There are some big questions heading into 2013 for the
Tigers and I think they might need a little luck to get over that last hump and
become a World Champion. The return of
Victor Martinez will be a great help to the Tigers in 2013, the 34-year-old
former catcher will be coming back from an ACL injury that kept him off the
field for the entire 2012 season. Martinez is a career .303 hitter that won’t
blow your mind with his power but will get on base at an incredible rate. To
many he is the protection that Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder need to give them decent
pitches to hit, and if not Victor can make them pay for it. This is where some
of that luck comes in; he’s a 34-year-old that used to be an everyday catcher
in the big leagues, so his body isn’t really 34 years old. They will need some
luck to keep him healthy for the whole year, even if he is just the DH. Martinez
is a great hitter that will do wonderful things for that lineup if he stays
healthy; it’s just a matter of keeping him on the field and off the trainer’s
table.
Andy Dirks played very well last year hitting .322 in over 300 at-bats. Although he hit very well and has some decent speed in the outfield experts seem to think that he’s at best a platoon player. I’m by no means an expert but I disagree, I think that he should be the everyday left fielder this season based on what he showed last year. He can play the field and adds some pretty good speed, not much will be falling out there between Dirks, Jackson, and Hunter. Most seem to think he should be out there only against right handed pitchers but I say give him a chance. The only way he’s going to hit lefties better is if he gets some at-bats against them, and the way that the lineup is set in Detroit I think they can afford to get him some swings against lefties. With all that being said it’s going to take some luck on Detroit’s part to get him to produce like he did last year.
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