Jim Leyland didn't waste much time in deciding his future after the Tigers' 2013 season ended. Just two days after Detroit lost Game 6 of the ALCS to the Red Sox, the Tigers skipper is going to resign.

Shane Victorino came into Game 6 of the ALCS batting 2-for-22 (.091). In his first three plate appearances Saturday night, he grounded out, struck out and was hit by a pitch.  So he's exactly the guy you'd pick to be the hero for the Red Sox when they were down 2-1 to the Tigers in […]

Jose Abreu is about to become the latest Cuban baseball star to hit big money in the major leagues. According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the 26-year-old first baseman is finalizing terms on a contract with the Chicago White Sox that will pay him $68 million over six years.  This will be the largest first-time […]

After a 7-3 loss to the Tigers in Game 4 of the ALCS, the Red Sox bounced back to take a 4-3 victory in Game 5 on Thursday. With the win, Boston takes a 3-2 lead in the series and can close out the series Saturday at Fenway Park.  Mike Napoli led off the second […]

Does lineup construction matter? Other than making sure a team's best batters get more at-bats, many would argue that how a lineup is put together doesn't make much of a difference.  However, the Tigers and manager Jim Leyland will probably disagree with that. Their fans might too. At least for one night. Detroit's new-look lineup […]

After watching his lineup get shut out in Game 3 of the ALCS, Tigers manager Jim Leyland is ready to try something drastic. But is this a panic move or could it provide a jolt to a team that's only scored six runs in its past three games? Roughly five hours before the start of […]

When the scheduled pitching matchups for the ALCS were announced, Game 3's slate of Justin Verlander versus John Lackey looked like one to circle. This could be a potential mismatch, right? Verlander is one of the best pitchers in baseball and has been dominant during the playoffs. Lackey was the Red Sox's third-best starting pitcher and […]

The Red Sox weren't dead in Game 2 of the ALCS versus the Tigers, but it was difficult to find a pulse during the first five innings Sunday night.  For the second consecutive game, a Detroit starting pitcher was completely shutting down the powerful Boston lineup. Max Scherzer hadn't allowed a hit for five innings […]

The Red Sox and Tigers gave us baseball's second 1-0 game of the day in Game 1 of the ALCS, following the Cardinals' victory by that score over the Dodgers earlier Saturday. With its win, Detroit takes a 1-0 lead in the series. However, the Red Sox and Tigers may have one-upped their National League […]

With Clayton Kershaw pitching for the Dodgers, the Cardinals didn't figure to score many runs in Game 2 of the NLCS. Sure enough, St. Louis only mustered one run and two hits against the likely NL Cy Young Award winner.  Unfortunately for Kershaw and the Dodgers, their lineup couldn't put any runs on the board […]

Is this the ALCS that most people expected? The Red Sox finished with the best record in the league, but some felt the Rays were the hotter team and might upset them. The Tigers weren't necessarily viewed as an underdog versus the A's, despite a banged-up lineup and not having home-field advantage. But through various […]

As Joe Lucia wrote last week, Carlos Beltran is a freak in October. As talented and productive as the Cardinals outfielder is during the regular season, he rises to the moment during the postseason.  We saw the latest example of that during the Cards' 3-2 victory over the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS […]

For the second consecutive season, the Athletics lost to the Tigers in the ALDS despite having home-field advantage. Detroit limped into the postseason, nursing injuries and trying to get healthy in September. Meanwhile, everything appeared to be coming together for Oakland with a lineup that mixed platoons well, a young starting rotation and the AL's […]

Cal Ripken Jr. keeps saying he has an itch to return to baseball. The presumption is that he's really itching to manage, the closest Ripken could get to being on the field as a player. But should the Washington Nationals be the team to scratch that itch for him?  The legendary Orioles shortstop is an […]

What's wrong with Justin Verlander? Detroit Tigers fans asked that about their ace all season long. What's wrong with Justin Verlander? During the regular season. Verlander wasn't the pitcher we'd become accustomed to seeing over the past four years. He finished with a 13-12 record and 3.46 ERA. His strikeout rate dipped to 8.9 per […]