The 2015 Tigers: A Post Mortem

By Mark Brown/Converged Citizen Staff

What began as a season of promise ended as a season of regret for the Major League Baseball team across the river. A team that was supposed to contend for its fifth straight American League Central Division title is now watching the postseason from the sidelines with a losing record. And many fans in Windsor are temporarily shifting their loyalties to the team from Toronto.
The team across the river is of course, the Detroit Tigers, who finished the season with a 74-87 record, their first losing season since 2008. Here’s what I think went wrong this season, what went right and what the team needs to do to be competitive in 2016.
THE MVP – MIGUEL CABRERA – Despite a team offence that was spotty and underperforming, Cabrera showed why he remains the heart and soul of the Tigers. Although sitting out some time with injuries, Cabrera still pulled in a .338 average to take his fourth AL batting title in five years. The AL as a whole was weak-hitting this season and the .338 average isn’t as high as his other batting title-winning years. Cabrera did register his 10th All-Star Game appearance and hit his 400th home run as a Tiger this year, surpassing Al Kaline’s franchise record. This is the stuff that Hall of Fame careers are made of.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT – BRAD AUSMUS – Ausmus’ second year as the team’s manager is one I’m sure he’d like to have back. After winning a division title for the Tigers in his first year, the team stumbled under his leadership this year. Questions were raised about his coaching ability and were amplified by instances of pitchers losing control and multiple tactical and base running mistakes. Cries for Ausmus’ head got louder as the year went on and there were reports that he would be fired, but new general manager Al Avila gave Ausmus a pass and will honour the last year of Ausmus’ contract.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER – JUSTIN VERLANDER – The Tigers needed an ace after Max Scherzer bolted for Washington in free agency and Verlander easily retained that label. Even after sitting out half the season with injuries, Verlander regained his form by pitching 133 1/3 innings, striking out 113 and registering a 3.38 earned run average. This was a nice bounceback from 2014, a season marred by subpar pitching and personal embarrassment caused by the release of wink-wink photos of him and girlfriend Kate Upton. We haven’t seen the last of Verlander by a longshot.
BIGGEST LOSER – DAVID DOMBROWSKI – If Ausmus wasn’t going anywhere, the team certainly needed another scapegoat and poor Dombrowski got the chop. General manager of the team since 2002 when the incompetent Randy Smith was sacked, Dombrowski was credited for building a team that would consistently dominate over the next decade and a half. But after he hit the panic button and traded away David Price and Yoenis Cespedes for players that didn’t really deliver the results hoped for, Dombrowski fell out of favour and he was shown the door.
NICEST SURPRISE – J.D. MARTINEZ – Little did the Tigers realize that they were picking up a sleeping giant when the Houston Astros released Martinez after the 2013 season. Martinez hit 23 homers for Detroit in 2014, but broke out this year with a team-leading 38. He also knocked in 102 runs. Martinez was one of the few batters in the lineup this year that played consistent baseball. He was rewarded with his first All-Star appearance. Look for Martinez to continue to be a force to be reckoned with.
So what do the Tigers have to do to get back on top of the Central in 2016?
For starters, get decent pitching. Alfredo Simon was a disappointment, and Anibal Sanchez was just mediocre. Verlander retained the ace label, but sat out part of the season, and Daniel Norris registers an incomplete grade despite showing promise since joining the Tigers in the David Price trade.
The Tigers need hitting as well, starting with getting Cespedes back. After being traded to the New York Mets, Cespedes has expressed interest in returning to Detroit when he is a free-agent this winter. A couple more big bats would boost an offence that has struggled mightily this season.