Best Infields Ever

NOTE:  One commenter correctly pointed out that the 1934 Tigers infield should have made this list.  I just figured out that the list below only goes from 1954-2010.  I'm an idiot for not noticing that the Tigers infields of the 30s were missing.  The all-time list can be found here

Earlier in the year, I presented the best outfields in the history of baseball according to the Baseball-Reference WAR statistic.  Most of the best outfields played before 1970 and some played as early as the 19th Century.  In fact, it was difficult to find modern outfields which compared to those of the early days of the game.

Of particular interest to readers here were the Tigers outfields of the early 20th Century featuring Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, Harry Heilmann and Bobby Veach.  Those great Detroit outfields took three of the top 15 spots on the major league list.

I decided to do the same exercise with infielders.   With teams shifting towards more offensive infielders in later years, my guess was that some of the best infields would be more recent. This turned out to be more true than I realized.

First, remember that WAR is an estimate of the number of wins a player contributed to his team's win total above what you would expect from a replacement level player - a player who could be acquired for league minimum salary.  An example of a replacement player would be a player in Triple-A, who is good enough to get some time in the majors, but is not regarded as a top prospect.  WAR takes into consideration everything a player does on the field, including hitting, fielding and baserunning.

I use the WAR system developed by Sean Smith, now a statistician for a major league team.  Most of my analysis uses a database purchased from Sean a couple of years ago.  The data are now housed at Baseball-Reference.  There may be a few small discrepancies between the old database numbers I'm using and Baseball-Reference due to recent upgrades of the sytstem, but nothing that should significantly change the conclusions.  A very accessible explanation of the system can be found at Beyond The Boxscore.

Basically, what I did was sum the WARs for the four most commonly used infielders (one each at first base, second base, third base and shortstop).  I required that each of a team's infielders  to have 400 or more plate appearances and to have played at least half of his games at his primary position.  This guaranteed that each qualifying infield would have four regulars. For example, an infield with a star first baseman, second baseman and shortstop and group of marginal players sharing the third base spot would not qualify.


The 15 top single season WAR totals in the history of the game are shown in Table 1 below. 


The Athletics infield of Jason Giambi at first, Frank Menechino at second, Eric Chavez at third and Miguel Tejada at shortstop (24.8 total WAR) is the best of all-time according to this statistic.  That means that, theoretically, these infielders added 24-25 wins to their team above what you'd expect from four replacement level players.  The 2004 Cardinals infield of Albert Pujols, Tony Womack, Scott Rolen and Edgar Renteria finished second at 24.3.


Looking at the entire list, you'll notice that six of the infields occurred since 2000 and ten since 1990.  The earliest infield on the list is the 1969 Twins quartet.  The main reason is the proliferation of power hitting infielders over the last couple of decades.  The second base and shortstop positions in particular were historically defensive minded positions, but that is no longer true.

The only Tigers infield on the list was the 1990 group of Cecil Fielder at first, Lou Whitaker at second, Tony Phillips at third and Alan Trammell at shortstop.  They finished fifth with an impressive 21.4 WAR.


 Table 1: Best Single Season Infields According to Baseball-Reference WAR

Year	Team	first baseman	WAR	second baseman	WAR	third baseman	WAR	shortstop	WAR	Total WAR
2001	OAK	Jason Giambi	10.3	Frank Menechino	3.7	Eric Chavez	6.4	Miguel Tejada	4.4	24.8
2004	SLN	Albert Pujols	9.4	Tony Womack	3.2	Scott Rolen	9.2	Edgar Renteria	2.5	24.3
1975	CIN	Tony Perez	3.1	Joe Morgan	12.0	Pete Rose	4.4	Dave Concepcion	3.4	22.9
1976	CIN	Tony Perez	1.8	Joe Morgan	10.0	Pete Rose	6.7	Dave Concepcion	3.8	22.3
1990	DET	Cecil Fielder	6.7	Lou Whitaker	3.5	Tony Phillips	4.4	Alan Trammell	6.8	21.4
2001	SEA	Edgar Martinez	5.5	Bret Boone	9.3	David Bell	3.1	Carlos Guillen	3.2	21.1
1999	NYN	John Olerud	5.3	Edgardo Alfonzo	5.7	Robin Ventura	6.7	Rey Ordonez	2.7	20.4
2005	NYA	Jason Giambi	4.3	Robinson Cano	1.8	Alex Rodriguez	8.4	Derek Jeter	5.5	20.0
1998	NYA	Tino Martinez	3.3	Chuck Knoblauch	3.1	Scott Brosius	5.7	Derek Jeter	7.8	19.9
1995	BOS	Mo Vaughn	4.2	Luis Alicea	2.3	Tim Naehring	4.4	John Valentin	8.5	19.4
2002	NYA	Jason Giambi	7.3	Alfonso Soriano	4.7	Robin Ventura	3.9	Derek Jeter	3.4	19.3
1984	BAL	Eddie Murray	6.8	Rich Dauer	0.6	Wayne Gross	2.4	Cal Ripken	9.2	19.0
1977	TEX	Mike Hargrove	5.1	Bump Wills	4.9	Toby Harrah	5.5	Bert Campaneris	3.3	18.8
1969	MIN	Rich Reese	2.8	Rod Carew	5.1	Harmon Killebrew	6.1	Leo Cardenas	4.6	18.6
2009	LAA	Kendry Morales	4.0	Maicer Izturis	3.4	Chone Figgins	6.9	Erick Aybar	4.3	18.6

One criticism of WAR is that the fielding portion of the system is not that reliable if we are only looking at one year of data.  It is even more shaky in very early years where less detailed data are available.  Thus, I also wanted to construct a list with fielding excluded.  The Offensive WAR (oWAR) results are shown in Table 2.

In this case, the the top infield still involves first baseman Jason Giambi, but it's a different year and a different team - the 2005 Yankees.  That infield of Giambi, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter finished with 23.0 oWAR (They are eighth on Table 1 which includes fielding).  Giambi's 2001 Athletics are second on Table 2 with 22.5 oWAR.  The 1990 Tigers are 11th with 17.8 oWAR.

In a later post, I'll look at just the Tigers infields throughout history.


Table 2: Best Single Season Infields According to Baseball-Reference oWAR

Year	Team	first baseman	OWAR	second baseman	OWAR	third baseman	OWAR	shortstop	OWAR	Total OWAR
2005	NYA	Jason Giambi	5.1	Robinson Cano	2.4	Alex Rodriguez	9.5	Derek Jeter	6.0	23.0
2001	OAK	Jason Giambi	9.9	Frank Menechino	3.0	Eric Chavez	5.1	Miguel Tejada	4.5	22.5
2002	NYA	Jason Giambi	7.2	Alfonso Soriano	6.0	Robin Ventura	3.6	Derek Jeter	5.2	22.0
1976	CIN	Tony Perez	1.4	Joe Morgan	10.1	Pete Rose	6.5	Dave Concepcion	2.9	20.8
1975	CIN	Tony Perez	2.4	Joe Morgan	10.5	Pete Rose	5.6	Dave Concepcion	1.9	20.4
2006	NYA	Jason Giambi	4.0	Robinson Cano	3.2	Alex Rodriguez	5.4	Derek Jeter	6.6	19.1
2000	OAK	Jason Giambi	9.1	Randy Velarde	1.9	Eric Chavez	3.6	Miguel Tejada	4.4	18.9
1998	NYA	Tino Martinez	2.9	Chuck Knoblauch	3.5	Scott Brosius	4.5	Derek Jeter	7.6	18.5
1987	SLN	Jack Clark	7.2	Tom Herr	2.0	Terry Pendleton	3.6	Ozzie Smith	5.7	18.5
2004	SLN	Albert Pujols	7.9	Tony Womack	2.0	Scott Rolen	6.5	Edgar Renteria	1.8	18.2
1990	DET	Cecil Fielder	6.6	Lou Whitaker	2.5	Tony Phillips	3.1	Alan Trammell	5.7	17.8
1969	MIN	Rich Reese	2.5	Rod Carew	4.5	Harmon Killebrew	7.8	Leo Cardenas	2.9	17.6
2004	BAL	Rafael Palmeiro	1.5	Brian Roberts	2.3	Melvin Mora	6.8	Miguel Tejada	6.8	17.5
1976	OAK	Gene Tenace	5.5	Phil Garner	3.2	Sal Bando	5.5	Bert Campaneris	3.2	17.4
1963	SLN	Bill White	4.7	Julian Javier	2.1	Ken Boyer	4.9	Dick Groat	5.5	17.3

Inge and Fister help Tigers Crush Indians

In an uncommon stress-free (at least for us fans) performance, the Tigers pounded the division-rival Indians 10-1 tonight.  The attention-grabbing story was the triumphant return of Brandon Inge to the Tigers line-up.  In his first at bat since being recalled from Toledo, he blasted a solo home run to left field in the second inning off Indians starter David Huff.  The Tigers third baseman followed up with a run-scoring ground-rule double to center in the third.  It's just one game, but it's possible he did regain his stroke playing for the MudHens.  If he can contribute any production at all in a position share with Wilson Betemit, it would be a boost to the Tigers. 

More important than Inge was the comeback performance by Tigers starter Doug Fister.  After getting shelled by the Orioles in his last start, Fister excelled tonight versus a heavily left-handed Cleveland line-up.  He had his good command tonight allowing just one run while striking out seven and walking just one in seven innings.

Like last night's starting pitcher Max Scherzer, Fister will be relied upon to pitch like this on a regular basis down the stretch.  The same can be said of tomorrow's starter Rick Porcello.  Both winning the Central Division and advancing past the first round of the playoffs will probably be dependent on those three starters more than anything else. If they can get hot at the right time, they can make the difference between blowing the division lead and having a memorable playoff run.  Getting the mid-rotation guys to gel at the right time is so often the story at this time of year though.  Isn't it?

Since Fister and Porcello don't get a lot of strikeouts, it's important to put a good defensive infield behind them.  I have to think that Fister feels more confident with Inge and Ramon Santiago behind him than Wilson Betemit and Ryan Raburn.  Perhaps a defensive platoon is in order, that is play Inge and Santiago behind Fister, Porcello and Penny and Betemit and Raburn behind Scherzer and Justin Verlander.  It need not be a strict platoon but getting the good glove men behind the ground ball pitchers makes sense.  

The night would not be complete without remarking on yet another outstanding performance by the amazing Alex Avila.  Playing in his 13th consecutive game behind the plate, Avila reached base five times on a single, double and three walks.  After slumping in the heat and humidity of July, he is batting a sizzling .442/.524/.788 in August.  

Inge Up, Dirks Down

As many Tigers fans guessed/hoped/feared, third baseman Brandon Inge is coming back to Detroit.  The Tigers announced tonight that Inge is being added to the roster and that outfielder Andy Dirks is being optioned to Toledo.  Manager Jim Leyland revealed that Inge will start against left-handed pitchers and be a defensive replacement for recently acquired Wilson Betemit.

Inge was having a miserable season for the Tigers at the time of his demotion.  He was batting .177 with a .483 OPS and his defense had declined to the point where he was no better than average at third base.  However, he responded well to his trip to Toledo batting .287/.389/.519 with seven homers in 126 plate appearances.

Betemit has a big platoon split this year - .841 OPS versus RHP and .622 versus LHP - so platooning makes sense.  Inge has a history of hitting left-handed pitchers, but this year has a paltry .560 OPS against them..  Hence, he's not the best platoon partner unless he solved his hitting problems in Triple-A.  That doesn't seem likely though given his abysmal hitting performance in Detroit earlier this year.             

I think the real motivation behind recalling Inge is defense.  On a team with three predominantly ground ball pitchers - Doug Fister, Brad Penny and Rick Porcello - infield defense is very important.  The Tigers infield defense is awful right now, so they could use all the help they can get.  Inge is not the fielder he once was, but he's better than Betemit.  And Roman Santiago also gives them a defensive boost when he fills in for Ryan Raburn. 

Some Tigers fans are complaining about the demotion of Dirks, but there is not such a need for him with the acquisition of Delmon Young.  One could certainly make a case that Dirks is more useful off the bench than Magglio Ordonez, but Dirks will probably be better off getting regular at bats with the MudHens.   

Because Inge is such a polarizing player in Detroit, this move is already creating a controversy among Tigers fans.  However, it's really not a big deal.  It's simply a matter of substituting one bench player at a position of need for another at position where there is less of a need. 

Scherzer Stops Indians

All year long, the Tigers have been pretty consistent - no long hot streaks and no long cold streaks.  Every time it looks like they are going to take off, they sputter for a couple of series.  Coversely, every time it looks like they are going to fade away like they have recently,  they come up with a big series.  They could really use one of those right now and they got off to a good start tonight beating the Indians 4-1. 

Max Scherzer is one of the big keys for the Tigers this season and they need him to pitch like a top of the rotation starter down the stretch.  Tonight, he did just that allowing just one run on five hits and one walk through seven innings.  He also helped the Tigers avoid their shaky middle-relief staff by throwing a season-high 127 pitches. 

The one run that did score against Scherzer should not have.  First baseman Miguel Cabrera made a pretty good stop of a hard-hit ball to the right side in the seventh, but Cabrera stumbled trying to make the throw to Scherzer covering first and rookie third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall was safe at first with an infield single.  The hit extended the inning and put runners on first and third.  The lone Indians run then scored on a wild pitch by Scherzer.

Indians starter Josh Tomlin held Detroit scoreless for five innings, but the Tigers broke through in the sixth.  Second baseman Ryan Raburn led off with a single and Austin Jackson followed with a two-run homer to right center field.  The Tigers added two more in the seventh on solo shots by Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta.       

Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde closed it out with one perfect inning apiece.  Valverde now has 36 saves in 36 opportunities for the season.

The win put the Tigers 2 1/2 ahead of the Indians.  The White Sox currently trail the Rangers 7-4 in the seventh and would be five games back if they lose. 

Tigers Acquire Delmon Young from Twins

In a surprise move, the Tigers have acquired outfielder Delmon Young from the division rival Twins for minor league pitcher Cole Nelson and a player to be named later.  The right-handed hitting Young had been a highly touted prospect for years before seemingly breaking out last year batting .298/.333/.493.  This year, he has disappointed with a paltry .662 OPS, but has an OPS of .782 since the beginning of June.

The biggest knock offensively against Young is lack of patience as he has walked in just 4% of his career plate appearances.  He is also a poor defender as evidenced by his career -46 Total Zone and -43 Ultimate Zone Rating.  If you think Raburn is a poor fielder, you may find out what a poor fielder really looks like now. 

The 25-year-old Young is going to replace Magglio Ordonez in the line-up and that will be an upgrade.  As bad as Young has been this season, his OPS is 87 points higher than Magglio Ordonez's .575 mark.  Ordonez can't field anymore either, so they won't lose anything there.  And it might surprise you that Young is five months younger than Brennan Boesch.  So, while I'm not expecting much, it's not out of the question that Young could still live up to some of his promise.

Assuming the player to be named is not a significant prospect, I think it's a good move.  At any rate, we'll see him soon.  He's batting third tonight versus his old teammates. 

Rhymes up, Guillen to DL

The Tigers have now come full circle at second base.  They announced this morning that Carlos Guillen has been placed on the disabled list with a sore wrist and that Will Rhymes has been recalled from Toledo to take his place.  Guillen was batting .207 with a .576 OPS in 22 games since returning from his original stint on the disabled list with an injured knee.  I earlier half joked on twitter that he must have hurt himself doing the infamous bat flip in the Jered Weaver game.  He is just 3 for 32 since that incident. 

Rhymes batted just batted just .221 in 81 plate appearances for the Tigers earlier in the year and was sent down in favor of Scott Sizemore.  Sizemore didn't work out and was traded to the Athletics for reliever David Purcey.  Ryan Raburn got the next chance, but he continued to struggle at the plate and isn't much of a second baseman.  Then came Carlos Guillen who got of to a good start with bat but then fell flat. 

The irrepressible Rhymes just kept plugging away for the MudHens batting .303 with a .373 on base percentage.  Leyland is a big fan of Rhymes, so I will guess that he will probably get the bulk of the playing time at second base unless he struggles at the plate right away.  Ramon Santiago is playing there today, but that's probably because Rhymes is not with the team yet.  I imagine Raburn will also play some second base as he continues to move around the diamond. 

Tigers Come Back to Beat Orioles.

It didn't look too good when the Tigers fell behind the Orioles 5-0 in the second inning tonight.  Starter Max Scherzer allowed a two-run homer to veteran designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero and a three-run blast to rookie second baseman Blake Davis.  The Tigers have had two many games this year where their pitching staff has been blown out and this looked it would be another one.

Fortunately, Scherzer settled down nicely pitching shutout ball from the third through the seventh inning.  With the bullpen needing a rest tonight, Scherzer threw a season-high 120 pitches and racked up 10 strikeouts.  After the awful second frame, Max did a great job keeping the game within reach and the Tigers took advantage.

The Tigers scored one in the fourth on a double by Andy Dirks a ground out and a sacrifice fly by Miguel Cabrera.  They then staged a dramatic five-run rally after two were out in the sixth.  Magglio Ordonez started the outburst with a double and Miguel followed with a home run to right field making it 5-3.  After singles by Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta, Alex Avila smashed a run-scoring ground-rule double to right to close the gap to 5-4.  Ryan Raburn then singled up the middle scoring two runs to give the Tigers a 6-5 lead.

The Tigers hung on to win 6-5 thanks to some gutsy pitching by Scherzer, a scoreless eighth by lefty Phil Coke and of course another save by Closer Jose Valverde.  The Tigers are now 8-4 in their last 12 games and all the wins have been by one run.  Valverde has saved all eight of those games which gives him 35 saves in 35 opportunities for the season.  The Tigers are now a league best 19-13 in one-run games.

The Indians kept the heat on the Tigers with a 3-1 victor over the Twins tonight.  They are still three games out.  The White Sox are 5 1/2 games back pending the result of their game versus the Royals tonight. 

Valverde's Record Breaking Save Gives Tigers Big Win

When Austin Jackson laid down a perfect suicide squeeze scoring Alex Avila in the second inning, the Tigers took a 4-0 against Indians starter Fausto Carmona .  With ace Justin Verlander on the mound, it looked like it would be an easy win for the Tigers.  Nothing hass been easy for the Tigers lately though and this one would be no different. 

Verlander allowed a solo homer to Indians catcher Carlos Santana in the second to make it 4-1.  He then uncharacteristically walked two batters in the third ahead of an Asdrubal Cabrera double.  The score was 4-3 at that point and that's where it would stay.  Santana gave the Tigers fans another scare when he blasted a 400-foot fly ball to center field with a man on the sixth.  Fortunately, Jackson made a long run and a leaping grab against the wall to save the Tigers lead.

Verlander went seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks - a good game for an ordinary pitcher, but a somewhat disappointing one for him (until they held on for the victory).  Joaquin Benoit held the lead with a scoreless eighth leaving it up to closer Jose Valverde.  Valverde retired the Indians without incident to register his 33rd save in 33 opportunities.  That broke the Tigers previous single-season record of 32 by Willie Hernandez in 1984. 

The win broke a 13-game Tigers losing streak at Cleveland's Progressive Field and it couldn't come at a better time.  The Tigers now have a three-game lead over the Indians in the American League Central.  The White Sox beat the Orioles tonight leaving them four games back.

AL Central Race

2011 AL Central Division Race:

Avila Excelling at a Young Age

Earlier in the year, I demonstrated that Alex Avila was having one of the best seasons for a catcher in the history of the Detroit franchise. He is still near the top of that list, but I also wanted to see how he ranked among all major league catchers at a young age.  Catchers tend to take longer to develop than players at other positions, so it seems impressive that Avila is having such an outstanding season at age 24. The question is how impressive?

Avila is currently batting .285 with with 13 homers and a league-leading (for catchers) .867 OPS.   The criteria I'm using to rank Avila historically is OPS+.  Remember that OPS+ is a batter's OPS adjusted for ballpark and league average.  The league average hitter has an OPS+ of 100.  Anything better than 100 is above average.  Anything less than 100 is below average.   Only about 10% of batters have an OPS+ of 135 or higher.  So, Avila's OPS+ of 140 is really good especially for a catcher.

The table below shows that the left-handed hitting Avila is tied for eighth among all catchers under the age of 25.  Hall of Famer Johnny Bench heads the list with a remarkable 166 OPS+ in 1970 at age 24.  Two year's earlier, the Cincinnati Reds standout had an OPS+ of 141 at age 22.  Tigers slugger Rudy York also appears on the list twice posting OPS+'s of 151 and 140 in 1937 and 1938 at ages 23 and 24.

Others on the list include Carlton Fisk, Mike Piazza, Joe Mauer, Brian McCann and Joe Torre.  So, there are no flukes in this group.  Every player on the list has gone on to have several outstanding seasons.   We never want to get too far ahead ourselves especially when dealing with the catching position which tends to wear players down pretty fast. Avila is in good company though and seems to be destined for more great seasons in the future.

Table: OPS+ Leaders for Catchers Aged 24 and Under

Player	Year	Team	Age	PA	OPS+
Johnny Bench	1972	Cin	24	652	166
Carlton Fisk	1972	Bos	24	514	162
Mike Piazza	1993	LA	24	602	151
Rudy York	1937	Det	23	417	151
Joe Mauer	2006	Min	23	608	144
Brian McCann	2006	Atl	22	492	143
Johnny Bench	1970	Cin	22	671	141
Alex Avila	2011	Det	24	357	140
Joe Torre	1965	Mil	24	594	140
Joe Torre	1964	Mil	23	646	140
Rudy York	1938	Det	24	557	140

Note: The data for this post were extracted from Baseball-Reference.

Schlereth and Boesch Save Tigers

Over the past few years, it seems like every time the Tigers start to gain some momentum they get stung by a last-place Royals team.  When a three-run seventh by the Royals wiped out a 3-0 Tigers lead, it looked like it was going to be one of those games.  However, some clutch relieving and hitting gave the Tigers a 4-3 win in 10 innings. 

Rick Porcello pitched another solid game tonight allowing three runs on seven hits and no walks in 6 1/3 innings.  As he did throughout the month of July, Porcello continued to mix his pitches well getting 11 outs on ground balls and four on strikes.  All the strikeouts were on swinging strikes - three sliders and one change-up.  Porcello now has a 2.56 ERA and 28/5 K/BB ratio over 38 2/3 innings in his last six starts. 

Many fans including myself questioned Jim Leyland's quick hook in the seventh inning.  The Tigers manager pulled Porcello with one out and two on and the Tigers up 3-1.  Porcello had thrown just 82 pitches at that point, but Leyland wanted to go with southpaw Phil Coke versus the left-handed Mike Moustakas.  Coke, who has not readjusted very well to the bullpen, allowed a run-scoring single.  Recently acquired David Pauley then allowed a game-tying single before inducing a double play to end the inning.

More bothersome than the questionable managerial move was the Tigers infield defense.  Third baseman Wilson Betemit and second baseman Carlos Guillen turned two playable balls into singles.  Had they made those plays, the inning would have been over with no damage.  That was just the latest example of poor infield defense giving extra outs to opponents.  It's been a problem much of the year.

Another lefty - Daniel Schlereth - saved the game with one of his biggest performances as a Tiger.  He came on in the 8th with the score tied at three and pitched two scoreless innings to get the win.  Jose Valverde got the save with a scoreless tenth.

For the second time this week, Brennan Boesch knocked in the eventual game winner late in the game.  His single in the tenth inning scored pinch runner Andrew Dirks for the go ahead run.  Credit must also be given to Dirks for alertly moving into scoring position after the ball got away (but not very far) from Royals catcher Manny Pina. 

Game two of the series pits ace Justin Verlander versus rookie Danny Duffy.  It looks like a great match-up for the Tigers, but you never know.  It's never easy versus the Royals. 

Fister Throws Strikes, Tigers Win

The Tigers beat the Rangers 5-4 tonight in Doug Fister's debut in a Detroit uniform.  What did we learn about Fister today? Well, he is 6-foot-8 and 190 pounds and he looks like it as he's all arms and legs.  You would expect a pitcher of that body type to get a lot of strikeouts and struggle with control.  Fister is just the opposite though.  In fact, he struck out none and walked none.  He had pinpoint control as 73 of his 99 pitches were thrown for strikes.  His career rate of 1.9 walks per nine innings tells us that tonight was not a fluke.  He consistently throws strikes.  

Fister also showed some athleticism pouncing on three balls back to the box and converting them to outs.  It's a good thing he can field his position because his infielders won't help him much there.  Tonight Wilson Betemit booted a routine grounder for one run and Jhonny Peralta threw away a potential double play ball for another run.  So, Fister gave up three runs in seven innings, but it should have been just one.  You can't blame Ryan Raburn tonight as he fielded everything hit to him playing in place of Carlos Guillen at second.  But some probably will anyway!

One thing Fister did receive tonight which he didn't get much of in Seattle was offensive support.  In 21 starts as a Mariner this year, his teammates scored two runs or fewer 16 times.  Tonight the Tigers scored five runs on ten hits.  The stars were Raburn (three hits including his 10th homer) and Alex Avila (two hits including his 12th homer).

The result was a win for Fister. He went 3-12 as a Mariner, but probably didn't do anything different tonight.  He just threw strikes and pitched a solid game as he usually does.  The difference was he got some run support.  I suspect he'll get a lot of that along with a good number of pitcher wins and more importantly team wins the rest of the way.

Third Base Still a Problem for Tigers

Veteran Carlos Guillen has come back from the disabled list to immediately solidify the second base position which has been a problem all year.  He is batting .280 with four extra base hits in 50 at bats which is a big improvement over Ryan Raburn and everyone else who has played the position this year.  Defensively, he lacks both range and throwing strength, but he's steadier than Raburn.  He plays like he's old, but not like he's injured.  Overall, he's done well enough where the Tigers will probably consider bringing him back next year if he stays healthy. 

It's too early to judge new third baseman Wilson Betemit.  He's batting .250 with a homer and double in 28 trips so far.  Jim Leyland does not seem to trust him enough to use him every day and frequently inserts the light hitting Don Kelly at third.  The problem is Betemit looks very weak defensively which was expected.  I'd like to see Betemit get more of an opportunity, but if Leyland doesn't feel comfortable enough using him regularly, then third base is still a big hole.  Kelly is batting just .194 for July and is no better than average defensively at third.

If you thought Brandon Inge was finished as a Tiger, you may end up being disappointed.  He is 8 for 26 with two doubles and two homers for triple-A Toledo and I think there is a good chance he'll be back in September.  He's not the answer, but I'm not sure anyone else on the roster is either.  The musical chairs at the hot corner may continue through the end of the season.