Kuzul

The American League Central is one of the most interesting divisions in all of baseball this season.The Detroit Tigers once again entered the year as runaway favorites to take the division crown, and are once again struggling at the first quarter mark, trailing the Cleveland Indians by 2.5 games.The Indians, who finished 20 games back in the division last year with only 68 wins, are on pace to reach close to 100 wins this season, and are the hottest team in baseball, winning 18 of their last 22 games.But unlike the Tigers, the Indians aren't doing it with star power.The Tigers lead the AL in runs, average and on-base percentage, but have struggled lately, going 4-6 in their last 10 games, with two of those wins coming against the dreadful Houston Astros.Yet, most of the players on this list are donning the Old English D.It has been a fun first ...

Many fans were speculating throughout the offseason that the Detroit Tigers' Jhonny Peralta could be replaced due to a perceived lack of range at shortstop. It seems the Tigers might have found a replacement internally.It got to the point where even Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski needed to address it with MLB.com's Jason Beck on Dec. 6, 2012:"We're happy with Peralta," team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said after Thursday's Rule 5 Draft. "What happens is a lot of times, people talk about getting more athletic with our club. There are very few positions we can get more athletic. That is one of the spots that is often discussed, but we're happy with Jhonny Peralta. When you look at his numbers over the last couple years, we're very happy with him.Dombrowski tried to quiet speculation with that comment, but the rumors about the Tigers attempting to find a new shortstop continued.On Jan. 8, ...

There is not a better immediate feeling than whacking a walk-off home run before a full house at your home ballpark. There is not a worse feeling than pitching a gem of a ballgame, only to watch your hard work sail over the right center field wall. Such is the beauty and cruelty of baseball, as it were on full display at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday night. Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta sent 30,000-plus fans home happy with a 5-4 victory when he hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. All Chicago White Sox hurler Jake Peavy could do was peer into chaos with his piercing blue eyes, as the Detroit Tigers snatched victory from defeat. Gut-wrenching as it were, Peavy should be applauded for his performance. The right-hander pitched 7 1/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits. Peavy left ...

Around 6:45 p.m. EST, Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays, facing the minimum 27 batters in leading his team to a 9-0 victory. It is Verlander's second no-hitter of his stellar six-year career and the seventh in franchise history. He threw the team's most recent no-hitter in Detroit's 4-0 victory over Milwaukee on June 12, 2007.  The difference between that performance and this one is the fact that today's performance was oh so close to being a perfect game. In fact, Verlander's lone mistake came with one out in the eighth inning when he walked Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia on a 3-2 pitch after a back-and-forth 12-pitch at-bat. With his performance today, he becomes the 28th pitcher in MLB history to throw multiple no-hitters. Verlander improves to 3-3 on the season and lowers his ERA from 3.75 to 3.16. He is currently tied for ...

When the top RBI guys are off the board, there are still value picks that can help you in that category. Average Draft Positions are from Mock Draft Central.Catcher Kurt Suzuki, Oakland A’s: Suzuki had 71 RBI last year and 88 in 2009. Both years he had the fourth RBI among catchers. With an ADP of 171, there are ten catchers that are (on average) going before him in fantasy drafts.Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals: Molina had the eighth most RBI (62) last year. He was 11th in 2009 (54) and 12th in 2008 (56). He’s not going to win the RBI category for you, but he should be a nice value with his 189 ADP.   First Base Adam LaRoche, Washington Nationals: LaRoche had the 10th most RBI (100) among first basemen last year. He has averaged 89.2 RBI over the past five years. Despite his consistent solid performances, he has an ADP of 178, which is 15th ...

(Satire) Less than a week after declining his $7.25 million option for 2011, the Detroit Tigers relieved many angry fans by announcing they had locked up do-it-all shortstop Jhonny Peralta to a new two-year, $11.25 million steal of a deal. "I'm very excited to stay here in Detroit," Peralta said.  "Actually, I'm just very excited to actually still have a job in the majors." Peralta was acquired before last year's trade deadline from the Cleveland Indians, where he was batting a putrid .246 in 91 games. However, after the trade he lit the Motor City Kitties on fire with a whopping .253 average and .314 on-base percentage that nearly rallied the Tigers to an above-.500 record in the bloodthirsty American League Central Division. Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski couldn't have been happier with Peralta's second-half performance. "The scouting report coming out of Cleveland was that this guy had a hole in his glove," Dombrowski said.  “We sent ...

Less than a week after the Detroit Tigers declined Jhonny Peralta‘s $7.25 million option, they have decided to bring him back. According to the Associated Press, the Tigers have signed Peralta to a two-year, $11.25 million contract. Peralta hit .253/.314/.396 with eight home runs in 57 games for the Tigers last season after being acquired from the Cleveland Indians in July. $5.6 million for Peralta is a fair deal. It's not terrible, but its not great either. After hitting .276/.331/.473 with 23 HR in 2008, Peralta has really fallen flat on his face the last two years. In the last two years, Peralta has hit .252/.313/.383 with 26 HR total. It will be interesting to see what the Tigers do with Peralta. Remember, he played third last year for the Indians and Tigers, and the Tigers just resigned Brandon Inge to a two-year deal similar to the one Peralta just signed a ...

With the 2010 regular season coming to a close and the playoff picture starting to become a little clearer every day, there are some teams that will focus on free agency and which players they are going to bring back or which players they could possibly land this offseason. One of those players that will hit the free agent market is third baseman Adrian Beltre, who seemed to reinvent himself this season as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Beltre has hit .325 with 28 home runs and 102 runs batted in, his best combined numbers since his 2004 season as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Beltre isn't the only third baseman that will be on the market. Here are 10 of the top third basemen that will be looked at in free agency.Begin Slideshow

About a month ago, I wrote a prediction for next year's Detroit Tigers starting lineup. But my how things change. The Tigers are still out of the playoff picture, but are currently playing with no distractions and no worries about choking down the stretch. Over their last three series with the Chicago White Sox, the Tigers have gone 6-2, dropping the White Sox to nine games back of the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins.While some players have dropped off in their performance, others have picked it up and virtually guaranteed starting spots in next year's team.Begin Slideshow

It's been a whirlwind week for Indians fans. After finally trading longtime fan frustration Jhonny Peralta on Wednesday, the Indians traded Austin Kearns to the Yankees Friday night, flipped ten-year Tribe veteran Jake Westbrook to the Cardinals Saturday afternoon, then pawned off Kerry Wood's contract. Most Clevelanders' instinctual reactions to this news would be to moan and groan, to relive the moments from last year when Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez were shipped out of town and mumble something about the futility of rooting for a small-market team. I can certainly relate to the abandonment issues my fellow Tribe fans are dealing with, and I understand the urge to crawl into a corner and sit in the fetal position for the rest of the season. However, depression and rage are the wrong reactions to this year's four deadline deals and the June trade of Russell Branyan. The trading season for the Tribe can only be ...