Tigers' tickets will cost you more in 2013

By Sean Gagnier

It's to be expected right? When your city has a competitive baseball team with three superstars, you would expect ticket prices would be on the high end. Well, Detroit fans will soon feel the true cost of a contender.

As if last year's ticket prices weren't confusing enough, there will now be three price tiers when purchasing Tigers tickets; premium, regular and value.

Value pricing is for most games in April, May and September, with Opening Day excluded. The value pricing is meant to attract fans during school-months when the stadium is usually below capacity. Premium pricing will apply for most summer weekend games and matchups with high-profile teams, such as the Yankees or Red Sox. The regular pricing will cover the remainder of games.

Mr. Mike Ilitch will still sell you a pizza for $5, but you can no longer go see his baseball team for a fiver. The popular "Skyline" seats, code for nosebleed, will increase from $5 to $20 for premium games, $15 for regular games and $12 for value games.

Bleacher seats will also see a hefty price hike in 2013, jumping from $17 for premium games and $15 for regular games last year to $23 for premium and $18 for regular and value games.

The skyline and bleacher seats will see the highest percentage increase for 2013, but most tickets are increasing by about $5 this season.

Full ticket prices listed below (premium/regular/value), with 2012 prices (premium/regular) in parentheses.

Lower Level Tickets

On-deck circle:  $90/$85/$77   ($85/$75)
Tiger den: $85/$80/$72    ($80/$70)
Infield box: $65/$60/$52   ($60/$50)
Terrace: $58/$53/$45    ($53/$43)
Outfield box: $52/$47/$39    ($47/$37)
Lower baseline box: $43/$38/$30    ($38/$28)
Right-field grandstand: $36/$31/$23   ($31/$21)
Pavilion: $26/$21/$19    ($21/$17)
Bleachers: $23/$18/$18    ($17/$15)
Kaline's Corner: $23/$18/$18    ($18/$16)

Upper Level Tickets

Club seats: $41/$36/$33    ($36/$31)
Upper box infield: $35/$30/$26    ($30/$26)
Upper box right field: $35/$30/$26    ($30/$24)
Upper box left field: $35/$30/$25     ($30/$24)
Upper baseline box: $30/$25/$21    ($25/$19)
Mezzanine: $25/$20/$18     ($20/$16)
Upper reserved: $24/$19/$16     ($19/$14)
Skyline: $20/$15/$12     ($5/$5)
Standing-room only: N/A     ($17/$15)

Tigers look to add a right-handed bat

By Sean Gagnier

Despite boasting one of the most formidable offenses in baseball, the Tigers are still on the prowl for additional offense. General Manager Dave Dombrowski has expressed that he is still looking for a right-handed bat that can fill part-time roles in the order.

Don't expect the Tigers to hit the free agent market soon however, as Dombrowski pointed out, he would prefer to fill the role internally. There are several options the Tigers have for a right-handed batter, namely, Danny Worth and minor league 2B/SS Jeff Kobernus.

Worth has major league experience with the Tigers, turning in a .216 batting average in 90 plate appearances with Detroit last season. Although his batting average was not what the Tigers wanted, his on-base percentage hovered around .330 for the season. He also has proven that he is a capable stop-gap on the infield when the need arises.

Kobernus, 24, has yet to play in the majors after being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft by the Washington Nationals. The infielder has steadily increased his batting average in each of his four professional seasons, ultimately recording a .282 batting average with Double-A Harrisburg in 2012. Kobernus reached base at a .325 rate last season, making him valuable to his club.

While Detroit is looking for a righty-hitter, they are not necessarily looking for another power hitter, as evidenced by their interest in Worth and Kobernus. The Tigers have the pop they need in the lineup, what this team needs now are role players that can play consistently and stay healthy. Worth and Kobernus appear to fill those roles. Look for both to get extended playing time in Spring Training to determine who will go north with the club.

Detroit Tigers Must Hold Onto Porcello

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier

It's been well documented that the Tigers are willing spend money in order to win now for their aging owner, Mike Ilitch, but when a team tries to play like the New York Yankees in the clubhouse, they lose to the Yankees on the field.


The Tigers payroll will top $156M in 2012, an unheard of figure for a mid-market team with a modest television deal. General Manager Dave Dombrowski has done his best to fill the needs of the team through trades and via free agency. While that has brought talent to the team, it has strained the pocketbook and emptied the farm system.

When the Tigers traded uber-prospect Jacob Turner and major-league-ready catcher Rob Brantly to the Miami Marlins in July for pitcher Anibal Sanchez and second-baseman Omar Infante, many said the only way the trade would be deemed palatable is if the Tigers won the World Series or resigned Sanchez.

Well, the Tigers made it to the World Series, but lost. Then Dombrowksi inked Sanchez to a five-year deal deal worth $80M, and the trade talk around the Tigers heated up. Yes, Detroit is a much better team with Sanchez on it than without him, but one cannot so easily give up on prospects.

The ink wasn't even dry on the deal Sanchez contract and there were rumors swirling as to where Detroit would be trading pitcher Rick Porcello. It was taken as a given, a throw away move on a prospect that was one of the top rated high school pitchers taken in his draft.

Porcello, who turns 24 on Dec. 27, does not have the best career numbers, but a closer look at his stats reveals that he is improving each season and could very well be better than many give him credit for.

from Baseball-Reference.com

Each year, after 2009, Porcello has shown improvement to his ERA numbers, cutting 0.33 off his career high of 4.92 in 2010. His WHIP has not been as steady, and has bounced around from season to season. In 2012, Porcello posted a WHIP of 1.53, nosing his career WHIP to 1.417.

Normally any pitcher with a WHIP north of 1.35 is not a starter, but there are other factors one must consider before relegating Porcello to the scrap heap. Porcello is a ground-ball pitcher, meaning that he is at his best when batters make contact with the ball. The style of pitching is why the WHIP of any ground-ball, contact-pitcher is notably higher than that of a power-pitcher.

Porcello has increased his ground-ball numbers and cut down on his home runs allowed each season, resulting in a career best 16 home runs allowed in 2012. The problem with Porcello is that when he is on his game, he is getting quite a few ground balls and those ground balls have to be fielded by arguably one of the worst infields in the league.

Miguel Cabrera, at third base, does an admirable job, but his range is minimal. To Cabrera's left is shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who despite an impressive postseason, only has decent range forward and not to his left or right. Omar Infante had nine errors at second base for the Tigers in only 61 games. And Prince Fielder, at first, has one of the worst ranges in the game. Meaning that if Porcello had a defense behind him, he would easily be a 20-game winner.

Now, poor infield-defense may be another reason to trade Porcello. Or, one could look at making a few roster moves in the 2013 offseason that would shore up the defense and make Porcello look a heck of a lot better each time he is on the mound.

Right now, Porcello does not have the highest trade value. Teams know that the Tigers consider him to be "surplus," so they are not willing to give up much in return. Meaning that a former first-round draft pick would have gotten Detroit Joel Hanrahan. There are reports that several teams are interested in trading for Porcello, but how many of them would give Detroit anything of use?

With the trade route being rather barren, and fairly short-sighted, the best option is for the Tigers to hold onto Porcello and roll with the punches. Porcello has shown steady improvement, and remember, this guy is 24-years old. Verlander went 11-17 with a 4.84 ERA in 2008 when he was 25, so there is something to be said for letting players develop.

The argument for trading Porcello has been that with the signing of Sanchez, there is only one open spot for a starter on the team. But think to yourself, when is the last time that any team went the entire season without an injury to one of their starters? Exactly.

Detroit has six starters. That's it. Seriously, there are no others. The Tigers traded Andy Oliver and shipped Adam Wilk to Korea this offseason. Casey Crosby has shown he isn't ready to start, and Duane Below has proven that he is best out of the bullpen. So should there be an injury to one of Detroit's starters, there is no help.

What Detroit needs to do, is to just take a deep breath and hold onto their young talent. Let Porcello and Drew Smyly duke it out in spring training for the final starters slot, and reward the other with a long-relief position in the bullpen. Both Smyly and Porcello have what it takes to be a starter.

The Tigers are good with one of the two of them on the roster, and they are even better with both of them. Having both Porcello and Smyly on the active-roster allows Manager Jim Leyland some flexibility with his rotation and also provides him with a safety net should something happen to one of his pitchers.

So the Tigers should let the stove remain hot and listen to offers, but unless something comes that blows them away they would be best suited to hold onto their talent. 

Who Closes for the Detroit Tigers in 2013?

By Sean Gagnier

The World Series is over and congratulations are in order to the San Fransisco Giants. Their pitching staff dominated the Detroit Tigers all series.

As the depression of being swept out of the fall classic subsides, the Tigers will have to look at themselves and see where they need improvement. And anyone with eyes can see that the biggest area in need of improvement is the closers role.

Jose Valverde may have been perfect in 2011, but he was anything but that in 2012. And in the 2012 postseason, he was the epitome of worthless. He was so bad that Manager Jim Leyland turned to lefty-specialist Phil Coke to serve as his inpromptu-closer for the length of the postseason.

Valverde has without a doubt seen his last game in a Tigers uniform, but while his departure will certainly come as a relief to many Tigers fans, it also leaves a void at the back end of the Detroit bullpen. Who should fill it? There are several in-house options to consider as well as a free agent and one on the trade market, here they are.

Free Agents

Rafael Soriano - New York Yankees, signed through 2013 (3yrs/$35M)

• 67.2 IP / 2.26 ERA / 42 SV / 1.167 WHIP / 9.2 SO/9
• While Soriano may not be a free agent quite yet, all indications are that he will opt out of the final year of his contract with the Yankees and will test the free agent market. And that market could become very lucrative for him.
• After the season ending injury to Mariano Rivera it was up to Soriano to take over the closers role, and he did an exceptional job. His 42 saves are the second most of his career and his WHIP among the best in the league
• Upside: Soriano is an elite caliber closer who could come in and immediately have an impact for the Tigers.
• Downside: He will cost a pretty penny. Soriano isn't opting out of the final year of a $35M deal to get less money and with the Yankees competing with several other teams for his services, his contract will certainly balloon out of the Tigers price range. 

Trade Market

Chris Perez - Cleveland Indians, signed through 2015 (arbitration eligible, $4.5M)

• 57.2 IP / 3.59 ERA / 39 SV / 1.127 WHIP / 9.2 SO/9
• Cleveland is starting a new era under Manager Terry Francona, and Perez showed that he was one of the most outspoken and driven members of last season's Indians club. However, Cleveland has it's eyes on their closer of the future in Vinnie Pestano. While Perez gives the Indians passion and energy, he could also bring them solid prospects in return.
• The Indians like Perez, the only way they part ways with him is if they believe Pestano is ready to take over the mantle of being the closer. And that has yet to be seen.
• Upside: Perez would bring a fire and passion to the Tigers that has appeared to be missing since the loss of Victor Martinez. He is unconventional, but his style of pitching would fit well in the cavern that is Comerica Park.
• Downside: Pestano doesn't appear to be ready to become the closer just yet, but if the Indians do decide to go with him, they will want quite a bit in return for Perez and they would be insane to trade him within the division.

In-House 

Phil Coke - Detroit Tigers, signed through 2015 (arbitration eligible, $1.1M)

• 54 IP / 4.00 ERA / 1 SV / 1.648 WHIP / 8.5 SO/9
• Coke was not the picture of consistency during the regular season, but when Valverde imploded in the postseason, Leyland turned to Coke and he delivered. In his 10 innings pitched in the 2012 postseason, Coke allowed just one run.
• Upside: Coke being a lefty, would be something different than most closers. He has shown that when the pressure is on him he is capable of producing and giving maximum effort. The guy sprints to the mound from the bullpen every single time his name is called and he refuses to give less than 100 percent, that's something you look for in a closer.
• Downside: The postseason is one thing, the pressure and adrenaline could have helped him, but it remains to be seen if he can take his playoff success and translate it into regular season consistency. If Coke pitches the way he did during the regular season then he is not closer material, but if the Tigers get the postseason Coke, then they would have found themselves something special.

Al Alburquerque - Detroit Tigers, signed through 2017, $495K

• 13.1 IP / 0.68 ERA / 0 SV / 1.050 WHIP / 12.2 SO/9
• Alburquerque possesses a devastating slider and a decent fastball to keep batters honest, but he has yet to complete a complete season after two injuries cut his 2011 and 2012 short. In 2011, Alburquerque was struck in the back of the head by a fly ball during batting practice and missed the final several months of the season. In 2012, he suffered a knee injury and was unable to return to action until late in the year.
• When healthy and on, Alburquerque is close to unhittable. However, his durability has to come into question as well as his relative inexperience. But if Alburquerque is capable of producing the same way he did to close out the season this year, next season, then he could be a very interesting candidate.
• Upside: His pitches have great movement and he doesn't appear to be phased with runners on base. Detroit has Alburquerque signed long term, meaning that if he does have what it takes to close games, the Tigers could use the money they save on him for other pieces.
• Downside: Alburquerque has yet to complete a season and is for all intents and purposes still a rookie. Handing the ball to someone as inexperienced as Alburquerque could prove costly to the Tigers if he isn't entirely ready for the pressure of the closers role.

Bruce Rondon - Toledo Mud Hens, Triple-A

•  (A+, AA, AAA) 53.0 IP / 1.53 ERA / 29 SV / 1.094 WHIP / 11.2 SO/9
• From scouting reports and other outlets it is apparent that Rondon possesses an impressive fastball, upper-nineties, and several decent off-speed pitches. Rondon was good enough in 2012 to progress from High-A Lakeland to Double-A Erie and on to Triple-A Toledo all while serving as the closer.
• Upside: Rondon has a devastating fastball that could overpower many major league hitters, and being an unknown rookie could benefit him against batters who have not yet seen him. If he can improve his change-up, Rondon could be a very good closer for years to come.
• Downside: Much like Alburquerque, Rondon being a rookie is dangerous for the Tigers. His inexperience and complete lack of time in the major leagues could lead to him playing a role in the bullpen in 2013, but keep him from assuming the closers role for several years.