Kuzul

The San Francisco Giants’ Cinderella-like postseason run that was capped by their second World Series championship in three seasons will forever be cemented in franchise history. The Giants proved they could compete and be successful with far inferior talent than their opposition. The Giants were the best team during the 2012 playoffs for one reason; they had a solid nucleus of veteran leadership that never weakened. The 2013 season could be much different. A number of teams went all-in during free agency, looking to reload and better themselves for the season to come, while other teams leaned on the conservative side.   Teams that had an active offseason in terms of upgrading their rosters included, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Washington, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Angels and the Detroit Tigers. It’s certainly premature to say which teams will make it to the Fall Classic in October. But it’s fair to ...

The Detroit Tigers have never had a player go into arbitration since Dave Dombrowski became the general manager in 2002, and they shouldn't start with Max Scherzer.According to CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman, Scherzer, the Tigers' 28-year-old No. 2 starter, requested $7.4 million for 2013, which was $1.35 million more than Dombrowski wanted to offer him.But the Tigers should give the right-hander everything he's asking for, and probably more.Scherzer had the best season of his five-year career in 2012, posting a 16-7 record with a 3.74 ERA and 231 strikeouts in 187 2/3 innings. His 231 strikeouts were good for second-best in the Major Leagues, only behind teammate Justin Verlander.Last week, the two sides met to discuss what they thought Scherzer's 2013 contract is worth, but failed to find common ground.Unless Scherzer and the Tigers come to an agreement in the next month, an arbitrator will be asked to decide ...

The Tigers rode their starting rotation to a Central Division title and an appearance in the World Series. The Tigers have insured they will have the same rotation (more or less) that pitched a great postseason for Detroit.They do have several questions facing them for the 2013 season, can they stay healthy, can Porcello or Smyly take a hold of the fifth job, and can recently re-signed Anibal Sanchez pitch as well as he did down the stretch and in the playoffs.Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer finished 2012 leading all of baseball in strikeouts. What can we expect from them and the other Tigers starters in 2013?Lets take a look and see.Begin Slideshow

Update: Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 10:03 p.m. ETThe good news is that Scherzer's injury doesn't appear to be serious, per Jon Morosi of FoxSports.com.Morosi tweeted on Tuesday: Max Scherzer has no structural damage. He will not throw for a couple days, will be analyzed from there.— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) September 19, 2012  --- End of Update ---Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Max Scherzer left Tuesday's game against the Oakland Athletics with right shoulder fatigue, according to Jon Morosi of FoxSports.com.Morosi tweeted on Tuesday: Scherzer right shoulder fatigue, will undergo MRI.— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) September 18, 2012  This is certainly a bad time for this to flare up for Scherzer. Not only are the Tigers 5.5 games back for a Wild Card spot in the American League, they are facing the Athletics, who lead the Wild Card race.The 28-year-old right-hander was 16-6 with a 3.78 ERA and 1.27 WHIP headed into Tuesday's matchup in ...

I could not have envisioned the context of this entry just five days ago...but here it is. On the strength of his 15-strikeout gem against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 20, Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer (3-3, 63 strikeouts in 2012) has emerged as a coveted asset in trade talks, primarily with squads chasing strikeouts. Sunday's stellar outing (which included only one walk) was already Scherzer's second double-digit strikeout effort and fourth of nine or more Ks since April 13. There's also an ERA angle to consider here: Before his May 5 start against the White Sox, Scherzer (5.73 seasonal ERA) and Tigers pitching coach Jeff Jones apparently closed a hole in the pitcher's delivery. Since that tutorial, Scherzer has surrendered just 10 earned runs in his last four starts (3.73 ERA during that span). During spring training, I had Scherzer pegged as the No. 33 starting pitcher, a ranking that has looked boldly prescient at times ...

Max Scherzer went 15-9 last year with a 4.43 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He collected 174 strikeouts. He has the ability to put up better numbers this year, but can he be elite? Prior to last year, the only time Scherzer’s ERA had been above 4.00 in his professional career was 2009 for the Diamondbacks. Part of the problem came in the form of the longball, as he yielded a career-high 29 deep shots. Most of the damage came on the road as he allowed 11 home runs in 18 home starts and 18 home runs in 15 road starts. His ERA (3.80 at home, 5.23 on the road) was affected by that fact. Interestingly enough, he pitched better in the second half (4.09 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, .263 BAA) than the first half (4.69, 1.44, .279), but had more success in the first half (10-4 compared to 5-5). Scherzer ...

The December day the Detroit Tigers dealt Curtis Granderson to New York Yankees was a gloomy, winter day in Detroit matching the spirits of the Tigers fans. Gone was a great ambassador for the Tigers, Detroit and baseball in general and few of the Old English D faithful wanted to see him gone. A year and a half later, I doubt there is any Detroiter not in the same realm of existence as Charlie Sheen that wouldn't do that trade again. The Tigers acquired a leadoff hitter that Granderson never could be (Austin Jackson), a wily left-hander who's transitioning to the rotation (Phil Coke), a young hurler expected to be the late-inning left-handed reliever (Daniel Schlereth) and, most importantly, right-handed starter Max Scherzer. Scherzer did nothing to contribute to the second-half collapse by the Tigers last year.  After a terrible start to the season, Scherzer fixed his mechanics in Toledo and had a 2.46 ERA while ...

The goal for every fantasy manager is to find the proverbial diamond in the rough, a player who provides early round production despite being taken in the latter part of the draft. These players are not easy to find due to the unpredictable nature of the sport, however it is important to use some late round picks on possible breakout players to help fortify your lineup.  One possible breakout player that we are tracking for 2011 is Rick Porcello, a third year starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. Drafted 27th overall in the 2007 amateur draft, Porcello needed only one year in the minors to develop his craft before becoming a full time starter for the Tigers in 2009.  In his first full year as a starter, Porcello was third in AL rookie of the year voting with a 14-9 record and 3.96 ERA. He started 31 games for Detroit, averaging a ...

The 2010 baseball season has come and gone.  To those who won your fantasy leagues, congratulations.  And to those who did not win, well, there's always next year, right?If you are part of that latter group, you may want to pay close attention here.  The following slides should give you a leg up on the rest of the competition.  Sleeper picks are always handy to have in your back pocket because you can pull them out at just about any time in your draft, leaving the rest of the league thinking "Aw man, I forgot about him!"  Sleeper picks can be comprised of players who were injured for the majority of the previous season, or just had an off year and will likely fall down the ranks of many fantasy leagues while looking for a bounce-back season.So here are my 2011 Fantasy Baseball sleeper picks.Begin Slideshow

 As fantasy owners, we've all been burned.  We know what it feels like, and the stages of remorse that comes with it.First, there's denial. Denial that the player you coveted on draft day could really be this terrible, and that all your research and preparation was, well, dead wrong.Then comes anger. Angst at said player for his exceeding levels of sucktitude.  You drafted him early enough where he still gets free passes after a slow start/poor outing, but there's only so much a self respecting owner can take.Finally, acceptance.Ah, who am I kidding? The third stage is only more anger.  Followed by kicking that player to the free agent curb the same way Uncle Phil used to hoist DJ Jazzy Jeff onto his lawn in "Fresh Prince of Bel Aire."For those in roto leagues, these pitchers have not only burned a hole in your ERA, but one deep inside the ...