so, what do we do with ventura? is sabes correct that he's pressing too hard, is yost right that his control/command is just off, or is it an injury issue?

hell, is it a combo of any of these? and why is the sky not falling yet?

I think its a combo of pressing, hitters only focusing on the fastball b/c he can't consistently control his off-speed pitches, and his fastball appearing slower to batter's eyes than its MPH would have you think (http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-w...rdano-ventura/)

You give him more rope and hope he can harness things. James Shields might not have pitched like a No. 1 in the playoffs last year, but Ventura did.

I think it's a combo of bad conditioning early in the year, sophomore slump, and poor command.

I don't either.

DET is only 4 out of the WC, and only 4.5 out of both slots. Those slots currently occupied by traditional powers Houston and Minny. They will get Cabrera back in a bit, and have a 90 year old owner. They even have 12 left vs KC so the division isn't even out of reach, not with 70 games left.


The only way they'd sell is if they hit the shitter asap. Like a 1-5 stretch. Barring that they are in it

That 90-year-old owner has ceded a lot of control of the Tigers to his son. And the current mood in the Tigers' front office is to sell.

Honestly, unless they're selling to the Royals, I hope they don't. I hope they stand pat...

And get nothing for Cespedes when he walks...

And get a comp pick for Price when he walks...

And don't reset their roster in a way that prevents 2015 Detroit from becoming 2013 Philadelphia.

It's better for the Royals this year and over the long haul if the Tigers sit pat and try to get back in it.

Food for thought: The Royals have one of the best records in baseball (And I think, perhaps THE best record in baseball) since July of 2014. The Tigers are a .500 team since the start of June last year.

This is less a sleeping juggernaut and more a flawed team with little flexibility for the future (other than hoping Verlander returns to what he has been and perhaps flipping Price and Cespedes for an infusion of young talent).

They're definitely in a bind but making some trades won't solve all the problems they caused for themselves. Just go for it-let it ride. They won't be better next year anyway, and the FG odds page has the following expected wins:

HOU: 85.2
Tor: 82.2
Tigers: 81.6
Cleve: 81.6
Balt: 81.5
Minny 81.4


It cannot get any tighter than that. Maybe Mrs Upton rediscovers something, maybe VMart starts hitting, Cabrera comes back in MVP form like he was playing at. I mean if those other teams are "buyers" why wouldn't Detroit be?

I think there's faulty logic in all these teams that are 4-8 games back of the WC. Yeah every team is within 8 games of it, but you still have to jump 7 or 8 teams to get there.

@McCulloughStar: The current version of Yordano Ventura is not one of KC's five best starters. Optioning him would give him time to reset and maintain depth.

@Ken_Rosenthal: Among the possibilities #Royals are considering for the struggling Yordano Ventura: A demotion to Triple A. Per sources, no decision yet.

Good, get the POS off of this team.

Yordano's numbers vs last year:

FIP: 3.69 (3.60)
K/9: 7.66 (7.82)
BB/9: 2.95 (3.39)
Babip: .321 (.288)
Strand: 64.8% (77.3)


Pretty obvious what the take-away is here with YV

Or he got paid and stopped working hard. Maybe he doesn't care anymore.

Yeah, **** this guy.

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What is wrong with you?