disappointed if the Tigers do not win a championship, all I can ask for is improvement from last year’s AL Championship berth. Detroit can have a gold glover, 3 Silver Sluggers, a Cy Young winner, and an MVP this season, but if they are not playing in the Fall Classic something went wrong along the way. That something might end up being Prince’s pick up altogether. I don’t think that will be the case (at least this year).
The Tigers play in the worst division in the AL, and maybe of all MLB. For another year, likely the 2nd place team will end up 10+ games behind the Wild Card winner. However, the schedule for Detroit this year is by far the most difficult than any other AL Central team. Since the Tigers are trying to become a large market team, it comes with playing the best teams more often. They have to play extra series against Tampa, New York, Texas and the Angels. These are the best teams remaining in the entire league. I think the Central is bad enough, and we will have to play division rivals so much, that it will be enough to get us the AL Central championship again. The Tigers roster on paper is head and shoulders better than the next closest team in the in the Central.
I think Detroit should be able to get to 95+ wins, which will be good enough to win the division and should be good enough to get the 2nd seed in the American League.
Some individual predictions for current Tigers:
I think it will be very difficult for JV to repeat his incredible season from 2011. I do think however he is over the hump of being an average pitcher with electric stuff. JV should be in the running for another Cy Young this year, but his stats will be closer to the pack. I think JV can get to 19 wins and have a 3.00 ERA.
It is hard not to imagine how incredible this team would be offensively if Victor was healthy. He was the best #5 hitter in the league last season. The 2012 version of the Tigers will be very scary to deal with still. I think Miguel will have his standard year, I mean seriously how much more can he improve over last season (even with Prince hitting behind him). He will likely have more hits than last season by batting one spot higher, but a 330 batting average has become expected out of the big fella. Personally I think the 2 batters that have the biggest improvement from last will be the Tigers top of the order. Both Jackson and Boesch should see a lot more strikes this season because pitchers will not want to pitch to Miggy or Fielder with runners on base. I think Jackson needs to bat at least .270 this season to justify being the future lead off guy with the Tigers (and this number shouldn’t be unrealistic). Boesch could become a star this season at the plate. If he stays healthy all season, I don’t see why 25 home runs is out of the question, along with a .280 batting average. The Tigers will be very tough to beat in a series if the top of the order contributes this much.
One more prediction that I hope happens is… Brandon Inge not on the post season roster, and after June I will never have to see him in a Tiger’s uniform again.
Go Tigers!
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